Censoring: let's get inappropriate!
I'd like to raise a new issue when concerning censoring as a group mod. One of the most common rule violations I face as a mod is that of appropriate language in chatrooms: people being unkind, disrespectful to each other, and stars.
As a group mod, I get a lot of flack for reminding people to follow the rules--especially when it comes to reminders about language and keeping it clean. I've noticed that, as this link says, the censor is dumb and only picks up words regardless of the context. I don't have a problem with that, but some of the words being censored aren't triggering, and seem to go against what we're taught as mods: don't limit conversation, even if you, personally, think it has the potential to be triggering unless someone is actively being triggered or is leading to that. Keeping that in mind, why should censoring be different? Yes, I agree that certain phrases and words should be removed to make the user experience more pleasant, but when we censor words that aren't offensive in the same way, we may actually be doing more harm to the community than good.
Not all stars are swear words or inappropriate as others have mentioned simply because the censor is dumb. As a mod, I don't know what's under the stars, and can only make a guess. Often times, I don't know the people I'm speaking with in chatrooms, so I don't know if they're likely to swear or if the censor is just blocking something harmless, and I have to warn regardless. This can cause a real point of contention between individuals and moderators, especially as it keeps happening and the member/guest is innocent. In that case, a mod very well may be blamed for inappropriate muting and it would be very true through no fault of the mod or member/guest.
In terms of suggestions on how to resolve this conflict, I would like to ask that a list be made available to the community (and particularly mods!) so we can see the range of words and phrases that will be censored, and work as a group to figure out whether the list is acceptable as it is, and discuss whether things need to be added or removed. It would also prevent, or at least reduce the chances of mods from typing things that get censored and inviting ridicule/derision from guests/members.
I also understand that 7 Cups is a work in progress and this is likely still under development as the site grows. I don't want to add more work to anyone's plate, but if, somehow, we could make stars accessible to moderators to see what's under them--for example, having the messages unaltered for moderators, or a descriptor of the type of censored word where the stars would be, that would be incredibly helpful.
For example: "I hate this situation so much, it makes me so [swear] mad!" or "... it makes me so [bloody] mad!" instead of "... it makes me so *** mad!"
As usually, @Acinonyx you made a really important and relevant post.You addressed the problem and offered suggestion to it. I honestly have nothing to add at this moment, but wanted to comment because I do not see that this was acknowledged other than by upvotes currently, and it should be visible! I'll get back later and perhaps add something as I think of it. Thank you!
Thank you, @Maku! It's always great to see your support! I'd be more than interested to hear if you have any other thoughts or suggestions to add!
I love, love, love, love this idea. Let's immortalize the idea in the Listener Suggestion Box.And we can also tag @Heather.
Wonderful post, @Acinonyx!
Good plan, @Cadence! Thanks for the support!
Awesome idea! Love it! Thank you :)
Thank you!
@acinonyxthe censor is designed to catch words we have highlighted to be inappropriate or offensive and phrases that that put harmless words into an offensive context eg"I hate you". The words may seem harmless however as an international site we need to be mindful that different cultures have different views and different words can be offensive to some and not to others. If a guest or member gets censored it is no big deal, they have still been able to write what they wanted and get it out, but the stars put in place protect everyone in the room. We would not be able to release a list as all this would do is enable people to use words and phrases that avoid the censors. As mods we do not need to address anyone that has been censored as the censors do this job for us, I would however recommend using empathy and reassure them. If anyone has any issues with the censors in the support rooms please come and speak to the mod leaders or raise it at a mod discussion. Tagging @heather @jake @apple74
@Sarah, @apple74, @EmmaGrace, @Ringingbells2015, I think you're all misunderstanding the intention behind my post. I don't mean to imply that I'm fighting the censors or that I want that system gone. I'm glad that it's in place, truly. I'm simply stating that it can be difficult to moderate, and that people can be unfairly muted as a result of the things they're saying being starred, even though they're not inappropriate or offensive.
I understand the point of having the censor be inclusive of other cultural and national offenses--don't get me wrong there, I do appreciate the censor, however, if I see something starred, I don't know what the word was, or if a warning would actually be appropriate given the circumstances. I can get context from the rest of the sentence, but a lot of the time, I don't know if it was an offensive swear word (i.e. the f bomb) or if the censor is blocking something like "blood" or "damn" or something similar. There are also some words on the censor that I don't understand being there at all.
Even if a list can't be submitted to the entire 7 Cups community, I would still like to see it personally so I know what sort of things are being blocked. It would give me better context for the censor and what sort of things you have deemed unfit for group chats, and would have the potential to allow me to better moderate.
It seems like 7 Cups is being really unforthcoming to providing that information to the people who are here to help uphold a friendly and welcoming environment for everyone, and I find that really strange and disheartening. I want to improve at being a moderator, and I find it difficult to do so when I don't understand the things that contribute to my job here and why I'm not permitted access to something that makes up a huge part of the reason moderators exist. I don't feel I'm being unreasonable in bringing this to right or with asking for the list. I can understand your intention behind not wanting to share that information with members and guests who may try to find ways to skirt the rules, but as a moderator and someone here to enforce the rules, I don't understand why we are being denied it.
@acinonyx that is what I explained in my post, mods do not need to give warnings if people have tripped the censors, the censors have done that for you. Therefore nobody should be getting unfairly muted due to not knowing what is behind the stars. As mods we use our judgement based on the context and attitude of posts, you can clearly see the intent of messages and those are the things that we give warnings for.
@Sarah, the misunderstanding must be on my part, then, as I don't see how a member or guest is warned when their message is censored. Do they get a warning asking them to keep all language appropriate in the chat? I have a difficult time understanding how that would be the case as it just blacklists certain words and doesn't take context into account. If no, then it's still up to me as a reminder to remind individuals who trigger the censor to follow the rules and to keep language appropriate in the chatroom according to the chatroom rules. Hence the confusion over not knowing if a warning would be appropriate, or if I'm just being played by the censor.
@acinonyx they will not receive a warning, like I tried to explain we would give a warning based on the intent/attitude of the message. As mods we do not need to acknowledge the censor has been tripped, the censors removes any word deemed inappropriate, this enables members to vent and keeps the room safe at the same time. Members do not need to receive warnings for doing this.
@Sarah, thanks for explaining that in more detail. It seems I was misinterpreting what you were saying and what was expected as a mod with regards to keeping language appropriate. I took that to include censored words and expressions, which can often be linked to attitudes and disrespect in chats, and should be warned for in all cases--that's why I started the thread regarding giving warnings for situations where words weren't being used in an inappropriate context.
That being said, and given the number of upvotes my initial post has, I imagine I'm not the only one with this interpretation of the rules. I wonder if adding it to the Group Support Moderator Guide under the applicable section and advertising that would be beneficial. If not, and it's just me, then I apologize for any frustration I may have caused on your end.
A group chat is different from a private chat. Since you are in a group, any message can be interpreted as something else depending on how the other person is feeling.
For eg: If a person has been abused and walks into a chatroomwhere a person is using swear words to express their frustration, it might be triggering for the one who has just entered.
It is just one of the examples. The censoring helps us to avoid people getting hurt. I can agree it can be annoying at times, but we have to look at the bigger picture i.e. whether it is doing more harm than good or more good than harm ?
Coming from a teen perspective - in the teen rooms, some of the members are pretty young, at 13 years old, so I think censoring is needed in at least the teen rooms.
As @EmmaGrace said that many teens are nearly around 13 years old, so the censors must be kept active in teen chatrooms and considering that mods aren't always present in chatrooms, censors should remain in teen chatroomsat-least!!
Well I must say this idea is logical enough and helpful. As a mod, sometimes its quite difficult when the situation goes beyond control. Some guests and members even don't take some time to read the chatroom rules. Also I noticed some listeners even don't behave nicely in the rooms at all. Then all the time in the chatrooms mods aren't present everytime. So I think censor is enough helpful in the chatrooms therefore It will decrease the chance of using inappropriate language. So we should proceed with this beautiful idea discovered by acinonyx. ♥ this is absolutely great in my point of view. Thank you! *_*
