To AR Is Human . . .

[Scylla Rhiadra]

1 minute ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Was joke. Is why it took so many pages to formulate how to post it. Otherwise, the "guessing game" part occurred to me early in the thread.

Yes, I know. But it also does reflect, in jokey form, what is I'm sure a very real phenomenon. 

The inverse of this may also be true: that we are more likely to approve of a post if someone whose views we respect or feel are close to our own has already liked it.

[Love Zhaoying]

2 minutes ago, Ceka Cianci said:

Where do you find that no restriction thingy you are talking about?

 

 

2 minutes ago, Persephone Emerald said:

How can we see that? I'd expect it to be based on an algorithm taking into account how long we've been posting vs. how often we've gotten in trouble with our posts. I don't think that rating would be only for forum moderators and I wouldn't want to guess might secretly be a Mole moderator. 

(I bet someone's going to say that's just what a secret Mole moderator would say.)

It's been enough years since I've seen it, that I don't remember. Perhaps I misinterpreted something seen or read, and only actually remember someone admitting they didn't have the restriction.  The elder brain is a wondrous thing.

[Persephone Emerald]

6 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

I knew that I'd find my soulmate on here! When's our first date?

I won't work out since I think we play on different teams, but we could probably be snark buddies - watching other people to make hilarious comments about them behind their backs.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

1 minute ago, Love Zhaoying said:

 

It's been enough years since I've seen it, that I don't remember. Perhaps I misinterpreted something seen or read, and only actually remember someone admitting they didn't have the restriction.  The elder brain is a wondrous thing.

I know what you're talking about. I think it relates to the Answers forum from long ago.

I am 99.9% sure it has nothing to do with moderation.

Unfortunately, we've now started the 'Who is the Mole among us?" game. I vote we not play.

[Waialae]

It's all in the name, isn't it. Abuse Report, not "disagreement" report, not even "being a jerk" report. Everyone has their own opinions, their own morals and ethics, their own cultures, and their own truths and realities... so I try to adopt a "live and let live" attitude towards most folks. UNTIL what they're saying becomes harassment, or what they're doing obviously breaks SL's rules. I have no problem submitting an AR on those folks, because their words or actions are negatively impacting everyone's SL experience.

[Love Zhaoying]

11 minutes ago, Persephone Emerald said:

I won't work out since I think we play on different teams, but we could probably be snark buddies - watching other people to make hilarious comments about them behind their backs.

Darn it, I thought everyone knew I play both sides! Quarterback and First Base, so to speak. Nothing AR-able! Nupe.

[Madelaine McMasters]

30 minutes ago, Da5id Weatherwax said:

Moderating any online forum has always been a recipe for high blood pressure and a forehead-shaped divot in your keyboard. When it came to "moderating" I cut my teeth on a dial-up BBS and later progressed to first chanop and then a server-side O-line on a couple of IRC networks. It's only gone downhill from there, I'm afraid

It does mean I try (honestly, I do) to avoid giving moderators on any other online forum headaches and stick within the rules - but I do sometimes slip, I'm only (mostly) human, after all...

Yeah, I'm sooooooo glad my moderating days are over.

 

But, not as glad as those I moderated.

[Lindal Kidd]

A report of misbehavior in the forums is not, strictly speaking, an Abuse Report (AR). Those are only created in world with the viewer.

Here on the Forums, the only thing I'll report is when some throwaway account starts submitting obscene spam posts.

In world, the location where I normally encounter report-worthy behavior is on Welcome Island. Most usually, it's due to an obscene username. In these cases, I'll politely point out to the offender that their user name can be seen by all, and it's not likely to make it easy for them to make friends. I'll suggest they go back and re-register with a less offensive name.

Usually this works. When it's obvious the person is using their name (and likely other behavior) to disrupt, I'll report it.

I normally don't report naked avatars. Even though the venue is General, most nude avatars are simply trying to adjust their appearance, or took off their clothes by mistake. If they are running around propositioning others, I'll simply let any others present know how to mute them.

I'll report people who are obviously stalking newcomers...trying to trick them into giving out Real Life information, or their login credentials, for example.

And (though this has been increasingly rare) I'll report people who admit to me in chat that they are under 16.

[Love Zhaoying]

1 minute ago, Lindal Kidd said:

A report of misbehavior in the forums is not, strictly speaking, an Abuse Report (AR). Those are only created in world with the viewer.

Right! The "Ellipsis" menu just says, "Report".

[Stephanie Misfit]

I'll report posters who take every opportunity to promote their stores here on the forums, often in sneaky ways. It's a pet peeve of mine and I don't see why some people should get away with it while others follow the rules. I've never reported anyone for posting a controversial opinion, I have the option to block and the threads where people do that seem to get closed eventually anyway. I abuse report in world a fair bit, but block / derender more often.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

2 minutes ago, Stephanie Lovely said:

I'll report posters who take every opportunity to promote their stores here on the forums, often in sneaky ways. It's a pet peeve of mine and I don't see why some people should get away with it while others follow the rules.

Interesting!! I haven't noticed that a lot, but I'm not doubting you: I may just not be attuned to it.

I know of a handful of creators here on the forums, but I know of their businesses largely by accident.

Agreed that they shouldn't be using the forum for that. Although, it's not a great place to advertise, I'd have thought.

[Stephanie Misfit]

Just now, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Interesting!! I haven't noticed that a lot, but I'm not doubting you: I may just not be attuned to it.

I know of a handful of creators here on the forums, but I know of their businesses largely by accident.

Agreed that they shouldn't be using the forum for that. Although, it's not a great place to advertise, I'd have thought.

There are a couple of repeat offenders who lurk in certain sections of the forum, and respond to posts where people are looking for items by linking to their own products which aren't really related to what the person was requesting. It's very sneaky and I am not even sure how effective a report is in those cases, because they don't mention that it is their store they are promoting and they appear to be "contributing".

[Setsuki Takeda]

The only thing I've ARed for to date are the almost universally highly illegal pornographic links that show up at three in the morning sometimes.

I'm a big girl, if it's not actually harmful I don't see the point in filing a report on it, nothing anyone says to me here actually harms me or my family so really is irrelevant.

In general I find that it's when someone is being an *** to me that I get an AR for replying. I've come to consider anyone who is speaks in a way they'd likely be slapped for RL as fishing for a response so they can file an abuse report on others.

[Love Zhaoying]

Intermission for a funny: Some of us prefer to be called a "person of interest" instead of a "repeat offender". 

PC FTW!

[Scylla Rhiadra]

20 minutes ago, NanashiNyx said:

In general I find that it's when someone is being an *** to me that I get an AR for replying. I've come to consider anyone who is speaks in a way they'd likely be slapped for RL as fishing for a response so they can file an abuse report on others.

I suppose this must be a thing? Certainly there are people who post in order to elicit a response: arguably, that's almost the definition of trolling.

I sometimes need to watch myself. Last night I posted a very visceral response to something, for which I probably could have been ARed (for use of an obscenity). The whole thread disappeared pretty quickly, and so far as I know, there were no consequences -- but I regret the tone of my response. I'm every bit as susceptible as anyone else to be poked into an over-the-top answer. I don't like myself when I sound like that. And it does make me vulnerable to an AR.

[Love Zhaoying]

13 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

I suppose this must be a thing? Certainly there are people who post in order to elicit a response: arguably, that's almost the definition of trolling.

I sometimes need to watch myself. Last night I posted a very visceral response to something, for which I probably could have been ARed (for use of an obscenity). The whole thread disappeared pretty quickly, and so far as I know, there were no consequences -- but I regret the tone of my response. I'm every bit as susceptible as anyone else to be poked into an over-the-top answer. I don't like myself when I sound like that. And it does make me vulnerable to an AR.

Sadly, I sometimes wonder if - after replying multiple times to trolls - I was AR'd by an otherwise "friendly" or "Ally" who just doesn't want to see it. Luckily, it doesn't matter. And luckily, there's no way to find out. I'd rather not know who reported me.

[Silent Mistwalker]

2 hours ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Here's a fun game: use the information in this thread to guess who is AR'ing your favorite threads, who may be a mole, who may be Illuminati, and who may be your "soul mate". I'll call it, "marry, kiss, or AR".

X marks the spot?

[kali Wylder]

I'm not real big on policing.  When I was a host I was responsible for keeping the peace and I would have to eject people who were disturbing that peace.  Eject, ban and write up a notecard for the owners with the details of the event, nothing elaborate, just name and offense that got them ejected. The owners were really great and always backed me.  Now that I'm a private citizen once again, I've felt no need to be a vigilante. 

[Silent Mistwalker]

2 hours ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

I know what you're talking about. I think it relates to the Answers forum from long ago.

I am 99.9% sure it has nothing to do with moderation.

Unfortunately, we've now started the 'Who is the Mole among us?" game. I vote we not play.

[LittleMe Jewell]

3 hours ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Wow. Ok, I hadn't heard that.

Almost like res-mods then.

Well the Moles were originally Residents - or most of them anyway.  My understanding is that many of them keep their Resident accounts and still use them.  So, it only makes sense that they might join in on conversations in the forums, at times, in their Resident roles.

Edited July 11, 2022 by LittleMe Jewell

[LittleMe Jewell]

2 hours ago, Stephanie Lovely said:

I'll report posters who take every opportunity to promote their stores here on the forums

In a similar vein, I always report folks that are advertising their own places in the Role Play section -- there is a sticky that specifically says to not do that -- and I report merchants that advertise their new stores in the Merchants section.  I'm sure many of those 'new store' folks don't know all the rules, but it is easier to just let a Mod remove the threads.

[Kathlen Onyx]

17 minutes ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

Well the Moles were originally Residents - or most of them anyway.  My understanding is that many of them keep their Resident accounts and still use them.  So, it only makes sense that they might join in on conversations in the forums, at times, in their Resident roles.

I would hope not because that would seem to be a conflict of interest.

[LittleMe Jewell]

Just now, Sam1 Bellisserian said:

I would hope not because that would seem to be a conflict of interest.

Not if they are simply helping out in the Answers section or giving answers to questions in the Creation sections, or giving answers to people in the Land section or giving answers to .... etc.....

I'm not saying that they are commenting on the contentious threads, but they can surely see them if they are are perusing the forums for any of their normal forum activity - like what I mentioned above.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

12 minutes ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

Not if they are simply helping out in the Answers section or giving answers to questions in the Creation sections, or giving answers to people in the Land section or giving answers to .... etc.....

I'm not saying that they are commenting on the contentious threads, but they can surely see them if they are are perusing the forums for any of their normal forum activity - like what I mentioned above.

There's obviously a line that shouldn't be crossed here, but I don't know that I'm necessarily entirely opposed to the idea of res-mods. At the very least, the people who are responding to ARs should have some sense of the culture of the place.

In the Forum's worst and most toxic era, ca. 2009-11, one of the problems was that the moderation was terribly ineffective. And I think that one of the reasons for that was that the mods would sort of poke their noses in once in a while, respond quickly to ARs (or whatever we called them in those days, it was something different), and then leave. They didn't, I think, have any real understanding of what was happening here, and how reports were being weaponized.

One of my threads, a jokey satirical one making fun of people who didn't like furries, was ARed by a well-known poster who knew what the thread was about, but wanted to demonstrate how "clueless" the mods were -- so he reported it as an attack on furries. It was soon nuked, and the gentleman in question spent the next few days crowing publicly (and without consequence) about how "dumb" the mods were. 

And that wasn't the only incident of that sort. It wouldn't have happened had we had mods who were at least moderately engaged on the forum, and could see the patterns that were visible to everyone else who was here (and that the perpetrators made no effort to hide).

The idea of an "objective" "arms-length" response to ARs sounds good on paper, but too often I think it just means that the judgements lack context and are kinda clueless.

[Akane Nacht]

I think the last time I AR'd anyone was some years ago, for sandbox griefing in bug island. It was bug island after all, I must have been especially annoyed as usually I'd just come back later.

For forums, I haven't reported anything since 2020 I think - that was a grouchy year. It's much easier just to put the annoyances on ignore or simply not read them. 

“It doesn’t matter what people call you unless they call you pigeon pie and eat you up.”