Moderator Messages for Moved Threads

Just a suggestion...

Whenever a moderator moves a thread from one forum to another, the moderator typically leaves a "exposure it deserves" response. The message/communication is fine. The fact that the message is left in a separate reply could have unintended consequences.

For threads that already have responses: not a problem.

For threads that have no responses, it takes the thread off the zero-reply list. Doing that might actually decrease the exposure the thread should get.

Obviously, the only other solution would be to place the "thread moved" message into an edit of the original post. Maybe there are concerns with giving moderators blanket edit privileges. Though, I could swear that I've seen messages (written by others) edited by moderators in the past.

If there is a problem with the blanket edit privileges, then perhaps a modification to the existing PHP code could allow for a special move-thread-edit case that would place a pre-defined message at the end of the original post without allowing full edit privileges to the moderator.

Again, just a suggestion.

Did your message get moved? If so then you might contact that mod on a PM and ask them to put it back and explain why.

Generally mods are pretty good and kind folk and not trying to do wrong.

Nope. I didn't post this in response to anything that's happened to me. It's simply an observation.

EDIT:
Typically, the thread-moved messages are sufficient (if not overly diplomatic/politically correct). My main concern is taking the original thread off the zero-reply list (and hence limiting exposure to some members) because of thread-moved replies by moderators.

This is, to me, a valid request. I would suggest one alteration, instead of posting in the thread as a separate post follow Dark_Helmet's suggestion or PM the OP to let them know it has been moved.

After thinking about this some more, there may another consequence to a "thread moved" reply and a potential drawback.

Again, for clarity, the problem exists only for threads that (a) need to be moved to another forum and (b) have zero replies at the time the thread is moved.

If the moderator moves the thread and leaves a reply saying "thread moved => greater exposure deserved," then the thread is taken off the zero reply list.

To my knowledge, this has the following effects:

1. The thread will not receive the benefit of zero-reply list jockeys
2. The thread will not receive the benefit of LQ zero-reply drives
3. The thread will not receive the automatic re-bump in the forum before scrolling off to page 2

So, the suggestion I made (and followed up by k3lt01) is to edit the original post (rather than reply) or send a PM.

In the interest of being objective, I did think of a drawback. It's easiest to explain with an example:

1. User accidentally posts a "Linux Newbie" question in a low-traffic forum (e.g. "Introductions") around 2:00 AM Central Time (i.e. whatever time daily LQ traffic drops off)
2. User's post is not reported or otherwise attracts the attention of a moderator until seven hours later
3. The thread is moved to "Linux Newbie" and the post is edited to avoid taking the thread off the zero-reply list.

The consequence of this scenario is: unless the thread's posting time is reset to the time of the move, then the thread might show up halfway down the Newbie forum's thread list. In a worst-case scenario, imagine there are enough new threads in the Newbie forum that the moved thread might end up on page 2--maybe causing a problem for the zero-reply re-bump logic.

In the above paragraph, I say "might show up" because I don't know how LQ's code handles thread moves. Threads seem to be sorted in reverse-chronological order based on last activity--which is where my example stems from. But I know enough to realize that just because it looks like it's ordered that way does not mean that it must be ordered that way.

EDIT:
For clarity, when I mention the "drawback" above, it is in reference to implementing a no-reply mechanism when moving a thread (i.e. the very thing I am suggesting). I'm just trying to be upfront that a no-reply mechanism may carry with it some other technical issues to consider.

Thanks for the feedback. We have no plans to alter the Original Post to indicate that a thread was moved. It's possible, based on member feedback and empirical data, that we'd consider simply moving threads with no replies without a note, but I think the note is overall a net win (and keep in mind, while it does move the thread off the ZR list, it also give it a manual bump on the New Posts list). Is your assertion that threads that are moved before they have a reply result in a statistically lower chance of receiving legitimate responses?

--jeremy

Originally Posted by jeremy Is your assertion that threads that are moved before they have a reply result in a statistically lower chance of receiving legitimate responses?

Precisely.

The situation boils down to a decision about one basic relationship regarding the probability of receiving a legitimate response:

Does the probability increase (from placing the thread in a more appropriate forum) equal or exceed the probability loss (from taking the thread off the zero reply list and eliminating the re-bump)

Originally Posted by jeremy (and keep in mind, while it does move the thread off the ZR list, it also give it a manual bump on the New Posts list)

I understand that the moderator's response pushes the thread to the top of the forum's thread list. That's important (see next paragraph), but the moved thread still does not get a second pass via the automatic re-bump that zero reply threads receive. The thread is getting half the forum exposure that it would receive were it not for the "thread moved" reply.

As for empirical data, I don't think that a set of SQL command on the LQ database can get the numerical information useful for an analysis of this. There's no way to differentiate threads that have a moved-only response versus threads where the moderator not only said the thread was moved but also offered a solution to the question. I think I've occasionally seen such moved+answer combination replies from Tinkster. I'm not faulting Tinkster for doing so (or any other moderator that has)--just observing that the dataset is not clearly defined to develop accurate numbers.

All I can say is that I rarely look beyond the first page of threads in any forum. In fact, I only occasionally scroll down to look at the bottom half of the first page. So a thread's exposure from being placed at or near the top of the forum's thread list is extremely important to attract the attention of users like myself. Not that I'm trying to say I'm a Linux master of course--some people might prefer that I pass over their threads

That's the only empirical evidence I can offer, and if anyone else reading this thread is interested in the topic, I would encourage you to add a description of how you examine what threads to answer. I may be the statistical outlier behaviorally speaking. I'm ok with that, but other people need to speak up to know for sure (about their thread reviewing practices--not simple agreement that I'm a statistical outlier ).