In an effort to make the forum more transparent, I’d like to open up the forum rules and guidelines to the community. It’s currently not very long, and a lot of things slip through the cracks. This leaves a lot of flags up to judgement calls from moderators. Having a more defined rule system will help members know what to expect and will help them understand what they can and can’t post about. It will also help moderators make decisions.
Let’s discuss what can be added and changed. The idea is to define inappropriate content and behaviour on the forum; things that warrant a flag or a warning. The idea is not to radically change how the system works, but to add more definition to it. I’m especially looking for input from our long term regulars.
It’s hard to make the first thing a rule. There are almost unlimited addictions. We can make it a guideline. Something along the lines of: Please consider other addictions when posting.
I can’t change how the flagging system works, but I can add a guideline like: When flagging a post, be sure to have a valid reason. When a moderator reviews the flag, they might request it.
I mentioned it, as the times I have flagged, it was always where consideration hadn’t been given to different addictions (often sex addictions, if I recall)
Cate brings up a good point, a while back csun asked us to add in an explanatory sentence when flagging something as inappropriate however there is no such place to put a comment, is there anyway to add a text box to this?
Personally, I think the info in the link to the FAQs/guidelines (under the bullet point rules) is really useful. Should they be included in the post, rather than as a link? Or does this make it too wordy? I just wonder if people usually bother to click through. It might be possible to combine them to get the general point across and keep the word count down.
I think there needs to be something about what kind of sanctions should be expected (e.g. if a mod thinks a thread is devolving they may silence individuals causing problems or close the thread, how many flags get people a suspension, any offences which get people an immediate suspension, etc), respecting the decisions of mods, and how to challenge a flag or suspension if they think they have got one unfairly.
I do and have done as you will probably remember but one time you had already dealt with the flag by the time you got to read my message. If it has to stay this way then that’s fine, I just thought it worth suggesting.
I think it’s better to leave it as a link. That way the FAQ page can still be updated by the community whenever it is required, and the information will still be linked from the rules.
I like your suggestion. It would help set up expectations.
Bumping this topic because I am interested in seeing more community input here. There is still a desire to make the rules more clear and helpful.
I know some of you have thoughts on this because I see comments all across the spectrum from time to time (including some good points), and this thread is an opportunity to address it constructively.
I can’t speak for the others, but I imagine it would depend on the context and how disruptive it is to the original post. Ie someone earnestly asking for help and the thread being taken over by memes is likely to be treated differently to a cheesecake debate going off track. Not to diminish the importance of cheesecake…
