A call for mod action and user restraint

[Shrew]

As stated earlier, Moderators are essentially about the same as a 'hall monitor' or 'prison trustee'. They are members/users just like anyone else, however they have the ability to lock threads, delete posts and ban users. These actions are all done under the framework of the posted rules:

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ork&page=rules

The "BE NICE" rule is about the only one that allows for interpretation.

Moderators are volunteers. The mods cannot read every post in every thread. and certainly can't do so in real time. They rely on the "Report Post" feature. If you believe the post is offensive or infringes on the forum rules, report the post. The moderators will review the post or thread, discuss it in private, then take action. Often you wont' see or be aware that a post was submitted, then later deleted.

To call on the moderators to "do a better job" is somewhat ridiculous, and quite honestly (as a moderator other forums) a little bit offensive.

If you find a problem with a post.....report the post.

[leboyd]

I agree with being against the motion.

Time will tell if a thread diverges and I, as well as anyone else, can quit following it.

Of course, if all the threads turn political, I'll simply head off into the sunset.

[weavis]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

And if that doesn't work, THEN we call in the mod-police -- and I get my knuckles wrapped (again ).

That would be rapped.....

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by blu3534

I completely agree!



But look at your very own recent post where a dock etiquette question went towards 'president bashing'. As this president certainly also had done some nice things and as covid has multiple aspects the name-calling is almost guaranteed.



A working solution would probably be a change of forum software to e.g. Discourse where users themself can give hearts for nice posts and flag if something is really bad.



This, imho, would encourage friendlier posts (because everybody likes hearts, don't they) and if one is 'deeply concerned' there is an immediate way of action (flagging) without falling to shoot out another not so nice reply.

There is a serious flaw in your argument

“ . As this president certainly also had done some nice things “

I struggle to identify anything

[S/V Illusion]

This is just another example of the troubling theme of internet censorship. If something bothers you, don’t read it. Most adults can grasp that concept.

[Vasco]

Looking for a new anchor that won't drag. Hopefully one made in the good ole USA. Tired of the outsourced knockoffs. For a 40 ft bluewater boat.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by weavis

That would be rapped.....

His may have been wrapped after being rapped if it has been happening often enough.

[JPA Cate]

A little historical perspective from my point of view, only--not speaking for anyone else. When it was announced that this election year was also going to be the year of the pandemic, one of the administrators opened the Covid19 Containment Forum, to allow a place where there could be POLITE political discussion. It had different rules and moderation from the other forum threads, and requested what amounts to a great deal of self-moderating, pulling one's punches, as it were.

Unfortunately, for our moderation, people chose not to follow the rules in many cases. A number of those threads were closed. And with covid boredom, people have been hijacking a lot of threads with political contamination.

I think people are getting tired of CF having as much political content as it does now; and slowly, we are deleting blatantly political content as "off topic" or political, or as thread hijacking. These deletions will continue.

In case someone may not know, the moderators are spread out over many time zones, and sometimes there are only a couple of hours a day where we overlap with another moderator. There is also the problem that as volunteers we do not work 24/7--we're only available a small portion of the day; sometimes some of us are not available, and one of us has been quite ill with Covid. [Actually, to me, saying covid is a hoax is about like saying syphilis is a hoax. You can say something and it isn't necessarily an accurate evaluation of a situation. A disease that we can develop an effective vaccination for is a disease, not a hoax. Lucky to have a vaccination and a treatment available.]

I am hoping that we can still have a Cruisers Forum that is a comfortable place for the membership to talk about most subjects related to sailing or cruising, and stay within the community rules.

If you use the report post triangle to report posts that offend you, we will look at them as soon as we can (spam invasions take precedence).

Thanking you for your help and cooperation.

Ann,
JPA Cate

[Nauticus]

Seems to me I posted on this topic about a week or two ago. Was immediately sent to the "bottom" in flames. Yet your post has support and positive feedback. Hmmm

Guess I don't make the grade [emoji848]
In any event, I agree with your assessment.

[Paul L]

Personally I'd like to see ALL threads limited to 100 posts. If you can't get to the meat of a matter in a 100 posts then it just ain't gonna happen. After a 100 posts we get the deniers, the all knowing political gurus, the ones that think War and Peace should have been one post, the ones that start with 'no one has mentioned' even though its been posted 3 times already, the slow decline to the first Nazi reference,.........
Think how much less moderation would be needed if threads were limited to a 100 posts.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by weavis

That would be rapped.....

Damn ... wrapped up in my rapping

[dfelsent]

Well that 100 post limit would lead us to the “147th new joke thread” in short order.
I’ve in fact learned quite a bit from some of the drifted threads.
Actually I would say some threads that have dragged anchor entirely.
I will say, as someone with clear political views (and I will not say here what they are!) that I am not here for political discourse.
Yes our politics sometimes inform our actions and opinions on sailing topics.
I prefer that the actions and evidence speak for themselves.
For example instead of “all older anchors are terrible and you must buy xxx” I would try to say “I have had terrible luck with xxx and yyy anchors in weed and I find zzz sets reliably in similar conditions.”
I’ve learned a lot about water makers, anchoring!, diesels, and more.
And I make my family suffer with the best of the jokes. [emoji1]

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

When it was announced that this election year was also going to be the year of the pandemic, one of the administrators opened the Covid19 Containment Forum, to allow a place where there could be POLITE political discussion.

At this point in history, polite political discussion is unfortunately an oxymoron.

The containment forum is a noble experiment, and it has been good for letting off steam, certainly. However, while I'm among many who have appreciated the lighter hand taken in those threads, I'd also be just fine with a less-political, more boating-oriented forum.

Realistically though, I don't know successful that could be. It might be moderating hell. And the mods know better than I what sort of traffic the red-hot threads can pull in.

Anyway, I believe that CF is well-moderated and has many members who are worth the time to exchange ideas with. I have faith that they will continue to do a good job and make the best choices.

[Yihang]

Regading the BVI thread. you mean this one?

"Four Americans claim they are being held like “hostages” in a British Virgin Islands hotel room after they accidentally sailed into the territory’s waters — breaking rules that prohibit U.S. visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report." Fox News 12/1/2020

Americans + A so called thirdworld #@$#@$#@ country, covid and fox news.

That thread was political from the start mate.

[Exile]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

At this point in history, polite political discussion is unfortunately an oxymoron.

I disagree. In fact, some threads of late disprove it. There certainly is a way to discuss politics in a polite, civil manner, but it does require some vigilance. Then again, some topics (e.g. climate change?) could indeed be rather hopeless. At the same time there is almost always something to be learned, and oftentimes it's the discussion/debate that follows someone's opinions being challenged which produces the most learning.

The containment forum is a noble experiment, and it has been good for letting off steam, certainly. However, while I'm among many who have appreciated the lighter hand taken in those threads, I'd also be just fine with a less-political, more boating-oriented forum.

There are other boaty forums with the sort of narrower orientation you suggest, but let's face it -- they're kinda BORING, right? I mean fine for getting techy advice, debating anchors and such, but otherwise a bit limited in breadth & depth comparatively speaking, imho.

Realistically though, I don't know successful that could be. It might be moderating hell. And the mods know better than I what sort of traffic the red-hot threads can pull in.

It might be nice to at least confine the politics to the more, uh, political threads? What I find irksome of late are the gratuitous injections of personal politics - or worse - snippets of political correctness into threads that have nothing to do with either. It often takes another 2-3 pages of off-topic acrimony just to get back to discussing how Covid has changed the market for buying/selling boats, or whatever the decidedly apolitical topic may happen to be.

Anyway, I believe that CF is well-moderated and has many members who are worth the time to exchange ideas with. I have faith that they will continue to do a good job and make the best choices.

Agreed!