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CharlyMIS
Starting Member
Sweden
37 Posts |
 Posted - 15 December 2007 : 09:51:40
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I'm putting this here as it's not really to do with the mechanics of Snitz, more like a running of a forum query.
If I made someone a moderator by clicking the relevant box in their profile, but I don't give them a forum to moderate, would this then, ethically and legally, allow me to talk about things going on that I might need to talk about but can't due to me being bound by the privacy laws?
Edited to add - this has come up because sometimes I need to vent and it's not always appropriate (or necessary) to do it on the public forum.
Has anyone done this and if so, how did the rest of the members feel about it?
Thanks in advance!
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Edited by - CharlyMIS on 15 December 2007 09:53:24 |
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ruirib
Snitz Forums Admin
Portugal
26364 Posts |
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Doug G
Support Moderator
USA
6493 Posts |
Posted - 15 December 2007 : 17:50:12
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Lawyers are a much better source of legal advice than a technical forum :)
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Doug G
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Computer history and help at www.dougscode.com |
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CharlyMIS
Starting Member
Sweden
37 Posts |
Posted - 15 December 2007 : 19:19:12
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quote:
Originally posted by ruirib
Why would you need to make him a moderator? Why not create a private forum (Allowed Members List - Hidden) and vent there?
Her 
... I thought about a private hidden forum but was thinking about the ethics of that - venting about stuff to someone who's not a moderator just feels weird so I thought giving them moderator status would then bring them on board as part of the 'team' (there's just me at the moment), and then I wouldn't be breaking any kind of privacy rules as I wouldn't be discussing with an 'outsider'. Does that make sense? (even if I sound like I'm being a little over cautious).
Doug, thanks, but I'm not asking for legal advice as such, I was asking as an admin of a forum, to other admins of other forums. I thought this may have come up on other Snitz forums so figured it was a good place to ask. ...and I have posted in 'Community Discussions (All Other Subjects)', which has a description of 'Have something you think doesn't belong in any of the other forums ? Want to relax from coding for a while, this is the place to be' rather than posting in any of the technical forums, a note of which I made in the first sentence of my opening post.
Thanks again!
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ruirib
Snitz Forums Admin
Portugal
26364 Posts |
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muzishun
Senior Member
United States
1079 Posts |
Posted - 16 December 2007 : 13:17:08
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I agree with ruirib, though I think I have a slightly different view on it than you do, Charly. The way I see it, if you need to vent about other forum members, a private forum is the place to do it, and you probaly should limit that venting so that it is only among other forum administration (Admins and Mods). However, I would disagree with the prospect of making an individual a moderator for the express purpose of being able to vent with them. Now, if this person is willing to make a little bit of an effort to help *earn* the moderator title and help actuall moderate the forums, I'd be totally for it.
But in my opinion, if you're not going to give them moderator responsibilities, don't make them a moderator. Just create a private forum that you allow a select few people into. It's simpler. |
Bill Parrott
Senior Web Programmer, University of Kansas
Co-Owner and Code Monkey, Eternal Second Designs (www.eternalsecond.com)
Personal Website (www.chimericdream.com) |
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pdrg
Support Moderator
United Kingdom
2897 Posts |
Posted - 21 December 2007 : 17:27:11
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as for the ethics of it all...personally I prefer the 'If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all' model, and don't forget things written on the internet have a habit of hanging round for years, maybe to be accidentally discovered, etc.
The way we run the show here is with a Mods and Admins private forum, but there's certainly no ***ing or name-calling in there, just procedural stuff that doesn't belong out in the open - housekeeping, really! |
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CharlyMIS
Starting Member
Sweden
37 Posts |
Posted - 26 December 2007 : 16:29:15
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quote:
Originally posted by pdrg
as for the ethics of it all...personally I prefer the 'If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all' model, and don't forget things written on the internet have a habit of hanging round for years, maybe to be accidentally discovered, etc.
The way we run the show here is with a Mods and Admins private forum, but there's certainly no ***ing or name-calling in there, just procedural stuff that doesn't belong out in the open - housekeeping, really!
I'm totally with you here, I hope my posts didn't come across as though I'm going to be ***ing about members because that's not what I meant at all  'Venting' was maybe the wrong word for me to use, it was more a case of sometimes I could do with an ear to run things by to get a second opinion, that kind of thing. Sometimes (not often) things come up that I feel a bit 'arrgh' about, and it would be good if I could run these things by an 'advisor' to get things straight in my head before jumping in with both feet and maybe handling something in a not so great way. I don't really need help with the physical moderation of the forum at the present time, which is why I was thinking more along the lines of a 'silent' moderator
Thanks again for your comments!
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