Should staff moderate their own threads?

[Pragmatist]

I suggest that any OP, that is also a staff member, should not be in-charge of the status of their own threads. The status of a thread should be based on what is in the best interests of the community, and OPes are sometimes attached to their threads and therefore not objective. I make the suggestion because I feel that the Ubuntu community is one of the finest I've ever come across, and one of its greatest merits is its focus on equality and improvement through collaboration without ego or bias. This suggestion is not based an any specific incidents, rather it is just an idea that occured to me. I think instituting this suggestion will improve the forums.

[matthew]

I logged in from my vacation to post this...I probably won't be available for a reply right away.

This is a quote from the Forums CoC (http://ubuntuforums.org/index.php?page=policy):

Posting and moderating in the same thread:
This is generally discouraged. If you have participated in a discussion and later find there is a problem in the thread contact the other staff and have someone else who is uninvolved moderate. The exception would be if no one is available, you can close the thread temporarily with a post stating that it will be looked at by a non-involved staff member as soon as possible. If you aren't sure what to do, get an administrator.The policy has been there a long time.

As a general rule, your point is a good one and we have encouraged that staff try not to moderate threads in which they have already posted, whether as the OP or merely a participant. It is not forbidden, however, because there are times when it is necessary or when the moderation act that is needed is obvious and justified.

I guess what I'm saying here, Pragmatist, is that I agree with your general point, and the administration here has agreed for a long time. We are also open for there to be exceptions as we decided in the beginning that this needed to be a recommendation, not a hard and fast rule, because we could see many instances where exceptions could, and probably need, to be made.

So, um, thanks for the input!

[Pragmatist]

we could see many instances where exceptions could, and probably need, to be made.

Please provide a couple of examples. It is not so obvious to me.


So, um, thanks for the input!
Your welcome. I can tell you appreciate it ;)

[Pragmatist]

Please provide a couple of examples. It is not so obvious to me.

Let me be more specific. The guideline you quote says a few things very clearly:

1.) What they should not do:

This is generally discouraged....We discourage staff moderating their own threads.
This is obviously not a commandment, but something all staff want to abide by.

2.)What they should do:

....have someone else who is uninvolved moderate.That is an explicit solution.

3.) THE exception:

....The exception would be if no one is available....This is an obvious exception since the solution was to find another staff member to moderate.

4.) What to do when this exception occurs:

....close the thread temporarily with a post stating that it will be looked at by a non-involved staff member as soon as possible.....A very clear solution.

5.) What to do in other cases (i.e. when you are not sure):

....If you aren't sure what to do, get an administrator....So, to be more precise, my exact question is:
What exceptions could possibly occur that would prevent an involved staff member from either "closing the thread temporarily" or "getting another administrator"?

This is important so that regular members of the community can alert the staff if a specific member of the staff forgets, or misapplies, the above guideline. While it is not a "hard and fast rule" it is discouraged and I don't think this guideline, or its spirit, at least as written, gives an administrator carte blanche on this matter.

[KiwiNZ]

Pragmatist

What are you looking for here?

As for this

What exceptions could possibly occur that would prevent an involved staff member from either "closing the thread temporarily" or "getting another administrator"?

We have a guidline for this , and as such a guideleine is exactly that, a guidline. It is not black or white and it should not be.
It provides staff with the discretion that they miust have.

The situation is adequately covered.