It's Time For A Little Bit Of Self-moderation

Started by Jsvob03 · Dec 21, 2008 · 10postsSMF 2010–26

Jsvob03Dec 21, 2008, 2:40 pm · #1

Lately things have been pretty calm around here, nothing too crazy. So thank you all for that, it makes things more appealing to new members and such. However, in order to help keep things "neat & tidy" around the club, we would like your help. The site is up 24/7 non-stop, there are only so many active, and semi-active moderators here. With this said, im sure you guys can imagine that there are times we may miss, or overlook things.

What we would like to see is for any/all members to start using the "Report!" button any time they see something that we need to know about. Not just objectionable content, but items like (but not limited to) threads in the wrong spots, Members signatures too large, Spam (no, not the meat in a can), and so on. Basically anything against the Forum Guidelines, or posts/responses that may violate a rule of that section (ex: the rules posted in the For Sale section)

Now, there are times when things may fall into a gray area. Report it, thats fine. We the moderators will then decide using our best judgement whether it is right, wrong, etc. However, DO NOT abuse the button in ANY WAY. Use your best judgment on that part. Saying hi, for example would be abuse. If you misuse this button, we will not hesitate to warn you. The warning system is outlined in the Forum Guidelines and we will stick to it, no second chances here.

Where is this "Report!" button?
Right below this sentence!

Jsvob03May 25, 2009, 1:32 pm · #2

Just a reminder to everyone, If you make an error while posting, you can report yourself. Nothing bad happens if/when you use that button, and in fact we appreciate your use of that button as it will make things a bit easier for us (the moderation team). Some reasons to use the button may be if you failed to put your location in the title of a wanted to sell post, maybe you made a double post, or even if you were a little inenbriated and you posted something that may be objectionable.

Doing so can actually prevent a warning from being issued to your account in the instance that you violated the posting guidelines, and you we're able to catch it because it was an honest mistake.

RedneckMay 25, 2009, 3:28 pm · #3

From the Forum Guidelines:

No Spamming. This activity wastes precious bandwidth and disk space. This includes, but not limited to, the following:

- Posting nonsense posts.

This is not enforced whatsoever. There are so many rules in the guidelines that are broken daily or completely unenforced you could technically hit this report button over and over again for small things which is not gonna help the mods very much since technically the person reporting is correct. I think for every 20-30 small things reported that really don't need to be enforced you will only find maybe 1-2 actual report issues that realistically require attention. I hope this system works out for the better but it just seems like micro management which usually doesn't work very well and ends up being counter productive. Personally I probably won't be using the report button much if ever but people who are complete anal perfectionists have a lot of ammo based on those guidelines to use the report button extensively. I guess we will see in a few months how this ends up working out.

Jsvob03May 25, 2009, 6:09 pm · #4

RedneckFrom the Forum Guidelines:

No Spamming. This activity wastes precious bandwidth and disk space. This includes, but not limited to, the following:

- Posting nonsense posts.

This is not enforced whatsoever. There are so many rules in the guidelines that are broken daily or completely unenforced you could technically hit this report button over and over again for small things which is not gonna help the mods very much since technically the person reporting is correct. I think for every 20-30 small things reported that really don't need to be enforced you will only find maybe 1-2 actual report issues that realistically require attention. I hope this system works out for the better but it just seems like micro management which usually doesn't work very well and ends up being counter productive. Personally I probably won't be using the report button much if ever but people who are complete anal perfectionists have a lot of ammo based on those guidelines to use the report button extensively. I guess we will see in a few months how this ends up working out.

if only you could see the posts we delete/edit on a regular basis. sure there are posts that are a bit pointless, but provided they are in the proper section (typically the coffee shop) its pretty much anything goes. Obviously there are things you cannot post,such as lewd pictures or personal attacks, but if you wanna talk about how nice it is outside today, GO for it! have a ball. just dont give us weather updates every day. thats out of hand, and where we get to use our discretion.

I'll go one step further and point out an error i made recently. I removed a post from the board to the mod section for review. TO ME, the post was utterly pointless, and as such i removed it. Upon further review, the post was part of a game (that i just recently "learned") that a few members were participating in. unfortunately the post never came back, but the member wasn't warned either. so yes we do delete posts as we see them come about.

here's two examples of why using the report button would work.

just today someone made a double post. It was clearly an accident, but in reality, a warning could've been issued base upon club rules. the double was deleted with no reprecussions (this time).

another issue just recently involved a member having a warning retracted. the member neglected to post a title in brackets, and was issued a warning without haste. problem is, the user actually sent a PM to one single moderator, and it just so happens that mod was not logged in, but someone else was. that someone else obviously didnt know the full scope of the issue, and gave the warning. once the other mod logged in an saw this, he/she removed the warning, and explained to both the issuing mod, AND the member what happened.

there are just TWO instances in which using the report button could've resolved an issue, before it really even became one.

sideways_s12May 25, 2009, 7:24 pm · #5

Why would you get a warning for double posting by mistake My comp is a little out of wack sometimes and I'll hit the submit button for a post and it wont post it then I'll hit it again and it'll double post it imo you should not get a warning for this nobody double post stuff on purpose it just happens sometimes...

XanoMay 25, 2009, 7:38 pm · #6

sideways_s12Why would you get a warning for double posting by mistake My comp is a little out of wack sometimes and I'll hit the submit button for a post and it wont post it then I'll hit it again and it'll double post it imo you should not get a warning for this nobody double post stuff on purpose it just happens sometimes...

Jason, a lot of times, double posts dont get warnings, we just straight up delete one of em. A lot of the posts we moderate on, dont end in a warning, but just a move, delete, or edit with the occasional verbal "hey dummy" pm but no warning increase.

sideways_s12May 26, 2009, 4:54 am · #7

Jsvob03just today someone made a double post. It was clearly an accident, but in reality, a warning could've been issued base upon club rules. the double was deleted with no reprecussions (this time)

XanoJason, a lot of times, double posts dont get warnings, we just straight up delete one of em. A lot of the posts we moderate on, dont end in a warning, but just a move, delete, or edit with the occasional verbal "hey dummy" pm but no warning increase.

I know but I was refering to the post i quoted above yours he said the guy didn't get a warning this time and a warning could have been issued. IMO that is outright stupid to warn someone for a double post I understand that warnings don't go out for it but for there to be the slightest chance for it happen is not right...Other than I'm cool with everything else thus far

Jsvob03May 26, 2009, 12:14 pm · #8

sideways_s12I know but I was refering to the post i quoted above yours he said the guy didn't get a warning this time and a warning could have been issued. IMO that is outright stupid to warn someone for a double post I understand that warnings don't go out for it but for there to be the slightest chance for it happen is not right...Other than I'm cool with everything else thus far

As per the guidelines, you can receive an account warning even if you make a double post just once.

In reality, do you think we really are going to warn every single person for making a double post? I'll speak for myself and say hell no. your point is spot on, and i agree giving a warning for an accidental double post is trivial. However, if the situation occurs that we see a member making multiple errors when it comes to posting, we will do what is necessary.

remember, most all of us came to the club at one point with the interest of gathering info for the s12. I did. We're not trying to piss off everyone else by nitpicking the piss out of every little thing. all we're trying to do is keep things neat n tidy, and we ask for any/all members' help when they see something that requires our attention.

EV S12May 26, 2009, 3:08 pm · #9

Jsvob03remember, most all of us came to the club at one point with the interest of gathering info for the s12. I did. We're not trying to piss off everyone else by nitpicking the piss out of every little thing. all we're trying to do is keep things neat n tidy, and we ask for any/all members' help when they see something that requires our attention.

that's why this site is worth me spending any time on line. it's professional... no irony.

I've never visited a site as regularly as this. I don't have time to spend tweeting or my spacing or collecting fake friends on facebook, but this site appeals to my sense of community. Communities need children and grown-ups, town drunks and tightasses and someone to act as moderator when overblown opinions get out of hand. Not to mention we've got a fairly limited form of interaction on this site alone and mods need to keep it tidy or it's all just unintelligible useless banter.

We've got a common interest that binds us all; that's all we need to remember

ArroMay 26, 2009, 4:43 pm · #10

I don't have anything to say that would disagree with the above, only to reinforce the comments that we DO enforce the rules more often than it seems... we don't allow spam or pointless posts to clutter TECH INFO sections, mostly. A comment or two on a less-important thread is not a big deal. But in the same sense, we don't allow a shit-ton of random stuff. Which is one of the reasons why I personally chose to close Julie's random post thread... because I felt it was pointless and a waste (no offense to those who posted within it). We're not following the rules by the book, true. But Redneck, it's not like you portray it to be. Did any of you even consider the fact that Sterling is in the "Moderators" group, and yet never issues warnings or anything of the sort?

That's because his sole responsibility is to clean out the crap from the more important technical threads, and keep the information easy to read. It was HIM who requested to be added to the moderator group so that he could do this. So just the fact that he is in the role he is in is proof that we don't just let spammers and nonsense posts go unchecked.

Some of the rules get enforced strictly. Others... not so much. But the rule is still there so that if someone pushes something too far, we can point to the rule and say, "well you don't really have anyone else to blame but yourself for this warning/ban." The double-post thing is an *excellent* example. Rarely enforced. But if one of you gets on here drunker than a skunk and starts double posting multiple times throughout the night, your azz should be off the keyboard 'till you sober up, and the warning system is our first step in informing you of that.

We're not robots. We're smart enough to know the difference between sideways' stuck mouse button and someone else's drunken posting-rampage. And we'll apply the rules accordingly, or NOT apply them when we see that it's not necessary.

And that's pretty much what Jeff and Ben have been saying here.

I appreciate the concerns both Redneck and sideways s12 have brought up, and I hope my statements today (and the statements preceding mine) address both of those concerns.

Edit: apparently it was brought to my attention that I missed all the "fun" where some people decided to crap all over this thread and each other. One of my moderators must have cleaned it all up, before I got a chance to see it or all parties involved would have been banned for a few days. I have the jist of what happened, just try to avoid that kinda crap in the future or we'll take action. And a note to the moderator(s) who cleaned it up, if you still feel warnings or more are needed, by all means, take whatever action you deem appropriate.