MODERATOR: ALL TAKE NOTE:
THIS IS NOT TWITTER. AND THAT MEANS -
1. EASILY ASCERTAINED FACTS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO BE TWISTED, REFUTED OR OTHERWISE TRAMPLED UPON.
2. POSTERS WHO SPECIFICALLY HAVE BEEN CORRECTED OF WHAT GRACIOUSLY MAY BE CALLED THEIR MISUNDERSTANDINGS, YET THEREAFTER RE-POST THEM, WILL BE TREATED WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE.
3. ANY POSTER WHO CAUSES MODERATORS UNDUE WORK ALSO WILL BE CONSIDERED PUBLIC NUISANCES, AND WILL BE LIKEWISE ELIMINATED.
Mod: let me add to this. But not in Lavender, because that's too hard on the eyes for a long posting. Nevertheless, this whole posting is official sub-moderator comment.
--ggr
Without naming names specifically, there are a number of posters recently who have all committed the same sin. That is to post something factually incorrect when they should have known better. I, who have better connectivity than Audie, usually get to them first. I warn them a couple of times. Then I send a warning saying "this is your last warning before moderation." Then, almost universally, they go on moderation for a while. (Sometimes they even then complain that they weren't warned... guess what, guys, we have logs... must have learned from Tesla. Read your messages.)
Once someone is on moderation, the rules for their postings get somewhat tougher. For one thing, a posting saying essentially "Yeah, well, that guy doesn't know what he's talking about" (despite the fact that the subject's entire well-respected and well-remunerated career seems to imply that he does) won't get posted. One liners like "I can choose what to believe" or "you don't know what you're talking about" won't get posted. Postings that point to fake twitter accounts won't get through and certainly count as deliberate misinformation. Sometimes we will judge even an innocently worded posting asking a question for clarification, when the question has been answered many times before, to be unworthy. We've had people admit to not reading older postings before repeating discredited information. These behaviors contribute to me classifying such posts as trolling. Trolling is not tolerated.
Now, funnily enough, we are humans, and in my case I even have a full time job again, so just because a posting hasn't appeared, doesn't mean it never will. A non-abusive posting making a valid argument, with attribution/links where needed, will be approved as soon as I/we get to it. One last thing though, that Audie alluded to above, is that posting the same content again, fifteen minutes after the first attempt, will pretty much guarantee that the moderator will be additionally displeased. It's particularly irksome when the posting wouldn't have made it through anyway because of one of the above trolling behaviors.
Note that there are times when I also warn "non-trolls". We must keep dulce et decorum in this forum, so no insults of other members, even when we really really want to. We mods are equal opportunity when it comes to moving posts to snippy heaven.
We often have situations where real disagreements can arise. That's fine, we can discuss them collegially. If the discussion seems to go on too long, and assuming it started in the general or market action threads, we might move it to a separate thread. That's hard work for the moderators, but it's the kind of work we
like. But that still isn't license to start getting snippy, or even just repetitive.
"I say this."
"No, I say that."
"Let me reiterate, I said this!"
...
Let's all (and I very much include myself, here) engage brains before keyboards, and pause for a few breaths before posting. Light banter is fine, and breaks up the reading. Anything substantial should be clear, well reasoned, supported by facts where appropriate, and not argumentative. Again, "non-trolls" often post things that don't meet this standard, but hey, they haven't committed the sins to get them into moderation. This is a cooperative forum, not a debating competition.
Moderation is temporary, and bear in mind it increases our workload, so we actually prefer not to put people into moderation in the first place. A temporary ban is easier for us, so repeating what was done to get there in the first place usually results in a temporary ban. Creating sock puppet accounts to get around moderation or bans is one thing that will get a person instantly and permanently banned.
"I have a little list, of people who won't be missed" -- misquoted from the Mikado, Gilbert and Sullivan.
I hope this is clear guidance for all.
