About Warnings

[SarahRegi]

i have received about two warnings already in less than a week or so. and i will not complain about it, i respect the rules and i try to obey them as much as i can remember, but i've seen that other users have broken some of the forum's rules also and they haven't gotten warnings at all. i don't post much here everyday and it seems that every single post that i make it's like if i'm being watched by moderators all the time. it seems a bit unjustified if other users get by the forum posting and not receiving warnings. so far i've seen two users who should have been warned and the moderators do nothing.

i just want to clear this up, and i don't want to point fingers at anyone here and create conflicts.

[Heather]

If you find some...suspicious posts or members around the forum and think somebody's breaking the rules, there's a feature on the forum that you can use called "Report Post." On the left side of the person's post, to the right of the "Add to Reputation" button, there's an exclamation mark in a triangle. Click on that and you can report the suspicious post to the moderators. They will then decide if the post is breaking rules or not and will take action if necessary.

Honestly, the moderators here are a lot less strict than on other forums but still strongly enforce the rules. That's what makes this community so fantastic. I'm 100% positive that it isn't a personal attack on you, rather just a case of bad timing. So don't worry, the mods definitely aren't out to get you.

Just make sure you adhere to the rules with every post (IE: posts add to the discussion and aren't just one-liners, etc...etc...) and you'll be fine, trust me.

Hope that helps you out, hun!

[SarahRegi]

ok thanks for the info, next time i'll do that "Report Post" thing. i had already sent a PM to one of the moderators about this but i guess they didn't consider it much, why? i don't know.

anyway, thanks for the help Heather

[Heather]

Well, chances are, the moderators did take your PM into thought but they're all very busy with keeping this forum up and running and doing their responsibilities so I wouldn't worry. The mods are very fantastic at taking members' concerns to heart.

And, depending on who you PM'd, they might be dealing with personal (aka, non-BF) issues that hold them up from dealing with your concern. But, again, don't worry. They'll take action when it's necessary and listen to your concerns whenever you have them.

I sound like a brainwashed, walking ego-stroke for the moderator team. Of course, what I said was 100% honest.

[Jenni Lou]

It has nothing to do with you, promise. It's just that we can't read every single post in the forum so it's just by chance that we stumbled on yours. But Heather is right, you can use the "report post" feature and if it is needed, a mod wil attend to it.

As for other posters, I don't think any of the members know who has and hasn't received any infractions or warnings; that information should only be for the mods to see. So you really don't know who has been warned or hasn't, unless you all are discussing it in PMs o IMs or something.

[SarahRegi]

It has nothing to do with you, promise. It's just that we can't read every single post in the forum so it's just by chance that we stumbled on yours. But Heather is right, you can use the "report post" feature and if it is needed, a mod wil attend to it.

As for other posters, I don't think any of the members know who has and hasn't received any infractions or warnings; that information should only be for the mods to see. So you really don't know who has been warned or hasn't, unless you all are discussing it in PMs o IMs or something.

i can see that i have a yellow little box next to one of my posts representing a warning. am i the only one that can see it? or can everybody else see it as well?

[Nikki]

I've looked at the posts you have reported SarahRegi and one of them was a one liner asking a question that was relevant to the discussion. This isn't considered spam as a question is very valid.

What we crack down on is off topic posting, for example in a discussion about Spike vs Angel someone mentions what they had for dinner last night and nothing about Spike or Angel

Random comments (one line or more) that don't add anything to the ongoing discusson. Maybe they just quoted someone else's post and put 'I agree'. That's what the rep points system is for, or PM. We want to avoid posts that don't keep the discussion flowing.

A one liner can add something to the conversation, it's not automatically spam. I'd rather have 3 great posts that are short and sweet than 3 posts that are long winded, and off topic. It's quality not quantity here.

So when you are looking around, really see how a post fits into the discussion before reporting it.

We aim to be fair here, and if you don't see a yellow box by a post you reported it doesn't mean it wasn't looked at or addressed. We have an alert system here which we use mostly on newbies to show them that their post was breaking the rules without giving them any points for a first offence if it's not needed.

I hope this clears things up for you It's good you brought it up and we can address how we work here

[Ehlwyen]

i can see that i have a yellow little box next to one of my posts representing a warning. am i the only one that can see it? or can everybody else see it as well?

The report post and alert/warning system is private and only seen by moderators. No one can see if you were reported/warned and you cannot see what others have been warned for.

The warning system is not to punish, ostracize, or ridicule members. Instead it a way for us to help ensure that content of the boards stays at a level that is pleasant and acceptable for all members by allowing all members to have a voice.

I for one take no joy in warning members but it's my duty to members to keep the board at a quality level they have come to expect.

[Rosely]

Also I'd like to point out to you that both your warnings were alerts, as in, you got no warning points attached to them. Just a reminder to how our rules work.
And yeah, just like they can't see the posts you've been warned for, you can't see the posts other people have been warned for

[SarahRegi]

I've looked at the posts you have reported SarahRegi and one of them was a one liner asking a question that was relevant to the discussion. This isn't considered spam as a question is very valid.

What we crack down on is off topic posting, for example in a discussion about Spike vs Angel someone mentions what they had for dinner last night and nothing about Spike or Angel

Random comments (one line or more) that don't add anything to the ongoing discusson. Maybe they just quoted someone else's post and put 'I agree'. That's what the rep points system is for, or PM. We want to avoid posts that don't keep the discussion flowing.

A one liner can add something to the conversation, it's not automatically spam. I'd rather have 3 great posts that are short and sweet than 3 posts that are long winded, and off topic. It's quality not quantity here.

So when you are looking around, really see how a post fits into the discussion before reporting it.

We aim to be fair here, and if you don't see a yellow box by a post you reported it doesn't mean it wasn't looked at or addressed. We have an alert system here which we use mostly on newbies to show them that their post was breaking the rules without giving them any points for a first offence if it's not needed.

I hope this clears things up for you It's good you brought it up and we can address how we work here

ok it makes a little sense. but how can we be sure that a short and sweet little sentence is going to be taken positively by moderators? i guess we'll just have to risk it?

as long as i stick to the topic i'm ok right?

thanks for the clearing up the privacy warning system btw.

[vampmogs]

ok it makes a little sense. but how can we be sure that a short and sweet little sentence is going to be taken positively by moderators? i guess we'll just have to risk it?

as long as i stick to the topic i'm ok right?

thanks for the clearing up the privacy warning system btw.

Well as for example if you did a great one liner that opened up a really interesting question or pointed out something worth discussing it would be fine. However, as said above if your one liner is pretty much agreeing with someone's post before you and you have nothing else to add other than repeating what they have said or agreeing with them than that is considered spam.

It's very rare you get a good one liner most times anyway. Most members will express their POV in more than a line.

[Ehlwyen]

ok it makes a little sense. but how can we be sure that a short and sweet little sentence is going to be taken positively by moderators? i guess we'll just have to risk it?

as long as i stick to the topic i'm ok right?

There is no need to "risk it." Just add another sentence or two explaining why you feel that way. If you are completely unable to find anything else to say than a single sentence, then probably it isn't a post worth making in a discussion section.

A sentence post is really only acceptable if you were answering someone's question. And even then it is nice to give the person more referencing information than just a single sentence.

As vampmogs as said above me, if it is just agreeing with someone then it is still spam. So just being on topic does not mean we grant leniency. You need to have some type of supporting reasoning or statement of opinion to your post.

And for the record, "one-liner" is really a generic term and includes 2-3 sentence posts that do not add anything to the discussion. We don't want sentences to just fill up space. We want posts that are unique to you and your thoughts.

[SarahRegi]

ok this is great, all this pretty much cleared my doubts. thanks to everyone for all the clarifications and info, i understand perfectly now.

[Ehlwyen]

Glad we could get this cleared up. We just want to keep the place as friendly and organized as possible. I'll close the thread then.