If you're going to lock a thread....

[Mike Cash]

If you're going to lock a thread......then lock the damned thread to everybody.

Europe a coward?!

And when locking threads, how about just saying that the thread is locked instead of throwing in further comment directed to one of the people in the thread and then denying them the chance to respond.

 

[RockLee]

Mod's can post in locked threads, that's what Duo & Glenn did.

I added "Thread locked", I hope that made your day

 

[Davey]

https://jref.com/showthread.php?t=25252

And when locking threads, how about just saying that the thread is locked instead of throwing in further comment directed to one of the people in the thread and then denying them the chance to respond.

I think when a thread is locked, there should be a small comment with why the thread is locked. but no further comment directed to one of the people in the thread...

if it does happen, people can send Pm's

 

[-Rudel-]

I'd love to see Mike as a moderator. Actually, I'm suprised you are not one yet.

 

[Mike Cash]

Mod's can post in locked threads, that's what Duo & Glenn did.

I had already figured that out on my own.

I don't think it should be that way, hence the current thread.

 

[ArmandV]

I had already figured that out on my own.
I don't think it should be that way, hence the current thread.

I've always found this practice to be rather chickensh*t. Other moderators at other forums are a lot worse than this one.

A simple, "Okay guys, that's enough" and close the thread should suffice.

 

[Elizabeth]

Mod's can post in locked threads, that's what Duo & Glenn did.
I added "Thread locked", I hope that made your day

It would have given a much better impression in retrospect had they simply locked the original thread instead of finding all these objections and rule violations after it was already deleted...

 

[RockLee]

The original was deleted, the 2nd one was locked. It should've been deleted also

 

[Elizabeth]

The original was deleted, the 2nd one was locked. It should've been deleted also

Yeah, that's what I meant -- the first shouldn't have been allowed to progress to two pages, even with mod participation, if the topic was so obviously inappropriate for JREF.

 

[DoctorP]

the first one should have not been deleted, but rather locked and with a note as to why it was locked. After a few days it should have been deleted. They could have deleted the content of the thread...but at least those who posted in it would have known what happened.

 

[Glenn]

Sorry, I was giving explanation for why I deleted the original thread and and it was me who deleted the original thread, as there were speculations about it being someone else that I thought needed clearing up. Since I didn't think it was worth me starting a new thread to do that, I did it there. Do you find that particular action of mine so god-awful, or is it the principle of the matter?

Yeah, that's what I meant -- the first shouldn't have been allowed to progress to two pages, even with mod participation, if the topic was so obviously inappropriate for JREF.

I agree with that; action should have been taken sooner.

 

[Kinsao]

On thread locking in general... I think that threads should have a warning before they are locked, something like 'If you carry on this way, this thread is going to be locked'... that gives people who are actually interested in the topic a chance to get back to the topic and might make them see where their posting has been inappropriate. Also, trolls/stirrers might then back off when they see that mods are taking the thread seriously.

There might be circumstances in which mods feel threads need to be locked straightaway without a warning, in which case there should be an explanation, e.g., 'All these racist insults are unacceptable on the forum, thread locked' (just as example).

Locking threads with no warning or explanation, while it probably seems crystal clear and perfectly logical to the mods, can cause resentment because some people might be unsure of why it was locked (if there is still the possibility to get some constructive on-topic discussion out of it) or they might feel they didn't get the chance to have their say. I realise that the mods can't pander to everyone but should lock inappropriate discussions, but on the other hand the forum membership does need to feel it is respected, otherwise we'll end up not having a membership.

 

[MajideSaiaku]

Thats a good suggestion, but didnt apply to the thread in question, it was inappropriate for Jref discussion, and was clearly flame-baiting.

http://forums.relicnews.com/

If the forum mods wanna know a good model to base their behaviour off this though a strict forum, seems to run quite well.

I'm nurizeko there aswell.

 

[Elizabeth]

On thread locking in general... I think that threads should have a warning before they are locked, something like 'If you carry on this way, this thread is going to be locked'... that gives people who are actually interested in the topic a chance to get back to the topic and might make them see where their posting has been inappropriate.

That may be inevitable as a last resort but first give the offenders a few words of warning about their attitude, try to get the discussion back on track without resorting to an explict and full-fledged threat....although they don't always work, tactics which I see sometimes applied even on this forum . If it were possible to visually "mark" or "flag" a thread in danger of locking that would also be a useful heads up or prewarning. Unfortunately it isn't the people seriously interested in the topic that usually cause the most problems...

 

[MajideSaiaku]

I agree it seems like a good time to officialise and clean up the rules and mod guidelines to enforcing the rules.

Again the forum I linked is a good example, perhaps contacting the admin staff there for any infomation to help Jref set up a clearner more visable and understandable set of rules for posters and guidelines for Mods.

 

[kohlrak]

On thread locking in general... I think that threads should have a warning before they are locked, something like 'If you carry on this way, this thread is going to be locked'... that gives people who are actually interested in the topic a chance to get back to the topic and might make them see where their posting has been inappropriate. Also, trolls/stirrers might then back off when they see that mods are taking the thread seriously.

There might be circumstances in which mods feel threads need to be locked straightaway without a warning, in which case there should be an explanation, e.g., 'All these racist insults are unacceptable on the forum, thread locked' (just as example).

Locking threads with no warning or explanation, while it probably seems crystal clear and perfectly logical to the mods, can cause resentment because some people might be unsure of why it was locked (if there is still the possibility to get some constructive on-topic discussion out of it) or they might feel they didn't get the chance to have their say. I realise that the mods can't pander to everyone but should lock inappropriate discussions, but on the other hand the forum membership does need to feel it is respected, otherwise we'll end up not having a membership.

I know a place that does this...

 

[Duo]

It seems to me that the "clarification" of rules is not the problem. This is a public forum and is much similar to public life. In this case since we are talking about Hachiro's thread , if he were to behave as he did in real life he would have gotten penalized...i don't see that it should be different in a forum. Common sense, respect, and integrity shouldnt wither away simple because you're behind a pc screen...

 

[DoctorP]

... if he were to behave as he did in real life he would have gotten penalized...i don't see that it should be different in a forum. Common sense, respect, and integrity shouldnt wither away simple because you're behind a pc screen...

How would he have been penalized?

 

[Duo]

That depends in the social context one is in; let's just say that in this case his membership in the gentlemen's club was revoked

 

[Elizabeth]

You could also be reprimanded for sarcasm, cursing, offensive jokes etc in settings where it isn't appropriate....this is an international community so naturally all of us live by different standards at different sensitivities to the environment.

In short, I agree with some of the above that the rules need to be much clearer and more objective than "respect and accomodation," certainly not all admins and mods even follow those precepts all of the time.

 

[kohlrak]

You could also be reprimanded for sarcasm, cursing, offensive jokes etc in settings where it isn't appropriate....this is an international community so naturally all of us live by different standards at different sensitivities to the environment.

In short, I agree with some of the above that the rules need to be much clearer and more objective than "respect and accomodation," certainly not all admins and mods even follow those precepts all of the time.

Well said... What is hostile in one country may not be hostile in another... Though, his post was clearly hostile and would be taken that way in both countries, (and i have no clue how we got off topic) we do need to be a little more obvious in the rules. If a rule is debatable (custom wise) perhaps it should be left into regards of the standard that is usual in that language. For instance, the age question (and i'm well aware it's not against the rules but it's an example). If it were to be extreemly hostile in english, but not in japanese, it would be a debatable rule for weather or not to remove/lock it as inappropriate. If the question would be in japanese, it shoudln't be removed/locked. If it were in english, a warning should be issued and a lock. Now, other than conflicting customs between US/UK/AU and japan, there shouldn't be a dispute on what's appropriate and what is not. if you are starting a fight or something, you're starting a fight. I highly doubt that's appropriate standard in japan to start a flame war. Conflicting standards shoudln't be an issue. If they conflict that much, weather a certain standard should be allowd or not should be determined by the language of the post. If they learn english, i'm sure they would have gone out of their way to learn the customs of english speaking countries. If we learn japanese, arabic, or any other langauage, we should learn about their customs before speaking to them in their language, as well. Standards should not be an issue, here. For customs that aren't language dependent (such as standards between AU, US, and UK) should be decided by the residence of the server. We need to establish guidlines for moderators, admins, and users alike. In fact, i havn't seen any rules posts either. The only rules page that i know of is the one that you have to agree to when you sign up for an account. For all i know "garbage words" are allowed here.

Sorry for the read, i just had to get that off my chest.

 

[thomas]

Forum Rules

In fact, i havn't seen any rules posts either. The only rules page that i know of is the one that you have to agree to when you sign up for an account. For all i know "garbage words" are allowed here.

Please take a look at the bottom of each forum page

=> Forum Rules

 

[kohlrak]

I don't even see it anywhere.... In fact, i get an error trying to view that page...

Warning: Division by zero in /includes/functions.php(4367) : eval()'d code on line 10

Even if there are user rules, there should also be mod/admin guidlines as well, that way you don't end up breaking down at the administration level arguing about debatable rules.

 

[thomas]

I don't even see it anywhere.... In fact, i get an error trying to view that page...
Even if there are user rules, there should also be mod/admin guidlines as well, that way you don't end up breaking down at the administration level arguing about debatable rules.

Weird, works for me in IE, Firefox and Opera. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Furthermore, we do have moderation rules, and they are currently under revision.

Anyhow, our Forum Rules:


The Japan Forum is a community of people who share a deep interest in Japan and Japanese culture. We invite you to join our discussions, but ask you to adhere to the following rules:


MUTUAL RESPECT
We built the Japan Forum on mutual respect. Feel at home and behave as if this forum is yours. Indeed, before you post pretend you run this forum: would you accept the message you intend to publish on your own forum? We encourage controversial discussion as long as you show respect to other members and their views/opinions. Avoid flaming and other offensive or profane behaviour. Don't launch personal attacks.

If you feel a discussion is getting out of hand contact the forum administrator or a moderator in order to resolve the issue.


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[kohlrak]

I'm on IE and i get the error... Odd... Seems to be an internal error... Maybe it's because you're logged in as an admin.

Personally, as much as threads are hijacked here and turned into arguments (or at least it seems mine are) an anti hijacking rule wouldn't be too bad to lay above or below the stay on topic rule, but that's just my opinion.