Over moderation

[DaveW]

Lee Harvey joke too edgy for these parts? Gimme a break, people need to lighten up.

[DaveW]

I would point out we have a celebrity death pool, yet a joke about a death 50 years ago is over the line. Got it. Just because a couple people didn't get the joke doesn't mean it has to be deleted or whatever.

[Fatt Crapps]

Yeah, I still use the site for up to date Twins info..but the humor is non-existant these days. Remember how hilarious those old BYTO game threads were?

[John Bonnes]

Guys, if you want to fire up a BYTO style site someplace, we'll be happy to support it, just like we try to support independent blogs, TwinkieTown, podcasts, etc. This is not BYTO and it's not going to be.

 

As for the LHO quote, it was borderline, and I didn't feel strongly enough about it to ban or even do an infraction. But on the 50th anniversary, literally to the day, of Kennedy's death, I'm not surprised that a bunch of people found it tasteless, and I don't really believe you would be surprised by that either.

[DaveW]

It was timely and hilarious. Nobody is saying it needs to go back to BYTO, however the occasional joke is fine and breaks up the constant arguing back and forth if Terry Ryan will spend money on free agents or not.

[John Bonnes]

It was timely and hilarious. Nobody is saying it needs to go back to BYTO, however the occasional joke is fine and breaks up the constant arguing back and forth if Terry Ryan will spend money on free agents or not.

 

i don't disagree with any of this. a post can be timely and hilarious and also still be a candidate for deletion because it's in questionable taste. And it's not like it was just me. How many comments related to it did I need to delete?

 

I dont really know what you're fighting for here. Do you want me to make people, several of whom commented on it, not think it's in bad taste? There was no punishment attached to the deletion. Are you feeling cheated because people didn't see your point? If so, repost it without the Kennedy assassination reference, including the quote, and it will stay. Or do you just want a definite boundary on that for which there can be no absolutes?

[ashbury]

breaks up the constant arguing back and forth if Terry Ryan will spend money on free agents or not.

 

In a thread titled "Over moderation", I hope you notice the irony of this complaint.

[GCTF]

Lee Harvey joke too edgy for these parts? Gimme a break, people need to lighten up.

 

I promise to laugh at your joke if you PM it to me.

[twinsnorth49]

. Remember how hilarious those old BYTO game threads were?

 

Yeah, just sitting back trying to recapture

a little of the glory of, well time slips away

and leaves you with nothing mister but

boring stories of glory days

Time to move on dude......just saying.

[ashbury]

I promise to laugh at your joke if you PM it to me.

 

"you miss 100% of the shots you don't take"- Lee Harvey Oswald

[B Richard]

This might not be the place to inquire, but since I have you guys here, where the hell did the like button go?

[Squirrel]

This might not be the place to inquire, but since I have you guys here, where the hell did the like button go?

 

http://twinsdaily.com/showthread.php?t=9416&p=177841&viewfull=1#post177841

 

It's being worked on ...

[goulik]

See the Where did the Like button go thread

[GCTF]

"you miss 100% of the shots you don't take"- Lee Harvey Oswald

 

Nice try.

[Guest USAFChief]

I promise to laugh at your joke if you PM it to me.

Like.

[ashbury]

Nice try.

 

Hey, I took a shot at it.

 

/ in case it's ambiguous, what I previously quoted was verbatim from Dave's deleted post

[Badsmerf]

Empty your PM inbox Dave.

[Twins Twerp]

this thread is offensive in title only and should be deleted #hiroshima

[ashbury]

this thread is offensive in title only and should be deleted #hiroshima

 

Instead of a cryptic attempt at humor, I suggest you go ahead and make your point. This is not a baseball thread, and discussion of the site is welcome.

[DuluthFan]

Can we get a glossary for abbreviations?

WTF is BYTO?

 

Be Your Transit Operator

Best Young Tranny Opera

Beer Yes Turkey Oranges

Basset Yak Teenage Operation

Bite Your Tiny Opening

 

Some of the adults are not hip on all the preteen texting abbreviations.

[snepp]

Battle Your Tail Off

[Badsmerf]

Can we get a glossary for abbreviations?

WTF is BYTO?

 

Be Your Transit Operator

Best Young Tranny Opera

Beer Yes Turkey Oranges

Basset Yak Teenage Operation

Bite Your Tiny Opening

 

Some of the adults are not hip on all the preteen texting abbreviations.

A forum. It didn't have the amount of blogging contribution this site does, but most of the regular posters from there came over here. And there was a fraction of the moderating that is done here.

[Craig Arko]

It's the previous set of discussion groups that was replaced by this one. My main concern about moderation is that sometimes it seems people who moved over from that site are treated preferentially from those who joined here for the first time.

[Joe A. Preusser]

As long as we're voicing objections to moderation, I am wondering why posts with heavy sarcasm aren't allowed? I have had 2-3 deleted already. I don't think sarcasm is inherently disrespectful, and it is a mode of communication that can sometimes be more effective than a dry recitation of one's opinion. Name calling and personal attacks I get, but I don't understand the war on sarcasm.

[Joe A. Preusser]

It's the previous set of discussion groups that was replaced by this one. My main concern about moderation is that sometimes it seems people who moved over from that site are treated preferentially from those who joined here for the first time.

 

I have taken issue with the moderation on this site a time or two, but I have never felt like I was treated differently because I am a relative newbie.

[pierre75275]

I personally think the mods do a wonderful job on this site. If it is to tight or not enough freedom to say what you really want, go read the the Star Tribune comments or the comments of a yahoo web page story. I love this site because I can read and cipher intelligent opinions and stories. I refuse to even go to the Star Tribune anymore.

[IdahoPilgrim]

As long as we're voicing objections to moderation, I am wondering why posts with heavy sarcasm aren't allowed? I have had 2-3 deleted already. I don't think sarcasm is inherently disrespectful, and it is a mode of communication that can sometimes be more effective than a dry recitation of one's opinion. Name calling and personal attacks I get, but I don't understand the war on sarcasm.

 

I would respectfully disagree with the idea that sarcasm is not inherently disrespectful. Type it into google and the definition that comes back is "The use of irony to mock or convey contempt." My experience in life mirrors that.

 

Meriam-Webster has it as "a sharp and often satirical or ironic utterance designed to cut or give pain."

 

I'm just fine with sarcasm being moderated.

[B Richard]

Yeesh. Pitchers and catchers can't report soon enough...

[ashbury]

Yeesh. Pitchers and catchers can't report soon enough...

 

Maybe so. But this thread is in a part of the TD site, "Questions about Twins Daily", where it's an appropriate topic. As in other parts of the site, if a subject isn't to one's liking, no one compels anyone to read it, and certainly there is no compulsion to contribute. Indeed, posting (in effect) that the subject of the thread itself is not worth discussing, is covered in the TD Comments Policy.

[ashbury]

I would respectfully disagree with the idea that sarcasm is not inherently disrespectful. Type it into google and the definition that comes back is "The use of irony to mock or convey contempt." My experience in life mirrors that.

 

The following reflects just the views of one of the mods.

 

Many posters, including some of the moderators, successfully include sarcasm among their rhetorical devices, without running close to the boundary.

 

I just checked the TD Comment Policy and, as it happens, sarcasm is not even mentioned by name.

 

But, as you note, it is a sharp-edged tool. That means it requires some care. Some people have the talent to use it well, and some just don't seem to, despite repeated practice. And when it falls flat (always a subjective matter), it will come across as simply being combative or a setting up of a straw-man.

 

Rather than try to give ever-more-detailed guidelines on how others use sarcasm well, I suggest going back to the simpler statements found in the Comment Policy:

 

Respect for others is expected in everything we write, and personal attacks are not allowed.

 

and

 

TD encourages humor, but please consider how someone who doesn’t know you might interpret your post.

 

If you can use sarcasm while heeding this, to try to dismiss an idea while not dismissing an individual, go for it.

 

Watch this video of comedian Keith Alberstadt:

[video=youtube;I-SFA5Xs0s8]

Decide for yourself which of his jokes would translate well to the written medium even when the live performance aspects were missing, and which ones he would perhaps "call an audible on" if posting here.