Ban Report Abuse
Alas, this site used to be a relatively friendly place to be. (I hope that it still is for most users.)
Currently, however, there seems to be one or more two-year-olds busy reporting all my posts (and possibly others' also).
My posts are not spam. This is clearly an abuse of the report system.
Can we ban people who abuse the 'report' button too many times?
Currently, however, there seems to be one or more two-year-olds busy reporting all my posts (and possibly others' also).
My posts are not spam. This is clearly an abuse of the report system.
Can we ban people who abuse the 'report' button too many times?
inb4 OP getting reported.
I would assume such a policy already exists informally. The admin presumably bans or gives warnings to such users.
I would assume such a policy already exists informally. The admin presumably bans or gives warnings to such users.
http://www.cplusplus.com/forum/lounge/172298/
I don't think it's that much of an issue. The primary downside is that twicker has extra work to do :(
I don't think it's that much of an issue. The primary downside is that twicker has extra work to do :(
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So there's no way to find out who's stalking me on the forum and stop him?
Because said loser seems to think his current life's ambition is to report all my posts.
Because said loser seems to think his current life's ambition is to report all my posts.
| ...it's not really that much of an issue. Let 'em report; it won't do anything anyway. |
Easy to say if you're not the one being affected.
Not sure if it would act as a deterrent, but I can't see any harm in having a note next to any reported posts saying "Reported by <username>", similar to the "Last edited..." message. Then at least there would be the opportunity to bring the offender to the attention of the admin.
@ Norm Gunderson: I have no doubt that twicker knows who the reporting entity is but I agree with you 100% that if you report someone your tag should be displayed publically next to it.
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Or we could go the opposite way and have reported posts not even show up as reported, but as normal posts.
I have doubts on having the reporter's name shown publicly. My concern with that is it might elicit witch-hunting (a la Reddit style). I do think the name of the reporter should be shown to the original owner of the post though. Like if I replied to someone and then someone reported my post, I and only I (other than the owners and admins of this site) am able to see the name, which would allow me to solve whatever issues with the other party privately, in PMs.
Otherwise we could have something similar to the up/downvote system, similar to SO and Reddit.
EDIT:reportee -> reporter
Otherwise we could have something similar to the up/downvote system, similar to SO and Reddit.
EDIT:
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I don't think showing the reporter's name to anyone (including the reportee) is a good idea either.
I do think that there ought to be a way to report a bad report. Though, having gotten this far, I could just PM twicker...
I'm not sure how to implement anything automatic that is immune to abuse.
I do think that there ought to be a way to report a bad report. Though, having gotten this far, I could just PM twicker...
I'm not sure how to implement anything automatic that is immune to abuse.
Isn't it so that the Report button is only shown for someone with an higher post number?
If so it should be possible to find the guy - with the help of the admin - who abuses the Report butten, shouldn't it?
If so it should be possible to find the guy - with the help of the admin - who abuses the Report butten, shouldn't it?
Perhaps as Ispil said, it would be better if only the admin has visibility of which posts are reported. This would remove the incentive for a troll to (mis)report posts, and also prevent upset to the person whose post has been reported.
I don't know the whole story behind the report functionality, but if it is just to help the admin identify spam, then is there any benefit to having public visibility of which posts have been reported?
I don't know the whole story behind the report functionality, but if it is just to help the admin identify spam, then is there any benefit to having public visibility of which posts have been reported?
Pretty much all social platforms have anonymous post reporting functionality, be it to report spam, compromised accounts, or violations of the community rules. Of all the problems with social media that I see discussed, the reporting functionality is seldom mentioned...except on this forum. I think the issue is that only this forum shows the fact that a post has been reported - nearly all other sites don't do this.
I've aired my grievances about the upvote downvote system before, I think it's broken in that it favors the simplest to understand answers over the technically correct ones. Right now, not "ranking" anyone's post forces people to actually read the thread and consider each of the arguments and solutions for themselves, which IMHO is how it should be. If you disagree with someone on this board today, you have to make the effort to actually type out why it is you disagree with them. This trend toward passive aggressive downvoting that is present on other sites doesn't allow the chance for the plaintiff to have any of their own misconceptions corrected, nor is it productive in informing the person being downvoted of any errors that they might have made. It propagates ignorance and common bad practices, of which there are a great many on this particular topic, because the person who is judged to be wrong simply has to sit there and accept the result with no explanation even if the person judging them is a complete idiot. Furthermore, a point system would discourage discourse where a participant might assume that they have won an arguement just because they have accumulated more imaginary internet points instead of actually evaluating merit after reaching a conclusion. I don't know if any of you out there agree with me, but that willingness to see a discussion through to the end is probably the greatest strength on this site. There are literally two people here that I haven't had a full length debate with and both of them are relatively newer users. As for the rest of you, you have all proved at the time that your opinions and statements come from an informed platform and that has increased my respect for each of you greatly. That aspect of this sites culture is what I would hate to lose for the sake of jumping on a bandwagon. But since I've been far less active on this board as of late; I would accept if my opinion on the matter doesn't count for as much as I would like it to. Sorry about the rant, that was longer than I expected it to be.
As for the reporting thing, I'm not nearly as vehement about it. I just think it would be nice to have the right to face your accuser. But in the context of a message board, I could take it or leave it.
As for the reporting thing, I'm not nearly as vehement about it. I just think it would be nice to have the right to face your accuser. But in the context of a message board, I could take it or leave it.
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I agree with Computergeek01's assessment.
(And I have often in the past posted my disdain for points and badges.)
The most attractive part about this site is its straightforward simplicity, and the fact that a discussion can be held through.
I understand where reporting spam and the like is useful, but unfortunately, it invites abuse as a form of "I disagree with you therefore I will remove your voice," or, in the specific case of our report button, "I disagree with you therefore I will visibly mark your post as bad and in need of removal."
Such things play into the hands of unscrupulous censors -- people who are unwilling to control themselves and, more than simply accept another's point of view, but are unwilling to let another's point of view stand equally with their own. Such myopic vision is more useful to losers and bullies than it is to general moderation.
And... I can't believe I'm saying this... maybe the report button should only be usable by some trusted forum members. I can name ten people here right off of the top of my head who I would trust with this power.
The pros are that report abuse by the hoi polloi would be eliminated and that twicker would be much more able to rely upon the reports.
The major con is that the trusted regulars would have to be both omnipresent and willing to help moderate the forums. I think this happens anyway, though, so I'm not sure...
[edit] I do think it is funny that my previous post was reported (the one where I advocate against revealing the identity of the loser who reported it) and none of my other posts in this entire thread have been reported. LOL
(And I have often in the past posted my disdain for points and badges.)
The most attractive part about this site is its straightforward simplicity, and the fact that a discussion can be held through.
I understand where reporting spam and the like is useful, but unfortunately, it invites abuse as a form of "I disagree with you therefore I will remove your voice," or, in the specific case of our report button, "I disagree with you therefore I will visibly mark your post as bad and in need of removal."
Such things play into the hands of unscrupulous censors -- people who are unwilling to control themselves and, more than simply accept another's point of view, but are unwilling to let another's point of view stand equally with their own. Such myopic vision is more useful to losers and bullies than it is to general moderation.
And... I can't believe I'm saying this... maybe the report button should only be usable by some trusted forum members. I can name ten people here right off of the top of my head who I would trust with this power.
The pros are that report abuse by the hoi polloi would be eliminated and that twicker would be much more able to rely upon the reports.
The major con is that the trusted regulars would have to be both omnipresent and willing to help moderate the forums. I think this happens anyway, though, so I'm not sure...
[edit] I do think it is funny that my previous post was reported (the one where I advocate against revealing the identity of the loser who reported it) and none of my other posts in this entire thread have been reported. LOL
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| not "ranking" anyone's post forces people to actually read the thread and consider each of the arguments and solutions for themselves |
Just read sticky thread in beginners to see an example.
It is a common pattern here:
OP: Question
Participant 1: Correct answer with example, warning about easy-but-wrong solution commonly found on internet
Participants 2 - X: Clarification on P1 answer, alternatives
Single-digit-postcount user: It is easy, just use this: <easy-but-wrong solution>
OP: Thanks all. I did <easy-but-wrong solution> and now I have further problems.
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That, unfortunately, is a design principle, specifically in UI but it holds anywhere:
People don't read squat.
Joel Spolsky has an old article specifically about it:
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/uibook/chapters/fog0000000062.html
Even with upvoting systems people will choose to read the easiest-looking answer they can find. I don't think there really is very much we can do about people who cherry pick the dumbest answers, besides hope they don't ever get a job maintaining the software in a nuclear power plant.
People don't read squat.
Joel Spolsky has an old article specifically about it:
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/uibook/chapters/fog0000000062.html
Even with upvoting systems people will choose to read the easiest-looking answer they can find. I don't think there really is very much we can do about people who cherry pick the dumbest answers, besides hope they don't ever get a job maintaining the software in a nuclear power plant.
There should be a strict line between what the users can see and what the admins have to deal with. Banning encapsulation if you like.
Users should never need to deal with this, if the report is bad the admins/the system handles it. If it's good then the post gets deleted. So basically what LB said.
I would be sad to see reporting left to a few people only. This site should try and keep everyone equal as much as possible.
| I do think that there ought to be a way to report a bad report. Though, having gotten this far, I could just PM twicker... |
Users should never need to deal with this, if the report is bad the admins/the system handles it. If it's good then the post gets deleted. So basically what LB said.
I would be sad to see reporting left to a few people only. This site should try and keep everyone equal as much as possible.
On the topic of upvoting/downvoting:
Sites like StackOverflow optimize helping people who find the posts months after the original question was submitted. Usually on StackOverflow the original person first sees and uses the easy-but-wrong solution and never returns, and then later the correct and better answer is posted and over time is improved. The community also favors generic questions and answers - questions about very specific things are often ignored and even downvoted or deleted.
See: https://i.imgur.com/MHJEguu.png
On this site we optimize helping the original person who asked the question. I generally don't link to other threads with similar problems or even the exact same problem, because I value taking each case on individually and giving the best help I can give in that specific case. Nobody should be told their question is too similar to another to receive help.
I don't see any value in magical forum points, they usually result in people gaming the system and not actually helping anyone. That said, StackOverflow is still a great resource, just not if you have to ask a new question.
Sites like StackOverflow optimize helping people who find the posts months after the original question was submitted. Usually on StackOverflow the original person first sees and uses the easy-but-wrong solution and never returns, and then later the correct and better answer is posted and over time is improved. The community also favors generic questions and answers - questions about very specific things are often ignored and even downvoted or deleted.
See: https://i.imgur.com/MHJEguu.png
On this site we optimize helping the original person who asked the question. I generally don't link to other threads with similar problems or even the exact same problem, because I value taking each case on individually and giving the best help I can give in that specific case. Nobody should be told their question is too similar to another to receive help.
I don't see any value in magical forum points, they usually result in people gaming the system and not actually helping anyone. That said, StackOverflow is still a great resource, just not if you have to ask a new question.
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| because I value taking each case on individually and giving the best help I can give in that specific case. |
At some point your time should be more important than a person that can't google something for 1 second of their time.
I can only explain how to keep the console open so many times before I am just going to give you a link. I actually think 90%+ of questions on here can be solved by people understanding how to use google...but that is just me.
Any form of personal point system on an educational forum is a terrible idea, I'm not completely against the upvote system though.
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