@Craeft asked "why encourage interaction?" with regard to moderation to limit frequent posts.
I would like to share some thoughts as a computer scientist turned classroom teacher.
a) quality of posts - often rapid posting leads to misunderstandings or low quality posts. We make assumptions and then reply with what we assumed the original poster meant and not what was really meant. When I ran the 20 questions game I encouraged the generation of a lot of low quality posts (even though I enjoyed it.)
b) diverse voices - when the same people respond quickly over and over others, who may need more time, are discouraged from sharing their ideas. This may mean we miss out on a small but cool variation on the idea or that we discourage a new player from joining in the conversation to ask a clarifying question.
As a rule in my classes there is a pause after I ask a question. Then there is an opportunity to ask a clarifying question. Then I solicit responses. So, I'm moderating my studio much like these forums are moderated.
Those are good points about the purpose of moderation, @Osprey1. Still, I think we could find a happy space between @Craeft's perspective and yours by keeping all the usual spam triggers in place while dialing back the post frequency threshold just a tad. I don't feel too strongly one way or the other. I should close the laptop and go walk off some colorful portmanteaus now. Have a great weekend, everyone!
I'm amused (and annoyed) that someone is just going through flagging all my posts as spam or abuse.
So you know, this post IS related to the original post of this thread as it's all connected to moderation... but please, by all means, flag this one too if it makes you feel better about yourself in trying to force a ban on me for some reason.
@Acumen - I would totally be down for a timer that forces a buffer between posts. Many sites do this at like 30 seconds or whatever. It's still annoying but at least posts aren't lost into the ether not knowing if we'll ever see them again.
But honestly I don't think over posting is the cause of triggering the approval notification. And to @Osprey1 's point, again, I'm all for moderation of forums, just not ambiguous moderation that never really defines the cause of action taken.
@Craeft I don’t have much useful additions to the convo, but did notice the flagging going on, and it is a bit ridiculous. Flagging posts with nothing wrong, that’s just wrong.
Just for clarification, the if someone posted several consecutive comments without allowing other, slower members of the forum to respond, you'd consider that discouraging?
What about profanity, if someone used 1337-5P34K to express a profanity without the automated system flagging it, wouldn't that be considered exploiting the automated filtering that was specificly put in place to prevent profanities?
And what about "anger" and discontent in general - in forums often found in the form of CAPS-LOCK? Wouldn't it also be preferable if the content of this message board was constructive, positive and somewhat eloquent instead of being used as a place to let off some steam?
@Lucoire, enough already. We get it, @Craeft rubs you the wrong way. This happens any time you put more than half a dozen strangers in a room together, be it physical or virtual. However, even if I don't like your behavior, that does not mean you have any less right to exist than I do. If another user bugs you so much that it has a negative impact on your experience, simply add that user to your ignore list. Pointing out what we don't like about each other isn't any more constructive than using this forum as a place to let off some steam. Both of y'all just need to hit the reset button, squash it, and move on. If you can't do that, then you've discovered the exact reason why ignore/block functionality exists on any social media platform. Use it.
Well, @Acumen, would you say that to the Forum too, "that certain people rub it the wrong way"?
We all have a different backstory and we all have a different reason to be here. We all have a right to contribute and participate - and that works best if we all agree on a common way of communicating. As @Osprey1 explained, certain communicational patterns might exclude some slower people (or people with foreign linguistic origin). And let's be honest, nobody wants that: nobody wants to exclude and nobody wants to be excluded. And what is blocking/ignoring if not exclusion?
That's why I can only encourage reflecting on why certain things happen.
After a recent "clash" I had here, I did that and decided to change my pattern of communication.
(and even though I don't have any correlative data, I do notice that I haven't had posts or comments of mine marked for moderation)
I've just spent the last week teaching about filter bubbles, confirmation bias, civil discourse and online disinhibition so my statements need to be filtered through the understanding that I have been working with adolescents all week.
I'm concerned for the long term health of any community if only a few voices dominate the discussion. The more voices and more diverse the better the health of the community. I think if we hold back and let others answer questions some of the time then they will feel more invested.
I accept that our technology is limited and we have to put up with moderation flaws, both false positives and misses. I hope that it improves over time and believe we should be vocal about issues, but a flawed system is better than no system.
I think honest discussion of issues is positive but the anger, as well as other factors including online disinhibition, result in name calling and other toxic behaviors that impede civil discourse.
I practice self moderation. I frequently delete posts if I feel emotional about a topic going someone else will speak my truth in a calm fashion.
Thanks for the lively discussion here. We hear you and have some improvements to the moderation process planned to both maintain the family-friendly feel of the community and also make it quicker and easier for your posts to go live. Thanks for your understanding, we've got your back!
Comments
If that party was still around they would have my vote. We had (have) so much corruption. We need someone to hold them to account.
I think it's probably the only word in this country that's changed usage due to politics. LOL
BERNIE SANDERS 2020!!!! and to keep it game related: FOR HOGWARTS!!!
@Craeft asked "why encourage interaction?" with regard to moderation to limit frequent posts.
I would like to share some thoughts as a computer scientist turned classroom teacher.
a) quality of posts - often rapid posting leads to misunderstandings or low quality posts. We make assumptions and then reply with what we assumed the original poster meant and not what was really meant. When I ran the 20 questions game I encouraged the generation of a lot of low quality posts (even though I enjoyed it.)
b) diverse voices - when the same people respond quickly over and over others, who may need more time, are discouraged from sharing their ideas. This may mean we miss out on a small but cool variation on the idea or that we discourage a new player from joining in the conversation to ask a clarifying question.
As a rule in my classes there is a pause after I ask a question. Then there is an opportunity to ask a clarifying question. Then I solicit responses. So, I'm moderating my studio much like these forums are moderated.
And yes, I do hand out warning for what we call "nonprofessional language."
Those are good points about the purpose of moderation, @Osprey1. Still, I think we could find a happy space between @Craeft's perspective and yours by keeping all the usual spam triggers in place while dialing back the post frequency threshold just a tad. I don't feel too strongly one way or the other. I should close the laptop and go walk off some colorful portmanteaus now. Have a great weekend, everyone!
I'm amused (and annoyed) that someone is just going through flagging all my posts as spam or abuse.
So you know, this post IS related to the original post of this thread as it's all connected to moderation... but please, by all means, flag this one too if it makes you feel better about yourself in trying to force a ban on me for some reason.
@Acumen - I would totally be down for a timer that forces a buffer between posts. Many sites do this at like 30 seconds or whatever. It's still annoying but at least posts aren't lost into the ether not knowing if we'll ever see them again.
But honestly I don't think over posting is the cause of triggering the approval notification. And to @Osprey1 's point, again, I'm all for moderation of forums, just not ambiguous moderation that never really defines the cause of action taken.
@Craeft I don’t have much useful additions to the convo, but did notice the flagging going on, and it is a bit ridiculous. Flagging posts with nothing wrong, that’s just wrong.
@Osprey1
Just for clarification, the if someone posted several consecutive comments without allowing other, slower members of the forum to respond, you'd consider that discouraging?
What about profanity, if someone used 1337-5P34K to express a profanity without the automated system flagging it, wouldn't that be considered exploiting the automated filtering that was specificly put in place to prevent profanities?
And what about "anger" and discontent in general - in forums often found in the form of CAPS-LOCK? Wouldn't it also be preferable if the content of this message board was constructive, positive and somewhat eloquent instead of being used as a place to let off some steam?
@Lucoire, enough already. We get it, @Craeft rubs you the wrong way. This happens any time you put more than half a dozen strangers in a room together, be it physical or virtual. However, even if I don't like your behavior, that does not mean you have any less right to exist than I do. If another user bugs you so much that it has a negative impact on your experience, simply add that user to your ignore list. Pointing out what we don't like about each other isn't any more constructive than using this forum as a place to let off some steam. Both of y'all just need to hit the reset button, squash it, and move on. If you can't do that, then you've discovered the exact reason why ignore/block functionality exists on any social media platform. Use it.
Well, @Acumen, would you say that to the Forum too, "that certain people rub it the wrong way"?
We all have a different backstory and we all have a different reason to be here. We all have a right to contribute and participate - and that works best if we all agree on a common way of communicating. As @Osprey1 explained, certain communicational patterns might exclude some slower people (or people with foreign linguistic origin). And let's be honest, nobody wants that: nobody wants to exclude and nobody wants to be excluded. And what is blocking/ignoring if not exclusion?
That's why I can only encourage reflecting on why certain things happen.
After a recent "clash" I had here, I did that and decided to change my pattern of communication.
(and even though I don't have any correlative data, I do notice that I haven't had posts or comments of mine marked for moderation)
@Lucoire
I've just spent the last week teaching about filter bubbles, confirmation bias, civil discourse and online disinhibition so my statements need to be filtered through the understanding that I have been working with adolescents all week.
I'm concerned for the long term health of any community if only a few voices dominate the discussion. The more voices and more diverse the better the health of the community. I think if we hold back and let others answer questions some of the time then they will feel more invested.
I accept that our technology is limited and we have to put up with moderation flaws, both false positives and misses. I hope that it improves over time and believe we should be vocal about issues, but a flawed system is better than no system.
I think honest discussion of issues is positive but the anger, as well as other factors including online disinhibition, result in name calling and other toxic behaviors that impede civil discourse.
I practice self moderation. I frequently delete posts if I feel emotional about a topic going someone else will speak my truth in a calm fashion.
Hey folks,
Thanks for the lively discussion here. We hear you and have some improvements to the moderation process planned to both maintain the family-friendly feel of the community and also make it quicker and easier for your posts to go live. Thanks for your understanding, we've got your back!