Over in Cafe Society we’re having a pleasant little conversation
about web geeks.
All of the sudden, Lochdale gets warned by C K Dexter Haven about flaming other posters. Lochdale apologized, stating that he had only been joking.
Dex replied:
*Here’s the thing: Moderators do not have the time or the inclination to read every thread. Well, anyway, I don’t. If someone reports a post, I look at that post, possibly a few posts before it, but I ain’t gonna waste my time reading the whole thread to figure out if it’s satirical or not. *
Okay. I’ve never been warned – hell, I’m pretty sure I’ve never been pitted. And I’m not flaming Dex for doing his duty. But here’s my question.
Who reported the post?
Could it be that the mods have access to a tool that automatically reports flame-type language in a post, or could someone on that thread have possibly misinterpreted Lochdale’s obvious (to me and several other posters, at least) joke as being a personal attack?
If some poster reported Lochdale, it’s time to admit it and apologize. If Dex is relying on some sort of bad language detector, then let the board know, so we can watch our language accordingly.
And I just realized I used no profanity in this post. Gosh darn it.
was appropriate. Lochdale should have either thrown in one of the ubiquitious winkies or done something else in the post to indicate he was joking. Otherwise the mods have no choice other than to take posts like that at face value. They’re not psychic.
Lochdale’s post seemed like an obvious joke to me, and, given what the thread was about, perfectly topical. I was really surprised that C K Dexter Haven gave such a harsh warning over it…
Personally, if someone’s already been warned a couple of times, I don’t have a problem with a mod having an itchy trigger finger. Sure, Dex was wrong this time, but if Lochdale hadn’t already pissed him off, this thread woudn’t be here.
Nope. We get to slog through every thread, one post at a time, same as the rest of the Teeming Millions.
Is it possible that some other poster misread Lochdale’s intent and reported it? Yes. Having been a Mod for a mere three weeks, I have already collected my fair share of reports to which my reaction was “Why did you bother to report that?”***** It is also possible that some poster correctly read Lochdale’s comment as wholly inappropriate–we will never get a consensus on that point. There is plenty of room for judgment calls in these situations. Z’s post may mildly offend A yet seem to B to be quite within bounds. The same post may anger C to the point of quitting the Board while D would quit the SDMB if a Mod gently suggested to Z that the expression be toned down. (You (we?) are a motley bunch.)
And, as noted, a poster who has already been warned for similar infractions may be judged more narrowly on any single post. Whether that is Mods “picking on” posters they do not like or Mods “defending” the SDMB from disruptive posters you folks can argue out in this Forum.
I am not complaining about reports. I simply note that even Mods can take different views of the appropriateness of any given post. If someone reports a post and I do not immediately pounce on it, it could mean that:
I disagreed that this post was a violation or in the wrong Forum (not that I disagree with the poster making the report on all occasions);
I agreed with the report, but that the thread had already moved on to a new internal page (or that the thread, itself, had rolled off the front page for the Forum) before I saw the report and I judged the hoopla of dragging the infraction back to the forefront to be a greater problem than letting it die unremarked;
I tepidly agreed that the reported action was a technical violation, but saw a later apology or clarification and decided that I prefer people policing themselves rather than planting my 13-D Moderator boots on their necks;
or some other combination of factors that I am not going to spend time trying to recall.
Nah. People who write nasty e-mails to the staff demanding that Poster Z be banned immediately or they will sue to recover their posting payment would be pretty low.
However, reporting a post merely calls attention to an event on the board that should be considered by a Moderator. Not every report results in a reprimand and not every post that should have received a reprimand gets one. The Report function is simply a way for the Teeming Millions to provide input to the staff regarding what is perceived to be inappropriate.
If you don’t want a moderated board, then go to an internet newsgroup. If you want the Moderators, alone, to review every word posted on the board for inappropriate behavior, then cough up another couple of hundred bucks and pay us for the effort.
I think the point of “report this post to a moderator” is not to let the SDMB turn into a usenet group – and we’re in no danger whatsoever of having that happen. And also to point out when someone posts a NSFW link/advertisement/illegal activity.
I suspect some people seem to think it’s for pointing out every single minor rule infraction.
Yes, I believe it is. And your point? If I see a post that is breaking a rule, I will report it. I’ve probably reported 6 or 7 posts here at the Dope, but that is what the “Report this Post” button is there for.
Since the moderation on this board is for the most part solid and considerate of both the rules, their Chicago Reader Overlords, and the users, I’m not sure where you get the idea that ‘report this post’ is somehow a tool of the debbil.
Frankly, I could give a (… checks forum…) flying fuck about who reports posts or how often. How do you know when someone’s reported something or not? The Big Bad Mods aren’t going to step in unless they feel they should, and that’s their call, not the call of the poster who reported post.
Perhaps the phrase, “grow the fuck up” is appropriate.
We’re all adults (or at least not kindergarteners) here. We’re not trying to get out of being caught breaking the rules by the mods who are just trying to spoil our fun with silly rules. The rules generally are integral to the tone of the board, and all of us have a vested interest in maintaining that tone. If you’re going to fucking piss on the toilet paper in plain sight here, you bet it’s going to get reported. And rightfully so.
You sound like a guy who’s pissed at the police officer who pulled him over for doing 60 in a 35.
Eonwe, I think that Trunk’s post (the one that got you all up in arms) is in the same vein as The post that started this little debate.
Not to speak for Trunk, but I suspect that he’s using a pretend incident to validate hyperbolic terms in the same spirit as Lochdale’s post re: Metallica vs. the Crue, in order to highlight his disdain for those who hit “report” because they suspect a joke Pitting or other such inane “teacher, teacher, look what Jimmy’s doing” behavior.
I infer this from his previous post, which pretty much said just that, and Who_Me?'s “itchy report-finger-and-proud-of-it” retort.
I know, I know! I’ll report Trunk!Truuuuuuuuunk! I’m telllllllllllllling!!!
That’s the behavior he’s tweaking- overly-sensitive, no-humor reactionism.
Kind of… like yours.
or done something else in the post to indicate he was joking. Otherwise the mods have no choice other than to take posts like that at face value. They’re not psychic.