Warning Points System Mod

Originally Posted by DAND

Oh yeah, how about warning points for trolling?

This was a tough call for me. Calling someone a "troll" is much like calling them a "dumbass". It can be used in a derogatory sense and is pretty much a subjective call that can be an opening line for further conflict. I tried to remove as much gray area as possible in the list of enforceable rules, and this particular one seems to just be MOSTLY gray area. I seriously doubt any two people would be able to come up with their own black and white definition of what "trolling" really is.

So rather than have to wrangle with some nebulous definition, I decided to drop it from the list entirely.

Now that I'm up to date on the planned change~ I do have a question or two.

How quickly will a warning point given be updated to show in someones warning profile? I'd hate to see some poor newbie take 10 points for not posting his full name on the BOI just because 10 different people with the power to impose one point each saw it. Will the warning point given show right away so others will not penalize the newbie further without realizing it?

What about mistakes? I've seen it on the BOI before~ where someone reprimands someone else for not giving a full name~ only to apologize a few posts later because the name was there but the poster giving the reprimand wasn't paying enough attention to see it.

Can there be a no point warning? A "whatever your doing does not warrant a warning point~ but it's close" kind of warning?

What about mistakes? I've seen it on the BOI before~ where someone reprimands someone else for not giving a full name~ only to apologize a few posts later because the name was there but the poster giving the reprimand wasn't paying enough attention to see it

I recently did this. I can tell you that I will be much more discrete and cautious in the future, given the circumstances.
I do not always play well with others either and I know that I am now, even before it starts, watching my wording and what I say much much more carefully. I would think that that is exactly what Rich is looking for(or at least one of the things), more people to think about what they say or do before saying or doing it.

Originally Posted by Cheryl Marchek AKA JM

Now that I'm up to date on the planned change~ I do have a question or two.

How quickly will a warning point given be updated to show in someones warning profile? I'd hate to see some poor newbie take 10 points for not posting his full name on the BOI just because 10 different people with the power to impose one point each saw it. Will the warning point given show right away so others will not penalize the newbie further without realizing it?

It should be pretty much immediate. Of course, there is always the possibility that two or more members could be dinging the same person at the exact same time. Yeah, this is something I don't like much, but there is not much that can be done about it. That is the way the program was written. It causes some lopsided possibilitied such that a member could wind up getting 10 points for not putting a name in the topic line on the BOI and yet someone would only get 6 points for threatening someone. Unfortunate, but that's the way it is.

Originally Posted by Cheryl Marchek AKA JM

What about mistakes? I've seen it on the BOI before~ where someone reprimands someone else for not giving a full name~ only to apologize a few posts later because the name was there but the poster giving the reprimand wasn't paying enough attention to see it.

I have to live with my mistakes, so someone making a mistake using the warning system will have to live with theirs. I'm not about to spend my time trying to clean up mistakes of that nature. Trust me, after a few nasty grams from the person who you gave that point to, you WILL learn to be more careful with the system.

Originally Posted by Cheryl Marchek AKA JM

Can there be a no point warning? A "whatever your doing does not warrant a warning point~ but it's close" kind of warning?

I actually had that in place before, but it seemed to be a fruitless exercise. People STILL got pissed about getting the warning whether there was a point assessed or not, so I wind up getting a nasty-gram anyway. So to heck with it, if something is worth warning about, then a point is going to be assessed. If not, then a PM will be the best avenue to use in contacting that member about the problem.

The mods and I will do this quite often, matter of fact. We will contact someone about correcting a violation that IS correctable and letting it slide on by. That will be at YOUR discretion as well. You are not obligated to issue a warning point if you see a violation. The point of this is NOT to assess warning points because you CAN, it is to try to correct a problem that the rules are hoping to prevent, as much as possible, from taking place on this site. So THAT is the goal. Not trying to rack someone's points up. The racking up of the points are really for those members who can't seem to get with the program and refuse to change their behavior. But again, if such behavior is OK with you, you are free to use your own discretion about each and every incident. But of course, THEN you will be accused of being biased......

It should be pretty much immediate. Of course, there is always the possibility that two or more members could be dinging the same person at the exact same time. Yeah, this is something I don't like much, but there is not much that can be done about it. That is the way the program was written. It causes some lopsided possibilitied such that a member could wind up getting 10 points for not putting a name in the topic line on the BOI and yet someone would only get 6 points for threatening someone. Unfortunate, but that's the way it is.

On this particular one, perhaps look to see who else is in that forum that can assess points and see where they are at by clicking their names before giving a point yourself?
Or won't it show whether a person is giving points or not?
Maybe I am being over cautious but I would rather be that then a trigger finger.

Yeah, I think I may need to create a forum (or simply use the forum moderator's forum) as a meeting place for Benefactor and Endowment level members to meet and discuss such issues. I'm certain this will be needed sooner or later.

OK, the switch has been turned on. To those members capable of utilizing the system, please let me know if you see any wrinkles.

Please note that all Benefactor and Endowment level members now have access to the Forum Moderators forum where such issues can be discussed.

Good luck!

Gee I dont notice any difference.....my world didnt end. Anyone else?

Originally Posted by Dragondad

Gee I dont notice any difference.....my world didnt end. Anyone else?

It did. This is what Heaven looks like

Originally Posted by lucille

It did. This is what Heaven looks like

No this isn't heaven but it is FUN