I would like to know the moderators' policy on bullying. It seems easy to bully a user. For it takes only 5 users who have sufficient reps to close a question.
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Ineluctably related to the complementary question Moderators’ position on hectoring, which presents the obverse side of this coin, howsoever debased that currency may be.– tchrist ModCommented Nov 11, 2014 at 12:42
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2This comment thread has run its course. Anymore comments will be removed.– Matt E. ЭлленCommented Nov 19, 2014 at 9:24
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2 Answers
Putting a question on hold is not bullying. It is a request from the closers to the question asker to improve the question.
If you feel you are being bullied then this is a very important matter. You have two options:
Come to chat and ping one of the moderators to ask for a private chat so you can disclose the bullying you have experienced, and appropriate action can be taken.
Contact the community moderators with your evidence, so that they can help you deal with the issue.
We do not tolerate bullying.
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1"We do not tolerate bullying." Has a moderator of ELU ever detected a bullying case? Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 11:38
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3If a moderator sees behaviour they think is not acceptable for the site, then they will take action. Of course, if the person being bullied asks the moderator to not take action, then we'd respect that. Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 14:30
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3@ivanhoescott - I can affirm that the moderators deal with bullying. I had a user who would countered comments that disagreed with his by mentioning something to do with his penis even though the topics (an iceburg once) had nothing to do with sex or his penis. A mod told him in my presence that if he did it again, he would be suspended for a long time. So, yes, they do act in the face of bullying. Commented Nov 1, 2014 at 14:31
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7@ivanhoescott - well, that is the question here, isn't it? Whether closing questions is bullying? Personally I don't think so. Which is probably why the mods haven't done anything about it. You're really better off learning to ask better questions, don't you think? Commented Nov 2, 2014 at 7:14
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2@medica "that is the question here, isn't it? Whether closing questions is bullying?" No. I have never said closing questions is always bullying. However, it can be bullying. Commented Nov 2, 2014 at 17:42
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1@ Matt: If you've ever made a bad call as a mod, I'm not aware of it. But I think your "not acceptable for the site" is a rather broad brush. Personally, although I've downvoted this question, I've no real beef with the OP as such. And I don't actually object to him raising this issue either - I downvoted purely because I don't think bullying is an issue that requires ELU to do anything other than maintain current practice. Which I assume involves taking account of how the person being bullied reacts, rather than only looking at the "bullying" posts themselves. It's subjective. Commented Nov 2, 2014 at 23:31
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1@MattЭллен "I will not go into specifics, but yes, we have." Does that include a case which involves closing questions? Commented Nov 3, 2014 at 15:25
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1@ivanhoescott, fine; you've never said that closing questions is always bullying. (And honestly, I don't believe anyone responding here has ever said that you've claimed such a thing.) However, I disagree with your assertion that closing questions can be bullying. Why do you think that closing questions can be construed as bullying?– HellionCommented Nov 4, 2014 at 5:34
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1@Hellion "However, I disagree with your assertion that closing questions can be bullying. Why do you think that closing questions can be construed as bullying?" I'm surprised to hear this. Why do you think that closing questions cannot be construed as bullying? Commented Nov 9, 2014 at 16:41
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3@ivanhoescott, I asked you first. Are you going to answer my question, or simply throw more questions back at me?– HellionCommented Nov 9, 2014 at 17:00
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1@Hellion The answer is obvious. If you want to bully a user, the easiest way is to vote to close his question. Commented Nov 9, 2014 at 17:04
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1@ivanhoescott, I don't understand how that's bullying. What would be the bully's goal in voting to close a question? How does the vote cause a user to feel bullied?– HellionCommented Nov 9, 2014 at 17:10
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6I'd say it's a clear indication that your idea of legitimacy is mistaken. And I don't see how your question answers my question?– HellionCommented Nov 9, 2014 at 21:59
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7@ivanhoescott, the answer is obvious: if your questions get downvoted and closed, they were not legitimate. Why do you think they were?– HellionCommented Nov 10, 2014 at 16:37
Closing a question is not bullying. Where did you get that idea from? I have often voted to close questions, which deserved to be closed. What am I then? A bully?
I find your glib accusations highly offensive, and defamatory.
answered Oct 30, 2014 at 13:10
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1"Closing a question is not bullying. Where did you get that idea from?" I didn't say that closing a question is always bullying. Did I? Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 13:43
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3@ivanhoescott (Referring to your previous comment "It's not personal") Yes, your comments and questions are personal. You're not fooling anyone, they are aimed at a specific group of users. I may not be included in that group, but the fact remains. Your posts are thinly veiled attacks. Finally, you asked a reason for the downvotes and then contest my explanation and then wonder why I bang my head against a brick wall! Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 15:35
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8@ivanhoescott: yes, you specifically did. "It seems easy to bully a user. For it takes only 5 users who have sufficient reps to close a question." If you don't even understand what your own posts mean in normal English, it may be that you are misunderstanding others, and it is even possible that the fault lies with you rather than the rest of the world. Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 18:40
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@TimLymington "yes, you specifically did" I said bullying by closing a user's questions seems easy. I didn't say closing a question is always bullying. I have no idea why you think I did. Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 19:00
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@Mari-LouA "Yes, your comments and questions are personal." My question just asks about the moderators' policy on bullying. Why on earth is it personal? Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 19:10
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2@ivanhoescott; Neither your intentions nor that "you have no idea why" your post is offensive alter the fact that it is. Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 19:53
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@TimLymington Please explain why my post is offensive. Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 21:19
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6@ivanhoescott. Despite your evident opinion, nobody else is under an obligation to educate you. If you genuinely do not see that you have levelled a baseless charge of bullying, I would advise that you stop posting until you understand implication. If you are being disingenuous, your attempt at the Socratic method is woeful. Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 22:04
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2Bullying isn't specific actions, it's a pattern of behaviour for intended effect. Seemingly innocuous actions can be used for bullying if carried out in a coordinated and disruptive fashion. If there really was a clique of high-rep users targeting OP and close-voting every one of his questions to silence him, that can indeed be bullying. Whether such a clique exists - and what moderators do under such a possibility - is the question. Unless you are part of such a clique, there is no need to take offense. Commented Oct 31, 2014 at 2:55
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6@congusbongus the OP states "it takes only 5 users" to close a question. Anyone with that privilege can vote to put a question on hold. Therefore, I am included in that group of five. If I ever felt that a user was being targeted unfairly, or a question did not deserve to be closed, I'd have raised my voice. Always have done, always will do. On more than one occasion I have voted to reopen a question of his, I have edited his to improve them. And yet the OP accuses me and other uses with the same privilege (indirectly) of bullyism. If you don't mind, I do take offence. Commented Oct 31, 2014 at 6:33
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@Mari-LouA "And yet the OP accuses me" When and how did I accuse you? Commented Nov 2, 2014 at 17:59
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@TimLymington "If you genuinely do not see that you have levelled a baseless charge of bullying, I would advise that you stop posting until you understand implication." I have not leveled a baseless charge of bullying. Anyway, what does this comment of yours have to do with the thread's question? Commented Nov 3, 2014 at 15:40
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2@ivanhoescott You're very good at asking users questions but not at answering them. For the third time would you please answer mine. You left a comment on Why does Hamlet not say, “ere he rots?” two days ago: "I wonder why "before" doesn't trigger the subjunctive in present-day English, while "lest" does." Why didn't you edit your question, and included that reflection? Commented Nov 3, 2014 at 15:57
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6Riiiight, and it took you six days to come up with that rebuke. This is the last you'll hear from me. I'm sure that will come as a relief to you. Ciao! Commented Nov 9, 2014 at 17:50