Some important notes :)

Status
Not open for further replies.

Dr.Vijay

Administrator
Administrator
Joined
Jan 1, 2000
Messages
26,986
Reaction score
1,231
Hi everyone,

Sounds like there have been a number of sudden misunderstandings that have escalated with emotions riding high. Let me try to help clear up some of these matters to the best of my knowledge as I would like everyone to have a smooth 2016.

Don’t say we never say! ;)


1) I've noted on the handful of infraction messages that were inappropriate. I've addressed this issue with the team and to be more mindful and tactful in their future messaging.

I apologize on behalf of the team for any misunderstandings that came about from that incident.


2) Sudden concern on the choice of words.

Let's be clear on this matter - if your purpose is to ridicule, cause hurt, pass off lewd comments, etc. – you’ll be infracted. However, don’t equate that with censoring words altogether. We're not unreasonably that you can't kickback at all. For example, cursing out of frustration or just exclamation, we've long ignored all of these to give the community a little room around the rules. If we go by the rules blindly, there's really no leeway for that. But, we understand there needs to be some allowance.

But what we'll not tolerate is directing these unacceptable words at someone as that's clearly contravening the rules. Please refer to general member rules, clause 5.2 and 6.2

http://sph.com.sg/legal/member_conditions.html

Also, kindly refer to this old post of mine:-
http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/o...tious-remarks-will-not-tolerated-1733312.html

On a related note, I’ve considered the term “Atb …..” - a term that some of you were upset about being infracted on. After careful consideration, I’ve concluded that it has no other meaning other than what it’s supposed to mean and thus, offensive. That word will now join the ranks of it being bleeped out of the system. Which means to say, if you try to beat the system, you will be infracted.


3) Posting photos of others or ladies.

We get it. You guys enjoy sharing nice photos of others.
Nothing wrong with that – this has been ongoing for a very long time and we don't disallow it.

The exception is when you go overboard with lewd comments, be prepared to get infracted. What happened to the days when people just +1 because they liked a photo or pass decent compliments? Often the comments are really demeaning. If you can’t abide by the said rules above, throwing a fuss about it only makes it worse for you as you’re in the wrong to begin with. Yes, we probably haven’t infracted everyone else for similar offences, but neither are we screening every post in the forum. That means you’re already given a hall pass despite the forum rules. If you’re warned/infracted, just take note and move along.

Apart from commenting, if you’re aim of posting someone’s photo is to ridicule or cause harm to them, then we’ve all rights to remove the post or the discussion, again that’s in accordance to the rules. It’s also common sense, no? Yes, the photo (and related info) may be publicly available, but your intention of starting a particular topic with regards to that content is the key issue. Let’s take an example of a knife – it’s easily accessible to anyone and you typically use it to cut meats or other equivalent food. It’s harmless, until you intend to use it to stab someone. See the difference?

Does that mean you can automatically post any publicly available photo? Not really.

i) Someone might write in to object the use of their photo in the discussion because they aren’t comfortable with the association of the discussion or just any public exposure. You might say it’s on the internet, but the user may not have secured his/her social profiles and related image banks, for which we do advise them at the time of complaint to keep such publicly accessible content private. This is related to the intention and use of the image by the threadstarter.

ii) If you post riske, naked, close-to-naked, provocative or pornographic related images, they will be removed and you will be infracted. There’s a limit to what’s tolerable and decent. This forum board is meant for all walks of life and age and we would appreciate if can respect this. If you require adult entertainment, there are other boards to use.



4) Generally, rules are present to be a guide.

It is not the bible, nor can the moderators perform a thorough moderation to stick to the rules - unless otherwise all posts are screened, which is impossible given the volume. So moderation falls upon the task of a few who are here to assess reported posts and generally help facilitate the use of the forum. We'll try to maintain better uniformity, but we'll also need the help of forum users to report on matters they come across that doesn't fit within the broad rules of the forum.



Appeals and feedback
-----------------------------


Having said the above, if you feel strongly against something or a given infraction/warning, please drop us a note in the feedback forum? There really is no point stirring threads in EDMW to voice your justification – you’re not going to get an answer unless the issue has been taken note of and investigated. Post your concerns in the right place – the feedback forum. We will not condone threads rallying for your cause.

It is far easier for us to track matters in this manner and communicate appropriately. That said, you’ll need to keep an open mind. An appeal or demand doesn’t mean you’ll get your way, and it’s just a step towards finding out why you’ve been warned or infracted. If you feel you’ve been unfairly treated, bring this up to a higher level of moderators, or PM the admins. But at all times, please stay level-headed and be open to the fact that you may have been in the wrong. Otherwise, no level of appeal would help because you’ve pre-determined that your way is right. This is the cause for most misunderstandings and the spreading of misinformation.

I would like everyone to also note that moderators are members of the forum as well – with additional duties. They are just like the rest of you with feelings and opinions too. However, humans aren’t perfect and occasional slip-ups can occur. Give them a chance to explain in the feedback forum, and don’t mistake or misinterpret their intentions.

We’ve reviewed actions taken in the past when it’s voiced in the right place and channel – so please continue with this as we continually learn and improve the way we moderate, more so because we now have more new folks who’ve joined the team.


TL;DR version – Nothing new; everything has been covered in the TOS and in the existing stickies. This is more like a reminder.


Thank you for you kind understanding guys, and Happy New Year. :D

p.s. All posts/threads that promote/support alternative boards will be removed. I don't need to draw the dots to tell you why. I've also received a lot of complaints on members promoting it via PMs too. Action will be taken and if I've not taken any, it's just because I'm in the festive mood.
 

xboxer

Greater Supremacy Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2003
Messages
85,822
Reaction score
2
I wonder why this is even worthy of an infraction when there was no mention of any names. :s8: Your new mods should get some hands on training first.

JpnmN1i.png
 
Joined
Jan 18, 2013
Messages
4,697
Reaction score
0
Vijay let's ban all religious discussion threads too. I feel very uncomfortable with zedmaster and company's "opinions" and "translations of the Bible/Qur'an". Let's err on the side of caution and disallow such discussions altogether. For consideration please.
 

Dr.Vijay

Administrator
Administrator
Joined
Jan 1, 2000
Messages
26,986
Reaction score
1,231
Not sure too.
I've reversed it.

I wonder why this is even worthy of an infraction when there was no mention of any names. :s8: Your new mods should get some hands on training first.

JpnmN1i.png
 

Dr.Vijay

Administrator
Administrator
Joined
Jan 1, 2000
Messages
26,986
Reaction score
1,231
I noticed the thread in the Feedback forum.

Unfortunately, there's no clear right or wrong on this matter. Everyone's entitled to their opinion. A healthy discussion is fine - I've seen some even in EDMW.

But we'll have to draw the line when someone is pushing a viewpoint down someone's throat or calling out names unnecessarily.


Vijay let's ban all religious discussion threads too. I feel very uncomfortable with zedmaster and company's "opinions" and "translations of the Bible/Qur'an". Let's err on the side of caution and disallow such discussions altogether. For consideration please.
 
Joined
Jan 18, 2013
Messages
4,697
Reaction score
0
To add, hardly anything constructive comes out of those debates on religions. Only hurt feelings and disdain. Let's review the stand for 2016. I will be happy to raise this proposal in feedback subforum if u deem necessary
 

zensushi

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Feb 9, 2007
Messages
52,070
Reaction score
5,472
Nice! Thank you for taking time out to attempt to address some of the issues.

Happy New Year to you & your team, too! :s12: :s12:
 

zensushi

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Feb 9, 2007
Messages
52,070
Reaction score
5,472
Appeals and feedback
-----------------------------


Having said the above, if you feel strongly against something or a given infraction/warning, please drop us a note in the feedback forum? There really is no point stirring threads in EDMW to voice your justification – you’re not going to get an answer unless the issue has been taken note and investigated. Post your concerns in the right place – the feedback forum. We will not condone threads rallying for your cause.



Just a small suggestion, an adaptation of another site's appeal process:


Why not make appeals available directly through the infraction notice (?) (don't know how it works...never had the misfortune of being infracted) itself?

This way, others unrelated to the post/thread/infraction would not be privy to the matter & not "rally" or otherwise butt in. Moderators (other than the original moderator) should still be able to access the moderated post through the moderation number (?).


A first-time appeal goes back to the original moderator. A second one goes to another moderator (or team of more senior moderators).

The final (3rd?) appeal goes to the admin(s) & the subsequent decision stays final.

Any further grouses can then be shared on the Feedback forum for all to see.


Board users may be limited to all-the-way appeals for say, once per month? If that appeal fails, he/she can only appeal up to the 2nd-tier for the rest of the month. Timeline are adjustable, of course.


There are more nuances to the community-based moderation, if you & your team are interested in the best practices adopted by other sites. :)
 

runeruin

Banned
Joined
Feb 22, 2008
Messages
6,509
Reaction score
1
Damaged done cannot be undone
Likewise, setting a guideline for moderating will go haywire after a while
Careful selection of moderator is the key.

I hope you can see that some mod have always issue ban or infraction are mostly based on their mood without valid reason especially those in hardware clinic
Likewise, the mod in cars&cars have different standard on issuing infraction for case of insults and advertising

It is just the recent case that grows out of proportion that the same moderating is brought in edmw
 

cannonmaster

High Supremacy Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2010
Messages
27,281
Reaction score
1,201
good move~ at least got some clarification on what will earn infractions/warnings.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Important Forum Advisory Note
This forum is moderated by volunteer moderators who will react only to members' feedback on posts. Moderators are not employees or representatives of HWZ. Forum members and moderators are responsible for their own posts.

Please refer to our Community Guidelines and Standards, Terms of Service and Member T&Cs for more information.
Top