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Merits 11 from 4 users
Re: Actions against spam translators
by
Csmiami
on 13/10/2021, 22:02:45 UTC
⭐ Merited by o_e_l_e_o (4) ,JayJuanGee (4) ,The Pharmacist (2) ,icopress (1)
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Hey Welsh! Long time no heard from you. First of all, I'd like to point out that this was neither complaining nor something personal. I do like the way you've been modding the forum overall, adn you've always been open to discussing certain points of the more local boards. I do have the utmost respect for you as a member here for the many things you've done over the years, and whilst I don't think this has been interpreted as a personal thing or an attack, the internet is a place in which people sometimes get confused, so I'd like to just point that out first thing.

I was rather talking about the situation in general over the forum, with the many spammy-machine-translated threads that do pop up more often than what we'd want to. Of course I'm concerned about the boards I most usually visit, but it was not something exclusive of it.

I did know that a certain member was offered the position some time ago, and that he did reject it; we also organized some sort of voting and we did also write some messages to theymos about the issue. Some things, however, are in a sort of loop in this situation. If the most "difficult"/"controversial" reports don't get handled, why would we report them first place if we already know what is going to happen next? This passive discouragement further lowers the report volume (or at least in my personal case, I can say it has happened quite a few times; and if you can see my reporting history, you know I'm rather trigger happy). I'll even go further and say that precisely that inaction is one of the things that pushed me into this last time off the forum; after spending so much time checking threads, reporting them and making some noise so that action was taken on them, and then seeing the same user simply re-post those same threads as if nothing had ever happened did a bit of a number on me (not that a big one, as this is still an online forum full of strangers).

I also think that back then I did mention that the involvement of a staff member among the discussions going on was missing. It may not be a big thing for some, but when there's not really many people participating in a local board, it does bring the morale up a bit. I'm of course not trying to compare you with the previous mod; as I've already said it's not a personal thing (and I do like the way things get done).

Seeing how things are at the current stage, I know it would make no sense to go on another reporting spree. Would I get the numbers up? Definately. Would they get handled? Possibly not. Does it make sense to do such a thing? Well... Nope?

Now, is it best to wait until someone decides to go hunting for sport and floods the queue, or would it be best to anticipate to that and look for someone that is going to slowly start cleaning up shop before it gets clogged? I know it's not on me to decide, but I'd like to think you are seeing the point I'm trying to make here.

Getting a bit out of the particulars of the Spanish boards, I see that this is not a problem specific to us (as LittleMouse pointed out), and I'm inclined to belive it happens in many other sub-boards. Of course it's not possible to hire global mods that know and are fluent in every language; that's simply not realistic. But there's still room for improvement in some places.

PS: It's rather strange to see you without an avatar...
PS2: As usual, I'd like to invite you to participate in any of the multiple threads open on the Spanish section; it's always good to remember and practice the languages you know.