http://demopedia.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7890444Oh my.
EarlG ADMIN (1000+ posts) Wed Mar-10-10 08:01 PM
LORD MARBLEHEAD
Original message
We've changed the way we moderate Democratic Underground, and now we need YOUR help
Over the past couple of months, in an effort to combat a recent rise in incivility on DU, we made a series of substantial changes to our moderating system. Our plan was to increase the speed with which moderators could deal with alerts, and get rule violations off the board before they could turn into long, drawn-out flamewars.
I can state with certainty that we have not solved the problem of incivility - and we never will - but the plain fact is that alerts are now being dealt with at a much faster pace, and we have eliminated a flaw in our system which sometimes allowed alerts to "fall through the cracks." After some time working with the new system, the moderators and administrators agree that it is a vast improvement over the old way of doing things.
However, in order to keep up with the increased pace of the new system, we've determined that we need to increase the size of our moderator team. We are looking NOW for new volunteers to serve as DU moderators for the next three months, and we are especially interested in folks who spend a lot of time on DU, particularly during the late night/early morning period.
This is the first time in years that we have looked to increase the size of our moderator team. Now is a great time to apply. If you ever wanted to be a mod, if you applied in the past and weren't picked, if you've been thinking about applying but never did: this is your chance.
For application information: Click here
We plan to announce the new moderator team on Wednesday March 24. There will be a training conference call for new moderators on Thursday March 25.
Whether you are interested or not, please K&R this thread so everyone gets a chance to see it.
EarlG, Skinner, & Elad
The DU Administrators
Hawkeye-X (1000+ posts) Wed Mar-10-10 08:24 PM
THE CROSS-EYED IOWA PRIMITIVE, A RATHER HEFTY FOUR-EYED GUY
Response to Original message
16. Applied again for the 10th time.
10th time a charm?
I last moderated in 2002. That was 8 years ago.
Doug's ex-wife and the Bostonian Drunkard kick in their "K&R"s.
BeHereNow (1000+ posts) Wed Mar-10-10 09:41 PM
THE STREISANDIAN DON'T GO THERE PRIMITIVE
Response to Original message
43. EarlG, could you supply more details about the time involved?
I'm SICK to death of the incivility here of late.
inna (1000+ posts) Thu Mar-11-10 12:07 AM
Response to Original message
65. Deleting posts is NOT the solution.
I'm actually very saddened by this post.
LiberalLovinLug (875 posts) Thu Mar-11-10 03:41 AM
Response to Reply #65
76. I second that concern
Smacks of censorship.
I think there was already too much censorship on DU via deleting posts. Never one of my own but..
I don't know how many times I see a reply to some overly, shall we say, spunky retort....and that original retort is deleted! I am missing something.
I think we are all for the most part adults in here. Why can't we handle a little misdirected passion?
I may not agree or approve of someones opinion, but I don't want to censor their posts just because they are a little upset and use naughty language.
I think DU can police itself, for the most part. If someones being an ass, they usually get called out and drowned out by reasonable posters, and their hollow arguments are stripped bare for all to see. If you just simply take the easy way out and censor them outright, no one learns anything.
muriel_volestrangler (1000+ posts) Thu Mar-11-10 04:47 AM
Response to Reply #76
78. It's not 'misdirected passion' or 'naughty language' that gets posts deleted
Most typically, it's personal attacks aimed at another DUer. Getting rid of those isn't censorship. If you've ever taken part in internet forums where insults are allowed, you'll know that it usually degenerates into streams of abuse, not with 'reasonable posters' drowning people out, but a matter of who can be bothered to type the insults the quickest and for the longest. And stopping this happening isn't 'censorship', it's keeping basic civility going.
If you want a taste of a DU environment where a blind eye is sometimes turned to personal insults, look at the Sports forum. In my opinion, it's a crap forum as a result - some people use it to work out their aggression by insulting others and hoping to shore up their own egos as a result. You can't take part in discussions without knowing who hates whom, with whom you are going to be accused of taking sides, and so on. And that's just about a few games.
There is also the political content of posts. You can call this censorship; but the basic rules of the site make it clear that the political content is expected to be in the area of the Democratic Party. And so yes, right wing views are censored. The reasoning behind this is also explained in the rules. This is not a 'universal' forum.
There is, at various times, a lot of disagreement, with mebmers calling people 'not real Democrats' (and thus implying views, or posters, that ought to be banned). The guiding principle used is that criticism of Democrats should be 'constructive'. You only have to read DU at the moment to see that a lot of criticism of Democrats is being allowed. There's a bit of a trade-off - the more real political argument you want to allow, the stricter you have to be on civility, to actaully force people to put forward proper arguments, rather than repeating "you're a fascist!" in different ways.
The truemud primitive, and the forked primitive, who grandoisely imagine themselves as "sports fans," habituate the Sports forum on Skins's island, and even managed to chase away the only primitive authentically knowledgeable about sports, the cboy4 primitive.
The Sports forum now is just a parody because of the clowns in it.
AngryOldDem (1000+ posts) Thu Mar-11-10 07:18 AM
Response to Reply #65
83. If they add nothing to the discussion and are basically crude ad hominems....
...then, yes, deleting posts is the solution. They derail, disrupt, and eventually kill any productive conversation. I can understand "heat of the moment" type deals (been there, done that, as we all have) but some folks just keep at it until the only answer is locking the whole thread.
Being more respectful of others and addressing the points made in a post and not the poster are the true solutions, but alas, this isn't a perfect world.
BlueIris (1000+ posts) Thu Mar-11-10 07:40 AM
Response to Original message
87. Best. Idea. Ever.
This site is going to degenerate into pure chaos this Spring. It's good you've got a jump on trying to keep the insanity from overtaking you.
Oh, it's going to overtake.
Trust me.
