Time to get rid of the flag system and find a better way to police your site.

I went and used the option to PM all mods on the site and counted how many came up. Including two obvious staff accounts, it looks like there are at least 57 individuals with the power to respond to flagged content. Yet I am constantly flagging obvious spam, some that link to sites clearly malicious in nature, and the content will exist for days. I'll flag comments that are clearly harassing another user and in no way related to the article, yet those comments persist. On top of that I have seen users essentially get banned from the site because the flag system is so easy to abuse, myself having been a victim of this several times in the past.

So I ask you, what is the point of the flag system, or even the 55 mods, if no action is going to be taken? Your users are harassing others, usually over something as retarded as console preference, and you turn a blind eye. That isn't right.

@suicidesn0wman: Looking at your thread, it's been 2 days since you created and no response as of yet. I hate to tell you this but, Bug Reporting & Feedback forum is totally DEAD! Look at the other threads here, fewer have ever gotten a response from the Staff and some of them are still waiting for answers.

I also ask this question about Flag system last year and none Staff haven't even answer how exactly to improving the Flag system. Hate to say it but I'd be surprise a staff will answer this question.

@davillain-: I asked the question knowing full well I would get no answer. Sadly this is the state of the site right now, no one is running the show and it can't be a good sign for the longevity of this site.

"I went and used the option to PM all mods on the site and counted how many came up. Including two obvious staff accounts, it looks like there are at least 57 individuals with the power to respond to flagged content."

The list of moderators/staff you see on the side contains moderators who are may be inactive for the time being as well as moderators who may be on vacation/hiatus. Staff is included because they oversee mod activities and there may be issues that are outside of the realm of moderators. Typically when that happens a moderator will kick it up to staff with the PM as a reference point.

"Yet I am constantly flagging obvious spam, some that link to sites clearly malicious in nature, and the content will exist for days. I'll flag comments that are clearly harassing another user and in no way related to the article, yet those comments persist."

Most spam in the comments and articles section is dealt with in under 2 hours. That is not including malicious spam attacks against the forums which require technical intervention. Do some slip? Absolutely. Regarding harrassment flags please make sure it is actually harrassment. The system is already bloated with false flags that we have to comb through. Harrassment is a serious matter and flagging for harrassment should only be used in serious situations. It's also important to note that users play a part as well, if every user had a clean record we would be able to focus on spam. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

"On top of that I have seen users essentially get banned from the site because the flag system is so easy to abuse, myself having been a victim of this several times in the past."

There is no way for you to tell if X user has been banned for Y reason. What other users may convey to you may not be entirely accurate. That being said, there are rare instances which a false flagging (including harrassment for situations that do not warrant harrassment) have led to a user getting banned. Their accounts have been restored. That is a non-issue. Also we have an internal record of each instance.

"So I ask you, what is the point of the flag system, or even the 55 mods, if no action is going to be taken? Your users are harassing others, usually over something as retarded as console preference, and you turn a blind eye. That isn't right."

See above regarding the number of moderators. Action is being taken, however this is a volunteer position so it may not be taken immediately. If you are flagging users for harrassment based on "I can't believe you don't like Y System!" Then that is contributing to the problem of false flagging. Flagging comments should ideally be for spam and serious attacks. Years ago the flagging system used to have "disagreement" as a reason. That is no longer the case. Please evaluate your flags to ensure that they are serious infractions.

To recap:

1. While there may be X number of mods not all mods are looking at the queue at the same time as it is a volunteer position.

2. Users can help the team by doing the following:

• Avoiding false flags - review your potential flag before hitting submit. Some things you may want to ask yourself : "Is this comment hateful? Is it racist? has the recepient of the comment expressed concern or raised several objections?" The less false flags we have as a unit the quicker we can get through the queue.
• Have a clean account history - this is important because moderating a comment X user made takes away the total time a moderator has.

3. The flag system is not perfect and it is evolving. Per my comment earlier, you used to be able to flag for disagreement. Now you can't.

-RicanV

Edit: As an additional note, if you feel a user is continually being harrassed when you PM the mod group please record the date/time of the instances and the commentary associated. This helps you in the long run because if you flag a user for harrassmet multiple times and separate mods are looking at the queue then it looks as if you are false flagging. Providing a papertrail helps us help you quicker.

I know that an organization as large as Gamespot probably conjures imagery of a giant NORAD-esque command center deep beneath a mountain in Colorado where, mere milliseconds after you click "Post", klaxons sound, red letters appear on giant viewscreens and the commander yells into his helmet mic "Suicidesn0wman just posted in the Feedback forum! MOD TEAM ALPHA, GO!!!!!!!" whereupon we all launch into action with a Voltron-like transformation sequence before answering your post, but the reality is that our response time won't always be quite that fast.

In addition to what Rican said, please bear in mind that the entire moderator team consists of volunteers who are fellow community members who also donate some of their time to help out with moderation (like most forums). We all have day jobs, responsibilities, families, school, secret identities/superhero alter-egos, second families the first family doesn't know about, underground fight clubs (which actually I'm not supposed to talk about), and maybe a pet tarantula that needs feeding.

We only ask that you be patient but we'll get back to you as soon as soon as we are available to do so.

-Byshop

This is critical, IMO. I have to say, I'm getting really sick of users implying we don't do enough around here. There is literally a constant barrage of bullshit flags coming in from trolls baiting and flagging trolls, and flags for real violations and spam get immediately buried in a sea of it.

Users cleaning up their act will go a long way towards ensuring the spam gets cleaned up in a timely manner

Byshop you said you wouldn't out my superheroing!

I'm not even saying mods don't do a lot of work around here, I just think GS Staff should at least improving the flagging system is just my personal opinion. If it helps xantufrog, will it be easier for me to just PM you or any mods when dealing with spammers at least?

Thanks everyone for your contributions - so sorry for delays in replies, but please know we do read the bug forums and are working hard to improve the site and address any issues.