Suggestions

Roy

there has been a change today .........................

i got an email from GR late afternoon your time .................


Dear Sylvia

You recently added a message board response using your Genes Reunited membership.

It has been brought to our attention that the nature of this posting breaches the Message Board guidelines and terms and conditions of our website and the item has now been removed from Genes Reunited.

Here's a copy of the post:

xxxx


you cannot CLOSE a thread


you can only stop posters by removing the thread

<br/ (remainder removed)


We feel it breaches the following message board guidelines:

2. Inappropriate content

Please do not communicate anything that is, or could be considered to be, vulgar, profane or offensive.

Please do not communicate anything that is, or could be considered, abusive, intimidating, discriminatory, threatening, mean spirited or intended to harass or cause (or be capable of causing) trouble, upset or offence to anyone.


Continuing to create content of this nature may result in your eventual removal from the site.

We thank you in anticipation of your co-operation and adherence to the terms of your Genes Reunited membership.


Kind Regards,


Genes Reunited Support Team



it does not tell me which thread, although it was easy to determine.



sylvia

You did Sylvia, But I thought I would "add" it to my post as it fits in with the content and context/continuity of my complaint/post

Roy

strange


I thought that I had posted this ...................


Natasha

Thank you. I have pm'd you


--------------
maybe I'm just getting older than I thought I was :-)

Natasha, Thanks for your reply and while I understand their may not be a 100% consistency in the decisions made The process should be 100% the same for example you say

"If your post is reported to us we will reply with automated responses, although the support team will add in details of your post and details of why they have removed it."

That is certainly not the case, I have had threads reported and removed with no notification what so ever, I have also still got my email from yesterday which prompted me to start this thread and gives no indication of details of my post or why they have removed it. they simply say this posting breaches the terms and conditions and Board guidelines of our website, See below

From:
"Genes Reunited Support Team"
To:
My email addy removed for security reasons

Date:
May 07 2013, 03:12 PM

Subject:
Review For Review:Message Board Response

Dear Porkie

You recently added a message board response using your Genes Reunited membership.

It has been brought to our attention that the nature of this posting breaches the terms and conditions of our website and the item has now been removed from Genes Reunited.

Please be advised that this email now serves as a warning as we consider the report to be in breach of our Message Board guidelines and our Terms and Conditions. Should you receive 3 warnings in total we will permanently remove your profile from Genes Reunited.

We thank you in anticipation of your co-operation and adherance to the terms of your Genes Reunited membership.


Kind Regards,


Genes Reunited Support Team

Without knowing which post/content it refers to or which T&C I'm in breach of how would you suggest anyone could learn not to post the same or similar content in the future.

Roy

Natasha, I know it's been raised elsewhere but I feel it's very relevant to the matter under discussion here.

If a post is reported then could the reporter's ID and the reason selected from the drop-down menu not be shown? It would make people think long and hard about reporting a post and should hopefully minimise any malicious reporting. I do realise that some people may feel intimidated for fear of reprisals but maybe there could be a means for them to send an email to the abuse team instead?

Hi Sylvia, if you feel that one member is targeting a specific group of people then please PM me the full details so that we can investigate further.
Natasha

Natasha ...................

Thank you for your reply


What if one person is targeting a group of people?

That would lead to several people reporting one person for a series of posts

....... which then looks like a group ganging up on one member,

ie, the reverse of what actually happened

Hi everyone,

Well there seems to have been a lot of activity on the boards over the past weekend. I have been carefully reviewing all reported posts and speaking to our customer support team. There are a couple of things I want to set straight. Part of my role as Community Manager is to get to know our members on the boards, and to make sure the boards are being used appropriately. They are here for your enjoyment, to get help and help others, and to be able to chat about general topics.

If your post is reported to us we will reply with automated responses, although the support team will add in details of your post and details of why they have removed it. We also keep a note of how many times someone has been reported to us and how many times a member reports posts by other people. Different members of the customer support team will review the reported posts and decide whether they should be reinstated or removed, and although we follow strict guidelines, the decision will come down to personal interpretation of these guidelines so there will not always be 100% consistency in the decisions made.

We do not like to ban any members, and instead prefer to have a conversation with the member and see if it is an issue we can overcome. However, we take bullying, offensive language, and general nastiness extremely seriously.

Please think long and hard about the content you post on these boards and if you are reporting a post, think carefully about the reasons why. If we think that a particular person is being targeted by having their posts reported, we will take action against those reporting the posts. We will also not stand for people ‘ganging up’ on any member. Please remember that what you post on these boards is a reflection of yourself and it is how I will get to know you. These boards are here for the enjoyment of everyone, and if we think any individual or group of people are trying to sabotage the enjoyment of these boards for another person, we reserve the right to ban anyone at any time without warning.

Natasha

Clearly not........................or we wouldn't still be having these 'conversations'

Perhaps it is time for those responsible for deliberating the fate of those whose posts have been referred for review to re-acquaint themselves with exactly what GR's Guidelines for message board use state:

"We want this to be a safe, enjoyable and friendly environment for all of our Members."

"Please do not communicate anything that is, or could be considered, abusive, intimidating, discriminatory, threatening, mean spirited or intended to harass or cause (or be capable of causing) trouble, upset or offence to anyone."


With regard to Warnings and Bans, the punishment regime of those deemed guilty of breaches are clearly and specifically stated:

"Dependent on the severity of the abuse report, Members will receive a first warning telling them why their post has been removed and why they are receiving a warning."

"Should a Member be reported a second time for abuse they will receive a final warning."

"Upon a third report of abuse Members will be permanently banned from the Genes Reunited service."

"We reserve the right to ban any member without warning at any time for posting material that we deem inappropriate."

There is no indication that application of those punishments is anything other than mandatory. A simple question. Are they being consistently applied or not?

Reggie, That's my opinion also

Roy

There can be only one reason for reporting this thread, and only one person with that reason.

Linda, If you count just a couple of others members who have remained silent so far the figure is well over 120,000 posts

Roy

4 members with roughly 75,000 posts between them. Do GR really want to lose their combined expertise??

This site has changed since I joined and not for the better :-(

That is IMHO

and my email today said ..................


You recently added a message board response using your Genes Reunited membership.

It has been brought to our attention that the nature of this posting breaches the Message Board guidelines and terms and conditions of our website and the item has now been removed from Genes Reunited.

Continuing to create content of this nature may result in your eventual removal from the site.

We thank you in anticipation of your co-operation and adherence to the terms of your Genes Reunited membership.

-------------


s

Rose, Even that one is different to the ones I've had,

All my post suggested is that if their policy is to remove members with 3 warnings that they adhere to it and pointed out that I no of a member who has clearly received more than 3 in the last week or so and is still active on the site.

Roy

Should anyone be unaware of the wording used in GR's 'warning' email

"You will already be aware that you have previously been reported to us for your postings on our website.

Please be advised that this email now serves as a warning as we consider the report to be in breach of our Message Board guidelines and our Terms and Conditions. Should you receive 3 warnings in total we will permanently remove your profile from Genes Reunited."

I don't mind going for good reason.... however I hope that the rules will be consistently applied across the board ( no pun intended).

:-D

ridiculous!

We've all been asking for consistency in actions taken re reported posts/threads

It has been a question asked at different times over several years

Good heavens, what on earth could offend anyone about a suggestion that there is consistency in the way reported posts/threads are handled.

This was a genuine suggestion to GR, on a suggestions board.

ADDED:
In case anyone is wondering what I said that could be so heinous, I suggested that when people have posts reported that there be consistency in the emails they receive as there are various versions and degrees of severity. Nothing more.

RR'd wonder who :-D

Roy