Person of interest thread

[a5cent]

This user has a rather odd username
Also in the profile the avatar pictured shows a nude family.

http://forums.windowscentral.com/members/penishazelton.htm

Researching usernames containing the string 'p e n i s' isn't what I had in mind when I signed up for this job ;-)

These are my findings so far:

• Personally I couldn't care less about this, but that doesn't matter. What does matter is that we deal with such occurrences fairly and consistently.
• In posts, the word 'p e n i s' is removed by our profanity filter. Allowing it as a username seems very inconsistent.
• AC has an active user 'juiceboxpenis', so disallowing 'penishazelton' at WCentral would seem inconsistent.
• The avatar seems fine to me, but I'm worried about others attempting to push the boundaries further and taking this user's avatar as justification.
• The account is brand new and has only two posts, so dealing with it now is preferable to changing our minds later.

I think we could go both ways. If our profanity filter didn't care I'd say leave it, but since it does I'd tend towards applying the same rules here, i.e. closing the account and asking the user to reopen a new one with a less edgy username and avatar. IMHO it's weak reasoning, but I'd rather face this now than having to later explain to others why penishazelton's avatar is okay while their slightly edgier image isn't.

If nobody objects by tomorrow I'll deal with this then.

 

[RumoredNow]

I have to agree that it pushes the boundaries of the rules and good taste.

It's just not that kind of forum. I understand we have to justify why not... And I believe a5cent has provided the justifications.

As for AC's user that really is AC's bailiwick, and I think they erred by letting it slide.

The flip side is, what could that user possibly say to justify the name and avatar he chose? Anything would just be libertarian in nature. While it would be nice to be permissive to such an extent, we simply are not allowed to. It's a PG environment. If we were in an R environment it would all be groovy.

 

[a5cent]

^PM sent. Awaiting response...

 

[Guytronic]

Thank you for handling this Andreas!

 

[a5cent]

^ We had a chat last night. He intends to create a new account. I closed the PenisHazelton account.

 

[Laura Knotek]

^ We had a chat last night. He intends to create a new account. I closed the PenisHazelton account.

Excellent job Andreas!

Sent from my rooted Nexus 7 (2013) using Tapatalk

 

[Laura Knotek]

Watch for Smg-Uk to possibly create multiple user names. http://forums.windowscentral.com/members/smg-uk.htm

He got banned for going off on me and other mods at AC with profanity laced tirades after I gave him a warning for language. He already created multiple user names on AC.

Sent from my rooted Nexus 7 (2013) using Tapatalk

 

[RumoredNow]

Problematic user name: http://forums.windowscentral.com/members/pkbitchgirl.htm

I sent this PM:

Welcome... And...

we are glad to have you here at Windows Central. However, this is a family friendly community. We get many young people visiting here and want to keep it PG.

http://forums.mobilenations.com/rule...uidelines.html

Given the nature of your chosen username I have two options to offer you.

1) PM me and let me know you will open a new account with a suitable user name and I will close this account

2) send a name change request to accounts@mobilenations.com and ask them to convert the name on the account

I would suggest PKgirl as an alternative.

Please reply soonest as to your next steps so I can guarantee your continued participation at this forum.

 

[Laura Knotek]

One to watch http://forums.windowscentral.com/members/cyph3r_n1n3.htm

 

[fatclue_98]

One to watch http://forums.windowscentral.com/members/cyph3r_n1n3.htm

And he/she calls US elitists?

 

[Guytronic]

And he/she calls US elitists?

...and this is one of the things that makes this user interesting

 

[fatclue_98]

Good job Jim, I see you dropped the hammer on miffywiffy. You beat me to the punch. Our buddy DavidinCT is up to his crying ways again and I'm watching him.

 

[Guytronic]

You beat me to the punch.

Too many great helpful members on here to let the bad ones control these boards.
Wish members like DavidinCT would learn to back down once they draw negative attention to themselves.

I noticed MDMcAtee was trying his level best to start something until Laura stepped in here:
http://forums.windowscentral.com/ph...android-my-experience-so-far.html#post3196706

 

[RumoredNow]

Member phoneunlocking: http://forums.windowscentral.com/members/phoneunlocking.htm

Seems quite helpful actually. Had one post removed, but the other 14 remaining posts show a willingness to be an active part of the community. In consultation with Stephen I have give a Warning only and no points. The self-promotion post was deleted. I also issued this PM to the member.

Hello...

The post you are receiving this Warning for is normally an offense with a Ban Penalty.

However, I have looked into your posting history and you appear to be quite helpful and engaged with the community. I have discussed your case with the Moderator Team Lead and we have agreed to forego the usual approach for outright SPAMMERS today as you really do not fit that profile.

Instead, I'm issuing a custom Warning without points and removing the post in question.

Windows Central welcomes all members to our community who can abide by the rules. One of those rules is a prohibition on self-promotion. I have not given any points toward triggering a Ban (Permanent or Temporary) and this Warning will expire in six months time.

Please continue contributing, we would like nothing better. Also, take the time to read through our community guidelines: Community Rules & Guidelines - Mobile Nations Forums so you can know what is expected of all members on Mobile Nations boards. Your activity will be monitored for now...

Thank you for the help you have extended to other members. I look forward very much to seeing you continue in that vein.

Stephen has advised the other MoNa boards where phoneunlocking has a post history.

 

[a5cent]

So, I gave Nabkawe5 a warning (not an infraction) for foul language and cleaned up one of his recent posts. This is the infraction:

http://forums.windowscentral.com/re...-warning-nabkawe5-inappropriate-language.html

For some reason the original post isn't contained in the infraction message, but that's not necessary since he edited his original post back to its original state, and made a note of his defiance in his edit-tag:

Those who say that WM10 is a preview seem to forget that WP8.1 is NOT and it still resumes all the ******* time.

http://forums.windowscentral.com/wi...0m-doesnt-fix-blank-its-over.html#post3220097

I've also received quite a bit of outrage from him in the form of PMs like this:

Oh no 7 asterisks !!!! how blasphemous listen dear, please don't warn just delete my account because all of my future posts will contain lots of asterisks.

You truly are going to stick to your guns on this one huh ? I will continue to use the asterisks and feel free to do your worst. Asterisks add emphasis and i won't give up that freedom for your sake.

So, basically, he's undoing my cleanup work in his posts (reintroducing the masked profanity) and making good on his threats to swear whenever an opportunity shows itself. At this point I'd have enough infractionable posts together to ban him, but that seems excessive to me. I'd rather reform him, since he is a longtime member, but don't think I can.

Two questions:

1)
How do you guys deal with masked profanity here. In my view masked out words mean you shouldn't be using them, at the same time I don't feel it's right to infract for expressions like "kick a s s" or "holy s h i t", etc. It's a bit of a judgment call, which makes this tricky. Language like his I do infract however. I'm not sure everyone here agrees with me though. I don't see a lot of infractions for foul language so I wonder if I'm overdoing it. What say you folks who live in English speaking countries?

2) As I said, I'd prefer to reform Nabkawe5 . Do you think it might help if one of you PM'ed him and told him this is general policy and he's not being picked on specifically by me? Do you think I'm wasting my time and should just drop the ban hammer for foul language? Opinions?

 

[Muessig]

I've contacted him directly as follows:

Nabkawe5,

Recently you have been using a lot of inappropriate language on the boards. We have been cleaning up some of your posts, because we like to keep things family friendly around here.

[warn]Inappropriate Language - Mobile Nations is a network used by people of all ages, so please keep posts, usernames, and links family appropriate. We use software filters to block variations of profanity and will not tolerate attempts (i.e. use of special characters) to circumvent these filters.[/warn]

Unfortunately it seems you've been going back in and adding in your profanity again several times. If you continue to do this we will be forced to start infracting you for disruptive posting. We don't want to do this - we'd love you to keep interacting with our community in a friendly, respectful way.

Please familiarise yourself with our rules and guidelines here: Community Rules & Guidelines - Mobile Nations Forums

Thanks,

Muessig.

If he doesn't reform, he has been warned.

 

[a5cent]

Thanks Stephen!

Okay, I'll cleanup again and see how he reacts.

I'd still like to know how you folks as native English speakers feel about this though. Do you think I'm being too strict? I'm not sure, but based on my television viewing I'd guess the acceptance of such language could vary widely depending on where you live in the U.S. Seems tricky to find a middle ground where everyone feels comfortable.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Thanks Stephen!

Okay, I'll cleanup again and see how he reacts.

I'd still like to know how you folks as native English speakers feel about this though. Do you think I'm being too strict? I'm not sure, but based on my television viewing I'd guess the acceptance of such language could vary widely depending on where you live in the U.S. Seems tricky to find a middle ground where everyone feels comfortable.

The impression that I get is that Mobile Nations is stricter with language than most TV programs in the US.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_dirty_words

Several of the "Seven Dirty Words" have been used on broadcast TV, particularly on "NYPD Blue". Any of those, other than the variations of the f-word and c u n t are acceptable in PG-13 films.

"Saving Private Ryan" has been broadcast unedited on regular TV.

TV is a lot less strict now than it used to be. However, radio is stricter. FM stations used to play "Star Star" by the Rolling Stones uncensored back in the 70s and 80s.

Sent from my rooted Nexus 7 (2013) using Tapatalk

 

[Guytronic]

How do you guys deal with masked profanity here. In my view masked out words mean you shouldn't be using them, at the same time I don't feel it's right to infract for expressions like "kick a s s" or "holy s h i t", etc. It's a bit of a judgment call, which makes this tricky. Language like his I do infract however. I'm not sure everyone here agrees with me though. I don't see a lot of infractions for foul language so I wonder if I'm overdoing it. What say you folks who live in English speaking countries?

I kind of have a hard time with this also.
Personally my own language isn't the cleanest.
In a public sense out of respect people wouldn't think of cussing in front of others.

At times I wish the cuss filter could be disabled so that I can see what someone is saying.
Counting the asterisks isn't easy

It's almost better when people try to circumvent the filter so we can check the attitude.

 

[a5cent]

^ Good point Jim!

The impression that I get is that Mobile Nations is stricter with language than most TV programs in the US.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_dirty_words

Several of the "Seven Dirty Words" have been used on broadcast TV, particularly on "NYPD Blue". Any of those, other than the variations of the f-word and c u n t are acceptable in PG-13 films.

"Saving Private Ryan" has been broadcast unedited on regular TV.

TV is a lot less strict now than it used to be. However, radio is stricter. FM stations used to play "Star Star" by the Rolling Stones uncensored back in the 70s and 80s.

Sent from my rooted Nexus 7 (2013) using Tapatalk

I hadn't thought about it that way yet, but certainly true.

I suspect the difference is that as far as these forums are concerned, it's not so much about what you can legally get away with, but more about the kind of environment/culture you want to foster.

At least for me, such language being used frequently just makes the forums feel like a 3rd rate strip joint rather than a classy place you'd want to spend your time. I'm just not sure that's how people who speak English natively see it.