Urban Hat€monger ?

I know he isn't I don't see the point in arguing something that really isn't an issue just for the sake of it.

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Guybrush

GB, calm down dude

Yes, it can. To prevent situations like this from arising in the future, I suggested that moderators give warnings not to let things escalate. I suggest that they do not openly take any side or call anyone a troll because it will only fuel the conflict. Doing so may be okay when it is a clear cut case, but this has too much greys in it.

A moderator calling someone a troll and not acting on it undermines that moderators authority. When a mod calls someone a troll, I think it should be a near undeniable fact that the person is, in fact, a troll and that appropriate and just moderation is about to happen.

I also suggested that people should be more aware of how their actions here may either escalate or soften a conflict. Like others here have said, be the change. Take the high road now and then. Help make MB friendlier. Is this irrelevant and derailing?

Sopsych this and Sopsych that. Can we leave the guy out of it from now on? My arguments don't really need Sopsych. His situation can be used to illustrate a point, but as I've pointed out to you a number of times, it's about principles and what members and mods can do. I can use other non-Sopsych drama examples in the future to illustrate the exact same points.

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Freebase Dali

There's no reason to call someone a troll. We can just ban them, since it's against the rules.
However, if we don't want to be so drastic, it's a bit hard to tell someone to stop trolling by avoiding the "T word". Using such terminology is effective because everyone knows what it means and you don't have to go any further. If a mod thinks someone is trolling, they will say so and that will be a warning before any further steps are needed.

I don't see why it's necessary for a mod to have to beat around the bush in this regard. If we think you're trolling, we tell you to stop trolling. Trying to be "PC" about something like this is ridiculous.

Also, if mods aren't supposed to "side against" anyone by calling them out on a problem, then I guess our jobs are useless.

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Paul Smeenus

Two points

1. I agree with GB, to the final syllable
2. The mods, all of them, have my earnest respect. I've been a moderator of another type of board (that also used vBulletin,) under times of member unrest, it is an absurdly difficult, thankless job and an impossible balancing act, and I think they're doing a great job. And I couldn't give a microparticle of a rubbery FUCK if anyone wants to call me a brown noser, I've been there and I'm really remembering those days right now. They're doing a fantastic job.

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sopsych

I too have seen the red text used for public notices, and I like it. Editing out inappropriate content would encourage third parties to police themselves and sometimes would reduce the need for deletions and the drama they can cause. Also, I like tore's suggestion of gradual implementation. I think changes should take place slowly, with formal punishment (infractions and bans) not possible for a while. Things could even be rolled out one sub-forum at a time, and perhaps at first some editing should only happen if members Report misbehavior. I don't want more bans around here.

The hard part is deciding to how to de-gray the gray. I think images are the first place to start. It should no longer be okay to post images to insult or mock members. Including posting pictures of trolls. In addition, it should not be okay to publicly accuse someone of trolling (in that case, the red text should be like "Please report that, with evidence, to a moderator instead of saying it here"). Another suggestion is to delete posts that publicly celebrate others' attacking words

An even harder part is that moderators would have to refrain from doing any of those bad things themselves. Otherwise, credibility would be damaged and people would disregard the rules.

I've been waiting to hear other ideas re post #355.

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GuitarBizarre

Karma? Hell. NO.

Karma systems will ONLY result in the further entrenchment of whatever cliques exist already.

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Guybrush

Even if there's only the option of giving people a +1 for a post?

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GuitarBizarre

Yes. It will turn into what the shoutbox shout counts did - One person making it their mission to get the highest number and a mad rush from a few people to compete for that until one clear winner emerges and lords that over everyone else.

Karma systems on forums do NOT encourage anything other than vain competition for internet points - They never have, and I remember having this same discussion with people as far back as 2006 on other forums - The consensus was pretty clear. They're a bad idea.

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Paul Smeenus

A question I've been wanting to ask since the day I joined here. As a former mod of a vBulletin forum, I've been curious why the vBulletin "thank this poster" feature isn't used here...

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Guybrush

Possibly the feature wasn't implemented in this version of vbulletin. It may date back to 2003 for all I know

edit :

But people would only +1 a post if they thought it was good, right? So if someone does a mad rush to get the most points, wouldn't that be a mad rush to make posts that other people like and thus reward with a +1?

It is certainly sounds better to me than post count which only rewards posting, no matter what the content is!

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