I'm annoyed

[IronWolf]

"vigilante moderators"

What are people's thoughts about that? Is it a productive use of peer pressure when we gently remind someone that their remarks are out of line? Or is it liable to make things worse, and so we should just stick to reporting posts?

I think it would be much more likely to make things worse than have much chance of making thigns better. I have found the report post option works quite well in most cases - whether it be to report spam or a thread that is quickly starting to derail.

 

[Umbran]

The vigilante moderator thing works poorly if the person attempting it is on one of the sides of the argument, surely.

However, I think there's something to be said for self-policing. It is one thing for moderators to keep things civil. But I think their jobs go better if we, the populace, show support for the policies. So a polite mention of "Folks, I think you ought to cool down before this thread gets closed or something" is appropriate and constructive.

 

[William Ronald]

The vigilante moderator thing works poorly if the person attempting it is on one of the sides of the argument, surely.

However, I think there's something to be said for self-policing. It is one thing for moderators to keep things civil. But I think their jobs go better if we, the populace, show support for the policies. So a polite mention of "Folks, I think you ought to cool down before this thread gets closed or something" is appropriate and constructive.

I've often done this myself, as I have mentioned that I am worried about a thread being closed down. (I don't know if it has had any effect.) However, I will report a problem with a post to the moderators. I think that most people do police themselves. However, moderation like law enforcement can only work if the majority of the people support the policies.

Maybe we could have a thread sticked for new posters that shows examples of things that might close a thread? Some examples might help people realize what are the types of problems that could cause a thread to be shut down.

 

[Umbran]

Maybe we could have a thread sticked for new posters that shows examples of things that might close a thread? Some examples might help people realize what are the types of problems that could cause a thread to be shut down.

The Rules are already a permanent Announcement at the top of each forum, and they put it very clearly:

"Don't engage in personal attacks, name-calling, or blanket generalizations in your discussions."

I think that's about as far as we need to go, as we ought to treat the membership as intelligent human beings.

 

[Mark CMG]

The Rules are already a permanent Announcement at the top of each forum, and they put it very clearly:

"Don't engage in personal attacks, name-calling, or blanket generalizations in your discussions."

I think that's about as far as we need to go, as we ought to treat the membership as intelligent human beings.

You Rules-Citers, and your kind, always say that . . .

 

[William Ronald]

The Rules are already a permanent Announcement at the top of each forum, and they put it very clearly:

"Don't engage in personal attacks, name-calling, or blanket generalizations in your discussions."

I think that's about as far as we need to go, as we ought to treat the membership as intelligent human beings.

Unfortunately, we do have people who seem to have forgotten about the rules, are unaware of the rules, or intentionally disregard the rules.

Perhaps a few fictitious examples might be useful for some of our posters. Mind you, this is just an idea I am tossing out. I don't think there ever will be 100 percent compliance with the rules. I think most people here are intelligent people, but some do not seem to realize or care that their comments are hurting other people.

 

[Umbran]

Unfortunately, we do have people who seem to have forgotten about the rules, are unaware of the rules, or intentionally disregard the rules.

Fictitious examples will only help those who know about the rules, want to follow the rules, but don't understand them as they are currently stated. Somehow, I expect that's a pretty small number of posters.

Folks should have been learning this stuff back in grade school. Trying to teach them now implies that we think they're like kids, and they'll tend to act accordingly - they'll nitpick, whine, and look for loopholes to test boundaries.

Have high expectations, and people will generally rise to meet them. Make them think, and they'll think. Evidence of this lies in the fact that, compared to most other places, we have relatively few such events, compared to other places on the internet.

 

[Darth K'Trava]

I'm about to start a policy of getting MUCH harsher on people insulting one another on WotC-related threads, even if it means I get the usual, "you mods are are playing favorites" comments all over again. I for one have a patience that's wearing thin with people skirting polite boundaries.

I think you should. These are busy guys who take time out of their busy schedules to come here and answer fans' questions. Only to get told they're "full of ****" or "Lying bastards!" or crap like that.... That's wrong. You'd hate it if you got called either of the above. So do they. And why come to a board where you get that all the time.

I think the WOTC boards have heavily cracked down on harassing industry professionals.

Thanks to everyone letting me preach to the choir for a minute.

Can we get an "AMEN, BRUTHA!!"?

 

[Truth Seeker]

AMENNNNNNNNN!!!!!​

 

[JoeGKushner]

I regret that the whole thing devoled into "calling someone a corporate shill is not an insult" and then pointing out in many ways how it could be. All that potential lost...