jimnyc
03-15-2009, 02:53 PM
I've recently had an exchange with a member who is displeased with my decisions, and would rather argue about "where are these rules written" as opposed to just following my polite request. I'm curious as to how the community would see my requests:
1- Posting articles/quotes/commentary without appropriate citations. This is called copyright infringement and IS in the rules. As an example, I was recently contacted by a writer from a Dallas newspaper about an article she wrote that was posted here. She was pleasant, but requested I delete the article. I was equally pleasant in return, explained the "fair use act" to her, and deleted all but the first 2 paragraphs of the post here. She was satisfied with my cooperation.
2- "Spamming" threads - when a member makes a post, copies it, and then posts the exact same post in multiple threads to make their point. In a message board world, we call this spamming across the board, even though it might not be your traditional spamming. Nobody wants to open 5 threads and see the exact same response in each of these threads.
3- Derailing threads - as a result of the "spamming" - the majority of what was posted had zilch to do with the subject of the threads.
For such actions, warnings are given first. Next we start deleting posts without citations, and thread banning user from threads they "spam" in or derail.
Do I really need to write a new rule for the community to be aware that posting the exact same thing in multiple threads throughout the board is inappropriate? Even if, should a polite warning issued have been sufficient? Should I continually have to moderate (remove) posts that run afoul of copyright infringement? When someone continually makes posts that have nothing to do with the subject at hand, should this be ignored for the happiness of the poster?
There is no rule written that states members can't make every single post in the largest font possible using rainbow colors for their lettering. Should this be allowed because there isn't a rule against this?
And lastly, should common sense generally prevail amongst adults?
1- Posting articles/quotes/commentary without appropriate citations. This is called copyright infringement and IS in the rules. As an example, I was recently contacted by a writer from a Dallas newspaper about an article she wrote that was posted here. She was pleasant, but requested I delete the article. I was equally pleasant in return, explained the "fair use act" to her, and deleted all but the first 2 paragraphs of the post here. She was satisfied with my cooperation.
2- "Spamming" threads - when a member makes a post, copies it, and then posts the exact same post in multiple threads to make their point. In a message board world, we call this spamming across the board, even though it might not be your traditional spamming. Nobody wants to open 5 threads and see the exact same response in each of these threads.
3- Derailing threads - as a result of the "spamming" - the majority of what was posted had zilch to do with the subject of the threads.
For such actions, warnings are given first. Next we start deleting posts without citations, and thread banning user from threads they "spam" in or derail.
Do I really need to write a new rule for the community to be aware that posting the exact same thing in multiple threads throughout the board is inappropriate? Even if, should a polite warning issued have been sufficient? Should I continually have to moderate (remove) posts that run afoul of copyright infringement? When someone continually makes posts that have nothing to do with the subject at hand, should this be ignored for the happiness of the poster?
There is no rule written that states members can't make every single post in the largest font possible using rainbow colors for their lettering. Should this be allowed because there isn't a rule against this?
And lastly, should common sense generally prevail amongst adults?