If I were to offer my opinion, I think the forum staff are doing a decent job, but could stand to use some improvement. I get the feeling that things are being moderated in a very cold and business-like manner, when in fact MacInsiders is a real community with real students with real personalities. I notice that rules are enforced based on the letter of the law rather than the intent. It would be nice if things were a little more personable.

Case in point, I don't agree with just shoving the "if you don't agree, too bad. the code of conduct is here." Fact of the matter is, we ARE a random internet forum and talking like that is just going to stifle the community into a boring, cold place. So much for "MCMASTER STUDENT COMMUNITY" as it says at the top of the page. That said, there is nothing wrong with running a tight ship and that's definitely a fine line that I think MI staff have to walk.

Do I have experience in big and strong web communities and forums? Maybe. I've been on the most amazing car club forum for over 7 years now and I've been a moderator for the last two. We don't take any shit in terms of disturbances, but we also don't dole out the safety scissors and training wheels. This year alone I've been on two 1000 kilometre round-trip drives just to attend meets and events and hang out with some real cool people. So, just my two cents based on what I've been through.

Cliffs notes? Don't hide behind the Code of Conduct. Use common sense judgement and moderate accordingly. Don't let it become personal and stay objective.

I agree with Soulder. Except the being a mod part.

Personally, I think the mods of this site are *much* too lenient. There are so many douchebags on here and all they do is troll. Why the f**k do the mods let them stay?..it's beyond me. And don't even get me started on OT posts. I haven't seen a single thread that doesn't have an OT post (and no, I'm not asking for you to show me one).

^ Fair enough. It seems as though its so easy to troll and get by the filter because you aren't doing anything that requires an immediate deletion of your post + ban or anything like that, and yet its more disruptive and annoying than the "breakage of code of conduct" that other posts are being deleted for.

I think people overuse the term "troll" to often. I'm a troll because i jokingly post how im handsome.... I mean really? That really offends people? Trolling is posting something KNOWING that you will offend someone and purposely doing so. Calm down folks.

Based on the "Code of Conduct" of many other forums I'm on, one of which I'm a mod, many of these people would be banned, and many of the threads would be immediately closed. Furthermore, there's a basic, unspoken, 'use-your-f**king-common-sense' rule. Mods can take action at their own discretion. If they're argued with, you'll be penalized. Communist? A bit. Does it work? Beautifully.

To put it bluntly, let's refer to the cornerstone of creation:

8. There are no real rules about posting.
9. There are no real rules about moderation either — enjoy your ban.

Originally Posted by SilentWalker

Personally, I think the mods of this site are *much* too lenient. There are so many douchebags on here and all they do is troll. Why the f**k do the mods let them stay?..it's beyond me. And don't even get me started on OT posts. I haven't seen a single thread that doesn't have an OT post (and no, I'm not asking for you to show me one).

I dunno about that.

Every forum needs a troll once it gets big enough. With the recent surge in numbers on MI over the past year or so, it's finally our turn.

I don't mind a mild amount of trolling, as without it, the site would only consist of random first-years asking questions about where their class is, how to get to Jackson Square, or random stuff about their program. All questions that could and (and are) easily answered by posting one sentence, providing a link, or directing someone to student services. Topics like "Would You Rather", "why am I more handsome than you", "are there any good-looking (male/female) profs at mac" are kind of weird and/or stupid, but at least they promote some sort of discussion. Or lighthearted flaming. This is okay though, because we know that the trolls are never actually offended.

So as much as I hate to admit it (and trolls, please don't take this the wrong way), we do sort of need them to keep our forums alive. Since they appeared, users have been able to respond to them in their own unique way and established their personalities. At the Social, I didn't know who any of the new posters were because almost no one stood out. Now, I can associate a username with a distinct posting style and be like, "Hey, you're that guy (or girl! Just for you, crazyfree) who ___".

I think a brief suspension (which is what the mods have been doing) is good enough for when things get a little too intense, but insta-banning all trolls would make MI a very dull place.

Originally Posted by Joe Budden

I think people overuse the term "troll" to often. I'm a troll because i jokingly post how im handsome.... I mean really? That really offends people? Trolling is posting something KNOWING that you will offend someone and purposely doing so. Calm down folks.

Umm...no. A troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into a desired emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.

93.24% of the posts on here have absolutely nothing to do with McMaster, student life, or anything that's important.

Originally Posted by SilentWalker

Umm...no. A troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into a desired emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.

93.24% of the posts on here have absolutely nothing to do with McMaster, student life, or anything that's important.

Edited by moderator.

Originally Posted by temptingf8

If I were to offer my opinion, I think the forum staff are doing a decent job, but could stand to use some improvement. I get the feeling that things are being moderated in a very cold and business-like manner, when in fact MacInsiders is a real community with real students with real personalities. I notice that rules are enforced based on the letter of the law rather than the intent. It would be nice if things were a little more personable.

Case in point, I don't agree with just shoving the "if you don't agree, too bad. the code of conduct is here." Fact of the matter is, we ARE a random internet forum and talking like that is just going to stifle the community into a boring, cold place. So much for "MCMASTER STUDENT COMMUNITY" as it says at the top of the page. That said, there is nothing wrong with running a tight ship and that's definitely a fine line that I think MI staff have to walk.

Do I have experience in big and strong web communities and forums? Maybe. I've been on the most amazing car club forum for over 7 years now and I've been a moderator for the last two. We don't take any shit in terms of disturbances, but we also don't dole out the safety scissors and training wheels. This year alone I've been on two 1000 kilometre round-trip drives just to attend meets and events and hang out with some real cool people. So, just my two cents based on what I've been through.

Cliffs notes? Don't hide behind the Code of Conduct. Use common sense judgement and moderate accordingly. Don't let it become personal and stay objective.

Thanks for this!

We actually do let a lot of minor stuff slide, its the absolutely terrible stuff that usually gets the axe (personal attacks against other members, hate speech, etc). Or at least we try to. However, we're only human, and we screw up- sometimes this can mean being too lenient, sometimes too strict. Most of the mods are also still pretty new at this, as well as trying to balance our school lives and other extra curriculars. So hopefully we'll settle into a level of moderation that finds the right balance soon.

I will definitely make sure to take that into account in the future, as well as some of the other serious suggestions that were posted.

EDIT: I kindof agree about some amount of trolling being unavoidable, which is something I mentioned in another thread. The problem I have is when that trolling isn't well done. It feels like a lot of the people trying to troll don't have enough experience to do it well- and instead just end up flaming and spamming.

Originally Posted by Entropy

I dunno about that.

Topics like "Would You Rather", "why am I more handsome than you", "are there any good-looking (male/female) profs at mac" are kind of weird and/or stupid, but at least they promote some sort of discussion.

2 of the 3 topics you just posted have nothing to do with trolling. They're just posts. I don't think Desda is a troll because she asks about horse sized ducks or duck sized horses >_>

The art of trolling died with the popularization of /b/; the word 'troll' should be discontinued.

Originally Posted by Alchemist11

2 of the 3 topics you just posted have nothing to do with trolling. They're just posts. I don't think Desda is a troll because she asks about horse sized ducks or duck sized horses >_>

Sorry, I didn't meant to imply she's (you're? Referencing in third-person is kind of weird when she/you might be reading this) a troll. Though she's/you're on the road to being a decent one with her/your ability for random thread divergence.

I just meant to group discussion-based topics together, whether they were started by a troll or not.

I suppose sticking that line in-between two sentences about trolls didn't help. Sorry, I have a rough time bringing what's on my mind to the monitor 'cause my thoughts are all over the place sometimes. It's even worse when you talk to me in person. >.>

Originally Posted by Alchemist11

2 of the 3 topics you just posted have nothing to do with trolling. They're just posts. I don't think Desda is a troll because she asks about horse sized ducks or duck sized horses >_>

Yeah, that wasn't trolling it was just pointless. The word Troll is just being thrown around; imho, the word troll should only be reserved for a few particular members of this community.

I moderate as well, and personally, I think there's a place for fun and games, and a line that needs to be drawn where some serious action needs to be taken. There are some serious repeat offenders on this site. I'm not sure of the severity of some of the stuff that has happened, but I'm sure that if it was, quite a few members on MI wouldn't give half a crap to see these offenders banned. Hand out warnings if necessary, but some of the crap going on needs to stop.

Also, mods reserve the right to do as they please provided there's good ground. No, a mod should not have to waste their time to edit posts to salvage whatever excuse of a post that some of these guys are posting (I'm not going to give some of these members the benefit of the doubt), especially when it's a streak of posts that are being deleted in one thread.

TL;DR
No souldier. And staff should step up on some of these members that have repeatedly crossed the line.

Desda is cute though D: