Good point, but unfortunately most people have hard time understanding the differences between "being critical and trolling". The best way to post "a positive, constructive contribution to BigSoccer" is not post there at all.
Lets not lose target of the main discussion here. It appears Dark Knight and Huss feel it is fine to offend a large group of the forum going populace by allowing Bill Archer to continually post offensive and bigoted statements by featuring him as a poster and website featured blogger.
It looks like any poster can make racial comments as long as the mods in that particular forum allow them to, am I right? I don't think any of the regulars in the Mexico forum would get away with comments like those of the "blogger" we are discussing.
I'm of the school that you have to have opposing views in order for a forum or thread to be worth a crap or it just becomes a wankfest. Using the Argentina forums as an example, we get a lot of posters that don't necessarily follow Argentina in as much as they follow particular players. Some outright dislike the side but they do offer a perspective that more often than not generate even more discussion. What would be the point of having a forum if everyone agreed with one another all the time? I think as posters and mods we really need to be more proactive in checking ourselves. Before hitting "submit reply" or "issue infraction", take a second and revisit what your initial reaction and think about for just a second more. Was it trolling? Was my post over the top? The best advice I received when I started posting in another forum was this; If you aren't sure your post is trolling, pm a moderator and ask them their opinion. The same applies to us mods, if you aren't sure whether something is a violation, pm another mod or super.
Re Sa the issue here are the rules of the forum. A comment considered trolling will be infracted. The key is where that comment is made. In the Mexico forum that statement would be infraction in no time. On the US board, unless its disturbing the general poster populace its not considered trolling. We may not agree with it but its their forum under their jurisdiction. Now with respect to the poster with the blog, I say he has the right to state his opinion and I think it should be made clear that it is HIS opinion alone. I would also say if you gave Perndog a blog that bashed the US the same way Bill Archer bashes Mexico, (which I would actually like to see ) I guarantee that the US posters would complain. There needs to be a middle ground there.
I am getting tired of Mexico posters endlessly calling out the USA forums, and that is the ONLY reason I'm responding to you hypocrites. https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=18337276&postcount=68 https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=15938048&postcount=112 https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=15938111&postcount=115 So you're telling me that telling an Indian moderator to go back to his slurpee machine ISN'T racist? Or that stereotyping an entire people isn't considered racist? If I were to say all Mexicans love to annoy people, how would you feel about that? And I know for a FACT that these aren't the only racist posts out of your forum. Also note that NONE of those posts had been infracted or deleted. Do you want to get into personal attacks of Mods in your forum as well?
Also, if you see a post that you believe is racist or bigoted, please report it. Certain forums get THOUSANDS of posts a day. It is impossible for Mods to read every post.
cool, so you found the Mexican version of lou dobbs/bill archer. kudos to you we all know we have idiots in every forum, the point here, is that they are dealt differently and even more than that, Bigsoccer sponsors and promotes bloggers like bill archer who also make statements as stupid as the ones you found. go find something similar to that again in the Mexico forums, I dare you. hypocrites?, my ass is hypocritical, it looks good but poops shit when you not looking
I say give Pern a blog and let's see what happens, how's that for middle ground. I found it hard to believe that any Mexican poster that posted crap like that would not last long as a front page blogger.
Of course they are. Moderators are individuals, not robots, and different moderators will come to different conclusions about how to handle posts in different environments. Since a Bill Archer post from a forum I moderate was listed here, I will explain why - as of right now - no action was taken... because Bill's intent was to troll for a fight (either with other posters or with the moderators - he likes to be contentious and elicit responses), and one never materialized. Everybody ignored the post, and while it was reported, thankfully the person who reported did not try to self-moderate in that thread; that would have been an utter disaster. Had I elected to delete his post, or hand out an infraction in this case it would have actually degraded the status quo in the resultant shitstorm. (I can only speak to my particular forum, not decisions about his featured blogger status, or what happens in the USA or Mexico forums.) Yes, interlopers are dealt with more harshly and swiftly, because failing to do so causes more problems. Forum regulars are given more leeway because failing to do so causes more problems than it solves. That may not be fair, or even ideal, but it is the way it is, and I think we'd need maybe 10 moderators (or I'd need a salary so I can quit my job) if we were to change that in my forum. All that said, I have definitely handed out infractions, deleted posts, and given warnings to Crew forum regulars, including Bill. I've been called some pretty foul things for doing so. Yet, when appropriate, I'm sure I will do it again at some point in the future. It just wasn't appropriate (IMO) for that particular post. Just remember - Bill wants you to get riled up and offended. He's practically a national villain in Canada because they don't understand that they are giving him exactly what he wants. Better to ignore him if he tries to offend you.
So what you are saying is World Rivalries is more strictly moderated than the Crew forum? Do you know what kind of perception that gives considering the history of the Nordecke fans?
No - I'm saying it's differently moderated. We can indeed be quite strict when necessary. The "history"? Don't you mean the (largely manufactured and false) perception? I'd say that the Nordecke is largely more diverse than the rest of the fan base. Look, I'm sensitive to the fact that the post in question is pretty darn inflammatory. The fact of the matter is that, as moderators, we need to be able to use our judgment about how to respond to posts on an individual basis. Let's try an analogy: will a beat police officer in a particular neighborhood apply the same response to a curfew violation by a known regular it the neighborhood (even if he's a "shady" character) as he would someone who doesn't normally hang out in that area? Should he? Sometimes strict "letter-of-the-law" enforcement (sans judgment) does not serve the needs of the community best. In a sense, yes, there is a double-standard that benefits "community regulars" in the Crew forum over visitors. But it's not because I like Bill better, or agree with his post, or his views. It's about what causes the least disruption to the community at large. In the Crew forum, that means moderation may swing from extremely laissez-faire to incredibly strict, depending on the situation. I delete more posts (and hand out more infractions) the week before a game against TFC than at any other time - and cumulatively it's actually Crew fans that receive the brunt of the moderation (tho it's usually one or two TFC fans who individually receive more attention). I'll delete posts at that time that I wouldn't blink twice at at other times because failing to do so will spawn a flame war... while deleting some posts at other times will be what spawns the flame war.
The fact that it was not a group of people, or organized cheering, but one flippin' dude who has since, IIRC, been identified and dealt with. I mean, Dante Washington was called the "n-word" at an away game when he played for the Crew, and nobody made a federal case out of it. Probably because it wasn't captured on video and uploaded to YouTube. But whatever. If you think the action of one individual damns everyone tangentially associated with something that individual supports, we're all doomed.
Explain again why you feel certain members of the forum should be exempt from following the TOS, why world rivalries has stricter posting guidelines than your forum and consequently welcome bigotry into the Crew forums and why you have no problem with your own teams players being attacked with racism.
Like my earlier comment said, people are free to post what they want in their forum. Its not considered trolling unless its disrupting that thread, this is a basic rule of the forum. I could care less what US fans post on their boards like I'm sure they could care less what I do on the Mex boards. Its their/our forum and we will be uninviting if we want. Things like racism should not be tolerated here even on World Rivalries IMHO. The posters that are known to be inflamitory seem to always go for the "lawn mower, illegal, 3rd world sh1thole" comments first. Anyone who has been around long enough knows its true. Now with the question of the blogs right now there is a clear unbalance. Bill Archer gets to post anti-Mexico remarks, so either give us a poster that can make anti-American remarks on a blog or make stricter policies for bloggers. DK I'm looking at you to answer this question.