Do you go on Invisible Mode?

So as an Administrator, do you like to be sneaky and use invisible mode so that nobody knows when you're online? What do you see to be the pros and cons of this?

 

I've never utilized the invisible mode (maybe once) - no reason to hide.

 

I never go invisible and it's prohibited for my moderators to do so - blind moderation is no good.

 

I never do it myself, but I know a lot of people that do keep it that way. Maybe they want to make their members think it's a good time to break the rules because it appears no staff are online.

 

nope never nor as a mod although the admin on the forum i mod on usually does for some reason or used to, doesn't bother with the forum now

Have been tempted as a mod though just to edit someones post and leave them wondering wth

 

Nope, I don't see the use in it. If you're just a member, sure, why not? But to use it while you're a staff member doesn't show much professionalism.

 

I do it all the time. I hate getting PMs from people just because they see me online because they usually expect an answer right away and many times I'm online quickly checking out something in the admin cp or the server or many other non-posting type of things. Every once in a while I'm online just to play with the users in our Lounge and I'll go uninvisible but most of the time I'm invisible.

 

You don't have to give them an answer right away. You could try adding a line in your sig that says "I may not always be able to reply to a PM, please excuse me".

 

:frown:

Those people are only putting more work on themselves...

 

Personally, I don't use invisible mode on forums I am a staff member on. Although Lynne brings up a good point, I think it shows a lack of professionalism and it makes you (as a staff member) seem unapproachable - like somebody who doesn't want to be bothered. This obviously isn't a good thing and isn't the impression you'd want to leave upon your members.

 

I think this is wonderful. :lol:


.

 

You would, Boss (nice picture). :lol:

 

:rofl:

 

I don't go on invisible mode. I don't really get nagged over PM or anything just because I'm online, so there's really no reason to at this point.

 

Same, Justin. It's rather interesting - a select few members would rather contact me (regarding their personal matters) via a publicly visible thread as opposed to utilizing the private messaging system. Odd, eh?

 

Don't really see much of that... I actually encourage PMing me about any matters that come up, though. In fact, there's a link to PM me directly in my signature!

 

I encourage communication via the private messaging system as well, but it's a rarity - I fail to understand why.

 

What's worse is when you're on a board that receives almost (or over) a thousand posts per day and you are expected to address every issue that members bring up in threads.

By contacting via PM, you are more likely to get a prompt response from me. And, it's easier for me to keep requests, questions, etc. organized because I can sort of look at my inbox as a to-do list.

 

I don't get very many PMs, either. In about 3 1/2 years of the current forum's existence, I've only gotten 690 PMs (I don't think I have ever deleted a PM from my Inbox).

Very true as well. My board doesn't have that kind of activity... but still, it helps. I also appreciate it when people contact me via email to let me know of more major issues (through our friendly contact form). That way I'm even more likely to get the message if it's something urgent (like when I broke the upload form for our downloads center earlier this week).

 

Oh, I get a ton of PMs and don't mind them at all. But, what happens is some users want a torrent pulled *right away* or want to ask me a question since they see me online instead of waiting for an answer from a Mod. Those are the users I am discouraging (the ones who don't know the way the site is setup to run) by not showing up online when I am simply on the site doing my adminy things.