Ok, this is a free for all thread. Come in and take your best shots. I promise I won't delete it or get upset. Get it out of your systems and then we will see if we can solve the problems. There always several sides to any story and several possible solutions to any problem. I'd like to hear them all and I'd like to solve as many problems as we can and get this forum kicking socialist butt again instead of kicking each other. So, please anyone with a complaint or a problem or a possible solution, (moderators, posters, FAB, everyone) please chime in. Thanks, Jim
One last little request - can you put in a feature to allow us to ignore any poster or moderator we wish to ignore? That way, all of us could eliminate every voice but our own....lolol...(note: this is humor. I realize the more "retentive" types would love to have such a feature however...)
I thought I got banned for a day cause I tied into someone who was challenging a 3 time purple heart recipient WW2 vet about his courage. Well ... I basically lost it with him and THEN ... I couldn't log in for a day. I thought I got "spanked" and took it like a man. I'm STILL not sure if I really got banned or not BUT it did calm me down,
It would be nice if we could search by date, I was stuck at work untill 4:00 PM on Sept. 11th. I would like to go back and see how the story broke on Freerepublic.
I think that takes away the freedom aspect too much, though I understand your reasoning.
Well I want to use this thread to tell a story about tonight.
I feel like this should be an American Express commercial. "Do you know me?" Many, very many, Freepers do. They just don't when I am wearing this signon name.
Anyhow, I love this site. I have worked to improve it in many ways, from my contributions as a poster, to my hitting the streets when needed, to contributing money when I have it. I even offered a few times to help Jim out in various things. I guess that is how I got this other signon name.
I digress. Tonight I was at home. I knew that one moderator who is usually on was not here today. Another was sick. I signed on, and saw another had been here alone for some time, and was asking if anyone was around to take over. My kids were still up, but I said fine. I had the "pager" on, so I could leave the computer and just go to it when it chimed.
There had been some bizarre abuse reports today. Some spam from aheadnews, followed by a rather lengthy screed that also tied into that. But for a while, nothing.
Then a report came in that someone had posted a thread about a Survivor tribe gaining immunity, and posted it to breaking news. I handled that one.
I pulled it.
A few minutes later, I got a complaint that said this:
"Regarding #39
I agree with this post - it should be pulled. Sounds like this news was from the inside, and is not public...
I'm not going to be very popular for this, but Marine Inspector, you ought to sit on this sort of information for a couple of days. Suspect terrorist guy may have buddies that we (FBI) wouldn't want to alert to his fate at the moment. Loose lips sink ships sort of thing."
Now, one thing about me. I don't like pulling anything. It goes against my instincts. Maybe that is one reason I was trusted with this job. Who knows.
Maybe you don't know how the abuse system works, but the moderators can comment back and forth on threads for each article, so we can communicate and also so Jim and the Lead Moderator can provide oversight. Here is my response to that abuse complaint:
"I gotta think that if it gets leaked here, it is leaked elsewhere (and may be wanted to be leaked by the "good guys") and besides, he would have access to a lawyer and as such his "people" would know.
I am leaving it up."
Anyhow, more complaints rolled in about that post. That is not common. Usually, when we decide "no action", it generally means that most Freepers would also have come to that conclusion. But if we keep getting complaints (from different users) then I do question myself. After a few of the complaints, here is what I posted:
"Well, three reports, maybe I am wrong. What I am going to do is just change the priveleges on it instead of pulling, and when another mod comes back, we can decide if we want to put it back (since using pull marks all comments as read)."
I set the read and post levels to a higher restriction. This pulls the thread, but makes it so it can be restored with all comments intact, if so decided. Plus, maybe Jim was watching at the moment. It seemed reasonable to me. Prudent, even.
Well, some other reports started coming in, and it was the kids' bedtime. I should have immediately Freepmailed the poster to explain why his post was pulled, but between my real life duties and handling the other reports, the mail did not get sent right away. Believe it or not, we have real lives.
Anyhow, another moderator came on, and I posted "please go back and look at some things. I have a ban that I need you to do, and there is a thread I need your opinion on". Right then, a complaint came in about a thread called "CENSORSHIP", posted by the same guy whose post I had just pulled.
We are under direction to not let posts like that stand. I pulled it, and made sure to send off a freepmail explaining both yanks.
By the time I was done, another user had posted another CENSORSHIP thread. I pulled it, and wrote that user.
Then a third one posted a CENSORSHIP thread. Jim pulled that one. We both wrote that user.
Then the original poster posted the same information that was pulled originally to a thread. This was after the freepmail stating why it was removed in the first place.
So I suspended him.
Then a completely different user posted not only the same information, but the Freepmail warning I had sent the first guy.
I suspended him.
While all this was going on, complaints were coming in from other freepers about their posts being loose lips violations.
The emails we have received since then claim I am on a power trip. That the moderators like me are ruining the site. That the particular moderator involved, me, was a censor and a disgrace. That I was against all patriots. That I screwed all freedom fighters.
Some power trip. Boy, I tell you, I love being a "censor". I much preferred doing this than Freeping, or watching the game tonight, or going and getting some much needed sleep, or chatting with a friend, or putting my arms around my wife.
Not.
Was I right or wrong? I still don't really know. All I know is half the stuff I see said about us moderators is way off base, and we generally can't respond. And some of you actively work to make our lives harder, and to discredit us.
Well, I don't expect anyone to cry us a river. What I do expect is a little bit of courtesy, and when we do step in, don't make our lives harder.
I suspended two Freepers tonight. Two Freepers with rather long histories here. One says he won't be back. If anyone thinks that feels good to me, they are insane.
But I think I will sleep well tonight, because even if I was wrong, I know it was not an easy call, and I know no one would get it right all the time, and seeing what all does get filtered out, I know what Free Republic would look like without what we do.
You got that right! I breathlessly clicked 51-100 replies and much to my dismay the whole thread was deleted. What was that about?!
