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Chris
05-04-2016, 11:12 AM
We have created a new subforum 2016 U.S. Presidential Election (http://thepoliticalforums.com/forums/61-2016-U-S-Presidential-Election). Please, moving forward, create threads on the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election in that subforum. Mods will help those who need it. :D

Chris
09-05-2016, 10:02 AM
You will have perhaps noticed we changed the notification for tPF OP TBs from yellow to green, for example:

1 has been thread banned at the request of the OP, 2. Please do not respond to 1 any further in this thread. If you have questions contact the OP of this tPF thread in a PM.

We wanted to distinguish moderator actions from member (OP) actions. With regard to that, please address questions and concerns about tPF OP TBs to the OP. Of course, for tPF abuse use the Report button.

Chris
09-27-2016, 11:03 AM
We get complaints of harassment in PMs. As mods we don't generally moderate PMs unless they are threatening or illegal in some manner.

So what can you do to prevent getting PMs from certain members?

One way is this, go to...



Settings > General Settings > Receive Private Messaging, select Only from Contacts and Moderators


That way you will get PMs only from members in your contact list, and mods of course.

The other way, which I just found today, is this, go to...



Settings > Edit Ignore List, Add a Member to Your List...


You can later remove. Of course this means you won't see their posts unless you peek.

Chris
10-30-2016, 08:59 AM
Announcement for newbies, reminder for oldies.

When a warning is issued in a thread the thread will be flagged with http://i.snag.gy/3F75G.jpg. When you see that it means moderation will be escalated for any violations and TBs if not infractions will follow. And it doesn't matter if you were the one warned or not. Say Joe Schmoe gets warned and you come along calling someone names, well, because the flag is up, you might get TBed or worse.

It is your responsibility to heed the warning.

Chris
11-26-2016, 11:07 AM
As you might notice the moderator team is taking more action, not in the sense of issuing more moderation actions (warnings, TBs, infractions) but in the sense of issuing harsher actions, and this is especially true for frequent violators of forum rules. IOW, where we once might have issued a warning, we now might issue a TB or even infraction.

It must be said as well that we did this in response to member complaints we were too lenient.

Chris
11-27-2016, 01:28 PM
Not so much an announcement as advice....

Trolling is hard to define, but needn't be defined, it's found in a pattern of behavior of irritating others. If you feel you're being trolled you have 3 choices: Fight it, report it, ignore it. Fighting it by calling names or whatever feeds the trolls and gets you in trouble. Reporting allows mods to see a pattern of behavior across threads, as we track it, and might move mods to act on it. Ignoring it will irritate the troller and, if you keep ignoring it, go away. Remember, responding in kind to trolls is like feeding stray cats. They'll keep coming back.

Chris
11-28-2016, 03:28 PM
Daily public service...

Bad faith is another of those somewhat undefinable violations. Original it was an expression for capturing a pattern of violations, perhaps all minor, but continuing across threads and time. Then it took on a meaning of violation of rules for something not named in the rules but clearly a violation. One could say, given that the purpose of a forum is for discussion, distraction from that is in bad faith to its purpose.

Most of the time bad faith gets you a warning, maybe a TB, perhaps, now and then, an infraction.

Chris
11-29-2016, 12:17 PM
Forum rules have been updated. The following has been added: "Trolling a poster or a thread is against the rules. Trolling is defined by forum leadership as 'deliberately offensive or provocative online posting with the aim of upsetting someone or eliciting an angry response from them.'"

Chris
11-30-2016, 10:22 AM
Why do so many of you engage in name calling? It's perhaps the #1 violation here. And perhaps the #1 cause of warnings, TBs and infractions. Yes, we allow for snark, but there's no bright line between that and insult. And what good does it do, your target may never see it, may ignore it, may laugh the jokes on you when you get moderated.

Chris
12-07-2016, 07:09 PM
Announcing The Political Forums Town Hall!

This will be an open meeting during which members can ask questions and state complaints, and moderators will try to respond. Feel free to ask any questions and make any complaints. However, the town hall will be strictly moderated. We can talk about trolls and trolling but you can't talk about members. We can talk about moderation in general but not any specific moderation action.

The first town hall will be this weekend, Saturday 12/10/2016 through Sunday 12/11/2016.

Chris
01-19-2017, 02:49 PM
Too many new member intro threads are getting trashed. We will start moderating them. Initially we'll toss off-topic posts in the Hole in Flameout. Repeated trashing will earn more moderation.

Chris
03-22-2017, 10:43 AM
We depend on member reports for moderation. Please report. But do not report and then react. If you do both we are less likely to either act or will have to take action on multiple parties, including the person who made the report.

Ravens Fan
04-27-2017, 10:07 AM
There was apparently some confusion on our policy as far as to when links are required.



8. You must provide a link when quoting an article and follow fair use guidelines (you are permitted to copy and paste two to three paragraphs). In addition, do not alter another user's words when quoting them.


The only time our rules require links is when quoting an article.

This does not mean that members cannot ask for links to a claim, but the rules of the forum do not require it.

Chris
04-27-2017, 03:14 PM
Another announcement related to quoting: When you quote an article or quote another poster it is generally considered bad faith to do so in a way that alters the meaning.

Let's say A posts
I disagree that Joe does that.

Then B quotes A as
Joe does that.

Obviously B has changed the meaning of A's post.

Don't do that. It's bad faith.


Also, use ellipses when you elide. Figure it out.