Now that the current affairs section is dead

[Martin Alvito]

Doesn’t just keep trolls out though does it. Not a fan of financial barriers to political discourse….even if only on a footy forum.

I know. It's one of those situations that has to be solved with the least-worst solution. I'm not seeing a cleaner one, at the moment, but it's early days yet. I'm sure you all have your heads together behind the scenes. More brainstorming is better than less, unless the problem is time-sensitive.

Is this thread acting as a temporary Current Affairs forum?

I thought we were talking about the nature of the problem, and how to solve it.

 

[davek]

I thought we were talking about the nature of the problem, and how to solve it.

Oh.

<leaves>

 

[peteblue]

Is this thread acting as a temporary Current Affairs forum?

Yes mate and I value your opinion……

 

[Daveysgingerlovechild]

Yes mate and I value your opinion……

Thought the point of shutting it was to determine the trolls?

 

[Prevenger17]

Doesn’t just keep trolls out though does it. Not a fan of financial barriers to political discourse….even if only on a footy forum.

But aren't the trolls and bots sort of obvious? @dylsexicbleu, @Toffee_Loaf (RIP) and @Evertonian2019 were quite clearly not posting here in good faith and have predictably disappeared into the ether. And though they all had the exact same opinions, I don't think that should guilt you out of swinging the hammer.

We tolerate all sorts on here, "covert" Liverpool fans, Tories, DHolliday, but there are some accounts that have a very clear and obvious purpose from the get-go and I feel like it should be a simple case of just punting them.

 

[Walken]

But aren't the trolls and bots sort of obvious? @dylsexicbleu, @Toffee_Loaf (RIP) and @Evertonian2019 were quite clearly not posting here in good faith and have predictably disappeared into the ether. And though they all had the exact same opinions, I don't think that should guilt you out of swinging the hammer.

We tolerate all sorts on here, "covert" Liverpool fans, Tories, DHolliday, but there are some accounts that have a very clear and obvious purpose from the get-go and I feel like it should be a simple case of just punting them.

I'd love to do the role of current affairs mod

 

[Prevenger17]

I'd love to do the role of current affairs mod

I'd probably be banned

 

[Walken]

I'd probably be banned

Once I'd got my revenge on the beige power ranger andyc for those off topic points, I'd actually take it seriously. Like I said, I found the forum a really valuable resource

 

[Martin Alvito]

But aren't the trolls and bots sort of obvious? @dylsexicbleu, @Toffee_Loaf (RIP) and @Evertonian2019 were quite clearly not posting here in good faith and have predictably disappeared into the ether. And though they all had the exact same opinions, I don't think that should guilt you out of swinging the hammer.

We tolerate all sorts on here, "covert" Liverpool fans, Tories, DHolliday, but there are some accounts that have a very clear and obvious purpose from the get-go and I feel like it should be a simple case of just punting them.

The problem is that we need a defensible standard. We can all agree with Potter Stewart's line on the subject of hard-core pornography, where he said that he could not define it but that "I know it when I see it." He also was in dissent, on that case.

The reason for a standard isn't for our sanity. It's for that of the mods. Giving someone the heave-ho is only fun on occasion, and it's also a sign that objectivity has been compromised. It's defensible because the person obviously was trying to provoke that response. Every time I ever felt like that and swung the hammer in reply, the conversation behind the scenes invariably was, "Yeah, that person needed to go," but mods are also somewhat patient about bans because none of them want to touch off internal dissent. They want to collect enough evidence, before taking that step.

What we want is for posts to either move the discussion forward, or be funny. We're all guilty of being the butt of the joke and getting a bit thin-skinned about it, here and there, but long-time posters also know that's just how GOT works and get over it. It's the price of being able to laugh at other people's stuff.

Communicating those basic ground rules is hard, though. I think it takes most people years to fully grasp how the madhouse functions, where the lines in the sand are and the collective's sense of humor. The site survives on traffic, so if we lose people faster than it recruits, it eventually dies. There's a fine line between socializing people to expectations, and turning enough people off that the whiners succeed in giving it a bad rep elsewhere. What seems self-evident is that we can't self-police CA as it was constituted, given current social conditions. The rule set needs a tweak, and anything I can think of has some problems.

 

[RAFUH]

But aren't the trolls and bots sort of obvious? @dylsexicbleu, @Toffee_Loaf (RIP) and @Evertonian2019 were quite clearly not posting here in good faith and have predictably disappeared into the ether. And though they all had the exact same opinions, I don't think that should guilt you out of swinging the hammer.

We tolerate all sorts on here, "covert" Liverpool fans, Tories, DHolliday, but there are some accounts that have a very clear and obvious purpose from the get-go and I feel like it should be a simple case of just punting them.

Sadly, many seen as trolls aren't - although "true believers" can defo seem troll-like.
Mod meetings aren't always booze laden tea and expensive biscuits. There's a lot going on behind the scenes you never know about ....Danny's nightmare yesterday aside. (love ya boss.)

 

[dylsexicbleu]

But aren't the trolls and bots sort of obvious? @dylsexicbleu, @Toffee_Loaf (RIP) and @Evertonian2019 were quite clearly not posting here in good faith and have predictably disappeared into the ether. And though they all had the exact same opinions, I don't think that should guilt you out of swinging the hammer.

We tolerate all sorts on here, "covert" Liverpool fans, Tories, DHolliday, but there are some accounts that have a very clear and obvious purpose from the get-go and I feel like it should be a simple case of just punting them.

Spoken like a typical authoritarian. Cleanse the forum of posters you don't like. Sad to see the current affairs section go(hope it comes back). I enjoyed it. Despite the post above I was subject to far more vitriol & name calling and than I ever gave out. Still, I thought most posters tried to keep it somewhat civil. We are all big boys and girls, I think most can put up with some off colour remarks and heated exchange of views.

 

[Prevenger17]

Spoken like a typical authoritarian. Cleanse the forum of posters you don't like. Sad to see the current affairs section go(hope it comes back). I enjoyed it. Despite the post above I was subject to far more vitriol & name calling and than I ever gave out. Still, I thought most posters tried to keep it somewhat civil. We are all big boys and girls, I think most can put up with some off colour remarks and heated exchange of views.

Oh. Sorry, it's just you post like a mindless bot.

My apologies @RAFUH, much harder job than I thought it was

 

[Daveysgingerlovechild]

Sadly, many seen as trolls aren't - although "true believers" can defo seem troll-like.
Mod meetings aren't always booze laden tea and expensive biscuits. There's a lot going on behind the scenes you never know about ....Danny's nightmare yesterday aside. (love ya boss.)

 

[Spadge Vernacular]

Considering the CA puzzle, maybe if we map/plot posters using post to risk degrees we can identify the issues and the pilars of the community to allow appropriate interventions. Obviously will need a lot of work but something like this?

 

[DavidH]

Once I'd got my revenge on the beige power ranger andyc for those off topic points, I'd actually take it seriously. Like I said, I found the forum a really valuable resource

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