This is an issue that comes up from time to time. Members who attempt to take matters in their own hands. They don’t seem to understand that we have moderators for that purpose, nor do they grasp that just because they think things should be done a certain way, doesn’t mean it can or even will.
Now I’m not going to say who the member in question is, but I am going to show you the chain of events so you can understand what kind of behavior will get you banned off the site. It all started with a report on an e-card that said this:
- The quote on this card, belongs to Joseph Stalin. I can give you millions of links to it too.
Either tell them to put Stalin's name at the end of the quote, or take it down.
Do not merely tell them to put it in their comment, because not everyone reads them.
If actions do not take place, I will have to take it down myself.
Now to clue you in what they were getting upset over, the quote in question is this:
“A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic.”
Quotes on cards do not require that a person say where they come from, unlike images, words are much harder to tie down as to where they came from and this particular case proves that point.
It’s actually not a quote by Joseph Stalin, but one that is misattributed to him, just take a look here: Wiki So the person didn’t even know what they were talking about. So naturally I did nothing.
But that wasn’t what got them in trouble, that comes next when I went and looked at the e-card and saw what they had left on it in the form of a comment.
- You either need to link that quote to "Joseph Stalin," Or take down your picture for plagiarism.
Redo this card and put his name at the end of the quote, DO NOT JUST PUT IT IN THE DESCRIPTION!
I'm book marking this page, and am going to make sure you do as told.
(Or I'll report it.)
We have a reporting system for a reason and I expect people to use it and not harass other members. So I responded in kind with this:
- This is where I'm going to tell you to lay off the attempt to do what's known as backseat moderating. Citing the source of a quote is not required in cases like this. The card does not need to be changed, its fine as it is.
SunfallE
theOtaku Staff
Their reply, in the comments was this:
- It is wrong. (But I guess not on this site)
By stating nothing, they are claiming the quote for themselves.
As for "backseat moderating," It is for the benefit of others and myself.
Not for the site, no. I merely want to put a stop to the ignorance that is displayed here. For the many things I have caught on to, have gone unnoticed when I reported them.
I just take things into my own hands.
So at that point, I moved to pm’s since I will not tolerate vigilante justice, especially when the person attempting it doesn’t even know what they are talking about. I’ll include the bit with the pm I sent and their reply on the next page…
