HuskerBoard Rule #1

It'sNotAFakeID

It'sNotAFakeID

New member
Not like I've taken this on as a personal problem, but just something I noticed over the past couple of weeks.

I know most of you are familiar with the generalities of The Rule, but I'll re-post it here just for the sake of making my argument:

#1 No Flaming/Trolling/Defamatory Posts (paraphrased)

"If what you are considering posting doesn't advance the issue being discussed--if it's just taking a "shot at someone"...There is absolutely no reason to verbally attack another user (flaming) or posting a message for the express purpose of generating a negative response"

1) Flaming

Flaming has definitely been moderated well. You're right, there should be no need for any posters to just verbally attack someone.

2) Trolling

But this is where I think the enforcement hasn't been as equal. There are numerous posts on multiple threads that exhibit this sort of behavior.

I'll give this as an example:

Creighton Duke said:
I don't even see how this is an issue. We get smoked by Michigan next week, lose one that we shouldn't and this nonsense is over by January. Nebraska gets a real coach and Pelini gets to live out his dream of being an actual cave man somewhere. Win-win.
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How does this even relate or advance the topic being discussed. It's a pot-shot at Bo and is there just to generate a response from other posters

I understand that it is hard to "track" trolling because there are numerous reasons that could dramatically change the intention of the post.

Regardless, I think the monitoring of trolling needs to be beefed up. Because it seems like they get away with a lot more under the guise of using one of those variables that changes the intention of their posts.

Sorry that this kind of turned into a ramble. Just want to hear your opinions on this issue.

 
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I have no problem with the above quoted material. The quote was essentially denouncing the entire thread as being irrelevant i.e. stating that the entire Pelini/Bell "conversation" fails to "advance the topic" That is my opinion on the issue.

 
Creighton Duke said:
I have no problem with the above quoted material. The quote was essentially denouncing the entire thread as being irrelevant i.e. stating that the entire Pelini/Bell "conversation" fails to "advance the topic" That is my opinion on the issue.
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I used your quote as an example because it was the freshest one in my mind. In short, I feel there is a lot of banning going on for the personal attacks, without taking a look at the trolling which causes the negative response.

Should the personal attacks happen? Not at all.

Would they happen without the trolling going on beforehand? I think that is the question that needs to be asked before going crazy on the banhammer.

 
Typically agree but trolling can be hard to guage from one poster to another. Take.for example bucky, mine and some other posters opinions were that he was clearly trolling but he knew how to make friends with some more popular posters on the board so they defended him without actually looking at some of his posts. That's my point of view. Their (wrong) point of view may have just been that he liked to have a differing opinion. So some thought troll others thought.crazy awesome funny cool dude.

Heck my post here could even be considered trolling by some!

 
husker B-rent said:
Typically agree but trolling can be hard to guage from one poster to another. Take.for example bucky, mine and some other posters opinions were that he was clearly trolling but he knew how to make friends with some more popular posters on the board so they defended him without actually looking at some of his posts. That's my point of view. Their (wrong) point of view may have just been that he liked to have a differing opinion. So some thought troll others thought.crazy awesome funny cool dude.

Heck my post here could even be considered trolling by some!
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Agreed. And I made that point clear in the OP. I just feel that the amount of derp on this board is really driving some of the good, quality posters (regardless of good, bad, or indifferent towards the program), away.

 
We certainly understand, all appearances aside. But let me try and explain it from our perspective.

1. We view trolling as someone coming on the Board to simply try and post something purely inflamatory - there's no other purpose for it. It doesn't advance an existing debate if posted in an existing thread is just one possible example. But what we're really looking at is someone who is trying to goad.

2. Having said that, what most of what's being referred to as "derp" is, in fact, rantings - opinions. There's a difference. Take a look at it this way. After every loss or even wins where the Huskers don't meet expectations, we have "regulars" who vent. Our practice is to allow some of that. The only difference between what you see as "trolls" verses "regulars" is that the alleged troll's first post was a vent. Here's an example. How many threads have been posted taking Taylor Martinez to task? We have "regulars" who routinely say he's the greatest thing since sliced bread, and "regulars" who think the Huskers will never be a power until he's gone. After the Ohio State game, those regulars vented about Martinez. We allowed it.

Right now, a lot of fans are frustrated. They want a venue to vent. Would it be better if the new members took some time to get used to the board and let the board get used to them rather than venting with their first post? Sure. But a lot of what's being called "derp" or "trolling" is what is common from some of our regulars. The only difference is that it's coming from new members - well, that, and the fact that the opinions have been hashed over and over and over. The "regulars" who disagree get tired of seeing what they think as "nonsense" posts. One example is the "fire Pelini" posts. A lot of folks see that and think, "Not again - can't people figure out that you don't fire a coach who routinely brings in 9 or 10 win seasons UNLESS you can be certain the replacement will be better? And who will be better? And what about stability to the program." So, those regulars get frustated. But again, it's that it's coming from new folks.

3. It may appear that we aren't policing for trolls. We are. We have numerous discussions about this, about specific posts, about specific members. We cull those who are trolls. Take, for example, good ol' PastYoBedtime. Took all of 14 posts to make clear he was here not to vent; he was here to troll - and to promote his blog, which was more of the same. One of his posts was reported. I PMed him and informed him that while we welcomed his opinion, he had to express it appropriately. If not, there was no other way to view it but as trolling, and he'd be banned. So - he did it again, and he was banned.

4. Give the new folks a break. I don't know how many times we've had someone join, post something that was clearly not trolling - it was just an opinion or venting - and immediately was attacked as a troll. It's getting to the point that we have to worry about people wanting to join who don't want to face that. So, that's why we tend to be slow to pull the trigger - we want to see if the member just was venting and will settle in and be a good, productive member. We can't do that if he or she is immediately attacked. What we absolutely don't want is for someone being attacked for posting an opinion. We do want to purge those that are simply trying to goad. But as husker B-rent noted above, that isn't always obvious. So, if something strikes you as trolling, report it and let us handle it. We may not agree with you. We may want to take some time to see whether it really is trolling. But we do look and we do act when we believe it's necessary. We don't, however, want members taking it into their hands - usually, when that happens, there's a lack of objectivity.

5. We've provided a number of options for members to handle this. Report it. Put the poster on your Ignore list. Take it to the 'Shed. What does't fly is anyone saying, "I just can't control myself." It's just letters on a screen. And ask yourself this - why do you care what some anonymous Internet user says? Did you wake up that morning and care? No. So, why care now? Just words. Last night, one member (just take a look in the 'Shed) said, essentially, that he recognized that if he didn't take a break from the Board, he'd say something to get banned. So, he took a break. Each and every member can do that if they must.

6. We want to have a Board that is open and welcoming - not one that gets someone attacked the first time they post, or who says something that someone doesn't agree with, or who posts a topic or opinion that's been covered. Just like with any social media, the members here tend to think of HuskerBoard as "their" board. There's a culture in place. When someone new comes joins, rather than attacking them, point out how the Board operates. Take a look back at PastYoBedtime's posts. We had a number of members inform him that his posting didn't meet standards. That's the kind of member policing that helps - it reinforces the culture. It also makes it a lot easier to weed out the trolls from the frustrated newbies. If they can't or won't take friendly advice, then it's pretty clear they aren't going to conform and we'll ban them.

The big thing here? Don't attack. Take a breath. If you believe someone is an actual troll, report it.

 
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AR, I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my post.

I'm not the one who will go out (usually) and attack posters (at least personally). If I attack anything, it's the opinion they post. And I try to do it in the most respectable fashion I can conjure up. I noted earlier that it is hard to monitor for trolls, it takes having history for those in the power to understand what they are really doing. Of course it also helps for other posters to, instead attack, report.

I just felt that I needed to at least bring this up, if not for me, but for everyone else to gain a little understanding about the differences between being new and trolling. Felt there was some discontent (myself included) about some of the people getting banned. No objections from me, good poster or not, an attack is an attack.

Thank you for responding to this. I appreciate having HuskerBoard, one of a kind it is.

 
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It's not that the "regulars" don't want discussion, even heated debate, on issues related to the team, individual players, game, coaches, Runza vs Valentino's, etc. What I, and I'm guessing a lot of others, have issue with is, is the "I'm right, go blow yourself" attitude that some of the newer (and I guess "regulars") guys exude. I disagree with a lot of what others say, but their delivery is what counts in my eyes. Knapp is a prime example of this. I disagree with some of what he says, but his delivery is one that, he's explaining his point of view and not arguing his point of view. FLU is a prime example of the opposite. If someone said they disagreed with him, that person was labeled by FLU as an idiot, dolt, whatever because they didn't agree with him. It's also the "told you so" attitude some others put there. But the biggest complaint I have with the "newer" guys is, they sit and wait for the right moment to jump in and proclaim themselves as messiah because one game proves their point that the team sucks, the coaches need replacing, etc.

 
HuskerfaninOkieland said:
It's not that the "regulars" don't want discussion, even heated debate, on issues related to the team, individual players, game, coaches, Runza vs Valentino's, etc. What I, and I'm guessing a lot of others, have issue with is, is the "I'm right, go blow yourself" attitude that some of the newer (and I guess "regulars") guys exude. I disagree with a lot of what others say, but their delivery is what counts in my eyes. Knapp is a prime example of this. I disagree with some of what he says, but his delivery is one that, he's explaining his point of view and not arguing his point of view. FLU is a prime example of the opposite. If someone said they disagreed with him, that person was labeled by FLU as an idiot, dolt, whatever because they didn't agree with him. It's also the "told you so" attitude some others put there. But the biggest complaint I have with the "newer" guys is, they sit and wait for the right moment to jump in and proclaim themselves as messiah because one game proves their point that the team sucks, the coaches need replacing, etc.
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Spot on. +1

 
I understand. But at the same time, what we're really getting to is style. Some people are natural pricks. But think of HuskerBoard as just like general society. We encounter that all the time. We learn to deal with it - we ignore it, or we report it, or whatever.

I think part of it is that members might be frustrated at the lack of speed in our dealing with some of these folks. I hope that what I said above helps in everyone understanding why. FLU is a good example - he was a poster that skated right up to the edge of the rules. If finally became evident that even if he wasn't breaking the rules in one sense, he was trolling nonetheless. We banned him, and his sock puppet (kudos to knapplc for uncovering that and making the case for the ban, by the way).

By the way, one of knapp's reasons for agreeing to be a Mod is that he hates trolls. Believe me when I say that he's keeping a close eye on everything. His instincts are pretty good. Sometimes those instincts tip him off before there's a real pattern, but when there is, he's the first to spot it and suggest banning. He really works hard at keeping the Board "clean".

 
AR Husker Fan said:
By the way, one of knapp's reasons for agreeing to be a Mod is that he hates trolls. Believe me when I say that he's keeping a close eye on everything. His instincts are pretty good. Sometimes those instincts tip him off before there's a real pattern, but when there is, he's the first to spot it and suggest banning. He really works hard at keeping the Board "clean".
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I like kuh-napp-lick. I know I goad him quite a bit and give him hell, but IMO he's a very respectable poster (I had to delete and retype "poster" and add the "t"). He gets a lot of crap from everyone but all in all, he's been a great asset to the board. I was a little torqued at him last year when he messaged me saying my warning level was raised (I was getting out of hand during last years bowl game) but looking back, he had every right. I was getting out of hand and needed to be told so. Just wished he'd quit stalking me. He's scaring my wife :huh:

I understand the headaches involved with moderating a board. I was an admin for a board that I frequented quite often and it was a big a$$ pain having to deal with everyone complaining about so and so, personality conflicts, he-said-she-said crap, etc. The reason I donated to the board is because this has been a great place to hangout. But as of late, it's been getting to be a real headache having to wade thru some of the crap

 
husker B-rent said:
Typically agree but trolling can be hard to guage from one poster to another. Take.for example bucky, mine and some other posters opinions were that he was clearly trolling but he knew how to make friends with some more popular posters on the board so they defended him without actually looking at some of his posts. That's my point of view. Their (wrong) point of view may have just been that he liked to have a differing opinion. So some thought troll others thought.crazy awesome funny cool dude.

Heck my post here could even be considered trolling by some!
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So I trolled in all of my posts? All of them? Give me a percentage since you've read them all.

Have I trolled? Yes. Nearly everyone has at some point but disagreement is not always trolling. Supporting another team or arguing a point is not trolling unless you want some kind of sunshine pumping message board.

Like I've told you and others before; if you have a problem with me then report it. Don't whine and bring me up constantly, its just unbecoming.

Have a nice day.

 
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Bucky said:
Have I trolled? Yes. Nearly everyone has at some point but disagreement is not always trolling. Supporting another team or arguing a point is not trolling unless you want some kind of sunshine pumping message board.
Like I've told you and others before; if you have a problem with me then report it. Don't whine and bring me up constantly, its just unbecoming.

Have a nice day.
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I don’t think many people view you as a troll, Bucky. Sure, maybe a small percentage of your posts are trollish posts. But, like you say, doesn’t everyone cross the line once in a while with troll posts? iirc, I was poking your cage a bit some months back and you got put on a three-day vacation for your vehement retort. So I guess I was guilty of trolling *you*. (Sorry dude. lol. )

Also, I have never reported you or any other poster. Ever. It's not my style. But I may have gif bombed you a time or two. Or thrown some ponies at you. :lol:

 
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