Looking for comment moderators
Update (9 April 2010): Unfortunately the idea with comment moderators didn’t work out the way I hoped it would, so I’ll have to look for another solution if there should be problems in the future.
One degenerated %#&§?& had to ruin our April fools joke by posting extremely lewd pictures on our website.
This incident has made it clear that our webcomic has now gotten so popular that it attracts the attention of trolls and other internet scum. Because of this it is necessary to control the comments that appear on our website more strictly. However, I’m still hopefull that we don’t have to resort to a moderation queue for comments since this would significantly affect the possibility for discussions among visitors in a negative way.
Instead we are now looking for comment moderators. A comment moderator has complete control over all comments written by other visitors and can delete them if they contain inappropriate content, especially links to pornographic or excessively violent material, but also particularly offensive swear words and libel.
If you are a regular contributor to our comment section you can REGISTER HERE so that I can set your user role from “Member” to “Comment Moderator” afterwards. After I have set your new user role, you have to login to be able to access the moderator tools for comment moderation. There’s now a “User Panel” menu on the left sidebar for logging in.
We hope that enough regulars will be interested so that it will take only minutes until the next moderator visits the site and removes the inappropriate comment.
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Aw, that’s too bad. I thought it was a neat idea. Well, I guess that just comes with Futaba Channel territory…
Next time it might help to try an aprils fool method which doesnt ask for such problems.
Might pay to try a less abusable April Fools method next time. Bleh…
Have you considered a comment system like Disqus or Intense Debate?
Well, I’m happy to give comment moderating a shot. I mainly only visit the site after an update, but since that’s when most potential posters arrive, I hope that won’t be a problem.
I pop in about once or twice a day. Hopefully that will help. And as a newly starting webcomic myself, I certainly would be willing to lend a hand to one of the pillars of the community. (bet you didn’t know you were architecture!)
May I ask if there are some rules anywhere which kinds of comments are ok and which not? Should we accept all comments that are not illegal or SPAM? Or should we also block trolls or bashers? Should we better be bold and allow a comment or better be carefull and block? Or should we just be bold and see what happens after some times? 🙂
RE: DaB
if you moderate too strictly, you’ll draw more of them and they’ll flood the pages with so much spam that you’ll have a task ahead of you if you wanted to remove it all, especially if legit posts crop up between the spam.
So far what I read from the others I’d gladly help, I realy like your work here and if I can help with it I’m here. I normaly check on the site a day or two a few times so I could help but yeah moderating could use some rulesystem so we know what to look for.
I will specify this during the next days.
It could that I looked not good enough but I could not find rules about commenting. If there are rules it’s easy to say what can and what can’t. Also will it make a good guide for the new moderators.
Ok. If I do something wrong just mail or jabber me.
Sorry if this is not cool, but I came in after the apparent debacle. What in the world April Fool’s joke did I miss?
I will do it. I’m up at hellish hours anyways.
@Dave
The site redirected to “the new layout” which looked pretty much like 4chan.
But because it was an imageboard it was possible to post pictures without any access rights…
@Novil
Should I apply for the post of a moderator?
I visit your site about 2 times a day.
Once in the morning before I go to work and once when I’m back from work.
But then I should pick an acceptable name…>,<'
PS: Sandra Loituma was damn cool XD
So, I also decided to provide myself as a comment-mod.
Just one question – will we receive direct mail when a new comment awaits authorisation or do we have to log in daily to check?
greetz, bruja
Sucks you have to resort to that. I would have liked to seen your April Fool idea.
sorry to go off topic but what was the april fools joke was it the video of sandra sing to that finnish folk song?
I’m available as a comment moderator should my services be needed, but others may read the strip and comments more often than I do.
@Moroni: alas, it was probably best you didn’t see the joke, because it had in fact gone horribly wrong by the time I got there. The joke was that S&W was being moved to an imageboard-style site that looked very much like 4chan and the like; and it instantly attracted the attention of a couple of trolls who posted obscene and disturbing images onto the main image thread. I can see where the authors are upset that it happened, but unfortunately I must agree with SLN that this particular joke was very much like waving a red flag in front of a bull.
Doesn’t this still allow crude comments to show up until they get deleted? I would recommend putting comments into a moderation queue. Not all of them, mind you, just the ones that used certain keywords or included a hyperlink, both forms of moderation being available in WordPress. That should keep the queue small enough to handle yourself.
LOL So it was a April fools joke after all. Well you got me big time. ^_^
The idea was good and I really liked the Raccoon art & photo section maybe you can have something like that added here in the future.
Its sad that the Internet is so full of trolls that have nothing better to do in their sorry little lives but to ruin other folks enjoyment.
Love this comic keep up the great work. and never let the %$#@& trolls get yah down
One easy mod method is a queue on someone’s first post on the site. Won’t stop all of them, but will at least keep people who only come to troll from being able to.
Im sorry to here your problem.
Personally, I am glad it was just an April Fools joke, as I dont like imageboards (chan board), not for their reputation, but because of their user interface.
I think a good sign that your comic was popular enough to attract trolls (I dont think it takes much these days) when you had your donation drive, and you met your goal so quickly!
By the way, you might want to check out http://www.trollguard.com/ They seem to have a plugin for WordPress that they claim could help detect and block spam/troll posts
Several of the options that were mentioned so far are worth to be considered. However, the problem is not the large amount of bad posts I’m expecting, but the time that one bad comment is staying on the site for all to see. Therefore I believe a nice amount of additional comment mods is the best way to reduce this time frame while still leaving the entry bar to write a comment as low as possible.
Sorry to hear about the AFD gag going south like that… though I had a nasty f eeling, as soon as I saw the 4chan-like page setup late last night (my time), how this was going to end. That sort of thing is like a beacon, drawing troglodyte-like /b/ types like moths to a flame.
It was a good idea, though, and I liked the “Sandra-tuma” clip.
I’d apply to be a comment mod, but sadly my time isn’t as free as I’d like it to be for something like that. You’ve got my support though.
I’m disappointed that I didn’t get to see the April’s Fools thing, thanks to this idiot. I’d offer, but… I don’t tend to pay enough attention to comments (on ANY comic) to moderate them.
That’s sad to hear… I do have to ask though, was the decent stuff posted on that site kept in any way? I really liked a lot of the stuff on Woo’s board…
I come back here quite often because I enjoy reading the comments. I’ve put in my name to help you mod your board. It’s sad that the trolls come out from under the bridge when you start to get famous.
The April Fools gag was neat, but the troll pictures were of an extremely lewd and disturbing sexual nature, and were obviously not a part of the intended gag (although in some respect they do fit in a way. It was a 4chan-themed gag after all.)
I regret that anyone had to see them, because I regret seeing them myself.
I have formed the habit of frequently checking the shoutbox here, so I don’t mind hunting out the uncommon entirely inappropriate post. Thankfully there have not been that many, and most of them have been relatively mild and fairly quickly hidden by low rating. Registering.
Sorry about the double comment post at the start, this system doesnt like me for some reason.
What has been seen, can never be unseen. And now I can never look at Charlie and Itchy in the same light again ._.
I’m not a common contributor (though I often read the comments), so i won’t apply, but I do love this comic and dislike greatly that someone would do that to you guys.
@baxtrr: Sounds like an interesting April Fools joke. Too bad it got ruined by trolls. The world in general would be much nicer if people would learn to police themselves by not ruining ideas.
What was the “April fools joke”? Can someone please send it to Cloudchaser1@comcast.net
@Moroni: Alas, it seems to be the nature of the beast. An Internet without more than its share of damaging idiots is a utopia few in today’s world can imagine. It existed (more or less) for a few wonderful years way back in the 1980s, but even then there were trolls if you knew where to look for them, and the amount and type of content available was nothing like what we have today.
So we deal with the bad while enjoying the good. This is life. 🙂
Aww… I missed the April Fools joke…
Anyway: I resent that! I’m a troll myself, and I haven’t done anything bad here yet. And trust me, you aren’t on anyone’s attack list yet, so don’t worry too much.
I’m glad to help!
Currently the comments can be “thumbed up” or “thumbed down”, but does that allow for mods to be notified in the event of a thumbs down? maybe make it easier for them to find that which is deemed offensive or inappropriate? Or maybe add a button that lets you tag the post as offensive or inappropriate? Just a thought, and while I am a new person to the site, must say I like the comic, but then again I like most things that are coony 🙂
this is litterally the 7th website that ive seen attacked so far. :T
well i guess it’s safe to say this section is now moderated. idiots beware. >:[
[pardon my small post btw…typing on the Wii :3]
aww poor sqirrel…i’m sure he’ll find a mate…i just know it :]. Dont give up dude!!!
also…did i just see sandra kissing cloud with a notebook!? >:3 woooooooooooohhhhhhhhh x3
Unrelated to the request of moderators:
Congratulations.
No, you didn’t make the top ten in topwebcomics.com last month, but you stayed in the top 40, which is no small feat considering how many webcomics are on that list.
Well, I decided to log in, because if you’re part of the problem you should be part of the problem…
Ok, lame jokes and the occasional less than innocent comment aside, I really think that mature content is best enjoyed when everyone enjoys it, and putting it someplace like here perverts it from it’s original purpose. Stuff like that should be kept where it belongs, where those who want it can find it and those who don’t want it can stay well away from it.
So, I suppose what I’m saying is that while I don’t mind mature content, I’d be happy to do my best to keep it off here 🙂
Bleh, that should read “If you’re part of the problem you should be part of the solution.” Yup, nothing solved by being more of the problem.
When will you enable the moderators to delete the comments, ect.?
@Random
We can, he just does not want us to. We remove it by flaging it, and he takes care of it.
@Novil
I hope you have a way of tracking which moderator does what, otherwise you will get a mess. You also need a way to make what you do to comments permanent, where other people can’t delete a comment that you approved because they don’t like it. Don’t trust man.
so that was some fool’s idea of an “april fool” joke? a poor one i think. this is a comic good for all ages, porn has no place in it and your decision to create comment moderators is a good one. i did drop you from my favourites list for a day or two, but decided to check back, i’m glad i did, and i’ll stay with you now that i understand what happened. i’ve looked at your posting rules and they are simple, reasonable and easy to understand and follow.
like nivarion, besides the comic i enjoy reading the comments, the people posting here seem like a polite and friendly group and i enjoy your company.
Try only allowing them to be able to flag a comment.
Oh well, I didn get to moderate anythin anyway so no prob, but what was the problem… despite the fact that there were -as far as I saw- too few comments that needed moderating… and that’s a good thing. 🙂
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