Per numerous informal discussions and a recent discussion thread, IdahoFallz.com is rolling out and enforcing new comment guidelines:
1. Do not use profanity or euphemisms for profanity.
2. Do not personally attack, name-call, put-down, or bait other guests, races, genders, or religions.
3. Express opinions, facts, logic, and reasoning; just don’t argue for argument’s sake.
5. No commercial links (unless absolutely relevant to the discussion) and no religious proselytizing.
6. Use the “I†word as much as possible to demonstrate responsibility.
7. Users should flag moderator attention to inappropriate comments by entering a comment: /// FLAG /// “quoted inappropriate comment text hereâ€
The goal is to increase discussion value and decrease the nastier/mean-spirited comments. I’ve added the text to display near each comment box. I’ll try to make it smaller and neater in appearance.
IFz site moderators will help enforce the new guidelines by editing comments or deleting them entirely if there is no discussion value left after the offensive parts are removed. Help us help everyone by flagging comments you think are inappropriate.
Moderators are encouraged to replace words with bold asterisks and the phrase “Edited by Site Moderator”. This will make it clear to the original commenter what parts were found unacceptable, and hopefully guides people towards writing better comments.
Incidentally, discussion was made of requiring registration to leave comments, and of banning religious discussions completely. We collectively decided to not adopt these rules because we hope the new guidelines will mitigate the nastier comments. We will revisit these last two proposals if there is still a problem.
Is there anything else about IdahoFallz.com that you would like to see added, deleted, or improved?
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Gato got runned over by Marcus many moons ago. Be ye daft, 2486? 
Let's have a new poll, alright, Joe?
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{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
Huzzah!
Jeremy, I believe THAT (Huzzah!)was a derogatory comment!
Jeremy needs to be banned. He is ruining this site again.
But then again … he is such a good looking guy.
I’m pretty sure that was an ancient religious expletive, so that’s two strikes against him! lol
Oh that’s right….we’ve decided to keep the religious talk so long as it’s to a minimum? (I believe I need to look up “proselytizing”) That’s much to big a word for me!
I believe we are all bound by the rules and regulations of “the man”. Long gone are the days of free speech and free love. I reiterate my unrestrained masochist oppression through my believe of the almighty Buddha. Of which I am well versed in the ideals of idiocrisy. Go forth my brethren and multiple for you are the future! And I bestow this thought upon you that we shall once again rise to the upmost congeniality of the emancipation before the declaration of indenpendance is instigated upon the oppressed. We shall not waver in our fight, but shall lay down at night, come what may and come what might, as we look to the light.
Amen and good night!
Oh snap. Is that an expletive now?
But Davin’s essentially right, people. I can pretty much do what I want. I’m that good looking.
[ps] Kunta – if you’re going to mock religious people for being idiots, I would suggest using correct spelling and grammar. It will be more effective that way.
Kunta….that’s a pretty wacked post! LOL
I don’t think Kunta was calling religious people idiots per se’. Only that Kunta is well versed in the “ideals” of idiocrisy. (whatever THAT means) Perhaps Kunta knows a lot of idiots.
Other than that, I kind of enjoyed his little rhyme at the end there. It was rather amusing and somewhat inspirational!
Reminded me of a well known, world renowned Doctor.
You all might know him as Dr.Suess.
Okeydokey, I’ll post some of the things that had to be edited from various comments this past week.
Hopefully this helps clear up the speech we discourage. I wish I had recorded the ones I edited the first week, because there were more and better examples then.
I noticed the comment quantity dropped significantly this week. It bums me out to hear so many complaints about raucous comments, then drive a discussion to reach consensus on how we should clean up the comments, then see the comments drop off when after a few changes are enacted.
Hopefully it was unrelated and the comments pick up more this week. Being a discussion site, at least half of the value comes from the comments that you all contribute. The interactions are what make it special.
So here are some of what we edited this past week:
“You are a poser!!
(Once the prophet speaks, the thinking has been done).
morons
crap”
And remember, to flag a comment you think violated the rules or was offensive, just leave your own comment with:
“/// flag /// and copy/paste the phrase you think was bad”
A moderator will review and edit if need be, then will delete the comment containing the flag (cuz that would be silly to leave it).
Thanks.
I’m very new here (tonight, in fact…erm…this morning), and all of these make perfect sense to me except the second half of the first one: “…euphemisms for profanity”
The first part made perfect sense…but what counts as a euphemism that would be edited?
It would appear that “crap” does, which makes a fair amount of sense…and I don’t use it anyway, but what about things like, “Gah! Shoot! Blast! Confound it! Dagnabbit! Scrud! Oh Noes! Horse manure! Double-plus ungood!” and the like (I’m sure you catch my drift). Alllllll of those I would say in place of profanity, and so do they count as euphemistic?
It probably sounds silly, but look at it from my perspective – first time on the site, I haven’t done that much browsing to get a “feel” for the site yet, and I see this article, and the first one, if taken literally, means I might not be able to express displeasure in a single word or quick phrase (with our without clarification)…which is mildly Orwellian to me.
Of course, this site doesn’t strike me as Orwellian at all…and so I have some confusion happening in my noggin.
Long post poorly summarized: Clarification, por favor?
Sure, it is a great question.
The reason to include euphemisms is because only banning profanity leaves room for posting the same word but misspelled slightly (like ph instead of f). We were getting a lot of that before.
If those euphemisms were allowed, we would be littered with them instead of full swear words but their effect would be the same. In fact probably worse, since it would be easy to flout the actual rule.
Don’t get me wrong, I have a sailor’s mouth all day, so I’m not just projecting my own anti-swearing campaign here. But swearing can be a crutch for real communication.
That is an interesting point, Joe; your comment about swearing being a crutch for real communication. I think you are on to something there.
As I think about it, if someone is angry enough to swear at me, that usually limits my responses. So there certainly isn’t an open dialogue.
Welcome to the site, Summondice. I hope you’ll take time to read the debates we had back and forth (at least for those willing to paritipate) of what changes should be made here. Unfortunately, some users were not being “good citizens” either to others, the site or actually to themselves.
I know Joe really didn’t want to have to set restrictions, but it just got too brutal on some subjects and we don’t want personal attacks on others at Idaho Fallz.Com.
Differences of opinions are great – I personally think we all can learn from them, as long as those views are summed up using the “I” word of why “I” believe or think something. Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion.
Unfortunately, seem previous personal attacks have made some users leave this site and discouraged others from posting the articles they would like to post.
You asked an excellent clarifiation question. Thanks.
I have developed the viewpoint that 99% of IFz visitors, commenters, chatters, and/or writers are really awesome people who are genuinely interesting in friendly discussions and healthy intellectual debates.
There seem to be just two or three jerks that keep souring it for everyone else.
Maybe it is my warped viewpoint from the inside, but the way they keep souring it seems to be in the way of throwing harsh anti-religious rhetoric out into discussions that had nothing to do with the subject before.
We tried the new comment policies, and I think those have helped eliminate the personal attacks.
I am thinking there is never any resolutions or healthy effects of any religious discussions.
I am thinking it might be time to ban religious discussions altogether.
My idealistic side mourns the decision, but I am tired of the angst and the accusations that I am running an anti-Mormon site.
If someone feels the passion for those religious debates, I invite them to start their own website and I would be happy to post their link.
What do you think?
While I find the accusation that Joe runs an ‘anti-mormon’ website patently absurd, you are most definitely correct in assuming that the 1% ruin the web experience for the 99%.
So, Joe you do whatever it is you would like to do, whatever you think is best for the site, and I will support you 100% I have a seldom used blog, perhaps such discussions could be moved there. Drop me an email if that idea sounds appealing to you.
I have to back you in this move, Joe. We agreed (the collective “we” who participated in the discussion about new policies/guideslines for posting, that we would revisit an issue, if needed.
I, too, am sorry it has come to this. But, like you, I encourage those who want to bash any church, ethnic group or whatever, to start their own website and do it there.
Too many of us want to use IFz.Com for the purpose it was created. Getting locals to chat and improve our area.
I should clarify that, if ppl are interested, i would be willing to supplant my not-read blog to change it into a place where local i.f. based religious discussions can occur. I would NOT be interested in creating a site that people can come to just to ‘bash’ other people.
I think that the line between discussion and bashing (especially of religious matters) is razor thin, and somewhat dependent on the viewpoint of the involved parties, so it makes for tricky navigation. That is time better spent by our moderators and admins.
I vote that we build a Religious discussion Thunderdome.
“Two men enter, one man leaves!” “Two men enter, one man leaves!”
Great idea!
So, Joe, what’s it going to be then…more stories on how good Reeds Dairy ice cream is?
A Mormon apologist jumped in after a three month lull in the religion thread and got challenged by several of us to put up or shut up. He chose to shut up; so where is the harm? Where are you going to generate that much interest in another topic of discussion. I thought everyone concerned handled themselves smashingly. Where was the rancor?
Joe, I think the religious discussion has probably been discussed to death. Keep it out of any main topic. In some conversations it will always come out but keep it out of a main discussion.
Thanks all for your input, I do appreciate it.
meso, I will admit that thread became much more civil after the new comment guidelines, and that the participants started to post intelligently and without too much rancor.
What I am referring to is the numerous other articles that are on topics far from religion, and some jerk has to make a comment somehow tying in religion, and usually that person is bashing the religion.
I am also referring to the numerous anti-religion bombs cleanups i have to do in the live chatbox.
Sometimes i think of the chatbox as the catbox. I am now screenshotting and emailing evidence to the ISP of each extreme jerk.
And even in that one civil discussion, it was stupid because the haters would never acknowledge any points by the religious dude, and the religious dude would never believe the haters had really read and understood his evidence.
So why not expel the entire religion topic?
It’s not like i’m just launching this site and starting to ban religious speech from the get-go.
It is an evolution in our community.
And a community evolution is something even the religion haters should respect.
meso,
You have intelligent views about many subjects. I don’t read the religion threads on purpose. I’d like to read more of your views perhaps in new articles you start or others in which you post.
Why can’t we talk about hobbies and some of the lesser known activities in Idaho Falls? For those who enjoy music, do we even acknolwedge what the Sites are doing for entertainment in the evening.
Or for those who like sports, tell us about the leagues and how they form.
Certainly somewhere on here have to be Master Gardners (even if in training) – someone who knows far more than I.
Or, how about an article of what we should be working on to become a more attractive city?
Our area was only one of EIGHT in the nation to even have a GNEP discussion. Doesn’t that warrant developing further here?
The more I learn about my new friends on IFz.Com, the more I’m surprised about how much they have to offer in experience and resources about which they know.
Anyone going to sign up for the new realty school in town?
One of the best things I originally liked about IFz.Com when I originally found it over a year ago were the funny CLEAN jokes. They made me laugh.
Should we start our own humor column and either relay great general jokes, or try or own creative abilities at writing our own material and trying it on our friends?
What about all of the volunteer opportunities for those who are giving of themselves to make our area better? I personally hope those who volunteer will write about their experiences.
I look forward to getting to know more about my e-friends. Probably most of you don’t know that is a name that Jeremy gave me last summer, when referring to others here. Perhaps with Jeremy’s willingness and wit, we could even explore that topic further: when e-friends meet and become real friends.
I’m just glad for the opportunity we have of getting to know some of our community members better. After all, when Steve Smede (in Idaho Falls Magazine) described us as a smaller but growing group of users, why not ask him to count his numbers and the depth of our discussions in 6 or 12 months.
I have confidence we have a lot to talk about without religion having to be the main drawing card.
Instead of restrictions, I see possibilities. I hope some of my e-friends share my optimism and write more articles for us to ponder.
Davin – only if Tina Turner and a midget are involved.
Here’s some examples of stuff edited the last few weeks. You should be able to tell what policy # they violated, usually #1 or #2.
(aka (IFz Username Here) trying to act like an Idaho Rancher) — even if your post were legit —
@SS
I wasnt trying to be a jerk or anything I just lowered the educational level to a 3rd grade level so some of the LDS people could understand it better LOL. And yes LOL at hookers they do a great service to the community.
exchanged ‘balls’ for guts
pissed
I will make this simple so you can get it…
Her comes the simple part — so you should get this…
Especially in this area of the country where a certain group of people from a certain religous background (of which I won’t name) for some reason feel that they must have 8 kids to enjoy the “family life”. What’s up with that? I won’t even open this can of worms as I believe it’s a seperate topic for a whole new post. It just boggles my mind!
I say bulls**t and you are full of it.
Questions? Seem fair, unfair?
If you see something that you believe violates one of the guidelines, please feel free to comment about it and let us know.
The last item was one that posted while I was writing a comment in the same thread, so I did not see it for a couple days until someone pointed it out.
The community can work together to make it a better place.
I think it’s gone pretty well. It certainly seems like users are being more respectful of each other.
I’ve asked Jeremy to explain his Tina Turner etc. comment in
Post # 23. He did and appropriately apologized to those he may have offended.
I think it is good, Joe, that you are asking users if what you’ve had to edit is appropriate. A good check and balance.