Promoting constructive discussion on the forum

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Moonchild
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Promoting constructive discussion on the forum

Unread post by Moonchild » 2016-08-03, 10:38

Since this forum opened, we’ve worked to foster a welcoming place for the community to discuss the browser and provide feedback. We want to take a moment to discuss this goal in greater depth and how we can maintain this.

A big part of making this community great is to remember to be constructive and respectful.

Avoiding Problems, and Keeping Criticism and Disagreements Constructive

Most problems on fora stem from a disagreement, but disagreement and debate also results in some of the most productive and engaging discussion a forum can have. To keep these on track, please keep your comments civil, constructive, and on-topic.

Feedback for the browser is another area that is extremely important, but can also attract problems – sometimes because it results in disagreement and debate. It is perfectly fine to critique the browser; criticism is quite valuable, but as above this needs to be civil and constructive. The moderators are here to help promote this; we have no interest in quieting any particular topic. You are welcome to post your suggestions, complaints, and frustrations – but to keep this productive it shouldn’t resort to bashing the browser, devs, or members of the community. The latter goes both ways - if someone has a valid concern or frustration, long-standing members should take the time to try and assist and not resort to being brusk, acting superior, or being unnecessarily dismissive.

It is important to always remain respectful when posting on the forums. You don’t have to treat everyone like a dear friend, but everyone is allowed their opinion, and it is not acceptable to attack or demean someone you disagree with. If you see someone breaking the rules, please report them rather than responding. Responding risks escalating the situation. Being provoked also doesn’t excuse breaking the rules yourself. If a particular person frequently annoys you, you should also consider adding them to your ignore list ("foes").

Clarification of Moderation

In general, we are using a strike system, and we will issue three formal warnings before considering a permanent ban. Any warning may also carry with it a temporary suspension. This gives us plenty of flexibility to respond while giving users the chance to adjust.

Especially egregious offenses may result in one’s account being immediately banned.

If someone is banned, they are not allowed to come back with another account. If we identify an account as such, it will be closed.

If you have questions about any moderation action, or wish to appeal an action, you can PM a moderator to discuss the matter, or write to the general forum staff e-mail address.

Taking Better Advantage of the Boards Available

We have a wide variety of boards here to help keep discussion organized, and make it easier to find topics relevant to your interest or question. Before posting a thread, we ask that you take a moment to review the boards available, to see which is the best place to post it.

Some topics can fit in various boards – choose the one you feel fits it best.
As part of this, moderators will actively move misplaced threads they come across, in any of the boards. These threads may seem to vanish if a shadow topic isn't maintained (usually it isn't) and some people have assumed the thread was deleted -- we are not in the habit of deleting threads, see above, so please check your posts to see where the thread may have been moved to. We’re also happy to hear any feedback on ways we can further increase organization on the forums.

Continued Discussion

We'll be leaving this thread open for any questions or feedback about moderation and forum organization. We’re happy to hear your thoughts on how we can keep this forum a great place to visit and participate in.

However, please do not post any questions related to specific moderation actions. These will be removed. If you have these kinds of questions, they should be submitted via PM or as an e-mail.
"Sometimes, the best way to get what you want is to be a good person." -- Louis Rossmann
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Andrew Gilbertson

Re: Promoting constructive discussion on the forum

Unread post by Andrew Gilbertson » 2016-08-03, 12:20

One suggestion, for everyone not just the administrators here: This forum offers a feature that allows you to save drafts of messages. If you're worried that you might come off as hot-headed, be seen as responding in a way that could be disrespectful, or even just want additional time to consider your position(s) on a certain topic; you may want to save your message and come back to it when you're able to be a little calmer and/or less emotionally invested in your response.

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satrow
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Re: Promoting constructive discussion on the forum

Unread post by satrow » 2016-09-28, 02:01

RJules3 wrote: Occasionally it could be helpful, if moderators understood their role to be more that of a host than of a cop.
Did anything specific trigger this?

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Re: Promoting constructive discussion on the forum

Unread post by adisib » 2016-09-28, 03:18

I've noticed topics occasionally are closed by forum staff. When not because a topic already exists, it seems to either be because some posters are being non-constructive, or because the staff deems the issue resolved.

In the case of the former, it seems more reasonable to me to remove the offender(s), rather than the medium. In the latter, people may have more to contribute to the topic than may be immediately apparent to the staff, or some users may want clarification on something mentioned. Either may lead to creation of the same topic in separate locations if further discussion is needed, or even an incorrect impression that a user's opinion may not be wanted for some subjects.

Can the staff clarify what results in a topic being locked?

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satrow
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Re: Promoting constructive discussion on the forum

Unread post by satrow » 2016-09-28, 06:40

So it's a general comment. Here's a few hints, not that I'm empowered to speak for the project, just some random thoughts.

I've never locked a topic here but the tipping point for locking would depend on a range of factors, eg. different forum areas might have very different tolerance levels.

Much also depends on the timing, during a busy season, the devs and other coders really don't have time to discuss issues that aren't relevant to the development stages that are currently being worked on.

There are Rules linked on every page, I hope you've read them as they will provide further insights.

Locked