Calling out bigots and assholes isn’t “feeding.” That’s the problem. Telling people to ignore outright bastards just leads the bastards to escalate. You should absolutely identify their bullshit and bluntly tell them where to shove it - and more importantly, forums need to allow calling out bullshit.
Any moderator demanding “respect” and “civility” is creating an environment where cautious monsters have free reign, unless they also proactively fight politely-phrased abuse. If someone has good reason to say “fuck off,” and you remove the response but not the cause, you are a force multiplier for that abuse.
But this schmuck? Yeah, ignore that. It is of low quality.
Title: Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings is Utterly Awful
Article: Look at me. Look at me. Hey, Internet, over here. I said something controversial. Pay attention to me.
Right. When people say “don’t feed trolls,” this is the contrarian bait they’re talking about. Not assholes and bigots.
Well yes, but don’t feed assholes and bigots either.
Calling out bigots and assholes isn’t “feeding.” That’s the problem. Telling people to ignore outright bastards just leads the bastards to escalate. You should absolutely identify their bullshit and bluntly tell them where to shove it - and more importantly, forums need to allow calling out bullshit.
Any moderator demanding “respect” and “civility” is creating an environment where cautious monsters have free reign, unless they also proactively fight politely-phrased abuse. If someone has good reason to say “fuck off,” and you remove the response but not the cause, you are a force multiplier for that abuse.
But this schmuck? Yeah, ignore that. It is of low quality.