Abusive Posts "Red Flag"?

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unclechuck
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p.1 #1 · Abusive Posts "Red Flag"?

This is a suggestion to add a Red Flag for 'Abusive Posts'

Why? As an example here

In reaction Nozzleforward wrote:

Man, is it just me or does it seem like every for sale ad getting beat up by people with no feedback and hardly any (if any) posts here lately?

If decisive action isn't taken to stop it, this activity will begin to damage the FM community. And it isn't just B&S, there are irrational posts in other areas as well.

"Report This Post" is fine for personal attacks, policy violations, etc but the number of bizarre, disrespectful posts by non-rated individuals is clearly increasing: and it's impossible for Fred Miranda to monitor all the Boards and activities of a 250,000+ member online community on an individual complaint basis.

So here's a suggestion: A Red Flag button to report improper posts by members with less than 5+ feedback AND also report feedback abuse. (I'm seeing feedback boosting like the old days on eBay).

Wiser minds than mine may see a better remedy but perhaps a warning and 30 day freeze for the first offense, then 90 days, followed by "Three strikes you're out."

I'm not suggesting a limit on interaction, just respectfully recommending the need to stop 'drive by' posting abuse before it becomes a major problem.

Oct 20, 2012 at 12:42 PM

Nozzleforward
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p.1 #2 · Abusive Posts "Red Flag"?

For what it's worth, I'm in support of this idea. Unrelated, I wish I had squared away my grammar a bit more in my original post, seeing as it's now been quoted

Oct 20, 2012 at 01:14 PM

vsg28
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p.1 #3 · Abusive Posts "Red Flag"?

I totally support this idea as well.

Oct 20, 2012 at 01:27 PM

borderlight
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p.1 #4 · Abusive Posts "Red Flag"?

It seems to me that in addition to the (few) disrespectful posts from FM newbies there are an increasingly number of the same coming from outside the U.S., as linked in the case here. Maybe those posters aren't concerned with the consequences. There are trolls all over the internet. It would be hard to monitor all their activity unless there was sufficient staff to do so.

I am not sure that the three strike suggestion is really meaningful to those posters. That just gives those people two more opportunities to troll. If someone joins FM for the sole purpose to be a wise guy on day one, more warnings will most likely not change the behavior. For me, it would be one and done. The +5 feedback seems to punish the majority for the sake of the few butt heads who have nothing to lose. IMO we all can report the problem but only one official (Fred) should throw the red flag, or more appropriately, the switch.

Edited on Oct 20, 2012 at 03:15 PM · View previous versions

Oct 20, 2012 at 02:56 PM

unclechuck
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p.1 #5 · Abusive Posts "Red Flag"?

borderlight wrote

For me, it would be one and done. The +5 feedback seems to punish the majority for the sake of the few butt heads who have nothing to lose. IMO we all can report the problem but only one official (Fred) should throw the red flag, or more appropriately, the switch.

Points well taken, and certainly only Fred should throw the switch: it's the response that matters.

Nozzelforward reminded me of an important point I forgot to highlight: only established members can Red Flag.

The decision is up to Fred --- I was trying to spare him having to dig through individual complaints so (hopefully) by the time it reached his desk established members agreed on the problem.

Oct 20, 2012 at 03:14 PM

BenV
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p.1 #6 · Abusive Posts "Red Flag"?

here's an idea, on the buy/sell section, have the OP approve/disapprove any posts before they show in the thread.

Oct 20, 2012 at 06:41 PM

JohnnyMike
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p.1 #7 · Abusive Posts "Red Flag"?

Create this: Buying and selling is a coveted privilege on FM. A status, which is not held lightly, that is achieved through decency and honesty.

By doing this:

Required to be a participating member for one year prior to being allowed to buy/sell/post within the buy/sell area.

By participating, I mean being a positive contributor in the forums.

By positive, I mean you strive to maintain good etiquette in all of your writings.

By contributor, let's arbitrarily suggest a minimum of 100 posts.

By good, I mean that the Hide Me button has not been used against you (let's say more than 3--5 times).

Obviously, this can be expanded on considerably, but I thought I'd throw the idea out there.

Oct 20, 2012 at 09:22 PM

vsg28
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p.1 #8 · Abusive Posts "Red Flag"?

By those standards, many people (including me) would be barred. There are many who come just for B&S and there is nothing wrong with that. Your suggestions are very harsh in my opinion.

Oct 20, 2012 at 09:26 PM

Danpbphoto
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p.1 #9 · Abusive Posts "Red Flag"?

I agree totally and have suggested this to Fred about 6 months ago when a guy from Boston didn't like my "FS" ad and his lowball offer denied.
He commenced to trash my "FS-Refurbished 300mm f2.8" and insinuating to all that I was lying about the condition and that there "must be something wrong" with the lens.
A few fm'ers jumped in to challenge his posts, of which 1 is an Army vet and instructor at West Point and this clown commenced to "trash" him and posted his disdain for Army vets, of which I am 1!
A quick note to Fred had all his post, (the Boston G...uy) deleted from my ad but he still remains on the B&S forum. And continues to belittle many ads and posters.
That is all he does BTW.
I would welcome this idea.
Dan

Edited on Oct 21, 2012 at 06:15 PM · View previous versions

Oct 20, 2012 at 09:44 PM

dcains
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p.1 #10 · Abusive Posts "Red Flag"?

Anyone remember the comedian Gallagher? Maybe 25 or 30 years ago he came up with an idea to get rid of bad drivers. We'd all have a gun in our car which fired suction-cup arrows at a bad driver, and when a driver accumulated a certain number of arrows stuck to his/her car, they'd lose their driving privileges. I'd support a similar system here, with a limitation that those of us with arrows would have to meet some minimum number of posts or length of membership, etc. The "Hide Me" button is certainly a great idea, but I'd like to see something with a little more teeth, for the repeat offenders.

Oct 21, 2012 at 05:51 PM

iberjan
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p.1 #11 · Abusive Posts "Red Flag"?

Since this originated in my thread I'm going to finally also chime in.
First let me say that I appreciate Chuck's initiative and generally support that something needs to be done to prevent these stupid posts in the future.

I personally think that the key to preventing thread crapping, bullying and similar transgressions is to have people provide more (and legitimate) personal information at the time of registration. The point being to make the interactions that we have here more like those we might have face-to-face. I think that people who are willing to provide a certain amount of personal information at the time of registration are not only more serious about being a member and remaining in good standing, but are also far more likely to act in a fair and civilized manner toward other members.

Red-flagging abusive posts is a fine idea but I think it requires too much policing and doesn't necessarily address the root cause of the problem. Anyone can register with a fake email address, post a bunch of crap and not care about getting banned.

Just my two cents.

Oct 28, 2012 at 04:56 PM

BluesWest
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p.1 #12 · Abusive Posts "Red Flag"?

There's already a "Report" button on each post, so the red flag idea seems redundant to me.

The real problem with the forum is that it isn't moderated. I visit and/or participate in a variety of other forums - both photo and computer hardware -- and in some of those forums moderators step in immecdiately to issue warnings when a thread has gotten out of hand. And if a thread continues to deteriorate, the moderator locks it or deletes it. I've rarely seen this happen on FM

Bottome line: If users know a moderator is watching, a lot of the bad and annoying behavior will be curbed.

John

Oct 28, 2012 at 05:31 PM

DanBrown
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p.1 #13 · Abusive Posts "Red Flag"?

BluesWest wrote:
The real problem with the forum is that it isn't moderated.

That's just not true. Look in the upper right hand corner of each forum, and you will see the name of the moderator. Fred has retained "ownership" of many of the forums over the years. He's a busy guy and sometimes is delayed in acting on problems. Overall, over the years, he's done an excellent job. If you report a specific thread to Fred (rhyming not intentional), he reviews and acts on it promptly. I think overall Fred's approach has been to exercise the minimal amount of control necessary, and he's been successful. He added the proscription against the "price police" on the buy/sell forum a long time ago. If someone disparages your ad, point out the rules to the offender. If the person is a repeat offender, send a report to Fred.

Oct 28, 2012 at 07:25 PM

jerbear00
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p.1 #14 · Abusive Posts "Red Flag"?

Eh. True members stand up for one another and ignore the riffraff. This kind of thing exists everyone. Part of the Internet.

Oct 28, 2012 at 07:42 PM

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