Do you think this will help or hinder our politics forum?

Question

I just went over to Y!A "What's New" to read up on this latest "REPORT IT" button situation and why they've created it. There is a lot of decent information over there and I've copied and pasted some of it:

1. Click on the Report It button when you see a question or answer that violates the new Community Guidelines.
2. Once you submit your report, a new behind-the-scenes process begins. This system automatically measures the contributions and reporting history of both the reporter and the person being reported.
3. The new system then determines whether it can remove the reported question or answer directly from the site based on community input or whether further review is needed.
4. Since this is a Beta, Yahoo! Customer Care will continue to assist in reviewing reported questions and answers. They will also continue to address appeals to violations.
We realize the concept of community moderation is potentially scary, so we built the system to rely on the reputations of community members. Reputations will be built up over time and fluctuate based on the accuracy of an individual’s contributions.
Community members who build a record of correctly reporting questions and answers that violate our guidelines will become a trusted reporter and gain influence when they report. On the other hand, misuse of the new system will result in a lowered reputation. A low reputation means that the power to report and remove potential abuse is diminished, and may even risk suspension.
So there you have it. With this new system, the community now has a vital role in building the value and health of Answers. We’ve updated the Community Guidelines with your input, and will continue to refine them. Even the violation appeals process has been cleaned up.
Although there will undoubtedly be bumps in the road, we believe this is an important step in the right direction. We’ll work with you to make improvements and modifications, so post your feedback in the suggestion boards. We remain dedicated, like so many millions of you, to fostering the health and continued growth of Answers.

Thanks,

The Yahoo! Answers Team
This is not all of the information they have listed, so I’ve provided the link:
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/y_answrs_team;_ylt=AkuidMldrZA46rRiY5sum84_zKIX
So based on this information, do you think that this will make a lot of the bad stuff go away? Reporting violations that aren’t violations? Will it cut down on the trolls, or create more?

I’m asking this in politics because we’ve had so many complaints about people getting suspended and receiving violations that aren’t justified.

Answer 1

I hope and pray it does. The idiots that incessantly make the experience one fraught with frustrations will hopefully be identified and booted off.

I have written to the abuse team on numerous oocasions pointing out people who I suspect are targetting me and the various accounts they hold... There is even one called 'pessimist' who copies all my questions verbatim... hopefully he will be kicked out too andy....

Answer 2

No system is perfect.I have hope it will improve our site.It's absolutely necessary however for the answer team to keep thinking and following up.We will have to see just how parameters are used to determine who's a reliable reporter and who's not.
What If hypothetically I now call you or someone else an idiot or worse and a good honest member reports it because that's no way to treat others but I edit it out shortly after I might get their reputation to drop.

Also trolls will find ways to troll.The Internet is full of them and yahoo's refusal to seriously consider IP bans will keep them hooked on answers unfortunately I fear

Some things are real good improvements if they work as they promise.I think everyone has had it with the violation notification mails you can reply to only get back a link to the community guidelines.In the new system if you appeal it would be really reviewed and if that's not satisfactory you can still appeal on the board which works well in my opinion

Answer 3

No. Once you have a reputation of 'properly' reporting violations, then it seems their eye is off of you, and your reports of any further violations are simply considered to be non-biased in any form. Since people are human, then their views can change over time as well, thus impairing future judgments on their part.. Also, they may have had decent judgment in one area of Yahoo! Answers and have concentrated most of their efforts there when reporting violations and building up their reputation, but after earning their reputation and no longer having their judgment questioned then deciding to exercise this in other areas where they are less equipped to make a decent or unbiased judgment. Additionally, some people may choose to honestly report real violations in an attempt to gain a reputation for good reporting, just so that when their judgment is considered sound and the eyes are taken off of them, then they can falsely report violations.

Answer 4

***On the other hand, misuse of the new system will result in a lowered reputation. A low reputation means that the power to report and remove potential abuse is diminished, and may even risk suspension.***

This will likely have little or no effect on the trolls. Trolls will still create multiple accounts, thereby setting their "reporter" status to the default neutral position for each new account they create; at least, this is what I perceive to be the case based on the new guidelines and the.

Answer 5

I admire your enthusiasm . I hope it works

I have 2 issues of concern .
1. The size of the font for 'REPORT IT' encourages the user to consider reporting more often . In comparison to the other fonts , this font is the equivalent of an advertising billboard . An advertising is very often based on psychological factors such as this .
2. As you know I got suspended . My appeal in the 'Forum' was met with absolutely ludicrous accusations from Yahoo Jane . So I called Yahoo and was directed to email customer care . I did and now I have their reply !! Guess what ? They said I was guilty of the same things Yahoo Jane accused me of !! Now , you and others , even some on the other side of the aisle , know full well that I'm not guilty of those crazy accusations , so how in the world could customer care not see that .-- The answer ? They either didn't review it whatsoever or they are now to the point of being criminally biased . And I call it 'criminally' biased because they besmirched my reputation and insulted my personal integrity with absolutely no grounds of fact .
I will now seek , with others , to expose Yahoo for who they really are .

Answer 6

I am a conservative. It is my wish to persuade those who are not. I agree, sometimes it can feel like swimming against the tide but somebody has to do it. Among the obvious trolls are some, not so obvious misguided young people. They have probably never heard anyone oppose the mantra they have been indoctrinated with. It is these that I would like to reach. I honestly believe America cannot succeed if the current socialist form of liberalism is not opposed. So, despite the slings and arrows, the insults and unfair characterizations, I refuse to leave the battlefield to the enemy. l have been around a long time. I know how socialism works. I have seen the evil it can cause. The body politic has been infected with the virus of socialism. I am an antibody. .

Answer 7

I'm screwed!

Guess I'll have to answer 'in detail' instead of just verbally being jokingly 'perceptive'... Instead of just constantly hinting around at what I'm saying.

So, I guess I'll have to stake my reputation against trolling infidels just using questions as a way of hammering away at dozens of people's "flag" by reporting 'them' for abuse.

Which is a theory I've had for quite some time now and not openly spoken about.
The troll usually gets flagged as being abusive and as a means of getting back at people, most of them probably get button happy on far too many. Which in most cases, the people probably don't even think the questioner is the one turning them in.

This still means the Yahoo operators and such are about as sharp as a marble.

Answer 8

i can't see how hate,insults and namecalling can get any worse. No hinderance to this forum,in fact this new reporting button has just given people a new reason to insult each other. I'm thinking about adopting a new attitude. Answer any insult with an insult. What can it hurt here? Bottom line,yahoo still hasn't solved the troll and clone problem.

Added. Why do people always assume that they were falsely reported? Where is the personal responsibility,the accountabilty for ones actions. I can honestly admit i deserved the violations i have gotten. It is time to stop blaming others for our actions. How can we expect our politicians to act any better than most of us do ourselves? Take a little time people,look through your questions and answers,then ask yourself if you are always contributing towards making this a better place. If you are capable of seeing your own mistakes it will make you a better person.

Answer 9

Sorry for my cynacism, but does Yahoo really hire people just to censor yahoo answers? I find that a really poor business model to begin with. It should be a free forum where no one gets censored. Yahoo would save money for unnecessary workers and it would be better for it's bottom line and shareholders. Is "top reporter" a code word or another example of corporate nark, or Nazi brown shirt tattle telling on their neighbors? Get rid of the Yahoo censors and reporting altogether. If people want to troll, extoll hate and be abusive, the people shouldn't answer their questions. Boycott them. If we ignor the trollers, they will eventually leave because they won't be getting the attention they are looking for. Yahoo is treating us like the Chinese Government wants their citizens treated: like children. Yahoo works with the Chinese gov't to report 'objectionable' websites and criticism of their government. Is this what we want in the U.S or even on the web? Yes, we have jerks on Yahoo answers, no doubt about it. But do we really want censorship where the standards are set by some corporate entity. Think about this people, this entire issue isn't just about getting rid of trolls or unnecessary reporters, this is about having a nanny. Get rid of the 'report abuse' button. As it stands, Yahoo policies only prove, once again, that censorship costs us a lot more than freedom of speech.

Answer 10

Some responses are apropos of nothing in the post and those probably should get hammered. Some just let their emotions override the delete key. Would depend on criteria.

Never will stop bad manners.

Answer 11

A little to late for me my cool account was already suspended, yahoo dropped the ball and lost a lot of customers over the false reporting process.