How about a automated system if someone downvotes a comment and then responds to that comment (or reverse), then they get tar-pitted and banned from the community for 1-hour

It would slow down people being nasty to each other and egging on a fight.

I find it hilarious that every single time I've been admonished about civil conduct, it's because I'm reacting to a bunch of assclowns who somehow evade any oversight.

maybe start taking the reports as self indicators?

Yes please I need one 🙏🙏🙏🙏

Do it. But please be self-aware and remember that absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Lets not get bogged down in analysis paralysis. Do it, gauge the feedback, adjust, iterate (the beatings will continue until morale improves).

The amount of trolling and debatemebros keep going up each thread and it looks like people are just trying to start drama here now rather than report actual mod abuse. I'm not sure how you could improve this, it seems like every one of these kinds of communities turn into drama communities with people at each other's throats each thread lol. I think temp bans would help for the most egregious offenders, but locking threads after a certain timeframe might be better? Considering the comment threads keep going on and on for some of them.

I’m ok with a penalty box. Pointless bickering gets this sub off topic. It’s tough because people come here ready to air grievances so I think that pre-charges the atmosphere and makes it that much easier for things to get off the rails

My suggestion is to warn the user first, and then if they don't comply a 3d ban. Because:

• Cooperative users are quick to comply, even without punishment.
• It helps to show other users the limit of what's considered acceptable in the community.
• When people get really worked up, a single day is not enough.

Trolls are a different can of worms. I think that users who are blatantly trolling should be removed = permabanned; there's no place for those.

Well, this is drama heaven because it's for users who aren't legible to post in fedidrama (because they're involved themselves) and then they end up here. And IMO the posts kind of set the tone. You often start out with a negative impression after reading the post, and then you're likely to be negative. And it doesn't help that other comments are negative or low quality as well... Then it's super easy to drop what's left and just shitpost.

I'm not sure if I want to continue reading anyways. It's several posts a day of people whining about something they brought upon themselves. Often something completely insignificant like one removed post/comment or a one day time-out from shitposting. And half the people don't listen or get anything, neither does OP, and the commenters just flame about arbitrary things, or attack each other for their strongly held opinions... I'd say a bit more moderation would be worth a try. But don't listen to me, I'm probably not the target audience of this community.

Short bans are like spritzing a cat in the face. It's Skinnerian conditioning. It works.

Just make sure the behavior you're conditioning for is the behavior you want. Trolling doesn't mean "harsh language." Trolling is the infuriating nonsense that makes reasonable people reach for harsh language. Sometimes, a rude response is entirely deserved.

Yup. 100% a perfect tool for the situation.

And I say that as someone that has likely deserved a few of them here and there.

It won't stop report abuse, but it will reduce the in-thread drama.

Hell, it might reduce drama in general since the serious drama queens are going to get butthurt and not come back.

If the only offense is that people are getting heated, a cool-off ban as a reminder to take a walk and come back later works wonders.

PTB. I should be allowed to be as mean as I want to whoever I want. But make sure you permanently ban everyone who is mean to me because that's bad.

Honestly, I personally haven't seen any of these flame wars. And I'm not sure restricting engagement on a service already trying to increase engagement is productive even for a good reason.

If it's off topic or getting personal, sure. If not, I'm neutral on it.

banning people for reporting seems like a way to discourage reporting.

but banning for flaming and trolling sounds reasonable, especially if it's a short ban. even a 6 or 12 hour ban might send the right message.

First, make it a rule. This community is for discussion about moderation, not about whether a cat can be vegan. If you see off-topic discussion, nip it in the bud and remove the comments. If users continue to knowingly violate the rule, progressively longer bans.

It's really not hard to stay on topic and avoid a flame war. I know fighting is stimulating, but sometimes it's better to just put your phone down and walk away.