Yesterday I announced a break from my longstanding (near) zero-moderation policy, warning that blatantly off-topic comments, copyright violations and sock puppetry would no longer be tolerated. Today Slog announced a “new” comment moderation policy of its own:
The Stranger’s Blog Comments Policy
We remove comments that are off topic, threatening, or commercial in nature, and we do not allow sock-puppetry (impersonating someone else)—or any kind of puppetry, for that matter. We never censor comments based on ideology.
Define “threatening.” But other than that, that’s pretty much the same standard we intend to follow here on HA. Repeat violators will be banned, joining the infamous JCH in comment thread purgatory.
I’d say the HA community has been very cooperative, and overwhelmingly supportive. I’ve personally only deleted a single comment thus far… and that was a mistake. Thanks.
Speaking of which, could you get somebody else from the Stranger for your Saturday show besides Josh Feit? Maybe you could get Schmader once in awhile or something. Because 1)Feit is sort of an ass 2)he definitely comes off as one on the radio.
“Threatening”? Seems pretty clear-cut.
For instance, anything gay threatens the traditional institution of marriage. A whole army of Prayer Warriors will tell you that.
And anything about voting rights threatens our election system by encouraging corpses, acorns, snowmen, etc., to register and vote.
A mistake, huh? I wondered what the poster in question had done.
Yes it is working and the musings of Puffybutt and his 23 multiple screen names (and personalities) have been reduced to nearly nothing. As predicted, the right wing posts dropped by a huge amount as soon as their ability to be stupid was regulated.
Yer Killin Me: Goldy deleted something on the previous Open Thread for being off-topic (doh! growth pangs). Goldy apologized, life goes on.
It is better to be civilized. Troll-stomping is a natural response, but drops the collective IQ alarmingly.
5
Yeah, I saw that. Originally, though, I wondered what it was he’d done to merit getting a post deleted.
I’ll agree with @4, troll stupidity hasn’t ended, but it’s remarkable how much better the discourse has gotten over the past 24 hours.
I JUST POSTED SOMETHING FUNNY I SAW AT DAILYKOS. FUNNY TO ME ANYWAY. HAD NOTHING TO WITH RTID/ST.
BUT IT WAS AFTER ALL AN OPEN THREAD.
Oh, man, I. . . need a . . . a . . .troll bashing fix. Need to . . .
bash. . . a . . . conservative.Why the change of mind about the open board? Just curious. You were pretty adamant a while back that anyone and everyone could post.
@ 9:
Hope I didn’t violate the new Zero Tolerance policy on threats.
GBS @ 9
I know what you’re talking about. I’ve got to go out and roll a few trolls if they’re not going to show up here. Requiring that they post something substantive seems to have tied up their tongues.
10 Goldy is saying anyone can post, you just can’t pretend to be someone you’re not, and go off on Clinton-hating rants no matter the topic.
skagit @10,
I’ve always had a no spoofing policy, and have deleted posts in the past for masquerading as other regulars.
The main focus of this new policy is the off topic crap. Too often, I or one of my co-bloggers spend hours writing a thoughtful post on some issue of the day, only to have the comment thread immediately hijacked by trolls with completely off topic bullshit. I’m just not going to allow that anymore. I’m also going to enforce a previously rarely enforced prohibition on copyright violating cut and paste jobs.
I’m not trying to squelch dissent or even invective. It’s just that so much of the comment threads have become little more than spam, and I’d like to see a little debate and discussion once in a while.
The proof will be in the pudding. It would be wonderful if this results in more real discussion and the loss of the silliness is no loss at all.
Can I get one clarification .. in re sock puppetry. Does this mean you will restrict each person to one identity? If so, what will happen to anonymous?
One other thought, there are some thoughtful contributors here, eg Roger, who are guilty of both switching topics and filling the thread with god-knows-what. Yet Roger often also has something very good to say. Would you consider inviting him to originate threads on specific issues? Personally, the most useful things I find from him are the legal discussions.
Just an idea.
15. I agree with you about Roger – all to often he goes down a ‘bunny trail’ but then he often times has pertinent information to add to a discussion.
SeattleJew @15,
I suppose I am using the term “sock puppetry” rather liberally. I mean in two senses.
1) Pretending to be somebody you are not, such as a regular HA commenter. One might also call this spoofing.
2) Paid professionals or unpaid activists adopting one or more online personas for the purpose of spreading disinformation or shaping a message. Such as when political operatives or campaign officials masquerade as average voters, in the interest of promoting their clients. You know, like when somebody from a consulting firm leaves multiple comments under multiple names, attempting to build buzz for their client. (You know who you are.)
One other thought, there are some thoughtful contributors here, eg Roger, who are guilty of both switching topics and filling the thread with god-knows-what. Yet Roger often also has something very good to say. Would you consider inviting him to originate threads on specific issues? Personally, the most useful things I find from him are the legal discussions.
There are plenty of open threads.
I think it is the correct decision to ban certain trolls who have an axe to grind and to whom no amount of reasoned refutation will make them refrain from starting afresh with the same stale allegation in the next thread.
That’s how they win. Repeat the same crap until it “becomes” truth.
I was trying to discuss the weaknesses of supply-side economics with an engineer from Boeing. It was so ingrained in his head that tax breaks for the rich help everyone that when I pointed out that the rich were investing their extra money in government bonds (essentially, they’re gonna get thheir money out of the workingman’s taxes), he insited that the government needed to write up some laws and guidelines so that the uninformed rich could be herded into making “supply-side” work.
It’s bizarre. People will often believe what they want to — no matter what.
Well the Assie Voice, you need to clarify your to Moronic following that not everyone who disagrees with their whack-job positions (like Obama meeting with Stupidman Il-Jong) is not Kevin Cairns.
Waaa haaa haaa haaa haaa.
BTW Headlice, I guess your proposed fight blogging entries at the Bellevue Cheese Cake Factory will be removed!
It’s bizarre. People will often believe what they want to — no matter what.
I find that to be true especially when emotions are attatched.
re 21: Vargas en Playboy. Es buena curverenas, no?
Thank you for the new policy! I love this blog, but have rarely participated because of the volume of crap that used to clog up the comments.
Right Stuff:
It’s bizarre. People will often believe what they want to — no matter what.
“I find that to be true especially when emotions are attatched.
HOW true it is. . .oh, my God, the Terror Alert just went to orange, ahhhhhhh, no bottles of shampoo on air planes, what?!?!?! OH, MY GAWD, if we elect Democrats they will hit us again — and hard! Dick Cheney said so, OHHHHH fight them over there so we don’t fight them over here!! Eeeeekkkk, watch it! Terrorist want to blow up the Sears Tower, “I have nothing to hide, protect me from the terrorist tap my phone calls, read my emails, open my letters, I wasn’t using my civil liberties any ways!!
Right? Stuff??
re 25: And don’t forget to give even more tax breaks to the top 1%. Otherwise, the entire economy will fail!
Oh thank GOD. I might actually start reading the comments around here.
I didn’t realize that “sock puppetry” was actually a concept. I actually thought it was kind of a clever way to deal with a particularly obnoxious troll (fight fire with fire sort of concept, you know). It’s like the “I’m Sparticus” moment, minus the dignity. If no one knows which one is the stupid troll, stupid troll shrivels up.
Where’s Roger? rabbit dude come home!
I miss his furry little paws pounding the keyboards.
What about marionettes?
“(I)t’s remarkable how much better the discourse has gotten …”
“I or one of my co-bloggers spend hours writing a thoughtful post on some issue of the day …”
Everybody happy here in the sock puppet gulag? Everybody a little brighter and shinier now that the neo-Stalinist presidium has put down the smack down?
Things are soooo tidy now … no more messy free speech to contend with, no more wasted thoughtful hours. You’ve tucked away your little pink tails (used to be so much fun to twist), and have brought out your claws and fangs. Even Castro never ran a better scam.
Ahh, the screams of wounded trolls. Music to my ears.
Finally! I rarely ever drop by this site because the comment section is (was) over run by freaks. I will definately drop by more often now that there is a promise of normalcy. Thank you for killing off the trolls.
@6 “It is better to be civilized.”
Are you saying we have to give Republican traitors trials before we hang them?*
* Just kidding! Humor copyright Ann Coulter Jokes! Inc. So what if I plagiarized her — sue me!