Second BG query

Tweaker

No offence but what is the point in having a second board guide that doesn't actually contribute anything, whilst Soolin seems to be the only one who does. It seems odd that this position has been bestowed on someone with a low post count, there are many long time posters on this forum who seem far better qualified, and actually contribute.

theonlywayisup

Yeah, bit like having a post that does nothing really.

What have you ever done with your 146 posts and 85 thanks? Not set the world alight have you?

theonlywayisup

Tweaker wrote: »

Your right I haven't, but I'm not a board guide, it seems odd that someone who is a board guide never actually makes an appearance here.

All board guides are volunteers, most cover more than one board.

Do you feel something hasn't been covered on this board adequately by a guide?

soolin

I cannot possibly answer for the MSE team, but I know they like a second or even third BG sometimes as cover for times the other BGs are away.

I cover other boards and I'm sure they all wonder where I am most of the time, but I am there if needed . Users can always pm a board guide if they notice something awry, and of course for serious issues the Report button should be used to notify the main team.

forgotmyname

If i were a BG your post would have been removed because its nothing to do with ebay or auctions etc..

Does a board guide need to contribute to the actual board? I would have thought their main priority was making sure threads started were in the right section for the best answers and removing duplicate threads and moving ones that are better suited to another section.

Its not the post count. Although one BG may make more posts per day its possible the others do more work behind the scenes.

What MSE do need are a night shift that can block spammers and remove all their posts with a single click until verified the next day by the MSE team.

I followed a spammer last week and after reporting 20 posts i got fed up. There needs to be a limit on the number of threads new members make and hidden if reported as spam.

Mandelbrot

soolin wrote: »

I cannot possibly answer for the MSE team, but I know they like a second or even third BG sometimes as cover for times the other BGs are away.

Not on all the boards, it seems e.g. Site Feedback (where this thread has been parked), Food Shopping & Groceries, Shop but don't drop, Money Savers Arms, Discussion Time, ...

... and having just looked at the list of 23 current BGs - at a reasonable time (I would have thought) - 11.00am on a Saturday morning - only 3 were actually logged-in (and of course that doesn't necessarily mean they are there ...)

Nile

Tweaker wrote: »

No offence but what is the point in having a second board guide that doesn't actually contribute anything, whilst Soolin seems to be the only one who does. It seems odd that this position has been bestowed on someone with a low post count, there are many long time posters on this forum who seem far better qualified, and actually contribute.

Tweaker wrote: »

Your right I haven't, but I'm not a board guide, it seems odd that someone who is a board guide never actually makes an appearance here.

Mandelbrot wrote: »

Not on all the boards, it seems e.g. Site Feedback (where this thread has been parked), Food Shopping & Groceries, Shop but don't drop, Money Savers Arms, Discussion Time, ...

... and having just looked at the list of 23 current BGs - at a reasonable time (I would have thought) - 11.00am on a Saturday morning - only 3 were actually logged-in (and of course that doesn't necessarily mean they are there ...)

If you look at the Forum Rules, it says:


Please remember the Board Guides are just ordinary forum users who've volunteered to help out the site and are doing what the MSE Team has asked them to do. They do an excellent job of keeping the forum wheels turning, but are not paid. They are not responsible for the site and have no say in policy decisions.


If Tweaker means that a Board Guide isn't contributing anything because the BG doesn't seem to post on their board, there is more to being a BG than posting.;)


Speaking as a fellow BG, I get private messages asking me to move a thread or merge threads on my boards..........and I might not have posted in my boards for a while.;) It doesn't mean that I'm not contributing.


Private messages (PM) are private and unseen by others, so Tweaker wouldn't know how much a BG is contributing to their board(s)............behind the scenes.


As for the decision about who is selected to be a BG, we are chosen by the MSE Team. I believe that having a small or large post count isn't a big influence on their decision.


What I do know is that the MSE Team want Board Guides who are helpful and don't give them grief:


For obvious reasons, if the Forum Team has received reports about a particular poster, that person won't normally be considered for a Board Guide position.


The point made about only 3 BG's being logged in on a Saturday morning is a good observation. Did you know that I was reading your post just after you made it? No.........how could you, because I wasn't logged in at precisely that moment.


We BG's are volunteers, so naturally we don't want to be logged in and 'working' for 24 hours of the day, 7 days a week.


It can often be a thankless task, being a Board Guide. However, I'm happy to give my time to help people to save money via this forum. I'm also happy to support my fellow Board Guides, they do a great job for little thanks and no pay.

Mandelbrot

Nile, I'm not sure why you have included my post with those of Tweaker, particularly when it seems those posts were made when the thread was on another board (see, for example, first sentence of post #6).

I was directly responding to 2 later posts, commenting on points they raised.
The first one (in response to soolin - the relevant part of whose post I quoted, but you didn't include that) was the question of the number of Board Guides attached to each board. Soolin indicated that MSE like to have 2 or 3 for each Board. I simply pointed out that there are a number of boards that aren't in that position (and there are some I didn't quote that are very busy, and 2 others, again that I didn't mention, where soolin herself is the only BG). Simply pointing out some facts.

The second part of my post (added later) was in response to forgotmyname's post - perhaps I should have also taken the time to include the relevant part of their post in quotes as well, but it was the post directly above mine ... .
They had indicated that MSE might want to make some provision for a night shift. After checking, I simply pointed out the number of BGs who were logged-in on a Saturday mid-morning, never mind during the night. Again, simply pointing out some facts.

As you say, you were reading my post whilst not logged-in.
But in that situation, you presumably cannot see that people might have sent you a PM (possibly urgent) - or do you rely on an email notification for that?
I find it a bit odd that someone would deliberately not log-on, unless it was with the specific intention of not seeing PMs? :think: ("naturally we don't want to be logged in and 'working' for 24 hours of the day, 7 days a week.") :think:
I have my system set-up to automatically log me in when I come to this web site. (I tend to frequent the 'hidden' boards a lot, so it is necessary.) I must admit, I rather expected BGs to have the same set-up. I will bear in mind that they don't.

If you think I was 'having a go' at the sterling work most BGs do, then you couldn't be more wrong.
I have raised the points I have (and many times more directly to MSE I might add) because I think the current use of BGs by MSE (numbers, their spread across boards, times covered) is chaotic and ill-suited to the tasks needed. There are many, many, members of this forum who have offered to help MSE maintain the forums in a more organised way, but their offers have not been taken up.

If you want to infer things that are not there in posts (which you seem to be doing) then that is up to you. (Apologies if I am in fact doing that about yours.)
But I felt it worthwhile to point out what my comments had actually been about.

Quasar

Anyway, what concern is it to anyone if a board has a BG who hardly posts? Or, on other fora, a mod who hardly posts? I'd understand if it was felt that a board needed extra BGs due to it being very busy and unruly, but if this is not the case I'm surprised that it has even been noticed.

I'd say just post and enjoy, and let Admin and the BGs do what they have to do in peace, however many/few there are of them. They can sort things as and when needed.

soolin

I can only add what has already been said above, a lot of what a BG does is not visible, there is no requirement for us to make a certain number of posts or undertake a certain number of duties per day/ week or whatever.

We are volunteer guides not moderators and the spam button and 'report' button can often achieve more than we can.

Former_MSE_Andrea

Hi Tweaker

Just to reiterate what others on here have said, our Board Guides are on boards so they're contactable if you spot something you think they can help with. We don't ask them to read everything on their boards.

We'd love them to be able to post on all their boards all the time but they have their own jobs and lives outside volunteering and that's simply not possible.

They're fantastic at what they do and we love them to bits for doing so much for us.

Andrea