Foxcommander

Started by Eamonnca1, October 06, 2017, 12:00:48 AM

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stephenite

Same. Alluding to technicalities as opposed to acting like an adult and understanding the Mods don't particularly want to get involved in every little spat.

The thing that really gets me is the expectation that someone else sort out their complaints on an anonymous Internet forum, the arrogance and/or gross stupidity is breathtaking.

Eamonnca1

Quote from: stephenite on October 08, 2017, 02:17:41 AM
Same. Alluding to technicalities as opposed to acting like an adult and understanding the Mods don't particularly want to get involved in every little spat.

The thing that really gets me is the expectation that someone else sort out their complaints on an anonymous Internet forum, the arrogance and/or gross stupidity is breathtaking.

This is not a "little spat." This is a trolling campaign that is over a year old and has flagrantly violated several rules of the board, one of which carries an immediate permanent ban. This forum is supposed to have rules and all I'm asking for is that at least some of them be enforced. If the rules are to be discarded then this place will become a honeypot for every far right Nazi on the web. "Come on over to GAAboard! Post links to alt-right websites and insult some lefties while you're at it! It's a great place where you can get away with murder!"

Rules are rules.  There's nothing "arrogant" or "grossly stupid" about it.

stephenite

If you're offended by it, as an adult, you have the choice not to engage, but nope, off you run screaming hysterically because somebody on the Internet wasn't nice to you.

Again, the expectation that a Mod should give up his own time or even be bothered to intervene is frankly, pathetic in my opinion. Grow up


Main Street

Quote from: stephenite on October 08, 2017, 04:40:58 AM
If you're offended by it, as an adult, you have the choice not to engage, but nope, off you run screaming hysterically because somebody on the Internet wasn't nice to you.

Again, the expectation that a Mod should give up his own time or even be bothered to intervene is frankly, pathetic in my opinion. Grow up
Au contraire, there are rules posted by the mod on the discussion board page, some were even discussed with members before posting them up.
Should a post be reported to the mod as violating one of those rules, it's the responsibility of the mod to review the merit of the complaint.
So yes I would expect a mod to give up their time, read a complaint and pass judgement on the merit of the complaint with reference to the rules.
That's the duty of a mod.

It's all gone downhill since Ziggy brown nosed his way to the higher echelons of the board's admin, leaving behind his Mod duty.

Tony Baloney

Agree. If there are rules by which the board is moderated then they should be enforced, otherwise just remove the rules (apart from anything illegal or morally dubious) and let everyone defend themselves or use the ignore function.

Syferus

Quote from: stephenite on October 08, 2017, 04:40:58 AM
If you're offended by it, as an adult, you have the choice not to engage, but nope, off you run screaming hysterically because somebody on the Internet wasn't nice to you.

Again, the expectation that a Mod should give up his own time or even be bothered to intervene is frankly, pathetic in my opinion. Grow up

I gave up responding to you because you don't understand the implicit responsibilities of running a forum, or the general attempts to troll them that any one with even a degree of popularity receive.

What is being asked is both written in the already exsisting rules and would be relatively easy to police as the vast majority only want dedicated troll accounts such as Foxcommander removed.

stephenite

Quote from: Gaaboardmod3 on October 06, 2017, 12:43:54 PM
Syferus, I'm a mod here. And I can completely agree that I don't spend a lot of time moderating here. I like to post here myself, but I don't have time to go moderating every single thread, or trying to decide whether someone is a WUM, a Troll, or just a genuine contradictorian. I will look at FoxCommanders latest post, as he and several others are on a thin line already and have been told so.

As for the Mickey Harte comment, I'm not sure what you're getting at, but if you think I am from Tyrone, you're off base. Where the bias (if any) comes in is trying to protect people and families of people who might actually read this board. So anyone having a big go at a GAA person will be a lot more likely to provoke action than someone talking about Ryan Giggs. Maybe that's not consistent, but I don't apologise for trying to protect our own. Some people say I don't go far enough.

As for WUMs, Trolls and generally banning people, I'm not in favour of it because one man's trolling is another man's valid opinion. I just try to make sure they don't descend into outright abuse. Quite a lot of people called for your banning, for example, as a troll/WUM. I didn't agree with it, as I felt you hadn't broken any rules and were genuine enough.

It's not always as black and white as you suggest. That being said I have, and other mods have, banned people in the past. And if we need to do it again, we will.

I freely admit I don't moderate every thread and every post. I have a life outside of this board and if that means I'm a bad moderator, so be it. I'm comfortable in trusting people to at least be adult, and when things escalate, then I step in.

One thing I have learned over the years is EVERYONE wants close moderation of those people they disagree with. NOBODY wants to see someone they agree with sanctioned or posts edited.

In short, if everyone was just grown up, you wouldn't need any moderation.

So, even given the Mods response above, you still refuse to accept the fact that no one has the 'right' to have their opinions listened to, or that the Mods might simply disagree with the interpretation some others have of their rules?

The only responsibilities anyone has in running this forum is to do so as they see fit, not as you or any others decide - is it that difficult to understand?

As before, if you don't like it, there is a little X in the top right hand corner, otherwise known as 'don't let the door hit you on the way out'





magpie seanie

If there wasn't an "ignore" function I'd possibly be more in favour of giving people the boot. It's much easier just to ignore them and get on with it. There are a few on this site who I think really sail close to the wind with personal abuse and stalking/harassment/feuding but if I can ignore them then let them off.

Gaaboardmod3

#68
Hi Lads,

I've done a bit of digging and thinking on this, and I take on board the point about enforcing rules we have in place. If you report a post, I will moderate it based on the rules we have published. I will not proactively trawl through posts on every thread to make sure everything is in order, but if I see something myself that is unreported I will follow up just as if it were reported.

I will refer to the following rules a lot of the time as my guide, and I will adhere to their penalties and try my best to implement the spirit of the rules.

1. Personal abuse.
    Personal abuse is one of the most common problems on internet boards. Known sometimes as 'playing the man', whether foul language is used or not, this behaviour is
    not allowed.
    e.g. Calling someone a fat fool is the same as calling someone something more vulgar. This rule applies even in situations where another user has breached this, or
    another rule. Retaliation is still a breach of the rule.
   
    Penalties- 1st Offence - Warning,  Second Offence - 2 Day Ban, Third Offence - 10 Day Ban, Fourth Offence - Permanent Ban

I hope this is self explanatory. To me this is the just as bad as 'trolling' in bringing threads into an unreadable state. And many posters have been guilty of this. It stops now. If you can't reply to a poster without insulting them, then either ignore their posts completely, or you will be subject to the above. That goes for everyone.


2. Libellous/insulting posts about a real person

   In this day and age, many more people are becoming aware of the existance of boards such as this. While this is generally a good thing, it also means that the posts are
   more likely to be read by a casual visitor to the site. In these circumstances, the board must protect itself against allegations of libel, or defamation and so any posts
   which make derogatory remarks about a named, or clearly implied, individual, are a serious breach of the rules, and dangerous to the board itself. This particularly applies
   to individuals' private lives, finances, legal issues etc etc. This also applies to unwarranted abuse of GAA players and officials.
   
   Penalties - 1st Offence - Warning, Second Offence  - 5 Day Ban, Third Offence - Permanent Ban

This one I freely admit is not consistent in its application. Where the topic of conversation is Irish, or particularly part of the GAA community, then you are treading on very dangerous ground and that will be a red flag item for Moderators. However, that doesn't mean you have carte blanche to talk about other people, and if posts are reported, you will also be subject to the above.

4. Inappropriate posts, incitement or racist posting.
   This is a very broad topic, and can be the most subjective in the way the moderators view things. In general, it would be the 'good manners' rule. Specific examples of
    inappropriate posts would be the following. (This list is by no means conclusive)
      - Abusive posts between fans of soccer teams, clearly not part of good humoured banter. Mentions of Hillsborough, Munich, Heysel or alluding to these incidents in a
        way designed to incite other posters to break forum rules.
      - Sectarian posts, or posts advocating violence against any community or person. Some of the topics under discussion from the different cultures on this island have
        come close to this. That will not be allowed or accomodated.
      - Racist posts, including posts propogating racist views about any race or community.
      - inappropriate posts such as the Maddie McCann jokes etc.
     
   Penalties - 1st Offence - Warning, Second Offence - 10 Day Ban, Third Offence - Permanent Ban

This rule was brought into effect because this board was almost ruined by soccer threads descending into madness. It is obvious that we need to reiterate this rule, not just for soccer, but for far wider areas. With the current refugee crisis, and other social issues, posts about groups like Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Racial Groups or the Travelling Community are all covered by this rule. If you make a racist or insulting post about any such group, you will be pulled up on it. This is subjective in certain areas, as mentioned above, but it is objective in those specific areas.  This does not mean that you cannot have an opinion that Refugees or Asylum Seekers should/should not be allowed into the country etc, but if you have such an opinion, you cannot use racist terms, or stereotypes to back up that sort of position. You'll have to tread a fine line and debate it properly. If your opinions are distasteful to many, you should expect to be challenged on them, and if you veer into this territory, you will be subject to this rule.

8. Joining up to cause trouble, or to annoy people.
   Occasionally, some people join the board simply to post something abusive, or to 'flame' the board. These people are generally easy to spot (see the F365 invasion last
   year) and have no real interest in the GAA Board. Also some people, who have been banned permanently, rejoin under different usernames and continue with the
   behaviour that led to the ban. By tracking IPs, behaviour and other items, we can sometimes tell this fairly easily, and these users will be banned again.
   
   Penalty - Immediate Permanent Ban

This may be the most subjective of all, and was actually created to counter a very specific scenario where we had posters from F365 joining, posting highly inflammatory material, and then being banned. This was not a 'trolling' rule. However as people have pointed out, it could easily be interpreted in that manner and so that is a valid perspective. Trolls are hard to legislate for, because as long as they do not post abuse, do not post racist or vulgar material, and argue their position in a logical manner, then it is hard to call them trolls. Of course if a pattern of contrarian behaviour emerges, then the likelihood is that these are not genuinely held positions (no matter how abhorrent they appear to a lot of us) but they are actually trolling.


So what does all that mean? It means that I cannot and will not ban someone for having a contrary position, even if it is a horrible one, as long as that person adheres to board rules about posting of material.

I encourage people who do not want to engage or read such posts to ignore, or alternatively to report them if they are in clear breach of one of the rules, especially the ones mentioned here.

If a poster or posters are seen to have a pattern of 'stirring it up' across several topics, then the moderator will make a subjective decision on whether the poster is a troll and can take action according to Rule 8.

Finally, as for myself, I will commit to reviewing all reports within as quick a time as possible, and I will use those rules as a guideline. I think we do need to tighten things up to make this board more usable, and that has been a bit lax recently. I won't please everyone. Some of your reports will be not acted on, but I will try explain why. Some bans will annoy people, but I hope this post explains the rationale.

I hope this post explains my thinking on this, other moderators and the admin may have a different view, but until told otherwise, this is the direction I will take.

Cheers

stephenite


ziggysego

Testing Accessibility

J70

What was the F365 invasion??

AZOffaly

We don't speak of the F365 invasion.

Denn Forever

Quote from: AZOffaly on October 09, 2017, 01:34:40 PM
We don't speak of the F365 invasion.

An Irish solution toeverything.
I have more respect for a man
that says what he means and
means what he says...

Eamonnca1

Quote from: stephenite on October 08, 2017, 04:40:58 AM
If you're offended by it, as an adult, you have the choice not to engage, but nope, off you run screaming hysterically because somebody on the Internet wasn't nice to you.

Again, the expectation that a Mod should give up his own time or even be bothered to intervene is frankly, pathetic in my opinion. Grow up

If someone signs up to be a mod then I expect them to do their jobs. "Grow up" indeed!