Head-Fi.org › Rules etc › Moderation Faq

Moderation Faq  

CurrawongUncle Erik
By: Currawong and Uncle Erik
Posted 02/10/11 • Last updated 05/16/13 • 1605 views

"Men are disturbed not by the things which happen, but by their opinions about the things" --Epictitus AD 55-135

 
The staff, just like members, wish to enjoy participating on the forums in a civil manner and do their best to ensure that they, as well as everyone else are able to do so. The main thing we always ask of people is to keep the quality of what they contribute high and don't get sucked into the temptation to make unhelpful and unpleasant posts. 
 
That being said, here are the most common questions asked of us about moderation on the forums.
 

1. I have a problem with something someone posted on the forums (or in a PM). How do I contact a moderator or admin?

 
Please click on the red flag button bottom left of the post and fill in the box that comes up with an explanation of what the problem is. This will inform the moderation team of the problem. You can do this in PMs, reviews and comments as well.
 
Important: Moderation staff are either tagged as "Moderator" or "Administrator". No other members are part of the staff. Please make sure a member has one of those tags before assuming that any message from a member, private or public is from staff.
 

2. Why was my post removed?

 
In most cases, where a post breaks our Posting Guidelines, it will be removed and you will be contacted via PM. If your post quoted a post that was deleted, your post will likely be deleted (or edited) as well, as deleting an offensive post is pointless if a post quoting it remains. That is why we ask you not to quote spam or offensive posts, as it makes more work for us.
 
Every day on Head-Fi, 3000-4000 posts are made. Of those, only a handful are ever deleted that aren't blatant spam, so in the rare case your post is deleted, we appreciate your patience and consideration if you don't get notified of the reason. 
 
Deletion isn't permanent, and can be reversed.  It is not unusual for posts to be re-instated, sometimes after being edited, after a major thread clean-up upon further review.
 

3.  What does it take to get banned? 

 

The only thing we (the moderating staff) wish of the forum is the same thing that the majority of members do: To be able to enjoy our hobby in a fun way with other people. The only reason we do what we do is that we want to continue seeing Head-Fi as a great place to do that, for everyone. So while breaking any of the rules once is unlikely to get you banned, if members are repeatedly reporting your posts and we repeatedly have to give you warnings, then at some point you're going to find your account locked for some period of time, if not permanently. We don't like banning people and it is relatively rare, but we're human and we only have so much patience.

 

However, the following will result in a permanent and irrevocable ban:

 
  • Spamming, eg: Posting the same thing many times in many threads.
  • Posting highly offensive material, such as pornography.
  • Being directly rude to a member of staff (eg: Replying to a PM from a staff member with "F-off" or the like).  Being rude to the people who work hard to ensure you can enjoy your time on the site is totally unacceptable. 
  • Saying "I'm contacting my lawyer!" or similar legal suggestions or threats. We take such threats with the utmost seriousness (due to the huge costs involved) and have zero tolerance for them.
  • Creating a second account to evade a (temporary) ban, avoid negative feedback from the classifieds, shill or otherwise break the rules.
 

4. Why was a person banned?

 
With very rare exception, we do not discuss the terms of individual bans with third parties. They are ONLY discussed among Head-Fi Staff (Moderators and Administrators) and the person being banned. We will not answer questions about why someone was banned. This is a private process and our policy is not to hold up individuals to ridicule and abuse. Nor do we publicly discuss moderation as a topic on the forums. Previous experience has shown that such discussion is unproductive.
 
Publicizing what someone did would distract from the purpose of Head-Fi, which is to have meaningful discussions about audio gear and other topics that come up in the Member's Lounge. If we discussed the reasons for bans, arguments would break out and it would also necessitate posting material that is against our rules. Not to mention, any posts a person made that resulted in them being banned will likely have been removed.
 
It's fine to be curious about what happened to someone, but please understand why it is private.
 
Since it is frequently mis-represented by others, the reason NwAvGuy was banned has been posted here.
 

5. I disagree with a moderation decision. Who do I contact?

 
If you received a PM about a post or thread you have made that was edited or deleted, please reply to it and politely ask for clarification or a review. Quite a bit of moderation is done by us using our iPhones and the like on the go, so we sometimes rush and may not get around to explaining a deletion. While we are usually happy to explain a decision, we wont enter into protracted discussion about it, simply because we'd rather be participating as normal members and not arguing about moderation decisions. 
 
Remember that it is only the internet and if your post is deleted, it wont kill you. However, if you really think it is so important that it needs to be addressed, there is a feedback form available through the Support link at the bottom of every page.
 

6. Moderator and Administrator Impartiality.

 

Occasionally someone will suggest that a thread was (or will be) deleted or a person banned for criticising a sponsor.   This does not happen. I really mean it -- it doesn't happen.

 

The Moderators and Administrators have no financial interest in Head-Fi, any sponsor or member of the trade, with two exceptions. Those exceptions are Jude and Joe. Jude owns Head-Fi and has a financial interest in this site. Joe is paid staff. Aside from Jude and Joe, all Moderators and Administrators are unpaid volunteers. There is no financial or other interest in any manufacturer or sponsor whatsoever. There are no payments and no discounts or other deals are given to Moderators and Administrators. Further, Moderators and Administrators do not handle advertising or relations between Head-Fi and other parties. That is handled by the staff at Huddler. When people want to advertise or sponsor, it goes directly to Huddler, who deals with that. Moderators and Administrators play no part at all, other than occasionally directing people to Huddler when they express such an interest.

 

Otherwise, Moderators and Administrators have no relationship whatsoever with sponsors, advertisers and members of the trade. According to the TOS, libel is not permitted here. If a libelous statement is made regarding a sponsor, advertiser or member of the trade, we will remove the offending post and/or thread. This is not "protection" of sponsors, advertisers or members of the trade. We also remove libelous posts about individuals. Criticism and accurate descriptions of transactions are fine. If you sent someone money for a product that was never delivered or if your product is defective, we will allow discussion of that. However, trashing for the sake of trashing, or trying to run a company down for no good reason will not be tolerated. Often, Moderators and Administrators know sponsors, advertisers and members of the trade personally. It is difficult not to -- when you go to meets, you meet them. However, that friendship does not translate to special privileges at Head-Fi. We do not get free gear or discounts for being on staff. Like every member, if we get anything for free or a discount, we will declare this if we mention or review it. The most Moderators and Administrators receive is the same swag that everyone receives at meets - pens, lanyards and the occasional t-shirt. If a Moderator or Administrator develops a financial or other interest in a company, they will be labeled a Member of the Trade and will abide by the rules set forth in the TOS.

 

Sometimes people have posted criticism of a company in their sponsored threads.  Just like we wouldn't allow such posts in, say, an appreciation thread, we don't allow them in paid threads either. Feel free, if you don't like a company or sponsor, to start your own thread about what you don't like about them, but just as you wouldn't thread crap in any other thread, please show sponsors the same courtesy in their threads.

 

Here's a post from Jude about it:

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by jude View Post

Sorry to go off-topic for a moment, but...

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Satellite_6 View Post

Yes we all know that this forum censors anything that could hurt its interests with its sponsors - or you should know if you don't...

 

...that assertion is no less absurd than any other time I've addressed it before. Here are a few related posts:

 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/583950/shure-srh1840-and-srh1440-unveiled/1305#post_8273995

 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/572793/thunderpants-t50rp-mod-group-buy/510#post_8112525

 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/579472/is-it-worth-it-upgrading-lcd2-to-lcd3/75#post_7891656

 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/618255/check-out-the-head-fi-summer-2012-buying-guide#post_8527169

 

As I've said before, on most days, at least a couple-thousand posts are made on Head-Fi. How many of those posts do you suppose criticize sponsor products? And are you suggesting that they're removed? So the only posts having to do with sponsor products are the ones that are positive, all others deleted? Is that what you're suggesting? Really? Look around. It won't take long for you to see how absurd that suggestion is.

 

Now back on-topic.

 

 

 

 

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