Seeking Clarification: Responding to MPSIMS Requests for Help With Adverse Informati

The BBQ Pit
181

I think the problem is that it took four pages to get clarification.

There wasn’t a problem with the help thread

There wasn’t a problem with Billdo’s post pointing out additional factual information people might want to consider when giving help.

There was a problem with the MPSIMS thread become a potential pile on regarding MMs behavior. However, when Cajun Man posted his warning, he wasn’t clear that it wasn’t Billdo’s post that was the trigger, but the subsequent comments on Billdo’s post.

Which has lead to confusion over the whole “RL stays in RL” policy - hard to enforce when a lot of our threads are about RL - especially in MPSIMS and the Pit.

182

Damn, what a mess. And I doubt anyone in particular is to blame.

The trouble being, as Esprix points out, posting a request for help for a Doper inevitably means that it isn’t going to stay IRL.

But that is not always a bad thing. Sometimes Dopers need our help, and we can decide for ourselves whether to help or not.

FWIW, I read the original pitting, and had no clue at the time that it was about a Doper. I’ve never recognized anyone who wasn’t identified in a Pitting. Which is as it should be. You want to start something with someone, call them out by name. If you just want to vent, even about a Doper or a Dopefest, keep it anonymous. That doesn’t strike me as crossing the line into being a jerk, or bringing something in from real life.

And I wouldn’t like the idea of “no help threads”. Sometimes they are deserved, often they are needed, sometimes we get lucky and they are both. And people can help, or not, as they choose.

But I suspect most people of a certain age recognize that not all acts of charity “help”. Sometimes, people mess up thru no fault of their own, sometimes because they are chronic fuck-ups, often the mix varies. (Please understand that I am speaking in general here, not aiming at any particular Dopers.) You have to consider this everytime you are asked to assist. Sometimes you are doing genuine good, sometimes you are pissing away your money or your time down a rat hole. It doesn’t affect the virtue inherent in doing a good and generous deed, but it does sometimes happen.

What I can’t make up my mind about is whether or not it was right to link back to the Original Pitting. I have no opinion about the actions of the moderators - as far as I understand, nothing untoward was done. And I don’t even think I would have found it objectionable if a Doper chimed into a help thread with something like “I would think twice before giving a dime to this Doper. I have my own reasons for saying so.” Because to some extent, I am basing my decision whether or not to respond (if I can) on the reputation of the person starting the thread. And I can then judge, based on the reputation of the one making the objection, whether or not to consider this in deciding if I will respond.

But it doesn’t sit exactly right to link back to a Pitting. And I am not sure why.

Shoot, eight paragraphs, and not a word worth reading. Hell with it.

I only hope this does not discourage Dopers from helping out, or asking each other to help out, if they think it appropriate. That would suck, and it would work against the idea of the Straight Dope as a community.

rereads what he wrote on preview, shrugs his shoulders, and hits Submit anyway

Regards,
Shodan

183

Anyone? Or just those folks who happen to be Moderators, friends of Moderators or those who are just popular? Go back and think about similar appeals to this community. Is anyone allowed to post a thread asking for assistance? Is there to be some official “Moderator/Administrator Hat On” ruling that allows for such threads? Please link to them if you can find them. In my four years here I can’t recall a single one. Most of the time they are locked because of the “No Spam” rule or the “no selling stuff” rule.

Don’t mean to ruffle any feathers. But, perhaps you might consider what door you are opening if we are free to help “anyone.” Especially when the last two appeals came from Moderators.

Thanks for allowing me to post my thoughts.