Removal of posts containing offensive language
Message boards : Number crunching : Removal of posts containing offensive language
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Scott Brown Send message Joined: 19 Sep 05 Posts: 19 Credit: 8,739 RAC: 0 |
Given the international flavor of all BOINC projects including Rosetta, you may want to be very explicit in your definition of offensive language. For example, you might use phrasing such as "...profanity and/or obscenity as defined using American English will be removed..." or something similar (I list American English given the location of the Rosetta project). I'd also assume that racial slurs and other such terms would be considered offensive. Since "offensive language" is open to interpretation, cultural differences, etc., I think it is necessary that you be "overly specific". |
 carl.h Send message Joined: 28 Dec 05 Posts: 555 Credit: 183,449 RAC: 0 |
I disagree with you Scott, I think the referee`s decision is final and it`s his definition that counts. To ask for a precise list is asking the infinite as I have proved already here by using colloquial terminology detrimentally. Every swear word in every language would be hard to list so I think it`s best left to interpretation of the Mod and if necessary an appeal to him from the offended. Not all Czech`s bounce but I`d like to try with Barbar ;-) Make no mistake This IS the TEDDIES TEAM. |
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J.D. Morgan Send message Joined: 17 Dec 05 Posts: 3 Credit: 434,300 RAC: 377 |
I moderate a forum for professionals in a completely-different field, and the rules of that forum are very strict. Offensive and even just non-productive posts are removed. It turns out that the majority of members appreciate the strict rules, as it prevents them from wasting their time reading useless posts. I get annoyed enough reading the "Where's my credit?" posts here, and I wouldn't mind at all if all of the bickering and offensive posts were removed. This is a science project, not a game or a chat room, and participants should conduct themselves accordingly. Because school children may be involved as part of classroom projects, the standards of behaviour here should be high. In fact, depending on their age, the COPA may impose a legal (U.S.A.) requirement to keep this forum clean. Cheers for volunteering your time! |
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rbpeake Send message Joined: 25 Sep 05 Posts: 168 Credit: 247,828 RAC: 0 |
Again thank each of you for your comments. I think if we all view ourselves as professionals (and we indeed are, very few in the world know much if anything about BOINC and distributed computing), that might help. This is not to say that good humor and good natured comments would not be accepted as we continue to get to know one another better. But focus on the merits and logic of the discussion in a professional manner, and not on personalities. :) Regards, Bob P. |
Scribe Send message Joined: 2 Nov 05 Posts: 284 Credit: 157,359 RAC: 0 |
I have had 3 e-mails sent to me telling me that 3 of my posts have been removed for offensive language! That makes me look a real ogre, esp as I could not remember using any offensive language...being a Mod elsewhere I do know all about this. However it turns out that in all my posts I had been quoting the post of the guys who had used the foul stuff....but....the e-mail tells me off for ME using it...not right guys you need to have a different e-mail for this otherwise all you are going to do is needlessly upset folks. |
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rbpeake Send message Joined: 25 Sep 05 Posts: 168 Credit: 247,828 RAC: 0 |
They may want to clean them up and re-post them. That is a good idea. I had a post deleted that I did not think was offensive and had no intention of being offensive when I posted it, but perhaps my wording could be misinterpreted, so I will re-post the same thought with different wording. Edit Oops, I see my post was judged off=topic, so it was moved to another thread. This is fine with me, and glad to see my phrasing was not the issue! :D Regards, Bob P. |
Fuzzy Hollynoodles Send message Joined: 7 Oct 05 Posts: 234 Credit: 15,020 RAC: 0 |
Yes, this happens, when you quote the offensive posts. I have had posts removed from the Seti boards for the same reason, so I learned not to use quotes, when answering an offensive post. Even an emoticon (not an offensive one!) was removed, because I posted it as a comment to an offensive post. :-/ The difference is, as far as I understood it, that your post is still in your postlist, where the original offensive post has been removed from the person's postlist. I think this is perfectly Ok, as a flamewar can go on forever, when it's being fed with quotes, even the answers to the offensive post are not offensive and kept in a proper language. And if you make your reply directly to the post, people can look for themselves, what was said in it by clicking the link to the answered post. EDIT: I came to think of this: The mods are not able to edit in a post. Last year at Valentine's Day I posted a cute Valentine's Day pic hotlinked from a site I found with some of these in the Seti Cafe. People started to complain about some nasty cookies were found on their computers, and it turned out that they came from that site, I had hotlinked my pic from, and then it was too late for me to remove the link. A little later I asked Janus if I could make him do me a favor and remove that link, and he answered me, that he wouldn't and couldn't. It was his conviction, which he shared with the rest of the dev team, that mods should not be able to edit people's posts. They are only able to remove it, which I then asked him to do with my post with the nasty cookie pic. So this is something that has been decided from the dev team. And I think it's Ok that mods are not able edit the offensive quotes away from people's posts, and by notifying people about a removed post, they can post the same again, but without the quotes. But if somebody feels this should be changed, please post about it on the BOINC message board http://boinc.berkeley.edu/dev/, and then the devs can decide about it again, if needed. [b]"I'm trying to maintain a shred of dignity in this world." - Me[/b] 
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Scott Brown Send message Joined: 19 Sep 05 Posts: 19 Credit: 8,739 RAC: 0 |
I think you may be misinterpreting my intent (probably due to my quote of Moderator9's "overly specifc" terminology). I am not suggesting that precision is the issue (meaning a precise listing of terms), but rather that the project needs to provide clarity regarding the policy. For example, LHC@home provides a very explicit forum policy that is clearly noted on the main webpage. A sticky post in the forum is simply not displayed with the appropriate visibility. I also find it completely unacceptable that this be left entirely to each moderator's discretion (e.g., would each moderator agree without an overarching policy to follow?; what are the explicit sanctions for violation--or continued violation--of these rules?; etc.). |
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carl.h Send message Joined: 28 Dec 05 Posts: 555 Credit: 183,449 RAC: 0 |
I would certainly agree Scott that the general rules that one normally signs on joining a forum are missing and it has crossed my mind as to any legal fall out there maybe. It is not my problem though and I would hope that the owners of this board have taken that into account. As for forum moderation I still go a long with my view that the mods should take responsibility. A post can be viewed in many different ways and a robot cannot make the interpretation. So yes I agree it needs some formal rules but the interpretation of post`s should be left to mods. There are people who are extremely good at playing with hard defined rules and would make a mockery of them should they choose to do so, then proclaim their innocence. We have to accept this is just a forum and there are no Courts to backup the ruling or appeal to. The mods on Teddies board have my complete backing, there are few rules if any. If I don`t trust their judgement or it becomes out of touch they won`t be in that position, simple as that.Delegation. Not all Czech`s bounce but I`d like to try with Barbar ;-) Make no mistake This IS the TEDDIES TEAM. |
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rbpeake Send message Joined: 25 Sep 05 Posts: 168 Credit: 247,828 RAC: 0 |
I agree totally with Moderator 9's below post, which is presented very well and very reasonably in my opinion! I must say I personally find it a relief, because I was uncomfortable with the tone of some of the posts beforehand. I find this new environment very refreshing and a breath of fresh air! :) Regards, Bob P. |
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David Stites Send message Joined: 17 Sep 05 Posts: 25 Credit: 1,837,114 RAC: 0 |
My post was deleted not for offensive language as was stated but for objecting to carl.h and his high handed manner. I am not surprised, scientists make their living begging rich people for money. A high RAC means lots of machines and carl and the FADs choose to use that to control this project. The mods mean to suck up to him and his cronies. I don't have enough RAC to be allowed a disenting opinion and I am too stiff necked to put up with that. I have set my computers to 'no new work' for FAD(formerly rosetta)@home and will detach from this project when current work is done. I leave this place forever! David Stites Mount Vernon, WA USA 
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UBT - Halifax--lad Send message Joined: 17 Sep 05 Posts: 157 Credit: 2,687 RAC: 0 |
My post was deleted not for offensive language as was stated but for objecting to carl.h and his high handed manner. I am not surprised, scientists make their living begging rich people for money. A high RAC means lots of machines and carl and the FADs choose to use that to control this project. The mods mean to suck up to him and his cronies. I don't have enough RAC to be allowed a disenting opinion and I am too stiff necked to put up with that. I have set my computers to 'no new work' for FAD(formerly rosetta)@home and will detach from this project when current work is done. I can see this place getting quite messy in the coming weeks with people leaving due to heavy handed Mods be it intentionally or by accident but lets hope it doesn't drive too many out Join us in Chat (see the forum) Click the Sig  Join UBT |
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Whl. Send message Joined: 29 Dec 05 Posts: 203 Credit: 275,802 RAC: 0 |
When folks try to have a mass debate like this, there will always be people who want to shoot off in the mouth. I intend to look the other way from now on. |
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rbpeake Send message Joined: 25 Sep 05 Posts: 168 Credit: 247,828 RAC: 0 |
It is thankless? Yes. No! You have my thanks! You can't please everybody all of the time, and I think you are doing a great job! :) And conceivably perhaps I won't like in the future something you do to a post of mine, but as long as you do what you do, I will certainly not focus on it and look at the big picture. Thank you! Regards, Bob P. |
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nozi Send message Joined: 15 Nov 05 Posts: 11 Credit: 722,103 RAC: 623 |
agreed
But this forum has no "real" overview what is going on and lacks some necessary freedoms of opinion and speech ... as can be read in my sig ... I think further comments are needless . A constructive idea about it : a real private corner and easier personal messages would take some trouble out of this unproductive talk about talk... Communication Basic No.1 : Freedom is always the Freedom to dissent. |
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Scott Brown Send message Joined: 19 Sep 05 Posts: 19 Credit: 8,739 RAC: 0 |
@Moderator9 Thank you...it is an annoying job to moderate, and you have my respectful appreciation for your efforts. That said, I still maintain that, if such active moderation is to be undertaken, then a forum rules or forum policies link on the main page (similar to that at LHC@home) would be a good idea. (I guess you might also add this to your list of 6 points in the forum improvement thread). |
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Scott Brown Send message Joined: 19 Sep 05 Posts: 19 Credit: 8,739 RAC: 0 |
... I will remove posts based on language content that would be unacceptable in polite mixed company usage. ... I find it somewhat ironic that the very language that you use to explain offensive language would itself be considered offensive to many. The imagery of "mates...fishing" vs. "mixed company" directly implies quite strongly that women are to be protected from some sort of language that they are not equipped to handle. I realize that the number of women participating is much lower than the number of men (based on a BOINCStats.com poll), but if some of them are offended by being portrayed as such fragile beings, are you prepared to police yourself(or is sexist langauge not considered offensive...it is difficult to discern when there is no general forum policies document to consult and a moderator has, to at least a minor degree, used it in a post)? |
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UBT - Halifax--lad Send message Joined: 17 Sep 05 Posts: 157 Credit: 2,687 RAC: 0 |
I find it somewhat ironic that the very language that you use to explain offensive language would itself be considered offensive to many. The imagery of "mates...fishing" vs. "mixed company" directly implies quite strongly that women are to be protected from some sort of language that they are not equipped to handle. I realize that the number of women participating is much lower than the number of men (based on a BOINCStats.com poll), but if some of them are offended by being portrayed as such fragile beings, are you prepared to police yourself(or is sexist langauge not considered offensive...it is difficult to discern when there is no general forum policies document to consult and a moderator has, to at least a minor degree, used it in a post)? I dont see anything there that is sexiest to women other than the way your mind has pictured what the mod has said Join us in Chat (see the forum) Click the Sig Join UBT |
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Scott Brown Send message Joined: 19 Sep 05 Posts: 19 Credit: 8,739 RAC: 0 |
I find it somewhat ironic that the very language that you use to explain offensive language would itself be considered offensive to many. The imagery of "mates...fishing" vs. "mixed company" directly implies quite strongly that women are to be protected from some sort of language that they are not equipped to handle. I realize that the number of women participating is much lower than the number of men (based on a BOINCStats.com poll), but if some of them are offended by being portrayed as such fragile beings, are you prepared to police yourself(or is sexist langauge not considered offensive...it is difficult to discern when there is no general forum policies document to consult and a moderator has, to at least a minor degree, used it in a post)? Exactly my point...what is offensive is defined by each individual. It has been stated earlier that the moderator should interpret what is offensive and delete accordingly. The moderator is not actually interpreting anything...without a set of guidelines (not a specific word listing, but a set of general policies for forum behavior), the moderator is simply applying his or her moral value system in the process of deleting offensive posts. While I am sure that Moderator9 (and all the other moderators) are wonderful people who are doing a very difficult job, I think it is unacceptable for this to be the moderating process. I should be clear here that I am not saying that moderators should not have any discretion. Instead, they should be interpreting a set of forum policies that are explictly provided to all forum users. This will provide more consistency in the moderating process and will provide forum users with a clear set of expectations (which is especially needed given the international composition of any BOINC-based project). That said, I think this is the last I will say about this. It appears from the response that few agree with just about any of my points, so I guess I will just drop it. |
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Scribe Send message Joined: 2 Nov 05 Posts: 284 Credit: 157,359 RAC: 0 |
Women should be fully covered head to toe at all times with only their eyes showing and they should not be permitted to drive cars.....that is the Saudi Arabian view anyway and who is to say they are wrong? THe judgement as to what is permitted on here and what is not HAS to be left to the Mods......if they are wrong they will get the sack! |
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Removal of posts containing offensive language
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