Cheers, TT. Well worded, as usual.
I'm realizing now that my earlier suggestion may have been misconstrued as an attack on Heffay for deleting the "boob thread". This is not the case. I do not have particularly strong feelings about that thread, either way. Yeah, I liked it, I didn't think it was a big deal, but it is no skin off my nose.
My suggestion was made because other situations may arise in which an "appeal" might be desireable. I'm not trying to tell Glenn or the moderators how to run their site. I'm just expressing thoughts, as requested by Glenn, that I think might help.
I've been a member since about 1996 (I think), with one multi-year period of little activity due to marriage, kids, family, other bikes, etc.
The club's Internet presence has taken on at least three different incarnations since 1996. The current format is much more interactive than the original mailing-list format, and encourages people to post pictures, attachments, etc. This drastic change makes moderation more difficult than it used to be.
We didn't have any "Open Forums" back then, so people weren't encouraged to discuss non-motorcycle issues (except for all those walnut side-cover discussions). In fact, members used to argue back then about requiring "OFF TOPIC" to be added to the beginning of messages so our email programs could delete them automatically (thank goodness we don't need that anymore). The new forum format is much more conducive to voicing opinions which may be unpopular, offensive, misunderstood, etc.
Also since then, these SOHC4s have gone from being cheap, reliable, practically disposable, "beater bikes" to being "Vintage" machines, some of which are even worth some money now! People seriously customize these beasts now, and spend thousands of dollars doing it, too. People sometimes get sensitive when they have money invested.
It is for these reasons (and others that we haven't encountered yet) that I feel a simple "appeal process" may be desireable, even if it is as simple as shooting an email to a second moderator to request an appeal or ask for a "sanity check". This would also make the moderator's job easier by allowing them to "spread the blame" for potentially unpopular decisions. For example, a moderator may wish to ban a user, but may be reluctant because he thinks other users may be upset. If other moderators agree publicly, then it is less likely that the other users will "raise a stink". Not only that, but the process might provide the offending user(s) an opportunity to re-think their position, and even recant or apologize, as appropriate.
Again, I think the evolution of the SOHC4 Owner's Club has been very impressive. I much prefer the new forum format, too. As I said earlier, I commend Glenn on the excellent forum, and especially on asking for feedback from users to help keep it great. I also think the moderators are doing a great job.
I hope I don't sound too much like a beaurocrat, but I have one suggestion:
Would it be possible to create a procedure to convene more than one moderator for a "joint opinion" when a particular user, or group of users, feel that a single moderator's decision was unfair or heavy-handed, or if a user feels that he has been unfairly singled out or banned from posting? In most cases, the slap on the wrist from a mod is enough to get a truly unruly user in line, but there are other times when an individual might feel that he has been treated unfairly, censored, banned, etc. I think of it like appealing to the Supreme Court. It would also work both ways -- sometimes just having an outsider's opinion is enough to convince a user who is not being reasonable that he needs to back down.
I complement you, Glenn, on running such an excellent forum, especially in light of the fact that you are asking the users for their thoughts on how to improve forum rules and procedures. We all know that you don't have to ask for our feedback, as it is your site to run as you please. I appreciate your desire to keep the users happy, and keep us coming back for more.
Thank you!
