Politics and Society Moderation Discussion Only Fans Thread

Politics and Society Moderation Discussion Only Fans Thread

Hello everyone. I've closed the previous mod thread, and opened this to capture all issues related to moderation policies and actions going forward. I'll kick it off by reposting my intro post from the other thread. Again, I'm happy to be here and look forward to hearing from you.

Browser


Hello everyone.

I'm very pleased to have the opportunity to serve as a moderator in Politics and Society. I asked for this position because I believe we are experiencing a polarization in our politics and society unseen since the 1960s. We may well be at a juncture from which we will either make great progress or suffer great setbacks in regards to our democratic foundations and civil rights over the next few years. So I believe it is important to maintain a forum for discussing these important topics. When the other mods had to step back a bit due to their real life time obligations, I asked to join the mod team to help keep the forum going.

I have not followed this forum in the past, though I have been reading through threads the last few days and made a few posts. This has allowed me to get a sense of the initial impression the forum likely makes on new readers who are deciding if our forum is a place they would like to visit regularly and participate in. While I see some familiar names from the live poker forum, many of you I have not had any interaction with to date. I have no preconceived notions of anyone's posting behavior and will essentially start from a clean slate.

I will shortly post more about my modding approach and give my initial impressions of the forum based on my observations over the last several days. I will be soliciting your input on things you like about the forum that you want to remain, and things you don't like that you would like me to change. Your candid input and feedback is very important to me. Especially, please don't hesitate to let me know if you think a policy or a proposal is a bad idea. I'd rather hear it before it goes into effect than after.

My overall modding principle is simple: Be Nice. Disagreement need not be disrespectful, and everyone must be treated with respect. Calling a poster derogatory names or hurling snarky insults never usefully advances a discussion. It just bogs things down and turns off many would be participants. And it's not nice. Don't do it.

My goal is to have a forum where people with a wide variety of opinions along the political spectrum enjoy expressing and debating their views in a spirited manner, free from insults, bigotry and denigrating comments. If you enjoy discussing these important and often polarizing issues in a passionate, yet respectful manner, I look forward to getting to know you and working with you to create a forum people will enjoy visiting and contributing to. You can be as committed, determined and relentless as you like in advocating for your position. Be persuasive, thought provoking and challenging. But be nice.

I want to thank tame_deuces and King Spew for their support in bringing me onboard and for all the time and effort they have put into making the forum better. While I am taking over most of the day to day modding responsibilities, both are retaining their mod status and superpowers, and will be supporting the forum as their availability permits. And I personally welcome their continued advice and feedback.

Again, I am happy to be here and look forward to getting to know you.

Browser

24 December 2022 at 02:15 AM
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1077 Replies

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I think "full of excellent ideas" may be his way of bypassing the obscenity filter and he is really saying "full of ****". But to be sure I'd better permaban both of you. So that means you can't post again for 5 minutes. If you try and come back under an alias you will be superpermabanned which will add another 5 minutes. So tread carefully.


by chezlaw P

D2's recent posts have been full of excellent ideas

Chez, if we implemented the Strunk & White thing, you're 40:1 on to be the first to be voted off the island.

Edit: ****, that was 4 minutes and 35... no 39 seconds.


by browser2920 P

It did allude to the conversation. But I deleted the other posts of that conversation as well, so it no longer fit without that context, as this thread isnt for posters to critique other posters, suggest they be banned, or bring up past issues they've had with a particular poster.

Just to reiterate, if someone believes someone made a post that violates our standards snd requires mod action, then report the post.

Seriously? Seems like a moderation discussion to me. Reporting posts is appropriate as well, but in my experience it's very rare anything gets done about the reported posts, and then we're also left to wonder if the thing we reported is supposed to be allowed or not. At least when posting about it here, you at least know that someone saw your complaint.


Browser, you have obviously never been privy to the "About Moderation" thread on Unstuck. Boy, that was a hoot. I think it had to get rolled multiple times due to the 10,000 post per thread lmit.

And actually, that software had a facility to put a time-out on posters. So, once, say, I, d2_e4, posted, I could no longer post for 15, 30 or 60 minutes at the mod's discretion. Others could post, but they were also subject to the same restriction. It was kinda like a "better make your post good" thing.

That was fun. Half the posts were people using their time to complain about how bullshit the restriction was. I know for a fact I had no wish to post to discuss the use of the c word or whatever the substance of the debate was half the time, but I'd use my time to post South Park memes or something.


by chillrob P

Seriously? Seems like a moderation discussion to me. Reporting posts is appropriate as well, but in my experience it's very rare anything gets done about the reported posts, and then we're also left to wonder if the thing we reported is supposed to be allowed or not. At least when posting about it here, you at least know that someone saw your complaint.

Did you see the posts before I deleted them? If so, which part did you think seemed like a moderation issue to you?


by browser2920 P

Did you see the posts before I deleted them? If so, which part did you think seemed like a moderation issue to you?

No, I have been without power for 36 hours, so I didn't read those. But I did read your post saying "this thread isnt for posters to critique other posters, suggest they be banned... "
That's what I was commenting on, the general (new?) rule.


by chillrob P

No, I have been without power for 36 hours, so I didn't read those. But I did read your post saying "this thread isnt for posters to critique other posters, suggest they be banned... "
That's what I was commenting on, the general (new?) rule.

OK. I think most posters understand that in the topic threads, you are to attack the argument, not the poster. So we are working on eliminating all the "you are a racist, fascists, etc" statements and instead point out the flaws in the argument. Plus this gives the poster a chance to defend himself as to why his post wasnt racists, etc.

But what sometimes happens is instead of that people come into the moderation thread and do the same thing only in the third person. So if we don't allow people to say in a topic thread "chillrob you are a racist, antisemite nazi" then we are not going to allow them to come into the mod thread and say "that chillrob is a racist, antisemite nazi". And then others pile on with "yeah, that chillrob is a shitty poster altogether".

That's what I mean by not being a moderation issue. No one is seeking clarification of a rule, or asking why a particular post is allowed or not. Rather they are just attacking the person in the mod thread.


by browser2920 P

OK. I think most posters understand that in the topic threads, you are to attack the argument, not the poster. So we are working on eliminating all the "you are a racist, fascists, etc" statements and instead point out the flaws in the argument. Plus this gives the poster a chance to defend himself as to why his post wasnt racists, etc.

But what sometimes happens is instead of that people come into the moderation thread and do the same thin

JFC. Is that Tome 3, Book 2, Chapter 4, Paragraph 5, Section 1, Subsection 3 of the browser forum decorum code?


by d2_e4 P

JFC. Is that Tome 3, Book 2, Chapter 4, Paragraph 5, Section 1, Subsection 3 of the browser forum decorum code?

I dont know why you are spending so much energy on such a simple thing, but I am ending this discussion with this post. It has always been forum policy that personal attacks are not permitted. There is nothing new here. You cant do personal attacks in the topic threads and not in the mod threads. That's it.


by browser2920 P

I dont know why you are spending so much energy on such a simple thing

I'm not the one spending the energy.

As someone who has been in the army, I assume you know what a force multiplier is.


Regardless, I think you guys are all missing the part where the Palestinian people are so tribal, violent, homicidal and radicalized literally no "outsider" would even consider taking on the job. It is a complete non starter.

Letting the racist clown back in was a great decision, bowser.


his takes are mundane compared to how the stuff the Israelis say on twitter and tiktok. they are very much in line with the standard thinking in the current state department from the president and Blinken.


by Trolly McTrollson P

Letting the racist clown back in was a great decision, bowser.

In 78 egypt tried to give it back

He isn't wrong in this instance

It's not about race or religion. No muslim country wants anything to do with it


by Victor P

his takes are mundane compared to how the stuff the Israelis say on twitter and tiktok. they are very much in line with the standard thinking in the current state department from the president and Blinken.

For real, how quick do you think you'd get banned for saying this kind of thing about most any other ethnic group?


you know how I feel about bannings lol. and really, I actually do like to hear what these people think.


by Victor P

you know how I feel about bannings lol. and really, I actually do like to hear what these people think.

"These people" meaning, "Crackers", "Liberals", "Atheists", or all three?


tribal


Banderite


violent


warmongering

homicidal


far right/warmongering/fascist/Nazi

radicalized


Nazi

I'm not seeing the double standard.


well the main difference is that I dont see the Ukrainians as inherently backward and irredeemable and deserving of their fate.


Look, BGP, Victor [eek, ban for me right there] is a special petal. While the rest of us catch bans for saying oultlandish things like "Victor [oops] exists only to entertain the rest of us", the rest of u catch bans. The guy is just not... all there.


by d2_e4 P

"These people" meaning, "Crackers", "Liberals", "Atheists", or all three?

He means Jewish Nazis


Victor, these were the words of multiple posters in that thread, not just you. One poster was allowed to keep posting there despite saying that 80%+ of Ukrainians (he called them Ukronazis) should be exterminated. I think you remember him, you said he was "spitting facts". He was eventually banned, but it was after several temp bans for what is undoubtedly suggesting genocide.


I'm just pointing out to Trolly that this language is allowed for groups other than Palestinians.


by browser2920 P

OK. I think most posters understand that in the topic threads, you are to attack the argument, not the poster. So we are working on eliminating all the "you are a racist, fascists, etc" statements and instead point out the flaws in the argument. Plus this gives the poster a chance to defend himself as to why his post wasnt racists, etc.

But what sometimes happens is instead of that people come into the moderation thread and do the same thin

I guess there's some of that, but I was more thinking of the posts saying something like "there's a poster who keeps calling me a baby killer - I report the posts over and over, but nothing seems to be done about it".
Personally I don't think I generally mention the name of the poster causing the problem. Of course it can be easily figured out by reading the thread, but I still don't consider that any kind of attack.


by Trolly McTrollson P

Letting the racist clown back in was a great decision, bowser.

Palestinian is still not a race. Palestinians are the same race as Israelis. The only difference between them is the different ways they worship the same non-existent hateful supreme being.


by Bluegrassplayer P

Victor, these were the words of multiple posters in that thread, not just you. One poster was allowed to keep posting there despite saying that 80%+ of Ukrainians (he called them Ukronazis) should be exterminated. I think you remember him, you said he was "spitting facts". He was eventually banned, but it was after several temp bans for what is undoubtedly suggesting genocide.


I'm just pointing out to Trolly that this language is allowed for

he got banned tho. and no I did not agree with all that he wrote.

by chillrob P

I guess there's some of that, but I was more thinking of the posts saying something like "there's a poster who keeps calling me a baby killer - I report the posts over and over, but nothing seems to be done about it".
Personally I don't think I generally mention the name of the poster causing the problem. Of course it can be easily figured out by reading the thread, but I still don't consider that any kind of attack.

supporting the killing of babies is different than being a baby killer.


by Victor P

he got banned tho. and no I did not agree with all that he wrote.

supporting the killing of babies is different than being a baby killer.

They're slightly different. But no poster here has said they do either.

Anyway, that post was just an example.


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