Removing troll posts

[Anonymous]

Hi Jeff, I just noticed you left the "I cheated and my husband hacked my phone" thread up but removed the posts saying it was a troll. Since I'm still learning my way around DCUM and I see SO much hostility that stays, I have 2 questions:

1. Why did you remove the troll posts? That thread continues to read like someone who is just looking for a reaction, and if it is rel, isn't it good feedback to know that to most people it is crazy to be upset at the hacking when she was indeed unfaithful?

2. I know moderating this board has to be a challenge - how do you decide which posts/threads to delete or move, when so many like them remain where they are?

Thanks!

[jsteele]

I have recently started removing posts that declare a poster is a troll. If posters believe a post is a troll post, I'd like them to either ignore it or use the "report" button to let me know about it. I, as well as many users, thing that the troll accusations have gotten out of hand and are actually more disruptive then actual troll posts. It has really gotten to the point that you can't really post anything the least bit out of the ordinary without being called a troll. It also seems like some posters do nothing but call other posters trolls. Who is the real troll in that circumstance?

I can't tell if the tread about the husband hacking an iPhone is real or not. There are some unusual circumstances about the poster that could really be used to support either side of that debate. My feeling is that as long as it's not clear, the poster gets the benefit of the doubt. In that case -- especially in that thread -- posts calling the poster a troll are very disruptive. Again, if someone thinks it's a troll thread, they can simply move on to another thread.

In order for me to do something about a post or a thread, I first have to know about it. I don't read the vast majority of the posts and won't know about anything inappropriate unless someone reports it. Once I know about something, I make a decision based on the evidence available to me and my overall judgement about what will be most effective in the circumstances.

BTW, there are two threads currently about iPhones being hacked. I don't believe the phones were "hacked" in either case. If the phones were actually compromised, I suspect the explanation is a lot more mundane than "hacking".

[Anonymous]

Thank you for that. So mostly it's because someone flagged it for you and told you why they don't like it, then you check it out and act or don't act. That makes sense, and explains why recently you moved a thread of mine when there are daily threads in the same vein in the same forum I posted in. I was really bummed that it was moved when several people felt it was helpful where it was, but I imagine a couple posters didn't appreciate being called out as rude for basically saying "everyone already knows this" when, 3 pages of comments in, that was clearly not true.

Thank you, you have a giant task sorting through the content here and I appreciate your transparency about your process. Now I understand why some things disappear/get moved while others remain and are sometimes more extreme.

Thanks!