Modliness: cracking down on the insults

[pith]

With the blogfloggery system (vote now! Poll closes soon!), there have been more oneliner comments. On the whole, that's not an issue: when people are making comments (as opposed to full posts), it makes more sense if someone only wants to comment on one thing. Unfortunately, this is also resulting in a rise in insults—to LKH, to her family/friends/etc., and to fellow members.

Insulting other members has never been allowed, and never will be. I don't expect you to all be best friends. To be honest, there are members I don't especially like, and I'm the main mod. But that's not the point. If you don't like someone, either be civil or don't comment to/about them at all. Obviously, mods can't be everywhere and in every thread, so if you're being harassed or notice that someone else is, please bring it to our attention.

When it comes to LKH, obviously the boundaries a bit less clear. However, we're taking a "like constructive criticism" approach. If you wrote fanfic, did fanart, etc., would you appreciate someone simply saying "That sucks"? No. If the person said something like "Your shading is off. For the way she's standing and where the sun is, her shadow should be on the left, not the right", they're still criticising you, but they're telling you what they think is wrong.

Likewise, saying something like "LKH is a bitch" is nothing more than an insult—one a five-year-old could make. That's not what we're about. If we're doing nothing more than calling LKH a bitch, we're really no better than LKH's camp says we are. Saying "LKH is a bitch" does not contribute to any sort of meaningful discussion.

Direct insults and antagonizing comments are not allowed. Yes, the FAQ is in flux, but this will be amended in the FAQ when it's fixed. First offences will be given an open warning (i.e., in the specific post/thread). Second offences will be given an off-comm warning. Third offences will get you removed. Yes, "direct insult" and "antagonizing comment" are subjective. Everything is. If something's unclear, we mods will discuss it and come to a group decision.

This group is supposed to be about discussion—not necessarily academic-grade and not always serious, but discussion nonetheless. Anyone can call names and sling insults; that doesn't take a lot of skill. You're still free to express distaste for LKH's works and actions. We just don't want the community to be little more than insults and mudslinging.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask the mods.

Comments

[wonderbink.livejournal.com]

THANK you!

I do appreciate having a space where people can speak freely without being dismissed as hayturz, but I sometimes wonder if some people are so determined to despise this woman that they'll bash every little thing she says or does, no matter what.

She's still a human being, for crying out loud. A human being who has inflicted some brain-spinningly bad writing on the world, but, still, a human being.

[booster-blue.livejournal.com]

I think its harder for many to avoid simplistic insults when it comes to LKH and company. We really only have her public persona to go by...and quite frankly, the image she puts out is that of a pretty incompetent person. It grates on the nerves of many; much like that character in a movie that makes every wrong decision, and you're just left screaming at the screen.

Not excusing the blatant hatefest that sometimes goes down, just...y'know? Yea.

[pith]

I know that it's not always going to be easy. Sometimes LKH will say or do something so monumentally stupid that it's hard not to insult her. Dislike/disdain is still allowed, but there's a way to snark without resorting to immature mudslinging.

[booster-blue.livejournal.com]

I agree. Just there's always a snapping point for a person where they can't think of any more ways to express their disdain/dislike, and just sort of rage out. The less wank-worthy thing would be to just not comment, obviously...but not everyone takes that route. Hell, I've a pretty nasty sense of humour, and I know it doesn't always float outside of the more seedier comms of the nets, so I usually opt out of "debates" when things get heated.


I was mainly just giving a theory on some of the anger that seemed to crop up often in regards to LKH.

[tartful-dodger.livejournal.com]

Given the blurring of boundaries involved.... is insulting Anita still allowed? I mean its *almost* the same as insulting LKH, right?


:P

[pith]

LKH claims that Anita is purely fictional, so Anita is fair game :) Still, just saying "Anita is a bitch" doesn't add much to a conversation. Comments should be more than just insults.

[gehayi.livejournal.com]

You're talking about what's not allowed. What IS allowed? And what constitutes an antagonizing comment?

[naeko.livejournal.com]

Comments that spark discussion, add helpful information, answer questions, contribute to the post or comment thread at hand and/or generally foster an entertaining atmosphere are allowed. We're mainly trying to crack down on comments that simply call for more mudslinging. For example, a comment that simply reads, "Hamilton is so [insert negativity here]" does not spark the type of discussion we're striving for. At best, others will reply with simply, "I agree." At worst, people will reply with the same obnoxious antagonism, thus degenerating the possibility of insightful or funny discussion.

We're not asking you to stop expressing distaste for the things LKH says and does, of course. We're asking you to take a second to look at what you've typed before you hit "post" and, if it is negative, ask yourself if it could be considered overly antagonistic to anyone involved. If your comment just reads like rude mudslinging, edit or delete what you're about to say.

[asilentpart.livejournal.com]

Cool. It was getting pretty annoying to read a bunch of comments that were completely out of line. Sometimes people seem to make a big deal out of nothing just because it's LKH posting it.

[rfienneslover.livejournal.com]

So...we can still call her avatars and other characters whatever colorful names we want, right? I can understand rules against "insulting the author," but trying to protect fictional characters' feelings is moronic. Then again, Anita is such a self-insert that slagging her off would be doing the same to LKH in a roundabout way.:P

[pith]

For the most part, yes--the fictional characters are still open season.

However, if people start posting nothing but "Anita is a raving bitch whore"... well, that's not really adding conversation. We do still want discussions :)