Poll: Why report???

[Hitman 43]

I probably would if it was awful.

 

[lwm3398]

Wait, never mind, my mistake.

Yeah, I report inappropriate threads. Someone once posted a picture of a donut flying above a city and said: "This is what UFOlogists believe" which I reported. Plus, the guy had been posting threads about how bad halo was, and had been banned multiple times but just kept coming back and making threads. I hate trolls who take themselves seriously.

 

[DrDeath3191]

I haven't used the report button all that often, but when I do... it's bad.

 

[Random Argument Man]

Some "funny" threads are funny for a few, not so funny for a lot of us. Others has this weird idea of thinking it's funny while it's really not. In fact, it's pretty much sick. The type of sick that needs a mental hospital.

That's when I report and leave little goodbye song. (Because I need to be different).

 

[Seanchaidh]

I'm 16 and its not funny.

I'm 23 and it's a little funny.

 

[Captain Pancake]

The thread in question wasn't that funny. It was a little discomforting, actually.

 

[Legion]

EDIT: And it is tatteling. You can call it what ever you want, but at the end of the day you're puffing yourself up with false authority and doing the mod's job. You can say that you're trying to keep this site a sweet little tea party but you end up sounding like a snob.

We are asked by the Mod's to report inappropriate content, it's why the buttons exist, it isn't doing their jobs for them, it's alerting them so they can do it.

"tattling" is a kids word used in the playground to stop the bullies getting in trouble when they beat up a weaker kid.

If somebody broke into your house and got away would it be "tattling" to tell the cops? Of course not, naturally it's a more serious issue but the same logic applies: somebody did something wrong, so you alert those who can stop it happening again.

 

[Shycte]

Because it differs us from /b/.

You like that sort of stuff. Go there.

 

[JenXXXJen]

What if I sent you a message saying, "*****, GET IN THE KITCHEN!", but, I spam sent this to you. Every second you'd get another. Would you like that, would you be offended? What if I took it to the next level, and started threatening you, and posting porn in said messages? You wouldn't like it. The same goes for threads.
Remember, kids, If you wouldn't have a discussion with your grandma about what your about to post, don't post it to us.
And...

Spoiler: The MOAR you know.

Spamming someone is different to posting a topic that some people don't like I'd just block you anyway, problem solved. And I'm sorry, but apart from exceptions like people posting porn, I can't see reporting as anything other than tattling, and no one likes a tattle-tale.

On another note, while I love that picture, what exactly might you be insinuating?

 

[Samurai Goomba]

Hmm... Dare I say it? Alright, I will.

Since people like thunderhitler started posting here. There has also been somewhat of a move in recent months away from serious discussions on original subjects and perhaps more towards topic derailing and jokes in poor taste. So it's reasonable to mistake a serious question for such a failed humor attempt.

I can see that. I mean, the idea of 'the Decline of The Escapist' is an old one and we've all got our own 'Fall of Rome' moments (mine would be when they let Darth Mobius get away with his hijinx) but I can agree with that.

Of course, it seems like the 'reported' crowd focuses more on topics than posts within the topic: they seem to be going after the wrong posts.

Besides which, if a mod isn't sure about the initial intent with which someone created a topic, what's the point in the mod asking them to put more effort into it? If it is just a person wallowing in filth and depravity, an exhortation isn't going to help much.

The burden of proof, (so to speak) is on the person making the topic, rather than the moderator reviewing it. If someone wants to challenge sexual norms, for example, they need to make it clear they can do so in a sensitive and intelligent fashion.

I guess the issue for me is I think that post *was* made in an intelligent fashion at least, and certainly not insensitive. The language of it was clean--medical terms for body parts, a very non-explicit to anal sex, etc. How high is that burden of proof going to be? Especially when it seems to me blatant "topic derailing and jokes in poor taste" doesn't provoke nearly the response that post did.

While topics which are more controversial or outside the norm can be more interesting, I feel they are also more dangerous. Allow too much to get through the filter and we risk more exposure to Internet horribleness. But if there's not enough freedom to branch out, it feels limiting.

I guess it's just hard to square that post getting locked with something like a Khell rant being allowed to go on for pages and pages--where's the standard?

Yeah, I'm well aware that people have been whining about the influx of new blood in The Escapist and a perceived decline a la Rome (or America, if you want to get controversial), but I'm talking more about how I've noticed a tonal shift in recent months. One that isn't necessarily bad (nothing wrong with having fun), but one which invites a different kind of troll (people who post obscene, sexist or really stupid jokes).

In my opinion, while the OP of that topic wasn't profane or anything, he/she didn't give enough information or explanation to clearly establish why the topic was made. I mean, the post was pretty short. I'm not saying he needed an entire page of elaboration, but maybe a qualifier of some kind. But I'm not a mod. And that may not even have been the reason the topic was locked (maybe a combination of things).

As for "where's the standard," it's something I think we all have problems with from time to time. Some people can suspended for a "this" post while more famous forum members seem to make a career out of derailing threads and posting nonsensical babble with little consequence. The mods aren't God. They can't be everywhere at once or see everything at once. Stuff slips through the cracks. And yeah, sometimes the majority opinion wins. Like in life. But I can't think of any alternative to the Report system that would be better.

I just take solace in the knowledge that people who flout the rules enough times usually get what they deserve. Some of the recent permabans given out to "core" Escapist members were a good example of that, I think.

 

[Sightless Wisdom]

Well if you look at the definition of innapropriate, I think you should have your answer...

 

[Wulfen73]

Don't you think it would be a bad thing if the community was allowed to have threads that offended people? Then people could get away with anything as long as they kept themselves on the border of rule-breaking.

Not necessarily. It should depend on *why* it offends people and the merits of the thread. If it's just a picture of tubgirl or goatse, well, then not much merit. If it's something that can make people think about sex and gender and sexuality, then there's merit.

And whether it's immature or not is a matter of opinion. I think it's immature, you don't. No opinion is fact,

I refer you to this thread:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.136007?page=1

but clearly, more people thought it was immature and offensive, thus the thread got locked.

Really? That's how the forum should operate: people think a thread is immature and offensive who are free to just not click on the thread get to have it shut down on people who think it isn't?

I could see if The Escapist decided what is and is not immature and offensive: it's their forum. However, when did it become the case that as long as I get enough people on my side, I get to decide as a user what is and is not allowed in The Escapist forums?

The mods are just trying to keep the forum clean. And if somebody's offended, it's the mods' job to make sure it doesn't continue that way.

There's a difference between keeping things clean and not offending people.

Yes there is, but since we are a community on a board owned by company that pays and maintains these forums what they decide what in the end goes, and like most companies they want to keep customers happy and viewership high, so yes in the end what the majority of customers say will usually define a companies sense of what is unnacceptable, if you really don't like it there are other forums that do allow sexuality oriented humor, I suggest you take that silliness to one of those and leave it off our gaming forums

 

[JWAN]

Look, the short of it is, if its a thread that's been done 1.5 million times and the person who started it is already a moron its going to get reported. The reason is because the person is too incompetent to do any work whatsoever and just does the thread on a whim.

Its the rules and when a thread like that gets removed it takes out the clutter.

 

[Kuchinawa212]

I repost when I think it's needed
Personally I'm alright a THIS or just a demo to some up an idea or thought. So I don't report those. What I do report are treads with little thought or people who are just out to annoy us.