Censorship in online-forums

[MetalBeast]

We all know, it's hard today, to keep a online-forum clean.

There are many problems, starting with spam-bots, unwanted advertising, spamming and flaming users, etc.

So it is usual to make hard forum-rules and use them forcefull.

But how far should it goes?
It is Ok, to censor users posts, delete them, modify threads and banning users, even if they only have another \"point of view\" or make constructive criticism?

What are you thinking about this?

[CDN_Merlin]

It's upto the owner of the boards and the rules they have in place.

If they set a limit and the users go beyond that limit, then they have a right to delete the post or modify it. Then they should email the user and tell hmi/her why it was done. If the user keeps to do it, then banning might be the only option.

I tend to think forums should be open with certain restrictions. The DBB is divided into main groups for this purpose. But there are limits since under age users visit the forum.

[MetalBeast]

Ok, sorry, maybe it's my bad english, but it isn't what I asked for

I'm webmaster of 3 domains and have my own 2 forums, one of them with really big community.
So, I know the overall known rules and problems.

What I asked for is:
It's OK for you, that your post will be deleted, censored, modified and you will be banned, not because you hurt the forum-rules, you just wrote your mind or constructive (in no way abusive) criticism?

[CDN_Merlin]

Ok, if that happened because I spoke my mind but didn' break any rules, then I'd be pissed.

But remember that in the end, it's up to the owner of the boards to decide. If they are not open minded and mature (can't think of better word) then they might get pissed at something you said. Most people can't handle constuctive critisizim and get offended by it. Then there emotions kick in and they act like children and take appropriate action.

Also, if you write something that goes against the forum owners beliefs, dont' be surprised on what happens. I've realized in my life that is you challenge someone's beliefs or way of life, they will get upset and either ignore you or ban you if they can.

Hope this clears it up for you.

[TechPro]

CDN_Merlin is right that the choice is ultimately up to the owner of the board.

Normally, it is the usual accepted practice to not remove or edit posts except to accomplish two things: 1) Help the post conform to the posted rules, and 2) protect the forum and it's benefactors.

The second reason is highly subject to the moderator's or owner's discretion and personal preference. That essentially gives them the right to do whatever they wish up until a law is broken. Moderators or owners who go \"too far\" in their moderation activities risk losing their forum audience.

If this thread has to do with what I *think* it does ... I (personally) feel badly for you with how the incident at that other location turned out. I thought the way you handled your exit was done very well. I felt like the owner aired out a little too much \"laundry\" when trying to explain things in the attempt to \"clear the air\". IMHO, if I had been the owner, I think I would have said less about what happened, that's just my preference ... and I've been known to be a pretty mild personality.

[roid]

There's all kinds of forums out there.

Some you can post anything you want, even spam, it's rare to be banned.

Then there are other forums that will ban you simply if the moderator doesn't like you - or just for fun.

i prefer the first type

[Ford Prefect]

I post in H2G2 which is run by the BBC. There if someone objects to your post they click the \"yikes\" button. The post is removed and in place is a notice that it is being reviewed. If the moderator decides that it is offensive (the rules are posted)the poster gets an email outlining his offence and that the post has been removed. The notice is changed to show that the post has been removed due to rules violation.
I like this because the level of censorship is set by the group posting on that thread. If no one objects then the post stands. I had a post removed once that inadvertently used copyrighted material. I don't know how that came to the moderators attention.
I don't believe that the moderator should ever edit a post. Remove it or leave it be.

[Testiculese]

If your posts are modified because the person who owns the board doesn't like the point of view, than that person is weak, and their point of view is shallow and indefensible.

[CDN_Merlin]

If your posts are modified because the person who owns the board doesn't like the point of view, than that person is weak, and their point of view is shallow and indefensible.

X²

[WillyP]

Moderators, and Admins are charged with keeping the peace, preventing flame wars, insuring that topics are appropriate, posts reasonably on topic. To that end, sometimes action needs to be taken when there are no specific rules covering the situation. Just because the creators/owners/whatever did not anticipate a situation, does not mean it is/should be allowed. For example, what if a member were to be banned from another forum, and, knowing full well the individual who banned him posted frequently on this forum, came here and started to air his dirty laundry? What would you do in this hypothetical situation? There may not be a specific rule against this, but would you see this as a good situation, or would you feel it to be inappropriate?

[Spidey]

Stay off boards with butt hole moderators…just like I did, until most of them jumped ship to another board.

[Krom]

Childish moderators/administrators on powertrips are part of the nature of the internet, I doubt it will ever go away.

[Lothar]

It's up to the owners/moderators/admins of a board to decide what sort of board they want to run, and to choose rules accordingly. What do you consider \"clean\"? What is it important that you are able to do?

There are three boards I read fairly regularly.

Board A: bans people for minor infractions, like mentioning politics or religion even in a tangential way. It's a very \"clean\" board in the sense that there are never heated words exchanged, but it's hard to have serious discussions about the important things in life.

Board B: bans spam-bots. Occasionally bans abusive users, but only after hundreds of complaints. There's lots of flaming and attacking, lots of snide remarks, and not a lot of room for serious discussion. The board is not \"clean\" in any sense of the word.

Board C: this board. Bans spam-bots, and aggressively pushes users to keep their remarks civil (I'll even get after people for posting \"hidden\" insults, where they try to say something mean but use language that seems acceptable.) Most users have learned not to be abusive, so bans happen only rarely. Fairly \"clean\" in the sense that people aren't usually aggressive or insulting, but \"dirty\" in the sense that there's a lot of disagreement and a lot of room for people to express distaste for others' ideas. Personally, I like it, which is why I run it the way I do.

So, think about what your forum is about, and what \"clean\" means for that particular forum. If it's a pretty general forum, you may want to allow some room for disagreement, but limit political and religious discussions (maybe putting them in their own area.) If it's a forum about a specific topic, you might limit how much disagreement is allowed -- a board on cutting-edge evolutionary biology research would be ruined by creationists filling every thread with \"the earth is only 6000 years old\", while a serious Bible study and theology board would be ruined by atheists saying \"your god is imaginary\" every other post. If it's a forum full of young kids, put strong limits on what you allow. If it's a forum full of mature adults, you can allow more leeway.

Nobody likes to have their posts deleted. But I think people are willing to accept it if it makes sense to them, and seems like a good rule. I don't know the specifics of your board, so I can't give more detailed advice than that.

[Ford Prefect]

Stay off boards with butt hole moderators…just like I did, until most of them jumped ship to another board.

I thought that this was the DBB that was more heavily moderated and the .com one was \"loose in the stays\".

[Duper]

Stay off boards with butt hole moderators…just like I did, until most of them jumped ship to another board.

I thought that this was the DBB that was more heavily moderated and the .com one was "loose in the stays".

Ive seen a number of forums MUCH more heavily moderated than this. It's just that many here have the inability to keep a civil tongue ..er.. finger.. for more than 3 posts. And when they get called on it, "foul!" is hollered. This board is more than fair.

[Spidey]

There is a big difference between heavily moderated and improperly moderated.

[Ford Prefect]

I have no problem with the moderators of this board. Just having a little fun.