Banning issues and concerns

[wilsoncgp 9,283]

Feel like I've missed a trick here, didn't realise there was so much stuff going down!

 

From my short time here, mods are reasonable, no need for any of this kerfuffle!

 

[Smoggie_in_Canada 10]

My only concern with the small few who do flout the rules is that the end result is threads being locked overnight which means the people in different timezones / schedules are blocked from posting.

 

This for me punishes the majority because of the minority. I'd prefer to see the 1hr bans being used instead.

 

I think the mods here do a great job. Transfer time is silly season and chaos is going to happen I dont expect the mods the control 100% of the chaos as that is just not realistic.

[Jimmy 140]

Couldn't agree more with what most people have already mentioned above. I've been a long time lurker on the forum, and only recently started posting. I think generally the atmosphere is good, and have had no negativity/insults thrown my way on my time here. There is the odd pleb that will be discontented that his opinion has not been taken as gospel, and will therefore resort to getting angry and calling.. But this is is always going to be a problem with forums, and I think the mods do a top job at sorting these out.

I agree that a little common sense from posters is all that's necessary to keep the forum in peace, but as CT mentioned a firm list of rules may be a good idea to set precedents.

 

Overall I think this forum is a top place to get enlightened opinions, news and even daft transfer rumours that keep me amused, and we are lucky to have a decent outlet like this to discuss our beloved boro!

[Brunners 7,982]

I'm just going to put it here because I can't be bothered to make a new thread but I think there was more unnecessary thread locking tonight.

 

We may have been having a discussion but we were all being entirely civil about it. I think the most personal it got was an "you're wrong".

 

If that deserves a locked thread then I despair.

[Guest Rise Sir Axl Rose]

Whilst I totally appreciate its a difficult balance moderating; I think you need to be really careful locking a thread. It wasn't a derailment? It wasn't abusive? The same points were being maintained so I can see the need to cool off but really, part of wanting an active forum is

Ensuring the most active/topical threads stay open, otherwise you'll just have a fringe forum and key members will migrate to less moderated sites.

 

. Just my 2 cents!

[CurtisFleming 86]

Uwe frivolously closing a thread? I did Nazi that coming.

[Uwe 3,545]

I locked the thread because I had a feeling it was going to spiral into arguments. I know the discussion has been good I've been part of it myself. But it was just back and forth about who's right and who's wrong. Usually on a nighttime these things can blow up. I think I saw the early stages of this.

I may be wrong but I've got broad enough shoulders to take the hit. The thread will be open soon enough to continue discussing it

 

Cheers

[CurtisFleming 86]

Locking threads on feelings now?

 

Don't make me ***ing laugh

 

Premptive locking? It was an adult discussion. No abuse etc.

 

 

OneBoro mods AKA Orwells 1984 Thought Police..

[Brunners 7,982]

You were wrong :) We were pretty much done discussing it, I think we'd already tired ourselves out.

 

You can't pre-emptively lock threads based on your whims.

[p_mards 1,365]

https://i.imgflip.com/rb5ki.jpg

[Middlesborough 12]

That's it I was right about the referee's decision and that's the end of it!

[Leon 2]

Just to throw my two penneth in... you really need a set of rules laid out and posted somewhere for people to see.  When you limit or ban people, you need something you can point at and say 'That's what you did, this is the consequence.'  Otherwise it's just 'because Mod X said so...' which is always going to cause more friction.

 

I run a forum, although not quite as busy as this one (1700 members, 100-ish posts per day) and one of the first things we did when we launched was a clear set of rules for people to follow.  Now, our discussions rarely get as heated as when the Boro have lost or we've missed out on signing Messi, but in 5 years we've never had to ban anyone, just a handful of thread edits and deletions here and there.  People generally abide by the guidelines and if they don't we can point them in that direction.

 

We also have a separate 'behind the scenes' board which only the Mod's can see, where we can discuss any potential problem threads/posts before taking action.  Is that something you can do here?  There seems to be more than one Mod online most of the time around here, so it shouldn't delay things too much?

 

And lastly...!

 

If someone can get the swear filter to stop people from posting 'could of', 'should of', 'would of', and replace it with 'could have', 'should have', 'would have' that would be great.... :)  Gets right on my wick that does...!

[richmfc 41]

You can write as many rules as you want but its still the same as a football game and decisions are in the opinion of the referee. So writing a rule about abuse gets you banned only means abuse in the opinion of the mod reading it. Dont for one second think some written rules will stop this as has been demonstrated in the discussion about the pen or not pen. The mods need to take decisions and i doubt any off them will be agreed on by all.

[bugrit 31]

You can write as many rules as you want but its still the same as a football game and decisions are in the opinion of the referee. So writing a rule about abuse gets you banned only means abuse in the opinion of the mod reading it.   Dont for one second think some written rules will stop this  as has been demonstrated in the discussion about the pen or not pen.   The mods need to take decisions and i doubt any off them will be agreed on by all.

 

This is true.

[bugrit 31]

Members who have called for a clear-cut set of rules beyond the ones in the T&Cs are asking for the impossible. It might seem a simple matter to create a list of straightforward dos and don'ts for the forum but it isn't. Let's face it, 650 Westminster MPs and an army of legal draftsmen spend their lives trying to write watertight laws but, despite all of the cash and resources at their disposal, they still manage to leave loopholes and bones of contention.

 

The best we can do is ask members to observe a few simple guidelines intended to help us all to get along together:

1. The vast majority of members need no reminding of this but please, people, just be civil to one another.
   
2. Don't be a smart***.
   
3. Don't be a WUM.
   
4. Don't feed the trolls.
   
5. Use the Report button.
   

Clarification

1. Anyone who doesn't understand what being civil entails can stop reading and sod off right now. Enjoy the rest of your life, though.
   
2. Nobody likes a smart***. They're not easy to define but we can all recognise smart***d comments when we see them. A typical example would be a snide remark about another member's use of English. Surely, as a bunch of like-minded fans on a football forum, we can live with a few grammatical lapses, malapropisms and spelling mistakes, can't we? It's all part of being civil and not making others feel uncomfortable.
   
3. For the innocents in our midst, WUM stands for wind-up-merchant. The term has no widely acceptable definition that I know of and one man's fair comment will always be another man's deliberately provocative wind-up. However, posts that are greeted with indignation by all and sundry might indicate that a WUM is at work. Similarly, an individual who habitually engages in tit-for-tat bickering might be considered a WUM. Frequent claims to having a "right of free speech" is also symptomatic of being a WUM. A clever WUM usually takes care not to break any forum rules and can often, quite plausibly, claim innocence of any wrongdoing. None of this is definitive but let's just say that Ye shall know them by their fruits. Now, before anyone misconstrues the foregoing, it must be made clear that good natured banter and friendly mickey-taking is fine. In fact, it's actively encouraged, okay?
   
4. Trolls are people who join message boards with the sole intention of disrupting everything they see. The more threads they can derail, the more re-quotes they can get for their inflammatory posts, the angrier they can make other board members, the happier they are. In short, they are nasty, spiteful pieces of work with a perverse take on amusement. The best way to deal with a troll is simply to ignore him. Never, under any circumstances re-quote him in another post because that is what he wants you to do most of all. It lets him re-quote himself and you, causing further annoyance to everyone. Do not feed a troll. Ever!
   
5. Whenever you see trouble brewing, the best thing to do is click the Report button that appears at bottom-right of every post. After that, just sidestep the disruption and try to carry on with what you were doing. Sometimes, the Report button will bring a mod to investigate what is going on straight away. More often, it will take a while to attract attention but at least you won't have got yourself involved in whatever was going on and, most importantly, you won't have added to the disruption.
   

 

Oh, dear. There are so many grey areas in the above, far more than fifty shades, for sure.