Macrumors and Racism

[The-Real-Deal82]

The first “ban” is for a year, after that it’s forever. Before too long everyone will be banned from PRSI and it won’t exist anymore which may satisfy some of the posters on this thread.

That’s the weird thing about this forum. Reminders are tallied up over many years whereas every other forum I’ve been part of has a time frame for this. When I was banned from PRSI I asked for an explanation and got an example from 2014 included, what the hell is that about? That was 6 years ago! They shouldn’t be points scoring over an indefinite amount of time as this becomes irrelevant in the present tense.

 

[I7guy]

That’s the weird thing about this forum. Reminders are tallied up over many years whereas every other forum I’ve been part of has a time frame for this. When I was banned from PRSI I asked for an explanation and got an example from 2014 included, what the hell is that about? That was 6 years ago! They shouldn’t be points scoring over an indefinite amount of time as this becomes irrelevant in the present tense.

I think "going back 6 years" is the point of the way things should work. If one is breaking the same rules with infractions for 6 years, something should be done. An insult posted in 2014 is still an insult.

 

[TonyC28]

That’s the weird thing about this forum. Reminders are tallied up over many years whereas every other forum I’ve been part of has a time frame for this. When I was banned from PRSI I asked for an explanation and got an example from 2014 included, what the hell is that about? That was 6 years ago! They shouldn’t be points scoring over an indefinite amount of time as this becomes irrelevant in the present tense.

The rules are a tad ridiculous. It’s a political forum where strangers argue on the internet and they expect it to be like a book club meeting. If you go back 50 or so pages and look at old threads you’ll see that a lot of the posters have suspended accounts.

 

[I7guy]

The rules are a tad ridiculous. It’s a political forum where strangers argue on the internet and they expect it to be like a book club meeting. If you go back 50 or so pages and look at old threads you’ll see that a lot of the posters have suspended accounts.

Maybe MacRumors wants it's members to discuss things and not argue. But in any case, may not be a book club meeting, but not a bar room brawl either.

 

[TonyC28]

Maybe MacRumors wants it's members to discuss things and not argue. But in any case, may not be a book club meeting, but not a bar room brawl either.

If their goal is to have the world’s first political forum that doesn’t involve arguing then I say good luck to them.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I think "going back 6 years" is the point of the way things should work. If one is breaking the same rules with infractions for 6 years, something should be done. An insult posted in 2014 is still an insult.

When thousands of posts are made over many years it’s largely irrelevant. Sometimes something is written that isn’t an insult but is perhaps perceived that way indirectly. Infractions are often not insults but off topic posts and sometimes asking questions that they perceive as inflammatory.

 

[I7guy]

If their goal is to have the world’s first political forum that doesn’t involve arguing then I say good luck to them.

There is arguing in every forum, so that in and of itself is not unique to PRSI.
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When thousands of posts are made over many years it’s largely irrelevant. Sometimes something is written that isn’t an insult but is perhaps perceived that way indirectly. Infractions are often not insults but off topic posts and sometimes asking questions that they perceive as inflammatory.

Was using "insults" as an example. I have seen some of those inflammatory questions and some of them are out and out trolling.

I haven't seen it talked about that off-topic posts where a warning is sent, can result in a PRSI timeout.

 

[BigMcGuire]

It makes me sad when I read old threads and I see quite a few suspended - on old accounts. I remember some of them too.

 

[I7guy]

It makes me sad when I read old threads and I see quite a few suspended - on old accounts. I remember some of them too.

This was posted in 2017.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/announcement-some-changes-in-the-way-the-prsi-section-is-moderated.2042155/

Some people just didn't take the time, energy or have the inclination to review this or believed their posting style was above reproach. To your point, though, yes...I remember many of them also.

 

[Weaselboy]

Some people just didn't take the time, energy or have the inclination to review this...

The warning or suspension messages that count as PRSI strikes include the text below that explains the three strikes rule also. So it should not catch anybody by surprise even if one missed that sticky post you linked.

As this violation occurred in the "Politics, Religion, Social Issues" (PRSI) forum, it will additionally be considered as part of our PRSI-specific policies. These can result in loss of access to the PRSI forum after three violations of the Rules for Appropriate Debate within a six month period, or behaviour of similar severity. For more detail, see the Rules for Appropriate Debate and details about this policy.

 

[BigMcGuire]

The warning or suspension messages that count as PRSI strikes include the text below that explains the three strikes rule also. So it should not catch anybody by surprise even if one missed that sticky post you linked.

Yeah, I was going to say, from what individuals (who have gotten a strike) have shown me, it's fairly obvious that a "strike" happened. If you're gunna blow through those 3 strikes then... <shrug> makes sense just to deal with it then.

Still makes me sad. Some of the people I really liked following are now suspended. And don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming the mods here, I think people were given plenty of warning. If my own life is any indication - I walk into those situations knowing full well what I'm doing and what the consequences will be. lol

 

[ericgtr12]

The warning or suspension messages that count as PRSI strikes include the text below that explains the three strikes rule also. So it should not catch anybody by surprise even if one missed that sticky post you linked.

^ If I had a nickel...

 

[BigMcGuire]

^ If I had a nickel...

That's what that sound is when you walk!!!! <cough>

 

[ericgtr12]

That's what that sound is when you walk!!!! <cough>

Ha! Never actually had the 3 strikes thing but I've had my hand slapped a few times. TBH I never really notice those who are suspended for any amount of time unless I happen upon an old post or notice it from my friends list.

 

[I7guy]

Yeah, I was going to say, from what individuals (who have gotten a strike) have shown me, it's fairly obvious that a "strike" happened. If you're gunna blow through those 3 strikes then... <shrug> makes sense just to deal with it then.

Still makes me sad. Some of the people I really liked following are now suspended. And don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming the mods here, I think people were given plenty of warning. If my own life is any indication - I walk into those situations knowing full well what I'm doing and what the consequences will be. lol

The verbiage, which I had not seen before, seems crystal clear to me. I really do believe that some people cannot help it and then there is a PEBEKAC situation. (problem between keyboard and chair)

 

[BigMcGuire]

Ha! Never actually had the 3 strikes thing but I've had my hand slapped a few times. TBH I never really notice those who are suspended for any amount of time unless I happen upon an old post or notice it from my friends list.

Same. It's kinda rare for me too - bumping into an old thread then: Oh yeah I remember that person.

Never had a 3 strike either - but definitely hand slapped as well. I had the fortune of a member showing me the message they got when they got theirs (a strike).

I see you're still active! Maybe when my blood pressure gets low enough I'll start reading again!

 

[ericgtr12]

Same. It's kinda rare for me too - bumping into an old thread then: Oh yeah I remember that person.

Never had a 3 strike either - but definitely hand slapped as well. I had the fortune of a member showing me the message they got when they got theirs (a strike).

I see you're still active! Maybe when my blood pressure gets low enough I'll start reading again!

It's all good, really 99% of the posts we have in there are civil (though can be heated), you really only hear about the ones that get out of hand.

 

[bousozoku]

Let's just say that MacRumors has a "reputation" amongst the larger tech community. Whenever it's brought up, people say "don't go in the comments". It goes beyond racism, into homophobia and toxic whining in general.

You should look at wccftech if you think MacRumors has a poor reputation. They write practically anything in the Disqus comments and the moderators only seem to delete the posts which criticize the site.

Having been a moderator here years ago, I found it interesting that the people repeatedly reporting posts were usually doing it out of personal anger or desperation.

Most people just need to grow up and embrace diversity, not try to exterminate the opposition.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

This was posted in 2017.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/announcement-some-changes-in-the-way-the-prsi-section-is-moderated.2042155/

Some people just didn't take the time, energy or have the inclination to review this or believed their posting style was above reproach. To your point, though, yes...I remember many of them also.

I would say that is generalising there. Not everybody who has been banned is arrogant to the rules or thinks they are immune to being penalised. Sometimes with different cultures and English not always being a first language, mistakes are made with the intent of posts and the language used.

 

[Wando64]

Ultimately, shouldn't it just come down to the reasons why you have joined this forum?

Can anyone that joined principally so that they could participate in PRSI please stand up..
Anyone?
...
I thought so.
Why on earth does it exist then.

 

[I7guy]

I would say that is generalising there. Not everybody who has been banned is arrogant to the rules or thinks they are immune to being penalised. Sometimes with different cultures and English not always being a first language, mistakes are made with the intent of posts and the language used.

Ok, fair enough.

But that goes both ways as well. And in fact that specific point about (ESL) is addressed in the rules for appropriate debate. But I personally feel if one isn't aware they are posting a slur, insult or what-have-you maybe they shouldn't be posting here.

 

[TiggrToo]

Ultimately, shouldn't it just come down to the reasons why you have joined this forum?

Can anyone that joined principally so that they could participate in PRSI please stand up..
Anyone?
...
I thought so.
Why on earth does it exist then.

I am actually guilty of that (much to my shame). I cannot believe for one instance that I’m the only one either.

Thankfully I got better and left.

 

[I7guy]

Ultimately, shouldn't it just come down to the reasons why you have joined this forum?

Can anyone that joined principally so that they could participate in PRSI please stand up..
Anyone?
...
I thought so.
Why on earth does it exist then.

I am not answering for myself, but yes, it seems that there are people who primarily participate in PRSI. You can see it when you hover over their name and they have been members for 10 years, and have 800 posts. That's 80 posts per year, 6 posts per month and 1.5 posts per week, yet they are heavily participating in nearly every thread in PRSI.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Posts on PRSI don't count in your post count if I remember right. Yeah.

 

[oneMadRssn]

You're making an assumption about me that's incorrect: "You’re alright (sic) with Nazi sympathizers being on this forum, so by extension, you’re alright (sic) with white supremacists being on this forum."

There are lots of things I'm not all right with. There are types of people I personally distance myself from, because my own ideology is very, very different. I cannot however control where those various types of people are in society around me, including online.

On this site we moderate when users express themselves in ways we do not accept. What type of person they are is outside of what we control.

@Puonti no, private messages are never flagged. We can't see them unless a user reports them.

Making it less personal: MR has decided to be a site that allows the PRSI community to exist within its home. Thus, MR owns all the vile garbage that happens in PRSI. MR cannot distance themselves from it by hiding behind semantics - as long as PRSI exists on the site, the state of that subforum is reflective on MR as a whole.

You say "I cannot however control where those various types of people are in society around me, including online." But you (MR) can. MR can say, "we can't tell you where to go, but we won't give you quarter in our home." But it doesn't do that. Arn decided to instead give these nazis and white supremacists a room in his virtual home (as long as they follow some easily-circumventable rules).

They say the room is locked and we aren't forced to open door. But that doesn't take away that we all know that MR's site has in it a place for this content.

I think MR should reckon with this and stop hiding behind semantics. Either own it and admit what it is: MR is site with a space where nazis and white supremacists can post (as long as they aren't directly insulting and don't use certain banned keywords); or get rid of that subforum.