Moderator Transparency

[Lu Xun]

One of the previous functions of downvotes was as a user surrogate for the report post button and moderator action. With downvotes removed, the report post button is going to be used a lot more aggressively, and it'd be best if community standards for posting were better spelled out in the future.

 

One way to do this would be if posts that received warns received moderator verbal warnings would receive a mod-edit stating "This post has been warned for: [so-and-so]", stating the nature of the offense. Likewise, it would also be better if posts that had report attempts repeatedly made had the report post button removed to state that the post was no longer reportable, although it would still be an option of users to report the post in the Forum Reports section.

 

I think this change would help streamline player-moderator communication in terms of what is reportable and what is not reportable.

[Sir Scarfalot]

Actually, that's not a bad couple of ideas.

[Prefonteen]

I support this.

[Salt Meat]

Agreed 100%, a mod edit for other users to see would be great to have, if only so that others can become aware of what they shouldn't do.

As well, it would be nice to see posts no longer being removed. I get removing a post for extreme reasons(someone posts something sensitive that shouldn't be seen, or a banme image), but it seems like completely normal, game related posts are being deleted/removed from topics just because the people in it went off on a tangent about something else.

I get that going off topic is not ideal, and warn people if you must, but leave the evidence and maybe a note about not doing it, nobody is going to learn not to do it everything happens behind closed doors or gets disappeared into a black hole.

[Teaspoon]

Yeah this is a good idea. More transparency is always better in community moderation in general, but also being able to see what Alex views as specific violations of rules will help the community break them less 

[Joi]

Being able to witness how and why people are getting punished for rule-breaking behavior in a public forum is a learning tool, this is true.

Thanks for bringing the topic up (again?), OP. It's a worthy one.

[Zaurg]

It would nice if specific posts with the violation were linked, I was warned by a moderator once but the warning was extremely vague and my request for clarification wasn't responded to, so I'm still not sure what post he was referencing in that instance.

That way you can just look at all rule-breaking posts everyone made and get a sense of what's allowed and what isn't

[Olive Penderghast]

On 12/8/2019 at 4:06 AM, Inst said:

One way to do this would be if posts that received warns received moderator verbal warnings would receive a mod-edit stating "This post has been warned for: [so-and-so]", stating the nature of the offense.

I have thought of this before, and think it could be interesting, however we cant be for sure anyone would actually read the edits but I'll bring this up to the mod team and see what they say about this.

 

On 12/8/2019 at 4:06 AM, Inst said:

Likewise, it would also be better if posts that had report attempts repeatedly made had the report post button removed to state that the post was no longer reportable, although it would still be an option of users to report the post in the Forum Reports section.

I have actually looked into this to see if it was a possibility - however to look through the options what Auto-Moderation can do, which is the closest I could find that could accomplish something like this, Alex would need to enable it, and who knows what else is behind that feature, which like I said, is the only potential area that could accomplish something similar to this suggestion. Reason I say this because it gave an example of a rule we could include if we enabled that would "Hide the Post after x amount of reports being sent", however I did not enable it as im not the game administrator and its up to Alex if he wishes to research into it and use it.

On 12/10/2019 at 2:29 AM, Zaurg said:

It would nice if specific posts with the violation were linked, I was warned by a moderator once but the warning was extremely vague and my request for clarification wasn't responded to, so I'm still not sure what post he was referencing in that instance.

That way you can just look at all rule-breaking posts everyone made and get a sense of what's allowed and what isn't

The posts are actually linked. The image below is the "warn"(Really a verbal - No points were given)

 

The Area circled is a clickable link that takes you back to the post concerning your verbal for violating

Quote

Flaming, Baiting, Trolling, Racism, Sexism, and Name Calling

• Flaming - posts targeted at a player in an effort to anger, hurt, insult, harass, or provoke.
  • Example: Lashing out a player of an action they made in respect to the game and attacking the personally with insults, hatred, or comments that are OOC and do not pertain to the discussion at hand - bullying. Keep it clean and relating to the discussion. 
• Baiting - coercing a player into breaking the rules.
  • Example: Intentionally making a comment or action that would force another player to break the rules in reply. This means, keep it clean and IC. There is no need to start problems and promote fighting within a discussion.
• Trolling - deliberately provocative posting with the aim of inciting an angry response.
  • Example: See baiting - additionally, not following proper posting etiquette in the forum with the intention on inciting further flame, troll, and bait posts. 
• Name Calling - abusive or insulting language referring to a person or group. 
  • Example: Names associated with a person or persons lifestyle, race, religion - etc. Strictly prohibited. 
  • We understand that Roleplay forums are different than most IC Forums - therefore as long as posts are not intended to flame, bait, troll, or hurt another roleplayer - these types of posts are allowed. 
• Racism and Sexism - having or showing the belief that a particular race or gender is superior to another.
  • Use common sense. We come from all walks of life - all over the world. What may not seem offensive to you may be offensive to someone else in another walk of life. 
  • Example: Using someones race against them to turn or attempt to turn a tide in your favor in any IC or OOC discussion. Likewise, commenting on someone's sexuality, sex, or lifestyle choice and using that information against them with the intention to belittle, demean, or hurt that person or group. 
  • As we allow open discussions and debates, we will allow discussions that are constructive and produce fruitful response within the parameters of the rules and guidelines of the forum or sub-forum you are positing in. Please see the above rules; flaming, baiting, trolling, name calling BEFORE posting your discussion or debate.

Now lets break it down to the one that concerns that verbal issued(which is the last one you have received back in November 13th,  2019 for a post you created on November 12, 2019 seen below.

On 11/12/2019 at 6:03 AM, Zaurg said:

Anarcho-Monarchism has to be the most "IM NOT A KID MOM" ideology I've ever seen in my life.

Obviously it did not break:

• Racism and Sexism
• Baiting
• Name Calling

which leaves two points left that could be concerning you, which are

• Flaming
• Trolling

Now, after reading the post it directed me to, I didnt see it as flaming. To me it wasnt intended to anger, hurt, insult, harass, or provoke(which I could be wrong, I wasn't involved in this exact report, nor do I know your true intentions for this post).  So after consideration, it left me with Trolling and looking at the report, the two moderators that did handle this report from November 13th said this was trolling. 

 

I hope this clarifies a little bit, but for more clarification, you should re-message the moderator who gave you the verbal warning - as that was all I was able to dig up concerning it and I wasn't involved with this report.

 

On 12/8/2019 at 6:52 AM, Salt Meat said:

leave the evidence

The evidence is never deleted - simply hidden where only Staff members can view them. Generally we don't hide(Or I do not hide them) unless absolutely necessary. If its one issue or the image, I generally remove the small parts out with a <Removed for (Rule Violation)>. Now concerning Non-Discussion Forums, we do hide posts that violate the rules to keep the report topic tidy for the most part when we notice it. If you believe your post didn't violate the policy and not sure why your post was edited or hidden, contact any Moderator Staff Member and it doesn't have to be the one who issued you the warn(granted they would be able to give you a better understanding of their view and why they chose to take action) or Alex himself directly. 

 

 

[Joi]

I've noticed recently that more rule-breaking posts are staying un-hidden than before, and now they have a red-text notification visible that states that the poster received a warning for their post.

This is definitely a step in a good direction, and it's a change that lets forums users learn from the mistakes that they and others might make.

Thanks, moderation team!