Moderation or Censorship?

[traid77]

I had been following a thread here, and was learning a lot, but once again (in my opinion) as it opened up some truths for me, it was closed.

I think the moderation on this site is more like censorship. If people are so close to drinking over hurt feeling on a recovery site, God be with them in the real world. I understand it's a hard job to determine what is over the top, but again, why can't we make our own decisions on who to ignore?

If I am not booted, or this thread removed before anyone reads it, I would like to see if anyone agrees with me here.

I wish everyone on here the best in their journey.

Traid.

[Dee74]

This is a moderated board.

It's really pointless to argue against that because I think the system works really well by and large - this is one of the safest, as well as one of the biggest and busiest, forum sites around.

I know the mod staff goes to extraordinary lengths to let everyone have a say and keep things fair....but we close threads for all kinds of reasons....sometimes those reasons are not always known to the community at large

The only thread I've closed today tho was by request of the original poster.....

I'd appreciate if folks would check with me or other mods before taking it to the boards.

I think the boards are best left for recovery and helping others - not stuff like this.

Dee

[Tippingpoint]

Couldn't disagree more. The mods here do a great job!

Threads that get shut down weren't going anywhere to begin with.

[Boleo]

Originally Posted by traid77

I understand it's a hard job to determine what is over the top, but again, why can't we make our own decisions on who to ignore?

If you were to stick around long enough, you would start to see that we do not all agree on much of anything. However, this is a "Recovery" forum and Moderation is something most of tried a long, long time ago with progressively negative results. I myself tried it for about 5 years.

There are only a few things we almost all (about 99.9%) agree on, and that is the idea that even a single drink is too much for an alcoholic. It is simply outside the realm of any kind of "Recovery" to talk about moderation.

If you feel a need to still talk about it try posting in one of the forums where "Recovery" is not considered a life & death issue. Like:

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/what-recovery/

[omegasupreme]

I don't go storming into the Catholic church telling them to change their homily...if I disagree I just don't go. I choose to log in to SR, no one forces me. That being said the answer is no, I don't always agree with the mod staff, and that's okay...9 out of 10 times it's more about me and my stuff than them though...okay 10 out of 10 times.

[Tippingpoint]

Originally Posted by Boleo

If you were to stick around long enough, you would start to see that we do not all agree on much of anything. However, this is a "Recovery" forum and Moderation is something most of tried a long, long time ago with progressively negative results. I myself tried it for about 5 years.

There are only a few things we almost all (about 99.9%) agree on, and that is the idea that even a single drink is too much for an alcoholic. It is simply outside the realm of any kind of "Recovery" to talk about moderation.

If you feel a need to still talk about it try posting in one of the forums where "Recovery" is not considered a life & death issue. Like:

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/what-recovery/

I don't think that is type of "moderation" he was talking about.

[Boleo]

Originally Posted by Tippingpoint

I don't think that is type of "moderation" he was talking about.

OH! I get it now. Moderation by the SR moderators. Here again trying the "What is Recovery" link might lead him to a forum where there is more room for drama and dissidence.

[DayTrader]

I get ya Triad.

in MY opinion, there are ppl who'd be un-banned, others who would be banned, threads that would be deleted, others that would be allowed to go on, members who'd be "talked to" and others who'd be encouraged to post more..........

that said, I'm NOT the moderator and though several of them and I have disagreed on some issues here and there before, I have to come back to my belief that if I was "supposed" to be a moderator here, I'd BE or be trying to BECOME a moderator here - and I'm not (to either of those optioins). So my OPINIONS are of the weakest kind....those that I'm not even really willing to back with any action.

Want to change the way the mods moderate......become one yourself. When I put that challenge to myself, I got a whole lot more willing to roll with how things operate.

IF a thread that you like or were getting something from gets shut down, odds are it got shut down because (usually) 2-4 ppl are arguing like dopes about something specific that (again.....usually) doesn't have anything to do with the original post.

Words/phrases like: God, choice, power, real alcoholic, you think vs I experienced, and so forth are great thread derailleurs. They usually get danders up in a hurry and threads go sideways. Another biggie is when AA folks like me start "pushing" AA on ppl who don't use it or want to hear it.

Want your cake AND eat it too? Take the initiative to start another thread but be careful to be specific about what you're wondering, investigating, trying to learn about. It's also helpful to ensure the post is made in the correct area. A lot of AA/step related threads that get posted outside the 12-step "area" get shut down because pro and anti AA ppl tend to lock horns from time to time.

[Morning Glory]

We average over 1300 posts per day. That is a lot of reading for our moderators.
The moderators volunteer and work very hard.
When a thread receives reports and becomes too much work it will be closed.

There is usually a warning posted before the thread is closed and 9 times out of 10 the warning is ignored by a handful of members that keep it going.

I received a report on the closed thread and dealt with it before I even had a chance to drink coffee this morning. Dee dealt with it before that and after that.

We don't have the kind of time it takes to referee debates that go back and forth and on and on. The mods have 1200 to 1600 more posts to read on any given day.

[soberlicious]

I hear you too Traid. I don't always agree on threads being closed, but you couldn't pay me a million dollars to moderate this or any other board (that's a lie...I'm pretty sure I would do it for a million dollars). You win some, you lose some, I say. No bigs.

[shaun00]

I asked for my thread to be closed....alcoholism disease concept.

The line of discussion had shifted from what was an interesting topic for me anyhow.

My reasons to ask dee if he could do this was, i am aware that lots of lurkers and newcomers read posts and threads here.....and i think it serves a negative purpose to be getting heated and drifting away from topic.

Plus in my opinion...and with newcomers in mind, there was a heck of a lot of misinformation within it
In a board that ends with the words..support

[Boleo]

Originally Posted by DayTrader

in MY opinion, there are ppl who'd be un-banned, others who would be banned, threads that would be deleted, others that would be allowed to go on, members who'd be "talked to" and others who'd be encouraged to post more..........

I have actually found forums that I thought were perfect in terms of moderators and subject matter. Everybody was more or less on the same page all the time with little difference of opinion. The trouble is they get maybe 5 - 10 new posts per month. They seem to suffer the same fate as family's that inbreed.

[Notabobblehead]

I am new to this site. I see Traid77 thanked several participants. To me, that demonstrates an open-mind and the way to work the program.

I am not sure this is appropriate. Is it cross-talk??

[DayTrader]

Originally Posted by Boleo

I have actually found forums that I thought were perfect in terms of moderators and subject matter. Everybody was more or less on the same page all the time with little difference of opinion. The trouble is they get maybe 5 - 10 new posts per month. They seem to suffer the same fate as family's that inbreed.

I can totally see that......

even the "finally get everything arranged EXACTLY perfect....and it's STILL not what we hoped for" part.

"You are / things are where you're/they're supposed to be for a reason" comes to mind.

[Taking5]

Censorship is when the Government tells the media - print, tv, radio or internet - what they an or cannot publish. SR is not capable of censorship.

[Hollyanne]

I think Dee is spending far too much time on his appearance and Morning Glory flat out admitted to having coffee! lol

As in real life, the conversation can get nasty, personal and go around in circles to the point of destructive.
I have been censored myself and it is warranted. I may not agree at first, and sometimes have been misunderstood. I made one of my wisea$$ comments once and got told off. I was annoyed that the mod couldn't see that it was a joke, but if the mod couldn't see it, chances are, others wouldn't either. So, fine. I don't want to hurt anyone!

Also, a few people here are like friends. I feel I can throw something at them in a thread and they can take it. They can, but what about the other people who know nothing of the "banter" between us?
It is a public forum. Like any public place, to remain civilized, it must be regulated.
That is how SR has lasted so long and helped so many people.
It, due to the diligence of the mods, remains a safe, bullyfree, civilized, kind and supportive place to go, for all people affected by addiction.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[SOBERINNEPA]

I've stopped checking in to another recovery board because it's poorly moderated. All it takes is one or two trolls, and a couple well meaning folks responding to them, to take a thread hostage. Once the exchanges become nasty or circular, there's no point reading or contributing.

[NoelleR]

Originally Posted by dgillz

Censorship is when the Government tells the media - print, tv, radio or internet - what they an or cannot publish. SR is not capable of censorship.

Actually the definition of censorship...........:
the institution, system, or practice of censoring; the actions or practices of censors; especially censorial control exercised repressively.

.....and the definition of censor..............:
to examine in order to suppress or delete anything considered objectionable; also to suppress or delete as objectionable.

It doesn't matter if it's government or owners/operators of a message board, or the moderators thereof.

NoelleR

[NYCDoglvr]

I've only encountered one thread that was removed, in another area of the SR forum. Disagreements started to get angry and personal. I can see why moderators took it down.
However, "alcoholism as a disease" is one of the most debated topics around. For the life of me I can't seen anything controversial about it. I saw it yesterday and the postings seemed respectful. Whatever. The moderators do a terrific job so I certainly defer to their decisions. If you want to see what an recovery forum that isn't moderated just visit Craig's List...

[Db1105]

We are all guest here so we must abide by the host's rules.