Suggestion to improve this guide are welcome. The Online Response Crew A.K.A. the ORCs do not look through the boards for violations of the Code of Conduct. Therefor it is up the the board members to help the ORCs moderate the forum. This is meant as a guide with a few simple steps to help posters with that task.
STEP 1
Do not respond to someone that you think is baiting and/or trolling. The point of such activity is to get responses. Particularly a responses that makes the responder look bad. In additions accusations of trolling and baiting are against the Code of Conduct. and in addition can get a thread derailed and/or locked. In the same vein. If you feel that you've been insulted, do not respond in kind. Doing so is likely to lead to you being moderated as well.
STEP 2
When you see a violation of the Code of Conduct use the "Report Post" button. Explain clearly why you feel that post violates the Code of Conduct. The more information that you can provide the better. Keep in mind that the moderator that reads the report is not likely to know much of what lead up to that post and thus is not likely to know the context that the post occurred in. Also the "Report Post" button is not an "I win." button, nor is someone disagreeing with you a violation the Code of Conduct. If for some reason you want to make a report through Customer Service take a screen capture, the .jpeg format is preferred. You must as with a report include the reason that you believe that the PM violates the Code of Conduct .
How to make a report through Customer Service
- Click On the Customer Service link.
- Click on "Email Us."
- Choose "Wizards.com" under "Select a Topic".
- Choose "Wizards.com Community" in the new list that appear below "Choose a Topic"..
- Choose "Report Conduct" in the third list.
- Fill in the blanks.
and thus is not likely to know the context that the post occurred in.
Fixed.
I have a Link in my Sig to another Thread like this. They're always a good idea.
Put a link to the [post=17282274]Guide To Dealing With Problematic Posters[/post] in your signature.
Done. Good work.
Fixed.
Oops, Thanks for the editorial help.
Oops, Thanks for the editorial help.
Hehe. No prob. OCD FTW!! :D
Keep in mind that the moderator that reads the report is not likely to know little of what lead up to that post and thus is not likely to know the context that the post occurred in.
Should read "Keep in mind that the moderator that reads the report is not likely to know much of what lead up to that post and thus is not likely to know the context that the post occurred in."
Should read "Keep in mind that the moderator that reads the report is not likely to know much of what lead up to that post and thus is not likely to know the context that the post occurred in."
I'll update it.
/sarcasm?
It's all relative anyway. Relative to the American English dialect of intellectual-disability.
"Git." "Bloody." "Scheisse." all are various methods of getting around the CoC. None of them are good mind you. But the fact that the CoC doesn't cover everything is extremely problematic of the fact that it will ban posters for things it only covers partially. Like the german word for excrement. But it will cover that four-letter english word that doesn't end the same way it begins.
I say, "To Hell with all of it, and let loose the dog's of war!"
The internet is not a child friendly place. Not a byte of bandwidth should be dedicated to it.
First, how am I to know if I disagree with the action of an ORC if I have no idea what action (if any) is taken? This is especially true if no blurbs or messages are posted in the thread.
For a second somewhat separate issue, it seems to me that if the ORCs do not deem a post as 'bad' enough to be edited or to make a statement, then its content is appropriate for a response. Correct or incorrect? If incorrect, then why is the statement incorrect. BSAC (please be specific and concise)
These questions should be directed at Customer Service. Community Management has no authority over the ORCs.
Perhaps you misunderstand (or perhaps I misunderstand the response...), I am not complaining about the ORCS.
I don't have a problem with any of their decisions (that I know of)
A statement in the OP said to contact customer service if you have a complaint about their actions. I want to know how can you tell if an action has been taken. The response sounds, to me, as if it believes I am looking for people here who hold the information of which ORCs do what, etc. I am not.
If the answer of where to find that information of whether or not an action has been taken regarding a post is to only contact customer service then that is the answer I was looking for. (note:The inclusion of the sentence explaining that CM has no authority over them is what threw me off because I knew that already and was in no way asserting that they might.)
With respect to that point, I am merely looking for a clarification.
However, I do not believe another of my questions should be directed at Customer Service. In Mudbunny's guide on being a responsible forum member it states that (flaming and trolling posts) should be reported and not responded to. At what point is it acceptable to begin responding to posts if there is no visible evidence that any action was taken by an ORC as a result of it? If a post is not so problematic that in ORC feels it must be edited, then is not also true that such a post is fair game to be responded to? Am I supposed to contact Customer Service to gain permission to respond to posts. If a post is improper and I respond to it, will I be in trouble with the ORCs also? It seems nonsense to me that I should have to contact Customer Service for permission to respond to a post.
I came here (this thread) for these answers because I was not getting them in my thread.
A statement in the OP said to contact customer service if you have a complaint about their actions. I want to know how can you tell if an action has been taken.
And that question should be addressed to Customer Service.
At what point is it acceptable to begin responding to posts if there is no visible evidence that any action was taken by an ORC as a result of it?
There are no rules on that. That's why it's called a "Guide" and not a "Code" or a "Rule" or a "Law"
The Guide is informal, not enforceable.
These questions should be directed at Customer Service. Community Management has no authority over the ORCs.
Customer Service will tell you to take it up with community management. There's literally no oversight on moderator actions that are accessible for the average poster.
I also added a bit for making suggestion through Customer Service. I have to admit it is a bit archaic and it took me a while to figure it out.
Customer Service will tell you to take it up with community management.
Customer Service tells you to take complaints about the beavior of ORCs to Community Management? I find that hard to believe, since ORCs are employees of Customer Service.
Customer Service will tell you to take it up with community management.
That is not correct. Customer Service will direct you to the Customer Service page, located here- http://wizards.custhelp.com
I believe I may have seen this somewhere but I can't remember where. What is the response time for emails to CS?
Two days normally. Things like freak once-a-decade-blizzards can slow that down as can Holiday breaks. But overall, normal response town is up to 2 days (usually a lot faster).
you think the majority of people bother to read the Code of Conduct, having nothing better to do on this site intended for fun
the Online Regime Crew
lol at this guide
you think the majority of people bother to read the Code of Conduct, having nothing better to do on this site intended for fun
the Online Regime Crew
Agreed.
The vast majority of people complaining about "problematic posters" are doing it simply because they can't handle being disagreed with. There are 3E fanatics and 4E fanatics alike who just can't handle having a rational discussion, so they resort to throwing the CoC at each other.
Seriously, folks, "problematic" posters are the ones spamming porn, racism, etc. We don't get a ton of that here. If you really can't handle someone's opinion, just put them on ignore, or even better, just stay off the internet. If you really can't deal with the fact that Person X likes 3E better or Person Y likes 4E better, you're probably not mature enough to be participating in these discussions anyway.
Two days normally. Things like freak once-a-decade-blizzards can slow that down as can Holiday breaks. But overall, normal response town is up to 2 days (usually a lot faster).
So, if I asked a question at this date and time:
12/28/2008 09:38 PM (this is in the Eastern US time zone, so @ 06:38 PM the Sunday before last...),
when should I expect an answer?
How can I even know if it is being looked at?
When someone looks at it and does something, you will get an email response sent to you.
As soon as you submit a ticket, you will get an automated response sent to you by email to the email address(es) in your account settings.
When someone looks at it and does something, you will get an email response sent to you.
About the first: Thanks, but that doesn't help any.
About the second:
By 'does something' do you mean 'does anything' or resolves the situation from the standpoint of WotC? Also, is this email response any different than looking at the information accessible in the 'my stuff' section after logging into CS?
Also, what I was kind of getting at is there a way of determining if it is being worked on or put on a 'backburner' so that more important topics may be addressed?
Also, since my response was a response to a post by an ORC responding to another post of mine, I thought it might be possible that someone who actually knew something could answer my question in the previous paragraph.
About the first: Thanks, but that doesn't help any.
About the second:
By 'does something' do you mean 'does anything' or resolves the situation from the standpoint of WotC? Also, is this email response any different than looking at the information accessible in the 'my stuff' section after logging into CS?
By that I mean anything. I have gotten them for "Your case has been escalated higher up the food chain" to "Here is the solution to your problem" to "It appears that the problem has resolved itself".
In the "My Stuff Section", it looks like this:
Also, what I was kind of getting at is there a way of determining if it is being worked on or put on a 'backburner' so that more important topics may be addressed?
Not that I know of.
Thankyou for the answers.
If not, when?
Is the email address that you have on file the actual email address, or did you enter a false one.
If you haven't received anything in 16 days, I would submit it again.
Did you get the initial response indicating that your ticket has been received?? It should be pretty much immediate.
Is the email address that you have on file the actual email address, or did you enter a false one.
If you haven't received anything in 16 days, I would submit it again.
I was having problems with my original email account.
Within my query, I asked that it be sent to a specific address (the one listed as my alternate address.) I received my automated response at that address almost immediately. Whether it was automatically sent to my alternate (most likely) or someone looked and sent it to the one I asked for (which was my alternate, doubtful that is the reason), I figured any further responses (such as those mentioned in an earlier post by you) would go to the same address. I have received none.
I even added a couple updates. So, if it had gotten lost in the shuffle, wouldn't that have put it back at the 'top' for that day? (It seems like they would do that with new information to keep something new and very important from being put to the bottom. I'm not saying that mine was in that category, but rather that it seems to me it should have 'popped back up' when I updated and been seen.)
I would send in another report (not an update) referencing the old one, and asking for a status update on the old ticket. Ensure that you note that it has been 2+ weeks since the original one was submitted, that you have submitted updates on X, X and X, and that you have yet to receive a response.
Updated to new board format.
I've updated the original post to include a a true copy and paste link to the guide.
And YES, I'm being serious.
So, what do we do if it's Customer Service that's trolling us? Who do we go to, then?
And YES, I'm being serious.
You mean like if they chose to change my name since spaces arent allowed so I went from the orginal
"Bounty Hunter"
to this ungodly
"Bounty_Hunter_02"
And after nearly two years of constantly emailing WotC they keep saying its escalated then not respondng for weeks on end?
I will put more effort into not responding to trolling.
I can definately be witness to the moderators doing their job in CharOp.
I learned not to make accusation in thread. The moderators handle their reports fast.
Step Two: Block the troll. You can't read what he writes he can't anger you