Reading practice for moderators.

Phoenixdust·Aug 6, 2018·1 votes·1,456 views

Welcome everybody, I'm happy to present you the "Reading practices I" for newbies (and moderators).

So, my other account just got banned for boards, because some of the moderators think, that what I thought (not WROTE) was bad (apparently they have mind reading abilities). So to clarify these misunderstandings I've prepared some basic example sentences to teach them what some things mean.

It's going to rain tomorrow. - Tomorrow water drops will fall from the sky.
I think, it will rain tomorrow. - In my opinion water drops will fall from the sky tomorrow, but I am not sure about it, so I can not state it as a fact.
Will it rain tomorrow? I think not. - In my opinion no water drops will be falling from the sky tomorrow, but I am not sure about it, so it is not a fact.
Are you stupid? - I do not know if the person is stupid or not, so I query this information.
I think he is not stupid, but I do not know for sure. - I do not know if the questioned person is stupid or not, but in my opinion it's more likely that he is NOT stupid.

Thanks for taking your time reading these small examples, hopefully it will help all moderators to understand what others wrote, so they can use the rules consistently.

Have a nice day!

7 Comments

ModThe DjinnAug 6, 201810 votes

I'm sorry you feel that way, but the simple fact of the matter is that when your post comes down to "Did you become retarded or did you die? I'm not sure about the first one" then your post isn't acceptable. Since you brought it up, "are you stupid?" would also be prohibited, and "I do not think he is stupid but I do not know for sure" is borderline. The better alternative is just to not suggest, ask, inquire, or state your uncertainty on negative aspects of someone's mental health or intelligence.

That said, I do enjoy reading, so yay! More reading.

PhoenixdustAug 6, 20182 votes

I'm a little bit disappointed, because you still do not understand what my comment meant.

So I will try to explain it to you in very details.

OP cried about being called retarded and because somebody told him to kys. My point was to point out, that these 2 things had literally NO effect on his life, but to point it out I have to be sure. (I personally don't like stating my assumptions as facts.) So I asked if he became retarded or killed himself. The answer to the 2nd question is trivial, or at least can be predicted with a convincing accuracy. But for the first question it is not so easy. There are mental disabilities what you can not identify just by looking at some comments, so while I suspected him not to be retarded I had to ask to be sure (and prove that the things what OP complained about had no effect on him).

Hopefully after this you understand my point, now If you have time, could you give me a tip how should I have rephrased my idea to be more fitting on the boards. Since I never insulted him or said anything bad about him, I still can not understand what your problem was/is.

Ps.: "The better alternative is just to not suggest, ask, inquire, or state your uncertainty on negative aspects of someone's mental health or intelligence." - Without this I could not prove my point.

Ps2.: If you like reading I recommend the "The name of the wind" ;)

ChermorgAug 6, 20186 votes

This is the problem. You were admitting you thought someone else was retarded (otherwise you'd have no reason to ask that). That sort of insinuation is not acceptable on the boards.

You further were not saying "retarded" as a mental illness - you would've said "mental illness". You were using retarded as a demeaning way to say someone is not as intellectually powerful as yourself - that sort of behavior is, quite frankly, unacceptable anywhere, not just on the Boards.

What you do not realize is the moderator who applied your punishment was lenient. If I had been removing that comment, and given your history, your boards privileges would have been permanently revoked. You are lucky the moderator felt you deserved another chance - don't blow it.

PhoenixdustAug 6, 20182 votes

I used the word retarded because OP used the word retarded. Probably you are not familiar with the original content here.

I said I THINK HE is not retarded, did you read it? I said I think he is not retarded, but I can not be sure about it without asking....

ModThe DjinnAug 6, 20183 votes

{quoted}So I asked if he became retarded or killed himself. The answer to the 2nd question is trivial, or at least can be predicted with a convincing accuracy. But for the first question it is not so easy. There are mental disabilities what you can not identify just by looking at some comments, so while I suspected him not to be retarded I had to ask to be sure [and prove that the things what OP complained about had no effect on him].

I understand what you meant, but the idea that you had to ask to be sure is, frankly, a bit absurd.

Hopefully after this you understand my point, now If you have time, could you give me a tip how should I have rephrased my idea to be more fitting on the boards. Since I never insulted him or said anything bad about him, I still can not understand what your problem was/is.

"Did you become retarded or kill yourself after his comment? I don't think so."

Or, better yet, avoid an offensive word while you're at it:

"Did your physical or mental condition change after his comment? I don't think so."

In short, remove asking about/questioning the poster's mental state entirely.

Ps.: "The better alternative is just to not suggest, ask, inquire, or state your uncertainty on negative aspects of someone's mental health or intelligence." - Without this I could not prove my point.

See above, which at least makes it a more positive statement.

Ps2.: If you like reading I recommend the "The name of the wind" ;)

Read it, love it. If you like that, I'd recommend the Earthsea books, which I think helped inspire The Name of the Wind.

PhoenixdustAug 6, 20182 votes

Guess we just have a different threshold of what is offensive or what is not, it happens. I wont argue more about this, since it looks like it's pointless.

Anyway, thanks for the book recommendation, i'll take a look at it ;)