Moderation in All Things?

H

hcour

Guest
(Since there's been so much discussion about moderating here lately, I thought this might be the appropriate forum for this post. If not, feel free to move it.)

I think it is very difficult to moderate a board, much more so than it might seem. I belong to The Motley Fool site and their discussion boards are heavily moderated. There are constant complaints and discussions regarding TMF going too far or not going far enough; of censorship, favoritism, inconsistency, ineptitude... In fact there are 2 whole boards devoted to this topic alone and they are very busy. So a strictly-moderated site like TMF generates <b>just as much controversy on the subject</b> as a less-moderated site like ET.

Where does one draw the line when it comes to censorship? If a neo-Nazi posts one offensive msg and you let it remain in the name of free speech, then what if a month later you have 50 neo-Nazi's gathering here to spout their garbage and this becomes a "hang-out" for neo-Nazi's? Do you still let them do their thing, in the name of "free speech"?

How offensive is "too offensive"? <b>What</b> is offensive? What may offend you may be utterly innocuous to me. There is a lot of veiled and not-so-veiled racism, bigotry, & homophobia on ET I find highly offensive. Should those people be allowed to have their say? I, otoh, have offended members here w/some harsh, vulgar comments on religion and Jesus. Should I be muzzled?

So, again, where would you, if you were a mod, draw the line? It ain't as easy as you think.

Harold
 
You gotta just use common sense. The mods have been on this board and other boards long enough to spot a troll. A troll has nothing to add to the discussion, whatever the topic is. So just dunk him and his threads.
 
Pretty simplistic answer. What is "common sense" to you may not be sensible to me at all. So who is the arbitrator of "common sense"?

And how do you define a "troll"? I once, I swear, had comments censored on the Yahoo board for the tv show "Lost" because I was new and critical of the show. My criticism was legitimate, if not the popular view of the board. Because my opinion was not popular, because I'm new or post infrequently, I'm a troll?

H
 
I think it is similar to being a bouncer in a bar/club. People are there having a good time, being loud, laughing, arguing about sports/politics, dancing, making fools of themselves, talking smack to others etc.... However, it is fairly obvious when someone is getting out of line and needs to be tossed. The only difference is that in a bar/club, you can't get kicked out then come back with a different jacket and expect to be allowed back in again. On ET, you can.
 
as the saying goes "growing old is mandatory but growing up is optinal". some people think that cursing and abusing is "Adult langauge". i bet most people would just call it plain uncivilised behaviour.

there is offensive criticism and there is respectful criticism. take note of the following when u criticise and you will find that the MAJORITY of those who the criticism is directed at will not be offended (can't please everyone).

- be respectful
- don't belittle. (nazi pig, zio-nazi,etc)
- be understanding (not just tolerant)
- be humble (you could be wrong)
- don't insult
- be polite
- no need to use bully tactics or abuse
- do not talk down
- LISTEN to the response.
- be GENUINE and SINCERE.
- don't behave like the sky is falling (apocolyptic).
- don't try to convert. hard sell doesn't work.
- Use wisdom in addition to intelligence.
- walk away if the other person is rude.

Remember the golden words of wisdom "A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still". The P&C section does not seem to understand this last part and that's why there is so much hate and tension on almost every topic. and that is why i don't participate. birds of a feather.....
 
Harold, I don't think it's very hard to make a decision when a member is using some sort of bot to generate thousands of page views for his Nazi Propaganda posts.

It has yet to be explained to me how Baron could commit to keeping the lunatic Publisher off the boards and then, for the next 48 hours, the same lunatic could be allowed to post threads to the point that the main page of the thread listings had 8 of 9 threads by him at the top of the listing, each with 0 replies and 2000 page views.


Is there nothing that can be done about this?
 
Quote from traderNik:

Harold, I don't think it's very hard to make a decision when a member is using some sort of bot to generate thousands of page views for his Nazi Propaganda posts.

It has yet to be explained to me how Baron could commit to keeping the lunatic Publisher off the boards and then, for the next 48 hours, the same lunatic could be allowed to post threads to the point that the main page of the thread listings had 8 of 9 threads by him at the top of the listing, each with 0 replies and 2000 page views.

Is there nothing that can be done about this?
More...

Yes...there is something that can be done via a particular code.

Some forums have it setup so that if particular words that are on a no post list and typed in a pre-message...

The message will not post unless the offending words are removed.

You can do the same with website links...put them on the no post list.

Baron is aware of such a solution because it has been mentioned many times before in the past.

Must be a coding issue of why he can't set it up as such.

Also, throw in credit card registration process that puts a face on everybody...

You'll get rid most of the problematic posters when the above suggestions are used in combo.

It works extremely well. :cool:

Once again, all of this has been discussed many times before in the past with Baron and Joe over the years (each year).

It obviously ain't gonna happen. :D

Mark

Self-Banned from posting any useful trading related content at ET.
 
this isn't about propoganda by nazi, zionist, republican, democrat, religious organisation, etc. this is about using free speech in a civil manner.

what's interesting is that the author of all propoganda has usually written the information in a firm, intelligent and civilised manner so it appears to indisputable facts. however, when the info hits forum boards, the posters go nuts.

we could learn alot from the media which we unquestionably quote as gospel.

they present their carefully crafted opinion as professional reporting (Except for fox.how can u not see thru them?).

As if journalism is 100% complete facts when in reality, it's just plain sensationalised opinion.
 
Quote from NihabaAshi:



It works extremely well. :cool:


Mark

Self-Banned from posting any useful trading related content at ET.
More...

You have the land of Eden at your finger tips, yet you are here, in the Devils playground holding your breath. Strange :confused:
 
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