Moderation of MDC - What do you think? - Page 8

[HollyBearsMom]

Originally Posted by AdinaL 

There is an ignore button.  If you go to the poster's avatar, and then hover your cursor over the person's user name you will get a drop down menu.  Under there is the option to "Block Member"  Click that and they are effectively ignored. :)  A fabulous option when faced with people you just don't see eye to eye with.

But if you test this on AdinaL user name it doesn't work.  You must not be able to black Mods/Admins? I did not know that but guess that makes sense! Tho, what a way around the UA if you never have to see a warning post, LOL!
 

[A&A]

I like the minimal moderation, but it needs to be applied equally.  You can't minimally moderate most of MDC but still heavily police the Case Against Circumcision Forum because you are afraid of certain religious groups.  Well I guess you can, but I don't think it's fair. 

[mamazee]

I definitely prefer the minimal moderation. This place was becoming a bit of an echo chamber (and I saw I'm not the only person who noticed that.) We need a variety of viewpoints to give us greater perspective. The one thing I'd like to see maybe more moderation over is when people attack the person and not the idea.

[CherryBombMama]

just to get my voice heard - i came here from another online community because i couldnt stand all the snarkiness of that other place. i found MDC to be my safe haven, and truthfully, i feel like that safeness and comfort has disappeared. i still log on and post, but i dont even want to some times. (because of the minimal moderation)

[mamakah]

Originally Posted by ursusarctos 

I voted that I don't like the minimal moderation  I'd like to elaborate though that it's mostly about the tone of the boards. It's gotten so snarky and harsh around here that I feel much less comfortable posting. The thing that made MDC so different from other sites for me was the consistently civil tone, and that seems to have largely gone down the tubes. I think it's perfectly possible for people to express themselves politely, even in circumstances where they disagree (I have done so many times without getting slapped), but it seems that many are unable to do this when they are unmoderated. I do think that the weaker moderation of sex, swearing, etc. is great.  

Also, some boards have just disintegrated lately (I'm thinking of the UC board here). A major part of that is unsupportive people thinking that their voice needs to be heard in a forum that is *explicitly for support* and then not getting moderated. Some people complain that MDC was too harsh before in squashing comments that did not agree with AP philosophies, but really, so what if they were? What does Mothering stand for anyway? Is MDC going to stand up for an online space dedicated to AP (which it had every right to - after all, if someone disagrees they are free not to come here) or downshift to being just another parenting forum that happens to have a slightly crunchier membership?

I myself have been slapped a couple of times for, imo, absurd reasons. But I'd still take that any day over the atmosphere that has developed here recently.

My thoughts exactly.

[AdinaL]

Originally Posted by HollyBearsMom 

But if you test this on AdinaL user name it doesn't work.  You must not be able to black Mods/Admins? I did not know that but guess that makes sense! Tho, what a way around the UA if you never have to see a warning post, LOL!
 

Heh. No, you can't ignore admins, I don't think.  We don't ignore people either though, so that's fair. :)

[moonfirefaery]

I like the minimal moderation as it applies to people's opinions, not their attitudes.

It is possible to voice a dissenting opinion respectfully, without insulting anyone or being rude. If a poster is being rude, especially repeatedly, I would like to see the mods do something about that. I don't, however, want to see people "in trouble" with the mods because of their opinions. I think we here at MDC are more than capable of handling people with differing opinions, even the ones against the usual AP principals, without mods enforcing anything.

Step in because someone is being hateful, not because someone disagrees, and all will be well in the jungle.

[mimim]

Trolling should not be allowed.
Threads that descend into flame wars should be shut down.
Perhaps people who post primarily in a snarky tone should be warned.


Expressing frustration and debates should be allowed.


I like the MDC with less moderation, but I do find it a bit depressing that so much snark bubbled to the surface.

[sarahtar]

I agree nearly 100% with the OP of the linked thread. I've actually been away from MDC for about 2 years. I've come back and feel like it's a whole different place. I have mentioned to more than one person that I feel like I might as well be posting over at BabyCenter or something, it's soooo mainstream here these days. I love that more people feel comfortable posting here, I guess, but it was nice to have what felt like a community of like-minded mamas, where something like homebirth is the NORM and I'm not in the minority in choosing one. It doesn't feel like that here any more.

[Arduinna]

Babycenter? I think the rhetoric is getting rediculous when MDC is being compared to babycenter. Does babycenter have a UC forum? Or an I'm not vaccinating forum? Or a forum dedicated to intactivism? 

Right, it doesn't.

[nolonger]

Originally Posted by sarahtar 

I agree nearly 100% with the OP of the linked thread. I've actually been away from MDC for about 2 years. I've come back and feel like it's a whole different place. I have mentioned to more than one person that I feel like I might as well be posting over at BabyCenter or something, it's soooo mainstream here these days. I love that more people feel comfortable posting here, I guess, but it was nice to have what felt like a community of like-minded mamas, where something like homebirth is the NORM and I'm not in the minority in choosing one. It doesn't feel like that here any more.

The irony is that this is making me more "judgmental" because I don't feel safe around people who are less "crunchy" than myself because they might be copying my posts out of context to make fun of them or, if I let my paranoia get away with me, make anonymous reports to CPS.

I had never even heard the term "crunchy" before 2003, but I never used the internet until 2001. There were just certain ways of parenting that felt right to me and made sense after I'd researched them that made certain people say i was "strange" or "acting like some hippie in the 1960s".

Of course the only thing that can be really be done about the trolls is to stop feeding them by posting nonmainstream experiences and information that they could take to their board. People are people everywhere. In my hometown, I have one offline friend who keeps trying to warn me about the horrible rumours going around about how rude I was to the ambulance driver who took me to the hospital for the emergency C section that saved my life and another friend who won't stop pestering me to tell her the name of the adoption agency where I "got" my midlife donor sperm conceived baby because her friend can't find any agency that is willing to work with people in our income tax bracket.

[kmeyrick]

Originally Posted by A&A 

I like the minimal moderation, but it needs to be applied equally.  You can't minimally moderate most of MDC but still heavily police the Case Against Circumcision Forum because you are afraid of certain religious groups.  Well I guess you can, but I don't think it's fair. 

Really? I think as of late MDC needs to work harder at keeping the religious bigotry and racism off the site. The CAC, even during heavily moderated days, had a lot of veiled anti-Semitism that gave me the creeps. If I had gone to Storm Front I don't think I could have dealt with nastier people.

[Arduinna]

Originally Posted by noordinaryspider 

The irony is that this is making me more "judgmental" because I don't feel safe around people who are less "crunchy" than myself because they might be copying my posts out of context to make fun of them or, if I let my paranoia get away with me, make anonymous reports to CPS.

Easiest way to combat CPS concerns is to not post identifying information about your family on the internet. If you think you are safe from ridicule because someone is as "crunchy" as you are you are mistaken. Nobody agrees about every single thing and just because someone is crunchy doesn't mean they won't rip apart something you say that they disagree with. The crunchy crowd is just as nasty at ripping people as the mainstream crowd given the place to do it, and they are out there. 

[Terrilein]

I voted that I do not like the minimal moderation and feel that it is leading to problems. I can't believe I'm hearing about spanking threads flourishing on MDC. I'd rather be overmoderated than undermoderated in this case. Please protect our core AP beliefs!

[moonfirefaery]

AverysMomma:

I don't want to see people harrassed in the UC forum, but someone shouldn't be banned from participating just because they are generally not pro-UC. They should have the right to give advice, participate respectfully in discussions, etc. The keyword there is respectfully.

I'm a UCer, but I wouldn't UC in all situations. I have been known to tell UCers to go to the hospital, to hire a midwife, to have an ultrasound. We can't just ban all nonsupportive comments about UC; we'd be presenting a very biased view to our members, and advice given here would also be biased--which is dangerous.

I also don't like the idea that you must agree with all aspects of AP to speak at MDC. I don't think we should ever allow advocation of practices, such as spanking and circumcision, that are violent or harmful. However, there are lots of ideas on what a healthy diet is and what the best sleeping arrangements are. They are all valid.

The ignore button is a great tool. Let's punish people for their attitude, snark, insults, and rudeness...not because they disagree politely.

[Arduinna]

Originally Posted by moonfirefaery 

AverysMomma:

I don't want to see people harrassed in the UC forum, but someone shouldn't be banned from participating just because they are generally not pro-UC. They should have the right to give advice, participate respectfully in discussions, etc. The keyword there is respectfully.

But UCers aren't posting asking people to please "spam with your diatribe about how crazy I am to UC". YK?

[Katwoman]

I think some where in between might be more useful than what we have now.  It appears that some people have used the new UA as a way to just be mean.  It's one thing to have a good debate.  It's quite another to just roll through threads being rude and snotty because you can.  I think debate starts with a respect that there is another person behind the screen your looking at.  That doesn't mean you have to agree with that person, but seriously, the amount of rudeness has increased a great deal.  Unfortunately, it has a feel of "I can be rude, so I will be".

:shrug:  Perhaps it's a rebound effect of people feeling stiffled so long.  Perhaps it will wear off. 

But for now, it's not very pretty. 

[jezebelle]

Originally Posted by Terrilein 

I voted that I do not like the minimal moderation and feel that it is leading to problems. I can't believe I'm hearing about spanking threads flourishing on MDC. I'd rather be overmoderated than undermoderated in this case. Please protect our core AP beliefs!

If it is any consolation, I don't think there are actually "spanking threads flourishing."  I have only seen a few people mentioning "spanking with love," "I broken down and spanked my child, what should I have done?" or "I was spanked and I am fine."  Not sure how I feel about that, but it's certainly a lot better than people just flat out saying, "let's all hit our kids all day!!"

[To-Fu]

Originally Posted by A&A 

I like the minimal moderation, but it needs to be applied equally.  You can't minimally moderate most of MDC but still heavily police the Case Against Circumcision Forum because you are afraid of certain religious groups.  Well I guess you can, but I don't think it's fair. 

Hmm, I guess I don't feel like we're "heavily policing" TCAC.  Can  you give me some examples? 

Before we made the shift in moderation style, most of my moderating time was devoted to TCAC stuff; I don't know about my co-mod, but I haven't had to moderate anything in there in a good long while.

[weliveintheforest]

I'm torn I guess.  I like less moderation, but I've been pretty surprised at some of the snarkiness and stuff that is going on now.  I think maybe less moderation than before, but a little more in the way of guidelines than are currently in place.  I do think keeping some of the site support-only is important, but support does not have to mean complete agreement and no difference of opinion.