Post by Admin on Jul 6, 2024 20:19:49 GMT
There is no written policy. It's up to the judgement of the moderators. If we think something is getting out of hand, it's up to us to make the judgement call and find a way of sorting it out to cause the least disruption to the forums. Usually there will have been at least one post either publicly on a thread or by pm that suggests that something is verging on the unacceptable. Sometimes that means temporarily suspending posting privileges to allow the poster time to reflect. Occasionally it means a permanent ban, though that is something usually reserved for people who try and spam us. On the rare occasions it happens to non-spammers, it happens to people who have got on everybody's nerves so much that the boards are better at least for a time without their presence.
Please note that this is nothing to do with individual disputes between individual posters but with our reading of the forums sometimes bolstered by private messages to us, and sometimes by private consultation with the other people who have moderator privilege on these boards.
Our judgement tends to be affected by threads getting down to the level of petty bickering and lots of boxes within boxes where people are squabbling. We don't like it. It's boring and tedious for people to read. Please try not to do this. Nitpicking is the lowest form of debate.
Our judgement is also affected by ad hominems, and especially by personal abuse. There is no excuse for it, and we will try and redact it if we see it. If it gets out of hand, one of those temporary bans may be put in place.
Our judgement is particularly affected by accusations of lying. It has been made it clear on the QI talkboards that we strongly object to posters calling each other liars., this is a policy we will be continuing here. Just because somebody reads something and interprets it in a way that isn't what you intended them to understand does not mean they are lying. It means that your statement has not been clear, or that you have not understood the full ramifications of your statement. Both of these things are possible however intelligent and well-educated you are as a person. We trust all posters on this forum to be capable of reading, and the evidence of what is said is there for everybody to understand so there is never a reason to accuse somebody of lying, though it's certainly acceptable to say you have been misunderstood and find another way of phrasing your point.
Our judgement is not affected by reading viewpoints with which we personally disagree.
Posts that fall into what might be understood as hate speech and things that are legally questionable are on very shaky ground and probably subject to redaction.
Please note that this is nothing to do with individual disputes between individual posters but with our reading of the forums sometimes bolstered by private messages to us, and sometimes by private consultation with the other people who have moderator privilege on these boards.
Our judgement tends to be affected by threads getting down to the level of petty bickering and lots of boxes within boxes where people are squabbling. We don't like it. It's boring and tedious for people to read. Please try not to do this. Nitpicking is the lowest form of debate.
Our judgement is also affected by ad hominems, and especially by personal abuse. There is no excuse for it, and we will try and redact it if we see it. If it gets out of hand, one of those temporary bans may be put in place.
Our judgement is particularly affected by accusations of lying. It has been made it clear on the QI talkboards that we strongly object to posters calling each other liars., this is a policy we will be continuing here. Just because somebody reads something and interprets it in a way that isn't what you intended them to understand does not mean they are lying. It means that your statement has not been clear, or that you have not understood the full ramifications of your statement. Both of these things are possible however intelligent and well-educated you are as a person. We trust all posters on this forum to be capable of reading, and the evidence of what is said is there for everybody to understand so there is never a reason to accuse somebody of lying, though it's certainly acceptable to say you have been misunderstood and find another way of phrasing your point.
Our judgement is not affected by reading viewpoints with which we personally disagree.
Posts that fall into what might be understood as hate speech and things that are legally questionable are on very shaky ground and probably subject to redaction.
