More Active/Stricter Moderation - Yes/No

Started by Gaaboardmod3, October 06, 2017, 02:11:34 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Does this board need stricter moderation

Yes - Ban anyone who breaches the 'incitement' rule immediately
10 (8.1%)
Yes - But only if there is a repeated pattern
49 (39.5%)
No - Things are fine
55 (44.4%)
No - There should be less moderation
10 (8.1%)

Total Members Voted: 124

Gaaboardmod3

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

Franko

Ironic that the poster who initiated this whole debate would undoubtedly be permanently banned by now if the rules were followed rigidly.

As someone else said - everyone needs to lighten up a bit and take themselves a little less seriously.  It's an anonymous internet discussion forum, not international diplomacy.

Gaaboardmod3

Quote from: Franko on October 09, 2017, 11:14:12 AM
Ironic that the poster who initiated this whole debate would undoubtedly be permanently banned by now if the rules were followed rigidly.

As someone else said - everyone needs to lighten up a bit and take themselves a little less seriously.  It's an anonymous internet discussion forum, not international diplomacy.

Harsh, I started the thread!

A rule of thumb I think is treat it like the local pub. If you wouldn't say something there for fear of getting a well deserved box on the mouth, then don't say it here.

Franko

Quote from: Gaaboardmod3 on October 09, 2017, 11:22:19 AM
Quote from: Franko on October 09, 2017, 11:14:12 AM
Ironic that the poster who initiated this whole debate would undoubtedly be permanently banned by now if the rules were followed rigidly.

As someone else said - everyone needs to lighten up a bit and take themselves a little less seriously.  It's an anonymous internet discussion forum, not international diplomacy.

Harsh, I started the thread!

A rule of thumb I think is treat it like the local pub. If you wouldn't say something there for fear of getting a well deserved box on the mouth, then don't say it here.

I said the debate - not the thread!

As for your second point - yeah that's probably fair enough.  But boys do spout some awful shite in the local pub!

omaghjoe

Just catching up with this now.... Jaysus its like the Arab Spring but then a good deal of threads on here are like the Syrian Civil War

Does my vote still count... not even sure how to vote..... has the mod made his decision anyway despite the majority saying no?

On the one hand more moderation is needed because good discussions can quickly descend into pure crap sometimes.

On the other does this mean I cant call the Derry wan inbreds anymore? Tony Fearon is gonna get a lot of people banned at this rate.

Why is ad hominen the only logical fallacy that is being targeted when there are countless ones.

Is there a danger of stifling debate here with contrary opinions being labels as trolls and getting banned.

I fear that a lot of people want posters they disagree with to be booted off? What the point in having a discussion or argument anyway? Do you just want everyone to think the same as you at the end of it or can you not just leave it when you see that its not going anywhere. I do it because I enjoy thrashing around ideas, hearing the news, and learning from others

There are threads that will tend towards inevitable stupidity anyway like the Derry football thread ... I never go near it. ;-)

Do we want everyone to be as pious as J70 & AZOffaly anyway? How f**king boring would that be we need all sorts IMO

...Still tho with all that said I think Im gonna vote for better moderation.

AZOffaly


J70

Quote from: AZOffaly on October 10, 2017, 08:33:39 AM
Hey!!! Pious, that's a new one for me :)

He should see me behind the wheel on the streets of NYC!  ;D

Orchard park

were the comments on Margaret Keady  in an appalling post ever moderated or even checked

Eamonnca1

Let's get one thing straight. The old "you want to ban anyone who disagrees with you" fallacy is BS. I disagree with plenty of people here on various topics but I don't feel the urge to get into abusive name-calling or stalking every one of their posts about some pet topic that I want to hassle them about. However this is precisely what Fox does on a daily basis in flagrant violation of rules that are posted up there in black and white and with very specific penalties prescribed. What's so unreasonable about demanding that the rules, as written, be enforced?

omaghjoe

Thought I would bump this thread

Some of the posts in the 8th amendment thread are shocking. The playing the man rule and a whole lot more is not just being enforced.

Gabriel_Hurl

Have you reported any of the offending posts?

How is Ziggy Gaaboardmod3 supposed to know about abusive posts if he doesn't know about them?

Farrandeelin

Inaugural Football Championship Prediction Winner.

bennydorano

Most emotive threads tend to descend into embarrassing nonsense at some point. Some posters who think they're poster boys for modern Liberalism are the most fascistic in outlook on the board.

Having the tenacity and endurance to outlast fellow posters in a discussion doesn't mean you're right or you've won.

StGallsGAA

If Liverpool win the UCL the mods can retire for a while as the vast majority of complaints are due to overly-sensitive 'pool fans not being able to take a bit of 'schtick over their failure to win as much as a teapot in 7 years and just one pathetic league cup in 11 years.  This leads to either (a) the wee scallys bleating to the mods for the rest of us for laughing at them or (b) them resorting to personal insults and incurring bans.   Bless.

Carmen Stateside

 ;D two weeks still to go and someone seems a little nervous already! Poor fella!