The "Report" Button and You (UPDATED 8/6/09)
- Thread starter megapenguinx
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y'know its weird. Since today I never really noticed that big red button or its use to me. Then again I don't think I've ever found a troll quite like the one your describing. But regardless I'll keep a look out for them. Thanks for the heads up
The problem with this thread is that no one is not reporting because of a lack of understanding concerning the use of a report button. It's common knowledge that the report button is used to inform others of posters you don't like. The problem is that people are underestimating the power of the darkside report button and the role it has on shaping the forums.
It's a common belief (especially in newer users) that it's better and much more efficient to ignore posters, threads and entire forums rather than attempting to make those better by the use of the report button. It is much easier to ignore things than try to have a role in their removal, after all if you ignore something you don't like it's gone straight away while reporting them and talking to a mod takes effort. I think that this is being further emphasized by the new ignore feature which is only making this worse in my opinion. The problem with ignoring the problem is that if enough people do that, the problem is allowed to run rampart and becomes standard practice here on the forums. Eventually you will no longer be able to ignore something because everyone is doing the thing you were ignoring to begin with.
Personally I would like for there not to be an ignore function because that's only going to encourage people to stop reporting and possibly have a poor effect on the forum. I think that there should be more encouragement to report users. I think one of the main reasons people are not reporting posts is because people see a post that must have had at least two reports but no moderation put upon that post. I think that if a moderator sees a post that has been reported twice but decided that it's fine there should be some sort of symbol or 'thing' put in to show that a moderator has seen the two reports and responded to show that reports are being noticed and to give everyone reliance on the report button and the moderation team. They don't have to be in every post that gets two reports but when a post is walking the line and only just not resulting in a probation it would be nice to know that a moderator recognizes that. If you know that moderators are reading reports and responding to them, I feel that it would encourage people to report more.
Just my 0.02 dollars on the subject.
It's a common belief (especially in newer users) that it's better and much more efficient to ignore posters, threads and entire forums rather than attempting to make those better by the use of the report button. It is much easier to ignore things than try to have a role in their removal, after all if you ignore something you don't like it's gone straight away while reporting them and talking to a mod takes effort. I think that this is being further emphasized by the new ignore feature which is only making this worse in my opinion. The problem with ignoring the problem is that if enough people do that, the problem is allowed to run rampart and becomes standard practice here on the forums. Eventually you will no longer be able to ignore something because everyone is doing the thing you were ignoring to begin with.
Personally I would like for there not to be an ignore function because that's only going to encourage people to stop reporting and possibly have a poor effect on the forum. I think that there should be more encouragement to report users. I think one of the main reasons people are not reporting posts is because people see a post that must have had at least two reports but no moderation put upon that post. I think that if a moderator sees a post that has been reported twice but decided that it's fine there should be some sort of symbol or 'thing' put in to show that a moderator has seen the two reports and responded to show that reports are being noticed and to give everyone reliance on the report button and the moderation team. They don't have to be in every post that gets two reports but when a post is walking the line and only just not resulting in a probation it would be nice to know that a moderator recognizes that. If you know that moderators are reading reports and responding to them, I feel that it would encourage people to report more.
Just my 0.02 dollars on the subject.
But remember users, the Report button isn't your vindictive revenge button for when you lose an argument or are shown to have been arguing in error. Try to keep in mind that Escapist is doing its best to be unlike 99.9% of other forums out there and people aren't going to get banned for being a better debater than you.
Looks to me like a certain penguin deserves this thread to be stickied. Who else thinks so?
I use the Report button appropriately, the same goes with the User Report button. However, sometimes those don't work, so you have to pull out the silver bullets. Private Messaging a mod. I have done it a few times, and have been pleased with the results. Don't be afraid to do so, the mods will actually thank you for it, just ask Ultrajoe.
I use the Report button appropriately, the same goes with the User Report button. However, sometimes those don't work, so you have to pull out the silver bullets. Private Messaging a mod. I have done it a few times, and have been pleased with the results. Don't be afraid to do so, the mods will actually thank you for it, just ask Ultrajoe.
Thing is, people don't always dislike things that break the rules. It's true that most people ignore bad posts nowadays and I do agree that this new ignore feature is promoting that as well. I actively encourage people to use the report button rather than get sucked into something that could get them in trouble. I was hoping this would encourage people to report more and for those that report everyone who disagrees with them to report less often.Fire Daemon said:
I didn't include the 2 report item because I felt it would discourage people and I wasn't 100% sure how many reports were needed. I do agree that there should maybe some sort of way of knowing if a post has been seen by a mod, but most of the time when I see a bad post I actually do just "Report and Move on". I move onto other threads and post in those to push the bad thread down the list some. If I still see the post there later and it's something I was iffy about, I just assume that it was given an ok by one of the mods.
Thanks a lot for the guide! It's good to know here you only need to push the Report Button once, where at the forum where I originally came from, you needed to do it at least thrice to summon the uncaring, soulless mods.
Actually it seems that most people don't know the rules. The guidelines has much less views than members of this website and a few threads have revealed that many people have not read the guidelines, thinking that basic common sense will be fine. They may be able to post forever without getting moderator attention, but I feel that if people aren't reading the guidelines then they will obviously not know what is breaking the rules and maybe not report something that is breaking the rules, because they don't know what the rules. Obviously someone spamming or what have you will get reported but things like list threads and 'THIS' will not get reported because people don't know that those are not allowed.megapenguinx said:
You need two reports to get moderator attention so if you do report someone because they disagree with you that particular person would need to be arguing with two childish people which seems to be a pretty rare thing on the forum.
Mind you, I've seen at least one person get told he had been reported and to 'troll elsewhere' because he said that he didn't like Half-Life. There is a large amount of people who wield the report button as a weapon but I don't feel that they use it when people disagree with them, just when someone breaks a rule. I would like for people that yell 'reported' to stop though. It can be rather upsetting, especially if you've just joined and not sure what you're done. Which brings me back to reading the guidelines.
Way to bullet-dodge there, my fellow Escapist. Personally, I always thought it was strange that humor actually gets people to listen. Also, personally, before this, I wasn't entirely sure what comments to specifically use the report button on. Now that I know, the information-gathering portion of the battle is over. Now is the time for reporting action!oneniesteledain said:
Hence my inclusion of "This" "Report and Move on" and (adding it in tomorrow)"search bar" comments as well as lists threads. I'm actually aware most people don't read the guidelines, that's why I included things that are a little beyond common sense. I've seen people reported for the same thing, hell I've even reported people like that with low post counts simply because I felt they were flamebaiting. Did I go ahead and post that they'd be reported? No but I usually did check their prior posting history (if they had one) to evaluate if they were a troll or not before I took any action. If they hadn't done anything bad (by my standards) in the past, I would post a few helpful words before joining in their conversation. I don't want new people to feel left out, I just want them to know we expect a little more out of them here.Fire Daemon said:
I threw up a few examples, but I don't want to link to any actual threads because it would be picking on a single user and just not cool. I wonder if I could find my super old thread (I made it when I first joined and it was a list thread) and use that as an example. I already know how I'm going to do necros.scotth266 said:
This is a good thread and I hope people heed it's advice. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who uses the report button. Too many people here feed the trolls rather than ignore and report and that gets frustrating. Sure, there are rare occasions where many people will report an offender (like botched_necromancy a couple days ago) but overall there are way too many "this" posts and repeated "search button" posts that go unpunished, IMO.
Nice work man, nice work. People are trying to talk about how this isn't necessary, but he's not trying to preach to the choir, he's talking to those who aren't in the know, and there are already people thanking him. Keep it up.
Like everyone says, it adds nothing to the discussion. Adding nothing to the discussion can cause it to degenerate. It's great that you agree, but perhaps add something to it, like why, or something similar. The tech team and mods agree.NoMoreSanity said: