Scraping off the ****

[Rasher2k]

planetjay says:

You can expect more crap replies to be removed from valid posts in the future, leaving the good (even valuable) posts in tact.

Hear hear.

So will this increased moderation activity be aimed specifically at idiocity, crudeness, hijacking, or controversialism?

We have to trust the moderators to decide what's crap and what's valid? Well, they've done good so far I guess...


Funnily enough, I noticed this on the way in:



Lets see how long my post lasts.  

[Frostillicus]

I think on the whole the mods do a good job, basically it's common sense stuff - though there IS a 'Rules' page that pretty much spells it out - for example, no profanity.

[Sasquatch!]

We have to trust the moderators to decide what's crap and what's valid? Well, they've done good so far I guess...

A lot of people have trouble with this concept.  I don't mean this in a bad nit-picky way, and I'm definitely not aiming this at you, Rasher2K.  I've certainly been guilty of it myself.  I mean it more in a "it's human nature" kind of way.  Nobody likes it when their opinions are squashed, after all.

Most people see internet message boards as being common "town hall"-style meeting places, but truthfully they're more like a big gathering being held on private property, and the owner of said property has every right to do whatever the heck he or she sees fit.  Think of BYOAC as a big party being held at Saint's house, and the moderators as the people that he's asked to be "bouncers" at his party.  That's what helps me keep perspective anyway...

[SirPoonga]

Think of BYOAC as a big party being held at Saint's house, and the moderators as the people that he's asked to be "bouncers" at his party.  That's what helps me keep perspective anyway...

Actually, the servers are at pj's house  But it is still saint's party  

[planetjay]

Actually, the servers are at pj's house  But it is still saint's party  

Like my DSL is THAT GOOD...

Keep in mind that we're not so much censoring as keeping people civil, on topic, and legal. And it's not that we care what you do, it's that we care what you do HERE.

[rampy]

I thnk the intent was to show that instead of whole threads being sent to post hell, individual posts will be...

Hey let's not turn this into Farenheit 451

There's a difference between censorship,  and maintaining decorum of a public standard.

It isn't censorship that you aren't allowed to yell "fire" in a crowded movie theater  --> it's common sense.

It's not censorship to take innapropriate posts that dilute the quality of the information shared in this forum and separate them from the main board. (although it's get's dicey if you want to be conspiracy theorist about who's doing the judging of what's appropriate or fits the "community standards"...

MAybe consider byoac a private club, with a low membership threshold... but you need to follow the rules of the club or be kicked out... so ... no peeing in the club pool, and no smoking in the non-smoking lounge, gabish?

rampy

[OSCAR]

Just to add a few words...

As it's been inferred to already, obviously the role of the mod's is not to quench ideas or opinions of the BYOAC members and I feel that Rasher2k has asked a very valid question.  Instead of "increased moderation", I think a more correct term would be "discrete moderation" as now topics can be filtered if they take a wrong turn.  In the past, I also have seen good threads turn bad and we lose the whole thread; and this is not a good thing for you, me, or all the rest of the members.

Less than 1% of all the posts (including spam/flame-bait) submitted to these forums have ever found their way to Post Hell, and I think that says a lot for our membership.

[saint]

As it seems timely  -- below are the guidelines I ask the folks who volunteer here to follow.  First though a big thank you to those who do volunteer here -- their time and efforts are very much appreciated, and everyone should remember that they are volunteers.  

Guidelines I've asked the moderators to follow:


Forum Moderators' Guidelines

Thanks for helping out with the forums!  I thought a word or two on my preference with moderation would help... I prefer a gentle hand when it comes to moderation.  Over-moderation stifles forum use -- of course under-moderation leads to chaos.  Somewhere in the middle leaning towards permissiveness is where I prefer we be.  Here are a couple of guidelines regarding moderating the message forums:
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Profanity:  For sparse use of profanity I usually will edit the post, replacing the word with <<<CENSORED>>> so people know it was edited.  Serious use of profanity I just move to the "Post-Hell" forum or delete (see below).
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Hate and flame-bait:  I've got no tolerance for it.  Heated debate is one thing.  Personal attacks should be dealt with.  Note - there's a difference between personal criticism and personal attacks, and an exception if the attack is directed at me...
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BYOAC criticism:  I've got a really thick skin here.  Unless the post has profanity or is seriously hateful to someone other than myself, please don't moderate it.  I certainly don't mind being defended, but really don't need it.  I fully enjoy doing this and twits have no affect on me, they're just not worth taking personally.  NOTE - I don't expect you to put up with grief at all, but if it's directed at me or the website I'd prefer to see it un-altered.  Among other things it gives me a feel for how the FAQ is useful and/or not useful.
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Off-topic:  Use your own judgement here...  If something obviously belongs in another forum feel free to move it.  If it's iffy as to what forum it could go in, I don't care if it stays in the main forum.
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Censor, delete, or move?:  If a post or thread's got value to it, but has something that needs correcting as well, I prefer censoring (and making sure people know it was censored) first, followed by deleting individual portions if the rest of the thread is worth leaving, and finally moving the post to the "Post-Hell" forum if it's useless.  Please don't delete full threads -- move them to the "Post-Hell" forum instead.
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Board or Website problems:  If you see a problem that needs quick attention, please email me at work if it's during the day, or at home after 5 PM Eastern.  I'm not always on the chat room, but I'm almost never more than 1/2 hour away from email somewhere
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---- Private information deleted -----
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So that's it.  Please let me know if you have any suggestions regarding moderation, and THANKS FOR HELPING OUT!
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--- saint


So that's it -- This isn't a public forum, this is a private group of message boards.  There's no guarantee of privacy or right to post, but I think the guidelines are fairly liberal and are designed to keep the message boards as useful and productive as possible.  I think the moderators do a hell of a job in the few instances where it's been needed, particularly since they are much more likely to see it quickly than I am.  Thanks to everyone for participating!

--- saint