37

Currently, moderators can change almost all settings on the Preferences page of other members, such as:

  • Keyboard shortcuts.
  • Navigation.
  • Sidebar.
  • Advertisements.

Please, forbid moderators to change other members preferences.

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8
  • 5
    Do you feel that this ability is currently being abused?
    – Makyen
    May 1, 2020 at 21:41
  • 24
    @Makyen I feel that's mods shouldn't have access to those settings at all. It disturbs members privacy.
    – Suvitruf - Andrei Apanasik
    May 1, 2020 at 21:46
  • 22
    I am quite surprised that this is possible for mods at all. What is the purpose of this feature?
    – janw
    May 1, 2020 at 22:15
  • 1
    I suppose this would be useful for developers, but definitely not for moderators.
    – Spevacus
    May 1, 2020 at 22:57
  • 1
    This should not even be available to developers or staff, at least through the web interfaces. I guess there's no stopping someone with application or database access from making changes like this.
    – Thomas Owens
    May 2, 2020 at 0:01
  • 13
    I did a quick check off aibobot - my sock, using my main account. For the record [email settings 404] (i.stack.imgur.com/ZXiof.png). The downloadable file is a giant json file of tags - from the mod's own account. Its worth remembering we rarely, but critically may need to edit the main profile itself if a user is using their username or profile to troll or spam.
    – Journeyman Geek
    May 2, 2020 at 0:24
  • I thought mods could only adjust username, description, and location...
    – 10 Rep
    Apr 8, 2021 at 0:27
  • Perhaps this is made possible for support purposes.
    – Mast
    Apr 8, 2021 at 5:15

2 Answers 2

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18

We discussed this internally and agree. Private preference related fields shouldn't be editable by anyone else but the user. I've set this to as there isn't a scheduled date quite yet but it is in our backlog.

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1
  • 2
    It also allows us access to the "Download Activity" button, which seems slightly worrying.
    – Meta Ellen
    Nov 12, 2021 at 19:25
22

Agree. In my opinion, moderators should be able to change only the public fields, that appear to all visitors of the profile page.

Any other detail or setting can't be used for abuse or offensive behavior, so no point letting moderators change them.

It's not about trust, it's just common sense.

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1
  • 2
    you meant uncommon sense? times are changing, it not common anymore.
    – Moab
    May 3, 2020 at 15:01

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