Offensive Personal Messages

[#1]

I have recently used this forum to solve a problem I had contacting Plusnet support. What I got from the post was an email from the Plusnet Help Team saying, and I quote, “ignorant as well as stupid”.  Stupid I may have been but I cannot determine where in the post I was ignorant.

The way to deal with an offensive personal message click on the Report button on the left of the message. You will also receive  an email from the Plusnet Help Team enclosing the PM. You can forward this email to moderator@forums.plus.com.

I think anyone who breaks the Forum Rules and abuses other forum members in the name of the Plusnet Help Team should be barred from using this forum.

I don’t think any action has been taken in this case.

[#2]

The email wasn't from the Plusnet help team, that is the default signature on emails.

In this case the person sending the pm didn't add their name to the bottom and thus it could read as if it did come from the help team.

There is a report to moderator function for a pm too

[#3]

So just for information was any action taken?

It's obviously not appropriate to call people either ignorant or stupid (even if they seem so) - not everyone on here is a world-leading IT expert.

[#4]

As an ex moderator who doesn't have an axe to grind in this can I say that it has never been the practice to advise a complainant of the action taken

In the case of an offensive post it is usually obvious if  the post is removed or edited  that the complaint was upheld but any other actions would not be public whether it is a warning or a ban

In the case of a PM any action can only be a ban or a warning and that would not be notified to the complainant

[#5]

Jim is correct in that we don't discuss any action taken in the public forum.

[#6]

The consequence of this policy is that the complainant would never know if the grounds upon which the complained was found to upheld as opposed to the alternative possibility of "Come on grow up and get on with it" in respect of something many people might think is neither here nor there?

[For clarity I am not thinking of the substance of this complaint.]

Sometimes there are things I find offensive which other might just brush off as the rough and tumble of being in a forum - sometimes there might be benefit in feeding back comments that the complaint has been upheld or not thought to be an issue, albeit not mentioning what consequential action has been applied.

FWIW I have had a post (which had nothing in the slightest offensive) expunged due to a complaint - given that I was not told what the nature of the complaint was I have no idea why what I posted was thought to offend ... which could lead to me repeating the transgression.

In short no communication through moderation about the nature of a complaint or the outcome of a complaint might not be overly helpful to those involved.

[#7]

There is normally private communication between the complainant and the moderation team but the result of the complaint is not discussed.

The person whom the complaint is about is also usually contacted and the result of any action is discussed with him/her.

We can get a lot of reports in a day either about the same issue or several different issues but each one is looked at on an individual basis.

Sometimes posts that get caught up between other posts that have had to been removed also end up getting removed in order to keep some sensibility in the thread. Could this be what happened in your case @Townman? Bear in mind that to contact everyone may not always be practical as our in-boxes could be flooded stopping us from carrying out other moderating tasks.

[#8]

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@Mav wrote:

Could this be what happened in your case @Townman?

@Mav,

Thank you for the detailed reply.

In my case the post was simply removed and I was told that someone (not the staff member mentioned) complained about the apparently innocent post suggesting credit to a member of staff for something being done where they had worked before.  I have no idea what was the basis of the complaint ... so there's a risk I'll repeat the transgression again.  Its like beating a dog - it remembers the beating but has not got a clue what it got beaten for. 

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[#9]

I don't think any action was taken. Otherwise I might have received an apology. Nothing forthcoming. If the forum is not to become 'Micky Mouse' then anyone who seriously offends another member should be barred.

I've read the following answers but don't quite understand them. Maybe I am stupid after all. I do have a degree in Computer Science and I am a Chartered engineer but obviously I went to ignorant college.

[#10]

As has been said before you may not perceive any action to have been taken but we take transgressions of the forum rules very seriously.

As moderators we make decisions on any necessary actions within the guidelines of the forum rules. Where a ban may be appropriate we will enforce it.

As per the Forum Rules:

• If you ever have reason to question the actions of a moderator you should try and resolve your issue directly with the moderation team via Private Message (PM), if your issue is not resolved please contact the Plusnet Help Team via PM. They will liaise with the moderators and make a final decision on your case.

I hope that helps clarify the situation.