Asking clarification regarding moderation

[BookTenTiger]

What does my intention matter? As long as I am not breaking the rules as enumerated/outlined?

Intention is usually important when interacting with other human beings.

 

[Mythos Enthusiast]

But why would you do that? There's only really one reason to willfully abuse the "letter of the law" like that in social media: to troll members of that community. Intention matters.


** Also, the word is "jibe", not "jive".

I do not believe that intentions matter where enforcement of rules is concerned, so we just disagree here. Earlier I stated that I am explicitly a "letter of the law" guy, not a "spirit of the law" guy.

You can never know what my intentions are one way or the other, however you CAN know whether or not I've broken an explicitly stated rule.

 

[Morrus]

I don't think that 'good faith' and 'bad faith' are useful terms because neither of them actually bare on whether or not a position is valid or sound.

I find it an excellent way to help me decide which conversations I wish to engage in. YMMV, but there it is. I won't be engaging any further in this exchange, for example.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I do not believe that intentions matter where enforcement of rules is concerned, so we just disagree here. Earlier I stated that I am explicitly a "letter of the law" guy, not a "spirit of the law" guy.

Well, when you break the letter or the spirit of ACTUAL LAW, you will be shocked to find out that ... yes, intent does matter.

Which means that for someone claiming to be a "letter of the law" guy, I'm guessing you're not familiar with ... you know, how actual law works?

Regardless, if you want to debate rules v. standards, I am sure that there are some accounting boards that will be excited to discuss the differences. Otherwise, people might be inferring what your intent is based on the totality of your posts.

 

[Mythos Enthusiast]

Well, when you break the letter or the spirit of ACTUAL LAW, you will be shocked to find out that ... yes, intent does matter.

Which means that for someone claiming to be a "letter of the law" guy, I'm guessing you're not familiar with ... you know, how actual law works?

Regardless, if you want to debate rules v. standards, I am sure that there are some accounting boards that will be excited to discuss the differences. Otherwise, people might be inferring what your intent is based on the totality of your posts.

I'm actually very familiar with US federal law conceptually and case law specificly in certain subject matters - but as people on these boards are very quick to point our the standards the board embraces do not have to reflect or jibe with the laws of the UK or any other government.

 

[the Jester]

It’s purely situational.

Sometimes, I log in and there’s 10 reports. I look for the low-hanging fruit first- the easy calls- and knock those out, Some take longer. Some I avoid until I can really get up to speed on what’s going on because it’s a complex issue or one I’m not familiar with.

OTOH, if it happens right in front of me while I’m reading the thread? I check to see if its already been modded/reported, and if not, I take care of it.

Then there’s topics- and yes, some posters- that have a tendency to generate lots of posts. In those cases, there’s going to be heightened scrutiny,

And yes- because we’re not perfect, the moderators do check each other’s gaffes. I can recall at least 3 times when I legitimately posted something outside of the rules, and Umbran & Morrus pointed it out.

Thank you very much for this insight into how you guys work.

 

[the Jester]

The entire point of what I'm saying is that what the rules say explicitly, and how they are enforced, don't always jive with each other.

Back in the day, when Eric Noah's 3rd Edition Website was the thing, the rule was, "Don't do anything that would offend Eric's grandmother." The way the rules have evolved since on ENWorld is basically due to the fact that somehow, people needed it to be clearer than that.

 

[the Jester]

So then, I should have card-blanche to ply every single conceivable edge-case that the rules technically allow, no?

Until someone gets annoyed and reports you. The rules boil down to "don't be a jerk", and skirting the edge intentionally and, presumably, trying to provoke a response... will eventually provoke a response. Your behavior will be looked at and possibly ruled jerkish, and in that case, you will be moderated.

This is why explicit rules you can dance on the edge of in order to provoke people probably is a bad approach for moderation whose goal is to keep the conversation going. You're kind of proving the mod team's point here.

 

[Umbran]

Back in the day, when Eric Noah's 3rd Edition Website was the thing, the rule was, "Don't do anything that would offend Eric's grandmother." The way the rules have evolved since on ENWorld is basically due to the fact that somehow, people needed it to be clearer than that.

Well, the Grandma Rule has always been about how coarse you are supposed to be - use of foul language, sexual innuendo, and such. But, yeah, you'd think that between the Grandma Rule and Wheaton's Law, it'd be covered, but... no.

 

[the Jester]

What does my intention matter? As long as I am not breaking the rules as enumerated/outlined?

If your intention is to be a jerk to the other forum members, you're detracting from the conversation, not adding to it.