The "Report" button, and how not to treat your staff.

[Jackalope]

The vast majority of you appear to either understand the proper use of the Report button, or are perhaps unaware of it's existence. For you - kudos for using it properly. Have a Scooby Snack.

Some of you, however, are unclear on what it's for. Its for reporting real violations of the rules (conveniently linked from every page), not things that you ought to be violations if you had your way.

Likewise, it isn't for flooding the staff with frivolous reports when one of us tells you something that upsets you. This creates a lot of unnecessary work for us, and hardly incentivizes the staff to view your case in the best possible light. Would you, if you were a defendant in a trial, leave a flaming bag of shit on the judge's porch, ring the bell, and run away? Would that tend to make him more, or less sympathetic to you?

Likewise, doing things that piss off the staff in retailiation for receiving a warning is the same. Its not going to end in your favor. Arguing with the mod who is assigned to deliver the message isn't going to help. Accusing them of having a vendetta isn't either. The staff member who delivers the message isn't the person who made the decision - that decision was made by the quorum of staff available while the issue was being considered.

If you happen to get a warning, its not that big of a deal. Usually, it will expire in 30 days and nobody is going to care that you got one. Just don't keep doing whatever it was that got you warned in the first place. We'll like you a lot better for it.

If instead, you decide to go the other route, that simple warning might just get upgraded to something more serious - or even permanent. We don't want to have to do that in most cases.

So please, be smart.

[Pizza]

I don't understand why people think arguing with forum staff is a good idea. It's childish.

[Minimalist]

So please, be smart.

[vorlon13]

A look behind the curtain.

Interesting, very interesting.


Similar, methinks. to how the Q conduct themselves in Star Trek . . . .

[IATIA]

My house, my rules. Don't like the rules? Start your own forum and I'll bet you don't last 30 days, assuming you can even get it up and running. Running a forum takes a LOT of work for little thanks and, in most cases, little if any renumeration.

Kudos to all the staff members.

And like Min says, Just ban 'em all!

[Esquilax]

Essentially the report button is the forum version of calling the police. In real life, the police don't take kindly to being bothered over nothing, and likewise, we in the staff don't appreciate it either, for the exact same set of reasons. That button isn't a toy, and it's not for making smug rhetorical points either. I don't understand what people think they're going to accomplish, but it has never once actually happened, in all the time I've been a mod.

Try having a discussion instead; our rules require that we take due care when discussing your problems, so any failure to communicate won't be from our end. I think the problem, mostly, is that people don't like the conclusions when we come to when we deliberate over their contentions and honestly? I'm not gonna lose much sleep because the biggest grievance these whiners have is that we didn't agree with them.

[Minimalist]

Essentially the report button is the forum version of calling the police.

Calling the cops can get you shot. See the Fucking Cops thread.

[Whateverist]

Actually that would require that you call the fucking cops while black. White men may open carry and defy cops all they want in the name of the second amendment. This is Murica, kay?

[LastPoet]

Guys, it was an analogy, not all policemen are alike. Around here they don't like to use their guns. Also what the staff does here. If there is a definitive bias on the staff, it's that we are biased to act only in dire need.

Most of reports go archived under no action. The remainder are usually dealt with a warning, something that only the staff and the user get to know.

I've said this before, a warning shouldn't be taken as a threat, but an opportunity to rethink the way you are interacting and avoid further actions from us. Some people whine, some retaliate by frantically report anything they think it is similar to the situation they were warned about. I have been here long enough to know it's a given. There are exceptions OFC. Good people that take into consideration what we offer. That is Fair Warning.

I might be called an asshole for pointing this, but people have the privilege of posting here for free (we do need donations, pretty please), and the staff that is here working, does so just for love to this forum. I speak for myself, given that I'm always running out of time, that I rarely post on the public forum due to the fact that I am going trough staff duties. Looking above, 11 unsolved reports. Shit. Ran out of time, i go now to plant some hopefully tasty plants on my agricultural hobby.

[robvalue]

You guys do a great job, and I'm very sorry people act so childishly and cause you needless extra work.