Mookie I'm going to tiptoe in and then back out, but what about a # put on complaints. Unlimited if the rules are broken (swearing), but maybe Mookie gets 2 per month, Ed gets 2 per month, etc - when the complaints involve a dust up between posters. You would have to really think long and hard before involving the moderators. Moderators could then be the fire alarm and not the complaint dept. Tiptoeing back out....
I'm going to tiptoe in and then back out, but what about a # put on complaints. Unlimited if the rules are broken (swearing), but maybe Mookie gets 2 per month, Ed gets 2 per month, etc - when the complaints involve a dust up between posters. You would have to really think long and hard before involving the moderators. Moderators could then be the fire alarm and not the complaint dept.
Tiptoeing back out....
Mookie must be a baseball fan. Sounds the replay appeal initiated in MLB this year.
dakotafred Mookie I'm going to tiptoe in and then back out, but what about a # put on complaints. Unlimited if the rules are broken (swearing), but maybe Mookie gets 2 per month, Ed gets 2 per month, etc - when the complaints involve a dust up between posters. You would have to really think long and hard before involving the moderators. Moderators could then be the fire alarm and not the complaint dept. Tiptoeing back out.... Mookie must be a baseball fan. Sounds the replay appeal initiated in MLB this year.
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
Murray edblysard Yes, there are a few posters who still pick fights, and then, when it is thrown back at them, or they begin to lose their fight, then they” run to momma” so to speak, but I have a funny feeling the moderators have caught on to that routine. Yes indeed....two posters in particular come to mind.
edblysard Yes, there are a few posters who still pick fights, and then, when it is thrown back at them, or they begin to lose their fight, then they” run to momma” so to speak, but I have a funny feeling the moderators have caught on to that routine.
Yes, there are a few posters who still pick fights, and then, when it is thrown back at them, or they begin to lose their fight, then they” run to momma” so to speak, but I have a funny feeling the moderators have caught on to that routine.
Yes indeed....two posters in particular come to mind.
Not the Perfessor?
RRKen Murray edblysard Yes, there are a few posters who still pick fights, and then, when it is thrown back at them, or they begin to lose their fight, then they” run to momma” so to speak, but I have a funny feeling the moderators have caught on to that routine. Yes indeed....two posters in particular come to mind. Not the Perfessor?
I can neither confirm or deny,
Murphy Siding zugmann There's been so many moderating styles and disasters on this site through the years, how does anyone keep track? Someone needs to write a book. It was a dark and stormy night....
zugmann There's been so many moderating styles and disasters on this site through the years, how does anyone keep track? Someone needs to write a book.
There's been so many moderating styles and disasters on this site through the years, how does anyone keep track?
Someone needs to write a book.
Murray RRKen Murray edblysard Yes, there are a few posters who still pick fights, and then, when it is thrown back at them, or they begin to lose their fight, then they” run to momma” so to speak, but I have a funny feeling the moderators have caught on to that routine. Yes indeed....two posters in particular come to mind. Not the Perfessor? I can neither confirm or deny,
Can I confirm your denial?
selector I have gone on at length..... -Crandell
I have gone on at length.....
-Crandell
zardoz Murphy Siding zugmann There's been so many moderating styles and disasters on this site through the years, how does anyone keep track? Someone needs to write a book. It was a dark and stormy night.... That sure brings back some fond memories of a much more feisty forum.....
23 17 46 11
Well this is the balancing act that I think the "Trains" people have to find the middle to. Swearing and naughty pictures? Of course not. No need for religion on here. But like said, politics is like one finger of the hand of railroading.... Hopefully not the middle finger. Was it 1-2 months ago there was that thread about coal that slid into environmental opinions,,,, that one got deleted,,, well I printed "all" of it before it was gone. Eliminate politics and we will talk about how many bolts are on an SD40-2. Let all politics run rampant and people get burned out and they walk away from this forum. Instead of members directly sending messages to each other complaining about what is said,,, why not add to each post a button "report this post to moderators" and make it anonymous so one member doesn't identify another as a tattle tale.
I have in the past tried to start many simple topics asking questions from my mind as an outsider and foamer to make the forum more fun and to get people to "think" or find an answer. Not too many years ago I read the weekly Monday Trains "Newswire" email. Towards the bottom was listed the 4 top threads in the Trains section. Out of 4 threads mentioned I had started 3 of them. O.K. now I can let my ego back down again. I don't remember what my 3 thread titles were. But here are some of the threads that I have started: Whats the sharpest mainline curve? Whats the curviest railroad line? Whats the longest shortline? Whats the shortest shortline? Whats the oldest original US right of way still in use? And so on.
1. How much hair is on the heads of the moderators and how long before they pull it all out from frustration of being a moderator?
2. Or just pick bald moderators and solve that problem.
Modeling the "Fargo Area Rapid Transit" in O scale 3 rail.
I don't see much need for an anonymous "report post to moderator" button, or at least anonymity. Let's face it conspiracy theorists would never believe even if the site promised anonymity. Paranoia is better than no noia at all.
That gets back to my comment buried above, whom do we take seriously, the complainer or the alleged transgressor? Just because a comment or thread offends someone doesn't mean they're justified.
For example, when someone says "I wish they'd lock this thread" I firmly believe the complainer should just not read the thread. That also gets back to my feeling expressed above that locking rewards the evil doers and punishes the rest of us, because of course like so many other's I'm an angelic poster whose comments fall as sweet honey on the readers' lips.
Patrick Boylan
Free yacht rides, 27' sailboat, zip code 19114 Delaware River, get great Delair bridge photos from the river. Send me a private message
Every post does have an anonymous (to the rest of the forum, but not to the moderators) button in the lower left corner (a yellow triangle with a black exclamation point in it).
It is useful because the moderators do not have the time (nor necessary inclination) to read every post 24/7. Anyone that comes across a post that they think contains a forum rules violation can click that icon/button to get a screen where they can explain what they think the problem is. That then pings ALL the moderators and one (or more) of them, when they get a break from the chores of life, can then look at the posting and determine if, in context, it really does violate the forum rules. They can then discuss amongst themselves what course of action to take; be it, delete the thread, delete the post, lock the thread, publicly request a change of the posting, privately contact the poster about the post and request explanation or retraction, or any of dozens of other possible actions, including simply ignore the complaint or chastise the complainer privately or publicly.
There is nothing wrong with pointing out a possible rules violation and it lessens the burden of the moderators to have to read every post all the time.
If someone is complaining all the time, they can be chastised, limited in privileges, or banned just as easily as anyone else is for any other reasons that are extent in the rules that the owners of the forum deem to enforce.
And, yes, I have used the button a couple of times to alert the moderators that some posts are getting into the realm of name calling (2nd bullet in the rules) or using obscure obscenities (3rd bullet in the rules, "Don't use symbols to mask the words."). Sometimes the moderators have taken an obvious action and other times they have not (that I could detect, anyway).
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
As a former Moderator on a more active site with stronger opinions. I agree that less moderation is better. Understand you have chronic complainers as well as folks skirting the rules but it's easier for you to post reminders first before locking a thread, yanking an account, etc. On the past website I used to Moderate you could enter notes against a users account that was only visible by other Moderators that indicated when the user was warned last and for what reason. We used that to keep track of offenses and three recent offenses would earn the poster a short suspension. Having said all that, I do not see anything wrong with the current level of discussion and I have to say this is the first time I have seen some of these rules. The MR rules on no discussions on graffitti or hobos is a little silly and I think should be refined more. The Trains rules on no political discussions should be amended to allow topic related political discussions (I fully realize you want to avoid different political camps from posting election related messages or spam.....which is a problem across the Internet). So I guess my suggestion is you guys at both Trains and MR need to liberalize the discussion rules a little more and broaden the discussion as well as reduce the need to moderate. Ban on religious discussions is fine as that has nothing to do with Trains. Understand fully the rules regarding advertising and attempting free advertising.
Also, complaint made about lack of time to moderate. We also tracked the chronic complainers on the website I used to moderate on, after repeated complaints against others that had no basis......they were asked to leave by the Moderators. You should realize that some of the folks you have complaining should not be on a internet discussion board. Best for posters to work issues out between themselves vs having a Moderator step in unless there is something like stalking between forums going on.
The rules against hobos and graffiti may seem silly until you have some history on this site. I understand them because I have seen the results. It's really just that simple...the rules work.
It is like being an invited guest to a house party; best not to work at offending the sensibilities of your hosts. If their rules are too limiting, don't go to the party.
The purpose of the 'private conversation' function available to all of us is to provide such discussions. While you and your opposite, or like-minded with whom you commiserate, can possible engage each other and run it through to its course fully, it just doesn't seem to happen out in the open. Someone, eventually, stays something that sparks the fire. It happens time and time again.
selector The rules against hobos and graffiti may seem silly until you have some history on this site. I understand them because I have seen the results. It's really just that simple...the rules work.
If the rule prohibiting personal attacks is followed, why is there a need to have rules prohibiting content that sometimes provokes personal attacks? In that regard, rules prohibiting hobos and graffiti seem irrational. People need to follow the personal attack rule and stop blaming the content for causing them to break the personal attack rule.
Euclid selector The rules against hobos and graffiti may seem silly until you have some history on this site. I understand them because I have seen the results. It's really just that simple...the rules work. If the rule prohibiting personal attacks is followed, why is there a need to have rules prohibiting content that sometimes provokes personal attacks? In that regard, rules prohibiting hobos and graffiti seem irrational. People need to follow the personal attack rule and stop blaming the content for causing them to break the personal attack rule.
Because quite simply, those are the rules.
And as a participant on these forums, you and I and everyone else are obligated to follow them.
I am not asking why the rules should be followed. I am asking what the logic is behind the rule. I don’t see any. It seems like a fair question to me, especially in light of the thread topic.
Yes, but
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
selectorThe rules against hobos and graffiti may seem silly until you have some history on this site. I understand them because I have seen the results. It's really just that simple...the rules work.
Maybe so, but then why is there a current graffiti thread with over 250 posts? "Rules are rules?"
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
According to the latest rules posted on this forum, there is no ban on hobos or graffiti.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
selector The rules against hobos and graffiti may seem silly until you have some history on this site. I understand them because I have seen the results. It's really just that simple...the rules work. It is like being an invited guest to a house party; best not to work at offending the sensibilities of your hosts. If their rules are too limiting, don't go to the party. The purpose of the 'private conversation' function available to all of us is to provide such discussions. While you and your opposite, or like-minded with whom you commiserate, can possible engage each other and run it through to its course fully, it just doesn't seem to happen out in the open. Someone, eventually, stays something that sparks the fire. It happens time and time again. -Crandell
If I was a purely a "guest" on this website there wouldn't be any paid advertising nor would some access be linked to my Trains Magazine subscription. The truth of the matter is I am a potential customer on this website as I was on the website I moderated.
One can use the "guest" argument to support some very Stalinist Moderating styles which causes just as much a problem for the business running the website as it does for the "guests" on it. I do agree the owner of the website gets to make the rules as they are writing the checks. However, the time that is required to moderate said website is also related to the rules and policies.......that's one of the main points I am trying to make here based on my past experience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMIyDf3gBoY
schlimm selectorThe rules against hobos and graffiti may seem silly until you have some history on this site. I understand them because I have seen the results. It's really just that simple...the rules work. Maybe so, but then why is there a current graffiti thread with over 250 posts? "Rules are rules?"
Precisely. The question is an obvious one for which I can offer no answer. I haven't moderated this forum since June 2010.
Perhaps the culture here is shifting. At the time I was moderating, the topic would have been locked immediately. If we had not done so, Steve Otte, who had largely taken over supervising the fora, or at least shepherding the mods, would have done so himself, I am quite certain.
Personally, I would be very pleased to see such a thread go on to produce some memorable and convincing discussion, and not end up locked or heavily censored. It would be a sign that things have changed for the better. I guess we'll see...
Well as Zugmann has pointed out, the rules against hobo and graffiti discussion are gone from the list of rules. I could have sworn they were there a couple days ago when I looked at that list when it was just posted at the top of the forum.
zugmann According to the latest rules posted on this forum, there is no ban on hobos or graffiti.
Rich
Alton Junction
wanswheel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMIyDf3gBoY
- Paul North.
Euclid I am not asking why the rules should be followed. I am asking what the logic is behind the rule. I don’t see any. It seems like a fair question to me, especially in light of the thread topic.
The logic is, it is their site, and can thus create the rules as they see fit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_7q1Y08kOo
Murray Euclid I am not asking why the rules should be followed. I am asking what the logic is behind the rule. I don’t see any. It seems like a fair question to me, especially in light of the thread topic. The logic is, it is their site, and can thus create the rules as they see fit.
Well apparently they did not see the logic of those rules either because they removed them about a day or two ago. I did not know that they had removed the rules when I asked the question, so I retract the question now.
richhotrain zugmann According to the latest rules posted on this forum, there is no ban on hobos or graffiti. Looks like Angela deleted those two prohibitions on Friday morning. Rich
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