Moderators editing posts

[Mr.Sam]

if you read my last post I did explain how the two were connected.

4chan started the whole topic of rick rolling the mets and 4chan was mentioned in the first post.

the example that you gave would be fine... the topic would start from youtube demonstrations and if the topic starts to continue about youtube it's still on topic as youtube has been discussed previously in the thread.

But it wasn't a thread about 4chan!

It's like having a thread saying "Youtube took part in a student demonstration against the treatment of Tibetans" and then everyone talking about how slow Youtube is recently..

[The Professor]

well you should

nah, i knwo what your all saying but their should be rule changes to make them much more leniant to off topic posting and other things. Definitely not the rules about bullying but some need loosening really

The rules are actually incredibly flexible, but the moderators' implementation of them dictates how strict/leniant they are. I can't see a rule which is difficult to comply with, but the problem with the "off topic" rule is that it links in with a couple of other rules. The actual rule:

B13. Do not make off topic posts - Off topic and random posts are not allowed. Your post must be related to a post made earlier in the thread or about the thread itself.

is pretty much black and white. However, the following rules:

B1. Don't post for the sake of your post count - It's always nice to have a high post count, it may seem as though people will respect you more with a higher number beside your name, but it doesn't really mean anything on these forums. We respect each of you whether you have 1 post or 1000.

B2. Don't post short or meaningless posts / spam - We don't want replies like "i dono" or "why" or "yeah". We have set the forum so that any message must contain at least 9 characters, do not try to get around this by adding meaningless characters.

B11. Do not make pointless posts - It is not allowed to post any messages that others consider to be meaningless or pointless or not relevant to the discussion.

make it a grey area. Especially the last one, where it says "not relevant to the discussion". If you put those rules together, they say "Your post must be related to a post made earlier in the thread or about the thread itself. It is not allowed to post any messages that others consider to be meaningless or pointless or not relevant to the discussion." The interpretation and application of that combined rule is completely down to the moderator, and people finding themselves treading the line between them will find themselves caught out and edited by the stricter moderators. As I posted above, there are ways to make sure all posts you make comply with all of the above rules, but its an aquired skill

[:....:mike:....:]

I can see why you may feel this should be allowed and I'm not disputing that but under the current rules, my example would be off topic. The conversation about 4chan had no direct relevance to the actual rick roll, it was a brand new conversation about the site itself and therefore, was off-topic to the actual thread itself.

I can see why this is annoying but I have to moderate under current rules rather than what people think the rules should be.

But what it is wrong with being off-topic? It boosts the forum's activity and it brings in good conversations. Sure it is off-topic but the forum was designed to create different online discussions.

[Callum.]

I can see why you may feel this should be allowed and I'm not disputing that but under the current rules, my example would be off topic. The conversation about 4chan had no direct relevance to the actual rick roll, it was a brand new conversation about the site itself and therefore, was off-topic to the actual thread itself.

I can see why this is annoying but I have to moderate under current rules rather than what people think the rules should be.

Yeah I know you're only following rules that you are set to following, but I think the rules should be tweaked. If a thread say talks about Arsenal losing, it should be allowed to discuss Arsenal in ways, say past games etc, but not like "yeh Wigan are good" that's wrong obviously.

And wow, not many mods are following b13 then, if the post isn't about the starting post, they get edited.

[Thetan]

But it wasn't a thread about 4chan!

It's like having a thread saying "Youtube took part in a student demonstration against the treatment of Tibetans" and then everyone talking about how slow Youtube is recently..

No, because he mentioned 4chan being part of it when he made the thread, making the thread about the Rick rolling, and 4chan being behind it. Although I respect your decision, you shouldn't have edited everyones post.

[Mrs.McCall]

See, Alex has hit the nail on the head. There is a lot of grey area.

I just think that a thread about a rick roll should be about the rick roll rather than the website that contributed to it. Other moderators may disagree with me but some may agree. It's all about your own interpretation.

I am, however, willing to admit that I did over-edit that thread and I was perhaps a bit too strict.

[Mr.Sam]

I'm just saying that 4chan was previously mentioned so the posts would be on topic anyway.

B13. Do not make off topic posts - Off topic and random posts are not allowed. Your post must be related to a post made earlier in the thread or about the thread itself.

See, Alex has hit the nail on the head. There is a lot of grey area.

I just think that a thread about a rick roll should be about the rick roll rather than the website that contributed to it. Other moderators may disagree with me but some may agree. It's all about your own interpretation.

I am, however, willing to admit that I did over-edit that thread and I was perhaps a bit too strict.

[Tristan]

The thread about the Rick Roll was not a thread about 4chan, thus it was taking the thread into a different topic and therefore it was off-topic.

The thread then went into a series of posts unrelated to the actual rick rolling.

There was probably a little bit of over-editing but that thread did become an argument about how good or bad 4chan was and that, in my opinion, made all the threads pointless/off-topic. Nobody actually mentioned the rick roll for the other two pages apart from one person who stated it was on the news!

I think the thread became unrelated and thus off topic.

But 4chan was introduced to the thread straight from the original post.
So people are at liberty to post replies regarding it.
They stem off from it. Like a chain or they "branch" as Sam says.

well you should

nah, i knwo what your all saying but their should be rule changes to make them much more leniant to off topic posting and other things. Definitely not the rules about bullying but some need loosening really

The rules are fine at the moment, it's just that the Pointless Posting rule is most often misunderstood.

[Decode]

craziness

Edited by lAscend (Forum Super Moderator): Please don't post pointlessly.

craziness

Edited by lAscend (Forum Super Moderator): Please don't post pointlessly.

by the way what is 4chan

Edited by Mrs.McCall (Forum Moderator): Please keep on topic, thanks

Something you and most forum members are too young for - not kidding, legally

Edited by Mrs.McCall (Forum Moderator): Please keep on topic, thanks

4chan.org

Edited by Mrs.McCall (Forum Moderator): Please do not post pointlessly.

I don't think you have a social life, enjoy your 4chan.

Edited by Mrs.McCall (Forum Moderator): Please keep on topic, thanks

o come on, do we really want kyle posting all that crap?

Edited by Mrs.McCall (Forum Moderator): Please keep on topic, thanks

LOL TIME TO CONTRIBUTE.

Edited by Mrs.McCall (Forum Moderator): Please do not post pointlessly.

Oh good lord I hate it when you newfags post endless memes

Edited by Mrs.McCall (Forum Moderator): Please keep on topic, thanks

now kyle nows about 4chan you've given him ANOTHER personality to try to fit into

Edited by Mrs.McCall (Forum Moderator): Please keep on topic, thanks

tee hee.

Edited by Enrique (Forum Moderator): Please do not post pointlessly.

Wow, I guess somebody just got hired as a moderator.

Edited by Enrique (Forum Moderator): Please do not post pointlessly.

LOL, this is all from 1 thead.

[The Professor]

See, Alex has hit the nail on the head. There is a lot of grey area.

I just think that a thread about a rick roll should be about the rick roll rather than the website that contributed to it. Other moderators may disagree with me but some may agree. It's all about your own interpretation.

I am, however, willing to admit that I did over-edit that thread and I was perhaps a bit too strict.

I should bloody well hope so, between re-checking all of the rules and thinking of my argument it took me 10 minutes

But seriously, its general concensus that that thread was over-edited, and Joey has admitted that publicly. We do not believe we are above everyone else, we are all prone to mistakes, that's life. I wish people would drop the "moderators think they're god" think, because we really don't.