Hello everyone, your friendly neighborhood Mumberthrax here with a followup on our last community discussion, which was about moderation of the subverse. I want to thank everyone who shared their thoughts on moderation of the subverse. It really means a lot to hear from each of you about how you want the subverse to be run.
Open Source Moderation
Rather than me establish a policy here and now on how things will go, I'd much rather do what I can to ensure that everyone in the community has a say in any major changes that happen here. So to do that /v/conspiracy is "open source"-ing the moderation of this subverse through a github project containing all settings for the subverse, css, sidebar text, rules, and a not-yet-drafted moderation policy document which will cover the topics we discussed in the last post (responsibilities, activity levels, transparency, and how new mods are added).
The next step in this process is drafting a complete policy document based on the suggestions and ideas discussed in the last post, as well as discussions in ages past. The other mods and I will work on this. Once it's drafted, we'll solicit feedback from everyone again, probably have some sort of vote to confirm or deny it. So stay tuned for that. :]
Modteam lineup
I'll not be adding any new moderators at this time for a few reasons:
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There isn't sufficient workload to warrant it - no spam or memes, almost no racism to moderate
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We don't have an official community-sanctioned process in place to determine how new mods are added
I'll also not be removing any existing moderators at this time, since there is no apparent misconduct going on presently, the active mods seem pretty chill, and the inactive ones (@zenof and @alllie) have been sent a message inquiring about their intentions as mods and intended activity levels. If I receive no response from those two within two weeks, they'll be removed. If I do hear from them, then we'll work from there to figure out what to do.
I'd like to encourage our current mods to keep on keeping on, just as they have been. You guys are cool.
Ideally once we have a formal moderation policy document in place, it will outline what should be done for removing mods and adding new ones.
Miscellanea
That's it for this followup post. Thanks for reading, and for chilling with us tinfoil hat types on /v/conspiracy!
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critias ago
I'm not a fan of discussing things about a sub in another sub. It's censorship through containment.
Can someone define overt and racism for me. Are we not allowed to call things for what they are even in a rational and civil manner?
Mumberthrax ago
Meta discussion is not restricted on /v/conspiracy. /v/conspiracymeta is not censorship, it's an optional tool for aggregating meta discussions for easier access.
I've been thinking that the rule about racism ought to be reworded to be less ambiguous. I took a quick glance at your profile where you state that you're antisemitic. You're welcome to hold whatever beliefs or opinions you prefer. We have decided as a community that we don't want racism or bigotry on this subverse, so any comments that mock people for their race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, etc. or that attack a group like that in aggregate, etc. are not wanted here.
I know there is the Jewish conspiracy theory, and that there are many who subscribe to the idea that Jewish people are all inherently evil and trying to rule the world. I do not personally agree with this, and I recognize that it's a conspiracy theory that may tie in to other conspiracies discussed here. So long as discussion on these sorts of conspiracy theories is phrased as objectively as possible, viewed in a sort of academic matter, then they may be ok... but it's a thin line to walk.
Critical commentary about Israel the country is fine. Critical commentary about the USA the country is fine. Attacking or mocking someone for being Israeli or being American or Swedish or anything else is not ok. Attacking someone for being a political leader of a country is probably fine. I'm not sure if this paints a clear enough picture or not.
If you want to express something that you think might be racist but aren't sure, and it's really really important to you, you could message a moderator and ask if they'd be willing to look it over first. Or you're welcome to create your own subverse specifically for discussing race-related conspiracy theories, or create a totally unmoderated conspiracy discussion subverse. If you do, let us know so that it could be considered by the community for a link in the sidebar.
critias ago
As long as it's optional.
I understand that blanket statements are pointless but there is a recurring theme on many groups that can't be ignored. There are many topics that revolve around multiculturalism, corporatism and genderism that shouldn't be ignored. I have no intention on unwarranted attacks or pure racism. I do, however, believe that ignoring reality is a threat to not only free speech but to the future of humanity and life on this planet. We have a responsibility to acknowledge the truth.
It doesn't matter what you agree with. It matters that there are certain results that have been common throughout history. It also matters that there are reasons for the current plights that plague humanity. I do not intend on ignoring systemic causes. The ideas behind war involving the West and israel and the middle-East are pure fact.
So the fact that a group of people are behind atrocities is okay as long as we only recognize the government above it all? Seems like bullshit. The israeli condition is based on the people who are backing up the ideals that support the government that make up the supremacist state. To ignore the people who have been relocated and that contribute to the problems we now face is folly.
I want you to re-read that statement and tell me it isn't part of the new wave of cultural norms that is driving the US into the ground. I do not require your permission to state the truth.
I am not interested in race-related conspiracies. I am however interested in universal truths and observable fact.
Maybe, if you plan on running a subreddit, you should look into running a news one. Conspiracies are often based in more than reporting what is acceptable or sponsored.
Mumberthrax ago
Our rules, including the rule about bigotry, have been around since this subverse was created. They were established by consensus from the community, and the concepts behind them have never been in dispute until now so far as I have seen. If you would like to offer an amendment to the rules, you are free to propose a new version for consideration, either through messaging one of the mods, making a post about it here or on /v/conspiracymeta, or creating a pull request directly on our github project.
critias ago
I'm not disputing them, I'm asking for clarification. Define consensus.
Mumberthrax ago
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/consensus
This consensus was reaffirmed during our brainstorming discussion posts just prior to the latest reddit-influx where the community made it clear they do not want racism to erode our subverse.