But you didn’t address the problem, you just dismissed it. If this is supposed to be a fun message board then it falls upon you as a moderator to keep it fun. That means that sometimes you have to take out the trash.
The recent issues stem from the fact that there are people who make it less fun and have been called out by the administration on numerous occasions, yet they’re still here sowing discord. Given that people are now paying for their entertainment, don’t you think that they have a good point? If I pay to go to a movie, do I want screaming children behind me the whole time? Of course not. You guys are the ones responsible for taking care of the problem, and all that’s happening is that people are bringing them to your attention. And what happens? They get dismissed for sowing discord, as if the problem never existed that caused them to be discontented. Somehow it’s their fault that people are being jerks here all of the sudden.
No, the problem’s been here all along. Some people just want some action to eliminate the problem. As one of the persons responsible for resolving the problem the discontent naturally falls on you and the rest of the administration.
This is perhaps a tangent to the discussion, but I am flummoxed by the knowledge I have recently gained that there are whole shadow boards out there dedicated for the purpose of making anonymous snarky attacks about people here. To me, this takes the cake for petty, juvenile wussy behavior. Socks strike me as a step up from those folks.
Makes me want to paraphrase Thoreau: Some men lead lives of quiet, pathetic, desperation. Me, I went to the Dope because I wanted to post deliberately, to front only the facts, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had been a snarky little bitch.
Actually I addressed the OP, which was sock puppets, Airman. I don’t mind at all when posters suggest changes, and make a good case for how they’d be workable for the board overall. It’s helpful, and we’ve adopted a lot of 'em–though even some of those have criticized laters, e.g. posting the warning records on bans, etc. What the heck. It’s a work in progress.
I don’t agree that there’s ever justification for trolling a message board with sock puppets, etc. just to stir shit.
As for removing those who cause discord…okay. Love to. Believe me. We HAVE to read their drivel. But you (collectively) can’t have it both ways. Think back on past bannings. Just about every single one, no matter how well documented, sparked cries of outrage, conspiracy and bias, etc. Which is fine and okay. So we’re careful with 'em. Maybe too careful, and easing up would sure as hell make life easier for us. But then we’re right back to mods acting relatively independently.
And then there’s identifying when a poster tips over that invisible edge, from PITA to something worse. What’s discord for you might be somebody else’s plain speaking.
I certainly agree that discourse on the board took a turn for the worse during the election, and went downhill through the war. But it pretty much tanked in real life as well. I can’t remember this many good people at each other’s throats since the unlamented days of the VietNam war. Frustration, fear and anger are up, and that’s reflected here.
“Cleaning up the board” sounds great. It’s how to do it fairly that’s tricky. I’m sick to puking of the flamers and ranters on both sides, but winnowing them out is a tricky business, apt to net some good along with the bad. IMO, a few of the most persistent, obnoxious posters–on both sides–are worse than Chinese water torture…but they stay within the rules. I’m reluctant to stifle even some PITAs because damned if they haven’t argued well enough to change some minds–on both sides, and myself included.
Being tougher with warnings and faster with bannings? Sounds good to me. I’m not being facetious here, btw. But does the membership overall want us to warn posters just because they’re irritating as hell? I dunno. Maybe so, and it’s a legitimate question. We haven’t found a clear, definable, defensible basis that would satisfy most (“all” is a pipe dream) but maybe there is one. Any suggestions welcome.
But trolling by sock puppet is never the way to go.
