Monitoring the Forums

[Pamela Galli]

Most of us have read all or part of the Community Guidelines http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Linden_Lab_Official:Community_Participation_Guidelines , but every time I read it, I notice something else. In case it has been a while, a link to it is visible from most forum main pages — in response to forum requests for more visibility. (Yes it was even less visible before.)

Something not all of us may realize is that the mods request we assist them in monitoring the forums, as they don’t have the manpower to read every thread. This means taking responsibility for alerting the mods when the CG are violated. As the CG stars, that doesn’t mean shutting down spirited debate (such as ketchup vs Mayo) . It does mean that mods request we report these behaviors:

When a thread is started in GD but belongs in Employment, report it so mods can move it.

When someone spams.

When someone pastes IMs.
When someone Names and shames another resident.

When someone name calls or flames. We all should know/learn how to get our points across without resorting to grade school behavior. No ones style or freedom of speech is violated if they don’t get to call people names.

I also think when someone new drops by, usually seeking help, and starts violating Guidelines, we should direct them to them before otherwise responding. 

 

 

Edited January 26, 2020 by Pamela Galli

[Arduenn Schwartzman]

I changed my mind. My favorite color is green.

[Ivanova Shostakovich]

1 minute ago, Arduenn Schwartzman said:

I changed my mind. My favorite color is green.

   \O/

[Amina Sopwith]

I was wondering this last week, actually. I had a couple of pretty abusive posts directed my way and it did cross my mind to report them as I'm very sure they violated the Community Guidelines. In the end I decided not to, for various reasons, but perhaps I should have done. The guidelines are there for a reason and while I might not have been distressed by the experience, someone else might be.

[Selene Gregoire]

8 minutes ago, Pamela Galli said:

I also think when someone new drops by, usually seeking help, and starts violating Guidelines, we should direct them to them before otherwise responding. 

Excellent idea. Just one question. Would that be before or after one has posted the link(s) to the relevant information? Some of us don't always read all the responses before posting our own response. Makes me cringe when I do that only to discover the person who asked for help has, for lack of a more polite way to put it at the moment, gone rabid.

Otherwise, I always do my part to help keep the forums from becoming a flame board, except when I'm a newbie. I lay low until I get the lay of the land.

[Cindy Evanier]

1 hour ago, Pamela Galli said:

without resorting to grade school behavior.

Sorry 🤨  I just did that in a thread

[Pamela Galli]

1 minute ago, Cindy Evanier said:

Sorry 🤨  I just did that in a thread

Then you know what you must do Cindy. 👉🏼

[Cindy Evanier]

13 minutes ago, Pamela Galli said:

Then you know what you must do Cindy. 👉🏼

deleted mine but someone needs to sort out the sock puppets over there

[cheesecurd]

It is neither really our duty nor is it always beneficial to follow the TOS perfectly and try to enforce it upon others.

The forums would be quite a bland place otherwise. Welcome to the internet, not everyone is nice and not everyone is going to be nice upon request.

[Pamela Galli]

9 minutes ago, cheesecurd said:

It is neither really our duty nor is it always beneficial to follow the TOS perfectly and try to enforce it upon others.

The forums would be quite a bland place otherwise. Welcome to the internet, not everyone is nice and not everyone is going to be nice upon request.

 

That’s okay, we got this. 😁

[Tolya Ugajin]

Sorry, I see little benefit to engaging in censorship amongst adults.  One person's flame is another's valid point.  Short of doxxing, we're all adults and should be able to click the little X and/or mute someone if we don't want to deal with them, without us needing to act as unpaid moderators.

My unpopular opinion for the day

"We have a natural right to make use of our pens as of our tongue, at our peril, risk, and hazard."

Edited January 26, 2020 by Tolya Ugajin

[Pamela Galli]

2 minutes ago, Tolya Ugajin said:

Sorry, I see little benefit to engaging in censorship amongst adults.  One person's flame is another's valid point.  Short of doxxing, we're all adults and should be able to click the little X and/or mute someone if we don't want to deal with them, without us needing to act as unpaid moderators.

My unpopular opinion for the day

"We have a natural right to make use of our pens as of our tongue, at our peril, risk, and hazard."

You are excused, we will handle it. 😘

[Lindal Kidd]

15 minutes ago, Tolya Ugajin said:

..."We have a natural right to make use of our pens as of our tongue, at our peril, risk, and hazard."

I didn't read that as "pens" the first time around.

[Pamela Galli]

1 hour ago, Amina Sopwith said:

I was wondering this last week, actually. I had a couple of pretty abusive posts directed my way and it did cross my mind to report them as I'm very sure they violated the Community Guidelines. In the end I decided not to, for various reasons, but perhaps I should have done. The guidelines are there for a reason and while I might not have been distressed by the experience, someone else might be.

They are there to protect the forum many of us have invested a great deal of time and effort in making it the mostly enjoyable place it is — and as many of us know, it has not always been. It’s taken us working together with mods — neither they nor we can do it alone. (And yes there has been much discussion in Forum Feedback about how we can do that.) The mods are not killjoys, they want lively discussion. Filing a report is not like ratting someone out to the Gestapo. It’s like reporting a Burglary to the police. 

[Pamela Galli]

18 minutes ago, Lindal Kidd said:

I didn't read that as "pens" the first time around.

He’s already announced his plans for his “pens” today. 🙄

Edited January 26, 2020 by Pamela Galli

[Luna Bliss]

2 hours ago, Pamela Galli said:

we report

Well Pamela this seems like it should work. But it doesn't. People always break the rules from time to time.....but you only get reported if you have a vindictive enemy.  So it isn't fair.  I know a couple people in recent months who left this forum because of getting reported and they weren't any worse than anybody else.

To me it feels similar to being with friends and then reporting them to the police if they get a little out of hand.   I do see the need for moderation if a behavior is severe, yes, but not for minor infractions.

[Pamela Galli]

3 minutes ago, Luna Bliss said:

People always break the rules from time to time.....
WHICH IS IT?

but you only get reported if you have a vindictive enemy. 

I KNOW THATS NOT TRUE.

So it isn't fair.  I know a couple people in recent months who left this forum because of getting reported and they weren't any worse than anybody else.

🙂

To me it feels similar to being with friends and then reporting them to the police if they get a little out of hand.   
 

YES, IF YOUR FRIENDS ARE BREAKING INTO HOUSES — IN WHICH CASE GET NEW FRIENDS.

CAPITALS ARE MY REPLIES.

[wesleytron]

2 hours ago, Arduenn Schwartzman said:

I changed my mind. My favorite color is green.

Reported.

[Pussycat Catnap]

32 minutes ago, Tolya Ugajin said:

Sorry, I see little benefit to engaging in censorship amongst adults.  One person's flame is another's valid point.

Requesting people follow basic rules of conduct and civility is not the same thing as censorship.

You can express disagreement by, stating your stance as I have done just now - or blasting a whole cesspool of vulgarity and paranoid accusations... In both cases you can get your opinion out there.

 

[Luna Bliss]

5 minutes ago, Pamela Galli said:

CAPITALS ARE MY REPLIES.

Some of the reportable offenses are clear-cut, but as Tolya said, one person can accuse another of 'flaming' (and I would say even a more intense form of debating) when in reality they're just trying to make a valid point.  

* not referring to name-calling here..

 

Edited January 26, 2020 by Luna Bliss

[Pamela Galli]

3 minutes ago, Luna Bliss said:

Some of the reportable offenses are clear-cut, but as Tolya said, one person can accuse another of 'flaming' (and I would say even a more intense form of debating) when in reality they're just trying to make a valid point.  

 

That’s why the mods provide a second layer of judgment.  
 

Do you really want to abdicate all judgment to mods? .

Edited January 26, 2020 by Pamela Galli

[Lindal Kidd]

[Luna Bliss]

6 minutes ago, Pamela Galli said:

To me it feels similar to being with friends and then reporting them to the police if they get a little out of hand.   
 

YES, IF YOUR FRIENDS ARE BREAKING INTO HOUSES — IN WHICH CASE GET NEW FRIENDS.

I don't think you realize some of the minor infractions some have been reported for, and received censure...so much so that they left the forum.

I do think, however, that the moderation has been lighter of late, and I'm happy to see that.

[Marigold Devin]

1 hour ago, Pamela Galli said:

Then you know what you must do Cindy. 👉🏼

Oh crikey, I was reminded of my old primary school headmistress, when she said "Then you know what you must do, (child's name)", and it meant at least a 15 minute sit cross-legged under the clock outside her office, and the clock "b-doinged" every fifteen seconds as per the nature of the inner mechanism.  That was punishment enough. I have since atoned for my sins of sticking my tongue out at Dawn Thompson!

[Luna Bliss]

2 minutes ago, Pamela Galli said:

Do you really want to abdicate all judgment to mods? .

No, but it seems of late the forum has been pretty mild, not much conflict.

So not sure you're bringing this up now...as if we've been attacked in major ways or something...

It just feels a little controlling to me...but maybe I don't understand your need to cry for major regulation at this point in time...