Reporting posts

[Jammie]

Originally Posted by suzie02

But wouldn't that hurt the mods feelings? Isn't it like going over their heads?

Maybe to your first question and no to your second question. We actually need to be fairly thick-skinned and we don't actually have a run of the place. We don't own this site and we are accountable. Our job is to be sure the TOS is followed.

[markablue]

Let me also add a dew remarks.

I don't know if bringing the issue in public helped anything or it was just a coincidence. The mod "job" is voluntary and we are not always able to check every post in every thread.

That may also answer another concern - about inconsistency. Maybe a mod never saw the particular post you are talking about. It's also possible that they saw nothing wrong with it. Contrary to what many expect, we are not the same person, we vary in our sensitivities and, while we're all trying to adhere to the same rules, most things are wide open to interpretation.

We discuss some borderline issues to be on the same page a lot but we cannot do that for every thread or post, the traffic here is just too huge. Last time I checked we were getting almost 12,000 new posts a day here. Even with the big team we have now, it is a lot.

As to the "I'm leaving" rule... we've seen that, too. There are many bad feelings, many fights that most times led to deleting such threads anyway. A post saying "I won't be posting here anymore because I'm going out of state" should be fine, though.

And, one more time - this is a forum, not a live chat room. We don't have people sitting here all day moderating. This will never happen, I'm afraid so a little patience is always recommended. Even notifying Yac or me may not bring you an immediate action because we also have other work elsewhere.

Finally, please, we've been through this many times before. If there was a clear definition of a personal attack, we'd all stick to it and never have any problems. Point is, what reads like an attack to you (sarcasm, for instance) may not look that way to others, members and mods alike.

The world would be a very boring place if we were all the same...

[Katiana]

Well, some mod saw enough wrong to delete two pages of posts, some of which I did feel were "borderline", but nevertheless probably in violation of the TOS in the strictest sense of the word. It was probably a good thing. The fight had been going on for 3 days, and had gotten very nasty by the 3rd day. Anyone who looked at it could see that; most of the personal attacks were not "borderline" or "open to interpretation".

I understand all of the above. But if everything were just left up to interpretation, why have any TOS at all? I guess I'm trying to say, a center core if you will of agreement on what is and isn't a personal attack, off-topic, etc, would be very helpful. There will always be gray areas. But a sarcstic rant such as I posted in #3 is not "boderline". The poster to whom that was addressed left soon after and never came back. A new moderator has been assigned to that forum, which should be helpful.

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by markablue

Let me also add a dew remarks.
I don't know if bringing the issue in public helped anything or it was just a coincidence. The mod "job" is voluntary and we are not always able to check every post in every thread.

That may also answer another concern - about inconsistency. Maybe a mod never saw the particular post you are talking about. It's also possible that they saw nothing wrong with it. Contrary to what many expect, we are not the same person, we vary in our sensitivities and, while we're all trying to adhere to the same rules, most things are wide open to interpretation.

We discuss some borderline issues to be on the same page a lot but we cannot do that for every thread or post, the traffic here is just too huge. Last time I checked we were getting almost 12,000 new posts a day here. Even with the big team we have now, it is a lot.

As to the "I'm leaving" rule... we've seen that, too. There are many bad feelings, many fights that most times led to deleting such threads anyway. A post saying "I won't be posting here anymore because I'm going out of state" should be fine, though.

And, one more time - this is a forum, not a live chat room. We don't have people sitting here all day moderating. This will never happen, I'm afraid so a little patience is always recommended. Even notifying Yac or me may not bring you an immediate action because we also have other work elsewhere.

Finally, please, we've been through this many times before. If there was a clear definition of a personal attack, we'd all stick to it and never have any problems. Point is, what reads like an attack to you (sarcasm, for instance) may not look that way to others, members and mods alike.

The world would be a very boring place if we were all the same...

I think the system works quite well, particularly knowing that such a huge site is growing so well, and is generally well-behaved, while moderated on a volunteer basis.
I find it personally productive to try to avoid hanging in for "getting the last word."

[bibit612]

Originally Posted by MikeJaquish

I think the system works quite well, particularly knowing that such a huge site is growing so well, and is generally well-behaved, while moderated on a volunteer basis.
I find it personally productive to try to avoid hanging in for "getting the last word."

Good advice! I personally have developed a rather strong stomach for some of the zings and very rarely report TOS...I mostly report single post advertisers. But recently, one poster really got my dander up with the statement to this effect..."You are really sick in the head. I hope you don't have any kids..." post. Now, when the word YOU is directed at me in this fashion, I will and have reported that post. It is still an opinion but to me that constitutes an attack. Any other time, I don't need to have the last say like MJ above says...most intelligent people realize who is winning the argument anyway. Better to take the high road...you get more reps and respect that way!

[rdlr]

Originally Posted by bibit612

Good advice! I personally have developed a rather strong stomach for some of the zings and very rarely report TOS...I mostly report single post advertisers. But recently, one poster really got my dander up with the statement to this effect..."You are really sick in the head. I hope you don't have any kids..." post. Now, when the word YOU is directed at me in this fashion, I will and have reported that post. It is still an opinion but to me that constitutes an attack. Any other time, I don't need to have the last say like MJ above says...most intelligent people realize who is winning the argument anyway. Better to take the high road...you get more reps and respect that way!

Great post! Definitely, when "YOU" is noted in a post, that's a personal attack. We do have a few "duckers and jabbers" in our midst, though, having taken the low road most of their lives, apparently. IGNORE is such a wonderful feature of this Forum.

[Katiana]

I'm not sure where "hanging in for the last word" became equated with the situation I described. I do agree when someone says "you" or calls you by name, anything negative they say is a personal attack. These are supposedly against the TOS.

[susan42]

Moderator cut: See the "Complaints" sticky thread in this forum to report issues with moderating

How do you report a post? Not that I post much nowadays after my last experience.

[fauve]

Susan, up near the right corner of a post is what looks like a red yield sign with an exclamation point. Reporting a post is the surest way to having a problem like the ones you describe dealt with. Also, if someone is stalking you thru-out the site, describe that using the report feature or write directly to a moderator. In addition, using the ignore feature is the BEST way to deal with someone who is following you around. They usually get bored and move on when you stop responding.

[susan42]

Thankyou!