I think this deserves it’s own thread. There seems to be a vocal, albeit small population who are dissatisfied with the current state of affairs. Given that this is a community based recovery forum, we should include the community in helping to determine the direction of the forum.
I, for one, am getting frustrated with the seemingly arbitrary issuance of flags and punishments, as well as a perceived double standard. Sure, these are my problems so I should just deal with how I react to them, but I’ve noticed a grown sentiment in other members as well. I’m not doing this to knock any mods. I’ve been here nearly two years and have the utmost respect and admiration for @SassyRocks@C-sun@Steve92 and @NewPerspective.
The point of this thread is to identify areas for potential change and discuss them. First, is there actually a problem that needs addressed, or should I just shut up? Second, is the problem that is something that can be, or should be fixed? Finally, what can we do to fix it?
I’d say a good 90% of what goes on here runs great. It’s the other 10% I’m looking at.
I believe you when you say it, but I feel like personal agendas may influence decisions to flag in the first place. However there is no real way to prove that. Hence a flag committee.
That I am more hesitant to believe. It’s easy to say your are doing something under the banner of being concerned with the forum, while following through on a personal vendetta. For example, my memes that get flagged are often no where near as bad as other memes, yet seemed to get flagged more frequently than other members.
My dicks our for harambe meme is a perfect example. I can go back and find plenty of other sexually suggestive memes from that day that weren’t flagged. So you want me to believe that person was completely neutral whence hitting the flag button?
I’d go with a flagging committee. Maybe rolling so that there is no long term commitment needed but everyone who wants a go can. Then people can get a taste for themselves of what it’s like. Might put a control measure on it if people can see what gets flagged for what and why.
I wouldn’t like to commit myself full time to it. But I’d definitely have a short term go.
I started the thread prior to receiving the news. However, I actually do take offense to the seemingly double standard around some issues. Though I am more spiritual, rather than religious, I have seen God bashing going on for quite sometime around here. How do you think people who follow organized religion feel when reading that? My thread was simply a counter-balance to that. Necessary? Perhaps not, but I believe it spurred some conversation. Tell me. Would you feel the same way if a newcomer had started that thread?
I don’t understand what is meant by “flagging committee”…it sounds an awful lot like the cool kids having the power to decide what is allowed or not. Sounds way too much like high school which I would really like to leave in my past.
YES flagging the last few days has been ridiculous. A lot of it seems more like “I don’t like you” rather than “you’ve hurt me with what you posted”. But let’s not change how the board works because of a few days. We regularly go through these ups and downs and it all works out.
I do suspect that a few posts (cough cough Derek) were started just to see if people would flag…???
No, my post was started to show the inconsistency of who gets flagged and what topics are deemed inappropriate, but that’s not the point of this thread. The committee would be voted on by forum members to evaluate the validity of threads. It would relieve some of the burden from @SassyRocks that she is currently handling. I think at @VSue as a long term member would be a great person to do the evaluating.
That is fair…I’ve learned to know that when you’re being a little bit of a shit disturber you are doing so to point out something. To me it’s like Wierd Al songs…they aren’t to point out that a song sucks…he’s pointing out the absurdity in the popularity of songs. I totally believe you were trying to point out that it’s seems odd to post “no religion please” and no one says anything but if one posts “no atheism please” it’s all flags. BUT you did know it would get flags so you did kinda egg it on.
To be clear…I’m a huge Derek fan…I just need to stay out of the meme threads etc because I know I will occasionally get offended.
And thank you very much for the compliment but for my sanity and my sobriety I HAVE to stay out of this stuff. If I get involved I’ll get invested…and that is a dangerous place for me.
I wonder if it would be helpful for flagging to require an explanation of HOW it breached community standards, not just ticking a box. If it requires someone to put some thought into and articulate what the problem is, and gives the mod more information on the thought process.
There is plenty of BS here that I find offensive and inappropriate, but I only flag when something crosses a line of breaching a community standard, is bullying, abusive, or potentially threatening someone’s sobriety (ie indecent images).
I dislike when people have a go at others flagging, including through name calling and intimidation because it is also encouraged by mods to flag something where there is a problem and let the mod sort it out. So when others complain about people flagging and thinks they should toughen up or lighten up, I think that is problematic. It is a mechanism to request moderator attention, which is totally legitimate and shouldn’t result in people trying to bully the person flagging.
I think that bullying mods should result in a red card and suspension. I wonder if it would be helpful if @Robin set out some more detail about community standards - ie what standards should be applied when a flag will be upheld or dismissed and what can result in immediate suspension, or how warnings are used, etc.
Flagging does require a little bit of thought, though I’ve only used one that I can recall.
How the review works I’d also like to understand better. It seems to me mods should be allowed to dismiss them without penalty upon review, understanding they don’t often do so.
It would be very helpful to have some concrete guidelines for us to follow. We are all just winging it. There is no moderator manual or guidelines to follow.
I’ve been a bit surprised how there seems to have been an upsurge in not-so-positive posts the least few days…
Do we need reminding of the guidelines fue the community? Perhaps we all need to read them again…
E. G.
Nothing sabotages a healthy conversation like rudeness:
Be civil. Don’t post anything that a reasonable person would consider offensive, abusive, or hate speech.
Keep it clean. Don’t post anything obscene or sexually explicit.
Respect each other. Don’t harass or grief anyone, impersonate people, or expose their private information.
Respect our forum. Don’t post spam or otherwise vandalize the forum.
These are not concrete terms with precise definitions — avoid even the appearance of any of these things. If you’re unsure, ask yourself how you would feel if your post was featured on the front page of the New York Times.
This is a public forum, and search engines index these discussions. Keep the language, links, and images safe for family and friends.
Here’s to a healthy healing community where respect and empathy guide our posts.
I dismiss them often (the function is ca!led ignore). We are able to agree, ignore, disagree. From there we have the choice to hide post, suspend user or silence user. Obviously we are very reluctant to silence or suspend.
It is always appreciated by me when people flagging add in their reason, which happens more frequently, which I truly appreciate.
