I just got home and will try to catch up.
1. This is
de facto a !!! thread when it pertains to moderation and moderators. So in that environment calling someone a 'jackass' is well within bounds. Chezlaw has been called much much worse.
2. I honestly think some people must be trolling at this point regarding the prohibition of direct links to a specific website. It has been stated numerous times that content from that website can and is expected to be discussed in this forum. Posters will now be required to provide support for their views rather than merely link to a highly questionable site.
3. The forum's PC rule was introduced several months ago. It is fundamental to the current incarnation of this forum. I was not a mod at the time so I will leave it to Chezlaw to say anything more on this forum rule if he thinks that anything more needs to be said at this time.
4. The offensive words "*****" (the nanny starred out the word -- it rhymes with witch and begins with a b) and "******" are not allowed as insults. I cannot believe that this is an issue or controversial. (If, for whatever reason, they were previously allowed, I will discuss this with Chezlaw at our next moderation meeting.)
5. I don't want to mention names but everyone reading this may be able to guess who I am talking about. If a member posts about his offensive views on women or poor people, even though those groups can be considered "vulnerable", those posts would not necessarily be deleted. A post "Women are stupid and are only good for one thing" would be deleted. A post "Women talk too much and that really annoys me" would not be deleted. Of course, there is a huge gray area in which some posts would be deleted and others would be allowed to remain based upon individual mod judgment. This is not perfect but this is the way it is.
6. I appreciate that there is an entire history of posting and modding of which I am not fully aware. In particular, several members have strong feelings about Chezlaw as a moderator and have come to believe that he moderates this forum in a particular fashion to which they object. All I can say is that I have not seen any evidence to suggest that Chezlaw is anything other than a good forum moderator. He was open to my views on moderation of this forum before I became a mod of this forum, and we have agreed on every significant moderation issue that has arisen since I became a mod of this forum. (See below)
7. Relatedly, the moderators of this forum have discussed the issue of deleting offensive posts vs. leaving offensive posts
in situ but issuing warnings, timeouts, etc. Deleting the posts has a tendency to interrupt the continuity of the thread. With a fair bit of discussion, Chezlaw and I have agreed to employ the "delete" strategy at the expense of continuity and any ill will towards deleting subsequent posts that quote the original offensive post. Of course, warnings, timeouts, etc., will still be issued (many warnings will be issued privately via PM). Unfortunately, the "delete offensive posts" strategy can appear to have the negative consequence of "protecting" the poster who posted the offensive post. However, the increased issuance of timeouts and bans (of extended lengths upon repeat offense) should have greater impact on the health and viability of the forum.
8. Without getting into any specifics, one of the reasons I became a moderator of this forum was to improve the tenor and quality of the forum's discussion. Obviously, we still have a long way to go, but I think the forum (collectively) has improved to some extent in the few short weeks I have been involved. I will continue to work with Chezlaw to move the forum in that direction going forward.
Last edited by whosnext; 03-17-2017 at 09:50 PM.