Re: [GZG] List moderation

On Fri, May 16, 2008 at 8:41 AM, Tom B <kaladorn@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> 1. Not in favour of a web forum at all.

Me neither. However, I suspect it's inevitable. It depends on the
dependability of the mailing list. If it gets flaky enough, the
solution will probably end up being some form of web forum.

As I've said in the past, I'm a frequent visitor to one or two forums
and I occasionally pop into a dozen or more. The biggest problem with
web forums is that you're at the mercy of whomever happens to be
around at the time you post a question.

> I'm a digest reader and
> infinitely (yes, infinitely!) prefer email. I can scan 4 digests of
> differing threads in a few minutes, something a web forum wouldn't
> conveniently let me do.

I find the exact opposite. I can scan a forum page pretty quickly to
see which threads I might be interested in. I can then open each
thread in a new tab.

I suspect the digest wouldn't work for you if the volume was at the
level of some of the busier forums. In fact, e-mail works for the GZG
list because the volume isn't that great.

> I can pretty much gaurantee that I'll fall off
> the list (and so may some others) if we went to forum format. And
> forums and digests are not terribly compatible AFAIK.

I agree. A forum only makes sense when the volume is high.

> 2. Moderation: I have always believed the best moderation is stopping
> reading a post or thread whose tone you don't like.

This is a pretty civilized forum, with everyone a fan of the same
game. Most e-mail programs allow filters, too, so you have the ability
to moderate certain people yourself. If enough people ignore someone
because they are offensive, they soon get the hint and leave.

Moderation is a necessity in web forums of any size. Something big,
like RPG.net, is a magnet for a bunch of loonies, if for no other
reason than to stop people posting p0rN links to the site. (I'm not a
prude; I wrote it that way to, hopefully, bypass filters!).

> Moderation inevitably involves warnings, responses, and then
> justifications and so on.

Unless you use RPG.net's method, which is to clearly post a sticky
message with the rules and have a team of moderators that aren't
afraid to use them. They post a short warning. No response to the
warning is allowed in the thread (they have a separate "Trouble
Ticket" forum for that). If you argue the point, the moderators ban
you from the thread and delete your objection.

Not everyone is happy with what happens there, but I have to say that
I've had no complaints. I think it works because there is a place to
vent if you feel you were unduly treated, and it's an area that most
users don't bother visiting.

> 3. Sometimes immoderate responses are still useful and replete with
> information. One might wish they were phrased more politely from time
> to time, but you rarely improve the situation with bans and that
> certainly never encourages the guilty parties to reform from what I've
> seen.

I agree, though the types of people I'm talking about above _never_
reform regardless of what happens.

> So, mark me down as a nay-sayer both on web forum and moderation. I've
> been on this list since I think about 1995-1996 time frame and its had
> better and worse days (frankly, if I had moderation, I'd have to ask
> sheep references be moderated out of existence....) and it is still
> better than most.

Nah, you'd just set up a new Sheep forum.

> This and the TML are the only two internet lists I
> bother with.

I'm mostly active on RPG.net because of my book (and soon to be
books). I haven't been too active here of late. My muse is occupied
elsewhere (which is why I didn't bother jumping in on the colony
discussion), and there's been little to playtest. I suspect that the
playtesting will pick up about the time I'm playtesting my new RPG in
the fall, which would figure.

Allan

-- 
Allan Goodall http://www.hyperbear.com
agoodall@hyperbear.com
awgoodall@gmail.com

_______________________________________________
Gzg-l mailing list
Gzg-l@vermouth.csua.berkeley.edu
http://vermouth.csua.berkeley.edu:1337/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gzg-l