Replies

I've never reported anyone before, or complained about the way this site was moderated, because my basic thought is that it's your site, and you've proven to be sucessful in building it up to the great place it is. Besides, moderating it has to be an incredibly frustrating task. Consistency, even once you are sure the direction to take, is nearly impossible.

But if you're gonna ask... lol

I think that there are a small handful of "high output" freepers who drag the level of debate down to the point where the signal-to-noise ratio makes some threads not worth the agony of reading. They are consistently petty, personal, and generally obnoxious - even in the eyes of those with whom there is no disagreement on politics or the issue at hand.

I've seen them post valuable information, so I understand why they aren't thrown out as trolls. But the old saying "with friends like this, who needs enemies" applies.

These posters make themselves the topic of discussion. They post so much, they quickly bring the threads into the gutter, making it harder to find the thoughtful posts, and cause many of us to hesitate or refuse to "side with" someone who's being obnoxious - especially when by their attitude they give the impression of lead advocates for Our Cause.

I know I am far from alone in not wanting to be associated with that sort of petty bickering. And because many of us aren't the type to go running to you, I think you'd be surprised how many valuable freepers wish these others would be leashed.

I don't understand why they are allowed to run rampant as they do. And I really don't understand why, in the case of the thread referenced below, they are allowed to ruin a good discussion for everyone else. When it is just 2-3 people stinking things up, especially if the tit-for-tat is at the tail end, they should have their posts pulled - not everyone's, IMHO.

Case in point

Here is what I see on the top of the pulled thread you are using as a case in point (or rather, that you are talking about in the thread linked by you).

137 ABUSE REPORTS on file for this thread.

This thread has been pulled.

Pulled on 03/15/2004 3:05:45 AM EST by Jim Robinson, reason:
pulled

That is a ton of abuse reports for one thread. And it wasn't just one side, and not all of them were invalid complaints. Jim tired of it after the first few dozens of complaints, and moved it to the backroom. Sometimes, if people are bound and determined to flame away, the best thing to do is to give them that vent otherwise it shows up in other threads. The alternative is to start suspensions and bans. We do that, but it is not the preferred alternative.

Thanks, LM