I didn’t say the posts were Czarcasm’s fault. But mhendo’s posts are a result of Czarcasm’s posts. Therefore, when talking about the latter, it’s relevant and useful to discuss the former.
And if we could pit mods, maybe they’d see a reduction in nasty pms. Me, I say, if you can’t handle a fuck you, don’t be a mod but then I’ve always advocated for having a sense of proportion about things.
And? I said if he was being over the top abusive to a mod I had no problem with action being taken. That doesn’t make the warning less stupid. Neither does a previous bad act.
Why? I’ve never seen a respectful objection to one of twick’s Warnings for Something Not Against the Rules get any traction. Of course people are going to get pissed off when you show them rules-set A and then enforce secret rules-set B. Even more so when, every time we point out the contradiction, the answer boils down to ‘Tough.’
There are ways to make a person’s ears burn (or their eyes smolder, as the case may be with the written word) that DO NOT involve profanity! I think many of us here on the board are capable of that. Intelligent, witty, erudite even. So, do so?
By that reasoning we shouldn’t moderate anything, though. It doesn’t really stand up to scrutiny on a message board.
For both practical and technical reasons, that’s not an option for us.
If we’re going by sticks and stones, why does it matter if it’s private or public? The main rule here is “don’t be a jerk,” and abusing the staff isn’t any less jerkish if it’s done in private.
That’s not a sense of proportion, it’s making excuses for being a jerk. No surprise here, but I don’t think volunteering to moderate a message board implies consent for people to be abusive and nasty. For disagreement and criticism of how you go about your business? Sure. For plain old abuse? No. That’s ass-backward. I realize the horse is probably long out of the barn on this one, but I think if you’re moderating then perhaps people should realize you’re also a member of the message board who is devoting some extra time to trying to keep it a good place to hang out, and perhaps for that reason you should get a little extra benefit of the doubt. Not “you should be able to tolerate people cursing you out every time they’re unhappy- you asked for it.”
Because the bad actions of a poster will only effect him and his ability to post. The wrongheaded actions of a mod can effect all the rest of us and our ability to post.
We’ve also had many many threads where posters explain in great detail how people who get offended over fuck are unenlightened and schoolmarmish. I’m not saying the two groups are the same and people are being hypocritical but I am saying there is a dichotomy in acceptable behavior where at certain times we’re told, “who could possibly get upset about swearing?” and other times “How could you possibly think that was appropriate!”
I am out of benefit of the doubt for twickster and her continued presence on the moderating staff has undermined my faith in the integrity of the entire admin community.
Are you seriously suggesting he should have just run a find and replace on the word ‘fuck’ with the word ‘screw’ - thereby removing the profanity - and that would have spared him his suspension - or at least, in your eyes, meant he didn’t deserve it?
Profanity is totally arbitrary. It shouldn’t be a factor.
For the record and not that it means anything to anyone else, I agree with all of this. A volunteer mod should hear and answer to criticism. They should not have to put up with abuse.
The seperate the rest and put it into another topic? My point is it seems your complaints are less about the suspension, and more about a lack of equilibrium you’ve noticed lately regarding some moderator actions, correct?
I’m not sure how you got that slant there. No. I’m saying you can tell the person off quite well without sending abusive PMs. Telling them what you think of their decision in detail, and why it was wrong, while not being abusive. Telling ANYONE “fuck you” or “screw you” right off the bat while protesting something they did isn’t productive, whether it is in private or not. The person isn’t going to hear you, they will tune you out. It is better to calm down and state the reasons for your objections when you are at least in enough control of yourself not to be abusive while doing so. Are you really surprised that a person (whether they have any kind of power or not) decided not to accept that kind of treatment? Why should they have to ignore it? Finally, as I said before upthread, I think the suspension will at least help Mhendo calm down. (Or I hope so. It isn’t usual for him to act like that, I hope things are going well for him.)
By all means, use this as a jump point to raise objections for czarcasm’s junior modding, and what you see as arbitrary moderator action/favoritism. But I personally think those have less to do with Mhendo’s suspension, and more to do with people finally deciding now was a good time to speak up. So speak up then?
I can cuss with the best of them, but there is a time and a place for everything. When protesting the decision of someone in authority directly, is not the time to say things like “fuck you”. Society is full of dichotomy, as are people, your point?
