Remember CanOfPineapples? Who outed Number6? Let’s pretend for a moment that Can hadn’t been a sock.
Under the newish rules, where would Can (had he/she not been a sock) have posted?
Should he have postd the documentation in ATMB for posters and mods to discuss?
Or should it go in the Pit?
On one hand, it’s calling out clear and obvious trolling and can provide evidence–but it’s a poster, so it goes in the Pit.
On the other hand, the other half of the concern is “Why don’t the mods DO anything?” (Granted, it’s happening across multiple forums, so maybe that’s why.) But that makes it about the Mods and goes in ATMB.
The “PM the mods privately” thing is another option, but let’s assume hypothetically that Can didesn’t want to PM and would rather discuss it openly.
You don’t mention one other option, which is to use “Report This Post” on one of the troll’s OPs. That’s similar to PMing a mod, but it goes to all the mods in that forum.
You’re totally right and I originally mentioned it, but I lopped out a paragraph by mistake. I had a paragraph saying something like–
“Assume the Report This Post button has been used repeated, but nothing’s happened.” If you put that sentence before the “On the other hand” sentence, suddenly the parenthetical phrase about how the hypothetical trolling is in multiple forums, makes sense.
Note to others. Heed my warning. Do not post before drinking coffee.
Anyway, if you think someone is a troll or a sock, then PM the admins. You should not post it in *any *forum. People have been officially warned for making such accusations in open forum.
You’re right that PMs should be used however I was under the impression that accusations of trolling, though ill advised, are ok in the Pit (a relatively recent rule change, maybe the last year or two.) For example I don’t think my recent thread was closed because it was a trolling accusation but rather for more blurry reasons.
If you have an urgent need to accuse someone being a troll, please communicate that to a member or members of the staff by PM or email. Otherwise, please just hang on for a day or two, at which point we should have a clear statement of the policy.
(Sorry, folks, the mod loop takes a while to operate, since not everyone is online at the same time, and we like to give people sufficient time to consider and respond to policy issues.)
Accusations of trolling and similar misconduct are subject to staff discussion and a review of the poster’s history. Trolling is an especially contentious issue, as it is inherently open to interpretation; “stupid” or naive beliefs can often be sincerely held. These discussions are private and disclosed only when actionable offenses are found; we do not want posters to feel persecuted.
As for the correct procedure, we prefer that you either report the post in question or PM a moderator with your perspective and cites. This is then forwarded to the mod loop. Please note that a short, coherent and well-cited PM is the best way to get your point across; we usually analyze just the facts and leave the poster’s analysis/opinion out of the discussion.
Please note that while the moderators can appear unresponsive to inquiries, that’s because moderator discussions can take days of back and forth. Most topics sent to the moderators are discussed, but occasionally yield no consensus or a decision to take no action. But we’re always watching you!
As far as where to appropriately out a troll, as asked by the OP: “Not in public” is the short answer.
The policy has been for a while now, and continues to be, that you are allowed to call someone a troll in the Pit. You are also allowed to call them many other things in the Pit (aside from a few contentious exceptions).
If you do call someone a troll in the Pit, that does not constitute something the mods will pay attention to, let alone act on.
If you have a serious accusation against someone, neither the Pit nor here is the correct place for it: follow the procedure in my post above, of PMing or emailing a member or members of the staff.
Two questions, if you please -
[ul][li]Is there any distinction between “This is trolling” and “you are trolling”? Or “you are a troll”?[/li][li]Has there been any change in the policy on calling posts “trolling” during discussions on “what constitutes trolling” in ATMB?[/ul][/li]These are not intended as trick questions.
