Inspired by Linz and Gorgeous: Regardless of your beliefs, is it ridiculous?

Question

Is it ridiculous for a religion and spirituality chat group to be moderated by its members and participants?

(((Pangel))) --

chagrin ---

Dear Linz - irony noted - lol - (((hugs)))

Dear Marcus - good point, apparently, "balance" always sounds so good, at first, of course. If we were balanced in that we could each agree or disagree with each other, that would be fine. However, Yahoo, Mr Chang, has given us swords that can be used to delete each other's accounts. The result, now, is that we are "balanced on how well we can "sneak" behind each others back and destroy each other's accounts, without (in reality) any review of the "back stabbing" - so to say.


- just a thought.

Dear Marcus,

You just made me realize, *dumb me*, that this is one tough problem, tougher than I thought. Lilke "Got Air" said, we could decrease the amount of unfair reporting by not making it so easy for folks to unfairly report us - Acid Zebra and I took a vow about a year ago - to never report anyone - I am not saying that is the best solution, it was just our way of trying to deal with the rampant reporting and build up of temptations to hurt others. - Sometimes I have regretted that vow, but I have kept it, and simply e-mailed the person, if the had an e-mail account. (then some of them simply hunted me down and got my account deleted) or just blocked the person from getting into my profile and .... one time 14 of my questions were deleted in mass regardless of the subject matter. - sorry for rambling

Answer 1

Of course it is. Can you imagine if a Christian in the real world could, for instance, arrest an atheist simply for disagreeing? Sheesh....

hehe (((((Uncle Wayne)))))

Answer 2

It's better than a totalitarian rule. At least this way there is a balance.

Edit: Good point Uncle, but there will always be unfair abuse of the system. If it were one finite group in charge of dealing with "inappropriate" content on Y!A then you would have to worry about something like the troll patrol, if everyone has power then, well, you have what we have now, and if there was no mediation then this place would be rampant with trolls, and rude members. There really is no good way of dealing with the problem, you just have to choose between the systems and decide which is the most compatible.

Edit: No, no, it was by no means rambling. I don't exactly like the system we have now, but it just doesn't seem as if there is a real way to fix it, without giving mediation to Yahoo personnel, but I doubt, when dealing with touchy issues that appear in religion and spirituality, that unbiased opinions can actually be given on what is "offensive", and what is not, regardless of your status as a user, or personnel. *lol sarcasm noted*

Answer 3

Unc, that is why YAT is working on the concept of "Trusted Reporter". A trusted reporter may not even KNOW that he/she is one and ONLY the YAT will know. There wno't be any badges to make one a target for the Trolls. YOU MIGHT get a simple notification that you ARE considered to be one. Trusted reporters will have demonstrated a long history of accurate, fair, and bonafide reports of unacceptable behaviour. Their reports WILL be taken with seriousness and acted upon quickly. The average run of the mill reports will be also acted upon but the total number on reports from those who are not considered trusted reporters will have to be more than the number of reports by trusted reporters on a particular Q or A. This is one of those issues that the Y!A Town Hall is working on at this very time and the particulars of the discussion are off limits for discussion outside of the TH but you can be sure the YAT does see malicious and false reporting as a serious problem and are searching for ways that will be fair, just, and consistent across the board. NOt only in R&S but ALL of Y!A. The YAT DOES read the posts on the discussion boards, and even if they don't seem like they're working on these things, I have direct knowledge that they ARE. Many of these changes take time to iron out all the bugs, to come up with fair ways to address the issues and then planning to implement them in ways that will be for the BEST for ALL or Y!A users. So plesae, continue to give your feedback on the forum AND in here as well. This is where many of the Town Hall members search for the views of YOU, the Y!A community. We DO look here and try to figure out what YOU need, and what would be possible. Us Town Hall members are YOUR representatives withthe YAT. The more info you can give us, the more informed WE are and the better level of quality that the YAT can provide to the Answers community as a whole.

Brightest Blessings,
Raji the Green Witch

Answer 4

I think that the way Y!A works (or sometimes doesn't) is about as ideal as it gets. Yes, there are times that people get away with being mean and nasty. But let's step back for a second. Nobody here can burn a cross in your yard. On here, you can't be physically harmed because of what you believe. Here, you can't be labled because you cover your face, or because you wear a religious emblem on a chain around your neck. The worst that can happen is that your Q gets deleted wrongly, or your A gets some 'thumbs-down". Yes, it can be frustrating, but this is a blessed place of free expression, of innumerable beliefs and ideas, and quickly-formed "friendships".
We are all human. Few of us agree with any other on every topic. Some of the folks on here are closed-minded and vengeful. But I'd rather deal with them on here than anywhere else in the world. And if someone who is NOT a part of this precious group were to attempt to moderate it from the outside, chaos would ensue. You have to have a committee that included someone from every faith, every belief system, every sect. And when that didn't happen, someone, perhaps just one person, would be persecuted. It couldn't be helped. Better to let those of us who have open minds and loving hearts win the occasional battle over the Trolls and Faries who wouldn't know faith if it sat on them. Better my answer get deleted than some "Y!A God" view and approve it before it ever posts. Good always wins in the end. And there is good all over this site, in the form of the rainbow of beliefs that each of us brings to the table.

Answer 5

Yes, it is quite ridiculous that the moderation is done by the participants.

EDIT: I also agree with Pangel's idea that members from the community should be selected. However, I think a selection process would also pose problems; if we vote, then whichever religion has the most regular users might get all the moderator spots. If the mods are chosen by Y!, then we can't guarantee they'll be fair.

Answer 6

You won't find balance within the members or the staff as both contain biased people. Some just have no sense of fair play. And,of course others just plain don't care. Same as people that cheat to win. We all know if you cheat in the first place that makes you a loser. Ego is a monster.

Answer 7

I had a question deleted before because Some Argonaut (not their name) reckoned it was solicitation because i asked a related question a few minuets earlier (it was deleted within 3 hours) Yet I have legit reports about harassment ignored for days) I feel like buggering off to google but i think they will get what they deserve in the end.

Answer 8

It is ridiculous unless everyone has an equal say. Maybe Yahoo! could have a Possible Violation Section and let everyone vote. Other than that, Y!A has a right to set rules and boundaries, even if they get abused. Nothing's perfect.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!

Answer 9

It certainly seems to work out that way. I've often wondered why Y!A allows level 1 and 2 accounts the ability to report. If they would not allow new accounts this ability it would stop people from opening new accounts for the purpose of stalking and reporting others.

Answer 10

who knows the chat group better than the long term members and participants
I have thought about this in the past
but with everyone having power , there will always be unfair moderating

I would love to see some nominated as moderators for this section
but I am not sure many would want the job

Answer 11

Yes, it is ridiculous. Each member/participant who "moderates" will do so based on their views - that is biased and doesn't make sense to allow for such restrictions, if it is to be an open chat group.