Only logged in members can reply and interact with the post.
Join SimilarWorlds for FREE »

I Have a Suggestion for Similar Worlds

On all of the dialogs where we report profiles or posts, Similar Worlds gives us a single line of text to explain the infraction. An example of this is the dialog for reporting a profile:


How many of you think that the single line of text should be replaced by an entire paragraph, with a scrollbar, so that you can supply all of the relevant details? If you are going to prove that a profile is fake, or that a person makes inappropriate posts (plural), are you going to be able to supply all of that in a single line?
@gentle153 I understand and respect your position. That said, I would like to challenge you to prove your point. For the radio button that says "Fake profile" please show us how a person could write up a single sentence and ever have that be accepted as proof. I don't think it is possible to prove the assertion that someone is committing identity theft in one sentence.

Your reply is that you can reference an email you send separately, but there is no rigorous system in place to hold together scattered emails and reports. These things become disassociated almost from day one. I saw that clearly when I filed my one and only identity theft report. Maybe someday in the far future you will assign case numbers and have a customer service system where things can be attached, but that isn't today or the near future.

You say that one line is enough in 99% of the cases, but that is not proven.

You say that moderators having to read through four lines of text would make their jobs harder, but I seriously doubt that. First of all, if your own point is correct and most people don't need added text, you won't get additional text. You said 99% don't use it, so by your own argument you would be reading four lines of text 1% of the time. Do you belief yourself? Even if the extra lines were used 5% of the time (probably about right), that hardly represents an imposition to Moderators or Admins here.

So, from my point of view, you are arguing very hard against a feature that only affects about 5% of responses. But in that 5% of cases when the feature is needed, it is really needed and appreciated. So this suggestion has almost no downside for anyone involved in the site, and it has substantial value for the people filing those 5% of all reports who want to actually supply you evidence.
Gentle153 · 36-40, MMod
[quote]pone22 · 41-45, M
So, if there is even one case where we need to supply more information, what possible reason could you have to not let people supply it? Why do you care?[/quote]

You are correct of course. If there is a single case where a lot of space is necessary, it should be available. But as pianoisland said, a single line is plenty for the vast majority of reports. (I would go as far as saying it is sufficient for over 99% of all reports.) Making the field bigger encourages people to write more even when that's not necessary, which creates a lot of extra work both for the admins and the reporter. (You may say it's a choice whether to use the extra space or not, but people do unconsciously write more when offered more space.) And more space is available in the rare cases that it is necessary: you can send additional information via email.
pianoisland · 31-35, M
Often the proof is in the pudding, all I do is say "Posted something racist" or "spam" Can't really hunt for fake profiles on here, since everything is anonymous it would be hard to differentiate fake ones from real ones.
@pianoisland, so when I proved that a user here was committing identity theft I supplied many paragraphs of information and many links, and they requested even more information from me, not less.

So, if there is even one case where we need to supply more information, what possible reason could you have to not let people supply it? Why do you care?

I don't object to fake profiles. I object to identify theft. I object to some person stealing other peoples' identities and pretending to be that person.
ArishMell · 70-79, M
@pone22: Good point. You've explained why the initial report need only be brief, enough to alert the administrators. Hence the tick buttons and one line should be adequate.

I once helped remove two separate users from an adult contact site by a very simple "report" just drawing the proprietors' attention to them.


You last paragraph shows you know the real meaning of "fake", unfortunately twisted by politicians who don't know better, and journalists who should, to mean "false".

A "fake" profile would be that created using stolen identity, so passing of as original, what is at best a copy and at worst, libellous.

An entirely fictitious profile for someone who does not exist, would be "false".

Yes, both practices are totally wrong.
pianoisland · 31-35, M
@pone22

I was trying to showcase that the additional evidence would often be short at best, since the overwhelming majority of proof would be on the site or in their profile. The blurb would just be an arrow in the right direction to help the mod team save time.

What do you have against fake profiles though? As long as they aren't breaking the rules I don't see anything wrong.
[c=#BF0080]Boomer that would be a disaster.. even porn sites have certain restrictions.[/c]
Gentle153 · 36-40, MMod
Proof for fake profiles indeed doesn't fit in a single line, but you can send an email for that and you said yourself that you've only had to send one such report. I've yet to hear another example of where more space would be necessary, so your request only seems to be useful for one report in the last three months. I'm sure you'll agree that features like nested replies are much more urgent, especially since such rare reports can already be handled properly without any changes.

I'll keep watching this thread for more examples and will pass on the suggestion if the space is found too limited for more reports. But if it's only a small improvement for so few, I rather not distract the admins from their work on other features.
Gentle153 · 36-40, MMod
I believe we discussed that case before, so there is no point in doing so again. I know it's only a minor thing, but a minor thing that's hardly ever going to be used is still not as important as something big that's requested daily.
ArishMell · 70-79, M
I agree with Pinkrainbowkisses there... unusually!

The Report does not need to be detailed as it simply draws the moderators' attention to the matter. If the moderator needs more information from the complainant, he or she can request it by PM.

I was once among those responsible for expelling two separate users from a contact site, for their totally inappropriate material: I simply suggested the site's managers look at their profiles.
@gentle153 I only sent one report because the one report I sent got mostly ignored and I started to realize the site just doesn't care about identity theft. So when I see identity theft now I let the person get away with it.

The change we are talking about here is about 10 minutes of work. It's not really a new feature. I understand your point that there are priorities in any case.
@pianoisland If you don't need any additional evidence, you leave the details field blank. That is not an argument for or against letting people supply details.

I agree proving fakes is hard, although I have done it in cases of identity theft. It requires some space to supply the proof. So why not supply that space?
SoulAsylum · 31-35, M
Babyboomer, that would get this website shutdown.
@pianoisland: four lines of text and a scrollbar to the right would be the minimum I think
TheProphet · M
I think they should do away with this completely. People should be able to do whatever they want.
pianoisland · 31-35, M
@pone22

Ah, I see. Maybe an expandable box or something?
TheProphet · M
I'd prefer no restrictions Pink.

 
Post Comment