Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

aristobrat

macrumors G5
Original poster
Oct 14, 2005
12,292
1,403
I have a question about general moderation.

Rule #11 of the Minor Problems section of Forum Rules reads:

"11. Common sense. In the end, use common sense. When you are about to post messages just to increase your post count, or post something you think is funny at someone else's expense, think to yourself "Is this annoying?" If the answer is yes, don't do it."

Although the specific examples listed were "post count" and "posting at someone else's expense", it seems to me that it ends with the clear thought "If what you're posting is annoying, then don't do it".

Given that "annoying" is a subjective quality, I was curious about how this rule is enforced.

If a post or thread is reported for breaking this rule, is it the opinion of the Moderator who receives the report as to whether the post/thread breaks this rule?

Are reports tracked so that they can indicate trends?

Thanks
 

Meister

Suspended
Oct 10, 2013
5,456
4,310
I think the mods discuss possible rule violations and take some sort of a majority vote.

I am also pretty sure that the chances of a post being classified as a rule violation increase with the number of members complaining about the post. The moderation is never objective. Everything is subjective anyway.
 

aristobrat

macrumors G5
Original poster
Oct 14, 2005
12,292
1,403
I guess the disconnect I've been noticing happens when forum members are lodging their complaints as replies in the thread, which then get (rightfully) removed by Moderators.

Not sure what the solution to that is. Surely posting in the thread reminding people to use the Report button instead of just replying isn't the best way.
 

7thson

macrumors 65816
May 13, 2012
1,343
1,437
Six Rivers, CA
If it's showing signs of or has gone thermonuclear, a mod will shut things down for a bit and clean out the cruft. I suspect the mods...oops caught myself there. The mods are all knowing and all powerful.:)
 

AlecZ

macrumors 65816
Sep 11, 2014
1,173
123
Berkeley, CA
It seems to be that if something gets reported too many times, they'll likely consider it a bad post by common sense. Then they'll remove all replies to that post.
 

SandboxGeneral

Moderator emeritus
Sep 8, 2010
26,482
10,051
Detroit
I have a question about general moderation.

Rule #11 of the Minor Problems section of Forum Rules reads:

"11. Common sense. In the end, use common sense. When you are about to post messages just to increase your post count, or post something you think is funny at someone else's expense, think to yourself "Is this annoying?" If the answer is yes, don't do it."

Although the specific examples listed were "post count" and "posting at someone else's expense", it seems to me that it ends with the clear thought "If what you're posting is annoying, then don't do it".

Given that "annoying" is a subjective quality, I was curious about how this rule is enforced.

If a post or thread is reported for breaking this rule, is it the opinion of the Moderator who receives the report as to whether the post/thread breaks this rule?

Are reports tracked so that they can indicate trends?

Thanks

We do our best to enforce the rules as laid out with regards to post reports. Many times a report will come in which isn't so black & white and more in the gray area. Then we discuss it using our best judgment to decide whether something is over-the-line or not. Sometimes, we have to try to be mind readers to determine a members intent, i.e., are they really trolling or is it just their passionate opinion.

All reports are saved so that should a question come up later about it or the members involved, we can go back to it for information.
 

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,415
43,304
I guess the disconnect I've been noticing happens when forum members are lodging their complaints as replies in the thread, which then get (rightfully) removed by Moderators.

Not sure what the solution to that is. Surely posting in the thread reminding people to use the Report button instead of just replying isn't the best way.

Members who report a post and then respond in the thread to that reported post certainly create more work for the moderation team. We try our best to get the word out to use the report button and not to respond to posts they suspect that are rules violations.
 

grahamperrin

macrumors 601
Jun 8, 2007
4,942
648
… All reports are saved so that should a question come up later about it or the members involved, we can go back to it for information.

Smart. Thanks. That answers a question that appeared for a while elsewhere.

Members who report a post and then respond in the thread to that reported post certainly create more work for the moderation team. …

I've been guilty of that on maybe a handful of occasions.

Sorry (and thanks to whoever silently dealt with the extra work from one particular incident – I can't imagine anything like that recurring).
 

Septembersrain

Cancelled
Dec 14, 2013
4,347
5,451
Common sense isn't very common. That's why it's the opinion of a collective that'll dictate just how that should be ruled. Like a jury pretty much.
 

annk

Administrator
Staff member
Apr 18, 2004
15,122
9,243
Somewhere over the rainbow
We try to do as little as possible, but as much as necessary.

That is, we don't want to interfere, but rather contribute to keep discussions going. So often, if we're not sure, we'll leave the post or comment in question alone, and perhaps just keep an eye on how things develop. :)
 

The Doctor11

macrumors 603
Dec 15, 2013
5,973
1,406
New York
Members who report a post and then respond in the thread to that reported post certainly create more work for the moderation team. We try our best to get the word out to use the report button and not to respond to posts they suspect that are rules violations.

Aw ****. I'm sincerely sorry for every time I reported someone and then responded to it.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.