A rude reply in my hiking forum has me questioning moderation styles

Someone posted a trail tip and got a snarky 'everyone knows that' response, which made them delete their account. I help run the forum and missed it until after the damage was done. I'm torn between letting people speak freely and stepping in more often. What's your take on keeping things friendly without too much control?

3 comments

3 Comments

iris_rivera633mo ago

Set a clear rule about basic kindness, then moderate anything mean.

aaron_gonzalez1mo ago

I mean, what counts as "mean" though? Like, if someone says "that business model is going to fail" is that mean or just honest? Or if I tell someone their DIY project looks dangerous, am I being mean or helpful? I feel like the line is different for everyone. What would you do with someone who keeps posting stuff that barely crosses that line but clearly knows what they're doing?

rubythomas3mo ago

Wait, do we really need a written rule to be decent to each other? Moderating based on 'mean' leaves way too much room for bias.

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