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220090 tn?1379167187

A queston for Medhelp

I have been reading this forum for many years and posting for two.  I see a noticeable increase in deleted posts and the marked absence of many of the most helpful posters.  I had disagreements with some of them, but their absence is my loss.

Why are you doing this?  A forum can be moderated or not, but this forum seems  in between and uses arbitrary rules.

Most of us take mind altering drugs; we need guidance sometimes when we are out of line, but threatening and banning are not helpful.  This is a support forum for adults.   Sometimes we are so overwhelmed by the drugs that we do not behave as adults, but that is rare.  

If you apply arbitrary rules and let trolls post at will and you ban the people that complain about the trolls, you lose the respect of the forum members and you, medhelp, will lose in the end.

If you feel the forum has to be moderated, then supply a moderator that understands the forum and the problems of the participants.  
79 Responses
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Avatar universal
Thank you for responding to this thread.  It is good to open a dialouge on these matters, rather than have everyone seething and guessing about why MH takes the actions it takes.    

jd
Helpful - 0
707563 tn?1626361905
Those are good suggestions, and some are being worked on, and others are in place to happen at some point in the future.  

Willing - the Report Abuse at the bottom of the page is a bit different than the "Report this" drop-down menu at the bottom of each post.  That option doesn't collect anything, and while that is more comfortable for some who wish to remain anonymous, it doesn't lend a lot of insight as to why some posts might be reported.

Sometimes it isn't a specific rule found in the T of U, but part of a bigger picture as to why some things happen.  Depending on the situation, many times it really causes problems when people are discussing someone who's banned, especially when we aren't allowed to step in and explain things.  Sometimes talking about a banned member can create an unsafe environment for other members, or it might create division among members, etc.   It really depends on the whys, hows and whos.

I know it's hard to understand everything when we can't talk about a lot of it, but I hope you can at least trust that we aren't banning people for the fun of it, or because some people in a forum might not like that person, etc.  There are some very specific reasons why people are banned, and especially with long-time, contributing members, it is always a last resort.   We don't like doing it, but know we have to sometimes.

I hope this is helping clarify some things, and easing your concerns.  

Emily
MedHelp
Helpful - 0
220090 tn?1379167187
It sounds like we are in agreement.  Strange concept, but then we are both off treatment - LOL.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Andiamo: I certainly wasn't asking for anyone to excuse bad behavior.  I am asking that we put that behavior in the context of the person's state of mind.  People that treat are impulsive and angry.  That means that SOMETIMES we should cut them some slack and give them a chance to  understand the impact the drugs are having on their personality rather than just ban them or ostracize them or fight with them.  In the end, this is a support group and that means, to me, supporting all aspects of the disease and the treatment to the best of our ability.

None of us are perfect -- even when we are not treating - LOL.  So if we can't be that understanding, well -- none of us are perfect, especially me.
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I'm well aware that what you're asking for is tolerance for people on treatment.  I support that.  What I'm ALSO asking for is a measure of people exercising some personal responsibility as well.  You brought up the one and I'm bringing up the other.  I think either extreme is unacceptable - lack of tolerance and lack of personal responsibility.  I think even when you're on treatment you have to try to see through the fog and try to be decent with people.  When I found myself biting the head off of the guy at work, I worked on avoidance tactics and had to limit myself on here for awhile when I felt I could no longer discern if I was being reasonable.  About the same time, I had a forum friend tell me that they would no longer talk to me until many months down the road when I was done treatment since they couldn't tolerate who they felt I was on treatment.  So...goes both ways, doesn't it.  Limits to the tolerance also when someone feels abused.  A balance between tolerance and personal responsibility is what I think is fair.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
thanks for responding. Along the lines of Trish's post above here's a couple of comments/suggestions:

- having never used the 'report abuse' facility I'm not sure how it works. I tried clicking on it today and it seems to collect not just the MH login but also an email address and reasons for the perceived abuse. If, in the moderator's judgment, the challenged post in fact violates the "Terms of Use" I'd suggest replacing the offending text with the explanation of why this is abusive (this could be easily automated). The result would clearly convey what part of a post was offensive and why it was. It would also clearly mark posts that were edited by MH; as it stands someone's post is altered without any indication that what remains is not what was submitted.

- consider adding a requirement that at least two members must flag a post as offensive

- clarify/expand the "terms of use" to reflect what is actually enforced. For example, I have no clue which of the 18 rules stated I violated by discussing what appeared to be the arbitrary banning of a former member in a thread devoted to the topic of excessively restrictive moderating.

Overall, deleting/modifying posts/threads should be a very transparent process so it's clear to everyone why censorship was applied. Silent censorship, as this thread should make clear, is not popular - unless its need can be justified the resulting chilling effect is bound to drive away users.
Helpful - 0
220090 tn?1379167187
"While I appreciate the understanding handed to those who are on treatment, I think it's going a little too far to allow that as an *excuse* to be nasty to other people. "

I certainly wasn't asking for anyone to excuse bad behavior.  I am asking that we put that behavior in the context of the person's state of mind.  People that treat are impulsive and angry.  That means that SOMETIMES we should cut them some slack and give them a chance to  understand the impact the drugs are having on their personality rather than just ban them or ostracize them or fight with them.  In the end, this is a support group and that means, to me, supporting all aspects of the disease and the treatment to the best of our ability.

None of us are perfect -- even when we are not treating - LOL.  So if we can't be that understanding, well -- none of us are perfect, especially me.
Helpful - 0
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