Off The Wall moderator

ikaro · Advocate Joined: 14 Jul 2003 Posts: 2525 Location: Denmark

moderate what ?
to remove spam posts is the only thing 'needed'
_________________
linux: #232767

phong · Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2004 8:09 pm Post subject:

Currently OTW is moderated, but in a pretty lax way. Mostly it's stuff like deleting spam, removing accidental duplicate posts (e.g. double click oopsies), and occasionally doing the "duplicate thread dance" (when somebody posts a topic that's been discussed before, somebody posts an link to the older thread, the new thread is locked and discussion is directed to the older thread, the new thread is moved to the duplicate threads forum).

There have been a handful of occasions in the past when some abuse has been moderated... Threads have gotten locked because they were just flame-wars. There's been occasions where people have started second accounts just so they could post something abusive. I remember one thread that was edited locked because people nested quotes until it crashed browsers or the board. Some posts have been chopped because they included huge blocks of text or big/offensive images.

I think the current policy is probably fine (though the number of junk or repeat threads kinda makes it tedious to sift through OTW these days). I would think it would be interesting in some threads (at the agreement of the thread starter and participants) to have active moderation so a real debate could take place (e.g. specific format of the posts, limit to post length, the requirement of citing sources, exclusion of ad hominem and similar junk, etc.). That would require more cooperation than I think is likely, and the volunteering a lot of time by some poor moderator.
_________________
"An empty head is not really empty; it is stuffed with rubbish. Hence the difficulty of forcing anything into an empty head."
-- Eric Hoffer

amne · Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2004 8:13 pm Post subject:

Nice summary, phong. I wouldn't have been able to sum it up better.

Just out of interest: Are you OTW people happy with the way things are moderated at the moment?

nixnut · Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2004 8:26 pm Post subject:

I like the way OTW is moderated just fine. As was demonstrated very clearly some weeks ago, people need moderation or the forum degenerates in the most appaling sort of flaming and name caling. Now and again a moderator needs to step in and remind people that some behaviour is not tolerated. I've seen some posts in this thread that people should be able to post anything. I disagree. Some language should not be tolerated. If you feel you need to be abusive to make a point, take it elsewhere (e.g pm, irc, email)
And since there will always be some people who cannot refrain from such language, moderators fulfill a necessary and useful function. The moderators are quite laidback imho. I don't feel there are big brothers watching over my every word I post here.
_________________
Please add [solved] to the initial post's subject line if you feel your problem is resolved. Help answer the unanswered

talk is cheap. supply exceeds demand

pizen · Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2004 10:03 pm Post subject:

Tun · Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2004 10:11 pm Post subject:

I think it's fine the way it is.. If it was left unmoderated it would just degrade completely. I'm impressed at how such a simple rule such as "no personal abuse" keeps it at a decent level, considering the cacophony of opinions on here.

plate · Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2004 10:27 pm Post subject:

It's not a question of language. It's respect for others that we need to enforce at times. The anonymity of a forum ID - even if the real identity behind some avatars is easily revealed - makes it too easy to treat people badly. Anyone having trouble imagining that there's a person behind each poster is lacking an essential quality for posting here.

An increasing number of OTW posters have very little or no relation to Gentoo Linux. Don't worry, that's not a problem. You're still welcome, just bear in mind that the ones who make the rules around here see the Forum's role first and foremost in its support function for Gentoo users. We tolerate OTW as it is, but we do occasionally need to remind some of you that you're guests here. If you stick to the guidelines, everything is fine. If you don't, we intervene.

Frodg · l33t Joined: 11 Feb 2004 Posts: 761

khiloa · Guru Joined: 27 Jan 2004 Posts: 333 Location: Florence, SC

cokehabit · Advocate Joined: 23 Apr 2004 Posts: 3302

I have seen some pretty awful things said but then again some people have some pretty awful beliefs, the person who thought that people with disabilities should have forced euthanasia was one of them, also a23d56 thought that all gays, non-believers et al would go to hell and thought he would make some friends by telling us all about how we're going to hell was another one, but as long as you tell it how it is (or how you believe it to be) without resorting to blatant abuse then i dont really think that much should be said.

I feel for the moderators sometimes, having to sift through to see if its a dup thread or constantly looking through OTW to see where some moron has posted "come get it here" at www.ihavenolife-butiwantyoutolookatmypornsite.com

Apart from a couple of itchy trigger fingers and some pre-emptive banning by Ian (which in itself isn't bad, it shows vision), i think its moderated well.

Perhaps there should be a "OTW No Holds Barred" ? As long as there was no really offensive stuff like racism then it would be cool, we could argue and call people names to our hearts content!

curtis119 · Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 12:32 am Post subject:

Good comments one and all. Especially from the moderators and the site admin. It's good to see opinions from the people who actually make this all possible. The vote is 70% for moderator at the moment. The people have spoken.

pjp, maybe there should be someone to moderate OTW on a permanent basis. Maybe three so a good consensus can be reached for fairness? Just a thought. I'm not waffling on my opinion. Just seeing the good points posted here. Pizen and porodzila have already said on many threads that they would take the job. I think (from looking at some of their posts) that the two of them would be very good at it.

Anyone second that nomination?
_________________
Please read the Forum Guidelines.
* | www.gayroughnecks.com | *

cokehabit · Advocate Joined: 23 Apr 2004 Posts: 3302

Sure, i would. Porodzila never seems to say anything out of line and he's alot less opinionated than Stormy or me. The down side is he does too much assembly and too much forth

Albert_Alligator · Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 2:34 am Post subject:

cokehabit · Advocate Joined: 23 Apr 2004 Posts: 3302

you are slightly, a week ago i wiped Gentoo off to my stupidity! I thought id try the new SuSE 9.1 and it was shit and i cant be bothered to put gentoo back on..... i'm too lazy.....

plate · Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 10:39 am Post subject:

That's not even a recent phenomenon. We've had numerous (non-Gentoo) Linux and *BSD users almost from day one because the technical fora were so friendly and competent compared to the support structures of their own distributions...

OTW is a step ahead in that there are posters who openly say things like they'll "maybe try to install Linux one day". Don't get me wrong, that's a good thing. I expect the culture of open discussion to rub off on a few of them and eventually turn them into open source users.

Gentoo's OTW has gained a reputation for being one of the more civilised outlets of web logorrhea, and it's a very attractive platform even for people completely outside of the Linux realm. I do get the impression that we have a fairly important number of non-Gentooist posters who'd make excellent bloggers if they could rake up the courage to start one of their own.

I personally wouldn't condone the appearance of specialised OTW moderators. Moderators aren't very useful if they don't help with keeping the technical discussions tidy and on topic, too. And I don't think there's a void that needs filling: Since we've stopped the "benign neglect" policy towards OTW that pjp already mentioned, things have already re-become much more elegant than the racket we had a few months ago.

Let me make this discussion available to those of our GlobMods who never set foot into OTW, by moving it to Forums Feedback. :twisted:

cokehabit · Advocate Joined: 23 Apr 2004 Posts: 3302

i think it is definately necessary that we hear from every moderator out there on this subject, not just the users

klieber · Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 1:08 pm Post subject:

Except for spam, OTW has never been moderated for content.* You are free to say what you want. You simply must say it in a professional, courteous way. We moderate for tone and manner, more than anything. Tell me you disagree with my opinion. That's fine. Tell me you disagree with my opinion and think I'm a fucking moron. That's not fine. It's really not that difficult.

The overriding goal for these forums is to provide an environment that is conducive to discussing Gentoo Linux. This includes getting help for problems, suggesting enhancements, etc. Name-calling, trolling and bashing do not help achieve this goal and as such, won't be tolerated on these forums.

OTW is provided as an extra benefit to our community. It has very little, if anything, to do with Gentoo, yet it helps foster a sense of community among our users. Thus, we continue to support it, despite the fact that it requires FAR more moderation than any other single forum.

We will not let one forum compromise the primary goal of these forums. OTW will continue to be moderated for tone and manner.

--kurt

* Moderators are human and humans make mistakes. Occasionally, we lock a thread or ban a user when we probably shouldn't. If you feel that has happened, PM the moderator in question and state your case. If that doesn't work out, PM me and I'll try to look into it. When doing this, remember to be polite and courteous. Sending a PM filled with vulgarities, accusations of deliberate censorship or other cabal-like activities have a tendency to get directed to the bit-bucket. Like I said, we're human. Treat us as such and we'll help you out. Treat us like servants and we'll happily ignore you.
_________________
The problem with political jokes is that they get elected

cokehabit · Advocate Joined: 23 Apr 2004 Posts: 3302

is it ever ok to call a person a fucking moron if he's blatantly being a moron?

pilla · Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 1:40 pm Post subject:

klieber · Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 1:42 pm Post subject:

cokehabit · Advocate Joined: 23 Apr 2004 Posts: 3302

i was looking for a specific reply, "dont be a fucking moron, of course its not" lol