The New Mod Procedure

LaFemme

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I am quite new here, so I'm not sure I have the credibility to comment; however, I was a long standing member of 'bianca's smut shack' and watched that lovely community go down in flames. Mods have a difficult job. Maintaining a balance between free speech and vicious attacks was a line where the bianca trolls (smut shack mods) couldn't find the line. (Technical problems aside.) The trolls would only intervene should real safety be compromised. I had a cyber friendship end badly - threats and thread stalking abounded and there was no help. Only when he posted my real name, address & phone number did they take action. Eventually the site was rife with flame wars and was taken over by hackers.

It was sad. I joined this community because it felt like community - so I applaud the mods here for doing what is necessary to keep this site alive and new.

Thanks!
 

Mule

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I would like to congratulate the mod team for being open to change. I think the new mod procedure is a major step forward in clarity and fairness. Any endeavour such as this should be a constant work in progress. I'm glad to see that those in positions of responsibility recognize this and are working toward improvement rather than getting tunnel vision in maintaining the status quo.

Thank you for recognizing an issue and taking steps toward resolving it!
 
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Bbucko

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In my view, the distinction is that religious affiliation is a conscious choice and therefore subject to scrutiny, ridicule, etc. The same cannot be said of gender, race, sexual orientation, or even national origin.

So while it might be bad form to tar all adherents of a particular religion with the sins of its worst, I'm also a big believer in the notions that you're judged by the company you choose to keep...and that if you lie down with dogs, you shouldn't be surprised at getting up with fleas.

I've use the dog/fleas chestnut many times myself, and find it apt here, too.

As much as I agree with your overall sentiments (and have no desire to increase any arbitrary "discretionary power" to the mods), I really feel that religious affiliation is different from, say, a mode of dress or the way one dresses his/her hair: it's an integral part of how someone self-identifies at a root level similar to ethnicity (not race, which is obviously immutable).

And although the concept of "freedom of religion" as a core principle of US history has been manipulated and vastly over-stated (Ann Hutchinson, anyone?), it is something that was eventually codified into our constitution (not that LPSG's ToS is beholden to that document at all) and the right to either adhere or abstain from faith is believed to be one of the keystones of civil discourse throughout contemporary Western Civilization.

There is a world of difference between, say, Christopher Hitchens' reasoned arguments (even at their most polemical) and the standard drive-by shitting of a poorly-formed sentence or two springing from the poorly-informed mind of some anonymous jerk on an internet message board dedicated to such laudable goals as LPSG. Who knows? Maybe I'm just too bought-in to this place and need to "wide[n my internet] stance" :rolleyes:
 

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Bbucko,

The team have spent the last few days discussing this and to be perfectly honest it wasn't an easy decision to come to. We were all in agreement that people should not be allowed to post hatred towards an entire religion based on the actions of a few, but also agreed that religion is very different to race, gender and sexuality and there has to be scope allowed for different views and debate without fear of moderator action.

In light of this, we've opted to change the entire wording of the pertinent section of the ToS, in an attempt to make it clear that people are welcome to debate religion, they aren't going to be banned for posting that they don't like this, that and the other, but there is a line, and there will be repercussions for crossing it.

Previous reading of the ToS:

Content whose primary purpose is to disrupt or inflame - This includes homophobic, racist and sexist content and general trolling. Trolling covers a vast array of behavior but mainly revolves around members who consistently post in a manner which they know will upset others, members who insist on going off topic to serve their own agenda (which has nothing to do with the topic at hand)

Current reading of the ToS:

Hate speech and general trolling - Content whose primary purpose is to incite or promote hatred towards an identifiable group: Wiki - Hate Speech Trolling covers a vast array of behavior but mainly revolves around members who consistently post in a manner which they know will upset others, members who insist on going off topic to serve their own agenda (which has nothing to do with the topic at hand)

We've included a link to the Wiki entry for Hate Speech as it provided many examples of what can be deemed as hate speech throughout the world.
 

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I am quite new here, so I'm not sure I have the credibility to comment; however, I was a long standing member of 'bianca's smut shack' and watched that lovely community go down in flames. Mods have a difficult job. Maintaining a balance between free speech and vicious attacks was a line where the bianca trolls (smut shack mods) couldn't find the line. (Technical problems aside.) The trolls would only intervene should real safety be compromised. I had a cyber friendship end badly - threats and thread stalking abounded and there was no help. Only when he posted my real name, address & phone number did they take action. Eventually the site was rife with flame wars and was taken over by hackers.

It was sad. I joined this community because it felt like community - so I applaud the mods here for doing what is necessary to keep this site alive and new.

Thanks!

Sorry to go off topic but,

Holy shitballs Bianca's Smut Shack??? I totally remember that place. Wow, what a flashback.
 

vince

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I am quite new here, so I'm not sure I have the credibility to comment; however, I was a long standing member of 'bianca's smut shack' and watched that lovely community go down in flames. Mods have a difficult job. Maintaining a balance between free speech and vicious attacks was a line where the bianca trolls (smut shack mods) couldn't find the line. (Technical problems aside.) The trolls would only intervene should real safety be compromised. I had a cyber friendship end badly - threats and thread stalking abounded and there was no help. Only when he posted my real name, address & phone number did they take action. Eventually the site was rife with flame wars and was taken over by hackers.

It was sad. I joined this community because it felt like community - so I applaud the mods here for doing what is necessary to keep this site alive and new.

Thanks!

Many people here have had similar experiences with other sites. As much as we'd like it to, after a certain critical mass of members is attained by a website, the free-for-all model doesn't work. It only takes a small number of people to ruin the experience for everyone else. Unless of course flame wars and stalking and drive-by shittings are what they want. And there are people who do want it and relish it. But most of us just want to have freedom from all the drama and to have some fun online.

So we have to try to find the balance point between chaos and an online police state. That point is constantly changing with circumstances and with a large group, it can easily go wonky. And I don't mean just the mods. The members have to self moderate and feedback to the admin what they want or need. No one will ever get it perfect for all the users of a site this large and diverse. Mistakes are made and shit happens, but much of the time the community here gets it right (with a few potholes along the way).
 
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TomCat84

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It's no secret that certain members of the mod team and I dont like each other- but I rather like this new change. Unfortunately, cant think of much else to say as my brain is fried already from studying endless cases :eek:
 

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When I see New Mod Procedure I think Body Piercing. Mod is short for Modification in that world.
 

Bbucko

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Bbucko,

The team have spent the last few days discussing this and to be perfectly honest it wasn't an easy decision to come to. We were all in agreement that people should not be allowed to post hatred towards an entire religion based on the actions of a few, but also agreed that religion is very different to race, gender and sexuality and there has to be scope allowed for different views and debate without fear of moderator action.

In light of this, we've opted to change the entire wording of the pertinent section of the ToS, in an attempt to make it clear that people are welcome to debate religion, they aren't going to be banned for posting that they don't like this, that and the other, but there is a line, and there will be repercussions for crossing it.

Previous reading of the ToS:

Content whose primary purpose is to disrupt or inflame - This includes homophobic, racist and sexist content and general trolling. Trolling covers a vast array of behavior but mainly revolves around members who consistently post in a manner which they know will upset others, members who insist on going off topic to serve their own agenda (which has nothing to do with the topic at hand)

Current reading of the ToS:

Hate speech and general trolling - Content whose primary purpose is to incite or promote hatred towards an identifiable group: Wiki - Hate Speech Trolling covers a vast array of behavior but mainly revolves around members who consistently post in a manner which they know will upset others, members who insist on going off topic to serve their own agenda (which has nothing to do with the topic at hand)

We've included a link to the Wiki entry for Hate Speech as it provided many examples of what can be deemed as hate speech throughout the world.

Aconitum-

Thank you for clarifying this in a way that is inclusive, not exclusive in its intent, which really was my concern.
 

LaFemme

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Sorry to go off topic but,

Holy shitballs Bianca's Smut Shack??? I totally remember that place. Wow, what a flashback.

I know, right? Yikes I'm old! On the other hand - I'm sooo much better in bed now!
 

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Heavy Moderation has changed this place and made it worse. The Etc. forum used to have posts every few minutes, not you are lucky to see a few posts an hour.

While I think it's good that they want to fix it, I think it's too late, and permanent damage has been done.
 
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Heavy Moderation has changed this place and made it worse. The Etc. forum used to have posts every few minutes, not you are lucky to see a few posts an hour.

While I think it's good that they want to fix it, I think it's too late, and permanent damage has been done.

When you first joined LPSG you were treated very poorly—not only here but at another site. There were others that saw worth in you and quietly came to get you through a rough period. Not everyone is that lucky when they join. You've had a successful run here and elsewhere since. It sounds like the Mod Team wants to give that same chance to everyone. Regardless of where any of us stand on this issue, this site has moved on for those who want to live in the past.
 
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gymfresh

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I was unaware that there was a new moderating procedure, which explains my surprise when in the occasionally rough-n-tumble and off-topic world of The Healthy Penis there appeared out of nowhere a fairy godfather (absolutely no sexual orientation insinuation intended) with an ephemerally light but steady guiding hand. I'm sure some people were shocked that the TOS suddenly had a face and a voice, but it has certainly helped separate the well-intentioned (however inarticulate we may be) from the OT and/or malicious posters.