Misuse of PM's

gandalf

Hi I have reported the PM that initiated this post but I decided to post here to ensure it is responded to publicly.

I am curious what the boards position on a user taking a forum discussion unsolicited onto PM with another user and posting in a way that would have seen them banned on the discussion. Or as the user in question put it in the PM they sent to me "I'm sure I would have earned a ban if I did so I took the liberty of PMing you."

Now the content of that PM is like water off a ducks back to me but it is the fact that they are doing this and feel that it is acceptable that interests me.

Is it now acceptable on Boards to take a discussion onto PM to facilitate comments that would have earned an infraction or ban if stated in the forum. Is this behaviour we all can emulate now?

Very interested in the response to this one.

28064212

Surely it depends on context? If the user is interested in continuing a discussion on a topic that has been explicitly banned in a forum's charter, I can't see any issue. Hell in lots of forums, that's encouraged (either implicitly or explicitly) e.g. in the soccer forum, posting a link to a stream is banned, but there is no such restriction on PMs. On the other hand, if they're PMing abuse, that's obviously not allowed.

As I understand it, forum charters do not apply to PMs. The PM system is governed by different rules

LoLth

I wont reproduce the content of the PM you reported but:

If you received a PM saying "I really liked your post in X forum, it was witty and informative. thank you very much". Would you have reported it for taking the conversation "offline" ? So the issue is using PM to post material that would have received a ban had it been posted on the forum.

In this instance, the user did not use the PM utility to post something they would have been banned for had they posted it in the thread. They PMed you an opinion of your post and stated that they feel that any response they made would have earned them a ban had they made it on the forum.

Now, if you want to engage that user via PM , fire away but the standard attack the post and not the poster rules still apply. anything else is abuse and is actionable, as it has always been. Nothing has changed there. I do agree though that this use of PM , while not against the rules, I find distasteful and petty. It really is skirting the edge of acceptability imho.

Is it now acceptable on Boards to take a discussion onto PM to facilitate comments that would have earned an infraction or ban if stated in the forum. Is this behaviour we all can emulate now?

No it is not. rules of behaviour still apply to PMs just as they have ever applied. if I PM you to say I think your post is of no value or simplistic or puerile or argumentative or just ****e then I am describing your post and not you and it is an opinion I am entitled to hold - of course sharing that opinion outside of a discussion says a lot more about me than it would about you. If you respond you respond, if not, end of conversation. delete the PM and move on. If, however, I PM you to say that I disagree with your post in X forum and I think you are X / Y and Z and/or I'm gonna find you and do stuff then the former is abuse directed at you and is actionable if reported and the latter may warrant legal action which boards.ie will fully comply with the gardai should a warrant for information be received.


a caveat on this: Context does matter. if you continue to receive unsolicited PMs from the user then please report each one you receive as it may indicate a pattern of abuse or intimidation which, while more difficult to prove, is actionable and will be dealt with, with added stompiness.

also , as already stated, "take it to PM" is a tactic that has been used in the past to convince two users to take their discussion away from the public forum and in some cases if necessary, especially if private data is being disclosed. So blanket bans on discussion migration to PM would do more harm than good.

gandalf

Thanks for your response and yes I do agree it is borderline but that appears to be the standard operating procedure of a certain cabal of posters on boards and the moderation cannot seem to handle it. I don't see the point in contributing to this site any longer considering the lack of standards.

LoLth

I'm sorry you see it that way. Where you are seeing a lack of standards Boards is trying to allow discussion. If some users abuse the spirit of the rules then that is a cost we will have to live with as it would be exceedingly difficult to argue a users intent in that situation.

However, if you report instances such as this and if others report instances when they receive similar messages then , over time, a pattern will build that will be much easier to point at and say "you're being a dick. gtfo." . Yes, its not ideal but there are benefits in that users will not get a ban for a badly worded response or a misinterpreted criticism.

gandalf

Its OK I and others have outlined issues numerous times in feedback and it hasn't been heeded. This and recent none moderation in the politics cafe has confirmed that this site no longer deserves my time.

looksee

"you're being a dick. gtfo."

while bearing in mind that this is hardly an appropriate phrase for either side to use.