Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Other than the Swap Shop and the Articles we do not have specific tasks or "patches".

Users should definitely be allowed to post new threads about vids or blogposts they have made, most especially in subfora where there is almost no traffic otherwise. The web forum is principally about hosting discussions. But an important ancillary function is disseminating information.

Overread - Yeah I definitely think having a few more than needed is the "sweet spot"

I want to call back to an earlier point, about not wanting to permanently ban posters. Most of you don’t want to do it yes?

Well under what circumstances would you reconsider that?

None of us want to do that, it defeats the whole point of a discussion forum and is really not how we wish this forum to be run.
That said we do occasionally permanently suspend people and (excluding spam bots) it tends to be when a poster is extremely bigoted, posts abhorrent things (racism for eg.) or shows conclusively that they are unable or unwilling to follow our rules. It is very rarely our preferred method of handling things but it on occasion it does have to be done.

Well with regards to the third point, when do you decide that the merry go round needs to stop?

Every case is unique and it is done on a case by case basis, some occasions it has been within months for others it was within years.

I suppose I should commend you all then. Most sites take the opposite approach.

Although it does mean that you’re stuck continuously dealing with the problem ones...myself included.

 Future War Cultist wrote:

Although it does mean that you’re stuck continuously dealing with the problem ones....

It does... But that's the whole point. In some cases, those 'problem ones' eventually get sick of butting heads with the mods and modify their behavior. Others just mellow over time. And yes, some either get sick of constantly being suspended and wander off, or have to be shown the door. But so often, the driving force behind that behavior is a passion for the hobby that we would rather redirect into something positive. Kicking people out for feeling strongly about the hobby and just being crap at relating to others is somewhat self defeating when the purpose of the site is to share the hobby.

Also many sits that ban people too swiftly tend to just end up with what appears to be a lot of problem users. Because instead of changing their behaviour, the offended banned users just register under a new account with a new email and name and keep going.

So you end up with a growing population of problem users because they reach a point where bans basically are an inconvenience rather than a barrier.

If someone whose account has been permanently suspended comes back under a new user name, hopefully they will trick us and avoid being found out by never getting in trouble again. That’ll show us!

 insaniak wrote:

 Future War Cultist wrote:

Although it does mean that you’re stuck continuously dealing with the problem ones....

It does... But that's the whole point. In some cases, those 'problem ones' eventually get sick of butting heads with the mods and modify their behavior. Others just mellow over time. And yes, some either get sick of constantly being suspended and wander off, or have to be shown the door. But so often, the driving force behind that behavior is a passion for the hobby that we would rather redirect into something positive. Kicking people out for feeling strongly about the hobby and just being crap at relating to others is somewhat self defeating when the purpose of the site is to share the hobby.

Of course the problem posters sometimes just drive off others in the meantime. So while they're doing their thing they cause problems continuously while slowly driving out the population of the part of the forums they inhabit. So while they may eventually calm down the damage will be done.

 ZebioLizard2 wrote:

 insaniak wrote:

 Future War Cultist wrote:

Although it does mean that you’re stuck continuously dealing with the problem ones....

It does... But that's the whole point. In some cases, those 'problem ones' eventually get sick of butting heads with the mods and modify their behavior. Others just mellow over time. And yes, some either get sick of constantly being suspended and wander off, or have to be shown the door. But so often, the driving force behind that behavior is a passion for the hobby that we would rather redirect into something positive. Kicking people out for feeling strongly about the hobby and just being crap at relating to others is somewhat self defeating when the purpose of the site is to share the hobby.

Of course the problem posters sometimes just drive off others in the meantime. So while they're doing their thing they cause problems continuously while slowly driving out the population of the part of the forums they inhabit. So while they may eventually calm down the damage will be done.

This is the point I was hinting that. Hell, in the past one problem poster outright told me to get lost off the site altogether. Although ironically that poster now seems to have vacated the site instead.

 ZebioLizard2 wrote:
Of course the problem posters sometimes just drive off others in the meantime. So while they're doing their thing they cause problems continuously while slowly driving out the population of the part of the forums they inhabit. So while they may eventually calm down the damage will be done.

Which is precisely why reporting problem posts so that we can stay on top of it is so important. No matter how many moderators there are, we can't be everywhere and read every post.

There are limits, too - we actually went through and checked on some of our "problem accounts" as a result of this thread. Everyone still gets to go through the appropriate process... but for people who are intentionally posting in a way that's against the rules, we're keeping an eye out.

Aw, maahn... is that why I got Mod “friended”? Crap.

Mod friended? Is that bad?

 Future War Cultist wrote:
Mod friended? Is that bad?

I believe it's a joke - Dakka has a friend feature (though it doesn't seem to do much) and the implication is mods friend you to keep an eye on you.

Well, I mean, it could go either way. Sort of a joke and now also a little bit of the old paranoia creeping in, so becoming a serious question.

 greatbigtree wrote:
Aw, maahn... is that why I got Mod “friended”? Crap.

*Checks friend list*

Excellent, my subversive activities are proceeding without suspicion.

Edit: Damn it!


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 greatbigtree wrote:
Well, I mean, it could go either way. Sort of a joke and now also a little bit of the old paranoia creeping in, so becoming a serious question.

Hey, alternative could be you're getting eyed up to be offered a place among the big boys and/or girls

 ScarletRose wrote:
Dakka has a friend feature (though it doesn't seem to do much) .

The main use for it, other than having people show up a different colour on the 'Who's online' list, is to easily find new threads by people you've friended:

Well, I learned something today then. I never even looked at that menu.

I mean, it’s also just a nice way to show solidarity with posters you get used to seeing around, sort of like regulars at a bar.

I noticed in the corona thread there was a clear case of person A insulting person B, and then person B having his response deleted. How is this acceptable?

Thanks Manchu, puts my mind somewhat at ease... always got to be a little suspicious of the Man.

And, just to set myself up for some well-deserved ridicule regarding my immense ego, I don’t think me becoming a Mod would be good for anyone. Say what you will about the Mod team, these people have *PATIENCE* for the kind of things that would set me off in a non-diplomatic type of response. It’s unpaid volunteer work and they deal with a lot of, for lack of a better term, entitled whiny bitches and I would have trouble referring to them in a diplomatic way, and that tends to bleed over.

So there’s the target, Folks, have at ‘er!

Just to make sure it's clear, friending someone doesn't give us any extra insight into their profile (we can see everything already ) and isn't used for keeping an eye on anyone.

Generally, it's because someone is your friend (or maybe because they friended you and you wanted to reciprocate, etc!). Nothing nefarious here

S’all good. Just a bit of healthy neurosis.

I just blocked a troll abusing me, that alone would cut down on a lot of required mod action if people did it.

Yup. I’ve been there too. This place is supposed to be fun and enjoyable. If someone consistently rubs you the wrong way, or throws monkey feces at you, the ignore button is there, and a bit of restraint to not look.

I even found it helpful, for some posters, just to have a mental heads up before I “unignored” a post to read. That heads up helped me a lot, to not get “invested” in that post. Sometimes a, “I disagree, and here are my reasons...” post let me contribute to a thread without letting myself dive into a slugging match.

(I miss the Bird, sometimes. Skumgrods are hard to find.)

I like the friend feature. It is nice way to show solidarity with those posters you support. I get a buzz when I see a new friend request in my inbox, which at a time like this is great.

I’m glad you made this thread too. Shows that you all care. Yesterday I had a bad experience with one mod but in truth I started it. We have beef going back to that time around 2016-18 when politics was all the rage (pun intended) and it gave me a chip on my shoulder. But as I was the first one to mention politics specifically, this time the blame lies with me.