Recent events on GMD have lead us to believe that it’s time once again to remind all users of our terms of use, which are laid out in detail under “The GMD Team.” After clicking on the tab, follow the link at the bottom of the list of admins to the bio page. The rules appear at the end of that page.
Of particular interest have been questions regarding our banning policy:
How to get kicked off the site: Troll rating vindictively is considered ratings abuse, and can be grounds for banning from the site. Receiving excessive troll ratings on multiple comments indicates a desire to disrupt conversation, and can also be grounds for banning. Posting defamatory material can also lead to a user being banned. If a banned user creates a new user ID and attempts to return, they could also be subject to banning (although if you’re actually trying to participate in discussions, we’ll probably look the other way on that one)
It has rarely been necessary to apply the full brunt of this policy; but when it has become unavoidable, questions often arise as to what the perpetrator did to earn a ban.
Any trusted user can issue a troll rating, and three zeroes will hide the comment. Therefore, comments can be hidden by any three trusted users, not necessarily the admins. Three ratings that result in a score < 1 will effectively hide the comment. Therefore, 2 zeroes and a 1 would result in a hidden comment.
Alternately, commenters who persistently violate the policy will eventually find that the offending comments have been removed from public view. This is only done by unanimous agreement among the admins; and only the admins and a few trusted users can see them once they have been removed.
We tend to lean over backwards to avoid blocking comments from public view, not to mention outright banning. Do not assume that just because we occasionally let someone slide on the rules, anyone else can expect the same treatment.
Tempers flare occasionally in the heat of the moment, and this is understandable; but outright bullying or stalking will not be tolerated.
GMD is a blog, not a democracy. The admins reserve the right to manage it in such a way as to maximize its enjoyment and usefulness to the broader GMD community. If we feel that a user is abusing the comment privilege in order to defame an individual in our community, derail a thread, or to prevent our good-faith users from freely sharing their comments in a safe and tolerant environment, that user will be treated accordingly.
We do not block comments just because we disagree with them.
If you do not understand why we have specifically banned some individual user, it is probably because you cannot see the offending comments that led to the ban. If you are not happy with the decisions of the admins, you are, of course free to not participate on GMD.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, everybody back in the pool!
to the 4 ‘levels’ of comment ratings in place, I wish we had a ‘Quit being an ass.’ option. Would work for when someone isn’t trolling, but maybe has their panties in a twist and is blasting someone with foul language or other such nonsense…
I would like to suggest a GMD poll on Julie Waters’ idea about women incorporating. Not just on this blog, but a GMD statewide poll, perhaps carried by Seven Days, other papers, and other blogs. GMD polls offered to all Vermonters (somehow) on state and national issues would be a great service to folks, and an enhancement of GMD’s alternate media status, and, I think, a good vehicle of participatory democracy. Should also be offered to high schools.
We are being bombarded all the time with rubbish, hate, intimidation, and fear from the ‘powers that be’ who think they can walk all over the people and the Constitution. With the election coming, I think a GMD Poll called Vermont Speaks could possibly attain national attention.
not what the rating is called because I don’t typically use the wording given. “1” to me means it’s a bad comment but not a troll. “4” is a great comment or I simply agree. Reluctant to rate a “4” a “3” anymore since it would bring down the rating of an otherwise pretty good comment. It’s can seem like a consolation prize.
Another suggestion for GMD to promote. On the news this morning there was this cool story about a cat in Boston that jumped from her home window 19 stories up, flew like a flying squirrel, and landed in a pile of mulch surrounded by concrete. Then she got up, dusted herself off and headed back into the highrise. The doorman apparently saw the whole thing and cared for her until the vet arrived. She was treated for minor bruises and a cut lip.
NOW, if a CAT can do that, why not Romney, Santorum and Gingrich? Let’s propose that the Repub who gets the Presidential nomination is the one who is the least injured after making the 19 story leap. And, we’ll make it easier on them–instead of having to aim for the mulch patch, we’ll provide a whole yardful of nice soft mud. (I mean a whole big yard of mud, not just a three-foot yard. Although…?)