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> overzealous mods shutting down my questions in the most condescending tone possible. SO moderator here. We just click a link. The pre-defined close reasons

> overzealous mods shutting down my questions in the most condescending tone possible. SO moderator here. We just click a link. The pre-defined close reasons are inserted automatically. No one is taking a tone with you.

georgieporgie 15y ago
We just click a link Comments. No one is taking a tone with you. Oh, the irony.
- cruise02 15y ago
  Comments. What about them? The close message is auto-inserted so we don't have to take the time to comment. Irony, no. My tone here is a response to being called overzealous and condescending. It has nothing to do with my attitude when I'm acting as moderator on SO.
  - georgieporgie 15y ago
    I don't understand why you seem to be attempting to speak for all moderators. I don't know or care what your attitude is about moderation, I'm speaking of my own personal experience with SO moderators.
    - cruise02 15y ago
      Provide some links, please.
      - georgieporgie 15y ago
        I'm not linking my online identities.
        ycedmart 15y ago
        And you don't have to. And you do not have to answer to that SO mod's request here for several people here agree with you and know you're not making this up.
      - ycedmart 15y ago
        There's no need for anyone to provide links. A lot of people are complaining about this. And as soon as anyone tries to post in meta about this issue (the issue of mods over-zealously closing questions), these posts in meta get downvoted to no avail and there's a flamefest of "high horse" posts... By mods! Constantly defending themselves, just like you do here. It's always the same "link or it didn't happen" and then the exact same "oh but I wasn't using a 'tone' here". Yes you were. And you know it. And several people here agree...
        cruise02 15y ago
        "Link or it didn't happen" is a perfectly valid response to empty complaints that provide no evidence. As a moderator I'm in a position to actually do something about real problems. If you just whine and complain without giving me a link I can't do anything about it. No, I wasn't taking a tone. If I was I wouldn't say that I wasn't. If you perceived a tone, it's on your end. I'd thank you to not call me a liar.
- lhnn 15y ago
  That word: I don't think it means what you think it means.
  - compay 15y ago
    Sorry, no grammar cop points for you. That was a correct usage of the word "irony."
    - Laxman13 15y ago
      Not sure the point was to be grammar cop. I, at least, took it as a line from The Princess Bride (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093779/quotes?qt=qt0482717 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093779/quotes?qt=qt0482717)
    - lhnn 15y ago
      No, it wasn't. Either he was implying the SO mod was being inappropriate (wrong), or he used the word incorrectly.
      - compay 15y ago
        >>> in the most condescending tone possible. >> No one is taking a tone with you. > Oh, the irony. Condescendingly telling someone "nobody is taking a tone with you." That's the irony you're missing.
cowkingdeluxe 15y ago
The comments moderators post are pretty condescending. They turned me off from SO. Not to mention the condescending nature of your comment here.
- cruise02 15y ago
  After calling us overzealous and condescending do you expect a hug?
rbarooah 15y ago
The fact that you use automation to produce your responses doesn't make you any less responsible for them.
- cruise02 15y ago
  I'm not shirking responsibility for putting the responses there. I'm saying that they aren't condescending. The messages are to inform people why their question was closed and to help them improve it.
  - rbarooah 15y ago
    If the messages are written in a tone that people generally find condescending, then they are condescending. The intent may be positive but doesn't change the impact of the writing style. As a matter of interest, do these template responses make it clear that they are indeed templates and not hand written?
    - cruise02 15y ago
      They're not inserted as comments, but as a block of text that's offset from the rest of the post, so I think it's pretty clear that they're auto-inserted. You can search the site for "closed:1" to find questions with different messages that get inserted. http://stackoverflow.com/search?q=closed%3A1 http://stackoverflow.com/search?q=closed%3A1
      - rbarooah 15y ago
        Fair enough - it does look obvious to me that those are automatic 'rubber stamps'. They don't read as particularly condescending to me, but I imagine that if one was used in error or with questionable judgement it might well come off that way. Is there any mechanism for quality control on how they are used?
        cruise02 15y ago
        There is some control over how they're used. In most cases it takes 5 users with at least 3000 reputation to vote to close a question. The close reason that the majority selected is the one that gets displayed. Moderators (and employees of Stack Exchange) can close questions with a single vote if they're flagged, but we generally try to encourage people to use close votes if they have that ability. Also, any closed question can be reopened by community vote whether it was closed by a moderator or by voting.

georgieporgie 15y ago

We just click a link Comments. No one is taking a tone with you. Oh, the irony.

cruise02 15y ago
Comments. What about them? The close message is auto-inserted so we don't have to take the time to comment. Irony, no. My tone here is a response to being called overzealous and condescending. It has nothing to do with my attitude when I'm acting as moderator on SO.
- georgieporgie 15y ago
  I don't understand why you seem to be attempting to speak for all moderators. I don't know or care what your attitude is about moderation, I'm speaking of my own personal experience with SO moderators.
  - cruise02 15y ago
    Provide some links, please.
    - georgieporgie 15y ago
      I'm not linking my online identities.
      - ycedmart 15y ago
        And you don't have to. And you do not have to answer to that SO mod's request here for several people here agree with you and know you're not making this up.
    - ycedmart 15y ago
      There's no need for anyone to provide links. A lot of people are complaining about this. And as soon as anyone tries to post in meta about this issue (the issue of mods over-zealously closing questions), these posts in meta get downvoted to no avail and there's a flamefest of "high horse" posts... By mods! Constantly defending themselves, just like you do here. It's always the same "link or it didn't happen" and then the exact same "oh but I wasn't using a 'tone' here". Yes you were. And you know it. And several people here agree...
      - cruise02 15y ago
        "Link or it didn't happen" is a perfectly valid response to empty complaints that provide no evidence. As a moderator I'm in a position to actually do something about real problems. If you just whine and complain without giving me a link I can't do anything about it. No, I wasn't taking a tone. If I was I wouldn't say that I wasn't. If you perceived a tone, it's on your end. I'd thank you to not call me a liar.
lhnn 15y ago
That word: I don't think it means what you think it means.
- compay 15y ago
  Sorry, no grammar cop points for you. That was a correct usage of the word "irony."
  - Laxman13 15y ago
    Not sure the point was to be grammar cop. I, at least, took it as a line from The Princess Bride (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093779/quotes?qt=qt0482717 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093779/quotes?qt=qt0482717)
  - lhnn 15y ago
    No, it wasn't. Either he was implying the SO mod was being inappropriate (wrong), or he used the word incorrectly.
    - compay 15y ago
      >>> in the most condescending tone possible. >> No one is taking a tone with you. > Oh, the irony. Condescendingly telling someone "nobody is taking a tone with you." That's the irony you're missing.

cowkingdeluxe 15y ago

The comments moderators post are pretty condescending. They turned me off from SO. Not to mention the condescending nature of your comment here.

cruise02 15y ago
After calling us overzealous and condescending do you expect a hug?

rbarooah 15y ago

The fact that you use automation to produce your responses doesn't make you any less responsible for them.

cruise02 15y ago
I'm not shirking responsibility for putting the responses there. I'm saying that they aren't condescending. The messages are to inform people why their question was closed and to help them improve it.
- rbarooah 15y ago
  If the messages are written in a tone that people generally find condescending, then they are condescending. The intent may be positive but doesn't change the impact of the writing style. As a matter of interest, do these template responses make it clear that they are indeed templates and not hand written?
  - cruise02 15y ago
    They're not inserted as comments, but as a block of text that's offset from the rest of the post, so I think it's pretty clear that they're auto-inserted. You can search the site for "closed:1" to find questions with different messages that get inserted. http://stackoverflow.com/search?q=closed%3A1 http://stackoverflow.com/search?q=closed%3A1
    - rbarooah 15y ago
      Fair enough - it does look obvious to me that those are automatic 'rubber stamps'. They don't read as particularly condescending to me, but I imagine that if one was used in error or with questionable judgement it might well come off that way. Is there any mechanism for quality control on how they are used?
      - cruise02 15y ago
        There is some control over how they're used. In most cases it takes 5 users with at least 3000 reputation to vote to close a question. The close reason that the majority selected is the one that gets displayed. Moderators (and employees of Stack Exchange) can close questions with a single vote if they're flagged, but we generally try to encourage people to use close votes if they have that ability. Also, any closed question can be reopened by community vote whether it was closed by a moderator or by voting.