What do we do about users who think they’re moderators?

[roadman65]

Rothman seems to think he is a Mod on certain topics when he is not one. He comments on me on the I-81 Syracuse thread when I make an error. Yes I admit I do make errors, but what gives him the right to moderate. Plus he don't moderate other individuals like Poiponen or other trolls on here who are super obnoxious in postings.

To me it seems personal, like the guy knows me outside this forum and he is targeting me for some unknown reasons.  However, some users I know in the community that know him personally say that he is just a jerk and has the same issues as a former bipolar troll we used to have on here years ago.

Can somebody remind this yokum to leave moderating to the moderators please. This user is beyond annoying and I'm tired of his crap.

[kphoger]

Sign them up for unsolicited magazine subscriptions?

[hotdogPi]

You have one example of someone possibly doing something wrong (and I see nothing wrong with Rothman's statement in the I-81 thread). You're going to need a lot more evidence. We have years of posts, so if you can dig up more posts, do so.

Rothman can be passive-aggressive at times, but the previous time he interacted with you was six days ago. It's not just you; I checked his posts from January 8 to now and he's making these statements to everyone about equally. The "combined length in two adjacent states" thread is a clear example of his behavior directed at someone other than you.

Most of Rothman's passive-aggressive statements are either jokes (like whenever someone mentions Olive Garden, or regarding counting county routes in the lowest number not traveled thread) or is in response to something clearly stupid or incorrect (responding to Poiponen13, responding to someone claiming 4dis could be a real thing).

I think Rothman is in the clear.

You, on the other hand, are violating WP:NPA ("jerk", "troll").



If someone thinks they are a mod, let them moderate. The set of users that think they're mods (not to be confused with those that act like mods even if they know they're not) is the same as the set of users that are mods.

[LilianaUwU]

Not my jurisdiction. Try the AARoads Wiki.

[Scott5114]

He comments on me on the I-81 Syracuse thread when I make an error. Yes I admit I do make errors...

Stop making errors then?

[webny99]

What do we do about users who think they're moderators?

My suggestion would be to report it to an actual moderator via PM and let them handle it privately as they see fit without making it into a bigger deal than it needs to be.

[Hunty2022]

Sign them up for unsolicited magazine subscriptions?

Or send them to the (Fin)land where Poiponen is.

[webny99]

You're going to need a lot more evidence. We have years of posts, so if you can dig up more posts, do so.

Whether or not more evidence is needed depends on what one is trying to prove. I understood the objective of the OP to be to express irritation with Rothman's commentary and get a moderator to remind him not to act as a moderator. I don't see any reason why that requires a thread in public forum space, much less a searching of post history, but that's not for me to decide.

FWIW, my perspective is that comments like the one in the I-81 thread are not out of bounds, but simply unnecessary, and in all likelihood, an example of knowingly stirring the pot to get a reaction. I've been the recipient myself plenty of times but have learned to either quip back in kind or ignore it.

[Max Rockatansky]

As long as we all agree that Illinois is flat I see no issue. 

[jeffandnicole]

...Plus he don't moderate other individuals like Poiponen or other trolls on here who are super obnoxious in postings...

He's often on Fictional and Off-Topic.  How is a moderator supposed to moderate that?  "Hey, that's an actual topic.  Move it to General Highway Talk!"

[Molandfreak]

Rothman can get a little carried away with the pseudo moderation at times, but overall I think he's a positive personality here.

I guess an open question is what does it take before the mod team starts taking actions to sanction a user. Terry Shea once told Rothman to get a lobotomy, and as far as I can tell, he wasn't even temporarily restricted from posting for that remark—which in my book constitutes a violent threat to Rothman's wellbeing.

Meanwhile SPUI once got post restrictions just for calling a user "extremely dense."

[JayhawkCO]

If you can't pick up on Rothman's sense of humor, dry as it may be, I tend to think that's a "you" issue vs. a Rothman issue.

[dlsterner]

You, on the other hand, are violating WP:NPA ("jerk", "troll").

I'm truly curious here.  Why would AARoads, or an AARoads member, be bound to a Wikipedia guideline?  Wikipedia has no jurisdiction over AARoads, near as I can tell.  Why not cite an actual AARoads guideline instead?

[bugo]

To me it seems personal, like the guy knows me outside this forum and he is targeting me for some unknown reasons.  However, some users I know in the community that know him personally say that he is just a jerk and has the same issues as a former bipolar troll we used to have on here years ago.

What does that have to do with anything?

[andarcondadont]

Imagine when he comes across this thread

[formulanone]

Imagine when he comes across this thread

Meh. [ Olive Garden comment ]

[SectorZ]

Sign them up for unsolicited magazine subscriptions?

Olive Garden monthly?

[tmoore952]

I'm not sure why you don't just delete the post that was misplaced.

Sure, the continuity of the thread would be disturbed because of Rothman's response, but so be it.

I make mistakes all the time, but that's because I put more details in my post, and sometimes one can split hairs on details. I do try to correct them when people point them out.

[webny99]

Imagine when he comes across this thread

Meh. [ Olive Garden comment ]

Well done. There is no doubt he has already seen it and is doing the only logical thing to do which is let it play out.

[on_wisconsin]

Sign them up for unsolicited magazine subscriptions?

Olive Garden monthly?

https://www.olivegarden.com/specials/never-ending-pasta-pass/lifetime-pass

[SectorZ]

Sign them up for unsolicited magazine subscriptions?

Olive Garden monthly?

https://www.olivegarden.com/specials/never-ending-pasta-pass/lifetime-pass

Imagine working at the "Lifetime Pasta Pass Concierge" hotline? I think we found someone's new job.

[Brandon]

As long as we all agree that Illinois is flat I see no issue. 

That's fair, as long as we don't cra'shit.

[kphoger]

Obviously, the answer to the OP's question is this:  Start a thread to call him out in public.

Or in other words:  Act like you're a moderator, except without holding yourself to the same professional standards you hold the actual moderators to.

[JayhawkCO]

And the follow up question is, "What do we do about threads that you can just read the name of and assume they were started by one of three people?"

[webny99]

Obviously, the answer to the OP's question is this:  Start a thread to call him out in public.

Or in other words:  Act like you're a moderator, except without holding yourself to the same professional standards you hold the actual moderators to.

LOL. The nice thing is, following this logic, we don't even need to start another thread about this thread, because, well, we already have this one.

And the follow up question is, "What do we do about threads that you can just read the name of and assume they were started by one of three people?"

Wouldn't the follow up be just "What do we do about this thread?"