• 26Sep 08

  Moderation Misunderstandings C

  If you have specific questions you don't wish to discuss publicly, feel free to PM me.
  
  If there's another misunderstanding topic you'd like to see, PM me directly rather than post off-topic here.
  
  Misunderstanding C –What about my freedom of speech?
  
  I'm speaking here on the basis of U.S. law. Your national standards may vary.
  
  First of all, many folks claim they have a "First Amendment Right" to say anything they want. That's pretty specific. The 1A says basically the government can make no law regulating your free speech. However, TV.com isn't the government, and it doesn't make law.
  
  "Freedom of Speech" is a bit trickier. The UN, for instance, has stated that humans have a fundamental right to free speech.
  
  On the other hand, try going into the UN and asking to speak to the delegates, and claim that your right to free speech lets you do it. Even the most liberal Supreme Courts in U.S. history never let just anyone wander in to their courtroom and say anything they want, any time they want.
  
  So "freedom of speech" can be regulated on public property. What about private property? On private property, owners' rights trump "freedom of speech." Why? Because you can always go somewhere else, including your own private property. No one can stop you from talking: however, they can stop you from talking on their property.
  
  On TV.com, you can't start up your own threads on someone else's blog. You can't go into, say, The Mentalist forum and post a hundred Spongebob threads.
  
  TV.com is private property. They invite guests in, they have them sign the Terms of Service, people agree to abide by it. If you don't follow those rules, TV.com can kick you out.
  
  It's no different then if someone invites you into their house and you start saying stuff they don't like. They're not obliged to let you stay in their house and listen to you. And you can't force them to let you stay claiming "freedom of speech."
  
  So, yes, on TV.com you can't say anything you want, any time and any place you want. The same reason that on your private property, people can't come in and say anything you want, any time and any place they want.
  
  There is a heck of lot that you can say on TV.com, in the proper forum. And even more on your blogs. But even that isn't unlimited.
  
  Anybody who believes in total, unfettered freedom of speech, well, great, I can respect that. Since you feel that way...
  
  Please provide me with your address and house keys so I can come in and talk to you any time you want. Give me your calling card number so I can talk to anybody I want to, any time I want. Send me $100: I have some pamphlets I need to post around town. If you have a web site, give me the passwords and accesses so I can post what I want there, when I want it.
  
  And if you don't do all of this, you're against freedom of speech.
  
  Private citizens and companies aren't required to finance your freedom of speech or provide you with a soapbox. And if they do choose to give you a soapbox, they're allowed to set rules and regulations on when and how you can use that soapbox. That's what TV.com does, that's what most sites do in one form or another.
  
  As far as TV.com, the standards are pretty simple: be nice to each other, be considerate, stay on-topic, and don't do anything illegal.
  • Posted Sep 26, 2008 3:14 pm GMT
  • Category: Opinion
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• 28Jul 08

  Moderation Misunderstandings B

  If you have specific questions you don't wish to discuss publicly, feel free to PM me.
  
  If there's another misunderstanding topic you'd like to see, PM me directly rather than post off-topic here.
  
  Misunderstood Moderations B – Why are all my friends banned?
  
  The short answer is: because all you friends do stuff that get them banned.
  
  The long answer?
  
  Certain times of the year, there's more banning. When school's out, typically. Holidays and summer vacation.
  
  When shows are off the air, temporarily or permanently. People get bored, people have nothing better to do.
  
  This summer, 2008. With gas prices up, less people go on vacation, more people stay at home, more people have nothing better to do.
  
  People "fight back." The policy is report it and ignore it. Write it in the sky in gossamer teardrops. Repeat and repeat it again. If someone says something nasty, or posts a spoiler, or is just some dope trying to get attention, why the heck do you want to repeat it?
  
  What else... off-topic stuff. Often there's an off-topic lounge in a show forum. It's there for a reason. If there isn't a lounge, use a blog. There's a hundred blogs where you can talk to your friends about anything you like. There's only one forum to talk about any given show.
  
  Are your friends saying they didn't get many warnings? Have them do a screen capture of their moderation history and send it to you. You'd be surprised...
  
  Show forums are for show. Ideas on changing policy, go to the TV.com Idea forum. Specific questions about specific moderations, or you don't understand a policy? Ask the Mods. Got a complaint about mods? PM the staff, danmod or jaxiecracks or whoever is staff if you read this 2+ years from when I post.
  
  Griping and complaining? That's why everyone has blogs.
  
  Use show forums to talk about shows, use personal blogs (and the occasional off-topic thread) to talk about personal stuff. It's pretty hard to get suspended or banned if you stick to that and play nice with others. Not just your friends: everyone.
  
  And finally, there's the vicious circle of banning. One person gets banned. People protest (often without the full story, or being told a false story). People start flaming and posting in the wrong spot to complain. More people get suspended and banned. More people flame and complain about that. Even more people get suspended and banned. And on it goes.
  
  Follow the suggestions above, stop the cycle.
  • Posted Jul 28, 2008 3:07 pm GMT
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• 25Jul 08

  Misunderstood Moderations Redux

  Hi! Long time, no blog.
  
  I thought I'd borrow an idea from fellow moderator Grailwolf and post on a few misunderstood moderations as well.
  
  As grailwolf notes there, if you have specific questions you don't wish to discuss publicly, feel free to PM me.
  
  If there's another misunderstanding topic you'd like to see, PM me directly rather than post off-topic here.
  
  Misunderstanding A: Censor Bypassing
  
  The first thing to understand is that some "naughty" words are allowed. On any given day we get users reported for using words that in fact aren't censor bypassing. Hell, damn, crap, and ass are all permitted words. We don't recommend people use them, and if they use them in another context (like flaming) then that's still a TOS violation. But in and of themselves using them is not a Censor Bypassing violation and we don't moderate their use.
  
  So if someone typed the word exactly how it is spelled, and the system lets it through so you can see it... it's an acceptable word.
  
  Oddly, some people will try to censor bypass acceptable words, even though they don't need to. We don't moderate people for doing that, either.
  
  If you're not sure if a word is permitted, create a post with the word(s), check Preview, and see if the system automatically censors it. If it doesn't, then the word is permitted. Then just cancel out rather than post your test message.
  
  As moderators there's nothing we can do about the "system hack" naughty words like "c1ass." However, we won't moderate you for bypassing around those words.
  
  Censor bypassing to quote from shows is allowed, as long as it's suitable in context. Discussing what Tony Soprano said last week in syndication and providing a quote to illustrate is fine. Posting something like You know what Tony Soprano would say about a jerk like you: [Quote here]." is not. Common sense prevails.
  
  Yes, the TV.com filter has some... odd ideas about what words should be censored. Although we have no control over what is censored, we try to keep that in mind. Again, if the word is suitable in context when discussing TV, we won't moderate.
  
  -----
  
  Those are the things you can do. What is it you can't do?
  
  Censor bypassing on blogs isn't allowed. That's gone back and forth a bit, but currently we're consistent with Gamespot's policy. Typically we'll give you a warning to remove, rather than delete the blog.
  
  Use of abbreviations to get around the filter isn't allowed.
  
  Using a hack to get around the filter isn't allowed.
  
  Even one censor bypass will get your entire post deleted. We don't want to get into the habit of going into people's posts and editing stuff. Most folks don't want us editing their posts.
  
  We'll go by the most common and most common sense interpretation of a censor bypass. You'd be surprised at the # of people who say, "Well, that * is an 'o' and I really meant 'Who gives a shot?'" Uh, right... If you had typed "shot" in the first place, the censor bypass wouldn't have kicked in and you wouldn't have tried to find a way around it.
  
  If you can't get out of the habit of typing "naughty words," or you're not sure of the best way to make them unrecognizable within the permitted rules, your best bet is simply type them like you would normally and let the system automatically make them unrecognizable. believe it or not, most people are smart enough to figure out what you meant from context.
  
  -----
  
  Why is censor bypassing a TOS violation? Several reasons. We have users of all age groups, with access to all shows. Believe it or not, some parents don't want their kids hearing "naughty words." It may be a minority view, but it's one that CNET respects.
  
  "Naughty words" drag down the discourse. You swear, other people swear back. Some people end up swearing more than actually saying anything meaningful. Believe it or not, you can make yourself understood without "naughty words."
  
  Using "naughty words" doesn't make you a grown up. The fact that most of the people on here who use them are junior and senior high schoolers rather than adults should tell you something.
  
  It's understandable that someone might blurt out something naughty in a conversation. It's not understandable that you uncontrollably typed a censor bypass. Why? Because the system won't let you. If you accidentally type a "naughty word" in the heat of the moment, the system will make it unreadable automatically. You have to deliberately go back and make it a little less unreadable.
  
  Hope that all helps.
  • Posted Jul 25, 2008 12:25 pm GMT
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