Do you blind carbon copy your staff?

I was wondering how many of your bcc or cc your fellow admins on member issue PM's/Emails to keep them in the loop?

Generally I make a practice of it when I'm sending someone a PM asking them to play nice with others or anything like that. I keep it only to admins, I figure at least they know what I'm up to.

When we have an ongoing issue with a member I copy/paste the PMs in the mod's forum so they have a look at what's going on, know where we're at and what I said in case someone tries to get a mod to play favorites, etc.

 

Yes, if I am taking moderator action of some sort, I will usually do this. Alternatively, it might already have a thread in a hidden staff forum. Sometimes the PM may even be automatic, depending on your forum settings.

 

I usually cc or bcc to my co-admin (on vbfaq). If it's an ongoing issue with a spammer or whatnot, then I will post it in the mod forum.

 

I generally send a blind copy to my co-administrators - by doing so, we can converse about the situation via the staff forum or a private meeting.

 

This is what I do when corresponding in regards to a rule-violation that resulted in the removal of a post or thread, or something of the like.
When a post is removed, it gets its own new thread in the Trash Bin forum. In there, the moderator replies in that thread stating the reason it was removed and includes a link to the thread it originated from. They then paste the infraction/warning PM they sent to the user. Any further correspondence between them is also continued to be pasted in the thread.

When simply sending users a light warning via PM though, neither my moderators or myself pass it along to the rest of the team unless it escalates into a bigger issue.

 

In my opinion blind copying or CCing just creates the opportunity for problems and someone else "chiming in" on the issue. All you need is an issue you have been working hard on to squash to be completely brought back up again by a staff member who decides to chime in without knowing all the facts and get people angry and worked up again. Also, 99% of the time you are just going to be filling up the inboxes of your staff members. They have MUCH better things to be doing to make your forum successful like driving posting and starting new thread.

I tend to put all info in individual threads in the staff forums so they can see what is going on. That way they can comment privately if they want in this private staff only forum and the admin can make a decision if any further action is needed or not.

 

Well personally, I don't mind having staff members "chime in" on the issue - that's why I'm blindly sending it to them in the first place.

 

Chris - my point is this - it is no different then in the real world. If you are having a PRIVATE conversation with a member and you are dealing with an issue privately with them they will respect you for that. If out of the blue and with no warning, another moderator decides to respond and toss in their 2 cents about the issue, then you potentially have a situation that you worked hard to resolve, explode again for no reason other then you allowed someone to chime in last minute.
If you and your management team discuss the issue privately in the staff forum you have an opportunity as a group to make a consensus decision on the best way to handle and who will be the point person dealing with the member in question.

I am not saying you are wrong, but I am speaking from experience. the best way IMO is to squash or deal with issues quickly, privately and decisively. multiple voices just potentially extends the issue needlessly.

 

That's fine - different strokes. As I've never had any negative experience from sharing information blindly with fellow staff members, I've never felt the need to keep such situations private. Had the experience(s) been less than fantastic, then it is possible that I would feel differently.

 

I typically don't blind CC admins or mods. I'll take the issue to a private staff forum. This lets all the other staff now that an issue is being or has been dealt with. I feel that by CCing admins or mods, its an invitation for them to get involved and I'd like to keep the staff on the same page as much as possible. Using private forums informs them as to the situation and provides an easy to access record for the future (if more happens in the future).