Moderation

[John]

Please remember that there are posters who have
no proper point to make.

They want to chip away at the poster and put
them off posting.

Posters who do this are called Trolls.

It is likely that sometimes the Trolls have learnt this
behaviour from other boards and they believe
that this is what a board is for.

Only proper moderation - not heavy - can avoid this.

[Chris]

All the arguing and insults have been deleted. A number of people have been banned as they were clearly here just to cause trouble. Can we please keep the discussions friendly and on topic.

Thank you.

[Papaumau]

It is for exactly that reason that I have always considered that unmoderated boards are simply breeding grounds for the trolls where they can indulge in their lowest form of pastime to the detriment of all others.

They have to identified quickly and excised just as quickly !

Having said that, sometimes it is hard for moderators to separate hot and vital and interesting argument from trolling.

Herein lies the skill of the moderator.

[John]

Agreed.

But they can do much damage in a very short time.

Issue threats via private messaging etc.

That is why there is normally a flood of postings
to lift any post limit bar on sending them.

While I may be Net toughened against these morons.
They are looking for soft and vulnerable targets.

[Papaumau]

You seem to miss the point here.....

One person's troll is another person's passionate writer.

I agree that if any such person comes to a board just to abuse and to encourage invective then that person should not be given space to push their particular kind of bilge.

Sometimes though, it is difficult to tell one from the other.

My last two boards; Rip-Off Britain, ( which was closed down by the owner because he did not have enough free time to oversee the forum which I was editor of ), caused me to create/build, own and run my own Ripped-Off Britain consumer forum. Both of these forums were frequented by people who kept the discussions hot and interesting and many of the others that followed their kind of rhetoric only stayed for the invective. After I was forced to clean them out of both forums much of  the traffic stopped severely and I was only left with a hard core of people that found bare consumerism interesting.

The point that I am making here is that often, so as to keep our forums interesting and vital, a bit of embedded soap is necessary.

To keep this going is a very hard balancing act !

[John]

I am sure you mention your Forum more then I do Brown the incompetent...

[Papaumau]

Again, you miss the point; it is not about MY forum or YOUR forum it is about OUR forums that I write.

The more we come together in fellowship to "fight the good fight" ( now I am beginning to sound like a preacher  ), the better for all of us, especially when the subject is built around all pensioners and their plight.

[Hugh]

In my humble opinion trolls in some form can be good for any forum because they can get an interesting debates going. But if they insult or try to be little some one, they should be stopped by other members of the forum giving support.

Ie If I was to say on this forum Gordon Brown a great  guy and a good prime minister knowing how some members feel about him (although I can't stand him,) this could a course a good arguement  This I was told, and understood to be the work of a troll.
But would it be wrong to get a debate going in this way?

[Papaumau]

There's a name for that Hugh...Being the "devil's advocate" it is called and you are right that in forums that are often a bit boring - like consumer forums for instance - sometimes such a person can make discussion hot and interesting and sometimes he or she can get quickly out of order. The difficult job of the moderator is to be able to separate the two whereby such stimulating social intercourse becomes nasty, personal and destructive and has to be acted upon.

I have many years of experience of running forums and I have found that if one is sharp enough one can keep such a person, ( a troll ) on a hook for some time before eventually having to cut him or her out of the invective.

After this is done one usually finds that the board is just not as interesting afterwards because most people like a good bit of "soap" in their daily lives.

This can be quite a difficult balancing act !

[JoachimB]

A very interesting thread..

As one who has been an active member of scores of forums from astrophysics to agnosticism.
I have little patience.
On this forum i crossed my own imposed line with my comment to hugh about intelligent life on the planet he came from.
I must point out to all that if you think i have erred.. please slap me up the side of the head.
The intelligent life comment is 'suggestive' without being a statement. And below me.
The brit hostages thread was an example of me wading into the deep end all full of hubris and having to withdraw to the shallow and
saying shhh.. maybe noone noticed.    [i just learned how to a say a pink gin please in hindi]
Direct personal attack... as in 'your an idiot' for example is not to be tolerated.
People who spout such obviously are unable to back up there position on an issue with reason or even emotion.
They attack the speaker.. Not the speakers ideas.

This leads to rule one of my self assembled philosophy.
1. I 'know' hardly anything' thus i can be wrong. Being wrong is the 1st step i think to wisdom. [see other thread]

So why does a 50 year old aussie come to a brit pensioners forum...?
Because it's there?
No.. Because i know [or am i wrong]  that it is not populated by teens with no education.
That the base members are informed and not scared to say what they think and back it up with experience.

Such is not an easy thing to find. Generalism is dying. This is why im here to talk to those of generations where generalism
is a given.
Where one could fix a car and fly a plane and do the books.. and you didnt need some twerpt to give you a bit of paper saying you could actually do it.

J

[Hugh]

On this forum i crossed my own imposed line with my comment to hugh about intelligent life on the planet he came from.

Because of this posting JoachimB JB I have become quite good pen pals I got back a response which I was rather expecting so no hurt in any way was done. Great guy, I like him.

[JoachimB]

Hugh oohh. i have to reply to your last mail.. im a slacker. Please blame it on the vermouth and the new copy of
Call of Duty ModernWarfare2 which is an amazing gaming experience and even tests out my PC rig [sli'd vid with water cooling and a 26" monitor]
expect mail soon.. el jefe

J

[Papaumau]

There you have it John; JoachimB said that the main difference beween a troll and a passionate thinker and writer is the fact that the former attacks the person and the latter attacks - or agrees with of course - the content.

When this happen we really have to be aware that it is the content that matters and is the life's blood of internet boards and that personal attacks and insults are the death of good forums and good discussions.

I think that this postive spin is usually upheld by not being too prickly about people attacking your thoughts so long as they do not attack your person. Once this line is started it quickly gets really nasty and out of hand and this is the point at which the moderator comes into his own.

It is for this main reason that I do not subscribe to the anarchy of unmoderated forums.

[John]

This may be seen as a main difference.

It is the progressive steps of acceptance balanced against final attacks that need to be guarded against.

[avalonmpk]

This is indeed a moderate forum, freely expressed and informed opinions and debate by the more mature members of our society - Thank you long may it continue!
P.S We all overstep the mark sometime here hopfully we can keep it to a minimum