Welcome to our new Moderator Koraks!

[Sean]

Hi All,

Just a quick note to let you know we've added a new moderator to the team (Koraks). As mentioned we're still working to build out the team a bit further in the coming months, and also trying to cover multiple time zones. We now have some coverage in North America, Europe and Aisa Pacific.

We want to push harder to keep the forum a friendly environment where members are eager to ask questions and share information. We want to tamp down on trollish and curmudgeon-like characters here who sour discussions more than benefit them. In saying that, don't forget the "Report" link at the bottom of every post. Clicking "Report" is the best way to alert our team to problems. Reporting a post is anonymous. If you see someone that is disruptive and souring the forum discussions please report it.

Also, a reminder about the "Ignore List" which can be found here:

https://www.photrio.com/forum/account/ignored

If there is someone that annoys you to a point it impacts your enjoyment of the forum, there is the option to add them to your ignore list and they are hidden from view. If they are doing this to multiple members we can usually pick up on it with your help.

Thanks!
Sean

 

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

Congrats @koraks and best of luck.

 

[koraks]

Many thanks @Sean for the warm welcome and @Raghu Kuvempunagar on your best wishes

I'm going to try my best and be of use to the community - and of course, I'll remain the same guy as before, posting about stuff I happen to find interesting.
If at any point you'd like to bring anything to my attention, please feel free to contact me. Also, in case anyone has an issue with what I say or how I intervene as a moderator, never hesitate to start a conversation with me.

 

[juan]

Thanks for agreeing to help out. Your posts are usually informative and interesting.

 

[Trail Images]

Any and all moderators on social media sites are in many cases unappreciated. However, I think in the world of true photography enthusiasts there is a understanding of the dedication required in supporting the forums overall.
Not an easy task at all and a special thank you goes out to not only koracks but to all who are moderators here at Photrio........

 

[halfaman]

Thanks for your commitment, @koraks, and I wish you good luck.

 

[koraks]

Thanks for the kind words, guys! Haven't done much yet, but I already feel appreciated

 

[Sirius Glass]

Welcome @koraks!


Folks remember the "Report" button.

 

[Steven Lee]

Congrats! In addition to enforcing civility, it would be nice to see moderators put a bit of effort into improving consumption / usability. Too many interesting conversations are buried in month-long super-threads with irrelevant titles.

Maybe this can be done automatically? I suspect this forum software does not support certain features and they would have to be done manually, like flipping threads into read-only mode beyond certain age or/and length. This is hugely important because it incentivizes better user behavior: creating new threads for new topics. More explicit topic-threads, more pages, better search, more Google hits, more traffic, more users. Everybody wins.

I've seen Matt occasionally break a thread into two when a discussion takes a sharp turn away from the original topic. Would be nice to see this more. Thank you.

 

[Alan Johnson]

Welcome and good luck Koraks.

 

[koraks]

Thanks guys!

@Steven Lee, thanks for your suggestion and I think I know what you mean. To reflect on it briefly from my personal perspective (please don't take this as Photrio policy or as reflecting the opinions of other staff members): I think there's pros and cons to what you suggest, and indeed I've been active on forums that have this auto-lock functionality, so I know what it feels like. It really is a double-edged sword that on the one hand prevents long-dead threads to be kicked upwards unnecessarily, but it also gives rise to new threads on topics that have already been discussed before, causing a lot of repetition and rehashing of old material. Recently I've seen some people signal precisely that issue, and it's a risk that comes specifically with an auto-lock feature.
I'd personally also be hesitant to break in on a discussion, even if it goes off-topic, unless people are being rude, spamming or otherwise grossly violating the forum rules. However, I have also seen instances where new threads were being split off of old ones and that seemed to work really well for the most part. So yeah, you have a point, something can be done, but I think we also have to minimize any downsides to the solutions we consider.
In any case, I'll keep your comment in mind!

 

[Steven Lee]

@koraks please keep in mind, I am not arguing below. I am simply sharing data, as I work in user engagement / metrics field. Let me quote something you said:

I've been active on forums that have this auto-lock functionality, so I know what it feels like.

The surprising truth is that it doesn't matter one bit what users feel like. What matters is how they behave. And data shows that old content must be heavily penalized to incentivize better behavior. For user-generated content venues like forums the better behavior means creating more content. We have discovered a while ago that letting old thread linger around lowers engagement.

It's very simple: penalizing old content leads to more traffic, more users, and more $$$ for Photrio. Feelings have nothing to do with it.

Just sharing.

 

[koraks]

Thanks for sharing, Steven; I've brought it under attention of the staff!

 

[albada]

Thanks for the kind words, guys! Haven't done much yet, but I already feel appreciated

Matt King covers the Americas in real time, so it makes sense to add a moderator in Europe, 7-9 time-zones away.
I hope @Sean is paying you well for this chore.
Eh? You're doing this for free?

 

[koraks]

Eh? You're doing this for free?

I take it you haven't received my invoice yet?

 

[Sirius Glass]

Matt King covers the Americas in real time, so it makes sense to add a moderator in Europe, 7-9 time-zones away.
I hope @Sean is paying you well for this chore.
Eh? You're doing this for free?

They get a 25% increase on what they were getting before they became moderators.

 

[Helge]

@koraks please keep in mind, I am not arguing below. I am simply sharing data, as I work in user engagement / metrics field. Let me quote something you said:


The surprising truth is that it doesn't matter one bit what users feel like. What matters is how they behave. And data shows that old content must be heavily penalized to incentivize better behavior. For user-generated content venues like forums the better behavior means creating more content. We have discovered a while ago that letting old thread linger around lowers engagement.

It's very simple: penalizing old content leads to more traffic, more users, and more $$$ for Photrio. Feelings have nothing to do with it.

Just sharing.

There is a dangerous lack of verified link between cause and effect in that thinking.

Long meandering threads can be goldmines of information and fruitful discussion.
As well as being that “aww shyte, not this at the top again‽”.
That they lower engagement for some people in the moment, doesn’t matter, because ultimately this is not first and foremost a moneymaking venture.
It’s about creating a long lasting community and about sharing knowledge, wisdom and news.
Milking the moment often comes at the expense of longevity.

Even if it was that (a pure pecuniary setup) it would still in the long run hinder growth and thriving by not respecting (in the real sense of the term) peoples discussions and the history of the forum.
The main thing that separates a real forum from the history less dreck on Facebook and Instagrams “here one second forgotten the next”, is exactly old content, sometimes decades old, and the easy search ability of it.

There is a tonne of deeply mediocre or dying fora out there, some of them for exactly the reasons you champion.

 

[macfred]

Welcome @koraks !

 

[Steven Lee]

@Helge You are raising good points. These what-ifs are best answered with data. Photrio does not have the resources for implementing behavior tracking, data analytics, feature flagging and A/B testing. That's why I shared the conclusions made by people who have these resources. Also, engagement does not have an expiration date. There is no need to make short-term vs long-term trade-offs. Old threads will only get better if their titles match their content. Engagement simply means more people wanting to spend more time here. So it is objectively a good thing. BTW, the issues of trolling and abusive behavior are also engagement problems, that's why I suggested for moderators to think of their role through the engagement optimization lens.

What you are hinting at is something else. There's a trade-off between appealing to a broader audience, vs focusing on a smaller fringe group. Obviously this is for Sean to find the balance, I will only say that the film user community isn't particularly numerous to be overly picky.

 

[Helge]

Hi All,

Just a quick note to let you know we've added a new moderator to the team (Koraks). As mentioned we're still working to build out the team a bit further in the coming months, and also trying to cover multiple time zones. We now have some coverage in North America, Europe and Aisa Pacific.

We want to push harder to keep the forum a friendly environment where members are eager to ask questions and share information. We want to tamp down on trollish and curmudgeon-like characters here who sour discussions more than benefit them. In saying that, don't forget the "Report" link at the bottom of every post. Clicking "Report" is the best way to alert our team to problems. Reporting a post is anonymous. If you see someone that is disruptive and souring the forum discussions please report it.

Also, a reminder about the "Ignore List" which can be found here:

https://www.photrio.com/forum/account/ignored

If there is someone that annoys you to a point it impacts your enjoyment of the forum, there is the option to add them to your ignore list and they are hidden from view. If they are doing this to multiple members we can usually pick up on it with your help.

Thanks!
Sean

Koraks, you are a prince and and a gentleman for taking this task upon you.
I don’t envy you one bit though. ;-)

 

[MattKing]

Just a suggestion to Steven Lee and others.
Suggestions like Steven's deserve their own thread.

 

[Helge]

Just a suggestion to Steven Lee and others.
Suggestions like Steven's deserve their own thread.

Such a diplomat. You’re right of course.

 

[BrianShaw]

… and a poll.

 

[mshchem]

Congratulations Koraks. Moderators make all this possible.