Announcement: In-Thread Warnings

Sounds like a good way to deal with it.

 

Damn mods and your damn reasonable adaptations. Ruining my fun levels.

 

Guess people should get their licks in before that, huh?

 

Mebbe make the MOD ALERT or MOD EDIT a link back to the OP.

 

In practice I'm seeing that Mod Alerts are being posted where there wasn't an apparent problem. I was looking at a Mod Alert and went quickly through the thread and didn't find Mod Edits or Post Deletions. If there haven't been any moderator actions in the thread (i.e. apparently no one violated the Forum Rules) then why is there a Mod Alert? I can understand it if there are numerous violations but the Mod Alerts seem to be used instead of enforcement of the Forum Rules in the thread.

I'm also noticing that the Mod Alert in the title tends to discourage participation in the thread. It's like saying, "If you post in this thread we're going to bust you for even a minor offense" and that discourages participation by the members.

 

Perhaps that is something for feedback?

 

Perhaps but it's also something that other members might be noticing and comment on. This is not a complaint about any specific moderator action but instead addresses a perception of mine where, in some cases, it doesn't appear that the Mod Alert is being properly used and were an unintended consequence might be resulting from it.

I'm sure that no one on the staff wants to accidently discourage legitimate participation by members in a thread.

 

Members should not be discouraged from posting, but encouraged to comply with the rules. Doing so makes the debate a better experience for all, instead of a free for all.

 

I agree absolutely which is why the "Mod Alert" might be having the adverse effect of discouraging members that actually comply with the Mission Statement establishing "respectful debate" is a concern. I know personally that I've stopped posting in some threads because of the Mod Alert even though I always attempt to abide by the Mission Statement of Political Forum. Of course this is anecdotal but the "warning" seems to discourage participation from what I'm seeing.

Should it be used? Absolutely but I would limit it's use to extreme cases as opposed to simply slapping on a thread for a few minor violations by members. Sometimes it's just one or two members that go off topic with flamebait or personal attacks and create the entire problem and they can be thread banned without the Mod Alert which would solve the problem. Is that not true?

The Mod Alert is a tool of moderation and, as with any tool, it should be used sparingly and only when it's appropriate IMHO.

 

By that token, our mission statement and the rules and guidelines in general, as is TOS, could be discouraging to members.
We all agreed to certain standards, and a thread warnings serves as a reminder to do just that.
Our members should know the rules, do know the rules, and most are perfectly willing to comply with these rules.
Compared to other tools at our disposal, thread warnings serve as an additional attention getter, if you will, so that we can use official warnings and infractions ( those that count against a member) can be used less frequently.

 

The Mission Statement is not a discouragement as it is a mandatory requirement for membership. Everyone agrees to comply with it in posting their opinion.

As I noted as a tool of moderation the Mod Alert does have a place but it should be used sparingly to avoid discouraging members from posting in a specific thread. The Mission Statement is general in application but a Mod Alert is specific to a thread. Big difference. We would all agree that the less members violate the Forum Rules the better for all members of Political Forum.

I have a question though. Using the simple example of a post that says "You're a idiot" in responding to another member that would be a personal insult. All other factors being equal would a member making that post be more likely to receive a warning/infraction in a thread with a Mod Alert than they would in a thread without a Mod Alert? I know this is hypothetical and merely ask for a hypothetical response.

 

How about a quota for thread topics?

 

Quota?

 

I think with the mods, if you make it personal , your are running into personal insult areas. Ex I say "Shiva you are a moron" that is a personal attack on you. If I say Liberals are morons, I am not singling out you. I think the grey areas start when people start quoting members and then using language like moron or fool or idiot etc. I really try not to go into that language (not saying I never have), but to me that is when you start getting into the grey areas. This is just my take, hope it helps.

 

The new policy isn't going to work for me. I'm not willing to take the risk of spending my time putting together a post only to find that I've been thread banned and am unable to post. From a risk analysis standpoint it isn't worth the time to post on such threads.

 

A member being banned from a thread should be notified by the moderators of that when they impose the thread ban. Typically this should be by formal warning or infraction because the member had to violate the Forum Rules to warrant the thread ban.

 

Members are being warned when a thread warning is being issued. All are aware of the rules, and thread warning is one extra courtesy to comply with the rules.

 

I won't consciously post on a thread with a Mod Warning of any sort. The risk of losing posts is simply too great from a time management and cost/benefit standpoint. That means there are fewer threads to which I am willing to devote time.

 

That is fine if you choose to do so. However, its nothing new that members are to comply with the rules, and, if they choose not to, their posts are subject to deletion.
Right?

 

That was not the issue of concern. The issue of concern is that Thread Alerts should not be used in lieu of moderation and should be used very sparingly only to allow a thread to continue that might otherwise be closed because the Thread Alerts discourage participation by the members.

 

I thought the Thread Alerts were for threads where multiple infractions have already occurred, and rather then constantly deal with individuals, it allows a blanket 'final warning' on the thread.

 

Yes, it's super secret stuff.

 

Is that true?