I’ve seen it expressed in a few places on OG by a few people that flagging is “childish” as said earlier in this thread. In a space that has moderators, and that wants to keep communication civil, I am going to take the hit to say that I think flagging is an important function.
I will also say that I haven’t flagged anything in this thread.
I have been a moderator on other sites. Moderators aren’t everywhere at once. If people want to maintain a good community, people who aren’t adhering to the guidelines we all agreed to in order to participate in this space then having folks bring it to their attention is a vital task. Sometimes that’ll remove a post! Sometimes it’ll be a quick chat with a mod or a note in the thread and it gets back on track! That’s ok and necessary!
I think at some point, as a community we will need to either establish a site norm of playground rules “don’t tattle” shit, or a “we care about having productive discussions and want to further that. shooting the shit and taking the piss and playful trolling can have their places, but discussions about literally the future of the site might not be that place” mentality that understands we have moderators and should recognize their utility in maintaining the welcoming and supportive environment we (hopefully?) all want to have here.
I’m clearly in the latter camp. I’m in a demographic minority on this site, so that probably influences my feelings. Having been bullied earlier in life also affects those feelings. I fully own that.
I just get tired of “someone utilizing the system we have in place and expressly ask people to use in order to help keep the community functional” being cast as somehow a shitty thing for people to do.
From the Terms of Service:
Respect: Treat other users with courtesy. Do not express personal vendettas or name others in disagreements.
Contributing Guidelines: Contributions should be constructive, relevant, and respectful. Posts should add value to the discussion.
4. Moderation
Final Authority: Moderators have the right to remove, edit, or reject posts not aligned with these Terms. Moderator decisions are final.
Flagging System: Users can flag content that violates the ToS. However, provocative discussions may be allowed if they do not breach these rules.
Reporting: If you encounter content or behavior that violates our ToS, please report it using the flagging system. Appeals against moderation decisions can be submitted to admins.
Emphasis mine:
Flagging is powerful moderation tool for you - users. If you want to raise an issue about a post without derailing the topic at hand, the best course of action is usually to flag it.
This feature is intended to dissuade bad behavior and spam, as well as to promote civilized discussion on Overgrow. After flagging post, system will notify Moderators and if needed will take an action automatically (e.g. post will be hidden - see details below).
The tool is here for a reason. Using it is not “childish,” it is not “tattling,” it is not a lot of things that people who want to behave however they want while unchallenged will call it. For those who want to be able to have conversations not derailed, or not have to deal with things that are against the site ToS, it is usually “the best course of action” to “promote civilized discussion on Overgrow.”
I realize this is wordy, and I think I may have commented similar feelings somewhere on the site, but here we are again with the same mentality being pushed forward, so here I am again on my bullshit. 