Censorship

[Anonymous]

Jeff, darling....You know I love you...but, last night a friend and I posted something on here, Just PLAYING, having FUN, and today I noticed that it was gone. Now, I have seen FAR worse things posted on here before, even racists things....So, Im just wondering what the guidelines are when it comes to censoring posts? xoxox

[jsteele]

You may be interested in this entry in the Frequently Asked Questions (linked to in the left column):

Don't all users have a right to free expression and should be able to post anything they like? Isn't it censorship when a Site Administrator interferes with that right?

No and No. We allow great leeway in what users are allowed to say, but Site Administrators reserve the right to delete and/or modify any message at any time for any reason. DCUM is privately owned and operated and, as such, First Amendment rights do not apply (though they are given great reverence).

[Anonymous]

But what standards do you, personally, usually use when removing posts?

[jsteele]

Mostly I remove spam, most of which is posted by spambots. I also delete advertisements (which might also be considered spam, but is posted by humans in this case). Less often, I delete messages that are posted in the wrong forum (though mostly I move them rather than delete them). On very rare occasions, and the OP's post may have been one of those occasions, I remove posts that are obvious attempts to troll an otherwise serious thread. I don't know what the OP posted, or if I even deleted it. However, if the OP would like to shed more light on the post in question, I would be glad to address it specifically.

[Anonymous]

Okay, My friend posted the "Fire her Immediately" and I was the "you should join the witness protection program"

[Anonymous]

I think this type of nonsense shouldn't be tolerated, Jeff. I'm thinking something along the lines of a perma-ban.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Okay, My friend posted the "Fire her Immediately" and I was the "you should join the witness protection program"

If I recall correctly, these were responses to the poster who received an email asking her to participate in an Avon party. "Fire her immediately" is a nonsensical response. I've seen a trend were spambots post a message that sounds sort of normal and I suspect these are test posts before they unleash an avalanche of spam. Many blogs moderate all "first posts" but as long as the first post is okay, they authorize additional posts. We don't do that, but I suspect spambots think we do, so they post a normal "first post". When I see what I suspect are spambot test posts, I check the IP address. If the IP is from China or Russia or other known spambot haven, I remove it and block the address. In this case, "Fire her immediately" was such an inappropriate post, I thought it was a spambot test post. I checked the IP, decided it was not a spambot, but deleted it anyway because, frankly, it deserved it. The "witness protection" post I don't remember so clearly, but I assume it was just after the first one and, since I was on a roll, I just kept deleting.

Just to be clear, I love funny posts. Snark in appropriate circumstances is a very good thing in my opinion. My own personal motto is "never miss an opportunity to be a smart ass". But, DCUM is a target-friendly environment for snark. There is no reason to destroy a perfectly innocent thread by "just playing around" as you put it.