Quote:
Originally Posted by LucyK!
To be honest, if the thread is going to be edited to within an inch of its life then there's very little point in keeping it open.
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100% with you there. While I know Mouse and our mod team here are doing their utmost to put out fires left right and center, it often results in a person's own words being altered or removed to do so...And although I know this is a last resort measure, I don't feel that it is last resort enough, and it takes away a person's own right to decide. Having said that, I think a huge credit to the mod team though, because honestly, what they have is a community of Meat fans that runs high in emotion, and vastly differing opinions, and tempers. Consequently (from what i've seen around the net), a greater volume of inappropriate things are said on this forum than I've ever seen elsewhere. This is usually because of said differing opinions, emotions, anger or frustration at what another person has said. At the end of the day, many of us are unapolagetically ourselves on here, and that I think is the ultimate reason why there is more inappropriate behavior than any other fan forum I have seen. I like to think it is because we are tighter-knit than said other forums :P And its great that we can be ourselves and have fun. But as with any family or tight group of friends, usually we get to see more of each other - in both good and not so good ways. Moderating this in the past has caused upset, but we have caused ourselves upset, equally, by the words we say and vibes we give out.
So, the mods have their work cut out for them, and they do what is needed to put out the fires WE create
What I think is needed is a slight change to policy. If something is said that is deemed inappropriate:
1. PM the user and instruct them to re-phrase or alter their own post to be more appropriate.
2. If the thing that was posted was *really* bad, Put the message in spoiler tags, and send the user a PM. This way, less users will see the post in passing, and it does not alter a person's own words, which I find greatly inappropriate in itself.
3. Mods do not edit a user's words ever. If a user has ignored the Mod's request to make their wording more appropriate, the user is banned for a short time. If a user repeatedly does this, the user is banned for longer, or perma-banned for not following the rules. Simple. Cut. Dry. :)
Of course, there's also the issue of what is "inappropriate". Is "~~~~ you" more inappropriate to repeatedly, aggressively arguing your point and minimizing the validity of another's point - without the use of swear words our foul language - but making a person feel like their opinion is garbage because someone has given 9,432 reasons why its garbage? I find "~~~~ you" far less offensive, and far more to the point :P However, we need to address both issues. Neither should be allowed to fester. Ultimately I find the latter issue - Inappropriateness so well written that you have to read between the lines to see it - is the one that is missed COMPLETELY on here, where a simple eff you is jumped on like its a sin. This is wrong IMO, for the simple reason that if a person consistently and vigorously tells you that there are 500 reasons why your opinion is not entirely accurate or complete, or valid, or you missed something, it can be FAR more hurtful FAR more often because it is psychological abuse, and it is detrimental to other user feeling free to express themselves because it promotes the fear that you will soon be invalidated. It is negative energy, and can easily cause a derogatory remark to be thrown out in frustration that ones own opinion has been torn to shreds in detail persistently enough that that person feels just like someone hammered "~~~~ your opinion" at them multiple times for stating an incorrect opinion. HAVING SAID THAT, IMO resorting to swear words or derogatory remarks towards others can be extremely hurtful, and is neither acceptable nor a "better alternative", and I am in no way defending the use of it...It was used as a comparison to bring light to other forms of unacceptable things said.
Once a mandate for what *is* inappropriate has been determined (or perhaps posted somewhere or updated if it already exists), we should be good to go. And "spiral" threads can stop spawning every time something newsworthy happens. With the ultimate goal of having more positives vibes and an atmosphere more open to discussion. Isn't that what this place is here for? :P