One Moderator's Warning

[Guidokid]

wait a minute.....are you telling me that if i type n***** i do not get reprimanded....but if i type the whole thing out i do??
that is the most ridiculous thing i have ever heard of....either way, everybody knows what i meant to say

[Hellion9]

This thread has gone to hell-in-a-handbasket and I take my share of the responsibility for helping it along (it's sort of a specialty of mine). In all seriousness, however, I really think battists is right to desire a more respectful forum - we may not all deliver (I'm thinking of myself here) but it's a good desire.

As for the injustice of the system? Like I (and others) said - his forum his rules - that's why a good forum gives the moderator title to people they can trust. Can we trust battists? I've been reading here far longer than I've been registered - he seems a pretty good bloke.

That said, I think people have a right to argue, fight and even *gasp* disagree with his decisions.

Tough game trying to enforce internet behavior.

[D Love]

There's light hearted devil's advocacy and then there is the aggressive, unconstructive kind. I think battisti is trying to stop the latter.

If I say that I think OOTP needs to focus on X, and you reply that you don't agree that Y needs to be taken care of first, there is really not much reason for me to attack you for wanting Y or for you to counterattack by saying X is ridiculous. It's not constructive and doesn't get us, individually or as a community, or the game to a better place than it was before we started attacking each other. In fact, the attacks may have a chilling effect on others who won't post their thoughts since they don't want to be flamed for believing that aging is screwed up or that despite the aging drawbacks, the game is fun.

[TC Dale]

Originally Posted by Guidokid

the problem is sort of like the beanball problem in baseball.....the first team to hit an opposing batter is not punished, but any subsequent hit batsmen results in automatic rejection.....yankees 1998 called for my ouster and was not warned.....but when i made MY post i was sent a warning.....even though i did not use any profanity.....i think battists either owes me an apology or needs to issue yankees 1998 a warning as well

Since battists wasn't the person who issued the warning, then he doesn't have to offer apologies. It did not follow the rules as you were PM'd with, and therefore that warning stands.

Sorry, but let's make sure to respect the folks we agree AND disagree with here in the main forums. The rules are tight here for a reason, and if it isn't your idea of fun times to follow those rules, then try our Off Topic area where things are a bit looser than the main forums.


TC

[Guidokid]

i think we have proven why a democracy fails....too many people just sitting around arguing about what to do next.........a dictatorship is better suited to run this world.......one leader that exerts his will unto everybody until someone smarter and stronger comes along and whacks him.....sort of like LA COSA NOSTRA.....but that's a whole different discussion in a different forum.....as for all you guys........i gotta walk my dog.....LATER

[treedom]

Originally Posted by TC Dale

The rules are tight here for a reason, and if it isn't your idea of fun times to follow those rules, then try our Off Topic area where things are a bit looser than the main forums.

Just don't mention lollipops though. That's a big no-no even there!

[Guidokid]

Originally Posted by TC Dale

Since battists wasn't the person who issued the warning, then he doesn't have to offer apologies. It did not follow the rules as you were PM'd with, and therefore that warning stands.

Sorry, but let's make sure to respect the folks we agree AND disagree with here in the main forums. The rules are tight here for a reason, and if it isn't your idea of fun times to follow those rules, then try our Off Topic area where things are a bit looser than the main forums.


TC

too late.......i already posted that he doesn't owe me an apology any longer.....because someone else already apologized to me....GOT IT??

[D Love]

Originally Posted by Guidokid

wait a minute.....are you telling me that if i type n***** i do not get reprimanded....but if i type the whole thing out i do??
that is the most ridiculous thing i have ever heard of....either way, everybody knows what i meant to say

If I type "F*** Boston", we all know what it means, but it is still not the same as actually spelling out the word. And n***** has special characteristics that very few words have in English in that I'd almost argue that it's the equivalent of a curse word.

I would say that I have no desire to see f***, s***, p****y, and a**h*** while reading this board to the same extent that I don't want to see n*****. Also, keep in mind, we're not pretending we never hear these words used in real life. The mod's just don't want to condone the act. And my asterisking the words, it's clear, even if the meaning is not concealed, that we're saying that these words are not "ok".

[Guidokid]

so you're saying that if i need to prove a point.....it's STILL not okay to use the offensive word, even though i am not directing it at anybody & just using it to set an example

[Zeyes]

Originally Posted by Guidokid

i think we have proven why a democracy fails....too many people just sitting around arguing about what to do next.........a dictatorship is better suited to run this world.......

Typically said by those who don't expect to be the first ones up against the wall. Usually there's a surprise coming, of course.

[treedom]

..................OR the mods could just have not given him the warning and that post about the nazis would be forgotten by now. More heavy-handedness does not mean a more pleasant forum.

[Raderick]

I currently see it as this. A warnings system only works in content-based forums, like a picture forum, movie forum, etc. I am a moderator in a female celebrity picture message forum, in which nude pictures of celebrities are posted very frequently, and pictures usually come from other forums around the internet (one of the most popular forums is one that darkhorse is involved with and as of now, they have not accepted registration for several years). We also just expanded our forum to allow pictures of male celebrities. This this forum that I moderate, we have a warning system in place, and it has worked wonders for us. Here is our rulebook:

The following is not permitted at The Celebrity Database Forum:-

* No pictures of porn stars, web amateurs, or magazine/glamour models. (This is because of revised regulations to the 18 U.S.C. 2257, in which anyone that host pictures or videos of porn stars and amateurs are required to have personal information regarding every model posted)
* No pictures that show visible sexual intercourse, visible oral sex, visible "pink" and if neccessary, no pictures that show a penis (See Above. This is set in stone to support the above)
* Fake celebrity images
* Underage celebrity images (celebrities under the age of 16)
* Hotlinking images, image hosts like ImageShack or images hosted on your own web site (please use the preinstalled uploader on the Forum for uploading images)
* Password trading of any type
* Offensive material (comments that may cause offence, i.e. racist, facist, disabilities etc)
* Spamming (to include website spamming)


You may also not post images/scans/articles from the following sources:-

* The Sun (newspaper and website) (They've sent us an e-mail asking us to remove all of their pictures or face a lawsuit)
* News of the World (newspaper and website) (See above)
* The Times (newspaper) (See above)
* The Sunday Times (newspaper) (See above)
* Playboy (magazine and website) (See above)
* FHM (magazine and website) (Unlike The Sun where they just asked us to remove the offending pictures or be sued, they took the next step and sued several picture forums)
* Getty Images (watermarked website images) (See FHM)

The following system is in place and must be adhered to at all times:-

* Images must be uploaded via the preinstalled uploader on the Forum
* Images must not exceed 2MB
* Images must only be of celebrities
* Images/articles should always be posted in the correct section
* Reposted images should be kept to a minimum (please try and use the search facility where possible)
* Movieclips should not be uploaded to the Forum (please use RapidShare (or similar) and add a html link)

Now our system is three strikes and you're banned for 72 hours. A 4th warning will result in a lifetime ban. For example, User X posts a thread full of FHM pictures. The pictures are deleted and the member is sent a PM letting him know of why the post was deleted and lettign him/her know that they have received his/her first warning. User X next posts pictures that are hosted on another site (called hotlinking). We send him another PM letting him know that all photos need to posted on our own server (they can be uploaded when posting a thread) and they poster receives his/her 2nd warning. Now if User X breaks one more rule, he's on the sideline for 72 hours.

The reason that a warning system only works in a forum like the one I moderate is because there is no doubt or question on if someone broke a forum rule or not. While in this sort of forum where you're only going by what one user says, the rules will always be interpreted differently from one mod to another, and while one post might be against the rule and the offending user may be hit by a warning, someone else who might post an equally or even more degrading comment may be let go with a slap on the wrist, if anything. So in a content-based forum, the rules are looked at relatively the same by all mods and adminstrators.

My suggestion, keeing in mind that I am just one person, is the remove the warnings system altogether and use a system in which the members basicially police themselves. If a user posts something that the moderator finds degrading or offensive, don't delete the post. Let the offending user know that post XYZ was offensive and let them know to prevent from using such language.

Just my

[battists]

FWIW,

Andreas just released a revised version of the forum rules. It has tightened up the language a bit, if nothing else. It's also interesting to note that warnings will now go away if you "keep your nose clean" for a while.

Incidentally, it is noted that using asterixes (asterices?) to mask swear words is also not acceptable.

Here's the link to the revised forum rules. No great surprises there, but it seemed rather on-topic.

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...hp?f=3624&a=12

Oddly, despite some off-the-wall comments, in some ways this thread is actually accomplishing something, because it seems like clearer heads are coming up with some very intelligent discussion of the matter.

Thanks for participating, and thanks for the kudos to me in various posts.

Steve

[Zeyes]

Originally Posted by Raderick

My suggestion, keeing in mind that I am just one person, is the remove the warnings system altogether and use a system in which the members basicially police themselves.

My experience is that that approach only works when the forum regulars are largely on the same page and the policing is necessary only in an "outwards" fashion, i.e. targetting unruly newbies and trolls. On a forum like this where at least part of the brouhaha is caused by internal warfare among regular posters, I suspect it won't be quite as successful (to put it mildly), unless you have a bunch of hard-nosed moderators who won't shy away even from censuring long-time members when they get out of line.

[Raderick]

Originally Posted by Zeyes

My experience is that that approach only works when the forum regulars are largely on the same page and the policing is necessary only in an "outwards" fashion, i.e. targetting unruly newbies and trolls. On a forum like this where at least part of the brouhaha is caused by internal warfare among regular posters, I suspect it won't be quite as successful (to put it mildly), unless you have a bunch of hard-nosed moderators who won't shy away even from censuring long-time members when they get out of line.

I can't rebutt, because you are correct. I however can say that back around 2002-2003, the forum was run this way and it caused very little problems all around. The issues by what I can see is the forum moderation.

[Guidokid]

Originally Posted by battists

FWIW,

Andreas just released a revised version of the forum rules. It has tightened up the language a bit, if nothing else. It's also interesting to note that warnings will now go away if you "keep your nose clean" for a while.

Incidentally, it is noted that using asterixes (asterices?) to mask swear words is also not acceptable.

Here's the link to the revised forum rules. No great surprises there, but it seemed rather on-topic.

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...hp?f=3624&a=12

Oddly, despite some off-the-wall comments, in some ways this thread is actually accomplishing something, because it seems like clearer heads are coming up with some very intelligent discussion of the matter.

Thanks for participating, and thanks for the kudos to me in various posts.

Steve

I understand all this....but why was i warned about my original post which was directed at you.....what rule did i break???
answer me that.....if you want to hide behind that tough guy TC dale, then let him answer the question.......i read the above link and i don't think i broke a rule

[Raidergoo]

Originally Posted by Guidokid

I understand all this....but why was i warned about my original post which was directed at you.....what rule did i break???
answer me that.....if you want to hide behind that tough guy TC dale, then let him answer the question.......i read the above link and i don't think i broke a rule

Why be a troll?

[glenmere14]

Bless you, Battists!

[The Wolf]

Originally Posted by Zitofan75

Most of us, particularly those of us from wealthy, indistrialized democracies have rarely if ever had to deal with a regime or set of circumstances like what the Nazis brought about.

You must have never talked to any Native Americans.

[The Wolf]

Originally Posted by D Love

I'm offended that you guys are offended that I took offense to you. Screw you guys. I'm going home.

Finally there's a post here I can get behind!