Lee, Here in a Virtual World: moderation

Showing posts with label moderation. Show all posts

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Earthly Infractions Reported in 'Forum Feedback'

Lias said...

"So Earth gave out infractions t Cato, Lain andI in theew member thread. Here is what each of us got an infraction for:"

[quotes some of the "infracted" posts]

"I asked him to ask that question elsewhere and Lain answered him politely and we were cited for dramatizing the thread.

Where is the appeal process? There is no way to respond to the conversation Earth started to dole out the infraction and no written appeal process in the infraction information area. To be fair an appeal process needs to be available."

"the right to appeal

in the event that an inhabitant is subjected to quarantine or scrubbed, they will be afforded an opportunity to appeal to the community for relief."

If you get banned from gV and wish to appeal, it helps to solicit a sponsor to appeal on your behalf so you don't circumvent the alt rule and create grounds to be banned again.

nina said:

"the right to appeal - people should have an opportunity to make their case against whatever discipline publicly"

nina said:

"opportunity to appeal to the community' could mean many things, not necessarily appealing to a mob. it could mean a single post asking for forgiveness, it could mean an entire thread to discuss the merits of the discipline, it could even mean an appeal judged by a panel of peers. the mechanics arent specified."

nina said:

"i will say this though, the Inhabitant Rights state that pep has the right to appeal his banning. start a thread dedicated to peps appeal and lets see how people feel about the topic"

colleen said:

"Who reps the banned person?"

nina said:

"if there is a case where nobody wants to rep the banned person... that says a lot right there hey"

"bear in mind that at the time the inhabitants rights were created we hadnt yet abandoned the idea of community governance."

nina said:

"well its true. it was stated that we would continue to use the rights and standards though, so they are alive. peps unbanning is an example of the post-governance appeal process in action. if it is an appeal of consequence or matter it will be addressed i am certain."

nina said:

"it could be done easier than people think. if one had the technical ability to make the websites design reflect the model of governance in use, that would go a huge way toward making something work."

nina said:

"there is no appeal process. infractions came about after the collapse of governance. once inhabitants made it clear that they were not willing to trust one another to have any say in governance and forced mars to permanently move to an internal security policy (mars' best judgement), this is the result. i suppose if one felt so strongly about an infraction they could start a thread in engineering, but i wouldnt hold my breath waiting for a favourable resolution."

nina said (to Cato Badger):

"i loved doing it to 'your mom' and cristiano. i know full well how fun it is, which probably makes it less fun for you thats why i dont hold it against you."

ETA2:

Earth said...

"community governance was abandoned here, gV update - 22.apr.11, prior to the ban appeal resolution.

it clearly states:

there is already a 'contact us' link in the lower right of the page.

that is not as helpful as one may think. it increases the level of drama more often than not. it would be far easier to deal with most matters if petrol wasnt poured on a developing drama."

ETA3:

nina said...

"everything about the administration has, since day zero, discouraged back-channel negotiations and dealings. to the degree that planet are forbidden to use a non-public venue. the planets are all anon, and tried to remain 100% anon since the beginning. planets cannot be messaged, and can message only one another. i keep my conversations turned off and any email/in-world discussion pretty safe. everything indicates that appeals are supposed to be done publically. it is an appeal to the community, hoping for them to take up your cause. it is not an appeal to mars.

two things that are problematic and infraction-worthy are these things happening in the no-drama zones: telling another they have been reported (escalating drama) and forum-policing (escalating drama).no-drama means no drama. one doesnt need to be swearing or name-calling to incite drama. ive been very good at it at times.

the planets were chosen from the gV community, with diligent efforts being made to ensure that various 'factions' were represented. if at any time one of them is truly going rouge, there is nothing to prevent one from being ousted. if half the people are saying some particular planet is 'corrupt', that would be cause for alarm."

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Forum Administration Communication

nina said on gV:

"it may look like there is no intention of adding more smilies, but there actually is.
right now there isnt a good way to present a large number of smilie options though, so none have been added in some time. i am hopeful that will change though, so keep em coming "

That may not look like much, but that kind of thoughtful and proactive communication from our forum hosts is HUGE to me. It's not just a "here's what's going on" message, it's a "here's what's not" and "why." That's often overlooked and underestimated. Good on ya, nina.

gV Forum Community Member (Or..."A plank, a plank, my kingdom for a plank!")

I joined gV in February of 2011. I have posted 8,005 posts. I've garnered 10, 398 "likes" and 293 trophy points. I've originated 86 threads of which three are among the top 20 most-viewed threads on gV. I've made gV banners (some of which were used to advertise the site), recruited members, donated a handful of Lindens, weighed in on governance discussions, gone inworld and hung out with people I met on gV, chatted with some of them on Skype...and yet my membership in the gV forum community is still being disputed. Welcome to the internet.

Fine print: I have a love for absurdist humor, irony and the ridiculous. Ya gotta read that post with a bit of sardonic amusement if you want to get my tone...unless you are a committed hyperemotional LWLer or an adolescent gamer committed to the "U Mad?" "No U!" WoW culture. If you're the latter, you're gonna say what you're gonna say anyway. Internet kneejerk boilerplate 101. Same to ya. Neener neener.

p.s.
It's just a forum, people.

GradyE, wearing a Snapper mask, said:

"Oh sure. It's all fun and games until this happens. :rolleyes:

ETA:

nina said:

"i wish the accusations of not being a member of the community and constant attempts to make people feel like outsiders/unwanted would stop. gV itself was created as a rebuttal to that kind of bullshit. that belongs on slu and sc2, not here."

Cheers, nina. I do like what you have done with the place.

ETA2:

nina said:

"of course people can say what they like, and since that includes myself, my previous post still stands true. imo the petty bullshit belongs on slu and sc2, both places where i was reminded every day that i wasnt wanted, i was an outsider, etc. i want it on record that i find those kinds of opinions to be total bullshit to the point i will watch people flounce before i will even consider sanctioning people merely for being unpopular with the charter members or any other members."

I gave nina's comments "likes" and posted them in the "I like how..." thread. (Yes, I was cutting and pasting again.)

ETA3:

Orfeu said:

"I just wanted to say that I think Nina does a pretty good job of administering this forum.
She invited discussion on the rules.
Discussion was supplied.

I think it speaks well of her character...that she invited discussion from the membership...rather than just summarily handed down diktats from on high.
I dont think participating in a discussion of forum rules is tantamount to tearing the place apart.
Particularly when you are invited to do so by the owner.

I doubt that anyone making a contribution to this ongoing discussion...is gonna get EVERTHING they want from it.
But we are adults...and that is how it goes in adult life.
You cant always get what you want."

Orfeu said:

"I don't wanna come across as all butthurt...because I am included in the Forum Whores....but the only thing we have in common, is a tendency to promiscuously join and participate in several forums, rather than call any single one "Home".

Other than that...we may not agree on...um....anything.

Nearly every forum I ever joined has an initial trial by fire period...where you have to fight a little for your right to breathe the forum air.
gv is no different...after the initial welcome thread....a newbie here might find themselves embroiled in drama...and pronto.

For the record...if I was gonna call any forum "Home"...it would prolly be gv.
Which is much a testament to Nina, and what she is trying to do here...as to the many estimable posters who reside here.

People who think a forum will fall apart if they leave, are a little too up themselves if you ask me."

Friday, August 12, 2011

Forum Feedback (aka Lee's Manifesto)

LeeHere said (April 2011):

"Again, the emotionally-filtered revisionist-history comments seem to miss the fact that we were asked and encouraged to discuss gV governance and that Mars indicated that changes were going to be made and policies and practices instituted. People gave their feedback and disagreement occurred and people have kept the disagreements and discussions going.

interface modules - part I

Discussion in 'gV governance' started by Mars, Apr 3, 2011

phase 3: governance

Discussion in 'news' started by Mars, Apr 3, 2011

How do we sanction people who do not adhere to the standards?

Discussion now in 'area17-NSFW' started by Lain, Apr 2, 2011

Community Standards - part II
Discussion in 'gV governance' started by Mars, Jan 10, 2011.
Forum Feedback Updated Friday, April 8, 2011."

LeeHere said:

"Forum Feedback Updated Friday, April 8, 2011. I will post it whole here and now, but I also intend to break it down into chunks as people have pointed out that there might be sections they want to "like" or not separately.

Forum Feedback (Draft - Work-in-Progress)

Assumptions
I thought gotVirtual.net was a forum for all things virtual...virtual worlds, online gaming, forums, blogs, sex, etc. I thought that, like many topic-specific forums, it had areas for off-topic conversations about things like politics, world events, movies, television, music, art, literature, games, etc.

I also thought it was a forum that had been started based on a response to the old forum taunt of, "well, if you don't like it, go start your own forum then." I thought that most people came to this forum for a low-mod (consistent and fair) and low-ban adult forum experience.

I am posting my feedback because I am invested in gotVirtual.net and I am hopeful about what it can become.

Objections
I object to the deletion of Ishina's, Pep's and VVI's posts in the admin thread and request that they be moved to the area17-NSFW section.

I also object to the deletion of VVI's post in area17 and request that it be restored in its original location now that area17 is the area17-NSFW section.

Renewed Request - Move & Restore
I request that Pep's and VVI's deleted posts, what would have been posts numbered 12, 13, 14 and 15 in the interface modules - part Ithread, and Ishina's deleted post, what would have been post 30 in the please... thread, and VVI's post that would have been post 45 in thegotVirtual Dodgeball thread, be restored and moved to the area17-NSFW section.

Request - Move
I request that planetary-observed or gV-member-reported posts that, upon review, appear to be "potentially volatile subject matter, such as cross-site drama or other content which may encourage aggravation" be moved to *mirror threads* in area17-NSFW and planetary-observed or gV-member-reported posts that, upon review, appear to be "adult content" be moved to *mirror threads* in the mature-NSFW section.

Suggestion - Mirror Threads
I suggest that *mirror threads* be created for posts that need to be moved. I can actually link examples of *mirror threads* from other forums for people's review if they are interested in how that works in practice, but I will describe it as follows:

Let's say someone posts a thread called "Apple." Let's say that this "Apple" thread is in an SFW section and NSFW content gets posted in it. The NSFW content might be noticed by a planet or reported by a gV member. A planet would review the content, make a determination, and, seeing that it was NSFW content in an SFW thread, move the post to the appropriate NSFW section in a *mirror thread* called "Apple *Mirror* Thread." Both threads would remain open and people could post to both threads.

Request - Delete
I request that planetary-observed or gV-member-reported posts that contain illegal information or images, real life information or images, or information or images that could jeopardize the existence of the site through legal issues (child porn, copyright violations claims, for examples) be deleted with a comment.

Position on Banning
I do not support the banning of gV members unless the registered gV member is using an account solely for the purpose of spamming (commercial content across all sections, for example) or posting content containing illegal information or images, real life information or images, or information or images that could jeopardize the existence of the site through legal issues (child porn, copyright violation claims, for examples). I am not advocating the banning of anyone except the kind of spammers one used to see in the SL blogorums who got teams of accounts posting solely about Linden schemes, the ones defined in the current version of the Community Standards ... or accounts usedsolely to post real life information, images or threats, or content that would or could harm gotVirtual.net.

Renewed Support
I also renew my support for those who wish to customize their experience by blocking the NSFW sections of the forums if and when that function becomes available. (Support originally given in the admin section.) I would also add this:http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Discussion_forums#Third-party_forums. I think there might be something out there for all needs and tastes.

More Votes of Support
I support an area marked "SHITS & GIGGLES - SFW." I support the idea of color-coding the sections.

I like titles with "tags" like "area17-NSFW-Red" and "SFW-Green" so people can see where they are and what they are doing when they post no matter what view they are in, but I also support the suggestion that the entire forum, with the exception of the admin area, be NSFW. Either way.

I also renew my vote of support for the site of gotVirtual as a whole. That's why I'm investing time, thought and energy into this forum feedback.

I support the idea of self-moderation and letting Mars, and even Deimos or any other planet or administrative mod entity take care of the rest, if, and only, if they agree to, and adhere to moving and deleting as suggested in this forum feedback.

I support this statement from Grady: "It isn't about porn, and it isn't about personal attacks. It's about thread and post deletion. It isn't about blackmail either. It is simply that many people joined here for the chance to speak their mind, and if they find themselves in dispute with another member, at least be assured that they don't have to worry about a capricious mod stepping in on one side or the other. I see nothing wrong with someone simply stating their preferences as what kind of forum they hope this is or becomes."

Gratitude
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mars for making area17-NSFW an NSFW section. I also like the new Community Standardslink on the Forum view page.

And thank you to everyone who has expressed support of my method, message or madness.

Thank you also to all those who have posted feedback that has enabled me to refine my own forum feedback.

Spamming as defined in the current gotVirtual Community Standards as updated by Mars, 16.jan.11:

Mars said:

spamming - posting unrelated and unsolicited commercial advertisements is forbidden. we are referring to spam a la vi@gra, nokia, nike, casinos, teens, etc. legitimate advertisements may be posted in the commercial advertisements subforum node.

MarsDeimos"

Links:
http://gotvirtual.net/community/threads/forum-feedback.1114/page-92#post-55340
http://gotvirtual.net/community/threads/forum-feedback.1114/page-54#post-46850
http://gotvirtual.net/community/threads/forum-feedback.1114/page-54#post-46858

gV Forum Ban Appeals Process

"the right to appeal

in the event that an inhabitant is subjected to quarantine or scrubbed, they will be afforded an opportunity to appeal to the community for relief."

If you get banned from gV and wish to appeal, it helps to solicit a sponsor to appeal on your behalf so you don't circumvent the alt rule and create grounds to be banned again.

nina said:

"i will say this though, the Inhabitant Rights state that pep has the right to appeal his banning. start a thread dedicated to peps appeal and lets see how people feel about the topic"

colleen said:

"Who reps the banned person?"

nina said:

"if there is a case where nobody wants to rep the banned person... that says a lot right there hey"

Precedent Case Study # 129

Appeal to Unban Pep (a mature area17-NSFW-Red thread with poll)

Lee said:

"I'd like to see Pep's ban be called a "temporary ban" and lifted. Quarantine him to NSFW maybe and let him decide if he is comfortable there, but I don't think he deserves a permaban. During some of this contentious back-and-forth over the last couple of days, when I, and others, tried to bump non-argument threads with light content up, like the game threads, he participated. He was one of the very few who participated. There have been a lot of nasty posts, mine included, a lot of argumentative posts and a few posts in the non-drama areas. Pep posted argumentative and non-drama alike in the last couple of days and none too different from what the rest of us posted. When he's not annoying the hell out of nina or fending off posts from people throwing old baggage at him, he's a delightful, intelligent, challenging and interesting poster who raises the bar and contributes to a place like this.

ETA: You want to be different from the other forums? You've already got Wasted and Wad, Lias and Lain...add Pep back in and be the forum that has room for all of them."

inhabitant 129

Mars said:

"the appeal for inhabitant 129 is now concluded.
the appeal thread has been marked read-only.

the inhabitants permanent ban has been commuted to a one week ban. by logging in, the inhabitant will agree to the following:
their username will be reverted to 'pep', without a reboot of the cooling down process
they will carry a 10 point infraction penalty for 120 days
inhabitant will cease with any attempts to negotiate behaviour with the mcp
this appeal is the final verdict. there will be no further appeals of this ruling.

please allow this to serve as a reminder: the antivirus modules function outside the realm of infractions and warnings. this is how it has been since day 0, and this is how it will remain in the future.
if an inhabitant finds themselves being followed by one of the antivirus modules, it is suggested they take stock of their behaviour and take the steps necessary to appear less virus-like.

edited to add: yes, we have taken note of this read-only poll, which does appear to be a bug."

Precedent Case Study # 368

inhabitant 368

Mars said:

"inhabitant 368 has been deactivated as per the alt abuse policy outlined in the community standards. it is not permitted to use a secondary account (alt) to flame or to stalk, harass, bully, or otherwise violate the community standards.
allowing an alt account to act out in such a manner will only contribute to a mistrust amongst inhabitants."

Isakk Hunt said:

"in the event that an inhabitant is subjected to quarantine or scrubbed, they will be afforded an opportunity to appeal to the community for relief.

So you poeslaps I have had to register another avatar to take up this right of appeal to the community. Lets start with the fact that Rudi was scrubbed for supposedly being the alt of someone who has a main here. I say I dont have a main here. I have lots of other avatars in forums and playing games all over the internet but why should that be relevant. Who is supposed to be my main account here at gotvirtualEarth and what evidence do you have. Or is this just another kultur klash that you would prefer not to have to justify."

Banners, borking and spam cans, oh my.

Banners, borking and spam cans. Sound familiar?

gV has a collection of user-made banners in the user albums and multiple banner threads. They are currently used for thread posts and off-site advertising.

Mulch has stated his pro-position on borking for his new forum.

Mulch said:

"i am NOT above borking"

LeeHere said:

"I'm not a fan of administrative borking of posts."

Mulch said:

"you will if i do it

fyi, smf software does NOT have borking (that i am aware of), so its safe"

And gV now has Spam cans for members without forum avatars.

nina said:

"i found the spam tin av too irresistable:

"

Best and worst of the past? What's next? I'm rooting for user-created thread tags on gV.

Lee, Here in a Virtual World

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Earthly Infractions Reported in 'Forum Feedback'

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Forum Administration Communication

gV Forum Community Member (Or..."A plank, a plank, my kingdom for a plank!")

Friday, August 12, 2011

Forum Feedback (aka Lee's Manifesto)

gV Forum Ban Appeals Process

Banners, borking and spam cans, oh my.

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