All Things in Moderation
Submitted by jim on Fri, 01/28/2005 - 11:59
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You may not know this, but I moderate posts from new users until they establish themselves as non-trolls, after which I clear 'em and they have free reign (reserving the right to revoke if they get abusive, of course). Usually it's easy. Most posts are either obviously abusive or obviously in the spirit of the site. These have me stumped though. They might be friendly smack-talking, they might be insulting. They are all directed at the same person, but posted on different lists:
i just saw your list! man that is a work in progress. its got to progress a long way mister. sort it out. conan the barbarian aint a touch on masters of the universe. plus do you even study film. what make you think any of sergio leone films, even though they are great, can touch the supremecy of RAGING BULL. that film is so tight in script, cinematography, performance, editing, sound, character development, camerawork, music!!, direction, casting. its so watertight. watch it and try to defy me you poor excuse for a film fan! challenge me if you dare, or kneel to my great power and knowledge of film. the revolution is here. the king is dead, long live the king!!!!! hahahhahahahahah, c'mon have a go if you think your hard/clever enough
...and:
your a bender. c'mon, if you place 'colour of money' as an essential Scorsese picture than you need to think! Scorsese even said he didn't enjoy maing that picture. it was top please the studios, so he could make 'last temptation.'
...and:
alot of you don't know much about film, and cant compose a critical opinion. you probably think tarantino is the saviour of modern cinema! [listologist X], im disapointed in you. i want to chat. debate! you up for it!
. What do you think? Approve 'em or trash 'em? Just trying to get a sense for what level of permissivity folks are looking for 'round here.
Sounds as if they might have had something to say but didn't have the "know-how" to do it. As much as I dislike the "no shift key/no dictionary" posting style, I think I'd have given them a chance. Perhaps waiting for the recipient of their posts to complain indiscreetly to you.
Yeah, that's probably a good call. If these had trickled in one at a time, or were spread out among different users, they might have slipped through. They really are on the mildest end of the stuff that gives me pause, so after much deliberating I figured I'd just ask. Probably should have just kept my mouth shut, gone with my gut, and passed at least 2 out of 3 and rejected the other.
I appreciate your asking, because it gives me insight into the way things operate around here. Heretofore, I just assumed the quality of this forum was due to the high caliber of the participants, but now I see it has to do with the quality of your moderating skills, too.
Actually, your assumption is mostly correct. While I do moderate everybody when they're new, it's often not for very long. And after that they have a free pass. So far I've never had to start moderating someone after they've been approved. This is also a relatively new practice (six months, maybe? I can't remember). Also, it's very rare that I delete anything, even among new users. For those times when I have deleted stuff though, I've been glad I bother screening. Some people truly suck.
I say he's OK.
i think he's an idiot but he's not doing anything that warrants banning... he is at least backing up his opinions... he's not just trashing people.
if i didn't know any better i would say they are directed at me.
Well I guess that settles that! You say they're okay, and even guess correctly that they're directed at you. I'm certainly not going to write the guy the blank check yet, but these comments have gone though. Have at 'em.
I appreciate your tolerance.
to be honest i can't say i'd have the same opinion were they directed towards someone else... so my opinion may change quickly... i'm not sold on the guy either... then again, i'm the only one he's been hostile towards so far, and i think we've all seen someone's list and wanted to scream at them and leave some nasty posts, that one person who's opinions rub you the wrong way, i know i have thought about it.
'if I didn't know any better I would say they are directed at me'
So, you do know better? You do know who these comments are directed at? I have my own guesses, but I certainly don't know for sure.
heh, wow, guess you were right! Magic.
Expose this poor sap to the marketplace of ideas, and let it be the survival of the fittest.
In principle I like this idea. In practice I think this is the well-trodden path so many other forums take, and are eventually overrun by trolls, their signal-to-noise ratio totally tanked.
Are you just talking about this particular poor sap, or do you feel that way about moderation in general?
Thanks for the feedback! I'll leave this open a bit longer to see if anybody else wants to chime in.
Listology has, so far, proven itself to be far above the mean for quality online discussion and participants. I'm not sure how you feel, Jim, but I've fallen in love with Listology for this reason and would hate to see it debase itself to gain a greater number of members. Quality over quantity, I say!
Not to worry, I have no intention of opening the floodgates. It's good to get feedback on this issue from time to time to make sure I'm not getting drunk with power.
Trash them. They're not in the friendly, supportive spirit of the site and are obviously posted by a teenager who has nothing better to do and suddenly feels he is "greater-than-thou" because he saw an indie last week. (Admittedly, this message is also posted by a teenager with nothing better to do, but I'm hardly greater-than-thou!)
Trash.
Much as I love people who throw down intellectually, there's a huge difference between someone who's armed to the teeth and somone who blows into town calling people out. (Or someone who is provocative and invites others to play whack-a-mole with them.) Especially when it is always the same person being challenged to a shootout. Someone has their drunk on. That's the antithesis of community. The Clantons and McLaurys of the world must be dealt with and I nominate you to be Gary Cooper. (Metaphor Trail Mix, just add water.)
I don't think much of someone who can't distinguish between "your" and "you're," someone whose shift key doesn't work but their CAPS LOCK does, someone who uses more than two exclamation points in a row and, of course, the gibberish. If this cowpoke knows their target then let 'em sling hash off-site.
What can they be thinkin' if they don't know the difference between an exclamation point and a question mark!
You're right - it's not really that bad or offensive. But I'd worry than an inch would become a mile. You have to draw the line somewhere, and if I were in your shoes, my giant feet would really hurt and I'd draw the line just above this.