Moderation Reminder
“You’re wrong.”
“No I’m not. You are.”
“You’re wrong.”
“No I’m not. You are.”
“You’re wrong.”
“No I’m not. You are.”
Ah, the richness of open dialogue. Unfortunately, there have been some commenters on the ArtPrize social media platforms–notably this blog and our Facebook page–who have allowed their conversation to essentially descend to the above “back and forth.” It’s boring, redundant and tedious. We have received complaints from readers, saying they no longer care to follow the blog or Facebook fanpage because of the clutter from a few, stubbornly repetitive commenters.
Of course, ArtPrize could simply ban said commenters, and be done with it. We haven’t until this point because we feel there is an underlying openness to dialogue and criticism that the ArtPrize event represents. However, I do not consider what is written above as a dialogue.
There has been too much ranting and too much trolling on ArtPrize’s platforms. For those of you who find yourselves banned, feel free to rant elsewhere. For those of you who’ve considered avoiding the blog and fanpage because of the ranting and trolling, please bear with us when we choose to err on the side of tolerance.
You can read our statement of moderation, which was published last December, after the jump.
MODERATION
ArtPrize believes in open dialogue. So, in the beginning, moderation of the ArtPrize fanpage was very loose, in fact, non-existent. As the popularity of ArtPrize grows, so do instances of content appearing on this fanpage which in no way serve ArtPrize fans. As other Facebook users–affiliated and unaffiliated with the event–use the fanpage to draw eyeballs toward their own self interests, we find it necessary to moderate this platform. To ensure the abuses of a few do not drive away the many, inconsiderate self-promotion, tasteless comments and belligerent behavior toward other fans will be moderated to maintain a culture of civilized, open dialogue for all.
OUR PRINCIPLES FOR MODERATION
Rants are lame
Rants are self-serving and bring the conversation down for everyone but the ranter. Dialogue is welcome. Passionate dialogue is more welcome. But dialogue is two way and rants are one way.
Self-promotion: Two way or one way?
Good self-promotion starts a conversation (i.e. “Tell me what you think of my work.”) Promotions that are one way (i.e. “Vote for ME!”) do not.
Insults are not allowed
When it gets personal, it’s over the line. “I disagree with your work,” is very different from, “You suck!” Personal insults are not tolerated.
No trolls
Trolls lurk and they bully. We’ll give our fans latitude to jump into discussions frequently and often. When it becomes apparent that a user’s goal is to dominate and stifle discussions, that user will be banned.