As Alden pointed out in the other thread, his IC/OOC discussion was being bogged down by discussion of the method of reporting and he suggested a new thread to discuss that, so I decided I should make it. If a moderator would be so kind as to split those posts off of that thread and merge them into this thread, if that's possible, I would appreciate it.

As it currently stands, players reports are posted in the open in the moderation area, where everyone can see them, including the individual being reported. This has led to threats, IRC harassment, harassing PMs, and other retribution by players.

What other options are available, based on the forums' limitations (Example: Can a forum be set as "Posts only can be seen by those who post them?" or is it "User group can only see what they post?")

The second point, which recently has become not so much an issue but a concern is "use of moderators as weapons." Two players received warns/suspensions for this within the last week, without any prior verbal warning that their reports were "minor" or anything of that nature. This brings up two subpoints: what is a "minor" rule violation (especially when it comes to cut-and-dry cases such as spam/off-topic) and would it be possible for moderators to post in rule violation reports that what was reported was too "minor" to receive notice (Example: X calls Y an idiot. Y reports, but Z (a mod) feels it is not flaming and closes the report with the standard response. Y is unaware that being called an idiot is not flaming and so reports the same person again later for the same offense and receives a warn for "use of mods." Note: Unlikely that it would occur like that, but I'd prefer not to write out 30 example reports. )

I feel these issues are things that certainly need discussed, as there are players who want to help the moderation team, but now are worried that they will be warned/suspended.

Thanks.

I made a suggestion to this effect in the suggestion box months ago and SoE seemed very open to it. Unfortunately I was not able to find a way to set "Posts only can be seen by those who post them" for IPB. I know it is an option for some forums (Gramlins has a forum on their boards that does it) and perhaps someone more forum savvy than me could figure out how to do it for IPB.

Like I said before the "report this post" feature may be on these boards. I am not sure, so I am assuming it is there, but turned off. Enabling this option, I believe, sends the reports to a "pool" where the mods can see the reports (who reported, why it was reported, etc.) but none-moderators cannot. This allows for anonymous reporting, but the down-side is that you cannot tell the reporter "this is a minor offense, so no need to report it". Maybe, if this option is available, Moderators can have a topic full of examples on what is minor compared to major.

In Hyperion we conducted elections in a section that members could post in but couldn't read the treads in that section. Is it possible to do that on CN forums

Edit: And they are IPB

As a moderator, you could see who reported it and still drop them a PM informing them that their report was too minor of an offense, that is, if these boards have the option of "report this post."

For what it's worth, IRC logs that are relevant (names/times removed obviously):



XXXXXXXX But, if you're going to report me, you should make sure you have the goods, and not try and get your allied friends in trouble
XXXXXXXX So, if me being extra pissed off at you for a baseless report that was so full of !@#$ makes me classless, then so be it. I won't lose any sleep knowing you have no respect for me.

My experience as a limited moderator on the New Pacific Order's boards (which are also IP.Board and had that option enabled) was that you receive a copy of the offending post in your inbox when someone presses the report button in an area where you're listed as a moderator, which is easier for the typical forum member but may be a major headache for moderation staff depending on how it's used/abused.

I'd say that in the event that it's abused it would be similar to a warn for "use of moderators as weapons" and would result in the warning/suspension of the player abusing it. If it's not a situation where they are using the moderators, a new rule could be added to the forum rules that prevents abuse of the report button by warning those who file repeat reports about things that aren't real violations. In this situation you would have to hit the other thing in the OP, which is to let players that file reports know whether what they filed was "minor" or a real violation.

You should have saved us bandwidth, and not posted that. It's impossible to prove it's legitimacy, and is completely irrelevant in this discussion. Everyone is aware that such events may happen, and we're discussing how to avoid them.

Concerning the whole Report Post option that is being suggested:

If a number of people reported the same post, would that not flood the moderators inbox? (I have no idea where the reported post go to.) If that were the case, it would be illogical to implement this solution unless after a post is reported, the post can no longer be reported by other users. Thanks in advance for the response(s).

- M. Heket

Currently posts can be reported simultaniously (sp?) in the forums, so it only transfers from a forum to a different form of reporting. If a post is reported multiple times, it could also mean that many found it in violation of a rule, and should be looked into.

Except most people see someone else reporting an infraction first and don't make a topic. You'll rarely get more than 2 or 3 people reporting the same thing, if that. With the Report Post button, everyone can report it without bothering to go make a topic in a rarely visited section of the boards and will have no way of telling if that post has already been reported. The increase in ease of access combined with complete anonymity of reporting means the mods are likely to get the same post reported quite a lot. Even with sending a PM, you have to go out of your way to find a mod's profile and send the message, rather than clicking a little button located right on the post.

There are enough rule breakers on both sides. If you really are aiming to clean up the forum, report both sides, not just your enemy. In that case, you shouldn't have to worry about getting nailed with a 'mods as weapon' charge.

Not everyone has 24 hours a day to devote to policing these forums for violations and then reporting them to the mods.

EDIT: A relevant quote from the head moderator, Sword of Estel, regarding "reporting both sides evenly."

I have, in the past, received reports through PM by people evidently concerned about potential in-game repercussions for making a public report. Often, they are reporting someone on the same 'side' or someone allied to them, rather than reporting someone on the 'other side', and not using mods as a weapon at all.

We are currently testing out a new feature that can allow users to report posts privately. This is just a test of it, so we are unsure if it will be added.

Since we are attempting to implement this, the discussion will be closed until a decision is made to add it or not. The previous topic and this topic has made all of your opinions clear, and we are working on a solution.