Question about protocol

D

Lately I have noticed that a lot of people have been very vocal about temporary and permanent bans. The most vocal seem to be those members that have been around for a good while. I have been around boards for only a year but have recently noticed that the amount of bannings or at least the amount of people complaining seem to have risen. I don't post much but I generally read a lot of threads and in full. In my personal opinion it seems easy to get banned these days or the mods/admins are more willing to ban. Mind you most are temp bans. I have never been banned warned etc. But I can sympatise with some people who have been banned. I really want to keep this general and not use names or examples (and I'm too lazy to search through the boards). I feel that before a ban the user in question should be warned. Now some mods do this publicly as in post something along the lines of keep on topic, nothing personal, keep it clean. I am almost certain that the use of personal messaging is used as well, but I can't comment on those. However, some people are complaining that no warnings were given. Now obviously swearing, abusing people and using derogatory terms out of nowhere and getting very personal more often than not warrants a ban but still if the conversation begins to become a bit passionate then the mods should and often do step in. Whats great about boards is that the general community will often do this by themselves. However if a unsuitable post is made the admin should delete/edit it and pm the offending person. If that doesn't work, (maybe they don't bother with pms), then a post reiterating the point should be made and the steps taken escalate from there. I feel that maybe a standard approach should be taken as many mods take different approaches, and a unified stance would leave the general public in no doubt as to where they stand. Obviously for certain boards (religon, politics) the reactions of the mods should be swift and decisive leaving no doubt in anyones mind as to the sensitivity of the topics and the seriousness that the mods treat everyones opinion.

I really enjoy www.boards.ie and keep up the good work etc. etc. bow, scrape, brownnose,

David.

ecksor

Either this should be 'Comment about protocol' or I'm missing what your question is.

D

ok i see your point, will, boards.ie enact a protocol? Is said protocol already in place? Is it listed in license agreement? If not is it available for view? Is it left to the discretion of each mod? Is there and unoffical protocol in place that acts as a guideline only? If it is left to the discretion of each mod is there an area in each board's charter where the mods' attitude towards protocol is docuumented?

ecksor

There is no manual in place that we hand to moderators when they take over a forum. There are certain practices and habits that are written down by some mods which other mods then might find useful or good ideas and which they would then adopt. Because of that, there are certain habits that are widely but not universally adopted.

Each moderator is different and each board is different. A certain loose 'contract' might not be a bad idea, but not to be taken as law or strict boundaries necessarily. Moderator discretion is the ultimate weapon against the offender who keeps right within the letter of the 'law'.

D

I totally agree with moderator discretion, as the LNA board isn't as serious as the politics/religion board. I suppose what I'm really asking for is that the mods give greater feedback on what they deem is acceptable and what is not. Also if they do find a post unacceptable then to let the person know so that they might edit/delete their post give them an oppourtunity to correct the "social faux pas." Once again I'll state that I agree with the discretion aspect, especially towards the more tasteless posts.