Mod intervention

[AB&M]

There has been some discussion off the forum about recent moderator intervention when threads & posts are reported as offensive / responding to the poster not the post etc

I've started this thread for you to add your thoughts on how you would like us mods to tackle things. We re normally fairly laid back & allow self censorship.

[ches]

I think things are fine if after six years I can count the heated threads in one hand. I would appreciate it if on those heated threads we could stick to attacking the argument and not the poster. I would be okay with mods editing posts because by the time they get there, one inflammatory post can have spawned 2 pages of replies and waiting for the OPs to go back and modify can allow things to get out of hand. I don't think it's necessarily needed, just that i am okay with it IYSWIM.

[MumtoMonsters]

I think it works well left to its own devices most of the time. I can only think back to one argument that ever made me feel uncomfortable/as though someone was being picked on and that was years ago before mods existed.

[KateGladTidings]

Thanks for starting this thread!

I'm a little confused about the way it was handled tbh - the thread now has large chunks missing and doesn't make much sense. It also looks like the deleted parts were worse than they were. It's not quite the "light touch" modding we're used to here.

There's another issue here, which was implied in that thread, but I'm not sure this is the place to talk about it.

[Gizmo]

I haven't a clue what you're talking about, but at a guess maybe the measles boat one, did it get heated at some point? I haven't looked at it for a few days.

In general there seems to be a regular community on here and I like that people have different views. Everyone seems to respect each others opinions and that is rare for an online forum.

If somebody is going out of their way to attack another poster could the mods just step in and let them know, then they can edit their own posts accordingly?

[ches]

I am guessing it was the one with mention of Maggie Thatcher where one posted was accused of trolling and things went downhill from there.

Hmm, so how the edits occurred is not what I would have done. I would delete the whole thing and leave no trace. Right now it looks like people are being named and shamed and that isn't helpful either. Just a "I removed a bit of your post. Please focus on the subject not poster." message to the person whose post got the chop.

[Gizmo]

I haven't seen one where MT was mentioned. Mind you I often skip the 'Dear..' & 'Uncensored FB' threads because I can't keep up so if it was on there I missed it.

[Rosie_t_Riveter]

It was "on a more serious note" and I thought it went downhill from the pleb comment.

[Nix]

Having not looked at this thread since the first page, I can confirm that it makes no sense now and the <post deleted by mod> comments are making my imagination run. Perhaps if a post is entirely removed it would be better just to delete the whole post ? I know my lovely forumers couldn't have said anything too offensive but I know the mods don't intervene unnecessarily.

[ches]

It was "on a more serious note" and I thought it went downhill from the pleb comment.

Possibly, but that wasn't attacking a forum member, it was just inflammatory, and the use of the word was discussed without attacking the poster iyswim.

[KateGladTidings]

I particularly feel for the poster whose posts were removed because they didn't make sense in the context, but it now looks like she's said something horrible. And I feel bad because she and another poster were defending me after I got dragged into it!

[Rosie_t_Riveter]

It was "on a more serious note" and I thought it went downhill from the pleb comment.

Possibly, but that wasn't attacking a forum member, it was just inflammatory, and the use of the word was discussed without attacking the poster iyswim.

Fair point, but it upset me (and, if I'm honest, still upsets me) and I didn't say anything on the thread because people had already pointed out that it was an inflammatory word, and now they've been censured so I feel I should have spoken up/reported it.

[CherryPop]

Even on forums like mumsnet and natural mamas, where modding is fairly quick and heavy-handed, there is a "Oi you lot, be respectful" comment from a modder, often pointing out the rule in question, before threads get yanked. And then the threads get yanked and discussed by the mods, usually never to surface again. I think that's preferable, rather than leaving imaginations running riot. And I think it would be a last case scenario.

I am confused as to why there was no warning first. It does seem heavy handed, especially when all those involved are long-standing members(i.e. they are not posters who have joined just to argue the issue, such as in the salad days), and the initial inflammatory comment has been left to stand.

[PerpetualMadness]

I honestly think the only post that was close to the wire in terms of whether on not it qualified as attacking someone was mine. I should have phrased my post more carefully, it was definitely heat of the moment rather than measured and not one of my finer moments. I chose not to go back and edit it myself or qualify it though because, by the time I had calmed down enough to do so, I feared I would just get stuck in again and make things worse. No one else, IMHO, was even close to attacking another poster. And the last comment being removed makes no sense at all.

[Rahgamuffin]

My main thought on this method of modding is that it offers no chance for apology - not wanting to put words into peoples mouths (fingers?) but (a) previous inflammatory thread(s?) has/ve been quietly assigned to history with a mod saying 'Lets keep this polite' and posters apologising if they feel the need.

It also makes later posts look like others were "joining in" when, afaicr, they weren't.