1. CrackBerry Kevin's Avatar
    Hey All,

    It's the last day of 2013 as I type this, so I'm reflecting on the year past and things we can do better in 2014. We did a lot of things well on the site in 2013, but I'm a believer that we can always aim our sights higher and try harder to constantly improve.

    One area where I believe we can do better and will do better in 2014 is here in the CrackBerry forums. It was 2011 when I first wrote the Taking out the Troll Trash forum thread, and I think it's necessary that we re-address this again.

    Here's the deal. While things are mainly good here on the busiest and best BlackBerry forum on the net, a lot of members, including myself, are starting to get really annoyed with some of the posts being made by a small minority of individuals. These are the members who consistently have nothing but bad things to say. They don't necessarily "break the forum rules", but they know them well and play them like a fiddle so they can persist in the forums. These people bring it down for everybody else.

    In 2011 we didn't yet have our forum "infraction system" in place when we first took out the trolling trash. I know a lot of you hate the infraction system (especially when you receive one!). Others appreciate it. Some love it. The reason we put it in place was to address the need of having consistency in the actions by our moderation teams. Without a system, it's hard to have equality for all members.

    The thing I would hate to see more than anything else is a GREAT member get banned for something minor / small. The infraction system prevents this from happening. However, the drawback of the infraction system is that while it benefits great members who occasionally do a "bad" thing, it also benefits the consistently bad eggs... aka the FORUM TROLLS who don't do anything worthwhile or value added around here. They're not breaking the rules in a horrible way, but they're here bringing down the community for everybody else with every post they make instead of making it better.

    I hate censorship. I believe in freedom of speech. That said, let me remind everybody that CrackBerry is not a democracy. It's a privately owned and operated web-based community, and by participating here you're doing so in agreement with the rules we set. If you want to be here, you agree with these rules. If you don't like them, you don't have to participate here.

    When it comes to forum moderation, we always want to allow members to be themselves and state their opinions freely. And I don't expect every single post made to be positive or pro-BlackBerry. And I don't expect everybody to hold hands and sing Kumbaya. This is a community (not a cult!), and communities do and should have some conflict. People have different opinions and don't have to agree on everything. That's expected. However, if a single member is going to bring this community down by their consistent negative contributions and never add anything of merit or substance to the forums, I'd rather them not be a member at all (even if they didn't "break" the rules). I'd rather have a smaller forum community vs. a bigger community that is infested with trolls. When we take action on an individual and ban them, we don't do it lightly. We do it with the mind set of what's best for the community as a whole. Sometimes the community is better with less people. If you're reading this post and find yourself "removed" from this community, you should now understand why. Feel free to bash us on twitter. Feel free to start your own BlackBerry community or join another. It sounds harsh, but we're better off without you here and our good members (the vast majority) will greatly appreciate your absence.

    To that end, it's time once again for us to take out the troll trash, and we will continue to do so in 2014 and beyond. The infraction system is still in play on a daily basis and our forum moderators will continue to use it. At the same time, we're going to up our game on cleaning out the trolls. These actions will come swiftly, but they won't be done in a haphazard fashion. When a "troll" banning decision is made, it will be done so by Bla1ze aka Chris Parsons' blessing. If you know CrackBerry, you know Bla1ze and that he acts justly, but doesn't tolerate garbage.

    Let me remind everybody once again that our CrackBerry forum community serves two primary groups of users:

    1. It's a BlackBerry enthusiast community where people who are knowledgeable of BlackBerry Products come to meet. They may love BlackBerry, like BlackBerry, or even be a little unimpressed by BlackBerry at the moment, but they respect the company and our community. And of course, having awesome knowledge of all things BlackBerry, this enthusiast core helps the BlackBerry owners who come to the site looking for help.

    2. CrackBerry is a help forum. One of the main reasons members join CrackBerry is simply to ask for help with an issue they're having. If they can't find the answer by browsing the forums, they register and ask the question. You'll notice that most of the time when looking at CrackBerry's forum homepage statistics that show the number of members logged in vs. the number that are browsing, that the vast majority are simply browsing (often a 10:1 ratio). These are people not logged in, but are simply reading the forums looking for their answers. Most people don't want to register with a website -- they're already registered with enough sites as it is -- but they still need help, and are a valued part of our community, albeit not a vocal one. We as a community help these casual browsers when our engaged core community helps the members who do come to the site looking for a help. One answered question on the forums will help thousands of people over the following year or two.

    Trolls don't fit into the above. I have no issue with people saying negative things about BlackBerry. Especially these days. There is lots of uncertainty over the future of BlackBerry. Lots of shareholders have been burned, as have device owners (I feel for all PlayBook owners!). But there's a way to express negative thoughts it in a way that still adds value to the community, and there are ways to do it in such a way that you're just not adding any value to the community.

    So that's it. We're not clamping down on conversation. But we'll be zeroing in on the trolls past, present and future who don't add any value to this community. There are lots of questions to be asked about the future of BlackBerry, and rightfully so. When it comes to the future of CrackBerry, this is certain - we will restore these forums to the standard they need to be at (a standard which our other sibling sites -- Android Central, iMore, Windows Phone Central -- are at) and ensure it stays that way going forward.

    Let's make this a friendlier CrackBery community, starting now.

    Happy 2014.

    Kevin
    12-31-13 01:15 PM
  2. hamsterwheel's Avatar
    Onward and forward. Thanks
    12-31-13 01:18 PM
  3. Elite1's Avatar
    Hear, hear!
    I'm all in, boss.

    Happy New Year, to you and everyone else here!
    12-31-13 01:21 PM
  4. pantlesspenguin's Avatar
    Well stated!!
    12-31-13 01:22 PM
  5. bungaboy's Avatar
    Thank you . . . . finally!

    Happy New Year!
    12-31-13 01:22 PM
  6. mikeo007's Avatar
    Man I feel sorry for Bla1ze

    Kevin, what's the plan for dealing with folks who have nothing better to do than berate other members and start threads with the sole intention of inciting flame wars? The majority of "great" members that I see getting infractions usually occur in these threads where they're either defending themselves from the onslaught of personal attacks or getting baited by the utter stupidity of some of the threads that pop-up.

    I'd love to see "discuss the post, not the poster" become an official rule in these forums. You can't find a decent discussion around here anymore without a ton of posts telling people they don't belong here, berating users of multiple platforms, or the drive-by "borderline" troll attacks.
    12-31-13 01:23 PM
  7. ronfc's Avatar
    Happy New Year! May the force of friendliness be with us all.

    Z10STL100-1/10.2.1.1925
    12-31-13 01:23 PM
  8. Vorkosigan's Avatar
    Happy 2014!

    Posted via CB10
    12-31-13 01:24 PM
  9. zocster's Avatar
    And the man has spoken...
    12-31-13 01:26 PM
  10. Elite1's Avatar
    Okay... I guess this thread deserves to be a Sticky!
    12-31-13 01:26 PM
  11. Bla1ze's Avatar
    Man I feel sorry for Bla1ze

    Kevin, what's the plan for dealing with folks who have nothing better to do than berate other members and start threads with the sole intention of inciting flame wars? The majority of "great" members that I see getting infractions usually occur in these threads where they're either defending themselves from the onslaught of personal attacks or getting baited by the utter stupidity of some of the threads that pop-up.

    I'd love to see "discuss the post, not the poster" become an official rule in these forums. You can't find a decent discussion around here anymore without a ton of posts telling people they don't belong here, berating users of multiple platforms, or the drive-by "borderline" troll attacks.
    "Discuss the post, not the poster" is for the most part, already an official rule and people should be following that in every post that gets made. As for members who do nothing but incite others, then Kevin's post should stand as a warning. Cut the crap. If your sole mission here is to cause chaos and disturb others from enjoying the forums then it's simple, you're not welcome here.
    12-31-13 01:29 PM
  12. serbanescu's Avatar
    Excellent!
    middbrew likes this.
    12-31-13 01:31 PM
  13. just_luc's Avatar
    Great news, and great tools for us to be able to help this community do what it does best. Happy to hear it and well said. Onwards and upwards in 2014!
    12-31-13 01:34 PM
  14. Itstakenovermylife's Avatar
    Well said, and a Happy New Year to all!
    BergerKing and middbrew like this.
    12-31-13 01:36 PM
  15. app_Developer's Avatar
    I appreciate the sentiment. If I may offer a counterpoint, I actually enjoy reading different points of view on BlackBerry and their future. I believe in honesty, and so it's nice to see wildly optimistic views challenged, just as wildly pessimistic ones are.

    I would hope that any crackdown on "negativity" doesn't push the needle over to delusional. I look forward to seeing how that balance plays out.

    In any case, as you said, it is your forum. FWIW, as someone interested in BB's future, I've enjoyed it. I hope you all have a wonderful 2014.
    12-31-13 01:36 PM
  16. SirJes's Avatar
    Yesss finally, got a few people I'm expecting to see disappear over the next year then



    Posted via CB10
    TommyBB, ibpluto, ultra07 and 9 others like this.
    12-31-13 01:36 PM
  17. geoffsdad's Avatar
    How about a post like "How do I Know if I am a Troll" and get a little more clarification and examples of what the mods are looking for.

    Posted Via CB10 via Z10 via BB10
    12-31-13 01:39 PM
  18. tack's Avatar
    I am glad Kevin stated that this is a help forum. I have seen too many people called stupid or told to Google things when they need help. I used to love this forum because you could come here for help. Sometimes now days people get flamed for asking something not deemed complicated enough. Lots of expertise here to help users, even less experiences ones.
    12-31-13 01:39 PM
  19. just_luc's Avatar
    I appreciate the sentiment. If I may offer a counterpoint, I actually enjoy reading different points of view on BlackBerry and their future. I believe in honesty, and so it's nice to see wildly optimistic views challenged, just as wildly pessimistic ones are.

    I would hope that any crackdown on "negativity" doesn't push the needle over to delusional. I look forward to seeing how that balance plays out.

    In any case, as you said, it is your forum. FWIW, as someone interested in BB's future, I've enjoyed it. I hope you all have a wonderful 2014.
    There's a big difference between someone who recognizes a problem and voices it, but is generally positive vs someone who visits us each day with the express intention of spewing hate and negativity. That's where the crackdown will be.

    Posted via CB10
    12-31-13 01:39 PM
  20. SirJes's Avatar
    I appreciate the sentiment. If I may offer a counterpoint, I actually enjoy reading different points of view on BlackBerry and their future. I believe in honesty, and so it's nice to see wildly optimistic views challenged, just as wildly pessimistic ones are.

    I would hope that any crackdown on "negativity" doesn't push the needle over to delusional. I look forward to seeing how that balance plays out.

    In any case, as you said, it is your forum. FWIW, as someone interested in BB's future, I've enjoyed it. I hope you all have a wonderful 2014.
    Ur one of those on here who can have a good discussion with both good and bad,but you don't do it in a negative way, it doesn't come off as bashing or sly way.

    And I'm sure that's what blaze will be looking for the sly ones, u probably know some lol

    Posted via CB10
    mikeo007, Elite1, Mecca EL and 1 others like this.
    12-31-13 01:40 PM
  21. Denise in Los Angeles's Avatar
    Thanks to our Fearless Leader!
    12-31-13 01:40 PM
  22. Bla1ze's Avatar
    I appreciate the sentiment. If I may offer a counterpoint, I actually enjoy reading different points of view on BlackBerry and their future. I believe in honesty, and so it's nice to see wildly optimistic views challenged, just as wildly pessimistic ones are.

    I would hope that any crackdown on "negativity" doesn't push the needle over to delusional. I look forward to seeing how that balance plays out.

    In any case, as you said, it is your forum. FWIW, as someone interested in BB's future, I've enjoyed it. I hope you all have a wonderful 2014.
    It's not about suppressing reality, it's about suppressing people who are CONSTANTLY looking to drag down others. Difference of opinions are welcome, the thing is to share those opinions constructively.
    12-31-13 01:40 PM
  23. kronykapitalist's Avatar
    There is lots of trash talk here, cnbc, yahoo, wsj and other trash outlets. Lets start here first.
    bungaboy and zyben like this.
    12-31-13 01:41 PM
  24. cherolis's Avatar
    Most of the sites I visit and comment on are implementing some kind of anti-troll policy.

    ***insert joke here***
    12-31-13 01:41 PM
  25. sklotz2000's Avatar
    Thank you Kevin!! This is great news!
    12-31-13 01:43 PM
833 123 ...

Similar Threads

  1. Was 2013 the year Apple became #1 for security?
    By JakeTheCat in forum Apple iPhone/iPad
    Replies: 35
    Last Post: 10-13-14, 07:54 AM
  2. How long does android apps take to open?
    By coldfir3 in forum BlackBerry 10 OS
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 05-13-14, 06:20 PM
  3. Replies: 28
    Last Post: 01-13-14, 01:51 PM
  4. What is the latest leaked OS?
    By carwacster in forum BlackBerry 10 OS
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 01-01-14, 01:25 PM
LINK TO POST COPIED TO CLIPBOARD