scobleizer wrote:
Sorry, I don't want to be forum mommy.

Let's all be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

That said, the team here is watching this and seeing if there's some work we should do. We're just totally burned out getting ready for the PDC, though.


The problem is that Channel9 forums are like any community. Either they enforce some minimal set of standards of behavior or they become dominated by their worst elements. Trolls enjoy the attention they get from trolling, so there's not really a viable solution short of banning them. Ignoring them doesn't work, because the trolls just start increasing the frequency of their gibberage until it dominates the forum.

The solution I've seen work to keep trolls under control goes something like this:

  1. Define the mission and scope of Channel9. What should it be and whom should it serve? From this, you draw up a set of guidelines about what are and are not appropriate topics for the forum. Threads on inappropriate topics will get deleted. For what it's worth, I see Channel9 as a technology forum, so discussions about Linux and OSX are appropriate. What is not appropriate is hijacking every thread into a Linux vs. Microsoft flamewar or trashing Microsoft products simply because Microsoft makes them.
  2. Draw up a set of rules that define acceptable behavior for the forum. We already have one rule: no profanity. Other good rules include no name calling and no thread hijacking. Keep the rules few, simple and logical, so members of the community who act in good faith don't have trouble adhering to them. Write up the rules and make sure each niner sees them, either when they create an account or when they make their first post.
  3. The first time someone breaks a rule or starts an inappropriate thread, they get a warning. After that, they get banned. Although this may seem a little harsh, trolls will easily take advantage of more lieniet policies. Some discresion can be exercised with the "one warning rule" for people who appear to be acting in good faith but are having trouble posting on-topic material. However, there should be no leeway given for profanity or name calling, since we all should have learned a minimum of social grace and self-control growing up.
  4. To decrease the burden of enforcement, deputize trusted members of the community and give them the authority to issue warnings, delete articles and ban abusers. If the rules are kept simple and clear, and the deputies share a common understanding of them, then the burden of being a "forum mommy" can be spread among a dozen or so individuals without being too onerous for any one of them.
  5. Finally, no solution is going to be perfect. The enforcement of some rules will require judgement calls, and no one is going to get those right all the time. Some people are going to get upset at being warned or banned, sometimes justifiably so. However, it's better than letting the trolls run the place.