Question:
Would you like to comment on Eric's proposed moderation policy?
Hello everyone. I suppose I'm about half a year late on this, but here it is:<br><Br> <a href=http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/modpolicy.phtml>AMOS Site Moderation Policy Draft</a><br><Br> I figured I'd put that up to see what feedback you all had on it. Go ahead and post all your commentary right here under this question. Don't start your own threads on this topic. Have fun reading. — ericklein (posted on April 8, 2000)
April 7, 2000
Eric, this is excellent! Exactly what the site needs. Perhaps now we can
get back to the business at hand, supporting one another. Thank you so
much! Jaye Carl, RN, open proximal RNY (divided), 7-29-99, 98 pounds gone
forever!
— Jaye C.
April 7, 2000
Eric, this is excellent! Exactly what the site needs... Thank you so
much...
<p>
Open divided proximal RNY.12/8/99..83 pounds gone FOREVER!!
<p>
http://www.angelfire.com/vbowen/index.html
— Victoria B.
April 8, 2000
Eric, I think these rules are excellent. I have one comment/suggestion,
and I hope you will address it.<br><br>
In reference to your "G" rating requirement, I assume that this
includes issues regarding sex. Now, I would hazard a guess that the
majority of the people who visit this site are adults, and we all know that
obesity creates issues in that area of our lives. I think it would be
helpful to have an area of the database that is NOT posted to the public
"Q&A" lists, that someone would have to make an effort to
seek out, where this issue can be discussed. The link to this area could
be clearly marked with warnings that adult content is contained. Of
course, all the same rules about conduct and language would apply, but the
subject matter would not necessarily be "G" rated.
— Kim H.
April 8, 2000
Eric...Thank-you for not throwing in our life line. Your an ANGEL!
— Theresa B.
April 8, 2000
This site has been extremely helpful and informative. I applaud your
efforts to keep it structured that way. I find the draft extremely fair
and straight-forward.
— Dusty C.
April 8, 2000
Great job Eric. What an enormous job for the moderators! I am very
pleased to see the posting returned to the sender by the moderator with the
violation noted. I'm assuming all posts will be HELD until approved? I
think its a very fair and workable policy.
— Toni B.
April 8, 2000
WOW, THANKS Eric....Now let's get down to business!!
— Dot W.
April 8, 2000
Eric, Thanks so much for these guidlines. It is obvious moderators will
now get a handle on the posted comments, but what about the comments in a
person's profile? If flaming is noted in a profile, can someone notify a
moderator to have it removed if it violates your guidelines?
— Carly K.
April 8, 2000
Thankyou Eric, this will make the site much easier to follow,so we can be
helpfull to other peaple.
— nancy T.
April 8, 2000
I think this is great. It is long overdue. I have found the support on
this site to be outstanding. Keep up the good work. Donna WV
— Donna A.
April 8, 2000
well, to start with, I finally figured out what AMOS stands for. Literally
and figuratively, I do believe. Eric, that was just about the finest Rules
of Conduct I have ever seen. Enforced fairly, it should really clean this
place up. We may never get rid of the bossy prima donna attitudes some
people have, but we will at least be able to keep the 'noise' to a dull
roar. By the way, I hope you don't mind, I sent a partial copy to another
message board group I frequent as something to think about incorporating
into their rules of conduct. WAY TO GO, RINGO~~~!!!
Fondly,
— merri B.
April 8, 2000
Thank-you Eric, I do hope this works out. I have been a member of this site
for approx a year now and due to all the conflict ect.. I had choosen not
to post very much at all, out of fear of being ridiculed, now maybe I can
participate a little more without that fear. This site has been so helpful
to me and I'd love to be there to help others as well. Thank-you
again...Post-op 9/21/99 down
-138lbs. 436/298/150 :)
— Debi K.
April 8, 2000
Your Moderation Policy draft is superb..much like all of your work here on
the site...but , isn't it a shame that we have to be treated like children?
But, still , all in all this is the best site I have found and there is
wonderful support here....Bravo and Kudos to Eric!!!!
— pam.leach
April 8, 2000
I am glad we have such a policy now, I was close to not sending anyone here
because of the negativity that seemed to follow every question concerning
surgery types. I am glad this is being taken care of and appreciate your
quick response to this problem.-Trina
— Courtrina Amur W.
April 8, 2000
Eric, I applaud you! Your policy is exactely what this site needs. I
don't think anything should be changed. A "G" rating enforces
everyone to be "equal opportunity non-offenders". Thank you for
all of your hard work in building and maintaining this site!
— heidiinPA
April 8, 2000
I have seen posts here from 11 and 13 year olds. Many of us can relate to
the pain, isolation, and lonliness of an obese adolescence. I'd give up my
'right' for adult language to give these kids a parent-approved place to
turn. There are lots of other forums to discuss OSSG 'adult' topics. This
one is the best to get information from. I'd like to keep it open to
everyone - including children.
— Toni B.
April 8, 2000
A note on the moderation staff -- from time to time, the moderation staff
may change. JC won't work towards letting it be known who is on it at all
times. However, JC will be in charge of the moderators, so any feedback on
the topic can be addressed to her.
— ericklein
April 8, 2000
HALL-A-LUIA!!!!! Though it's a lot of work I'm sure, the integrety of this
sight is worth it! Though no system is perfect, the moderators are very
smart people and, I'm sure will do a GREAT job moderating!!...My hats off
to you Eric!
— [Deactivated Member]
April 8, 2000
Eric, your suggestions look great. Your list is the first one I've ever
used since I'm basically computer and internet illiterate. I had no idea
what the protocol is or what is appropriate and is not appropriate. Your
guidelines surely do help! Thanks for all your hard work.
— Dallas D.
April 8, 2000
Eric, thanks for addressing specific issues not covered under the new
moderation guidelines. I look forward to reading the revised guidelines
soon!
— Kim H.
April 8, 2000
It's sad that we NEED a set rules and guidelines like this but I agree that
they will make things smoother around here. Your effort shows through Eric
and thank you for taking the time to do it! And I know these moderators
are going to be volunteers so let me say thank you to them for taking the
time also! This site is a great resource to those learning, seeking or
have had surgery. This site is also getting more recognition on the web so
I for one like knowing the information will be truthful and presented in a
way that will be helpful not hurtful. My 2 cents, thanks again Eric!
— jennmak72
April 9, 2000
Hi Eric: I support the proposed "G" rating. There are other
places to discuss the non-G-rated topics. We need to make this forum
available for anyone who needs it, which includes the morbidly obese 12
year olds out there who need some support. Jaye
— Jaye C.
April 9, 2000
Thanks, Eric for addressing this problem. Too many times in the past I
have become disgusted at the arguing and bickering on this site. I am so
glad that it will again become a site for support and information. Great
Job!
— Anne C.
April 9, 2000
I'm not sure that 12-year-olds qualify for surgery... isn't there an age
requirement? BC won't approve anyone under 16 years old. So what would an
8-year-old be doing looking at a surgery site?
— Kim H.
April 10, 2000
Thank you Jesus and all angels!!! (Ooops, religion reference. Sorry!)
Seriously, I really think these guidelines will help return the list to the
affirming, information-driven, helpful and supportive place it was created
to be. I am very grateful for the creation of the policy and for the
dedicatuon of those who will help us follow it. Thanks to all of you!
— [Deactivated Member]
April 10, 2000
Several questions/comments
1st - with this moderation system, will posts be moderated after they are
posted or before? If it's after, can you leave some sort of "message
deleted" comment in the thread so we realize there may be comments
later referring back to a missing post? Also, does this mean entire
threads will no longer be deleted just because one poster couldn't exercise
any self-control?
2nd - Unfortunately it would appear that your suggestions of G, PG, and R
ratings have been taken too literally, perhaps rephrase that section to
something along the lines of, do not post anything that you would be
ashamed to say out loud and directed to your parents, grandparents, or
children. I would hope that the people here are intelligent enough to
discern between trash talking or smut and legitimate questions and
concerns. Issues of semantics seem awfully important here, so maybe
rephrase it several ways so it doesn't act as so much flame fuel.
3rd - Would it be possible to offer some sort of filtering option where you
can automatically ignore posts by people you find offensive (along the
lines of what is available in some Usenet readers). This would go along
with Ava's question about "hidden messages". If the rule on
hidden slams is that nothing is assumed until the person it is directed to
complains, that person could have an option to point it out to a moderator
or just simply put that poster on ignore.
4th - Could someone start moderating this thread to remove the obvious
flamebait?
Thank you for all of the work you do here and putting up with all of the
abuse that inevitably goes with it. If people feel the need to have an
undmoderated chat, perhaps you could register a message board on a freebie
message site and link to it so all the flame wars can be handled somewhere
else. There's one I use on my website that has been very reliable and is
completely maintained on their servers so it doesn't require anything from
you. Email me if you'd like their info.
— Kasey K.
April 10, 2000
Is this really nessecary? I've been here for 3 months or so and must have
missed all the conflicts. It's a shame that Eric had to spend his time
writing all these "rules" for just a few "bad apples".
I guess if it's needed. . . it sounds O.K. to me.
— Erin M S.
May 9, 2000
It is too bad that there is no consistent moderation being done. It is okay
for a Dr. to slam a WLS patient without ever having met him or her but to
comment on a Dr.'s inadequacy is not allowed. Some people are allowed to be
constantly offending but others cannot even comment on the reactions of
those offenders. Things are allowed like periods and sick animals but yet
somehow talking about sex and religion not related to WLS. Offending
comments are all relative and frankly the thought of anyone on this site in
a thong greatly offends me but I refuse to demand the removal of that or
any other topic of conversation. I am in charge of what comes into my minds
and what I chose to dwell on. I am the only one that knows what is going on
in my life that is WLS related and there may be others out there that are
afraid to ask. If we can discuss in an adult manner then I really think it
is fair that all topics can be dealt with. Besides, don't you all
understand that anyone that is going to push the limits just for the sake
of a reaction, only does so when the response is negative. If no one pays
attention, they stop. It gets boring. Didn't you learn that in
kindergarten?
— S S.
May 9, 2000
Hello everyone. I've gotten a few comments about moderation recently. In
case you didn't know, we moderate this site to prevent people from using it
to escalate or resolve conflicts. So far the system is working out pretty
well. Moderation volunteers are doing a good job of diverting bickering
away from this site. Now, with ANY moderation policy, there will always be
some people who are unhappy with decisions made. There's no way around
this, in any web forum. It's bound to happen. We can be really proud that
this site gets about 3 to 5 thousand visitors per day. If a mere 1% of
these people posted a comment which was moderated in a way they felt
unhappy about, that would still be 30 people each day. I'd like to
apologize in advance to anyone who ever feels inconvenienced by a
moderation decision. A small number of individuals will sometimes feel
unjustly moderated. Moderation might error on this side for the greater
good of keeping the site free of mounting bickering. It's a pragmatic
tradeoff. Preserving the clarity of the site's purpose for thousands of
visitors is much more important to us than doing what might be best for a
small number of people whose posts are likely to fuel ongoing debate. If
you or anyone you come across has a complaint about the moderation process,
please think of it as an overworked team of unpaid volunteers trying to
prevent the site from confusing visitors; the moderators have been
carefully selected and are too busy to have any hollier(sp?)-than-thou
attitude about their work. I'd like to encourage everyone to read or
re-read the moderation policy to learn more about the topic. The moderation
policy is linked to from the entrance page to the chat room, if you are
interested in reading it. It contains instructions on how to provide
feedback on moderation decisions made. The policy isn't open for debate. If
you have any comments please email them to [email protected] directly.
Negative comments are certainly tolerated here as long as they are
balanced, don't make sweeping claims or characterizations, aren't hostile
or bitter in tone, and aren't likely to spark debate. (NOTE: It's that LAST
criteria that is responsible for most moderation). Consistent application
of these principles across individual posts is a challengening feat to
orchestrate, with there being such diversity in what people consider
"offensive." Writing this I feel like a kind of chief justice :).
It would probably be a good idea for me to augment the moderation policy
page on an ongoing basis with case "writeups" on actual posts and
how they were decided. I bet such examples could help flesh out the spirit
of moderation here. Anyway, please don't start any new comments on this
topic here. If people start a debate on the topic here then those posts
will have to be deleted. You're all very welcome, however, to email the
head moderator, JC ([email protected]) with input. Thanks for helping make
this such a wonderful site.
— ericklein
May 9, 2000
Like I said.......... and now I am terribly confused. I have no idea what
is allowed and what is not. With all due respect and no sarcasm intended,
please direct me to the proper place to resolve my confusion. Thank you
— S S.
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