Posted By Swis
Heated Discussion - Acceptable
Abusive/Descriminative Languange - NOT ACCEPTABLE

I personally believe that forum moderators are very soft in terms of issueing warning/banning the offenders. They take toufh stance on copy rights/complaints etc but have a 'not bothered' attitude towards other issues. I have seen a couple of people who laways use indecent language. Their posts get ommitted (nearly everyday) but they are still participating onthe forum.

and you know what - this post is most likely to be removed as this is not relating to H&S.

Posted By Heather Collins
The moderators are unpaid volunteers. If you think it's easy to read every detail of every post on a forum like this then you've probably never been a forum moderator anywhere!

What are we really talking about here? Constructive criticsm is not abuse. Disagreeing with a point of view is not abuse. Clearly on a professional forum you expect a certain standard of behaviour, but heated discussion is part of what makes any forum interesting.

If someone really is using abusive or foul language here then use the "report a concern" function to help moderators identify the issue?

Posted By Swis
Heather,

I never argued the case that moderators’ role is easier to read every single post. If you read my post carefully then you probably realise that it talks about their different approach towards certain issues. When they remove someone’s post that mean that they have read the post but that’s about it. No warnings are issued.

Besides – I believe that if moderators can’t check the posts, they should, they should not opt in to become a moderator. Having said that most moderators on this forum are very alert and committed but are too ‘soft’.

Edward - well said

Posted By Edward Shyer
Yossarian,

The off forum e-mail abuse as I am lead to believe was the result of an on forum discussion.

Swiss,
I thank you.

Posted By Tim Briggs
Dear all

It is surpising how many members have not seen and are unaware of the Code of Conduct. My advice is you should read it and understand it.

The current IOSH code of conduct is at this time under review. It does however, contain at this moment in time reference to inappopriate behaviour. Namely item 10.

Below is a cut and paste job from the Code of Conduct
10. Members shall not behave in a way which may be considered inappropriate to other members or staff of the Institution.
Guidance related to this includes
10. Inappropriate behaviour includes the use of foul language or acting in an intimidating or threatening way.

Anyone recieving abusive emails as a result from a posting on this website should
a) Consult the code of conduct
b) Report this as per the procedure laid down

If you need help then again contact IOSH and get guidance on making a complaint.

The link to the Code is should you wish to download it is

http://www.iosh.co.uk/index.cfm?go=about.conduct

Constructive criticism in a fair, balanced and inoffensive way is not abuse - (although some of the postings I do see make me swear under my breath).

Tim Briggs
IOSH Mentor Champion

Posted By Heather Collins
Edward - I absolutely agree that it is unacceptable if you are receiving abusive e-mails as a result of anything said on these forums. You should most definitely report the senders both to IOSH (I would expect forum privileges to be withdrawn from such individuals and further sanctions if they are IOSH members) and to their internet service provider who will probably take an equally dim view.

Rod - I agree. There's a distinction between a lively discussion and simply being rude or dismissive of people who ask what may be a simple question for many of us on here. Annoying though it is to see the 56th "is this RIDDOR reportable" thread, the answer is simple, if it annoys people to give basic help to those who might need it then they shouldn't post. Belittling others on the forum is unnecessary - we all had to learn ourselves once upon a time!

Swis - I don't agree that the moderators have a "not bothered" attitude towards issues other than copyright and the like. The latter is very easy to spot without reading the whole post, while in a long thread, language that may cause offence isn't always so obvious. It is often a matter of interpretation anyway, in that what may offend one poster will not be seen as offensive by another. For example - some moderators might be quite offended that you've said they aren't being bothered to moderate properly....

Having said that I would re-iterate the report button at the end of the thread which enables anyone to complain about a posting they aren't happy with. I moderate on a very busy forum which uses MUCH more robust language than this one does and I am always grateful for users drawing my attention to issues they are unhappy with.

Posted By Richard Altoft
Tim is spot on -- it is for the members of IOSH to lead in report all and any abuses of the privileges of membership and that includes breaches of the Code of conduct, Rogue trader issues, incompetence or poor performance as well as forum issues. If it worries you then report it immediately.
R

Posted By Peter F
Threads are not always removed for being abusive, there are a number of reasons.

Posted By justgossip
welcome to the real world

Posted By Swis
Jonathan,

On what grounds are these posts hidden? Can you please highlight specifically.

Posted By Swis
And persistent breaches should constitute formal warnings. Shouldn’t they??

Posted By GeoffB4
Rod D

Could you reference some examples for me on the forum?

Thanks

Posted By Pete48
Interesting debate. Can I just remind everyone that this specific forum is a public access forum and you do not need to be a member of IOSH or have any real interest beyond dipping and chipping the forum?
AUG1 is, however, quite clear that this is for professional discussion and debate. That defines a level of behaviour that is in my opinion different from a non aligned chat room. We are also guests of our hosts IOSH and should respect them.
Having said that, I have always taken a view that you can set yourself up as a victim quite easily. One persons abuse is another's forthright approach if we are talking about general style and content. Whenever I read a post that makes my hackles rise, I make myself read it again with a picture of the person making the post looking at me with a wry grin or a caring dismay. Often helps me see the singular approach of immediate response as limiting.

Posted By IOSH Moderator
To clarify another point:

The Moderators remove postings that are contrary to the acceptable use guidelines. This might be for the use of bad language (including using asterisks), antagonism, bullying. Some of this is obvious, some is only apparent to certain people and this makes it important that people report to us using the 'report a concern' facility if they think we have missed something important.

Breaches of copyright are a frequent cause of hiding messages - and they are, in fact, extremely easy to spot in most cases. They are also usually extremely easy to trace back to the original (thank heavens for Google!).

Advertising is another frequent cause of moderation, but there is a grey area here where forum-users ask for leads to product and services.

There are instances where we moderate outside of the Acceptable Use Guidelines, but these are not common. The most frequent is where a forum-user is apparently committing career suicide by posting about their employer while annoyed. They may forget that their e-mail address may give away who they are. For their own good these postings are often removed temporarily at least to give them a change to reconsider!

People who have received warnings know they have, because they get an e-mail stating that they are being issued an official warning. If you have had a posting hidden and have merely been told why it has been removed then you are not being 'warned'.

Jane

Posted By Andrew Lochlyn Ure
Swis

"And persistent breaches should constitute formal warnings. Shouldn’t they??"

They do. Where appropriate, including some users having their posting rights terminated.

But they're not publicised which is why you don't necessarily get to know about it.

I know, cos I used to be a Moderator.

Posted By Rod D
Geof84

In answer to your request No, in fact yes the thread about Sword of Honour comes to mind.


Rod D

Posted By clairel
I think there are many different angles to this topic.

For my own part I recently recieved an email originating from someone who uses this forum, which told me where to go to in no uncertain terms (the first word starts with F and second with O).

I really did not appreciate receiving an abusive email.

I have now blocked my email address and it will remain that way.

IOSH have apparently taken action against the individual but have yet to decide whether I am allowed to know what action was taken.

The persons email provider is also investigating - as such emails are a breach of their user guidelines.

We can all wind others up, take offence that was never intended or just be in a plain grumpy mood with others. However, there is no excuse for open such abuse either on this forum or as a result of this forum. I urge anyone else who receives such emails to make official complaints to the relevant bodies.

Posted By Phil Rose
The forums seem pretty well 'policed' to me. I had a comment 'pulled' by the mods for breach of copyright (I pasted in from an ACoP). They e mailed me to explain why, and I replied and said sorry.

I assume that some people do get warned for language or other breaches of AUG as well, but the warning isn't normally subsequently broadcast on the forum, although I have seem the mods post a comment sometimes to explain why a thread or an individual post has been pulled.

Overall I am happy with the 'policing'