Reporting Posts and User Infractions System

[Darren]

Reporting Posts

We have put in place a new process/system for members to report posts to the Moderators which in turn allows us to respond much more quickly than before.

Click on the red triangular icon (located at the top right of each post) to send the Moderators a report. Give a reason for the report in the dialog box.



Reports will go to a common inbox where Moderators can view the report and the post from which it originated, and then the Moderators can take the necessary action.

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User Infraction System

We have also implemented a "penalty" system which allows us to more objectively track and serve infractions on members who flout our guidelines and terms of use. Think of infractions as points that accumulate, and when a certain limit is reached, a penalty is incurred. Infractions can also expire, thus when a member has committed an offence but does not repeat or does other things that incur infractions, the original infraction will expire after a period of time.

Each infraction is worth 3 points, and currently, if a member accumulates 30 points within 60 days, the member will be deregistered permanently.

We will be finetuning the Infraction System thus the above might change. At the same time, we will also deregister members immediately if the violation is serious enough (will not wait until 30 points are accumulated) - examples are spammers or clone accounts registered specifically for attacking others.

We trust that the above two processes/systems will allow both the members and our Moderators to monitor and manage the forums more effectively and thus make ClubSNAP a better place for everyone.

[student]

I think this is a good idea, but we need to clarify what is meant by infractions.

I had gone to the "Updated Terms of Use" which you yourself posted on 1 march 2004, and looked through some issues raised there.1

#1 The first "rule" is "Be nice/ Be civil".

"Nice" and "civil" are relative terms. I have seen (to my eyes at least) quite a bit of "not-so-nice" and "not-so-civil" comments. And I seem to get the impression that the mods/admin are accepting these.

Can you clarify?

#2 OT.

In the same "Terms of Use" the word OT meant things not related to photography, such as religions, politics, and racism.

However, you had recently closed a thread where there were discussions about how people should give comments on images, although the discussions were not specifically related to the images at hand. But nonetheless relevant to photography in general in CS. You had deemed the discussions OT, which was not the definition of OT in the "Terms of Usage" which you provided.

Can you clarify the term OT?

[Darren]

Originally Posted by student #1 The first "rule" is "Be nice/ Be civil". "Nice" and "civil" are relative terms. I have seen (to my eyes at least) quite a bit of "not-so-nice" and "not-so-civil" comments. And I seem to get the impression that the mods/admin are accepting these. Can you clarify?

With the new post reporting and Infraction system in place, we will start giving out infractions to members who are posting "not-so-nice" and "not-so-civil" comments as we can now track more objectively (we could not in the past). However, we will still need to review the comments made against the overall posting nature and tone within the thread and the members involved before giving the infraction. It may even result in more than one member being given infractions if they were all party to the problem. Veiled comments, usage of ***, double-entendres .... they will all have to be considered. Its not an easy task, and will still be open to some level of subjectivity and we Moderators/Admins have to rely on judgement before taking action.

Originally Posted by student #2 OT. In the same "Terms of Use" the word OT meant things not related to photography, such as religions, politics, and racism. However, you had recently closed a thread where there were discussions about how people should give comments on images, although the discussions were not specifically related to the images at hand. But nonetheless relevant to photography in general in CS. You had deemed the discussions OT, which was not the definition of OT in the "Terms of Usage" which you provided. Can you clarify the term OT?

We consider a thread to have veered off-topic if the discussion within the thread is significantly different from the thread title or original intent of the thread. Not necessarily just religion, politics, racism (which means I have to go review and update the TOS again).

In your example, if a member asked for critique of his image, and the discussion veers towards how critiques and comments should be given, then the thread can be considered to be veering off-topic. It would be better to start a new thread specifically calling for discussions on how critiques and comments can be made or improved.

[student]

Originally Posted by Darren With the new post reporting and Infraction system in place, we will start giving out infractions to members who are posting "not-so-nice" and "not-so-civil" comments as we can now track more objectively (we could not in the past). However, we will still need to review the comments made against the overall posting nature and tone within the thread and the members involved before giving the infraction. It may even result in more than one member being given infractions if they were all party to the problem. Veiled comments, usage of ***, double-entendres .... they will all have to be considered. Its not an easy task, and will still be open to some level of subjectivity and we Moderators/Admins have to rely on judgement before taking action.

Thank you.

Hopefully your task will not be too onerous.

Subjectivity is always difficult and contentious.

Originally Posted by darren We consider a thread to have veered off-topic if the discussion within the thread is significantly different from the thread title or original intent of the thread. Not necessarily just religion, politics, racism (which means I have to go review and update the TOS again).

Thanks for clarifying.

Originally Posted by darren In your example, if a member asked for critique of his image, and the discussion veers towards how critiques and comments should be given, then the thread can be considered to be veering off-topic. It would be better to start a new thread specifically calling for discussions on how critiques and comments can be made or improved.

I would respectfully ask you to give this a little more thought.

One of the interesting things about a group of people coming together to talk about anything is the observation that the encounter often took on a life of its own, and can lead to something that may bear little resemblance to the original topic. These "OT topics" can often be more interesting and useful to the community than the original topic. I feel that if you implement the rule strictly, then the danger maybe a rather sterile atmosphere which few would be interested in participating.

I believe to ask members to start a new thread for these "OT" discussions will often kill these discussions, and CS may lose something along the way.

Yes, I do understand that sometimes these "OT" discussions may take in an "undesirable" trend. I frequent the portrait subforum. And I notice that Wolfgang is already doing a good job to steer the discussions in a more amicable way, even allowing for the "OT".

[Deadpoet]

Originally Posted by Darren With the new post reporting and Infraction system in place, we will start giving out infractions to members who are posting "not-so-nice" and "not-so-civil" comments as we can now track more objectively (we could not in the past). However, we will still need to review the comments made against the overall posting nature and tone within the thread and the members involved before giving the infraction. It may even result in more than one member being given infractions if they were all party to the problem. Veiled comments, usage of ***, double-entendres .... they will all have to be considered. Its not an easy task, and will still be open to some level of subjectivity and we Moderators/Admins have to rely on judgement before taking action. We consider a thread to have veered off-topic if the discussion within the thread is significantly different from the thread title or original intent of the thread. Not necessarily just religion, politics, racism (which means I have to go review and update the TOS again). In your example, if a member asked for critique of his image, and the discussion veers towards how critiques and comments should be given, then the thread can be considered to be veering off-topic. It would be better to start a new thread specifically calling for discussions on how critiques and comments can be made or improved.

Darren,

This policy was posted 22 hours ago, as of now, are you making this retroactive?

What exactly is "not so nice" and "not so civil"?

This is a very broad statement and the membership has absolutely no idea what is acceptable and what is not. Is the word "SUCK" and acceptable term to use? If not, the, if the picture is realy "SUCK", then what? We can not longer express our honest opinion? Becasue at the end of the day, even if the word "suck" is not used, the intent is there, maybe just much more verbose.

Btw, what is the internal review policy for giving out these infraction? I see many opportunities of abuse here already.

DP

[KNIGHT ONG]

I see the floodgate has opened for those who is/are waiting to abuse this system .. nevertheless a tedious task for our admin and moderators.

[Darren]

Penalty (Infraction) system

1. A warning will be issued as early as possible when any sign of aggression/violation is detected.
2. Should the warned person(s) feel aggrieved in receiving the warning, he/she/they can feedback in the Feedback Section.
3. Warned person(s) must immediately cease any previous offensive behavior. Failure to do so will result in that person(s) being issued with infractions.
4. Minor infractions carry a penalty of 5 points with an expiry period of 14 days.
5. Major Infractions carry a penalty of 10 points with an expiry period of 21 days.
6. Members accounts will be suspended when their total accumulated points reach 20 points. The period of suspension will vary depending on the expiry period of prior Infractions. See graphic below for a representation of timelines and infractions issued resulting in suspensions (days marked in red).
7. The system will automatically accumulate (and expire) points to make the suspension active (or inactive).
8. Suspended accounts will only be able to browse the Forums. They will not be able to create new threads or posts and their PM mailbox will be severely reduced. Full access and PM mailbox will be restored upon the end of the suspension period.
9. If a member has amassed a total of 3 or more Major Infractions within a 3-month period, the member's account will be deregistered.

Definitions of Minor and Major Infractions Violations

1. A Warning is issued when a member has unintentionally committed a violation. It serves as a reminder to the member of our Terms of Use.
2. A Minor Infraction is issued when a member has already been served a warning and has subsequently committed a similar violation. Examples of Minor Infractions would be violations of our Terms of Use #1, #4 (same posts in multiple forums - photography-related) and #8.
3. A Major Infraction is issued when a member continues to ignore the warning and persists in committing similar violations. Examples of Major Infractions would be violations of our Terms of Use #2 (particularly relating to Racist, Religious or Political postings), #5, #6, #7, and #10.
4. Exception : When a non-photography-related spammer is detected, an Instant Deregistration Violation will be issued to render the spammers account inactive to prevent further spam.

[Darren]

Warning/Infraction assessment in relation to Terms of Service

1. Be Nice and Be Civilised - abusing, name-calling, personal attacks on members and/or generally trying to stir up trouble will not be tolerated. Be kind to newbies as they may not know the general flow of the forums. Repeated violation of this guideline will result in deregistration.
1st Offence - Warning Issued
2nd and subsequent Offences - Minor/Major infractions issued.

2. New Posters (newbies) - Use the Search Engine to find out if whatever information you are seeking has been posted before posting a question.
Not applicable.

3. Off-Topic (OT) posts - Please direct all posts not related to Photography to the Kopitiam forum. OT posts will be deleted or moved without noticed if posted in any other forums.
NOTE: Although Kopitiam is meant as a catch-all area for things not related to photography, posts/threads which are:
religious,
political,
racist;
in nature or can be construed as such will be closed and/or deleted without prejudice or prior notice.
Posting Off-Topic posts in sections outside of Kopitiam - Moderators to define what level of Off-Topic posts they are comfortable with and at what stage warnings/infractions will be issued.
1st Offence - Warning Issued
2nd and subsequent Offences - Minor/Major infractions issued.

4. Spam - We will not tolerate posting of the same message to two or more forums. Any such posts will be merged or deleted and repeated abuse will result in banishment.
Photography-related thread/posts - Issue warnings and Infractions as required. Leniency for unaware users for 1st offence.
Non-Photography-related - Instant Deregistration.

5. Flaming / Personal Attacks - We will not tolerate abusive, malicious, personal attacks or self-promoting messages. Please refer to Rule #1. Repeated violation will result in deregistration.
1st Offence - Warning Issued
2nd and subsequent Offences - Minor/Major infractions issued.

6. Trolls - We will not tolerate anyone antagonizing other forum members by posting potentially inflammatory messages. See Rule #1. Repeated abuse will result in deregistration. Do not participate in a thread merely to criticize or mock the equipment choice of other forum members in the thread. Examples include Nikon shooters posting in Canon topic areas, Canon shooters posting in Nikon topic areas and anyone posting in any topic area where the result can serve only to insult and inflame regular participants in that topic area.
1st Offence - Warning Issued
2nd and subsequent Offences - Minor/Major infractions issued.

7. Harassment - Harassment of other forum members via Private Message, postings, emails or other means will result in immediate banishment and if serious enough, may be reported to the relevant authorities for their further investigation.
Minor Infraction issued upon report, subsequently Major Infractions.

8. Commercial Advertising - We do not allow commercial website linking or advertising and if you wish to advertise on the site, please contact us. This rules also covers webmasters of other websites seeking to promote themselves on this forum without benefit to this forum - Do not use the ClubSNAP forums to promote other forums or web sites in which you have a stake. We will remove messages that serve mostly or exclusively to drive forum members to external forums or web sites.
1st Offence - Warning Issued
2nd and subsequent Offences - Minor/Major infractions issued.

9. Signatures - Please keep signatures to no more than two/three short lines, Do not include signatures that serve primarily to promote a product or service, and do not include extended lists of the contents of your camera bag.
Not a punishable offence, however, we reserve the right to edit and amend signatures that contravene this guideline without prior notification to member(s).

10. Software Piracy - Posting of serial numbers, cracks, warez links or anything related to the piracy of software will not be allowed and will be deleted immediately. Repeated abuse will result in banishment.
Major Infractions Issued.

11. Information Accuracy - We do not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of any posting, regardless of whether the posting comes from a user, from a celebrity or "expert" guest, or from a member of our team. There is no substitute for healthy skepticism and your own good judgement. It is easy for people to pose as experts without having any expertise whatsoever.
Not applicable.

12. Legal ownership - Each message posted is owned by and is the opinion of the original poster. Neither ClubSNAP nor its owners or moderators are legally responsible for anything posted on these forums
Not applicable.

[paradigm]

Originally Posted by Darren Reporting Posts Click on the red triangular icon (located at the top right of each post) to send the Moderators a report. Give a reason for the report in the dialog box. Reports will go to a common inbox where Moderators can view the report and the post from which it originated, and then the Moderators can take the necessary action.

Is the red triangle still in use? Saw a spam post in B&S jus now and want to click it but could not find ...

anyway, for the moderators. It was deleted within 3mins of posting ...

[Jason Ho]

Originally Posted by paradigm Is the red triangle still in use? Saw a spam post in B&S jus now and want to click it but could not find ... anyway, for the moderators. It was deleted within 3mins of posting ...

Yes, its always in use