2005-10-05, 05:29 PM
First off I would just like to say how much I enjoy using myBB to power our forums (www.team-iq.net). Mybb's theme and template system is a godsend along with the ease of installing mods (can't wait for more to show up). MyBB is hands down the best free forum software out there. However, to compete with the big boys (IPB and vB) I think MyBB needs to improve it's moderation features. Without improvements here it will hard to convince larger forums with large user bases and a large number of moderators to make the switch. I know on our forums this is where we are hurting the most in our use of MyBB. I'd like to throw out some suggestions for improving the moderation features of MyBB.
Greater Granularity in Mod Features
Currently moderators are severaly handicapped in their ability to mod their own forums. For starters mods should be able to move threads out of their own forum into other forums. For example, if a thread is in forum A when it should be in Forum B the Forum A mod should be able to move that thread to Forum B. Right now only admins can perform this move (or super mods). Essentially you have to make every mod a super mod if you want them to be able to do their jobs. Allowing mods to move threads out of their forum could be turned off and on in the adminCP.
Currently mods cannot see unapproved posts in forums they are not moderators of. I think it would be nice if you could finetune which usergroups can see unapproved posts and in which forum. This would allow you to have all moderators see all unapproved posts even in forums they are not modding. The reason this is good is because it allows mods to see what the "mod community" as a whole is unapproving and helps with moderater consistency on your boards.
User Notes
Right now there is no way to track a users behavior. For example, lets say a certain user frequents forum A and always posts flames which get unapproved. This user then moves to Forum B which has a different mod. The mod in forum B will have no idea of the past behavior of the user. It also makes it difficult for admins to decide whether or not to ban someone. User Notes would be accessible from a userprofile to admins AND mods. It would essentially be an editable text area where notes about the user can be jotted down for future reference. It would essentially work just like thread notes work now. I realize there is an RC4 mod available that sort of does this but it doesnt' work with PR2 and I think this feature is important enough that it should be included in the base forum package (just like thread notes).
Enchanced Reporting Features
Currently when a post is reported the report is sent only to admins (technically the report is sent to mods but they can't actually view the report, a bug I reported already). The report thread feature is great for larger forums in that it allows mods to notify each other quickly and effciently of problems in a particular forum. I propose that reporting be enhanced by providing the following options:
I think the above moderation improvements would really help take myBB to the next level and would go far in convincing larger sites and even new sites that plan on being large to switch to myBB. In addition, it would keep sites that start with myBB from outgrowing it as their community size grew to a point where the current moderation options available in myBB are not sufficient.
Thank you for reading. Feedback is always welcome.
Greater Granularity in Mod Features
Currently moderators are severaly handicapped in their ability to mod their own forums. For starters mods should be able to move threads out of their own forum into other forums. For example, if a thread is in forum A when it should be in Forum B the Forum A mod should be able to move that thread to Forum B. Right now only admins can perform this move (or super mods). Essentially you have to make every mod a super mod if you want them to be able to do their jobs. Allowing mods to move threads out of their forum could be turned off and on in the adminCP.
Currently mods cannot see unapproved posts in forums they are not moderators of. I think it would be nice if you could finetune which usergroups can see unapproved posts and in which forum. This would allow you to have all moderators see all unapproved posts even in forums they are not modding. The reason this is good is because it allows mods to see what the "mod community" as a whole is unapproving and helps with moderater consistency on your boards.
User Notes
Right now there is no way to track a users behavior. For example, lets say a certain user frequents forum A and always posts flames which get unapproved. This user then moves to Forum B which has a different mod. The mod in forum B will have no idea of the past behavior of the user. It also makes it difficult for admins to decide whether or not to ban someone. User Notes would be accessible from a userprofile to admins AND mods. It would essentially be an editable text area where notes about the user can be jotted down for future reference. It would essentially work just like thread notes work now. I realize there is an RC4 mod available that sort of does this but it doesnt' work with PR2 and I think this feature is important enough that it should be included in the base forum package (just like thread notes).
Enchanced Reporting Features
Currently when a post is reported the report is sent only to admins (technically the report is sent to mods but they can't actually view the report, a bug I reported already). The report thread feature is great for larger forums in that it allows mods to notify each other quickly and effciently of problems in a particular forum. I propose that reporting be enhanced by providing the following options:
- By default only admins receive reports (currently implemented).
- The admin can set it so that both admins and the mods for the forum in which the reported post resides receive the report.
- The admin can set it so that all mods receive the report (although only mods of the particular forum can do anything about it).
- Have report status options available to admins and possibly mods depending on whether option 2 or 3 in this list was chosen. In other words, a mod/admin can say whether they have looked at the report and are dismissing it, have rectified the post in question, or have not done anything yet.
- Past reports be saved on a reports page rather than dissapearing after they are resolved. Admins could still hard delete the reports but mods could only mark the reports status.
I think the above moderation improvements would really help take myBB to the next level and would go far in convincing larger sites and even new sites that plan on being large to switch to myBB. In addition, it would keep sites that start with myBB from outgrowing it as their community size grew to a point where the current moderation options available in myBB are not sufficient.
Thank you for reading. Feedback is always welcome.
