A couple questions on how non-Moderators/non-Admins should deal with forum rules.
5 posters
Page 1 of 1
A couple questions on how non-Moderators/non-Admins should deal with forum rules.
AProcrastinatingWriter Mon Sep 17, 2012 8:56 pm
In this topic, there will be a question. If anyone wants to know the story behind the question, it's under the spoiler. Otherwise, you can skip right to it.
Basically, my question(s) is/are as follows: what is this forum's official policy on seeing rulebreaking/potential rulebreaking/things simply getting out of hand? Do we PM a mod, ignore it and hope a mod notices, attempt a gentle reminder of the rules before doing one of the other things, or simply PM the person in question?
To clarify before another fiasco occurs; I am not attempting to attack any member of this forum personally by asking these questions, nor do I think the rules of this forum are somehow inadequate, nor am I in any way displeased with anyone or any system in place in these forums. I merely wish for some clarification.
- Spoiler:
- So about two hours ago I made a post in a different topic that nearly turned things into a fiasco.
The reason I did this was because someone had made a post I felt was going to lead to rule-breaking pretty quickly. I attempted to remind said person of the rules, and...well, almost fiasco.
I did this for a couple of reasons. The first is that on the other online forum I go to, the MS Paint Adventures forum, this is actually accepted as a positive behavior. The rules discourage what is known as "backseat modding" but encourage a single, simple, friendly (obviously I did not succeed on that last point) reminder when the offense does not yet seem quite offensive or simply not that big a deal. I didn't know what this forum's policy was on that kind of thing, so I simply attempted to emulate what the other forum does. Nigh-fiasco, as said before.
The second reason was because I didn't know what else to do. What does this forum expect people to do when they see behavior that they believe could head somewhere ugly quickly? Are we to confront them privately by PM, to avoid drama? Are we to confront them quickly, publicly, and gently as possible, so as to make sure other people know that certain behaviors are potentially not acceptable? Are we to PM a moderator or admin to report wrongdoing or, in some cases, simply "This person may accidentally be saying something that could easily result in a flame war" or even "this person has said something personally offensive to me and I wish to talk with them privately with some sort of 'referee' to make sure things don't get out of control" (That last thing is an example of something that may happen, not something that has.)?
Basically, I just want to know...well, we'll save that for outside of the spoiler.
Basically, my question(s) is/are as follows: what is this forum's official policy on seeing rulebreaking/potential rulebreaking/things simply getting out of hand? Do we PM a mod, ignore it and hope a mod notices, attempt a gentle reminder of the rules before doing one of the other things, or simply PM the person in question?
To clarify before another fiasco occurs; I am not attempting to attack any member of this forum personally by asking these questions, nor do I think the rules of this forum are somehow inadequate, nor am I in any way displeased with anyone or any system in place in these forums. I merely wish for some clarification.
AProcrastinatingWriter- Freakin' Alicorn Princess
- Gender :
Posts : 3259
Join date : 2012-08-13
Age : 32
Location : Nowhere Land
Re: A couple questions on how non-Moderators/non-Admins should deal with forum rules.
Oblivious Mon Sep 17, 2012 9:17 pm
Ideally, issues between members of the forum should be sorted out between each other. Gives a chance to settle things honorably without things getting too ugly. If said situation does get ugly, though, you'll also have messages as proof of your attempts to settle things before it went south, which will help the mods sort out the root of the problem and keep the drama to a minimum.
That said, if you do see something that might get out of hand, and you don't think you have the place to say anything, let a mod know, so it can be handled as painlessly as possible. We're trying to keep things as open and friendly as can be, though. So something that might help is this bit of advice.
Ask yourself: "Is this something that needs to be said, and would this get me in trouble if I were to say this to someone's face?"
Might stop many rule issues before they even start.
This is all my opinion though; I'd like to see what the other mods think of this, so we can get a precedence on it.
That said, if you do see something that might get out of hand, and you don't think you have the place to say anything, let a mod know, so it can be handled as painlessly as possible. We're trying to keep things as open and friendly as can be, though. So something that might help is this bit of advice.
Ask yourself: "Is this something that needs to be said, and would this get me in trouble if I were to say this to someone's face?"
Might stop many rule issues before they even start.
This is all my opinion though; I'd like to see what the other mods think of this, so we can get a precedence on it.
Oblivious- Moderator
- Gender :
Posts : 53
Join date : 2012-07-19
Age : 36
Location : Georgia, United States
Re: A couple questions on how non-Moderators/non-Admins should deal with forum rules.
Stairc -Dan Felder Mon Sep 17, 2012 9:30 pm
I reccomend two things.
1) PM a mod right away so we can look at it. We might not even know it's happening.
2) Feel free to ask the person to change the behavior without invoking site rules. Basically, it reads more diplomatic if you say "Let's not go there, don't want anyone to be offended" instead of, "Don't do that, it breaks rules or comes close to it."
Whether you do 2 in the thread or in a personal PM (or whether you do it at all) is your decision.
1) PM a mod right away so we can look at it. We might not even know it's happening.
2) Feel free to ask the person to change the behavior without invoking site rules. Basically, it reads more diplomatic if you say "Let's not go there, don't want anyone to be offended" instead of, "Don't do that, it breaks rules or comes close to it."
Whether you do 2 in the thread or in a personal PM (or whether you do it at all) is your decision.
Stairc -Dan Felder- Lead Designer
- Gender :
Posts : 3099
Join date : 2012-07-19
Re: A couple questions on how non-Moderators/non-Admins should deal with forum rules.
Ramsus Mon Sep 17, 2012 10:34 pm
Personally, I prefer if people tell me first, privately, if they think I did something wrong so I can do something about it before an "official" response is required (and no admins are annoyed because their time is being wasted).
*shrug* I'm not sure if that matches official policy or not but, well.... I'm more of a believer in using the right approach for the right person rather than one size fits all. In my case I'm rather....let's say, hmmmm...touchy about public statements about whether I'm breaking rules or not, for personal reasons. I'm sure not everyone shares my attitude. Everyone has their own experiences afterall.
*shrug* I'm not sure if that matches official policy or not but, well.... I'm more of a believer in using the right approach for the right person rather than one size fits all. In my case I'm rather....let's say, hmmmm...touchy about public statements about whether I'm breaking rules or not, for personal reasons. I'm sure not everyone shares my attitude. Everyone has their own experiences afterall.
Ramsus- Freakin' Alicorn Princess
- Gender :
Posts : 5688
Join date : 2012-07-19
Age : 39
Location : California
Re: A couple questions on how non-Moderators/non-Admins should deal with forum rules.
Xel Unknown Mon Sep 17, 2012 11:14 pm
It's better to work with more "guildlines" then real full set rules... So the hard cases can be more gently dealt with...
Xel Unknown- Freakin' Alicorn Princess
- Gender :
Posts : 7019
Join date : 2012-08-30
Age : 33
Location : Somewhere, nowhere -
Re: A couple questions on how non-Moderators/non-Admins should deal with forum rules.
AProcrastinatingWriter Mon Sep 17, 2012 11:42 pm
Huh. Maybe it was a good thing this topic got produced, even if the circumstances leading up to it were not - we certainly seem to have a variety of opinions on the matter!
I suppose I'll go with Stairc as "effective official policy" for now, then. And for what it's worth, I do apologize for the boneheadedness that caused the situation that caused this topic. I'll try and be more careful in the future.
I suppose I'll go with Stairc as "effective official policy" for now, then. And for what it's worth, I do apologize for the boneheadedness that caused the situation that caused this topic. I'll try and be more careful in the future.
AProcrastinatingWriter- Freakin' Alicorn Princess
- Gender :
Posts : 3259
Join date : 2012-08-13
Age : 32
Location : Nowhere Land
Re: A couple questions on how non-Moderators/non-Admins should deal with forum rules.
Stairc -Dan Felder Mon Sep 17, 2012 11:56 pm
AProcrastinatingWriter wrote:Huh. Maybe it was a good thing this topic got produced, even if the circumstances leading up to it were not - we certainly seem to have a variety of opinions on the matter!
I suppose I'll go with Stairc as "effective official policy" for now, then. And for what it's worth, I do apologize for the boneheadedness that caused the situation that caused this topic. I'll try and be more careful in the future.
No worries APC. We still love you. =)
Stairc -Dan Felder- Lead Designer
- Gender :
Posts : 3099
Join date : 2012-07-19
Re: A couple questions on how non-Moderators/non-Admins should deal with forum rules.
AProcrastinatingWriter Tue Sep 18, 2012 12:35 am
Stairc -Dan Felder wrote:No worries APC. We still love you. =)
If you really loved me you'd abbreviate my name right
- Spoiler:
AProcrastinatingWriter- Freakin' Alicorn Princess
- Gender :
Posts : 3259
Join date : 2012-08-13
Age : 32
Location : Nowhere Land
Re: A couple questions on how non-Moderators/non-Admins should deal with forum rules.
Stairc -Dan Felder Tue Sep 18, 2012 12:39 am
AProcrastinatingWriter wrote:Stairc -Dan Felder wrote:No worries APC. We still love you. =)
If you really loved me you'd abbreviate my name right
- Spoiler:
*laughs* I blame the keyboard. QWERTY is evil.
APW
Stairc -Dan Felder- Lead Designer
- Gender :
Posts : 3099
Join date : 2012-07-19
Re: A couple questions on how non-Moderators/non-Admins should deal with forum rules.
Xel Unknown Tue Sep 18, 2012 1:00 am
You know what... The weirdest thing here is that my initials are in fact APC, so for a second there I thought that comment might've been about me. Then my brain stopped a drepin'.
Xel Unknown- Freakin' Alicorn Princess
- Gender :
Posts : 7019
Join date : 2012-08-30
Age : 33
Location : Somewhere, nowhere -
Re: A couple questions on how non-Moderators/non-Admins should deal with forum rules.
Sponsored content
Sponsored content
Similar topics» Couple questions
» Questions from a nervous PH
» The Deal with Magecraft, and what it should be
» Cakewalk or Utra-Unfair: What is the deal with the combat system?
» Where to post questions?
» Questions from a nervous PH
» The Deal with Magecraft, and what it should be
» Cakewalk or Utra-Unfair: What is the deal with the combat system?
» Where to post questions?
Page 1 of 1
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum|
|
|