Suggestion Should we ban religious / LGBT / political threads?

[MadMageKefka]

This started as a status message, but it sparked some interesting discussion, so at the advice of someone on my status, I made a thread to see what everyone else thinks.

Now, its not my place to decide the rules of this site, nor am I the kind of person to usually censor what people talk about. However, I am seeing more and more of these threads every day, and its getting out of hand. They always, without fail, devolve into bigotry and arguing. With this being a video game website, and these sorts of threads causing so much drama, maybe it would be for the best?

An example I would like to give is the thread from the other day about the Afghanistan bombing. After several pages it devolved into several people saying how gays should be executed. The thread was deleted shortly after. My question is, why aren't those people being punished and having their comments deleted? Why was the entire thread removed? Some of that conversation was legit discussion. I have a feeling the staff here is tired of the crap too (please correct me if I am wrong).

So what do you all think? I don't wanna censor people really, but at the same time I think it would make the site a more friendly, enjoyable experience for everyone. Maybe another option would be to create a separate forum for this stuff, so at least it doesn't appear on the front page? Please, let me know how you all feel too.

EDIT: At this point, after discussing this for so many hours, my opinion on the matter is that outright banning this sort of thing is not the answer. I do, however, feel that off-topic discussions of this nature don't belong on the front page of a gaming / hacking forum. A lot of people are tired of seeing it and it just plain makes us looks bad as a community when 4 out of the 10 topics on the front page are off-topic shit shows of bigotry and hate. This is obviously not too often the case, but it does seem to be happening more frequently.

 

[DeslotlCL]

Out of control and off-topic posts should be deleted and the user who made them should be warned or suspended. As you mentioned on your example, my afghanistan thread was removed due to the intense hating and muslim stuff going on there. I had no other option than to report my own thread, though i was expecting for those posts to be deleted and not for my thread to be closed but it was for the better.

Also, what the heck with the guy hating so hard on furries on this thread? He is not even on topic...

 

[MadMageKefka]

Reading this trash and all the serfs who need a baby sitter makes my head hurt, So I am going to do what so many of you seem incapable of and not read it anymore.

Grow up, you are destroying society.

Thanks for your valuable imput to our discussion.

 

[Stephano]

Maybe setup a way so that while you are logged in, you can filter out threads that have those kind of topics so you don't see them.

My question is what sort of "off topic" (my definition being not gaming related) discussions could and could not be

Reading this trash and all the serfs who need a baby sitter makes my head hurt, So I am going to do what so many of you seem incapable of and not read it anymore.

Grow up, you are destroying society.

Not sure if b8 or not...

 

[sarkwalvein]

Please don't forget all the furry stuff.
Well... i really don't mind any of what you mentioned.
Just pleaaaaaaase get rid of all those strange zoophiliacs.
When we get a GBAtemp free of all the people who are sexually attracted to animals THEN we can talk wether anything else could be offensive besides that.

People with furry profiles that dare to draw furry erotic pictures are as much zoophiles, as people shooting enemies to a bloody death in videogames are murderers.

I mean, there are always outliers, like Columbine.

IMO it is more akin to cosplay and weird fantasy than to zoophilia, I don't think any of them would go around fucking dogs and foxes TBH.

PS: That said, please keep your NSFW out of the page, and pictures that are quite erotic in nature but "SFW" in spoiler tags. I really hate furries (the concept, not the people).

 

[Aurora Wright]

I honestly don't see the point in keeping people whose sole intent is flaming in LGBT threads. There have been several LGBT threads on this site, most of them not "controversial" at all (see the coming out posts), and every time pretty much the same people start flaming by saying homophobic or transphobic stuff in the comments (and I can't see any other intent than flaming/"triggering" if you do this in a coming out thread). Flaming and "triggering" people are enemies of peaceful living in a community, and I've never seen these usual people punished for it.
So tl;dr in my humble opinion the problem isn't opening a LGBT-related post, it's not stopping the flamers.

 

[cvskid]

My question is what sort of "off topic" (my definition being not gaming related) discussions could and could not be

Not sure if b8 or not...

I just always figured that there are other places on the internet dedicated to topics of the sort.

 

[MadMageKefka]

I honestly don't see the point in keeping people whose sole intent is flaming in LGBT threads. There have been several LGBT threads on this site, most of them not "controversial" at all (see the coming out posts), and every time pretty much the same people start flaming by saying homophobic or transphobic stuff in the comments (and I can't see any other intent than flaming/"triggering" if you do this in a coming out thread). Flaming and "triggering" people are enemies of peaceful living in a community, and I've never seen these usual people punished for it.
So tl;dr in my humble opinion the problem isn't opening a LGBT-related post, it's not stopping the flamers.

I agree. It bothers me that more often than not, the people who flame like that go unpunished, and instead the thread is locked or deleted. My hope is that SOME solution, whatever it may be, comes from this discussion. Maybe solution is the wrong word, but I think you get my point.

 

[Dionicio3]

I just always figured that there are other places on the internet dedicated to topics of the sort.

You can find whole sub reddits anything

 

[Dr.Hacknik]

I really hate furries (the concept, not the people).

Well, let's hope people don't get salty about you saying that. Doesn't bother me if someones says they hate or dislike furries, and I'd want to know as to why.
Otherwise, going out on furries, saying they're cancer, saying they should leave temp, or die in a burning fire is the equivalent of saying that black people are exactly the same, or illegal immigrants. Not trying to start a war, but statements like that are just bullshit. Why can't we all just get along, and respect each others beliefs and opinions.

 

[Issac]

How much work is it to be a Mod of websites like this? I've never really thought about it.

When the reports are coming in, and having a backlog of reports to go through, it can be a lot of work. Any report means you have to read it, see what the reporter said about it, read the post, read the whole thread, get an idea what it all is about. Is it 4 pages of flame war, is it 1 single shitpost, is it some hacking related new stuff... is it illegal? is it something that are against the rules? Do I have to speak with other mods to discuss the matter? Then I'll have to make a well thought out decision on what to do. Deleting a post, deleting a thread, just locking it, locking out a member from posting in said thread, warning the user? And if I warn, how many points, is he or she a repeat offender, go through the history of that person's posts to see if this was a one time thing or someone who's just an asshole. Should they be suspended even? for how long?

Now, imagine doing that for a report.... and then you have a backlog of 25 reports. While new are coming in.

At the same time, members may be PM'ing you for various reasons, asking for help or reporting other's... and then, you have to do mod work on everything you find that's NOT reported as well (we can't just rely on the reports).

So there's a lot of work, that's for sure. But it's one that I'll do with a smile on my face, hopefully being appreciated by those I help AND those I end up warning
This has been my home for over 13 years, so it's work I'm happy to do.

But this was somewhat off-topic!

 

[Stephano]

I just always figured that there are other places on the internet dedicated to topics of the sort.

Sorry i accidentally left that post unfinished. My apologies. The first part was for you, the second part was for @jimbo13

 

[Justinde75]

Man, if you get so worked up about 1-2 treads popping up (Which you dont even have to click on!)
I just simply have to say that you should stop crying about things you dont like. Just because you think that its not interesting doesnt mean it should be banned. Its extremly selfish and childish. Its called off-topic for a reason, even if its on a gaming forum.

 

[Dionicio3]

AND those I end up warning

Hmmmm... Lol

 

[evandixon]

When the reports are coming in, and having a backlog of reports to go through, it can be a lot of work. Any report means you have to read it, see what the reporter said about it, read the post, read the whole thread, get an idea what it all is about. Is it 4 pages of flame war, is it 1 single shitpost, is it some hacking related new stuff... is it illegal? is it something that are against the rules? Do I have to speak with other mods to discuss the matter? Then I'll have to make a well thought out decision on what to do. Deleting a post, deleting a thread, just locking it, locking out a member from posting in said thread, warning the user? And if I warn, how many points, is he or she a repeat offender, go through the history of that person's posts to see if this was a one time thing or someone who's just an asshole. Should they be suspended even? for how long?

Now, imagine doing that for a report.... and then you have a backlog of 25 reports. While new are coming in.

At the same time, members may be PM'ing you for various reasons, asking for help or reporting other's... and then, you have to do mod work on everything you find that's NOT reported as well (we can't just rely on the reports).

So there's a lot of work, that's for sure. But it's one that I'll do with a smile on my face, hopefully being appreciated by those I help AND those I end up warning
This has been my home for over 13 years, so it's work I'm happy to do.

But this was somewhat off-topic!

Sounds like you guys could use some local moderators to help ease the load (like I've suggested in the past).

I'm glad most users on my forum behave well enough so it's not this bad.

 

[Wolfvak]

And that's why I always suggest more staff. If a member is just going out of their way to derail/flame/harass/so on, then it's that member that needs to be dealt with, not the topic. If that member can't handle themselves around the topic, then they need to be warned. We can't buckle because a few people can't handle themselves or a few people loose their cool. We need actual moderation in the threads to keep them on topic and keep the flames at a low level.

Honestly, I have to disagree with that part. Maybe on some other instances more staff is needed (those threads that get 10 messages every 30 seconds get pretty insane), but on this case it isn't. These threads remain active for a ridiculous amount of time after they're derailed (some up to 16 hours or so) without any mod doing anything about it. I've only seen one cleanup so far. However, the threads do get eventually deleted, once their content goes way too far and starts actively insulting pretty much everyone (not in a "triggered" way but in a legit offensive manner, which can easily provoke other users into replying to them, aka bait).

The fact that they do get deleted makes me think the mods actually do know what's going on and that the thread will eventually get deleted, but they either don't know when to remove it or just want to know how far the users will go. Independently of which one it is, they know who are the ones trying to light up the shit bag on the front page.

As a matter of fact, the one who created the most recent religion-related thread was the one who started insulting gay people in the previous one, insisting that they should be executed! I'm all for free speech and stuff, but that's going too far.

 

[Stephano]

When the reports are coming in, and having a backlog of reports to go through, it can be a lot of work. Any report means you have to read it, see what the reporter said about it, read the post, read the whole thread, get an idea what it all is about. Is it 4 pages of flame war, is it 1 single shitpost, is it some hacking related new stuff... is it illegal? is it something that are against the rules? Do I have to speak with other mods to discuss the matter? Then I'll have to make a well thought out decision on what to do. Deleting a post, deleting a thread, just locking it, locking out a member from posting in said thread, warning the user? And if I warn, how many points, is he or she a repeat offender, go through the history of that person's posts to see if this was a one time thing or someone who's just an asshole. Should they be suspended even? for how long?

Now, imagine doing that for a report.... and then you have a backlog of 25 reports. While new are coming in.

At the same time, members may be PM'ing you for various reasons, asking for help or reporting other's... and then, you have to do mod work on everything you find that's NOT reported as well (we can't just rely on the reports).

So there's a lot of work, that's for sure. But it's one that I'll do with a smile on my face, hopefully being appreciated by those I help AND those I end up warning
This has been my home for over 13 years, so it's work I'm happy to do.

But this was somewhat off-topic!

Well shoot dude. Thanks for your and the other staffs amazing work on this site.

 

[MadMageKefka]

When the reports are coming in, and having a backlog of reports to go through, it can be a lot of work. Any report means you have to read it, see what the reporter said about it, read the post, read the whole thread, get an idea what it all is about. Is it 4 pages of flame war, is it 1 single shitpost, is it some hacking related new stuff... is it illegal? is it something that are against the rules? Do I have to speak with other mods to discuss the matter? Then I'll have to make a well thought out decision on what to do. Deleting a post, deleting a thread, just locking it, locking out a member from posting in said thread, warning the user? And if I warn, how many points, is he or she a repeat offender, go through the history of that person's posts to see if this was a one time thing or someone who's just an asshole. Should they be suspended even? for how long?

Now, imagine doing that for a report.... and then you have a backlog of 25 reports. While new are coming in.

At the same time, members may be PM'ing you for various reasons, asking for help or reporting other's... and then, you have to do mod work on everything you find that's NOT reported as well (we can't just rely on the reports).

So there's a lot of work, that's for sure. But it's one that I'll do with a smile on my face, hopefully being appreciated by those I help AND those I end up warning
This has been my home for over 13 years, so it's work I'm happy to do.

But this was somewhat off-topic!

No, I'd say that was very much on topic. Its easy to believe the mods here have too much to do sometimes. Maybe Crystal's idea of adding more staff would be a good one? I know its not easy to pick new staff, though. However, I do think that it might help lighten the load on you guys, making things get taken care of more quickly, and stopping a lot of the nonsense I'm talking about.

 

[Dionicio3]

My cousin is a lesbian but fuck her anyway

Wtf?

 

[Dr.Hacknik]

Sounds like you guys could use some local moderators to help ease the load (like I've suggested in the past).

I'm glad most users on my forum behave well enough so it's not this bad.

A few more moderators that are on more frequently, would be a good thing.

 

[Kioku]

AFAIK the money they give helps pay for the server. I don't know what GBAtemp is hosted with, but a standard OVH server can be $70 per month.

While an active, contributing member will likely make a good moderator, moderating is a different skill than contributing posts.

Exactly why I said it the way I did. If you can contribute effectively to the community, figuring out what is and isn't acceptable won't be difficult. Picking out some random schmoe can lead to more power struggle than anything else.