Unbalanced moderation?

[sim667]

Im really starting to think that the balance of moderation, particularly with regard to PRSI on this forum is ridiculous...... It seems anything involving any kind of humor is being moderated, yet downright racism is being allowed?

Is there any real justification for this...... Its getting to the point where that forum is just becoming unusable. Is it really worth having discussion forums for PRSI type issues if the moderation can't be made to look inbalanced (regardless of whether its intentional or not).

 

[haxrnick]

People on the other side of the political spectrum have been saying this for a while. I also believe that in the PRSI threads users asked for the "blatant racism" examples and the only responses were "look at his thread titles". Seems because you don't agree with something you want it gone. Shocking really.

 

[ardchoille50]

Im really starting to think that the balance of moderation, particularly with regard to PRSI on this forum is ridiculous...... It seems anything involving any kind of humor is being moderated, yet downright racism is being allowed?

Is there any real justification for this...... Its getting to the point where that forum is just becoming unusable. Is it really worth having discussion forums for PRSI type issues if the moderation can't be made to look inbalanced (regardless of whether its intentional or not).

Can you provide specific instances of "downright racism" (posts)"? If there is a problem, it needs to be identified so the staff can handle it properly.

 

[sim667]

Can you provide specific instances of "downright racism" (posts)"? If there is a problem, it needs to be identified so the staff can handle it properly.

Four threads (the only threads they started as far as I'm aware) in a week portraying the black commnunity as an inferior race who get preferential treatment...... I don't know what isn't racist about that.

 

[dejo]

Can you provide specific instances of "downright racism" (posts)"? If there is a problem, let's bring it out into the open so the staff can rectify the situation.

Better yet, if you see posts that you feel are violating the rules, report them and the moderation team will look into it.

If you wish to find out why posts that you reported weren't moderated, please use Contact Us to ask the admins why. They'll be happy to explain.

EDIT:
Moderation FAQ

 

[sim667]

Better yet, if you see posts that you feel are violating the rules, report them and the moderation team will look into it.

If you wish to find out why posts that you reported weren't moderated, please use Contact Us to ask the admins why. They'll be happy to explain.

I did.... and I did..... no response.

What other factors that Asian-Americans don't have that other groups do have that would create such a gap in SAT scores then?



The answer is they are not black enough.

^Not racist, apparently.

It's not discrimination if it helps black people.

I guess subversive racism is ok?

 

[ardchoille50]

Several things come into play after reporting posts: time - sometimes a bit of investigation is required to get the full story prior to effective moderation; staff - not every moderator is online all of the time; impact - not every infraction can be caught immediately (when you go fishing, do you catch every fish in the lake?). Report a post and then let it go, life is too short to stress over this kind of thing.

 

[sim667]

Several things come into play after reporting posts: time - sometimes a bit of investigation is required to get the full story prior to effective moderation; staff - not every moderator is online all of the time; impact - not every infraction can be caught immediately (when you go fishing, do you catch every fish in the lake?). Report a post and then let it go, life is too short to stress over this kind of thing.

All very well, but its been ignored, despite being there in black and white, and reported.....

The thread wasn't to discuss actual moderation, the thread was to discuss unbalanced moderation, i.e. moderation of jokes or pictures vs lack of moderation for racism.....

 

[ardchoille50]

All very well, but its been ignored, despite being there in black and white, and reported.....

The thread wasn't to discuss actual moderation, the thread was to discuss unbalanced moderation, i.e. moderation of jokes or pictures vs lack of moderation for racism.....

You keep stating "lack of moderation" and hint toward things being ignored. Unless a moderator told you this was the case, your simply cannot assume this is what is happening. We, as users, do not have all of the information, and without the whole story we cannot assume things are not being handled by the staff. Just because they aren't doing what you want them to do, and within your time frame, doesn't prove anything.

 

[sim667]

You keep stating "lack of moderation" and hint toward things being ignored. Unless a moderator told you this was the case, your simply cannot assume this is what is happening. We, as users, do not have all of the information, and without the whole story we cannot assume things are not being handled by the staff. Just because they aren't doing what you want them to do, and within your time frame, doesn't prove anything.

All very well, but if I then point these instances out I'll get a warning for discussing "individual cases of moderation"

 

[ardchoille50]

All very well, but if I then point these instances out I'll get a warning for discussing "individual cases of moderation"

I'm just a user, but I'm going to put in my $0.02 anyway. My recommendation is to report a post and have faith that the staff will handle it to the best of their ability. If you come back next year and nothing was ever done, you can take pride in the fact that you did your part by reporting. We're not always aware of what is happening behind the scenes, so we have to give others the benefit of the doubt.

If you have reported a post, then KUDOS to you, you have done more than most people would have done.

 

[Doctor Q]

If you wish to find out why posts that you reported weren't moderated, please use Contact Us to ask the admins why. They'll be happy to explain.

I did.... and I did..... no response.

I don't see evidence that you have submitted Contact forms. If you have, then when you get a chance please identify the approximate dates and I'll check again.

 

[Ulenspiegel]

Im really starting to think that the balance of moderation, particularly with regard to PRSI on this forum is ridiculous...... It seems anything involving any kind of humor is being moderated, yet downright racism is being allowed?

Is there any real justification for this...... Its getting to the point where that forum is just becoming unusable. Is it really worth having discussion forums for PRSI type issues if the moderation can't be made to look inbalanced (regardless of whether its intentional or not).

I am convinced that your frustration has basis if you started a thread. Will you please give some concrete examples, I am really intererested.
My experience with moderation has been absolutely positive. Always in time and done in a very intelligent manner.

 

[maflynn]

The moderation staff works as a team, discussing the reports and coming to a consensus. Its difficult to have unbalanced moderation when we have such a diverse group of moderators.

What can happen is that someone is notified of a rules violation but they feel that we let a similar violation go. What actually occurs in those cases is that the moderation team is unaware of the other violation. The site is too busy for us to review each and every post, and that's why we rely on the members to report any violation they see.

I'm sure I'm repeating what the others say but I wanted to convey that we work as a team and we frequently discuss any reports that come in.

 

[Zxxv]

Im really starting to think that the balance of moderation, particularly with regard to PRSI on this forum is ridiculous...... It seems anything involving any kind of humor is being moderated, yet downright racism is being allowed?

Is there any real justification for this...... Its getting to the point where that forum is just becoming unusable. Is it really worth having discussion forums for PRSI type issues if the moderation can't be made to look inbalanced (regardless of whether its intentional or not).

true

disclaimer - I've been moderated a lot for humour not shared by the moderators. Such is life.

 

[annk]

I am convinced that your frustration has basis if you started a thread. Will you please give some concrete examples, I am really intererested.
My experience with moderation has been absolutely positive. Always in time and done in a very intelligent manner.

I'm glad you've had good experiences! But since you bring up specific examples, I'd like to remind the participants in this thread that specific moderation can't be discussed in public threads.

If however anyone has been moderated and doesn't think the moderation was correct, they can send a Contact Us and an administrator (= someone other than the person who did the moderation) will review it. Either we'll explain in more detail why the moderation occurred, or we'll see that we made a mistake, and reverse it.

true

disclaimer - I've been moderated a lot for humour not shared by the moderators. Such is life.

Not possible.

Seriously, though, it isn't possible. Our policy is that we leave our own political, religious etc etc opinions at the door when we put on moderator hats. The rules are as detailed as they are because that's the framework we use when we moderate.

Humor is important on a board like this, but it can be tricky, too. It's much harder to convey in a clear way, because facial expression and tone of voice aren't there. In other words, a lot of the context is gone. In addition, members occasionally use "but I was only joking" as a means to get around the rules that prohibit insults and name-calling.

We try hard to allow as much humor as possible, because it's a good thing. But in some cases, after discussion among ourselves so as not to be dependent on one person's opinion, we'll decide that something is a rule violation rather than a joke. This is especially true when the "joke" comes at the expense of another member, but it can be applicable in other cases as well.

But no, no one is moderated because the moderators have a different sense of humor.

 

[Zxxv]

I'm glad you've had good experiences! But since you bring up specific examples, I'd like to remind the participants in this thread that specific moderation can't be discussed in public threads.

If however anyone has been moderated and doesn't think the moderation was correct, they can send a Contact Us and an administrator (= someone other than the person who did the moderation) will review it. Either we'll explain in more detail why the moderation occurred, or we'll see that we made a mistake, and reverse it.



Not possible.

Seriously, though, it isn't possible. Our policy is that we leave our own political, religious etc etc opinions at the door when we put on moderator hats. The rules are as detailed as they are because that's the framework we use when we moderate.

Humor is important on a board like this, but it can be tricky, too. It's much harder to convey in a clear way, because facial expression and tone of voice aren't there. In other words, a lot of the context is gone. In addition, members occasionally use "but I was only joking" as a means to get around the rules that prohibit insults and name-calling.

We try hard to allow as much humor as possible, because it's a good thing. But in some cases, after discussion among ourselves so as not to be dependent on one person's opinion, we'll decide that something is a rule violation rather than a joke. This is especially true when the "joke" comes at the expense of another member, but it can be applicable in other cases as well.

But no, no one is moderated because the moderators have a different sense of humor.

I was

 

[annk]

I was

If you feel that way, the channel to say something about it is the Contact Us link, not a Site and Forum Feedback thread.

A general discussion about humor in forum threads, how differences in humor are interpreted differently from member to member, and what the rules say, on the other hand, is fine here. But as soon as you say something about specific moderation, the rules are clear: Contact Us.

 

[Zxxv]

If you feel that way, the channel to say something about it is the Contact Us link, not a Site and Forum Feedback thread.

A general discussion about humor in forum threads, how differences in humor are interpreted differently from member to member, and what the rules say, on the other hand, is fine here. But as soon as you say something about specific moderation, the rules are clear: Contact Us.

did that made no difference. I've pointed out many times the lack of sense of humour. wall banging head springs to mind


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its ok though. I just wanted to agree with the OP as I feel he's right.

 

[Meister]

Always interesting to see who the members are who want the mods to censor opinions different from their own.
Can't say I am surprised that the OP is one of them.

 

[Zxxv]

Always interesting to see who the members are who want the mods to censor opinions different from their own.
Can't say I am surprised that the OP is one of them.

I read he was just calling for more balanced moderation. Not wanting one over the other.

 

[S.B.G]

I'm a retired moderator of this very forum and I can honestly say that the moderator team here does the job to the very best of their ability and is as fair and balanced as anyone could ask.

Everyone on the staff is from all parts of the world with varying life experiences, ages and cultures. In my years on staff with them, I've gotten to know them very well. Together they work on the issues of the forum in a very open manner (amongst themselves in the backroom) where everyone sees what everyone else is doing. There is no room or tolerance for one moderator to go off on their own and unfairly treat a member of the forum.

Most tasks are routine and taken care of quickly. Other times, the issue is more complex or sensitive at which point the team comes together to figure it out and decide the best course of action, or inaction if deemed appropriate. Sometimes, it takes a while, days or even weeks to resolve certain things.

The decisions they make are always done in the best interest of the forum and the members involved. That doesn't always mean they get it right, and if so, there is always a means of redress. Following the established rules of Contact with the staff, I've seen moderation reversed, apologies issued and wrongs made right after private discussions with parties involved. But, sometimes, members don't always get what they want and/or disagree on fundamental issues and that is the way it is.

The biggest thing for us all to keep in mind is that everyone is different and we all come from different backgrounds and cultures and sometimes issues can never be reconciled between them. At that point, its usually best to move on, remembering that we're all human, including the staff of MacRumors.

 

[Meister]

I read he was just calling for more balanced moderation. Not wanting one over the other.

He wants smellysox to be moderated because he appears to be a racist.

I also get that impression, but nevertheless the quotes from smellysox's posts do not violate any forum rules and make perfect sense in context. Moderating them would boil down to simply censoring someones opinion.

 

[I7guy]

He wants smellysox to be moderated because he appears to be a racist.

I also get that impression, but nevertheless the quotes from smellysox's posts do not violate any forum rules and make perfect sense in context. Moderating them would boil down to simply censoring someones opinion.

I wonder how often the report button is hit, simply because an opinion, which is within all forum guidelines, is simply not liked for whatever reason?

 

[Meister]

I wonder how often the report button is hit, simply because an opinion, which is within all forum guidelines, is simply not liked for whatever reason?

Doctor Q makes statistics about such things.