Hello Gorts, First of all, let me thank you for the great job that you're all doing on these forums. Questions: Are forums *really* moderated around the clock? Who decides who gets to work the coveted graveyard shift? Preceding a Gort action (e.g., the closing of a thread), is there a caucus of all the SH Gorts, or just the Gorts moderating that particular forum? If the former, do you go by majority rule, 2/3's vote...? Or, are Gorts individually empowered to take action without consulting other Gorts? This inquiring mind wants to know. Jim W.
I'll let one of our other Gort's answer any questions you might have about us. Sleep, I'll have plenty of time for that when I leave this world.
Hi Jim, When there are multiple Gorts around, depending on how serious a matter is, we do tend to talk to each other before taking action. If it's something way out of control (rare) we tend to dive in first then talk. But usually it's not an emergency, so we'll try and ping another gort (or 4) and get a sanity check. As for Gort schedules.... well, that would be telling. HZ
Ah, the Warren Zevon attitude...."I'll Sleep When I'm Dead." James, as somebody who has posted round the clock, at one time or other, I can say with some confidence there are probably a few 'dead spots' when there isn't a Gort around...but this is most likely to happen at a real odd time, say, 4-6am, but even then, if just one of them has the bouts of insomnia that I do, you could probably say, most of the time, there is at least one around 24/7....but there will always be those pockets of time where there isn't anybody, but you probably wouldn't notice anyway. One forum I visit on occasion sometimes has me as the only member in the entire forum--at 8am. By noon, though, the traffic really gets heavy and stays that way well into the wee hours....but whether there's a moderator around when I'm alone on the forum is irrelevant; if you're alone, you can't get into any trouble. If my hanging at other forums is any indicator, the 'safest' forum hours--that is, when a Gort is needed around the least--if from 4am-Noon--a third of the day. For whatever reason, people seem to be at their friendliest and least hostile or combative at that time. Thread closing and other nasties tend to occur going into the mid-afternoon, into the evening, and well into the am--that is, the 'peak hours' of forum traffic. During these times they need all the help they can get, hence adding our beloved BlueGort to the staff. As for the rest of it, my powers of observation--one of the very few I possess to any degree of skill--tell me a lot, but it's not my place to disclose anything. Some aspects of their job must always remain secret, by necessity. Like your local constabulary, just be glad they're there when you need them. You don't really have to know the nuts'n'bolts of what their work entails. ED
Ed, Gotcha. Thanks for your observations. Didn't mean to come across as nosy. Definitely not attempting to collect information to create trouble. Anyway, the Gorts are doing a superb job. Jim W.
Just to give you an example of what can happen when our good Gorts aren't around to help run this forum, take a look at what happened a couple of weeks ago. Somehow the forum software setting for the "Moderator Tracking" feature was goofed up and showed all the forum members (rather than just the Moderators) what the Gorts were up to. See the bottom of the screen-shot I've attached. It didn't take long for some forum members to realize the Gorts would be occupied for a while and it became pretty wild for a couple of hours. You can see a shot of some of the topic threads that were created at the top of the screen-shot that I attached. Thread starter names have been removed at their request. Of course, the Gorts gradually returned and there was hell to pay. Names were taken, PM's were flying, and messages (and whole threads) were drop-kicked into the bit bucket. I'm posting this message (as part of my forum community service) to remind others to think first before posting any 'undesirable' material here in the Forums. The Gorts are ever vigilant to help keep everything running smoothly here. It's no coincidence that lately there has been a lot of emphasis on the Spell-Checker feature. Every time you spell-check your message it is scanned for "trigger words" that alert the Gorts to a potential breach. Last but not least, remember that the Gorts have the ultimate authority here and can impose punishment if required. I for one do not ever again want to waste my valuable time explaining to my family, friends and co-workers why I had to wear suspenders for a week. It's just not worth the risk - whatever you're thinking, DON'T DO IT! I remain, Craig eithernay ethay oftwaresay ornway osethay ufusday ortsgay avehay eenbay ableway otay igurefay isthay outway, osay youay ancay ostpay erehay eelyfray inway igpay atinlay ithoutway onsequencescay. :inkway:
Craig, that's brilliant! I can't stop laughing long enough to type. This is my vote for funniest post ever!
I think Craig has 3 of the top 5 funniest posts now, this goes straight to #1 like a bullet. Comic genius.
Who Knows Where The Gorts Go.... Yup, the Ace of the Forum does it again!!! Ah, just so inspired....where's Steve for this one?!? ED
Loved yours, Jeff , but the graphics and deadpan delivery have you trumped. The ante has been upped, response pending... ED
But ED that's not fair. He used illustrations and all I had was my sharp as steel delivery. I demand a recount!!! a recount I say!!!
Craig, you got me totally crackin' up! I had to re-read your graphics three times (especially the bottom showing "where" the Gorts where) to realize it was a joke. Hilarious!
Never got a screen dump of the poll results before the thread got Gorterized, but the winner knows who he is.
Craig, You forgot to show that awful vinyl vs. CD thread! Man! If the Gorts had ever seen that one, they would have suspended everyone!
I'll have you know I was busy out doing some cd browsing that day. That's hillarious.....in more ways than one. Great job Craig!
