Jump to content
Join the Unexplained Mysteries community today! It's free and setting up an account only takes a moment.
- Sign In or Create Account -

UM discipline, how does it work?


Likely Guy

Recommended Posts

I understand a 'banning' where you're outright 'down the road' for an egregious statement made towards another member.

A few months ago I got into a verbal tussle and received an 'official' warning afterwards from a moderator. Since then I have apologized, in my fashion, to the offended party. :)

Tonight, I just heard about a 'formal' warning that get's you a time out.

My questions;

How does the disciplinary system work? Do two 'official' warnings (or three) garner you a 'formal' warning and you're given a time out?

Is there a 'warning scale'?

Does the level of offence alone determine the punishment? Or is the result just a combination of factors (past behaviour, current behaviour, etc.)?

Do one or more moderators decide or does the administrator alone decide?

/i'm just curious :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Many factors go into deciding how and what formal disciplinary action is taken. Each is looked at as a case by case basis including any history leading up to the event.

Edit to add: The moderating team has frequent discussions on all issues affecting the forums

Edited by Daughter of the Nine Moons
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you so much for the prompt response. :)

So, there is no 'warning scale' then?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A good forum/site has to have a really good chemistry between the posters and staff... That starts (IMO) with set, well established 'discipline'... By that I mean every poster must know what the limits are that they

can not cross... Fortunately for me I've yet to cross that line :) ... If I ever do I will take my "time out" with as much good grace as possible - then return...

I've seen several sites that 'everyone said' were great and 'free'... One afternoon on most of them and I was driven away by the constant personal attacks, profanity and gleeful obscenity that a few chose to

post - thereby driving away many good posters and eventually killing the site..

I've also seen truly great sites that, I've been on for years, suddenly change because the site owners see a chance to upgrade with another carrier/service and it destroys the site as well.. One site in particular

I was a member of had thousands of active members - a big happy family - then the admin made a few changes for the sake of profit (nothing really wrong with that) to the site, made disparaging remarks about

posters who were not paid members of the "Premium" forum (called them "Garbage Posters") and now it's a virtual ghost town...

UM is - by far - the best site on the internet (IMO)... Mods/admin - please.... PLEASE - do not change...

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The moderators do a great job, under what sometimes must be difficult circumstances.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Many factors go into deciding how and what formal disciplinary action is taken. Each is looked at as a case by case basis including any history leading up to the event.

Edit to add: The moderating team has frequent discussions on all issues affecting the forums

So who gets brought up the most?

Edited by F3SS
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Probably you now... :D

I don't know about that but as soon as she reads that question no doubt there is somebody that will come to her mind.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing I have noticed about UM is that there doesn't seem to be a formalized set of rule. Of course there are rules -- there is even a tab for them -- but what I mean is they aren't really rules. They are more on the order of guidelines. (In fact, I would suggest, in order to differentiate your site a little, that you call them "guidelines."

Also, the whole thing does not seem to be bureaucratized. By that I mean you don't seem to have (or at least I haven't noticed) a "thirty days suspension for this, ninety days for that, etc., sort-of setup. I dare say if I ever got such a suspension I would leave forever, and I think most people would, so what would such an arrangement achieve? Yet so many seem to have such pompous and arrogant arrangements.

Since this topic is now up, may I suggest a few more things. First, the obscenity list you seem to use is excessive. There is a difference between an offensive obscenity and an obscenity used as part of colorful and expressive language -- mainly that the former is insulting and the latter has little to do with the person being addressed and more to do with some form of irony. Now of course what I am asking for is way more than some automated obscenity checker could be expected to handle, so maybe what I want is a second opinion -- by a human being -- before those little stars are substituted. (On second thought I like those little stars -- asterisks -- they are sometimes even more effective at what I'm after than the original bad word).

I would very much like to see you expand your scope. You are now "officially" limited to "Unexplained Mysteries," and that causes me trouble when I tell people the forums I participate on -- eyebrows go up. I don't think you can do much to limit the scope of what people are going to talk about anyway, but that's a different issue. How about something like, "The Unexplained." (The word "mystery" has in this context such an unfortunate connotation and will at once turn away many interested in these things but who have a rational approach).

But mainly I would love to see a larger scope -- more about English for one thing. Also more about travel, food, pets, personal health (a touchy subject that would require special monitoring and appropriate warnings) and surely some sort of personal money and some sort of investment section.

Oh, well, I like it the way it is too.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Keep up with the outrageous demands Frank. You're going to find just what this thread is about.

You'd be back though. I've been given vacation time and I came back. They all come back.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You'd be back though. I've been given vacation time and I came back. They all come back.

.

you forgot the maniacal laughter on the end of that post Fess!

:-)

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing I have noticed about UM is that there doesn't seem to be a formalized set of rule. Of course there are rules -- there is even a tab for them -- but what I mean is they aren't really rules. They are more on the order of guidelines. (In fact, I would suggest, in order to differentiate your site a little, that you call them "guidelines."

Also, the whole thing does not seem to be bureaucratized. By that I mean you don't seem to have (or at least I haven't noticed) a "thirty days suspension for this, ninety days for that, etc., sort-of setup. I dare say if I ever got such a suspension I would leave forever, and I think most people would, so what would such an arrangement achieve? Yet so many seem to have such pompous and arrogant arrangements.

Since this topic is now up, may I suggest a few more things. First, the obscenity list you seem to use is excessive. There is a difference between an offensive obscenity and an obscenity used as part of colorful and expressive language -- mainly that the former is insulting and the latter has little to do with the person being addressed and more to do with some form of irony. Now of course what I am asking for is way more than some automated obscenity checker could be expected to handle, so maybe what I want is a second opinion -- by a human being -- before those little stars are substituted. (On second thought I like those little stars -- asterisks -- they are sometimes even more effective at what I'm after than the original bad word).

I would very much like to see you expand your scope. You are now "officially" limited to "Unexplained Mysteries," and that causes me trouble when I tell people the forums I participate on -- eyebrows go up. I don't think you can do much to limit the scope of what people are going to talk about anyway, but that's a different issue. How about something like, "The Unexplained." (The word "mystery" has in this context such an unfortunate connotation and will at once turn away many interested in these things but who have a rational approach).

But mainly I would love to see a larger scope -- more about English for one thing. Also more about travel, food, pets, personal health (a touchy subject that would require special monitoring and appropriate warnings) and surely some sort of personal money and some sort of investment section.

Oh, well, I like it the way it is too.

I agree with a lot of those points. I think maybe "Unexplained Mysteries" doesn't really give a full idea of the wide range of subejcts covered, and does perhaps give an impression that it's one of those lunatci fringe conspiracy sites. (Not that there isn't plenty of discussion about that here, obviously, but the crucial thing is that its aim isn't to promote those theories, but to allow them to be discussed, and even treated with withering scorn.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

During my "time out" a while back I looked around for other forums and places to have discussions and it was real eye opener. The quality of most wasn't remotely as good and the biggest complaint I had was that there was NO discipline. Foul language and running arguments, etc. It made me appreciate UM far more, to be honest....

For your sake I hope you didn't plunge into 4chan... lost a lot of good men there. I send their parents cards every year (sniffle).

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It will all change when Saru completes the building of the new gallows.

The new hand em high policy will be in place and we all get to vote!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, there is no 'warning scale' then?

We find that the sheer range and variety of issues that can crop up on a forum like this makes a strict warning system unpractical.

First, the obscenity list you seem to use is excessive. There is a difference between an offensive obscenity and an obscenity used as part of colorful and expressive language -- mainly that the former is insulting and the latter has little to do with the person being addressed and more to do with some form of irony. Now of course what I am asking for is way more than some automated obscenity checker could be expected to handle, so maybe what I want is a second opinion -- by a human being -- before those little stars are substituted.

Our profanity filter is pretty standard and I think it does the job. It isn't possible to manually review every single occurrence of a blocked word.

I would love to see a larger scope -- more about English for one thing. Also more about travel, food, pets, personal health (a touchy subject that would require special monitoring and appropriate warnings) and surely some sort of personal money and some sort of investment section.

I can't imagine that people would seek out a site about the unexplained to talk about finances and investments. A few off-topic sections are a normal thing to see on Internet forums but if we go too far down that road we can end up diluting the subjects that draw people here in the first place.

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It will all change when Saru completes the building of the new gallows.

Do you really think Saru would resort to something as brutal as the gallows?

It's a death-ray he's working on.

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So then, you've done away with the pit of rabid weasels then?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So then, you've done away with the pit of rabid weasels then?

How do you think we get people to go into the pit of rabid weasels?

We point a death-ray at them.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Funny...I always thought we just gave folks several warnings, explained to them why their behaviour was disruptive/inappropriate, suspended them for a short time if they continued negative actions, and only banned them if all else failed (?).

And all this time there were weasles and death rays available!

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.