All,
As you all know a few weeks ago we ran a poll asking if OERites believed we needed to have tougher penalties regarding the trolling, baiting and abusing of other posters
You would all be aware the poll result was 15 to 14 in favour of tougher penalties. No doubt a close result but none the less a result that says we need to tougher on posters who continue to deliberately bait and troll others.
While the majority in recent weeks have posted within the guildelines it would appear that some people have felt the closeness of the result meant that it was now some sort of “free for all” with what could be posted. On the other side we have had a small increase in the number of reported posts.
However, what we have found is that some folks who are reporting posts may need to consider the way they are posting. Why? Because some of their posts are the same types of posts that they are reporting/complaining about. As I have been known to say many times - you can’t have it both ways. Just some food for thought for EVERYONE!
Outside of the poll we also asked for feedback from posters on their views. The comments were interesting and varied. There were also some questions posed and we decided to address some of these with the hope that people have a greater understanding of why we as Mods do what we do.
1. Definition of Trolling & Baiting: We were asked for a definition so this is what we’ve applied in the past and will continue to apply in the future
The Oxford Dictionary defines Trolling as:
“To make a deliberately offensive or provocative online post with the aim of upsetting someone or eliciting an angry response from them:
From:
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/englipooroll?q=trolling#troll-2__14EREALLY GUD DEFUNITION MAKUR November 11, 2004 defined it as: Typically unleashing one or more cynical or sarcastic remarks on an innocent by-stander, because it's the internet and, hey, you can." (Urban Dictionery)
The Cambridge Dictionary defines Baiting as:
"to intentionally make a person angry by saying or doing things to annoy them"
Fair to say that trolling and baiting got hand in hand.
The above is how we view it and we don’t think it can be disputed that is what a lot of people have done and do; do. Our site records of edited posts shows this type of posting in spades, usually by the same posters directed at the same posters
The following comment was made
The trolling/baiting test needs to be discussed and clarified
We think the definition is absolutely clear so it really doesn’t need to be clarified. What some people seem to have a problem with is the idea that their posts get reported and that simply a negative posts is deemed to be trolling or baiting. Nothing could be further from the truth. We have said time and time again that we have absolutely no problem with people being critical of the club as long as they express their view point without directly abusing others or starting threads that are clearly started to be provocative.
Examples of such trolling threads started in the last few weeks have included but not limited to:
“Where are the 'Hooray for Everything' crowd?”
“Are Richmond Full of Poo?”
“WAT was Right on Morris”
“Embarrassment of the AFL” (3 threads in 4 weeks)Then there are the posts like these (again just from the last 5 weeks and not limited to):
Another hypothetical...
If you stopped making new threads that could just be posted in previously made threads, would more people post on this site?
All the debbie downers to jump on the loss and enjoy the ride
to which the reply was
And all the Dudley Do-Rights to hide away from the forum for 72 hours again because they realise they can't defend the club, or criticise the club and save face.
Bad enough had to sit through that crap, now have to put up with you dribblers too
You have been doing it for years pal so suck it up princess
Usual suspects, moderators , ban these idiots
All of the above were clearly posted in an attempt to get a response and/or hijack other discussions.
That’s why they get edited; not because they are negative but because they are there to do nothing more than bait, troll or abuse others.
We could list countless more examples of posters insulting other posters by calling them “fools”, autistic, mentally challenged and a like. But we think everyone is smart enough to acknowledge that; that sort of posting is not only unacceptable but simply not necessary. There has been a lot on negative comments posted since last Saturday’s loss and none have been removed and outside the childish, smut, gutter talk comments nothing has been edited.
2. The Comments within the Poll were heavily Edited: Just wondering, is there a sense of irony with a thread about a question of moderation being so heavily moderated? Has the decision been made and this thread is the first implementation?
Have to say this one really annoyed the hell out of me (WP) because it was just not true let alone fair. We’ve re-checked the site records of what was edited out of the thread and there was a total of
10 edits (snips) out of 63 replies.
In summary:
- 4 posts were between 2 posters that had absolutely no relevance to the thread.
- Two were because of a reported post and were therefore removed.
- A further 3 related to a personal attack on another poster even though it was made very clear from the beginning that posts of that nature would be removed.
- The final one was an attack on a poster where their personal details were posted on the forum, which has quite rightly never been allowed. on OER
So to suggest the thread was “heavily moderated” is not true. Finally to suggest that a decision had been made before the poll was completed is simply offensive because outside of questioning our integrity it again was not true.
3. Listing how many Strikes posters have had issued: We will not be doing this. Reason being that those who have their own personal feuds going could use the information to continue to bait others for the sole purpose of getting them permanently banned. All posters who have been issued strikes should be well aware of how many they have. If anyone is unsure of how many strikes they are sitting on I suggest the contact us ASAP and we will advise them
4. Turning off the Swear Filter after Games:Answer to this one is no, won't be happening. Outside of the use the “C” word we are fairly lenient on this already. So there is no need for it to change. Throw in the fact there isn’t any magic switch that flicks it on and off so we are not in a position to do it anyway.
Which brings us the use of the “C” word. As everyone is aware we have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to using it in any form on the forum and a 48 hour suspension applies. However, what has become apparent is that the 48 hour suspension isn’t a deterrent as the same people just keep doing it. They post, take the suspension and then when they are peeved about something resort to using it again at a further point in time. As a result the penalty will now increase for multi offenders. After two 48 hour suspensions a third will result in 72 hours. A forth will result in a 1st strike of 1 week.
The Future & Penalties to be applied:Another thing that is very evident is that that one of the issues that often results in baiting and insults is some posters seem to hold a clash/grudge (for want of a better word) with each other (and these clashes vary over different pairings of posters) and people let this 'grudge' or locked-in personal opinion of this other poster be reflected in their replies rather than take each post on its merits.
The reality is we don't have to and can’t be all buddies but everyone needs to be mature enough to leave the personal gripes/dislikes off the forum.
The forum does have an ignore list feature if you don't want to read another poster(s) posts. We would suggest that rather than resorting to snipes and petty insults you use this feature
A further reminder that any personal issues (feuds) or complaints that posters have are to remain off the forum and posters are to use the report to moderator function instead. We (the mods) will then decide what, if any, action should then take place (i.e edit or removal of post, suspension, etc) and our decision is final.
As we said at the beginning the poll result was close but the result is what it is. People have made their views clear. So with that in mind…
The 3 strikes policy will remain in place and will continue to apply to the constant baiting, trolling and abusing of other posters. And just to remind everyone (again) that posting directly on the forum to demand another poster be 'striked' or suspended on the forum will also not be tolerated and posters who try to employ this will face a strike themselves. This will be more heavily enforced going forward as we have been far to lenient on this. Also understand that one of these
will not be accepted as an excuse
The editing of threads that get hi-jacked with will also continue.
Details of the 3 Strikes policy can be found here:
http://oneeyed-richmond.com/forum/index.php?topic=17325.0Finally, our thanks to everyone who voted and left feedback.
If anyone one has any questions or further comments regarding anything we've outlined above please contact either Mr OE or myself via PM/email
Regards,
WP & Mr OE
