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Oppressive moderation in blogging forum

retro:electro

Biko has closed yet another blogging thread in the "Blogs and social media forum".
Why is yet another blogger thread closed? Apparently due to "gossip". Nobody was gossiping. People were discussing Marissa Carter's quote that there's no authenticity left in the blogging industry. We also used references where applicable. How is this gossip? Why do you always use the word "gossip" to describe women discussing something? We are having a discussion about a topic that came up in the media this week about blogger authenticity and credibility in ireland. Are you saying you'll no longer allow any more blogger topics in the "blogs and social media" forum???

The moderation in that forum is so heavily repressive and restricts any discussion. Biko is now saying he will no longer allow any blogger talk in the forum at all whatsoever. How is this fair in a forum that is called "blogs/wikis/ social media"..

I've Pm'd Biko, and his advice was to "start a thread in after hours" instead. Well, a few weeks ago a thread was started in After hours about blogging, and that was closed after about two days. I was told to go here if I had a problem with that decision, and guess what, that thread was closed also.

Why should we have to move to after hours? This is the blogging form. If Biko is unable to handle the conversation then may I suggest he be the one to move, and get another, more capable, less oppressive moderator to moderate the forum.

Totally pathetic that a in forum about blogs we are banned from discussing Irish blogging.

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Cria

sashafierce wrote: »

I understand no smart remarks on the bloggers appearances/family's/personal life etc etc but then other threads are full of it albeit people in the entertainment industry but how come I can come on here and call the Kardashians names but If I say something bad about a precious blogger I get banned! (I haven't said anything btw just an example)

They seem to be highly protected on this I would say certain ones who are non transparent maybe threaten legal action when their behaviour is brought to light

silvervixen84

Could these threads come under Celebrity & Showbiz, and it be extended to be Celebrity, Showbiz & Social Influencers? There is an overlap these days anyway with some of the bigger bloggers being treated as quasi-celebrities.

dudara

^^ that's an interesting idea. The Admins will take it on board when thinking about the forum

sashafierce

This post has been deleted.

retro:electro

sashafierce wrote: »

Surely boards.ie aren't responsible for what we say. I have never seen anything nasty wrote or anything personal and we are allowed not like a blogger!

I think the days of having digs about their appearances etc are long gone. A few years ago the topic used to be covered in the fashion and appearance and beauty forum. A lot of users, and I'm sure myself included thought this to mean this allowed us to judge their make up and clothes etc, and some comments were made that were below the belt. But that's back when discussing bloggers was new to boards, so posters never knew where we stood and what we could discuss etc..
As the threads have moved on, slagging and distasteful comments have been few and far between, and lately we are very careful to stay on topic and if anyone goes off topic, other posters are very quick to point out that the post is off topic. If anything below belt is said, it's either ignored or shamed for how awful it is. Nobody partakes in tit for tat anymore.

I think we have come very far and have learned a lot of lessons. Now whenever a topic is brought up we do our best to say "as seen on XXX Facebook" or "she said XXX on Snapchat". If it's out there for public consumption I fail to see how us discussing what they themselves have said is slanderous!

dudara

sashafierce wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Unfortunately, under Irish law, Boards can be held liable for what is published on the site. Hence the caution on some topics.

Cria

sashafierce wrote: »

Surely boards.ie aren't responsible for what we say. I have never seen anything nasty wrote or anything personal and we are allowed not like a blogger!

You would think so .. it seems so silly that such a big commotion has occurred because we want to discuss the practice of some social influencers

retro:electro

dudara wrote: »

Unfortunately, under Irish law, Boards can be held liable for what is published on the site. Hence the caution on some topics.

Even if it's just discussing something that a blogger has said/posted themselves online? It's one thing to say "omg I've heard her fella is off ridin all around him", which is awful speculation and totally unacceptable, and "did you see her recent post on Snapchat where she said bla bla bla"...
I don't see how it's any different to saying "did you hear the Ray Darcy show today where he said bla bla bla", which isn't considered slanderous and posters there are never told they're bitchy gossips.

Taltos

Unfortunately Dudara is spot on.
Do you really think any of the mods enjoy having to respond to posts that cross that line? And let's face it sometimes that line isn't that clear, hence the direction to play it safe...

We're living in an increasing litigious society and while we want to promote discussion we have to ensure we have money to keep the servers running and not paying lawyers battling someone who was defamed here, or who claims they were. Even if it doesn't go to court that's still a costly exercise...

D0NNELLY

No +1 from biko on the forum request!! Thought he'd be first in the queue

retro:electro

Taltos wrote: »

Unfortunately Dudara is spot on.
Do you really think any of the mods enjoy having to respond to posts that cross that line? And let's face it sometimes that line isn't that clear, hence the direction to play it safe...

We're living in an increasing litigious society and while we want to promote discussion we have to ensure we have money to keep the servers running and not paying lawyers battling someone who was defamed here, or who claims they were. Even if it doesn't go to court that's still a costly exercise...

But if posters are providing evidence of what the blogger has said/posted, how is that defamation? Again, speculation is one thing, but talking about something a blogger has discussed on social media and put out into the world for consumption, that's different.

dudara

D0NNELLY wrote: »

No +1 from biko on the forum request!! Thought he'd be first in the queue

I think he's already voted

Libel and slander no longer exist in Irish law, they have been superceded by defamation. And only a court of law is qualified to make that determination.

retro:electro

dudara wrote: »

I think he's already voted

Libel and slander no longer exist in Irish law, they have been superceded by defamation. And only a court of law is qualified to make that determination.

Blogger: "I'm being defamed on boards.ie!!"
Boards: Here is some footage that you've posted where you yourself have posted where you discuss XYZ that you are claiming is defamatory.
Judge: Case closed.

Sorry if that is a bit impudent, but I mean.. come on.

LizT

anna080 wrote: »

Blogger: "I'm being defamed on boards.ie!!"
Boards: Here is some footage that you've posted where you yourself have posted where you discuss XYZ that you are claiming is defamatory.
Judge: Case closed.

Sorry if that is a bit impudent, but I mean.. come on.

But with the likes of snapchat and IG stories, content is lost within 24 hours. So unless people are going to save the videos to back up their point, you can't really use that defence.

I enjoy discussing blogging and the threads have opened my eyes to some of the influencers' shady behaviour. However, sometimes the threads do turn very bitchy and people can start making defamatory comments. If a new forum is approved, it would require a very clear charter about what is acceptable and what's not.

I do think boards should facilitate this discussion as there is obviously a demand for it and most posters can have a mature, rational discussion.

Little CuChulainn

anna080 wrote: »

Blogger: "I'm being defamed on boards.ie!!"
Boards: Here is some footage that you've posted where you yourself have posted where you discuss XYZ that you are claiming is defamatory.
Judge: Case closed.

Sorry if that is a bit impudent, but I mean.. come on.

If defamation law was that simple it wouldn't be so expensive to defend a case.

retro:electro

Little CuChulainn wrote: »

If defamation law was that simple it wouldn't be so expensive to defend a case.

I know what you're saying, but it would be nice to have some freedom of expression, and the ability to exercise our opinions, all of course without defaming anyone. Nobody should be allowed to say something that is untrue or can't be backed up by a social media post.

KERSPLAT!

anna080 wrote: »

Blogger: "I'm being defamed on boards.ie!!"
Boards: Here is some footage that you've posted where you yourself have posted where you discuss XYZ that you are claiming is defamatory.
Judge: Case closed.

Sorry if that is a bit impudent, but I mean.. come on.

A specialist in the laws surrounding defamation are we. Come on is right.

retro:electro

KERSPLAT! wrote: »

A specialist in the laws surrounding defamation are we. Come on is right.

Nope. But I what my point suggests is, where applicable, posters providing sufficient evidence to back up what they are saying would do enough to ensure no defamation of character took place.
If you can't back up what you're saying then don't say it, etc

Little CuChulainn

anna080 wrote: »

Nope. But I what my point suggests is, where applicable, posters providing sufficient evidence to back up what they are saying would do enough to ensure no defamation of character took place.
If you can't back up what you're saying then don't say it, etc

It would be better to simply avoid categorical statements. "She is lying" or "He is a liar" are more difficult to justify than "There's a lot of evidence contrary to what he said. Here it is." Instead of calling people out simply lay out the contradictory evidence and let people make up their own minds.

kate357

anna080 wrote: »

Nope. But I what my point suggests is, where applicable, posters providing sufficient evidence to back up what they are saying would do enough to ensure no defamation of character took place.
If you can't back up what you're saying then don't say it, etc

I replied to a comment recently on another platform about how people are sick to death of blogger/influencers. What I wrote was 100% accurate, backed up with an article written in a newspaper that proved my point. The piece I originally responded to was on transparency and authenticity. And if you knew what I know about these 2 bloggers, who happen to be related to each other, but strangely never mention it in public, you would be shocked at the level of deception they use. Funnily enough I got so much support from people about it, and since then both blogger have gone really quiet??

retro:electro

Little CuChulainn wrote: »

It would be better to simply avoid categorical statements. "She is lying" or "He is a liar" are more difficult to justify than "There's a lot of evidence contrary to what he said. Here it is." Instead of calling people out simply lay out the contradictory evidence and let people make up their own minds.

Ya true, I agree that it's all about how you phrase things and avoiding accusatory statements.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

But surely that goes for absolutely every topic up for discussion on the site? What's stopping someone that's being discussed in a compo culture case on boards sueing for defamatory comments

retro:electro

LexieOnRale wrote: »

But surely that goes for absolutely every topic up for discussion on the site? What's stopping someone that's being discussed in a compo culture case on boards sueing for defamatory comments

Bloggers are a protected species

kate357

anna080 wrote: »

Ya true, I agree that it's all about how you phrase things and avoiding accusatory statements.

You'll have to delete some of your PM's, your inbox is full

Zaph

anna080 wrote: »

Bloggers are a protected species

I wish people would stop pushing this particular line of bullsh*t. Bloggers are no more protected on Boards than anyone else who has been the subject of possible defamation. As soon as mods are notified of a potentially defamatory statement it is reviewed and removed if necessary. You have no idea how many posts are removed from all the other forums on Boards on any given day, you simply see the ones that get removed in the Blogs forum because that's somewhere you post regularly and that forum has had quite a few posts that needed to be deleted over the last while.

retro:electro

Zaph wrote: »

I wish people would stop pushing this particular line of bullsh*t. Bloggers are no more protected on Boards than anyone else who has been the subject of possible defamation. As soon as mods are notified of a potentially defamatory statement it is reviewed and removed if necessary. You have no idea how many posts are removed from all the other forums on Boards on any given day, you simply see the ones that get removed in the Blogs forum because that's somewhere you post regularly and that forum has had quite a few posts that needed to be deleted over the last while.

Ah I was just being silly. I get that the same rules apply for every forum but I don't think any outright ban has been placed on the discussion of any other public figure(s), has it?
Maybe that's due to not knowing that they're being discussed here. I get the impression that many bloggers have their eye on this site for any mention of their names.

ratmouse

KERSPLAT! wrote: »

A specialist in the laws surrounding defamation are we. Come on is right.

I thought that we were having a grown up conversation here. That remark seems unnecessary .

ratmouse

anna080 wrote: »

Ah I was just being silly. I get that the same rules apply for every forum but I don't think any outright ban has been placed on the discussion of any other public figure(s), has it?
Maybe that's due to not knowing that they're being discussed here. I get the impression that many bloggers have their eye on this site for any mention of their names.

Anna, tried to PM you but your inbox is full

MuffinTop86

I agree with anna080 on the moderation being too tight.
I'm only seeing this thread now as I only follow one or two threads from the forum and they're often closed down for a day or two.
I think there has been bitchiness in the past, from both posters and mods. But I think bitchiness towards bloggers has decreased a lot since we stopped the becky with the good hair no-names thing.
More importantly I believe these threads have made huge improvements in the blogging industry and I think the majority of the contributors here should be proud of that.

Vegeta

anna080 wrote: »

Ah I was just being silly. I get that the same rules apply for every forum but I don't think any outright ban has been placed on the discussion of any other public figure(s), has it?

Yes