Over the last few weeks, the number of reported posts has skyrocketed. A number of them are legitimate. However, a significant amount of reports are not.
This is an issue. Why?
Whenever someone reports a post for breaking a forum rule, moderators receive instantaneous emails. A number of us need to drop what we are doing -- usually in the middle of the evening as we are spending quality time with our families and friends -- to attend to reported posts. This is unfair for moderators, myself included.
So, before you click that report button, consider this first: Does the post I am reporting break a forum rule? If it does, report it. Simple as that. The rules are here. Before you mention Rule #15 (Political discussions), that rule is still in place in all areas of the site except for the Politics forum.
In very specific cases, it might be prudent to report a post even if it does not break a rule. However, if you constantly report posts that do not break any rules for trivial matters, you will be subject to a 10 day ban. Simple as that.
The moderators here do an excellent job staying on top of reported posts. The number of illegitimate reports has gone up to the point where it's actually affecting our personal lives. This needs to stop and the threat of a 10 day ban looks like the only way we can curb these actions.
In the next couple of weeks, the rules will be simplified and streamlined so they are easier for all to understand and remember.
I've never reported a post. Perhaps folks have legitimate reasons to do so, to me it seems like telling teechur rather than kicking the bully's ass behind the school.
Correct me if I'm wrong. I was wrong in 1996, I've been wrong before.
I've noticed that if I thank a post on my phone it lags and then I end up pressing the report button on accident. I've even had it happen on my computer too.
Some GM fans simply have issues with threads concerning competitors vehicles being discussed,
I'm glad to report the number of hijackers trying to disrupt these mostly civil conversations has dropped.
I can only put that down to the very good work of site monitors, thank you.
I've seen forums where outsiders/hijackers are reported and then a post added to the affected thread simply stating "above post reported to moderators" - it's saves multiple reports being made and reduces moderators workload, at least in reading reports.
I thank the moderators for doing a fantastic job on GMI, sad to hear that you are suffering a bit with having waste your own personnel time sorting these problems.
Religion, political, diversity choices are all personal choices & very important to the individual, but should be kept personal keep them to yourself and off GMI, nothing worse than seeing a brawl breaking out on a thread amongst normally very sensible group of people, personally l am a live and let live not easily upset sort of a guy have never reported anybody or will ever choose to use the ignore button. But l am not to happy hearing that moderators are having to waste more of their own personnel time sorting these type of problem outs.
Not perfect myself l have had one altercation, which l should not have lowered myself to name-calling which l regret doing that now. But sometimes you get provoked by a totally gormless comment designed to get that reaction. I will hold back hit them with facts no name-calling, to a post full of gormless provoking lies in the future that they can get away scott-free with & then report me, after provoking me first.
Thanks for the post l hope everybody takes this onboard what you say, it must be a nightmare problem for GMI moderators who l find are very easy going, who do a fantastic job have to give up a lot of their personal time sorting out altercations.
As one of the original members here, I can say that I've only reported one post over the last 14 or 15 years, whatever it's been. That was a personal insult. I don't report people for having a different opinion, and I think if people are doing that they're misusing the report function.
There's over the top stuff. I just move past them. There were calls in the abortion thread (which I think has been completely removed) to ban Mr. Butz for some of his comments. I don't often agree with him, but banning people is stupid unless they really go nuts and start threatening people; Mr. Butz didn't do that.
The catch is some people don't just speak their opinion. They want it to be a "agree with me or else" opinion. That's when the online Wild West shows up.
You're exactly right. However, moderators have to apply the rules to all of those "agree with me or else" members and not make excuses for them. I've had run ins with moderators who did just that.
Can't help noticing that a lot of the issue seem to surround the politics thread, at least based on what's been focused on this thread. Maybe there was a good reason that GMI has mainly stayed away from allowing this kind of discussion in the past. Given that many of the topics discussed don't even seem to have anything to do with the auto industry -- and there are no shortage of places to discuss your political and religious views -- I'm not sure what it adds to the forum.
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