What the hell are you talking about?
No post on Boing Boing has advocated that folks go out and attack anyone. Not one.
If the idea of a guillotine as representative of revolution is overly complex, so be it, but it is not, and has never been in well over a century, an attempt at having people construct actual guillotines.
I’m guessing you know this and are very poorly driving trollies here.
Oh, goody, this hand-wringing “concern” about BB again. As if it hasn’t been addressed before in detail when others swooned to their fainting couches over BB’s alleged endorsement of cutting off the heads of the ultra-wealthy.
The image of the guillotine has traditionally been a warning: historically, if things continue the way they are, it does not end well for those with wealth and power.
It’s a WARNING, not a wish…
Really? I’ve been hanging around here for years and I have never seen anything like that. In fact, there are a lot of people here who could variously be defined as “other” and who would most definitely not be cool with “othering” other people here, rightly or wrongly, whether they are in the same category or not. Anyone advocating violence against anyone here won’t last long.
Oh, if you want to play it that way, and compare any of these groups to an actual protected class, then… still no. None of these groups is a protected class, and to pretend otherwise would be laughable and disingenuous. Regardless, I’ve never heard any calls for violence here against any of these groups.
Ah, okay.
Maybe instead of guillotine gifs, we should have gifs of people writing letters to these offending people? Or maybe a gif of someone voting Democratic, because I guess that’s something none of us have tried before? Something more gentle and civil, and shows that we know our place in the natural order of things?
What I’m really asking is why you want to bootlick for people who can’t even be bothered to acknowledge your existence.
Y’know, I even started a thread to let people come up with alternatives to guillotines, since even my ideas were weak (but strong enough to start a discussion, so there is that). And you know what? I find the guillotine as a warning has been tempered, strengthened because its message is so hard to misconstrue.
I’m kinda glad BBS pinged me about this, though I am not sure why. Because it makes me think about things I haven’t thought about in a while, and realise I like the thoughts that come here from people like yourself, @gracchus, @Melizmatic, @Tamsin_Bailey, and oh so many whose names I haven’t yet dropped because I am a lazy so-and-so. Just had to be said.
Most of the violent posts are simply not being flagged, from my experience. Those that remain - such as the guillotines - are being excused on technicalities of “well of course everyone knows I don’t literally mean guillotines” which many here think is super weak sauce. But in the end it’s up to the users to flag and the moderators to judge. @Nightflyer did you a service by moving your post here, I hope you realize.
I like this one which is more clearly rhetorical and also includes attribution.
Hey @orenwolf and @codinghorror! Several of us have been running out of flags in recent days (given the tensions in, you know… all the things. What about an increase in the number of flags we’re allowed to give, since this is the local preferred method of dealing with trolls and the like?
Thanks! Hope you’re both staying safe!
The flag system is about multiple people flagging posts. The intention is to limit the number of flags from any one user to ensure the individual users can’t unduly influence the system.
For the moment, the things that need to be flagged seem to be receiving flags. If the number of bad actors increases to the point where we see things not being flagged, we’ll revisit.
Thanks for bringing this up, though!
The mods review the flags thrown after the comment is hidden, and then make a determination whether to uphold the flags, remove it or restore it… like Rupual says, the final decision is theirs.
So basically if you’re accusing long standing members of gaming the system to unfairly brigade you, then you’re accusing the mods of being complicit.
O_o
I’ve been modded, and while I don’t always agree with the decisions made, for the most part I consider it fair and consistent.
That’s how this system works. If you’re being flagged by the community, the community feels your comment should be flagged, and the Mod team reviews to confirm post removal or reinstate the post.
I’ve had posts flagged and removed. I don’t complain about it here. It’s possible I wrote something that I did not intend, or I was too caught up in the moment to realize I was in attack mode. But what you’re describing is the system working as intended.
But surely I am also allowed to use this thread to vent my frustration – which is also the system working as intended?
Vent all you like; it won’t make any difference.
We all agreed that the mods can delete whatever content they wish when we joined this site.
In my experience, the best way avoid getting modded is to stay on topic, maintain the bare modicum of respect that is the community standard (though that’s not always easy, especially right now ) and to actively chose to NOT be a dick.
I do not think your frustration is completely unwarranted; I am a (I think anyway) tenured member here and absolutely feel the same way. Disagreeing or being on the wrong side of person X can mean you feel targeted by a whole bunch of others.
the issue is the perception is not necessarily reality; so express it and talk. communicate. If you feel someone in particular is a wall for you; message them.
Best case control yourself. Don;t respond. Walk away. If you feel Person X is “getting away” with anything, look at the posts…follow the rules and flag if the posts break the rules. If not, let it go…don’t respond, walk away…control yourself.
Best advice I can give. It’s hard. It’s really really hard some days.
Edit: agree with @DukeTrout @Melizmatic said it best.
I would disagree with this. Ask IN THE THREAD, referencing them by name (@chgoliz, for example) to make sure they get the notification that you’re talking to them in particular.
Sending a private message can be perceived as invasive. If you really want an in-depth conversation that wouldn’t be of interest to anyone else – but why wouldn’t it be, if it started in a public thread? – first ask on the thread if it’s OK to message them.
we can disagree on this. If direct messaging is invasive, turn it off. The feature is there, use it. Flagging expressly states “try messaging the person”
As was pointed out, we all enter into this with full understanding. One should not need to “ask permission” for something that is encouraged to do.
I will agree a DM can be invasive if you treat it as some method of unloading on the individual…but that is not the intended purpose. Additionally, doing so can also bring about a flag and it would be in violation of the forum rules.
The only way to do that is to hide your profile from public view, and even then someone can still type out your screen name and message you that way, which brings me back to MY biggest gripe;
there is a “do not allow direct messages” does that not work? I always had the understanding it did.
No such thing, except that people who know you may be inclined to cut you a little more slack than they give someone who joined fifteen minutes ago. As a long-established user myself, I know that I’m only as acceptable as my last post, so I try to keep my replies respectful and on-topic.
I agree with @chgoliz, though, that DMs can be seen as, and sometimes are, harassment. Women are especially aware of that, for obvious reasons. Disagreements about thread topics are best handled in the thread, where others can offer their points of view.
