awww ScienceChic.......it is not easy this task you have taken on....I applaud you for being willing to tackle it and for being forthcoming with how you plan to proceed. In the many forums a certain poster has been a member of, this problem has been consistant and constant......I think you are handling it appropriately. As in any business, your job at the top, is to give your many members the best experience you can without being heavy handed in moderating. I'm sure you would also like to grow your business. You obviously reached a point where no amount of reasoning, pleading, discussing had any effect on this posters actions, leaving you little choice but to place the poster in Q......any other community site would have banned this poster, and they have, even some un-moderated sites eventually had to take that step.
As long as you are up front with what you do and why you are doing it I can't see where other members would have a problem with what you have done. You are very well respected here and I'm sure most other members, myself included, will trust your judgement on this. This is your business, you have the right to protect it and it's members. It's just sad that you had to deal with this.......probably not something you wanted to tackle in your first weeks as a new owner. I have never liked the idea of banning posters, people really should be capable of knowing when they are about to cross the line and be able to pull back. But there will always be those who push that line as far as they can to test your willingness to stop them. Q sounds like a reasonable alternative to outright banning....I'm assuming that if the Q'd (is that a word????) poster stays within the TOS for a period of time they could earn back the right of unchecked posting.
I really have no suggestions for you or this site......if I didn't want to be here I would have left (ok, I have been sorely tempted a few times), as it is, a time out is a healthy thing for me when threads and tempers get too hot. It has helped me, and perhaps others, to know that there is actually a line in the sand that will be enforced......this is not just a big free for all without rules.....but verbal mud wrestling is ok.
Best of luck with this venture.....so far so good SC!
I really have no suggestions for you or this site......if I didn't want to be here I would have left (ok, I have been sorely tempted a few times), as it is, a time out is a healthy thing for me when threads and tempers get too hot. It has helped me, and perhaps others, to know that there is actually a line in the sand that will be enforced......this is not just a big free for all without rules.....but verbal mud wrestling is ok.
Also very well said.
This site is teaching us about personal responsibility in many ways.
I have a right to "ignore" or pass on threads that I find offensive. I don't have a right to define offensive for others. Just myself.
You guys have done a great job here and I am proud to be a volunteer. (even though I haven't gotten to do much of that lately)
There's a huge difference between being a troll and being a pain in the ass. Trolls may piss someone off, but it's not due to blatant abuse. Trolls use the subject matter to elicit responses. I've trolled several forums, and am guilty of it here as well. It's good entertainment. I've never been banned or placed in 'Q' on any forum. I have never used any foul language or insults in a private mesage on any forum. I always follow the TOS for a site - after all, it's not my place - someone else owns it. I have asked questions about the TOS on several sites, but have never argued the answer. As a user of that forum it's not my place to disagree, just to accept or leave.
Being a pain in the ass takes no wit or thought. Anyone can call posters names, post in the wrong forum, and post up obscene material. That proves nothing, entertains nobody, and fails completely to communicate any coherent thought process.
So, to the poster placed in the 'Q' my advice would be to try being more subtle. Work within the TOS, or go find another site that allows your chosen style of expression.
"Whatever you are, be a good one." ~ Abraham Lincoln
I have a question. If this poster is as offensive as we all think he/she is, can they be voted off the island? Would a banning be acceptable if it was initiated by members instead of the management? That's what happened to this same poster at another local site that does not moderate. Just asking...
towermonkey wrote: I have a question. If this poster is as offensive as we all think he/she is, can they be voted off the island? Would a banning be acceptable if it was initiated by members instead of the management? That's what happened to this same poster at another local site that does not moderate. Just asking...
What the internet needs is a good way to deliver an E-"flaming bag of dog pooh".
Banning wouldn't work unless the registration process is more rigorous and would ferret out the returning user.
"Whatever you are, be a good one." ~ Abraham Lincoln
