Allowing registered members of a forum to issue infractions to other members

SenseiSteve

HD Moderator
Staff member
What are your thoughts regarding any web hosting forum allowing its registered members to issue infractions to other members?

Per one forum's thread:

Any registered member can award infraction points to any thread or post created by other registered members
 
What are your thoughts regarding any web hosting forum allowing its registered members to issue infractions to other members?

Per one forum's thread:
I think it's a great way of bringing attention to the admins of a specific issue. But that too can be done under the reporting end of things.

Where this becomes great is in automated actions. If more than 10 people report an infraction, the post is set to private and an admin is alerted for review.

I can see this being a great way to automate when it comes to larger forums.
 
I think it's great as long as there are clear posting rules/guidelines so that everyone can actually know what counts as an infraction, and that there is a system in place to punish people who repeatedly report false infractions.
 
I am not a fan of the idea. Moderating content requires not only incredible patience but emotional intelligence. It's a lot easier to spot a blatant violation of the rules than to know how to properly react to it. Over the years we had quite a number of members who have been fantastic at scouting and reporting violations. At the same time, they were also getting emotionally involved (getting themselves in a confrontational direct conversation with the violator, overreacting to all of their activity or jumping to conclusions way too early). It is also important to read between the lines, spot accidents and know when and how to give members a break. I'd prefer to control these processes.

I can only accept a hybrid-type solution when certain things are automated. As Conor mentioned, if a post receives an X number of reports (although easily gamed if a certain group of people is on a mission to intentionally bring another member down), it can at least temporarily get suspended for further review by staff.
 
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This is open to abuse as you will get some members giving other infractions just because they don't like comments, so causing more work for admin
 
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