This list is suggested as a starting point for discussion of what to keep and what to change as far as policy and software functionality. I do not intend this to be a thread about things like, "Should Barbelith be a place where we teach and persuade, and try to reach out to people?" or "Should sexism be as bannable as holocaust denial?" Those questions, having more to do with Barbelith's mission or sense of itself, may inform whether one votes for or against a ban. What I'd like to hash out is how many votes would be needed, who would be eligible to vote, and so forth. I understand that little to none of this may be possible to implement here, on Barbelith-as-we-know-it. However, it seems that more than one person is working on a new system which may some day be available for use by people who currently post here. This thread is to provide ideas for such a future implementation.
I. Signature files:
1. I like that Barbelith doesn't allow them. Let's keep that.
II. Clean, simple visual style:
1. I like Barbelith the way it is. It's relatively easy to read on a handheld device, and it doesn't scream Non Work Related to idle passerby.
III. Posting:
1. It would be nice to have a small cheat sheet on the new post form with some of the most common html, to cut & paste and avoid typos.
2. Another board that uses software from these guys as a base has a very handy feature. When I'm reading a busy thread and hit post, I get a warning above the composition window that says "new posts have been added" or something like that. When I hit post, if still more posts have been added, I get another warning. You can review the last few posts to that thread by scrolling down.
3. It would be nice if the software automatically limited the size of images to something that wouldn't break the frame.
IV. Distributed moderation:
1. Moderators who don't check in to at least read their list of tasks for a month are sent a reminder, and are removed from the list after three months.
2. I haven't been a mod here, so I don't know what the quotas are for actions, but presumably they're fine. Keep those, and add Suspend User and Ban User as actions. Suspend User would prevent posting for a week, would require 5 votes, Ban would require - maybe 75% agreement?
3. To prevent 'hey, what happened to my thread' questions, add a field like the one for requesting edits to a post where a reason can be given. This reason would be sent to the user by PM.
V. New Member Sign-up:
1. Another board where I post has a very closed system, it's by referral and then voting. Existing members email the address of prospective members to a mod, who assigns a numerical ID and password. The prospective member then has access to that board's equivalent of the conversation, as well as to a forum where prospective members are interviewed. Everyone answers a standard set of questions, and anybody can chip in additional comments or questions.
That board is very private and cannot be read if you are not a member. Voting on new members is open for one week, anybody can vote.
VI. Banning:
1. I suggest a process where there's a minimum number of people who have to request a discussion-of-banning thread within a set period of time, say a week. The person in question would receive notification by PM and email at the first request, with a link to the offending item and the text of the request. Discussion would be open for a week, with no voting permitted before the discussion closes. Eight mods needed to ban.
VIII. Private Messages:
1. It would be nice to be able to keep sent mail.
2. I'd also like a little unread/read/replied symbol.
IX. Usernames:
1. I'd like to prevent people from staying under the troll threshold by changing their name and waiting until the 'previously' tag expires. Also, some older conversation are confusing to read because people are being addressed by names from several changes back. Perhaps the user info page could list the display name history. |
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