If this wasn’t a whoosh, see here:
All this brings to mind other questions.
When a mod gets a “Reported” and it’s foolish, as in the cited cases, does he or she wait around for the follow up report that surely comes when the helper is insulted? Or would the common practice be to start reading the thread in anticipation? Is there an unofficial rule that, if a poster insults a helper for being less than helpful, that poster automatically gets an unofficial warning?
Why is an insult inevitable? Even if the poster is mad that his post was reported, surely their is a way to communicate that without being insulting. And if the reported post was assumed to be spam, usually there is a reason for that and the OP, could see it too. Especially for the spam ones, they are usually simple and honest mistakes.
This thread is depressing me.
I need to be St. John’s worted.
mmm
For mistakes in titles, it’s probably OK to post “reported.” Also, where a new poster wants to request something from a moderator and doesn’t know how to report it himself. However, forum changes can be more of a judgement call and a report doesn’t need to be noted.
Agreed.
First, the cases cited for spam reports were not foolish; they actually do look like some of the spam we get around here. Second, few posters are so thin-skinned that they become so insulted by a simple “reported” that they resort to insults themselves. As Monty says, this site is intended for adults and most people are aware of the rule against insulting other posters. Insults in response to a “reported” post are not only not inevitable, they are quite rare. If a poster insults a helper, they will get either a mod note or an official warning, depending on the severity of the offense. Posting “reported” is not in itself against the rules. However, depending on circumstances it could amount to junior modding.
I think that’s what I was trying to get at. Many forum changes are vague (is this IMHO or MPS? … A GQ or a GD?) and I’d barely report the thread itself, let alone post that I did. I meant the Very Obvious Cases, where someone asks about last night’s box scores in GD or something that is likely to generate a lot of ‘helpers’ sending multiple reports.
At least that’s what I was trying to say, my point may have gotten distorted.
Isn’t that what happens when the judge dismisses your civil suit?
But this is?
To be clear, I didn’t call him a teacher’s pet. I said his actions make it seem like he’s bucking for it.
I think the point is that a bare “reported” can come off a bit harsh, tone being what it is on the internet (impossible to tell).
When a newbie comes in and posts something and gets an immediate “reported” or “reported as spam”, it comes across like “Ha ha, you just fucked up.” That can be a bit harsh if the person was sincerely posting, like the examples given.
While those of us who have been here a while may understand it’s just a shorthand to mean “I sent up a flag for the mods, so you don’t have to send more notices, they’ll see it and decide”, that isn’t obvious from the mere inclusion of the word.
YMMV.
Only when there is particularly direct language for a Rule 11 violation.
I’ve seen countless ‘reported’ posts by Runner Pat, and they’ve always struck me as kissy-ass playground tattling.
Reading this thread, however, has opened my eyes to the rationale and the value of these posts.
So, RP, I apologize for every stinkeye I’ve ever given you.
mmm
That is correct, we appreciate the heads up.
While we do want to hear about what you see, if you see something has already been reported, (hence the post that merely says “reported,”) then you can continue on your way knowing that little favor has already been done, thank you all very much.
It’s not junior modding to report something to us using the “report this post” function. It’s not junior modding to mention that you have reported what you consider an issue. Your moderating staff appreciates getting a notice about it. We also appreciate getting one or two emails on the same subject and not 25 or 50.
i think i might react differently stating that i reported a message as spam depending on its age.
in a current spam message i might state i reported it because people (maybe many) are reading the thread and it would hold down on the reports that mods have to read.
in a spammed zombie message it’s been bumped by the spam message, if i post a message ‘reported’ then it would stay bumped after the spam message is deleted and my reported message stays there. a spammed zombie thread might not have been read and reported yet by many, so few reports are sent for mods to deal with. the zombie message would stay bumped irritating those that get irritated by zombie messages without significant new content.
Yes but in the meantime we might have spent tens of thousands of dollars on cheap crap.
If there’s a “reported” post in a zombie thread, I’ll just delete that post after I delete the spam, and let the thread float back down into its grave. No biggie.
I also do what twix said.
Me too.
What if a spammer makes a sock at the same time and immediately posts “reported” to their own spam post? Then it would never really get reported. :smack:
I’m not saying that couldn’t happen – if I have learned anything in 15 years of reading postings by the Teeming Millions I know we can never say “always” and never say “never” – but really, isn’t that on the order of “Can God create a rock so heavy he cannot lift it?”
The community is very observant; little escapes their attention. And, hopefully, sooner or later, moderation as well. 
While this may be true, I would say that about 99% of posts that are reported as spam are, in fact, spam. Instances of a post being mistakenly reported as spam are rare; and it’s even rarer for a newbie to take offense to the degree that the one cited in the OP did. (Remember that since we often remove both the spam post itself along with any “reported” posts, or other posts mentioning the spam, you will typically only see “reported” in cases where the report was in error.) So I don’t consider the problem a major one.