The Quizbowl Resource Center

I've been noticing that there's been an upsurge of late in banned users, locked topics, and the like. Is there any sort of rationale for this? Many of the recently verboten posts seemed like innocent jocularity, enlivening the board without harming anyone. If the board can support 600 posts about the best high school players in Alabama, it can surely find room for a few harmless attempts at merriment.

A little love, E. That's all anyone's asking -- just a little love.

Apprehensively,

the Baron

1) As soon as the board goes 24 hours without any of the Chicago troll handles showing up, I will unban the Chicago IPs. This is the first time any collegiate account has had been banned and I hope it is the last.

2) Memo to Paul Litvak: Friends don't let friends post drunk.

So, unless I missed something, what's the big deal? I didn't notice anything particularly offensive being posted, and somewhat offensive things are posted on this forum all the time. The only complaint I've really seen is that Pericles (or others posting under the account) annoyed people or that people didn't think he was funny, but so what? At least 90% of the people in quiz bowl are annoying and not funny.

I realize I will probably be ignored since I'm a former Chicagoan, but I'm just curious why such a fuss is being made.

I actually deleted the worst posts. Rape allegations and in-depth discussions of anal intercourse do not mix with the high school board.

Could it be the constant trolling and flooding of the boards? One gimmick thread in a while is cute; after about ten in a span of 48 hours, it's annoying.

leftsaidfred wrote:Could it be the constant trolling and flooding of the boards? One gimmick thread in a while is cute; after about ten in a span of 48 hours, it's annoying.

Not to mention that it encompasses the entirety of said users' posting histories. A lot of people here (certainly myself included) make their fair share of annoying, and sometimes even content-void, posts, but that's also balanced out by participation in serious discussion threads and the providing of tournament information. It's pretty obvious that the posters in question aren't even trying to contribute to that aspect of the board, and the combination of volume and lack of content makes their posts the equivalent of spam. I don't think anyone's offended by the content or lacking a sense of humor, but it's extremely disruptive to normal use of the board when legitimate discussion threads get hijacked or bumped down by a handful of nonsense threads.

I'd like to post my thoughts on this because it's something I've noticed too, but didn't particularly want to start a thread to discuss. Maybe it's my background of moderating a number of forums and posting on literally hundreds of boards a week, but the so-called "trolling" around here is usually quite lukewarm and harmless. I agree with y'all on a few accounts: 1. posts to a topic that have absolutely nothing to do with that topic should be placed somewhere else (but, if it's even tangentially related, I see no problem - this is the internet, folks, that's what happens when you post on message boards and don't talk to each other face to face - you stray from the "intended" topic). But, I understand the frustration of having a thread hijacked and that's why certain parts of threads should be moved. 2. people should be warned and banned when they interfere with others' enjoyment of the board by repeatedly (not here and there) posting irrelevant or inane material that can't be avoided - Larry Horse, as unfunny and slightly annoying as he is, comes nowhere close to this, in my opinion. 3. I will even grant you that it's reasonable to limit such topics as rape on the high school board, but my spidey sense of free speech tells me that it's not an enlightened policy - let people say what they want, it's the internet, in the best case scenario for you they'll make themselves look like an idiot.

As for people not being funny, well, as matt reece said...very few people are in the world let alone on a message board. So, big deal - I don't expect comedic masterpieces. As for people being off-topic and not positng things that are not terribly important (whether always or sometimes)...of course that happens, I don't read this board expecting to get CIA intel, most people on message boards never make vital "contributions" to the "community" (whoever is defining what those contributions consist of). So what, they shouldn't be mandated to if they want to post - I don't recall signing a "social contract" before joining the board. Lastly, as for people being offensive or insensitive or whatever the hell it's called these days...time for my libertarian buck-the-establishment (I did say buck, what restraint) gene to kick in. My feeling is - 1. no topic, word, opinion, or argument should be off limits period, if there is to be any illusion of freedom to speak at all (whether on a board or not) 2. slander and libel are impossible on a message board...no one here, by their comments (whether true or not), has the power to significantly negatively affect another person's life in such a way that it could be called slander/libel - even if I make the most hurtful boldfaced unevidenced lie about someone, if I take it no further than this message board - the power it has to discredit/defame/injure that person is extremely limited and it does not constitute libel/slander. 3. This is the internet - people say retarded things (in fact, I count on it for my amusement) - don't take that charm away and replace it with the same banal hypersensitivity and activist letigiousness that I see everywhere else in this nauseating society.


Okay, there's my two cents that I don't expect anyone to read (another of my "expectations" on the internet), this thread can be moved to off-topic if it's deemed appropriate.

While I can see and to some extent sympathise with the point of those who suggest that the censorship on this board is a little draconian, recall that the quizbowl community is a little sensitive to spam and trolling because of the horrible experience that befell it in 1996-1997, when its usenet board, alt.college.college-bowl, was completely destroyed by spammers in retaliation for some idiotic crosspostings made by a circuit member disparaging other boards. The end of that group (which required most circuit members to resort to a private e-mail listserv until the Yahoo board was up and running - by the way, if anyone kept a complete archive of those posts, it might be a service to the quizbowl universe to have someone put them on a website somewhere) was enormously detrimental to the growth and health of the community. In light of this, vigilance against the possible return of such a calamity is, I think, both understandable and a positive benefit.

That said, I think the handing out of banishments might be excessive; it is, after all, easy to ignore posts by proven morons and glide right over them. On the other hand, aforementioned morons could also make it easy on themselves and others by simply posting their drivel in another thread or on another board and not derail the conversation, as they seem to have been wont to do lately. In my opinion, the AHAN area's demise might have been premature; I have often lamented the decline in civility in public fora in the quizbowl community at large over the last few years, but if there is a need on occasion to be uncivil, it might be best to have such a place at hand and not require direct ire posted in more public threads.

These thoughts pertain more to the college boards than the high school ones, let me hasten to add. In college, suggestions about rohypnol and bathroom sodomy are merely in poor taste, but in high school boards discussion of sex acts with what may be underage students can be considered a crime, and no one wants that.

Ryan Westbrook wrote: 2. slander and libel are impossible on a message board...no one here, by their comments (whether true or not), has the power to significantly negatively affect another person's life in such a way that it could be called slander/libel - even if I make the most hurtful boldfaced unevidenced lie about someone, if I take it no further than this message board - the power it has to discredit/defame/injure that person is extremely limited and it does not constitute libel/slander. 3. This is the internet - people say retarded things (in fact, I count on it for my amusement) - don't take that charm away and replace it with the same banal hypersensitivity and activist letigiousness that I see everywhere else in this nauseating society.

I don't think your ideas of libel and slander are legally correct, but I'd definitely be interested in reading the authorities behind them if they indeed exist. It's definitely one thing to crash threads incessantly talking about penises and whatnot, but definitely another thing to start calling people rapists. In any event, this really isn't a free speech issue. This is someone's private message board that they are allowing the quizbowl community to use as a favor. If someone thinks the rules for this board are so draconian that it's no longer fun to have substantive conversation about quizbowl, they are more than welcome to pony up the money to start another message board. Hell, on that board EVERY post can be about penises and rape allegations! Whodathunkit

Personally, I am glad that things are kept under control. If I posted on a message board that was full of crude insults and rape jokes, it would make me and the school that employs me look bad. I would stop participating.

It is unfortunate that the keepers of this board have to censor in order to keep it the way they want it, but they do. I realize that there is a grey area, that some insulting and crudeness is OK, and that reasonable people can and will disagree about exactly where that line is drawn. However, if that line is not drawn at all, many of the positive aspects of this board will cease to exist.

I am now unbanning the Chicago IPs. Let's hope we can all be adults.

(And Ryan, don't waste your time trying to out-libertarian me)

I wouldn't disagree with you now that it's a good idea to keep the more lurid posts out of the High School section, and it is your board after all, which you put a lot of work into so you're in control. And on that note, I do want to say thank you for the valuable resource that this board is, and as a token of my regret for any aggrevation Larry Horse's posts may have caused you, if we are ever in the same restaurant at the same time again, I'll buy your meal within reason (I believe the first time I saw you was at Damon's for MLK, truly a life changing moment.)

And just a note of clarification. Although I may not be 100% sure of everything I posted, I don't recall posting an in depth discussion of anal intercourse on the high school board. I do recall that I made a post about sucking balls, and while the two events (at least in my experience) often go hand in hand (or hand in anything else you may want; I can think of a few things), they are not the same thing. Any guy out there who wants a clarification should feel free to come see me back at the hotel next time we're both at a tournament together.

Again, thank you Matt and you are truly a beast among men.

With Hugs and Kisses,

Pericles