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posted by martyb on Friday August 23 2019, @06:17AM   Printer-friendly
from the tragedy-of-the-commons dept.

I was going to post this to a particular story, but thought this might generate more attention and discussion as a general submission.

Seriously, what is going on with all these troll mods? Just because you disagree with someone, thus earning a "disagree" mod, does not mean that person is a "troll." To steal a definition from Urban Dictionary:

An Internet troll, or simply troll in Internet slang, is someone who posts controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum or chat room, with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional response or to generally disrupt normal on-topic discussion.

Just because you disagree with someone, does not mean they are trying to do the above. Be faster on the "disagree" and slower on the "troll." Under such abuse, it is hard to have a good discussion and, in itself, is trollish behavior by "generally disrupt[ing] normal on-topic discussion." Other than people disciplining themselves, a concerted effort to police such abuses, or making moderation logs public on the bottom of a comment where the score is shown now, I'm unsure of what to do about. As it stands, it is getting increasingly ridiculous to read what discussion is here on any topic remotely controversial, and is expanding outside of even those. It is starting to drive me away from the site, and I'm somewhat confident it is doing the same for others. I'd be interested to see what others think about the depth of the problem, if they even believe it even exists at all, and what solutions you all have for it.

[Ed note. This story is published exactly as received. First off, it bears repeating that complaining about moderations in the comments often leads (rightly) to an off-topic moderation. That is a contributing factor to my decision to run this story. Secondly, moderation is something that I on occasion have found I've fat-fingered and given a different moderation than expected. Thirdly, in the grand scheme of things, a comment's moderation is — relatively speaking — small potatoes. It is NOT a measure of your IQ or value as a human being. or standing in the community. Just accept that stuff happens and that as likely as not, someone will be along to moderate it the other way. Which is a good opportunity to say: PLEASE USE YOUR MOD POINTS! Lastly, if you think a comment was moderated in error, then send the CID (Comment ID) link e.g. "(#876543)" in an email to admin (at) soylentnews (dot) org. Keep in mind however that we are all volunteers here and there most likely will be a delay between when you send out an email and when we can get around to it. --martyb]

[Updated: 20190823_111312 UTC See comment from JR who far more precisely and eloquently expressed the idea I was attempting to. I concur with his assessment. If I want people to upmod a comment of mine that I believe was unfairly downmodded, then I need to be willing to upmod other's mis-modded comments. For perspective, so far this month, anywhere from ~150-~350 mod points were used in any given day. It bears repeating: use your mod points!]


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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by khallow on Friday August 23 2019, @12:40PM (4 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Friday August 23 2019, @12:40PM (#884069) Journal
    Ok, let's suppose Janirok takes heed of your call to action and gets woke. Then what should he do next? Mod some posts as troll?
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +1  
       Insightful=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Saturday August 24 2019, @01:08AM (3 children)

    by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Saturday August 24 2019, @01:08AM (#884461) Journal

    Not necessarily. That's one thing he could do, but I'd prefer instead he start publicly and loudly deconstructing said posts, so I'm not the only one or almost the only one stuck doing so. You're a prime target, and I'd be very interested in seeing him shred you, as the impression I have of him is that he's more than capable...

    --
    I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by khallow on Saturday August 24 2019, @02:04AM

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Saturday August 24 2019, @02:04AM (#884498) Journal

      That's one thing he could do, but I'd prefer instead he start publicly and loudly deconstructing said posts, so I'm not the only one or almost the only one stuck doing so.

      I put my time in too, tangling with, for example, flat Earthers, Islamophobes, anti-vaxxers, Chicken Littles, and anti-capitalists, defending your precious bodily fluids from the dregs of the internet. And yes, you're welcome.

      You're a prime target, and I'd be very interested in seeing him shred you, as the impression I have of him is that he's more than capable...

      I imagine he'll need a better reason for it than "Azuma doesn't like."

    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by janrinok on Saturday August 24 2019, @06:58AM (1 child)

      by janrinok (52) Subscriber Badge on Saturday August 24 2019, @06:58AM (#884611) Journal

      but I'd prefer instead he start publicly and loudly deconstructing said posts

      So now I have to make comments just so that I can please you? I will comment on things that I want to comment on - not ones that are dictated by you. I'd 'prefer' that you get on with your life and leave me to get on with mine. There is no obligation on any member of staff to make comments to suit you.

      • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday August 27 2019, @10:56AM

        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday August 27 2019, @10:56AM (#886026) Journal

        There is no obligation on any member of staff to make comments to suit you.

        Even as a member of the staff, you still don't have a standing in requesting that others must use the Troll modding the way you find appropriate.
        Yes, you still have the right to express it as an opinion.

        --
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford