What to do about abuse

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by tesse03, Sep 12, 2003.

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What to do about personal attacks on this board

Poll closed Oct 12, 2003.
  1. Nothing

    3 vote(s)
    10.3%
  2. Call in a bouncer, toss some people out entirely

    2 vote(s)
    6.9%
  3. Have more stringent posting guidelines

    4 vote(s)
    13.8%
  4. Enforce more vigorously the existing guidelines

    12 vote(s)
    41.4%
  5. Personal attacks are great fun, let's have more

    1 vote(s)
    3.4%
  6. What personal attacks?

    7 vote(s)
    24.1%
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  1. tesse03

    tesse03 New Member

    What should be done about personal attacks on this board?

    1. Nothing
    2. Call in a bouncer, toss some people out entirely
    3. Have more stringent posting guidelines
    4. Enforce more vigorously the existing guidelines
    5. Personal attacks are great fun, let’s have more
    6. What personal attacks?
     
  2. Guest

    Guest Guest

    This is a tough call. I voted for the existing guidelines to be enforced more vigorously. Other options would be to trust the administrators, moderators, etc., as they have shown themselves to be fair (I know this from personal experience.). Another option would be to simply place offenders on the "ignore" list, as I have. One of the sad aspects of forums is that most, if not all, people who post are good, decent, honorable people who get caught up in the "mob mentality." These people would, more than likely, not conduct themselves accordingly in face-to-face dialogue. Several years' ago I got into a heated, vile debate with two who used to post on here. The comments and remarks we said to one another were horrible. We have since become "friends" communicating regularly via email. One told me he simply got caught up in the "mob mentality." I go back and read some of the things I said to others and I am ashamed of myself. I read them, hang my head and shake it. What's really sad is that all those words are now a matter of public record. I am reminded of the Irish priest who counseled a woman who came to him about her gossiping. He told her to take a sack of feathers and place one feather on the doorstep of every person she had gossiped about. Hours later she came back and said she had done what he told her. He then told her to to and collect the feathers. She told him she couldn't as the wind had carried them off. His response? "Ah, as with your words. You cannot take them back."
     
  3. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

    I consider the poll invalid since there's no choice to indicate that you think the current moderators are doing a good job. Or that perhaps the moderators should enforce the current rules less stringently. When very reasonable and likely choices are left out of the poll then people are forced to either not vote or pick something that most closely resembles their choice.
     
  4. Dennis Ruhl

    Dennis Ruhl member

    If you can't handle a little criticism do 2 things.

    1) Go away (I was originally going to say bugger off but that wouldn't be polite.)

    2) Get membership in weenies.com
     
  5. cehi

    cehi New Member

    I think folks should understand the value of making a point and moving on thereafter, even, if other disagree or agree with their point. If people agree with your point, thank them. If they do not, move on. It is either they are right ...long sighted, or they are wrong...short sighted. However, people should not start what they cannot finish. "If they can't stand the heat, they should stay away from the kitchen." Thank you.
     
  6. roysavia

    roysavia New Member

    Do they offer degrees too?:D
     
  7. uncle janko

    uncle janko member

    Yes, with credence.
     
  8. Guest

    Guest Guest

    Bill has a good point. Perhaps one of the choices shoud be that the administrators/moderators be more vigilant. I do remember reading a post by Bruce where he apologized for not being so attentive as he felt he needed to be (or something like that). On the other hand, I am sure the admins./mdrs. have real lives and don't spend as much time on here as I do.

     
  9. Gus Sainz

    Gus Sainz New Member

    Personally, I think there is a problem afflicting this forum that is more pervasive and insidious than what some people feel constitutes abuse. I have no problem with combative arguments or heated debates. In truth, this forum would be a lot less entertaining without them, and when confronting individuals who own or promote blatant degree mills, it is to be expected. This is the way it has always been since time immemorial.

    The bigger problem, as I see it, is when inanities overwhelm and obscure legitimate and pointed discussion. For example, we have a poster who is now averaging about 20 posts a day (for the sake of comparison, Rich, at his most prolific, never averaged more than 4 posts per day)! Hardly any of this individual’s posts have anything to do with the serious discussion distance education. Instead, all of this individual’s posts have to do with his personal life, interests choices, contritions, etc. Another poster (far less prolific than the first example) uses this forum solely to promote what he considers his crowning achievement. Still others are simply trolls who relish on instigating abusive behavior, only to then complain about it.

    None of these posts (taken individually), of course, violate the TOS of this forum or would be considered abusive by most members. However, these posts are indeed abusive, because the bottom line is that serious and important discussions (however passionate or bellicose they may seem to some) are being drowned out by individuals who post here only to satisfy a need for attention that borders on the pathological.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 12, 2003
  10. Tom Head

    Tom Head New Member

    As someone who co-moderated this board briefly during the early days (to help keep the AED spammer off), and has moderated various online discussion forums since he was 11 years old (yes, Virginia, I was a "SysOp" during the BBS era--Mos Eisley Cantina/Theater of the Absurd, FidoNet 1:3632/37), I understand that the folks running Degreeinfo are between a rock and a hard place when it comes to enforcing TOS guidelines, especially against folks who advocate uhm-schools that aren't very popular around here (because if they target shills and only shills, they're engaging in content-based restriction--generally a no-no, because it gives the board a "party line"). On the other hand, more stringent across-the-board enforcement would nail folks like Dennis, Steve, et. al. and make the moderators generally unpopular. I don't know what the answer is.


    Cheers,
     
  11. Guest

    Guest Guest

    Tom surely has a good head on his shoulders!


     
  12. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    As a matter of fact, they do!!! I went to weenies.com just for fun and they actually have a section on distance education. Hey, DL is equal-opportunity....even for weenies. :D

    Cy
     
  13. uncle janko

    uncle janko member

    Well analyzed and well stated, Gus. Keep a shovel handy.
     
  14. Dennis Ruhl

    Dennis Ruhl member

    Had no idea there was a weenies.com.

    Makes sense. If there is a fart.com why not a weenies.com.
     
  15. Gus Sainz

    Gus Sainz New Member

    This just goes to show that, if you communicate long enough with someone, you are bound to find some common ground. However, for your elucidation, Dennis, the creme de la creme of Web sites dedicated to the flatulence cognoscenti is www.createafart.com.

    :D :D :D
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 12, 2003
  16. roysavia

    roysavia New Member

    Hey wow! We could dedicate this site to the WAUC and good folks at suffielduniversity.com
     
  17. roysavia

    roysavia New Member

    Gus,
    Well done. You've hit the nail on the head. But it's going to take a bill passed by congress to get this forum back to normal. For now, be prepared to swim with the sharks.
    regards,
     
  18. Chip

    Chip Administrator

    While I find the posts amusing, they're off topic, and the poll is, as has been pointed out, somewhat flawed.

    As such, I'm closing the thread. If you have any suggestions or thoughts on moderation, please feel free to email them to us (chip at degreeinfo dot com will get to me) and we'll happily consider them.

    Thanks

    Chip
    Administrator
     
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