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Moderation, respect, and offensive language.

Scorpion0x17

I find the following post deeply concerning:

Autismtwo,

Please stop this. You have no business demanding that Rachel uses words in a particular way. You have already been asked recently to treat other users with respect. This is your last warning. If you do this again, your posts will be moderated, requiring approval from me, or one of the other moderators, before they are published.

When you signed up, you agreed to obey rule 1:

"Don’t post messages that are offensive or insulting to other users."

You made your own views about Rachel's words very clear. This has now gone well beyond that, into aggression and harassment.

I know you don't like the way the NAS does things. I have never censored your opinions about us. But when you harass other users like this, we will intervene.

If you wish to discuss this privately, please email community.manager@nas.org.uk.

Yours,

Alex R - mod

A post was made that used language that several members, who have clearly stated that they themselves are on the autistic spectrum in numerous posts, found to be offensive and dengrating to those on the spectrum.

When this was pointed out it was dismissed out of hand by the original poster, as if the use of such language did not matter.

The above quoted post clearly takes the side of the original poster, and thus, by implication, condones the use of that language.

Should not a representative of the NAS at the very least remain neutral in such matters (reprimanding both those who denigrate people on the spectrum and those who speak out against it too strongly)?

Should an NAS representative not also be aware of the nature of the traits common amongst many on the spectrum and, in particular, their propensity to use very honest, direct, and sometimes too blunt, language without meaning any disrespect or offence?

Should a representative of the NAS, in fact, not actively discourage any language that denigrates those on the spectrum, not matter how mild the nature of the denigration?

Are these not things that every representative of the NAS, no matter their position, or role, should do, and bear in mind, at all times when dealing with the public, or anyone else, be they on the spectrum, or not?

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  • Scorpion0x17 said:

    Would you reprimand and threaten to moderate a user who came on, stated they were severely dyslexic, and who then posted message so full of mistakes and errors that they often contained apprent insults and offensive language?

    That would depend very much on the situation. It's unlikely that we'd do that, not least because it should be apparent from the context whether the user intended to be insulting or offensive.

    We do try to maintain a 'light touch' in enforcing the rules. Most of the mod actions I've taken lately have been related to the 'no unapproved research' rule. The sort of situation we've got here is fortunately very rare. But we have had several users leave recently because of the tone of certain discussions.

    Our aim is to create a welcoming environment for as many users as possible, both on the spectrum and not. That's not always easy. As I've said before, I can't know for certain who's on the spectrum and who isn't. I need to try and implement the rules in such a way that users who are on the spectrum are properly supported. But I also need to make sure that the community as a whole functions smoothly. If a tiny number of users are driving away others because of their hostility, that means I'm not succeeding.

    I usually don't have to do more than ask the users nicely to be respectful of each other. This situation has been the exception. I had asked autismtwo, on several different threads, not to harass other users.

    The rules exist to enable everyone to share the forum. An occasional mistake does not prevent that, but a consistent pattern of attacking other users does.

    I'm hopeful that we can go on peacefully again, though. Most users do as you have done - when they wish to challenge someone else's behaviour, they do so politely and respectfully.

    I hope I've made the differences clear here, but I'm happy to explain further if needed.

    Thanks,

    Alex R - mod

Reply

  • Scorpion0x17 said:

    Would you reprimand and threaten to moderate a user who came on, stated they were severely dyslexic, and who then posted message so full of mistakes and errors that they often contained apprent insults and offensive language?

    That would depend very much on the situation. It's unlikely that we'd do that, not least because it should be apparent from the context whether the user intended to be insulting or offensive.

    We do try to maintain a 'light touch' in enforcing the rules. Most of the mod actions I've taken lately have been related to the 'no unapproved research' rule. The sort of situation we've got here is fortunately very rare. But we have had several users leave recently because of the tone of certain discussions.

    Our aim is to create a welcoming environment for as many users as possible, both on the spectrum and not. That's not always easy. As I've said before, I can't know for certain who's on the spectrum and who isn't. I need to try and implement the rules in such a way that users who are on the spectrum are properly supported. But I also need to make sure that the community as a whole functions smoothly. If a tiny number of users are driving away others because of their hostility, that means I'm not succeeding.

    I usually don't have to do more than ask the users nicely to be respectful of each other. This situation has been the exception. I had asked autismtwo, on several different threads, not to harass other users.

    The rules exist to enable everyone to share the forum. An occasional mistake does not prevent that, but a consistent pattern of attacking other users does.

    I'm hopeful that we can go on peacefully again, though. Most users do as you have done - when they wish to challenge someone else's behaviour, they do so politely and respectfully.

    I hope I've made the differences clear here, but I'm happy to explain further if needed.

    Thanks,

    Alex R - mod

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