The page you get when you click "Alert" has been updated.

[Skinner]

Earlier this summer, we proposed http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Skinner/363">a few changes to the way we run DU. With this in mind, we have been focusing our efforts during the last month-and-a-half on trying to "reset" the way the DU moderators interpret and enforce the DU rules, and on trying to nail down the specific language of the rules being enforced. (You may notice that some of the verbiage has changed.) We have made significant progress, and we feel we are ready to move on to the next step.

We have updated the page you see when you click "Alert" on a post. As you probably know, the alert function is provided to the DU members so you can notify the moderators whenever you feel a post needs their attention. The moderators and administrators rely heavily on alerts to let us know where to focus our efforts. In fact, the moderators have been instructed to make dealing with alerts their number one priority. This is why it is so important for members to utilize the alert function. If you do not alert on a problem post, then it is likely that the moderators are not aware of it.

When you click "Alert" on a post, you will see the new alert page, which includes the following:

1. The full text of the post you have alerted.

2. An interactive checklist of common rule violations, with in-depth information about how each rule is enforced. (Just click the "?" for more information.) This is the same list of rules used by the DU moderators.

3. A comment box if you feel the need to provide the moderators with any additional information.

If you would like to see the new alert function in action, feel free to click the "Alert" link on this post to try it out. Read the page, click the little "?" links for more information, check the boxes, fill in the comments section, and you can even click the button to submit it. (The moderators will ignore any alerts on this post, so don't be shy about trying it out.)

The purpose of this change is to educate the members of DU about the rules and how they are enforced. We are trying to get everyone -- members, moderators, and administrators -- on the "same page" so we all have a similar understanding of where lines are drawn and what is expected.

If you have any questions or comments, or if you find any bugs, please feel free to post in this thread.

Thank you for your attention, and thank you for being a member of this community.

Skinner, EarlG, and Elad
DU Administrators

[uncommon]

1. Very nicely done.

[Patsy Stone]

2. Cool!

Thanks!

[tridim]

3. Perfect! Thanks.

[gateley]

4. K&R - this is great. I usually just go "look at what this jerk wrote!" so

this will be much more helpful to the MODS. Thanks.

[Beetwasher]

5. Stop Trolling. Alerted.

;)

[SecularMotion]

6. I like it!

:thumbsup:

[Occulus]

7. That checklist is a welcome feature and should save some time for everyone.

Thanks!

[JuniperLea]

8. Brilliant! One suggestion...

The offender needs to be told what he/she did wrong... repeat offenders are generally the ones who don't get it. Telling the rest of us is preaching to the choir.

[Skinner]

14. We are going to do that.

That's the next step. Hopefully we'll get to it in the next few weeks.

[SunsetDreams]

23. That's great

and nice suggestion Juniper, I think that will help a great deal.

[Arkansas Granny]

34. I like this. I don't alert very often, but this will make it easier to pinpoint

what I thought broke the rules when I feel I need to alert.

[JuniperLea]

50. Excellent!

Thank you!

[Caliman73]

25. They don't do that already?

Having never been a Moderator, I wouldn't know, but I thought that people who had their posts alerted were contacted by the Mods and told why. The repeat offenders usually don't care more than they don't know in my opinion. Things get heated and some people just get up in arms about certain ideas. They usually know when they are heading into potentially troublesome territory.

[JuniperLea]

49. Nope...

I've had posts deleted and have asked why and have been ignored. I know people who have been banned who asked why their posts have been deleted and they never heard. I know people who were warned that any further negative action will result in banning... and never posted again because they had already been banned. People need to be told.

[Caliman73]

67. Well, that is not good. Sounds like it is changing.

Hope it does. I agree that people need to be told.

[defendandprotect]

74. Exactly ... I've gotten two warnings -- evidently re one word I used in

discussing Israel's war on GAZA --

A word which the UN uses to describe Israel's treatment of GAZA!!!!

Amazing!!

[Morning Dew]

9. Could you institute these changes to the Unrec feature?

In order to Unrec a thread you will need to attain a Parchment from nomads and talk to Arito before you try to enter the room. In the room is a pile of discs which you will click on. These are the Discs of Norgannon and you will click on them and take the quest offered.
Now you will be asked to talk to a Watcher. He will appear on the side of the room as a ghost and you MUST click on him and then click every page of comments he gives you until you get the Quest Completed notice. Then you may Unrec the thread in question


There seems to be a lot of concern over this feature again lately.

Thanks!

[JonLP24]

12. !

:rofl:

[Heidi]

58. Everyone complains about Unrec, but no one questions the Recs that get their OPs to Greatest.

Funny, that.

[Boojatta]

99. Are you sure about that?

Okay, who are the jokers who recommended this thread?

I also indicated that I want to be able to unrec my own threads.

[Heidi]

117. Yes, Boojatta, I'm sure about that. You are exceptional in all sorts of ways, including

being among the very, very, very few who complain about having an OP being recommended.

[Ignis]

62. Thank you, Morning Dew!

But our princess is in another castle!

[bobburgster]

75. Those sound fair enough!

:eyes:

[MH1]

98. ..

:rofl:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

10. I chose "Interfering with forum moderation." Seemed the more appropriate option for this case. -nt

[ProdigalJunkMail]

13. +1

[SunsetDreams]

11. K&R Thank you Admin and Mods for all your hard work :)

I love this change, it makes alerting much easier. Thank you so much!

[blogslut]

15. Nice

I dig it.

[onehandle]

16. This will come in handy. Just used it... elsewhere. nt

[one_voice]

17. Very nice. n/t

[slackmaster]

18. Beautiful! Nice job. Thanks, Skinner!

K&R

:kick:

[Boojatta]

19. I don't want to alert on this thread.

Just stop impersonating Skinner and we'll forget all about your past transgressions. There's really no need to bring this thread to the attention of the moderators. We can settle this amicably.

[Spazito]

20. Thanks!

This will be a great help !

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. Just used it

great addition.

[malaise]

22. Excellent

K & R

[WillParkinson]

24. I like it!

Makes it easier when I'm not 100% sure how to qualify it.

[Catherina]

26. That's awesome! n/t

[Warpy]

27. I'm sure this will save considerable time for the mods

and is a very good idea. Thanks for the modification page.

[Skinner]

30. To be honest, I'm not sure it will save them any time.

I suspect it won't change their job very much. We need to test it out for a while and see how it works in practice.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

28. Kinda OT, but may I make a page suggestion?

I think the blinking red "You have new messages in your inbox" jigamajingie should appear in forum pages too, not only in the main discuss page.

[Turborama]

42. Very good suggestion

Hopefully it would be a straightforward thing to do.

[MineralMan]

29. K&R and alerted.

Interfering with moderation. Bravo!

This will make the alert system much more useful, I think.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

31. As an aside, I'm using that exact same category for "boo hoo why was this removed/moved" whines.

Is that correct?

[MineralMan]

32. I don't know. Maybe Skinner can answer that one.

Seems to make sense to me.

[Skinner]

36. If you click the little "?" next to that option, you will see this:

"Publicly complaining about rule enforcement."

Which would probably cover that kind of thing.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

45. Duh. That'll learn me to RTFTT.

(TT = tooltip) :dunce:

[wildflower]

65. Would complaints about unrecs fall into that category?

[BrklynLiberal]

33. A definite improvement..more informative...for sender and the mods.

[LoZoccolo]

35. Question: are you still planning the "lock out of thread after one deleted message" functionality?

[Skinner]

39. Yes.

But it's probably going to be a while before we get to it. We're taking each step very slowly and deliberately to make sure they work how we intend them to.

I suspect it will be at least a month or two before we get to that function. Maybe longer. Obviously, it's a big change and we want to be careful how we do it.

[Renew Deal]

54. I'm not a fan of that for the reasons that have been stated.

That should be an option for a mod, not a requirement.

[uppityperson]

66. I agree with you. It should be a mod option, not a requirement

required after 2 or more would work if it must be a requirement, but not an automatic lockout after 1.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

73. 2 instead of one would make more sense to me. There's precedent:

[uppityperson]

79. I am sure in all my yrs on Du I've called someone a deletable name, but usually it is a subthread

that gets deleted when it gets too snarkariffic. I hope I would not be blocked if I am part of a subthread that is deleted.

And a second call could be programed in easily enough (imho, not being a programmer).

[JonLP24]

108. This has also been explained before

A post in a subthread that didn't violate any rules that happens to get locked and disappeared with a certain toxic sub-thread would not result in any locks from the threads.

[JonLP24]

107. I believe it was

explained that having two chances would give DUers the idea they got a "freebie" to act out in a thread.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

109. Maybe a "yellow"could lock the person out for 12 or 24 hrs. -nt

[LoZoccolo]

90. I have had only one post deleted since the new rules began.

You can too.

[Renew Deal]

91. This is not just about me.

Sometimes things are said intentionally or unintentionally that get deleted that don't hard the discussion as a whole.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

aw, Skinner give 'em a chance ...play baseball

3 strikes and they're outta the thread :)

[Gold Metal Flake]

37. Two boxes missing.

1) Not One Of Us.

2) Sniff?

[Political_Junkie]

38. Looks like you covered all the bases.

I'm happy with this change.

[Bobbie Jo]

40. Love it!

Much appreciated! :applause:

[Kingofalldems]

41. Excellent!

[Scurrilous]

43. K & R

:thumbsup:

[BootinUp]

44. I tried it, nice. But wouldn't it make more sense to

not allow the final submit button to work unless a box was checked indicating the issue? As a test I left them all unchecked and clicked submit.

[supernova]

46. I'm hoping this will help clear the air

between mods and the rest of DU.

I haven't alerted a lot over the years, maybe once every couple of months. But when I did, I tried to point out which rules I thought the post was breaking.

Nice job, Skinner. :thumbsup:

[Turborama]

47. How about a "Potential Troll" box to tick?

To let the mods know there's a disruptor in the house that should be kept an eye on?

ETA Great function, thanks guys for all your hard work behind the scenes.

[proud2BlibKansan]

48. Excellent!

Thank you!

[SeattleGirl]

51. I like it!

Thanks, guys!

[Nye Bevan]

52. You forgot the "Disagrees with me, so obviously a RW/DLC troll" checkbox.

:shrug:

[Born_A_Truman]

53. I like it!

We'll see who can win the "all of the above" award. :woohoo:

[Vickers]

55. Hey, my Number One Reason For Alerting is at the top of the list:

PERSONAL ATTACKS!!!

I can put up with just about everything, but the name-calling raises my hackles.

[Ignis]

61. One of YOU people would say something like that!

:hide:

Kidding, of course! ;)

[Vickers]

63. Ha!

:P

[TheManInTheMac]

56. Alerted.

:hide:

[Call Me Wesley]

57. Very nice!

:thumbsup:

P. S. I sent an empty alert and it went through. Sorry.

[Ignis]

59. K&R. Great idea, glad to see it in place.

Saves me from copying the relevant section of the DU rules into every Alert.

[MilesColtrane]

60. Kicked, Recommended, and Alerted

(I've always wanted to type that.)

[Warren Stupidity]

64. cool

[gkhouston]

68. Nicely done. Usually someone else beats me to the alert button, but I

appreciate the thought that's gone into the reworking of this feature. Thanks.

[Soylent Brice]

69. i apologize to the mods. i just tested it for reals on this post.

i chose SPAM.


:rofl:

K&R

[yellerpup]

70. Thanks for the explanation.

I'm sure that having such clear cut reasons for alerting spelled out will benefit everyone. :kick:

[femrap]

71. Skinner....

You're still losing to the women of ohio who strip to make a decent living. Is that what your daughter is going to do when she grows up?

And the Leftie boyz still can't figure out that Fundies and Feminists are NOT one in the same.

[WheelWalker]

72. Sensible; and, pragmatic.

[JTFrog]

76. K&R!

[Tx4obama]

77. Box missing: LBN DUPE

[Make7]

97. Forum-specific or group-specific rule violation ( n/t )

[Turborama]

111. Actually it's not in there....

This is what happens when you press on the ?

Forum-specific or group-specific rule violation for forums and groups with special rules.

Israel/Palestine Forum rule violation
DU Group mission statement violation.

[FSogol]

78. Wait a minute: "Suggesting that a particular point of view is required in order to be a Democrat,

liberal, or progressive" is not allowed? Won't this remove 90% of all the posts? ;-)

[La Lioness Priyanka]

80. Where is the "I dont like this Member" option? i need that.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

81. This is most excellent! Thank you, Skinner...nt

[KarenS]

82. Nicely done! Thank you. n/t

[KarenS]

83. dupe.

[woo me with science]

84. Suggested simplified revision, from a forum (not political) libertarian.

1. Teacher, someone hurt ______'s feelings! (covers all personal attacks, group insults, and insensitivity)

2. Teacher, they are picking on ________! (covers all harassment and threats, and divisive rhetoric)

3. Teacher, someone threw up/went poo in the classroom! (covers wrong forum and off-topic posts)

4. Teacher, they cheated! (covers forum or group-specific rule-breaking, inappropriate source, copyright violations, and spam)

5. Teacher, they said a bad word/drew a naughty picture! (covers inappropriate speech, avatars, and sig. lines)

6. Teacher, they are beating up the hall monitors again! (covers interference with moderation)


Actually one and two could be combined ("Teacher, they are being mean to __________!"). Personally, I think five is a nice, round number for rules.


O8)

[yowzayowzayowza]

85. Political advocacy rule query:

New rule: Advocating voting against Democrats, or in favor of third-party or GOP candidates, except in rare cases (eg: Bernie Sanders) where a non-Democrat seems most likely to defeat the GOP/right-wing alternative.

Old rule: Democratic Underground may not be used for political, partisan, or advocacy activity by supporters of any political party or candidate other than the Democratic Party or Democratic candidates. Supporters of certain other political parties may use Democratic Underground for limited partisan activities in political races where there is no Democratic Party candidate.

The new rule seems to be specific to candidate voting advocacy whereas the old also prohibited third-party "political, partisan, or advocacy activity" in toto. Did that portion of the rules get moved or removed? If candidates are not mentioned, are posts regarding the happenings of the socialist/libertarian/communist parties now allowed without Democratic context?

Example: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8904042

[grantcart]

86. good

[DainBramaged]

87. I alerted on you

felt better than a Dunkin Donut.....

[surrealAmerican]

88. That check list is a very good idea.

kick.

[Cetacea]

112. +1

Excellent.

[madrchsod]

89. cool.........

[sonias]

92. Cool!

:kick:

[greyl]

93. Cool. :) nt

[havocmom]

94. alerts

:rofl:

[Orsino]

95. Very slick! n/t

[Lasher]

96. OK I checked it out.

Enjoy your stay.

[Broken_Hero]

100. Sounds good,

:thumbsup:

[Major Hogwash]

101. I don't think all of this was necessary.

Just because you guys reinstated Will Pitt!!

I mean, do you anticipate a lot of trouble now?

LoL

Welcome back, Will --- tell them Willy Boy is here!!!!!

Thanks Skinner, Elad, Earl G.
You guys are the best!!

And if there was a Will Pitt International Fan Club, I'd be the president.
Or the vice-president anyway.
Or maybe the treasurer.
Would you believe secretary?

[mzmolly]

102. Excellent!!!

:toast:

[mzteris]

103. What I'd like to have explained is when

I alert on a post - and that alert is ignored. Am I being "overly sensitive"? Did I interpret a rule incorrectly? I would really like to know why a post that I think has broken the rules is left standing. It would help me to not alert on things that just "offend me", but doesn't break any rules.

[Tsiyu]

104. Very way cool

i like it.

:thumbsup:

[LiberalFighter]

105. Question: About how many 'alerts' are there daily? And which forum(s) have the most and the amount?

[Javaman]

106. That's pretty dang clever! Thanks Skinner, EarlG and Elad! You rock! :) nt

[leftstreet]

110. Good grief there are a lot of rules

Nothing wrong with it I guess, but I've never alerted on anyone so I didn't really know.

I'd say it's a testament to the good nature of the majority of DUers that you don't often see a lot of these violations.

:thumbsup:


LOL I'm gonna go find someone to call a 'cocksucker'

:beer:

[Broken_Hero]

113. kick, nt

[DesertRat]

114. Great feature, but I have a question

Under the heading "Insensitive (bigotry, hate, ridicule, stereotyping) toward certain groups of people", it includes "Jews or Judaism" and "Muslims or Islam".
Have you considered also including Christians and/or Catholics to this list?

Thanks.

[howard112211]

115. Or...

...strip all religions of their "protected class" status and demand that people expect that their religion will be measured by what it contains.

[DesertRat]

119. Skinner, if you see this, will you please answer my question?

Thanks

[Scurrilous]

116. Kick

:kick:

[DesertRat]

118. kick