Rules and Moderator information

[Marcus]

...It's not rocket science to understand how bumping old threads to control what appears on the first page can escalate into an all-out tit-for-tat war for control over the front page....

That seems to carry a greater weight for you due to your experiences; I'm more interested in addressing the trolling that is disrupting our community.

So, what do you suggest I post as a plea to the community when someone starts a thread that you think is 100% intended to disrupt?

You'll note my comment was broader than that:

But maybe in a similar spirit, you could address some red-fonted comments to us all about the disruption methods being used by our two trolls to discourage their use?

But in the end, you'll also notice I deleted that sentence, which I did because I don't think our moderation here is empowered to stop trolls from attempting to disrupt. Sadly. in my opinion, this is why Philo bumped threads, because moderation can't solve this problem under the current rules.

But if non-moderators interpreted my post as somehow picking on Philo, then I'll just stick with rule enforcement rather than making any attempt to prevent a situation that would present a significant disruption of the smooth operation of the board.

are you serious?????? The two trolls are currently SIGNIFICANTLY disrupting the smooth operation of the board. The fact that zombie bumping, instead of the actual trolling, looms large in your mind as a "significant disruption of the smooth operation of the board" is unbelievable.

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

Unbelievable.

- Doc

[Atlanticmike]

Ok. I said it was a minor point because I didn't want to distract from the larger discussion. And I disagree with you. You admitted that you made your comment about zombie posts in response to Philo's strategy, it stretches credulity to imagine you weren't speaking primarily to him, in spite of your "plea to all." or maybe you don't realize what is experienced by non-moderators, in which case I'm happy to share. Regarding not reflecting your intent, I can't speak to that, I can only share how your messages are received. Putting something in red font changes that.



Sure. Philo was the only one doing it, and you posted it in direct response to someone applauding his efforts:

[bolding added by me]

But I understand. You were worried that Kerry the Pied Piper might lead everyone down the path of zombie bumping. The horror!!

Ok, thanks for the explanation. God forbid our forum is overtaken by zombie bumping. The Trolling we are currently experiencing is such a small thing compared to that /s /s /s

But maybe in a similar spirit, you could address some red-fonted comments to us all about the disruption methods being used by our two trolls to discourage their use?

I can only speak to my intent in making a post, not in how it is interpreted by any given individual. And what you describe as "straining credulity" actually illustrates my point. I did not post publicly in response to Philo. If I addressed Philo directly, it was in private. I posted in response to Moksha's public praise of the conduct. I'm not suggesting that Philo has magical powers of suasion. It's not rocket science to understand how bumping old threads to control what appears on the first page can escalate into an all-out tit-for-tat war for control over the front page. Especially when one has seen it happen a few times. When I was logged in this morning, I was happy to see that no one had retaliated or jumped on the bandwagon. But if non-moderators interpreted my post as somehow picking on Philo, then I'll just stick with rule enforcement rather than making any attempt to prevent a situation that would present a significant disruption of the smooth operation of the board.

So, what do you suggest I post as a plea to the community when someone starts a thread that you think is 100% intended to disrupt?

I want you to know great timing because I read your red moderator post last night and decided not to retaliate by moving my post to the top of the page. Honestly, I started to feel a little sorry for the Professor, I can tell he loves the board so I left it alone. I’m usually done posting by 9pm or so but last night I stayed up late posting because I think I ate some bad shrimp! There’s a really good chance I lost 12lbs between the hours of 7pm last night and 1am this morning, I’m exhausted!! Good job on the moderating buddy! Sit pancakes down and give him a few lessons. I love you pancakes!!

[Marcus]

Unbelievable.

- Doc

Seriously. Who knew 'zombie thread bumping' was the scourge of the earth, and needed to be avoided at all costs. God forbid a discussion is disrupted because the front page has a bunch of bumped threads!!! Well, not exactly disrupted. Disordered? Is that a better word? 'Mildly impacted,' maybe? Or maybe--' not influenced at all' ? Meanwhile, the trolls are allowed to disrupt, but we are assured that IF they were continuing to do the things that got them suspended, queuing or banning would definitely be considered. 'IF'. That's just laughable.

[Marcus]

Unbelievable.

- Doc

Seriously. Who knew 'zombie thread bumping' was the scourge of the earth, and needed to be avoided at all costs. God forbid a discussion is disrupted because the front page has a bunch of bumped threads!!! Well, not exactly disrupted. Disordered? Is that a better word? 'Mildly impacted,' maybe? Or maybe--' not influenced at all' ? Meanwhile, the trolls are allowed to disrupt, but we are assured that IF they were continuing to do the things that got them suspended, queuing or banning would definitely be considered. 'IF'. That's just laughable.

[Res Ipsa]

...It's not rocket science to understand how bumping old threads to control what appears on the first page can escalate into an all-out tit-for-tat war for control over the front page....

That seems to carry a greater weight for you due to your experiences; I'm more interested in addressing the trolling that is disrupting our community.

So, what do you suggest I post as a plea to the community when someone starts a thread that you think is 100% intended to disrupt?

You'll note my comment was broader than that:

But maybe in a similar spirit, you could address some red-fonted comments to us all about the disruption methods being used by our two trolls to discourage their use?

But in the end, you'll also notice I deleted that sentence, which I did because I don't think our moderation here is empowered to stop trolls from attempting to disrupt. Sadly. in my opinion, this is why Philo bumped threads, because moderation can't solve this problem under the current rules.

But if non-moderators interpreted my post as somehow picking on Philo, then I'll just stick with rule enforcement rather than making any attempt to prevent a situation that would present a significant disruption of the smooth operation of the board.

are you serious?????? The two trolls are currently SIGNIFICANTLY disrupting the smooth operation of the board. The fact that zombie bumping, instead of the actual trolling, looms large in your mind as a "significant disruption of the smooth operation of the board" is unbelievable.

It's only unbelievable if you don't take into account context. If I spot what appears to me to be a discreet situation that I think I can take care of with a simple two sentence general plea in red, then I will do that. That doesn't mean I see that problem as being more significant than any other problem. It means I think I can avoid a potential mess with very little effort.

The trolling situation is not a discrete problem that I can head off with a couple of sentences. It's a chronic situation that, I agree, the moderators are not empowered to address to your and others satisfaction under the current rules. I've spent much more time discussing the two sentences I posted about zombie bumps with you than I spent on the action itself. In contrast, I've spent hours and hours thinking about and talking about the trolling situation and how to effectively address it short of taking action that I don't believe is within my remit. If you want to accurately assess how I view the relative significance of problems here, time spent is a much better indicator than isolating two minutes of effort to head off a discrete situation and concluding that it must be the thing I think is most important.

Based on my own experiences with Binger and Atlanticmike, I have no reason to believe that posting a general plea in response to behavior that anyone around here characterizes as "disruptive" would have a positive effect. If I thought it would, I would do it. If someone can give me some good reasons why I should expect it to work, I'd be happy to try it. But, I'm not willing to do things that I think are ineffective at best and counterproductive at worst, solely to satisfy someone else's notion of consistency.

If you, or anyone else, thinks of two sentences that I can post in the form of a general plea that will alter Binger or Atlanticmike's behavior, please post them or PM them to me. If I'm persuaded that they'll be effective, I'll do it.

[Jersey Girl]

The trolling situation is not a discrete problem that I can head off with a couple of sentences. It's a chronic situation that, I agree, the moderators are not empowered to address to your and others satisfaction under the current rules.

Then wouldn't you say that the simple solution would be for Shades to address it?

[Res Ipsa]

The trolling situation is not a discrete problem that I can head off with a couple of sentences. It's a chronic situation that, I agree, the moderators are not empowered to address to your and others satisfaction under the current rules.

Then wouldn't you say that the simple solution would be for Shades to address it?

Simple for me, yes. Simple for you, yes. Simple for Shades, no.

[Binger]

Oh for the love o' Pete. I could end this in minutes.

I have made my suggestions many times, and they were summarily dismissed. But for me, I am not speaking for Atlanticmike, the solution is obvious and I have spelled it out many times.

I have come to the conclusion that nobody actually wants it to be different, they just want to Mitch and Bone.

[Binger]

Then wouldn't you say that the simple solution would be for Shades to address it?

Simple for me, yes. Simple for you, yes. Simple for Shades, no.

B*I*N*G*O!