So am I a mod now?

[nullplan]

Hi all,

as of today, I seem to have access to some features I probably shouldn't. I can see unapproved posts, the mod queue, the mod logs, the mod-only forums, and the delete post button is visible under everything. I haven't dared yet to click it. Is this an oversight somehow? I am not listed in the list of moderators at the top of the page.

Ciao,
Markus

P.S.: Oh yeah, and I can approve posts now (which I only did to one that seemed like it was probably alright, just to see if I could or if something would stop me. Nothing did.)

[klange]

I've not been able to keep up with moderation, and all of the other moderators have also gone AWOL of late. After the recent wave of wiki vandalism, I let chase know I'm retiring and I guess he's added some new moderators alongside changing how the wiki group membership works. You're in the Global Moderators group, which is more useful than just being a "board moderator". If you're willing to help out, let me know if you want any guidance on the ancient phpBB moderation system - I would be more than happy to "pass the torch".

[nullplan]

Ah, OK. That makes sense. I do tend to visit each workday, so I can probably click approve on a couple of posts.

and all of the other moderators have also gone AWOL of late.

But Octo is still around, and his most recent post was today. He is at the very least listed as a mod.

f you're willing to help out, let me know if you want any guidance on the ancient phpBB moderation system - I would be more than happy to "pass the torch".

Well, I've already figured out that the Moderation Queue feature in the Mod Control Panel is as useful as a rubber corkscrew, in that it doesn't seem to list all posts needing approval. But posts needing approval are clearly marked, so at least I can find them. Is there any requirement for approval other than "not spam"/"not abuse"?

[Octocontrabass]

But Octo is still around, and his most recent post was today. He is at the very least listed as a mod.

But, until now, I didn't have access to the moderator queue.

Is there any requirement for approval other than "not spam"/"not abuse"?

That's pretty much it. Unfortunately, some spambots have figured out how to make their first posts very convincing.

[iansjack]

If this is deliberate it would have been nice to let the people involved know. And perhaps provide a few hints concerning the relevant responsibilities.

If not, I’m surprised it hasn’t been corrected yet.

[chase]

I took everyone that has a higher post count than myself and has logged in this year and added them to the global moderators group. iansjack was actually the first to notice. Almost everyone gets tired of being a moderator after a while but hopefully if we split up the responsibily across enough people then it won't be such a burden.

The wiki spam really sucks, we went 18 years with the open group enrollment.

I'm still in the process up making changes.

[klange]

chase,

While we have your attention, there is a group that is interested in hosting the wiki externally. I figure this can save you some hosting costs and it allows us to upgrade Mediawiki, which has been an oft-repeated desire for many years now. They already have things set up at https://osdev.miraheze.org/ with all of the content imported, and I can vouch for them and their commitment to maintain it.

[Kevin]

Ah, this explains the email notification I received... I was already wondering how my three posts in the past five years could have qualified me for this.

[chase]

chase,

While we have your attention, there is a group that is interested in hosting the wiki externally. I figure this can save you some hosting costs and it allows us to upgrade Mediawiki, which has been an oft-repeated desire for many years now. They already have things set up at https://osdev.miraheze.org/ with all of the content imported, and I can vouch for them and their commitment to maintain it.

I'll be upgrading everything this weekend. They might be outages when the switch does happen as I'm switching hosting providers.

I'm speaking with lukflug over email. Hopefully we can get the wiki setup here to everyones satisfaction and more people can take an active role in maintaining it.

I'm not concerned about cost. It's cool to see people make copies of the wiki because I don't want it to ever disappear but I have no plans stop hosting it. I've seen almost every other source of information eventually disappear. Geezer, OSDever, MegaTokyo, etc. Not to mention newsgroups.

[BigBuda]

Geezer, OSDever, MegaTokyo, etc. Not to mention newsgroups.

Oh the feels...

[klange]

I'll be upgrading everything this weekend. They might be outages when the switch does happen as I'm switching hosting providers.

I'm speaking with lukflug over email. Hopefully we can get the wiki setup here to everyones satisfaction and more people can take an active role in maintaining it.

I'm not concerned about cost. It's cool to see people make copies of the wiki because I don't want it to ever disappear but I have no plans stop hosting it. I've seen almost every other source of information eventually disappear. Geezer, OSDever, MegaTokyo, etc. Not to mention newsgroups.

Your plan to finally upgrade things is a breath of fresh air, to be sure, but many in the community are still concerned about how responsive you can be as issues arise. Ultimately, the real ask here is to delegate a higher level of access to someone who can dedicate more time. A few years ago, I would have volunteered for that role, but I've thoroughly reached the "run away to a cabin in the mountains" stage of my life (it's a lovely place; let me know if you're ever in Japan, you can come visit), and to be honest I don't think I'm right for it anyway. The community would be better served by someone who is still active within it.

[chase]

I'd love to visit Japan some day, I'll hit you up if I ever do. I've tried to talk my family into a cabin in the mountains and while they enjoy camping, etc, they are city folk at heart, maybe once I retire.

I don't disagree that we need more day to day moderation. The greater access is where things get tricky, we've tried it before and it didn't work out. I also have doubts that if I handed the site fully to someone else that it'd endure. Best case is that it'd probably be passed around like hot potato every couple years. I've kept the site running for more than 20 years and plan to keep it running for another 20 years. I think the stability is important for the community. If the community wants to change something then I'd like to see a proposal and lets discuss it. If someone wants greater access I'd probably want to treat it more like a professional project with video interviews for the position, proposed change plans, status updates, etc.

I'm strongly considering trying out https://cleantalk.org/ since it can integrate with both the wiki and forum. If it works out hopefully it could reduce some of the need for manual moderation.

I'm excited about future of the wiki, the fork was really well done and it seems like people are interested in taking the wiki forward. I'm hoping that group shows continued interest and willingness take on additional responsibilites because I really don't mind sharing them.

[xenos]

Now that explains also why I got an e-mail and found that I have moderator status, and started wondering: "Wait, I am a moderator here? Did I forget about this? Do I have amnesia?"

I visit the forum every day, so I think this is actually a good motivation for me to keep a closer look, and to contribute something useful (again after quite a while has passed).

(I have moderated and, in fact, installed PHPBB in the past. The very far past. Better than nothing I guess.)

[chase]

If any anyone has suggestions for other new moderators I'd welcome nominations.

[nexos]

Awesome move chase! I don't get to be on here much anymore due to life stuff, but I'll try to at least help with the queue as much as I'm able