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| sundin13 said: I feel like most of the moderation I've seen done in the politics thread isn't really about what people are arguing, but instead about the fact that they are engaging in a way which isn't conducive to debate. For example, there was one user who I recall would often go into the politics thread to post controversial takes (I don't recall their name or if they are still around). Upon getting several replies, they would say they enjoyed ragebaiting people but didn't want to waste time arguing. Rinse repeat about once a week. I believe that person was banned from the thread. Good. |
If someone is purely posting shit takes to antagonise others then yeah that would fall under trolling, but it's a tough line to walk there because then there's the risk of unpopular or controversial opinions getting silenced because others don't like it.
Now, I've not been moderated myself in this way so I'm advocating more for the community in general than myself here, but I have some pretty strong and controversial feelings on many topics. I can think of a few times where if I'm honest I have gotten a pass for the sort of thing that has seen others catch bans. Now, I'm not saying I have been preferentially treated as such, more that this highlights how difficult it is to walk that blurred line as far as what is considered acceptable when it comes to touchy topics.
Now, do not get me wrong, I have the greatest of respect for the mods here, it's a very tough job, one I have turned down on multiple occasions in the past because I didn't think I would be able to be impartial. This is just something that's come up repeatedly in my PMs with several members here over the past year or so, and I thought it was worth having a discussion about because the forum's already just barely keeping the fire going so I don't know if we can afford to risk driving away the few active users we have left.
