Moderation Too Strict

[Regeneration]

I'm on TPU since 2005 and in the past couple of years I noticed the moderation became extreme.

Like in real life discussion, it would be nice sometimes to make a joke, or even a tiny profanity, or even non-specific general insult. Some sense of humor.

But here the moderation over the years became worse even than government officials. Here you automatically get a warning even for bread crumbs.

God forbid if one makes a sexist joke, or post a funny GIF in response to a comment. Oh!!! "Only link or image posted".

@W1zzard

Maybe its time to do changes to the mod team.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
I believe mods have a line they draw and some people pass that line.
Your last post I saw and thought it was funny but also thought you passed that line as well but I didn't report it.

 

[Solaris17]

God forbid if one makes a sexist joke

Bro what

 

[ShrimpBrime]

No way! The mods are straight forward to the point and definitely not hypocrites.

I came back for Shawn. No other reason.

 

[Klemc]

Remove all the mods, back to vanilla's experience.

 

[Double-Click]

I'm newer here, but use a fair amount of GIFs when I'm feeling humorous and have never had an issue.
Have also seen mods curse here as well, even an F-bomb once or twice.

 

[phanbuey]

I am strongly resisting the urge to make a slightly racist and sexist joke right now. Just the tip.

 

[FoulOnWhite]

Maybe make a joke thread in the lounge, but depends how close to the knuckle the mods will allow them to be.

Idk, must be a crock been a mod sometimes, i guess each one has their own limit i guess regardless of the ten commandments

 

[bogmali]

Have also seen mods curse here as well, even an F-bomb once or twice.

Me thinks that was directed at @Tatty_Two

But hey, they're also human

 

[sneekypeet]

Seriously, I was the worst/best at sticking to the guidelines and holding the line with members.

One thing you all have to realize is that mods do not actively hunt for comments or "fouls" in threads. If they happen to be there and see a mess, sure they will clean it up. However, it is more likely that your fellow members are the ones offended. They report the threads/posts, and moderation makes a judgement call.

Out of all of the points/warnings offered up on TPU, it is rare as hens teeth that they get reversed, meaning it is an obvious post that does not follow the guidelines.

-2 cents worth from an old moderator.

 

[TumbleGeorge]

tl;dr bs

We users have gotten worse. In my country there is a folk saying: "A bad dog, a bad rod".

 

[Mindweaver]

But hey, they're also human

Debatable!

-Everyone
I'd like to take this time to say I think I'm doing a very good job of Moderating with a high level of humorist toleration.

 

[Tatty_Two]

Me thinks that was directed at @Tatty_Two

But hey, they're also human

Who you calling human?

 

[FoulOnWhite]

Well i am still here, so either i am doing something right, or the mods are doing something wrong

 

[bogmali]

Debatable!

Who you calling human?

See @Mindweaver comment

 

[sneekypeet]

Debatable!

-Everyone
I'd like to take this time to say I think I'm doing a very good job of Moderating with a high level of humorist toleration.

This isn't the first thread of this type, and I know I will catch crap for this, but it is always by those who want to cross the line without repercussions.

As to the OP, nearly the entire moderation team has changed in the last year or so. I am sure they have the hang of things, plus an entire section of posts to lean on for advice and support from the rest of the team. If one of the mods or a few of them were out of line, it gets discussed behind the scenes. Just know that w1zzard is active there, and does not let the team just run buckshot over his members.

 

[Steevo]

Seriously, I was the worst/best at sticking to the guidelines and holding the line with members.

One thing you all have to realize is that mods do not actively hunt for comments or "fouls" in threads. If they happen to be there and see a mess, sure they will clean it up. However, it is more likely that your fellow members are the ones offended. They report the threads/posts, and moderation makes a judgement call.

Out of all of the points/warnings offered up on TPU, it is rare as hens teeth that they get reversed, meaning it is an obvious post that does not follow the guidelines.

-2 cents worth from an old moderator.

I fucking agree with Tatt, we still have GN and I'm still sorry about the German poo videos, although they were funny.

TPU is a bit more rigid, there used to be threads about politics, but somewhere along the line people became unable to read, hear or process conflicting views without it becoming a shit show.

I blame normies and the internet.

 

[sneekypeet]

I fucking agree with Tatt, we still have GN and I'm still sorry about the German poo videos, although they were funny.

TPU is a bit more rigid, there used to be threads about politics, but somewhere along the line people became unable to read, hear or process conflicting views without it becoming a shit show.

I blame normies and the internet.

I agree. We tried to let things roll, and it was the onus of the members to keep things civil. As my title once said, we are unpaid babysitters, and when y'all cant play nice, we took away the toys.

 

[SJZL 2.0]

Absolutely, in TPU I told @AusWolf and @fevgatos, "I do a little trolling". And I got 6 warning points. This was because I was pretending to be an Intel fanboy to get some angry response, I got laughs from 6 users.

 

[Klemc]

I seen one of my answer removed as inappropriate in "what are you gaming", game was Genital Jousting (no link this time).

 

[cvaldes]

Seriously, I was the worst/best at sticking to the guidelines and holding the line with members.

This sums up the situation in a nutshell. (No, I am not picking on sneekypeet, I probably registered here long after he retired.)

I've been on the World Wide Web for pretty much its entire existence (~30 years) and TPU's discussion forum is pretty much similar to any bboard that survives more than 2-3 years.

Whether the moderators are paid or not, there's always some unevenness in the way individuals will apply forum policies. Some will be too lenient, some are pretty even keeled, others will be too strict. That's just human nature and not specific to online forums.

The problem are the outliers and how often this happens. It's the same as any sort of refereeing in a sports competition. Some refs just suck, others are well admired for the accuracy and fairness.

In professional sports leagues, there are regular reviews of how the officiating crew perform. In some sports this is made public (MLB is one). It's often telling which officials are invited to call games in post-season play; the sucky refs do not get the invitation.

There's no such post-season competition for TPU or similar discussion forums, so it's really up to the site operators (like W1zzard) to decide whether or not it makes sense to tell a particular moderator: "thank you for your contributions, we won't be needing your services anymore."

Site operators can't just bury their heads in the sand. For sure an unevenly moderated discussion forum will discourage better community members from participating as frequently as before. Like in any domain the best and brightest are the first to leave. It's not just poor moderation that ends up as the sole issue. It causes the conversation throughout the entire site to degenerate.

Let's consider the source.

The fact that this topic came up in the forum is in itself a very ominous sign. There are always people who will complain but today we have a comment from an 18-year veteran. This is not some random schmuck walking off the street like me and complaining how TPU is being moderated.

No one can please everyone all the time. (Again, not specific to forum moderation.)

Anyhow, this is really up to W1zzard. He doesn't need to make an announcement. This should not turn into a witch hunt. What really needs to happen is a periodic and regular review of the moderation team and make changes before we arrive at where we are today. Is the forum headed in the right direction or not? Should he be happy with this?

 

[thesmokingman]

Ironically imo they give a lot of rope to some posters.

 

[cvaldes]

Ironically imo they give a lot of rope to some posters.

This happens all over the Internet, not just TPU's discussion forum. In grade school, this person might have been called the teacher's pet.

Again, this is a judgment call by the operations team. We all have our plusses and minuses. For sure, there are a handful of community members who apparently able to run amok with little fear of retribution.

And one other thing: leaving flame wars in full sight (even if the threads are locked) is beyond shabby, it's 100% ghetto. It's like seeing burned out cars a block away your house or white outlines of dead bodies permanently painted into the sidewalk. It's simply not inviting to a new visitor and rather unpleasant for longtime followers.

Online discussion forums should not look like warzones. Not if you want tourists and new residents.

 

[nomdeplume]

I seen one of my answer removed as inappropriate in "what are you gaming", game was Genital Jousting (no link this time).

So host the gif locally.


Large dose of humor implied here if that wasn't sufficiently obvious to every single organic and digital entity encountering this.

 

[sneekypeet]

This sums up the situation in a nutshell. (No, I am not picking on sneekypeet, I probably registered here long after he retired.)

I've been on the World Wide Web for pretty much its entire existence (~30 years) and TPU's discussion forum is pretty much similar to any bboard that survives more than 2-3 years.

Whether the moderators are paid or not, there's always some unevenness in the way individuals will apply forum policies. Some will be too lenient, some are pretty even keeled, others will be too strict. That's just human nature and not specific to online forums.

The problem are the outliers and how often this happens. It's the same as any sort of refereeing in a sports competition. Some refs just suck, others are well admired for the accuracy and fairness.

In professional sports leagues, there are regular reviews of how the officiating crew perform. In some sports this is made public (MLB is one). It's often telling which officials are invited to call games in post-season play; the sucky refs do not get the invitation.

There's no such post-season competition for TPU or similar discussion forums, so it's really up to the site operators (like W1zzard) to decide whether or not it makes sense to tell a particular moderator: "thank you for your contributions, we won't be needing your services anymore."

Site operators can't just bury their heads in the sand. For sure an unevenly moderated discussion forum will discourage better community members from participating as frequently as before. Like in any domain the best and brightest are the first to leave. It's not just poor moderation that ends up as the sole issue. It causes the conversation throughout the entire site to degenerate.

Let's consider the source.

The fact that this topic came up in the forum is in itself a very ominous sign. There are always people who will complain but today we have a comment from an 18-year veteran. This is not some random schmuck walking off the street like me and complaining how TPU is being moderated.

No one can please everyone all the time. (Again, not specific to forum moderation.)

Anyhow, this is really up to W1zzard. He doesn't need to make an announcement. This should not turn into a witch hunt. What really needs to happen is a periodic and regular review of the moderation team and make changes before we arrive at where we are today. Is the forum headed in the right direction or not? Should he be happy with this?

W1zzard is active in the moderator lounge, as I said in another post. If he has an issue with a mod, or if he is getting complaints via threads or PMs, it gets addressed.