Moderation: Trolling and Flaming

Grace Jones86 said:Regular users don't have a way to deal with provocateurs, trolls, or radical idiots obsessed with bizarre fixations (and those people definitely need a response). The regular user always ends up losing the fight.
The mods should professionally shut down the fools. 👍
Take this, for example: a good mod is Endimion17. He basically has zero tolerance for idiots in his PDF. The guy and his crew enforce specific standards. I like that. Less nonsense means fewer idiots... both when reading and when writing.

You already started a thread about me after you got banned—when I asked you to be more specific and file a complaint in the Ban Appeals section, you vanished. But the thread stayed—just kept at a general level of being insulting.

I know, I couldn't be bothered, sorry. I didn't like your whole moderation concept over there.
That's what bothered me... and I promise, next time, I'll give you a nice, detailed breakdown of exactly what you're doing wrong... 😉

Sometimes moderators actually do react before you even realize it—since you can't see deleted posts, anyway—but honestly, trying to explain that feels a bit silly. In cases where a moderator hasn't caught a problematic post or user yet, the standard procedure is to report the post using the little icon, or if that seems too much hassle, just send a DM explaining what's going on. There's also a way to push back against trolls right within the thread—either by ignoring them or by posting a solid, reasoned response. You shouldn't, for instance, drag out an argument with a troll through ten different back-and-forth replies. In those situations, it could theoretically happen that someone who is "just" reacting still gets flagged—mostly because they end up clogging up the discussion by further dissecting the "fixation," veering off-topic, and essentially feeding the troll's original intent. That doesn't mean, however, that a user who reacts always ends up losing out, as you suggested earlier. It’s more of an art form, I guess—learning how to gauge how to respond, since not all trolls are created equal.

I know, I just didn't feel like bothering myself with it, sorry. I wasn't particularly fond of your whole moderation style over there.
What bothered me was... and I promise I'll give you a nice, detailed breakdown of what you're doing wrong next time... 😉

Anyway, I am well aware of what I might be doing "wrong" and why it's difficult to make everything on this subforum perfectly seamless—I don't really plan on explaining that part to you. What I would ask is that you please respect the procedure mentioned above (or, at least, the best practice). Thanks for understanding, and take care.

Lisa Hernandez3 said:Sometimes moderators actually do react before you even realize it—since you can't see deleted posts, anyway—but honestly, trying to explain that feels a bit silly. In cases where a moderator hasn't caught a problematic post or user yet, the standard procedure is to report the post using the little icon, or if that seems too much hassle, just send a DM explaining what's going on. There's also a way to push back against trolls right within the thread—either by ignoring them or by posting a solid, reasoned response. You shouldn't, for instance, drag out an argument with a troll through ten different back-and-forth replies. In those situations, it could theoretically happen that someone who is "just" reacting still gets flagged—mostly because they end up clogging up the discussion by further dissecting the "fixation," veering off-topic, and essentially feeding the troll's original intent. That doesn't mean, however, that a user who reacts always ends up losing out, as you suggested earlier. It’s more of an art form, I guess—learning how to gauge how to respond, since not all trolls are created equal.

I know, I just didn't feel like bothering myself with it, sorry. I wasn't particularly fond of your whole moderation style over there.
What bothered me was... and I promise I'll give you a nice, detailed breakdown of what you're doing wrong next time... 😉

Anyway, I am well aware of what I might be doing "wrong" and why it's difficult to make everything on this subforum perfectly seamless—I don't really plan on explaining that part to you. What I would ask is that you please respect the procedure mentioned above (or, at least, the best practice). Thanks for understanding, and take care.

Look at the kind of people hanging around your PDF. Look at how they react to users and how little they actually grasp about how online communication works. I’m looking to hand out bans for this behavior regularly. People need to start thinking about the actual quality of this community when they see "users" like the ones in this example. ☕
I need this ASAP. Ideally by the end of the day today—if that’s impossible, then tomorrow afternoon at the absolute latest. Thanks. 😍

By the way... the post was reported properly, but that user has already had a certain number of these outbursts...

In a situation like that, I have zero intention of being "creative" or trying to "wisely" manage trolls and flame wars—that’s what a moderator is for. Thanks again. 😍

Edit: This post won't even show up because I think hollowtrucker77 already scrubbed it.
At least the reaction was fast.
No, I got it. I am ready. Give me the text. Trolling points awarded (35 total). I tried to educate the user. Whether a ban actually teaches him anything or if he even received it isn't my concern.

Since everyone’s reactions to the low-life saboteurs are so pathetic, I decided to step up and say something. I have no idea how the mods actually operate, so I tried to intervene. Turns out, I got punished for it.

This is what the abuser's post looked like:

Guilty_as_Charged said:I can't believe this is still a thing(!). Why are you even wasting your breath on this guy? He’s someone who clearly lacks any capacity for positive emotion toward creatures that embody virtues so foreign and distant to him—virtues they offer up almost for free, just for a little food and some affection.
And then, at that exact same moment, he prioritizes a man who uses his intellect just to act worse than the most savage beast. Isn't the conclusion obvious?
Are you just a bad person, or are you dealing with some trauma? Pick one. Just make sure you don't let that mask slip. Not that anyone actually cares about bad people anymore—there are way too many of them.

I gave him an answer because I already knew he wouldn't get it:

"this entire post should just be reported to the moderator 😍

It's unbelievable how some people don't know how to hold a conversation 😢
I'm calling for a week-long ban on this post just so you can cool off and actually think about civil discourse. ☕ "

I think we're being way too soft on users like this. A permanent ban is the only acceptable solution, and frankly, I'm getting pissed off now. Anything else is pathetic moderation, which the owner probably wants anyway, since weakening the rules might attract more crowds or whatever...🤷 I have no clue what to make of this nonsense. I don't need this, and I want to be on a (quality) Reddit..

Trolls and flame wars constantly hijack the psychology threads. Why isn't anyone getting banned? Seriously, right after the last troll, another one showed up just minutes later. What kind of subreddit even is this?? 😕
You can't even write three sentences on-topic without catching heat from some flamewarWhere are the moderators?!?!

Look, I’m asking you nicely—please start following the standard procedure used by any decent community on Reddit: just click the little triangle on a post like that and explain why you're reporting it. No, you don't need to monitor the state of this sub every single minute, and no, that isn't how things work here. Everything you wanted to say has been noted. Please, let's try not to act like a teenager about this.

hollowtrucker77 said:try taking this approach instead: just state your actual opinion, stick to the topic at hand, and if you see someone trolling or trying to start a flame war, just hit the report button
once you sink into a debate that lacks any fundamental logic, you run the risk of becoming part of the very crowd that’s cluttering up the thread

ps. also, commenting on the moderators or how things are being handled within specific threads isn't allowed either
it would be a real shame if you ended up getting a warning too

look, people, please try to learn this once and for all: when you feed the trolls, they just end up swarming around you even more than before

Fine, but I feel like I'm mostly just fighting the same group of trolls who live to start flame wars. Why don't these people get an express (permanent) ban?!
It's just not making sense to me.. 🤷

So I'm supposed to write and read all this garbage from trolls, then just click report buttons on every thread?! 😕
If users can't communicate properly, they should be removed. Simple as that. 🙂
Anything else is just unnecessary fluff..

Lisa Hernandez3 said:Look, I’m asking you nicely—please start following the standard procedure used by any decent community on Reddit: just click the little triangle on a post like that and explain why you're reporting it. No, you don't need to monitor the state of this sub every single minute, and no, that isn't how things work here. Everything you wanted to say has been noted. Please, let's try not to act like a teenager about this.

Grace Jones86 said:Look at the kind of people hanging around your PDF. Look at how they react to users and how little they actually grasp about how online communication works. I’m looking to hand out bans for this behavior regularly. People need to start thinking about the actual quality of this community when they see "users" like the ones in this example. ☕
I need this ASAP. Ideally by the end of the day today—if that’s impossible, then tomorrow afternoon at the absolute latest. Thanks. 😍

By the way... the post was reported properly, but that user has already had a certain number of these outbursts...

In a situation like that, I have zero intention of being "creative" or trying to "wisely" manage trolls and flame wars—that’s what a moderator is for. Thanks again. 😍

Edit: This post won't even show up because I think hollowtrucker77 already scrubbed it.
At least the reaction was fast.
No, I got it. I am ready. Give me the text. Trolling points awarded (35 total). I tried to educate the user. Whether a ban actually teaches him anything or if he even received it isn't my concern.

Since everyone’s reactions to the low-life saboteurs are so pathetic, I decided to step up and say something. I have no idea how the mods actually operate, so I tried to intervene. Turns out, I got punished for it.

This is what the abuser's post looked like:

I gave him an answer because I already knew he wouldn't get it:

"this entire post should just be reported to the moderator 😍

It's unbelievable how some people don't know how to hold a conversation 😢
I'm calling for a week-long ban on this post just so you can cool off and actually think about civil discourse. ☕ "

I think we're being way too soft on users like this. A permanent ban is the only acceptable solution, and frankly, I'm getting pissed off now. Anything else is pathetic moderation, which the owner probably wants anyway, since weakening the rules might attract more crowds or whatever...🤷 I have no clue what to make of this nonsense. I don't need this, and I want to be on a (quality) Reddit..

😕

Bizarre outbursts, I'd add.
Who even reads this crap on Reddit? And who actually wants to mess around with characters like this?! Me? You mods?! 😕