PMing a Moderators

[jilo77]

Thanks, Andrea! Are you on fb? I am on there more and are friends with a lot of "Holties" over there. I am constantly bombarding my fb wall with pics but I haven't updated my siggie pic here in over a year. I will pm you my name if you are on fb and want to "friend" me.

[stnkyferit]

I dont think anyone would tap me for the job....theres lotsa folks who dont like me...but its OK...

I know I'm laughing at this one. Outstanding!
Brett

Hey - at least Im honest, and completely aware of how folks view me...

[elfkin]

Whatever....... this is so far off the OP, it's pointless. I don't think it's okay to be a mod and answer pm's twice a month. I also didn't say all mods were not doing their jobs, but some are totally MIA. That's not right. All done with this topic.....

[melanbob]

I dont think anyone would tap me for the job....theres lotsa folks who dont like me...but its OK...

I know I'm laughing at this one. Outstanding!
Brett

Hey - at least Im honest, and completely aware of how folks view me...

Okay, stnkyferit, I've been sitting here for eons trying to figure out how to incorporate the 'well, I have a friend who is......' statement from facebook into this. Maybe "well I happen to have a friend who is a moderator, and........' Oh lordie, I'm cracking myself up, and no one has a clue what I'm talking about! LOLOL

Melissa

[4fromkorea]

Is it possible that maybe some of the mods don't frequent the board any longer because they are in a different place in their life/adoption journey, but feel "bad" letting Malie know and so have faded away? Sometimes that happens. I do agree that I used to see the mods more. They used to sometimes share stories of their families and contribute to informational posts.

I don't think Elfkin was trying to say anything negative, she was just supporting the OP and agreeing that she has had the same situation.

[stacyandted]

I still don't understand, though, how we can ask someone to VOLUNTEER for a specific position and then DEMAND that they 'be here' all the time. Most of us have a life outside of the internet!

I still am confused as to what can be deemed IMPORTANT ENOUGH that a response from a moderator is required IMMEDIATELY. I honestly don't see the logic. So what if it takes a week or two??? What can be so earth shattering on a random internet message board that it needs to happen ASAP? In the scope of life this isn't that big of a deal... I just don't understand the passion behind the job description for an internet site that no one is REQUIRED to visit! Heck, Holt isn't even REQUIRED to *offer* a message board! Shouldn't we just be thankful for what we *do* have and focus on the more important things in life?

As a moderator I would be hurt to read these things about me... This is not a paid position. This is not life or death. Please someone clue me in on what could be so important to demand that a PM be answered 'quickly.' Any serious questions, issues, etc. should be taken directly to one's agency, right?

These women VOLUNTEER! They spend a lot of time taking care of the spammers and the petty crap, and this is the thanks they get? Criticism of how *some* do their job? Yikes.

[stnkyferit]

Well, I guess I can kind of see it. Yes, its an internet site. Yes it is volunteer, but if say....something is wrong with their account (even like whats going on now) and they want to share their travel call....waiting two weeks would kinda stink! LOLOL

Plus, say if one mod is on vacation, and then another mod has a house full of sick kids, and another has been MIA for a long time - there is no one moderating the site, and thats not just for inappropriate threads - say, like in my above example - no one can log in. Sure, the webmaster is there, but folks will try and contact a mod 1st. With all the uncertainty with the Korea program, and the first batch of EPs finally getting through, it IS important that information get out there.

I mean, look at my travel call insanity. I had to put a post out there to see if anyone was near LAX as my kid was grounded in an airport where my agency had zero connections, and we had to try and get a message to the escort to get on another airline altogether. I came HERE for help and folks REALLY stepped to the plate and were ready to run out the door at a moments notice. Thats important stuff - and if I couldnt log in or my post wouldnt go - waiting two weeks for a response.....

[Andrea]

Is it possible that maybe some of the mods don't frequent the board any longer because they are in a different place in their life/adoption journey, but feel "bad" letting Malie know and so have faded away? Sometimes that happens. I do agree that I used to see the mods more. They used to sometimes share stories of their families and contribute to informational posts.

I don't think Elfkin was trying to say anything negative, she was just supporting the OP and agreeing that she has had the same situation.

I agree here. I think some people are making it personal when there wasn't anything said negative about the mods. Again, in my experience I haven't had issues with the mods and think they do a great job.

Andrea

[stnkyferit]

Is it possible that maybe some of the mods don't frequent the board any longer because they are in a different place in their life/adoption journey, but feel "bad" letting Malie know and so have faded away? Sometimes that happens. I do agree that I used to see the mods more. They used to sometimes share stories of their families and contribute to informational posts.

I don't think Elfkin was trying to say anything negative, she was just supporting the OP and agreeing that she has had the same situation.

I agree here. I think some people are making it personal when there wasn't anything said negative about the mods. Again, in my experience I haven't had issues with the mods and think they do a great job.

Andrea

Nothing negative from me either....and agree with both the above

[Lillie]

The reality is that most of the moderators get back to people much, much sooner than 2 weeks. I know when I was a moderator it was typically within the same day, maybe 2 at the outset. I am not the exception. Andrea, Hilary, Sheri, and others are all very timely. Hilary is routinely monitoring this specific forum, the spam, etc. There is also a moderator forum so when someone has a family emergency or a vacation, they let the other moderators know so that someone else can keep an eye on things. When a topic gets heated, the moderators discuss it privately on the moderator forum. Many, if not most issues, get resolved behind the scenes, so perhaps there is perception that nothing is ever done; that would be incorrect. When a thread gets heated, the moderators do monitor it. Yes, sometimes things fall through the cracks -- it happens. And, yes, sometimes an occasional private message get overlooked, but I would venture to say that is not the norm. Yes, Malie is working on cleaning up the list, so that it doesn't reflect moderators are no longer moderating. I am very glad that the moderators we have are impartial; I wouldn't want the role of moderator to be a popularity contest or their effectiveness judged on how often they post or how well they are known. Quite honestly, I don't think this is a wholesale problem that one would think from reading this post. This forum runs amazingly smoothly compared to every other forum I've been a part of.

[OneBlessedMama]

Amen!

[Linda in NJ]

I mean, look at my travel call insanity. I had to put a post out there to see if anyone was near LAX as my kid was grounded in an airport where my agency had zero connections, and we had to try and get a message to the escort to get on another airline altogether. I came HERE for help and folks REALLY stepped to the plate and were ready to run out the door at a moments notice. Thats important stuff - and if I couldnt log in or my post wouldnt go - waiting two weeks for a response.....

I think it's an unrealistic expectation that the moderators be on call 24/7 and ready at a moments notice incase one of us has an emergency related to an airline. You should be contacting the airlines, not this board. They are the ones to make the contact with the escort. Also, you should be using your agency or travel agent. Your agency should not need "connections" to communicate with the airlines. The agency should have a policy in place for what to do in such an event. Thousands of babies have been adopted internationally, you aren't the first or last for this to have happen. Another factor is that the escort may not speak English. The airline most likely have staff on the plane or off the plane who can speak Korean. I am also sure that the airlines has dealt with this situation many times before.

I think your post is an example of posters expecting too much of the moderators on this board.

[papa#1]

What oh what did we all do in 1971 before internet and the www, etc.
For example we got a call from Holt 1 day before our daughter was to arrive in Seattle to tell us that the port of entry was going to be Frisco instead and someone would need to go to Frisco to pick her up from the escort. Scramble, scramble and Donna was in Frisco to pick her up. No big deal, you just do what needs to be done. Everything works out just fine. No one is going to leave a kid on a airport bence and walk away I am sure.
If not having a moderator respond in a timly matter or having a flight changed at the last minute is the worst thing that happens to you in your life you haven't lived long enough.

[stnkyferit]

I mean, look at my travel call insanity. I had to put a post out there to see if anyone was near LAX as my kid was grounded in an airport where my agency had zero connections, and we had to try and get a message to the escort to get on another airline altogether. I came HERE for help and folks REALLY stepped to the plate and were ready to run out the door at a moments notice. Thats important stuff - and if I couldnt log in or my post wouldnt go - waiting two weeks for a response.....

I think it's an unrealistic expectation that the moderators be on call 24/7 and ready at a moments notice incase one of us has an emergency related to an airline. You should be contacting the airlines, not this board. They are the ones to make the contact with the escort. Also, you should be using your agency or travel agent. Your agency should not need "connections" to communicate with the airlines. The agency should have a policy in place for what to do in such an event. Thousands of babies have been adopted internationally, you aren't the first or last for this to have happen. Another factor is that the escort may not speak English. The airline most likely have staff on the plane or off the plane who can speak Korean. I am also sure that the airlines has dealt with this situation many times before.

I think your post is an example of posters expecting too much of the moderators on this board.

Ummmmmm yeah.....I did do all of that too......the board was PLAN C....and my agency dropped the ball exponentially....and in my agency, to date, our travel call was the one right smack below 9/11 in the severity issue...

ETA: there are people who I dont even know who know about our travel call - I think my agency uses it as "worst case scenario"....I am sure you didnt mean to - but you lectured me.....

[stnkyferit]

What oh what did we all do in 1971 before internet and the www, etc.
For example we got a call from Holt 1 day before our daughter was to arrive in Seattle to tell us that the port of entry was going to be Frisco instead and someone would need to go to Frisco to pick her up from the escort. Scramble, scramble and Donna was in Frisco to pick her up. No big deal, you just do what needs to be done. Everything works out just fine. No one is going to leave a kid on a airport bence and walk away I am sure.
If not having a moderator respond in a timly matter or having a flight changed at the last minute is the worst thing that happens to you in your life you haven't lived long enough.

Dude....not cool.....you dont know me....you dont know my life....and I am PRETTY sure I have experienced more in my 39 years than you have in your life time....you know the old saying....you know what happens when you aSSume something...