2009-02-08, 10:48 PM
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Update: 2/12/2009:
The "InfractionPM" account is a bot. Don't respond to PMs sent by it.
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Lately, there has been a number of cases of either confusion or complete misunderstanding in regards to these two subjects. So, I want to take a moment to explain when it's appropriate to report, and what isn't appropriate behavior.
So, when you see a post that you believe is a violation of the rules, what should you do?
*Southperrian has posted in a thread that no one has replied to in a month.
[LIST=4]
[*]Call him an idiot
[*]Report the post and move on
[*]Post in the thread notifying Southperrian of his mistake without reporting it
[*]Post in the thread with something like "inb4lock"
[/LIST]
The proper course of action is to report the thread and move on. Insulting Southperrian isn't going to help him learn, nor is it going to encourage him to stay here. By posting in the thread and telling him he shouldn't have done it, you may think you are helping him. However, this doesn't help us to take care of the problem, and he may not come back to the thread to see your post. "Inb4lock"... I don't think I need to say anything about that. It's clearly spam.
*Southperrica asks a simple question in the wrong section.
[LIST=4]
[*]"OMG N00B use SEARCH!"
[*]Report the post and provide a link to the answer
[*]Report without replying
[*]Take advantage of the situation to ask an unrelated simple question
[/LIST]
In this situation, it would be appropriate to Report with or without replying. You're not obligated to search up their answer for them, but it would be a kind thing to do. Calling them a noob is blatantly inappropriate behavior, and while it may be annoying to have these kinds of topics crop up often, you must restrain yourself and simply report it. Should someone answer Southperrica's question, that doesn't give you the right to hijack the thread to ask your own question. Either make your own thread in the proper section, or search up the answer yourself.
*Mean old Southperrino has flamed you!
[LIST=4]
[*]LET HIM FEEL YOUR FIERY WRATH ACROSS THE FORUMS!
[*]BATTLE TO THE DEATH: it's not over till the thread gets locked.
[*]Fight where no one can see - take it to PMs.
[*]Report without taking the bait
[/LIST]
While it's very tempting to respond in kind, "He started it!" isn't a valid excuse for flaming. If you flame back, be prepared to accept an infraction for it. Taking your fight outside of the thread it started in isn't a good idea either. Once it's locked, it's over with. Put it behind you. If you choose to spew insults over PM, these can be reported as well. Should you receive a nasty or cruel PM, simply PM myself or one of the moderators and let us take care of it. Whatever you do, don't get caught up in fighting. They want you to fight. Deprive them of what they want and report it, that's the best way to win.
Here is another type of situation that has surfaced recently (I do appreciate the increase in reports)
Southpaire makes a comment you don't like!
If you should happen across a violation of the rules that doesn't fall into one of these categories, just report it! there's no penalty for making an invalid report. While we may not like dealing with them, we'd much rather get a lot of reports, where a few are invalid, than little or no reports at all.
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On the subject of Infraction disputes, I'm not sure how well known the policy on this is. If you receive an infraction that you believe you did not deserve (after looking over the rules and this thread.) then you should PM a moderator, state the name of the infraction and the post (forwarding the infraction PM would be the best way to do this), and a well thought out reasoning for why you didn't deserve it. They will either uphold the decision, or bring it to the rest of the staff for discussion. If it's a clearly incorrect infraction, then they may reverse it immediately (Say, for example, that the wrong person was given an infraction.) and apologize for the mistake. If the moderator decides to uphold it, you can try asking me. Think of the Admins as the supreme court of infractions: we get the final say, and if it's upheld by one of us, then it's not getting reversed period.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Update: 2/12/2009:
The "InfractionPM" account is a bot. Don't respond to PMs sent by it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lately, there has been a number of cases of either confusion or complete misunderstanding in regards to these two subjects. So, I want to take a moment to explain when it's appropriate to report, and what isn't appropriate behavior.
So, when you see a post that you believe is a violation of the rules, what should you do?
*Southperrian has posted in a thread that no one has replied to in a month.
[LIST=4]
[*]Call him an idiot
[*]Report the post and move on
[*]Post in the thread notifying Southperrian of his mistake without reporting it
[*]Post in the thread with something like "inb4lock"
[/LIST]
The proper course of action is to report the thread and move on. Insulting Southperrian isn't going to help him learn, nor is it going to encourage him to stay here. By posting in the thread and telling him he shouldn't have done it, you may think you are helping him. However, this doesn't help us to take care of the problem, and he may not come back to the thread to see your post. "Inb4lock"... I don't think I need to say anything about that. It's clearly spam.
*Southperrica asks a simple question in the wrong section.
[LIST=4]
[*]"OMG N00B use SEARCH!"
[*]Report the post and provide a link to the answer
[*]Report without replying
[*]Take advantage of the situation to ask an unrelated simple question
[/LIST]
In this situation, it would be appropriate to Report with or without replying. You're not obligated to search up their answer for them, but it would be a kind thing to do. Calling them a noob is blatantly inappropriate behavior, and while it may be annoying to have these kinds of topics crop up often, you must restrain yourself and simply report it. Should someone answer Southperrica's question, that doesn't give you the right to hijack the thread to ask your own question. Either make your own thread in the proper section, or search up the answer yourself.
*Mean old Southperrino has flamed you!
[LIST=4]
[*]LET HIM FEEL YOUR FIERY WRATH ACROSS THE FORUMS!
[*]BATTLE TO THE DEATH: it's not over till the thread gets locked.
[*]Fight where no one can see - take it to PMs.
[*]Report without taking the bait
[/LIST]
While it's very tempting to respond in kind, "He started it!" isn't a valid excuse for flaming. If you flame back, be prepared to accept an infraction for it. Taking your fight outside of the thread it started in isn't a good idea either. Once it's locked, it's over with. Put it behind you. If you choose to spew insults over PM, these can be reported as well. Should you receive a nasty or cruel PM, simply PM myself or one of the moderators and let us take care of it. Whatever you do, don't get caught up in fighting. They want you to fight. Deprive them of what they want and report it, that's the best way to win.
Here is another type of situation that has surfaced recently (I do appreciate the increase in reports)
Southpaire makes a comment you don't like!
- Post a well thought out and logical rebuttal
- Provide evidence to the contrary without support
- Call her names
- Report it!
If you should happen across a violation of the rules that doesn't fall into one of these categories, just report it! there's no penalty for making an invalid report. While we may not like dealing with them, we'd much rather get a lot of reports, where a few are invalid, than little or no reports at all.
________________________
On the subject of Infraction disputes, I'm not sure how well known the policy on this is. If you receive an infraction that you believe you did not deserve (after looking over the rules and this thread.) then you should PM a moderator, state the name of the infraction and the post (forwarding the infraction PM would be the best way to do this), and a well thought out reasoning for why you didn't deserve it. They will either uphold the decision, or bring it to the rest of the staff for discussion. If it's a clearly incorrect infraction, then they may reverse it immediately (Say, for example, that the wrong person was given an infraction.) and apologize for the mistake. If the moderator decides to uphold it, you can try asking me. Think of the Admins as the supreme court of infractions: we get the final say, and if it's upheld by one of us, then it's not getting reversed period.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask.