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Moderating the OP


GeoBain

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Occasionally there are topics in which the OP is at worst a troll and at best a poorly constructed post which makes it inflammatory in nature.

 

Rather than simply hiding responses, would it be possible for the mod to post a warning in the OP so everyone is reminded to move on or tread carefully?

 

Or even better, hide the inflammatory thread.

 

Currently it seems as if someone desiring to troll the forums has the upper hand. All they need to do is create a sock and they get "newbie" protection to post any way they choose even when it it is very suspect whether that poster is truly new to the game.

 

I know the standard should be to just ignore any threads you feel are suspect, but a good troll catches even the best of posters off guard.

 

Moderation should extend to "newbies" as well as veteran posters.

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This forum kowtows to newbies in a way I've never seen in any other forum. Most forums clearly differentiate between the spaces that are soft and gentle for new users, and the spaces where you should be up to speed before posting. It's frustrating and tedious when "Geocaching Topics" gets cluttered up with repetitive threads and obvious trolls.

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Most forums clearly differentiate between the spaces that are soft and gentle for new users, and the spaces where you should be up to speed before posting.

We have the Getting Startesd section. Perhaps when a mod wishes to bestow newbie protection to a poster he could move the post there. Otherwise, moderate the OP as they would any veteran poster.

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Many fourm Oldtimers are banned from ever posting here again because of Trolls. :ph34r:

 

If you smell Troll, just don't feed it. :(

 

But how can we tell the difference between a troll and a, let me choose my words carefully here... forthright newbie poster?

We don't. Just don't answer forthright newbie posters. Someone else will do so anyway, so we don't have to get involved at all. B)

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Many fourm Oldtimers are banned from ever posting here again because of Trolls. :ph34r:

 

If you smell Troll, just don't feed it. :(

 

But how can we tell the difference between a troll and a, let me choose my words carefully here... forthright newbie poster?

 

If you suspect a Troll, don't even post in the thread. Just read it and form your own opnion if the OP is Trolling.

I saw where your two posts in a similar thread was deleted and you were told not to post in that thread again just a few days ago. I would watch what I post here if I were you. The very topic of this thread seems like it is calling out the moderator. :anibad:

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I saw where your two posts in a similar thread was deleted and you were told not to post in that thread again just a few days ago.

 

You will also have noticed how despite being in complete disagreement with basis of the request I did comply with it.

 

I would watch what I post here if I were you.

 

I think that goes without saying - and not just in this thread.

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Always be respectful to everyone, even when you disagree, and you'll never have to worry.

 

This should go for newbies as well. But they are treated with kid's gloves and and allowed to post inflammatory comments seemingly aimed at illiciting an angry response.

 

Mods don't step in and close the thread or move it to the Getting Started section. They don't put any type of warning in the iriginal post where all posters would see it.

 

Even if a poster is legitimate in their post, if it is inflammatory, it should be modded just like any other post.

 

It seems someone wishing to troll has easy pickings around here and it has cost this forum.

 

This used to be a very vibrant place. Now you can hear crickets chirping most of the time.

 

This is a direct result of choking the life out of regulars and allowing socks to have a field day.

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Always be respectful to everyone, even when you disagree, and you'll never have to worry.

 

This should go for newbies as well. But they are treated with kid's gloves and and allowed to post inflammatory comments seemingly aimed at illiciting an angry response.

 

Mods don't step in and close the thread or move it to the Getting Started section. They don't put any type of warning in the iriginal post where all posters would see it.

 

Even if a poster is legitimate in their post, if it is inflammatory, it should be modded just like any other post.

 

It seems someone wishing to troll has easy pickings around here and it has cost this forum.

 

This used to be a very vibrant place. Now you can hear crickets chirping most of the time.

 

This is a direct result of choking the life out of regulars and allowing socks to have a field day.

 

And this is also a direct result of forum regulars treating this forum like a sandbox and throwing sand at other players. It is not one thing that makes people not come here. it's a general feeling that the forums can be an unwelcoming place. To me, that speaks more towards how regulars act towards others.

 

I think we do expect a bit more from regulars, because they've been around for a while and they are the face of these forums and of geocaching for a lot of new posters. But we do moderate newbies, as well.

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Is it true that getting bitten by a Troll in the forums is like getting bitten by a Zombie? :unsure:

 

You become a troll yourself? :unsure:

 

Yes, you get infected and become a Troll. I don't know how true that is, but I'm a big Walking Dead fan so I understand the concept. :laughing:

 

I also have found several geocaches hidden under bridges that make mention of Trolls. :lol: There may very well be some link to Trolls and geocaching. :unsure:

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Is it true that getting bitten by a Troll in the forums is like getting bitten by a Zombie? :unsure:

 

You become a troll yourself? :unsure:

 

Yes, you get infected and become a Troll. I don't know how true that is, but I'm a big Walking Dead fan so I understand the concept. :laughing:

 

I also have found several geocaches hidden under bridges that make mention of Trolls. :lol: There may very well be some link to Trolls and geocaching. :unsure:

 

This is very disturbing news, indeed. It's a good thing that we're warning people. :blink:

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Is it true that getting bitten by a Troll in the forums is like getting bitten by a Zombie? :unsure:

 

You become a troll yourself? :unsure:

 

Yes, you get infected and become a Troll. I don't know how true that is, but I'm a big Walking Dead fan so I understand the concept. :laughing:

 

I also have found several geocaches hidden under bridges that make mention of Trolls. :lol: There may very well be some link to Trolls and geocaching. :unsure:

 

This is very disturbing news, indeed. It's a good thing that we're warning people. :blink:

 

I think we need a new attribute for may be Trolls present. B)

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Is it true that getting bitten by a Troll in the forums is like getting bitten by a Zombie? :unsure:

 

You become a troll yourself? :unsure:

 

Yes, you get infected and become a Troll. I don't know how true that is, but I'm a big Walking Dead fan so I understand the concept. :laughing:

 

I also have found several geocaches hidden under bridges that make mention of Trolls. :lol: There may very well be some link to Trolls and geocaching. :unsure:

 

This is very disturbing news, indeed. It's a good thing that we're warning people. :blink:

 

I think we need a new attribute for may be Trolls present. B)

Attributes for forum posts, there's an idea!

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Most forums clearly differentiate between the spaces that are soft and gentle for new users, and the spaces where you should be up to speed before posting.

We have the Getting Startesd section. Perhaps when a mod wishes to bestow newbie protection to a poster he could move the post there. Otherwise, moderate the OP as they would any veteran poster.

 

On other forums, inappropriate posts in regular forum areas get a detailed form comment about forum expectations, and then the offending posts are moved or locked. Frequently discussed topics are pinned.

 

We don't need to have a new post about virtuals every time someone new discovers they can't hide one. We don't need to have a new post about FTF "rules." We don't need to have a new post about power trails.

 

When there's something new and exciting, like special summer souvenirs, we don't need to have three or four simultaneous posts going on about them at the same time.

 

The vast majority of threads do not need to exist as separate threads - they can be continuations of existing threads. When you look at the names of the people who actually start threads versus the people who actually comment on them, it tells you everything - forum regulars might be a bit crusty, but we respect each other enough that we don't start frivolous threads. Threads are generally started and abandoned by people just passing by who aren't willing to invest thirty seconds to search old threads before starting a new one.

 

This is one of the main reasons things get so cantankerous so quickly. Every new thread about a touchy subject is a fresh wound instead of an old scar. The best threads, the ones that are calm and respectful and fun, are the ones that kind of plug along, with people adding relevant things as they come along.

 

The other big, big problem in this forum is that the options for dealing with troublesome people are limited. When I block someone, they should be entirely hidden from me, and I should be entirely hidden from them. And people shouldn't be able to circumvent being blocked by adding special characters to their names.

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Even if a poster is legitimate in their post, if it is inflammatory, it should be modded just like any other post.
Or, if an "inflammatory" post isn't modded, then the regulars could avoid taking the bait and try to post a helpful response that isn't itself inflammatory in any way.
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Most forums clearly differentiate between the spaces that are soft and gentle for new users, and the spaces where you should be up to speed before posting.

We have the Getting Startesd section. Perhaps when a mod wishes to bestow newbie protection to a poster he could move the post there. Otherwise, moderate the OP as they would any veteran poster.

 

On other forums, inappropriate posts in regular forum areas get a detailed form comment about forum expectations, and then the offending posts are moved or locked. Frequently discussed topics are pinned.

 

We don't need to have a new post about virtuals every time someone new discovers they can't hide one. We don't need to have a new post about FTF "rules." We don't need to have a new post about power trails.

 

When there's something new and exciting, like special summer souvenirs, we don't need to have three or four simultaneous posts going on about them at the same time.

 

The vast majority of threads do not need to exist as separate threads - they can be continuations of existing threads. When you look at the names of the people who actually start threads versus the people who actually comment on them, it tells you everything - forum regulars might be a bit crusty, but we respect each other enough that we don't start frivolous threads. Threads are generally started and abandoned by people just passing by who aren't willing to invest thirty seconds to search old threads before starting a new one.

 

This is one of the main reasons things get so cantankerous so quickly. Every new thread about a touchy subject is a fresh wound instead of an old scar. The best threads, the ones that are calm and respectful and fun, are the ones that kind of plug along, with people adding relevant things as they come along.

 

The other big, big problem in this forum is that the options for dealing with troublesome people are limited. When I block someone, they should be entirely hidden from me, and I should be entirely hidden from them. And people shouldn't be able to circumvent being blocked by adding special characters to their names.

 

Seriously... what is the big deal about all of those situations that you mention? Perhaps we don't NEED a new thread on an old topic, but if someone starts one... why do you care? How does that ruin your day? If you're getting fresh wounds from a new thread covering a touchy subject... perhaps you need to take a break from the forums. What is an old topic to you most likely is a brand new question or idea or problem to the person posting it. Newbies get slammed for starting new threads when old ones exist, and they get slammed for resurrecting old zombie threads. Like you say so often about geocache logging... no matter how you do it, you're doing it wrong.

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Even if a poster is legitimate in their post, if it is inflammatory, it should be modded just like any other post.
Or, if an "inflammatory" post isn't modded, then the regulars could avoid taking the bait and try to post a helpful response that isn't itself inflammatory in any way.

 

Or, as MPH suggested, just spend time elsewhere which is what more and more people are choosing to do.

 

Which I guess is a valid option. But with so many taking that option either by force or choice, it sure makes for a poor forum experience.

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Even if a poster is legitimate in their post, if it is inflammatory, it should be modded just like any other post.
Or, if an "inflammatory" post isn't modded, then the regulars could avoid taking the bait and try to post a helpful response that isn't itself inflammatory in any way.

 

... which is something that you are particularly skilled at, and I want to thank you for that. I have noticed.

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I am a member of a music-related forum and we sometimes had the same problem with suspected trolls.

 

Someone came up with, what you might think of as, a "forum attribute" when a regular suspected a troll. They would reply to the post with a single comment:

That's interesting.

Regulars knew that they could prevent a waste of their time by just going on when they saw that comment. Newbies who didn't recognize the "troll attribute" reply were left to go back and forth with the troll, until/unless someone PMed them what "That's interesting" means.

 

You'll note that "That's interesting" is not derogatory or even a put off if the OP was not really trolling. Just serves as a flag.

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I am a member of a music-related forum and we sometimes had the same problem with suspected trolls.

 

Someone came up with, what you might think of as, a "forum attribute" when a regular suspected a troll. They would reply to the post with a single comment:

That's interesting.

Regulars knew that they could prevent a waste of their time by just going on when they saw that comment. Newbies who didn't recognize the "troll attribute" reply were left to go back and forth with the troll, until/unless someone PMed them what "That's interesting" means.

 

You'll note that "That's interesting" is not derogatory or even a put off if the OP was not really trolling. Just serves as a flag.

 

That's interesting! :P

 

Just kidding of course. But i will say that, although it wouldn't hurt anything to have a flag like this, i'm not sure it's really needed. I'd say that most who hang around here spot em fairly quickly. On top of that, many see the trolling going on and comment anyway.

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I am a member of a music-related forum and we sometimes had the same problem with suspected trolls.

 

Someone came up with, what you might think of as, a "forum attribute" when a regular suspected a troll. They would reply to the post with a single comment:

That's interesting.

Regulars knew that they could prevent a waste of their time by just going on when they saw that comment. Newbies who didn't recognize the "troll attribute" reply were left to go back and forth with the troll, until/unless someone PMed them what "That's interesting" means.

 

You'll note that "That's interesting" is not derogatory or even a put off if the OP was not really trolling. Just serves as a flag.

 

That's interesting! :P

 

Just kidding of course. But i will say that, although it wouldn't hurt anything to have a flag like this, i'm not sure it's really needed. I'd say that most who hang around here spot em fairly quickly. On top of that, many see the trolling going on and comment anyway.

 

And others see trolls when there are none.

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I am a member of a music-related forum and we sometimes had the same problem with suspected trolls.

 

Someone came up with, what you might think of as, a "forum attribute" when a regular suspected a troll. They would reply to the post with a single comment:

That's interesting.

Regulars knew that they could prevent a waste of their time by just going on when they saw that comment. Newbies who didn't recognize the "troll attribute" reply were left to go back and forth with the troll, until/unless someone PMed them what "That's interesting" means.

 

You'll note that "That's interesting" is not derogatory or even a put off if the OP was not really trolling. Just serves as a flag.

 

That's interesting! :P

 

Just kidding of course. But i will say that, although it wouldn't hurt anything to have a flag like this, i'm not sure it's really needed. I'd say that most who hang around here spot em fairly quickly. On top of that, many see the trolling going on and comment anyway.

 

And others see trolls when there are none.

fascinating

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I am a member of a music-related forum and we sometimes had the same problem with suspected trolls.

 

Someone came up with, what you might think of as, a "forum attribute" when a regular suspected a troll. They would reply to the post with a single comment:

That's interesting.

Regulars knew that they could prevent a waste of their time by just going on when they saw that comment. Newbies who didn't recognize the "troll attribute" reply were left to go back and forth with the troll, until/unless someone PMed them what "That's interesting" means.

 

You'll note that "That's interesting" is not derogatory or even a put off if the OP was not really trolling. Just serves as a flag.

 

That's interesting! :P

 

Just kidding of course. But i will say that, although it wouldn't hurt anything to have a flag like this, i'm not sure it's really needed. I'd say that most who hang around here spot em fairly quickly. On top of that, many see the trolling going on and comment anyway.

 

And others see trolls when there are none.

51594602.jpg

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