If there is one thing we can count on with Gawker media its change. They LOVE to change things, sometimes for the worse, sometimes for the better. On the issues of the latter, the tech boffins rowing quietly and confidently in the bowels of the great ship have given us another tool to help keep our little world over here neat and tidy.
FLAGS
You may have noticed a new option in your drop down menu for comments
WHAT IT DOES
Flagging a comment notifies the moderators of the blog (and only that blog)
As moderators then have 3 options
- Dismiss - Same thing your dismiss button does
- Block - Removes and blocks that username from THE BLOG IN QUESTION (note, Oppo moderators can't help you anywhere but Oppo)
- Clear - Removes the flag and restores the comment to normal
WHAT ARE FLAGS FOR:
- Dealing with spam. Engaging it is pointless and dismissing it leaves the username in tact to do it again. Flag and then dismiss.
- Reporting violations of the rules. Rules violations are ugly and no one likes them; flagging is a clean and hassle free way of reporting it when it does happen.
WHAT FLAGS AREN'T FOR:
- Dismissing a comment you just don't like that was not replied to you personally. This is the internet, and you are going to disagree with people, we trust you are mature enough to handle that.
- Singling out a user you don't like that isn't breaking the rules.
It goes without saying that abusing the tools (like flags) also carries its own consequences, so don't do it.
On the topic of consequences: Moderation issues happen and they happen to people we have strong feelings about and the decisions to act on these issues brings strong feelings also and we understand that. The worst and most long lasting effect of these issues, however, seems to be the ripple effect that it has on the community. One thing that I think we can all agree on is that the drama that can occur during and after an incident involving the rules is no good for anyone and a drag on Oppo as a whole. Quietly flagging an issue, in addition to emailing the mods for timely matters is the best way to deal with these issues. Dramoppositelock is the last sub blog we need.
On that note I would also like to issue a general plea at this time that when things do go down, that we refrain from filling Oppo up with confessions, rants, defenses and detraction as well as the "whats going on? what happened?" posts and the "move along" posts. If you must you must, but lets try not to, also if you must, bear in mind that we have rules against shit stirring and calling out Oppo so be careful in that moment of passion.
We reiterate that we want you to be able to self govern Oppo to be civil and interesting without going all high school drama all over it and that we trust you to do it. With that being said, we ask you to consider the following set of questions in regard to your use of this power upon meeting a disagreeable comment.
- Can you ignore it? Then do so.
- Is it irrelevant and it bothers you? Dismiss it.
- Is it irrelevant and/or harassing? Flag and then Dismiss it.
- Is it requiring immediate attention from the mods? Flag, Dismiss and email/notify.
I can't emphasis enough how important the first 2 are. It's my opinion that part of what makes Oppo great is that we can trust each other to do the right thing.