Official Admin and Moderator Feedback Response (2 Viewers)

[Ahsoka]

We decided to combine the admin and moderator response to the feedback together because the admin response is short enough that it doesn't really warrant its own thread. Not all responses will be included here for a variety of reasons, but the ones that we think are the important will be included.

Admin Feedback

I wish I could upload the gifs and images of my choosing without having to worry about the size when I can just condense it before posting.”

The problem is how big our backup size will become if we allow uploads of any size to our servers, leading to increased server costs because of the increased backup size. For this reason it's common for sites like this to have image limits. Instead you can use external image hosting if need be.

Yes actually, there isnt a "support" team. Like, a welcoming team to help with things. So the cards, mods, awards team dont get as many questions and they can help with that. (this doesnt really apply to the question that was asked but...)

This was brought up with the staff, and staff decided that a whole new team for it wasn’t needed, but that they could take on the questions that new users have, as well as make more of an effort to welcome new users. We also have a Getting Started thread that users could check out, which is linked below.
https://kpopsource.com/threads/getting-started-on-kpopsource.13971/

I wish we could block users

You actually can, hover over their name and at the bottom of the popup you should see an option that says “ignore”, that’s how you block users on here.

It would be nice to save threads as drafts just in case it’s one that requires more time to write up and we don’t want to lose all the progress on it.

Threads are actually automatically saved for 24 hours as a draft. Within that 24 hours you can close out of the draft and it’ll automatically come back up when you go to post in that section.

Mod Feedback
Do you believe there was a situation in which a moderator made a wrong decision? Explain.

Not really. Sometimes I feel like you guys are selective since there was an incident where a user was bad mouthing another forum but you guys did nothing about it whereas another user's thread was deleted because they were promoting the same forum. I don't think that was fair since both are against the forum rules. There was a fight in the thread too but still nothing was done. Also there is a VERY problematic user on the forum who I feel gets a free pass even though she says a lot of shady stuff and is always starting fights just because they are part of the staff team

We’re sorry you feel this way. Sometimes mods miss threads or don’t notice things that aren’t reported because we can’t visit every thread and read every comment. Without knowing the situation I can’t say whether that was the case this time or whether it was a bad decision on the moderation side, but generally we would definitely delete or lock threads talking badly about other forums. We also would not give a free pass to users who are staff, they have to follow the same rules, and they get punished for rule breaking if caught just like anyone else.

Yes. The mods decided to cover up the ignorant and highly offensive and insensitive comments made by a user and say it was a difference of opinion. Which I'm not surprised about cause i heard one of the mods also think cultural appropriation isn't real.

Not everything you hear should be believed. One of the mods in the past talked about the topic, but they never said that. If you have an issue with one of the mods, you should bring it up with an administrator who can address your concerns.

I don't know, but I had an fight with another user and I don't believe they got a warning point... in which they started the fight.

Not all rule breaking immediately gives a user a warning point. In fact, typically a verbal is given before a warning point, unless they have a habit of rule breaking. Not to mention, mods don’t necessarily let you know what punishments have been given out to the opposing side. They may, but they don’t need to in most cases.

Do you believe that the rules are fair? Are there any rules you believe should be removed or added?

It seems to be fair :) The do not talk bad about any fandom seems to be too extreme but it's understandable that we should have moderation about it

We’re glad you see the reasoning behind the rule. We’re trying to keep KS a place where everyone is comfortable, and we don’t want anyone from any fandom to feel alienated or unwelcome.

My only concern is the matter of the rules to be equally applied to all the parts involved. If there is a rule to forbid hate speech against homosexuals, it should also apply for hate speech against heterosexuals. I've gotten the impression it's not the case. The same about equal application of rules about sexism.

We believe we know the situation about hate speech against heterosexuals, and the situation was resolved the same as it would have been with hate speech against LGBT people. As for sexism I’m less aware of situations where there has been sexism towards males, though it’s possible of course they happened. Reporting any posts you are concerned about would be the best way to let us know that there’s a problem and deal with the issue at hand.

Maybe add a rule that the forum and the admin,mod team need to respect human emotions at least and not be blinded by the rules.
Be a human first.

The rules are made to keep KS a place that others are comfortable being a part of. We can not change the rules at whim because someone feels a certain way about the post, otherwise it's unfair to others who are not breaking the rules but are being punished. While one user may have one opinion about the situation, another user may have another, leaving us unable to validate both feelings. We also want to allow a certain level of free speech, with restrictions of course, but not so many that users feel they can not voice their opinions about different topics. For this reason we must apply the rules equally to everybody.

Having to ask permission to create badges is a bit ridiculous.

This is more awards territory than moderator territory, but awards do this to ensure that there are enough photoshoots for a group to have badges, the group hasn’t gotten badges or been claimed already by another user, and that the person making the thread is one that can follow the rules and can make a thread that gives everyone a chance to contribute. These are not the only reasons badge thread can not be created without awards teams say so, but they are a few of the big ones.

Very ignorant to a very serious concern that was pushed under the rug yesterday. I feel like they have a sort of biasness for people who are donors.

Like staff, users who are donors are treated equally to others. We do not factor into account whether they are a donor or not in our moderating decisions, and while we appreciate people supporting the site monetarily, we do not give them more leeway with rules.

Don't ignore anyone who reaches out to you. Regardless of the situation or if you're personally not on good terms with that individual. I'm not speaking from a personal experience, but for all of the users on KS. Also, the majority of the users are youngsters so I understand things can get chaotic sometimes but there's gotta be an end to it at some point. I've noticed a bunch of repeat threads. But I guess if you give credit to the owners then it's okay? Kind of confused about that tbh.

If a mod is ignoring a user please let an admin know, they should not be ignoring users. As for the repeat threads, it depends whether it's an exact duplicate or inspired by another. For example, a song shuffle thread that was inspired by another user's song shuffle is okay, but posting the same teaser or video and adding nothing new is not okay.

 

[eclipsoul]

hate speech against straight people? what?

 

[Ahsoka]

hate speech against straight people? what?

Unfortunately it has happened on here

 

[eclipsoul]

Unfortunately it has happened on here

good thing i wasn't there to see it

 

[cocomelon]

 

[lexus]

Unfortunately it has happened on here

Those dang flabbin heterosexuals

 

[Juniverse]

Yes. The mods decided to cover up the ignorant and highly offensive and insensitive comments made by a user and say it was a difference of opinion. Which I'm not surprised about cause i heard one of the mods also think cultural appropriation isn't real.

Perhaps I am butting in here (I didn't send in the anon), but I feel like this was never addressed properly. A (white) user made comments condoning use of an offensive slur targeted towards black people and you all called it different opinions. And the fact that the comments are still up? I hope you realize you made at least three users seriously consider leaving here because of this, not to mention the MULTIPLE users who were offended.

The user's statements upset NINE USERS and made one cry. You may think it's an overreaction, but having to deal with racism on a daily basis and then coming here for a safe space only to have others excuse the use of a RACIAL SLUR? And then, when it's brought up to the people who are supposed to keep the forum peaceful they turn a blind eye? Do better.

That's my only complaint.

 

[cocomelon]

Perhaps I am butting in here (I didn't send in the anon), but I feel like this was never addressed properly. A (white) user made comments condoning use of an offensive slur targeted towards black people and you all called it different opinions. And the fact that the comments are still up? I hope you realize you made at least three users seriously consider leaving here because of this, not to mention the MULTIPLE users who were offended.

The user's statements upset NINE USERS and made one cry. You may think it's an overreaction, but having to deal with racism on a daily basis and then coming here for a safe space only to have others excuse the use of a RACIAL SLUR? And then, when it's brought up to the people who are supposed to keep the forum peaceful they turn a blind eye? Do better.

That's my only complaint.

I second this.

 

[cocomelon]

Not everything you hear should be believed. One of the mods in the past talked about the topic, but they never said that. If you have an issue with one of the mods, you should bring it up with an administrator who can address your concerns.

Stop saying this again and again. It's a never ending or helping loop. No one helped me or gave a shit about my concern. And you should know that better than everyone.

 

[Ahsoka]

Stop saying this again and again. It's a never ending or helping loop. No one helped me or gave a shit about my concern. And you should know that better than everyone.

Just because we did not do exactly what you wanted does not mean no one helped you or cared about the situation. You did not approach me with about concerns about a mod, just about a situation that the mods thought about for some time and came up with a conclusion for. I know that very well, and I know that you did not do what I suggested here, which is let us know that you have concerns about a mods ability to be part of the team. Perhaps I wasn’t clear enough in the post but that is what I meant when writing this out.

 

[Panda]

Perhaps I am butting in here (I didn't send in the anon), but I feel like this was never addressed properly. A (white) user made comments condoning use of an offensive slur targeted towards black people and you all called it different opinions. And the fact that the comments are still up? I hope you realize you made at least three users seriously consider leaving here because of this, not to mention the MULTIPLE users who were offended.

The user's statements upset NINE USERS and made one cry. You may think it's an overreaction, but having to deal with racism on a daily basis and then coming here for a safe space only to have others excuse the use of a RACIAL SLUR? And then, when it's brought up to the people who are supposed to keep the forum peaceful they turn a blind eye? Do better.

That's my only complaint.

Firstly, that is not how the story went. An idol sang a racial slur in a song. One user defended the idol from doing so, saying that this is a racial slur and should not be said in conversation but was placed in a song, and thus, thinks that the idol should not be punished for something that was intentionally placed in the song lyrics. This is an opinion. The user did not say the racial slur nor did they call any other user the racial slur. Simply voiced their opinion that if this was placed in a song by the artist, then an idol should not be punished for singing it. None of this breaks rules. In fact, we have had threads about this in the past which have been discussed with no sides receiving punishments.

This is a difference of opinion. This is a heated topic. We cannot help that it was discussed in this forum, but like I said, nowhere in the rules is it stated that these topics cannot be discussed or that people can't lean one way or another. If you bring this sort of topic into the forum, then expect to hear all opinions.

Users can get offended by this. It is what it is. The thread could have been requested to deleted but wasn't. The user was given multiple options by me, but took none of them. I cannot punish a user for not breaking any rules. It is what it is. This was addressed properly and literally by the level of moderators AND admins. Everyone in the staff team came to the same conclusion. If you determine this to be the thing that makes you want to go to another forum, then that is your decision.

 

[cocomelon]

Just because we did not do exactly what you wanted does not mean no one helped you or cared about the situation.

You chose not to do anything. And it was a very serious concern because I wasn't the only person offended. But I guess, no one here gives a fuck about Racism and CA.

 

[cocomelon]

Firstly, that is not how the story went. An idol sang a racial slur in a song. One user defended the idol from doing so, saying that this is a racial slur and should not be said in conversation but was placed in a song, and thus, thinks that the idol should not be punished for something that was intentionally placed in the song lyrics. This is an opinion. The user did not say the racial slur nor did they call any other user the racial slur. Simply voiced their opinion that if this was placed in a song by the artist, then an idol should not be punished for singing it. None of this breaks rules. In fact, we have had threads about this in the past which have been discussed with no sides receiving punishments.

This is a difference of opinion. This is a heated topic. We cannot help that it was discussed in this forum, but like I said, nowhere in the rules is it stated that these topics cannot be discussed or that people can't lean one way or another. If you bring this sort of topic into the forum, then expect to hear all opinions.

Users can get offended by this. It is what it is. The thread could have been requested to deleted but wasn't. The user was given multiple options by me, but took none of them. I cannot punish a user for not breaking any rules. It is what it is. This was addressed properly and literally by the level of moderators AND admins. Everyone in the staff team came to the same conclusion. If you determine this to be the thing that makes you want to go to another forum, then that is your decision.

The user that made those comments basically said that it's okay to say that word if it's in a song, read the later messages. And said that the artists should remove the word if they don't want people saying it. I don't know if you're a person of colour or not, but for me personally, it was very hurtful. And for very genuine reasons.

 

[athenaaa]

It’s great to see this feedback publically said. We appreciate hearing your concerns and this gove us a chance to clear up any misunderstandings or next steps. We cannot reverse previously made decisions. However, we do hear your voices. Nobody is being silenced (as I’ve seen implied in this tread). Not all mods can be online at all times, people have responsibilities outside the forum. Its not “doing nothing”. The one incident that keeps getting brought up, yes a serious one, is not seeming to get anywhere. I’ve said this before that there has been decisions made by myself or the team that has not sat right with me. Not at fault of myself or the team, but because we need a revamp of the rules. We have plans to update the rules so situations like this don’t happen again. The grey area sucks. This is why decisions like this are made and seen as unfair.

 

[Panda]

The user that made those comments basically said that it's okay to say that word if it's in a song, read the later messages. And said that the artists should remove the word if they don't want people saying it. I don't know if you're a person of colour or not, but for me personally, it was very hurtful. And for very genuine reasons.

That is literally what I said (except for the second part), and that still doesn't break the rules. It is an opinion after all, and everything I mentioned above still applies. Yeah, I am not American but I am Middle Eastern with a German nationality, so idk what you consider that.

I understand that you may feel hurt by this, but what exactly would you even do if someone IRL told you that? You need to understand that someone was arguing with you with an opposing opinion that you fundamentally cannot agree with, but this will happen all the time to you. Morally being right or wrong can't apply to us mods in these situations because each of you thinks in a different way but none of you were crossing a red line in the eyes of the rules. I can promise you that none of the staff even agreed with what the user was saying and we, in fact, thought what the idol was doing was wrong. But, we can't infringe people from voicing their opinion like that. How would you feel if we said that no one is allowed to talk about anything related to race since KS is on an international level and any mention of race can trigger any user? Wouldn't that be wrong too?

 

[lexus]

Stop saying this again and again. It's a never ending or helping loop. No one helped me or gave a shit about my concern. And you should know that better than everyone.

Stop saying that "no one helped you or gave a shit". We have already told you that the person you reported technically didn't break a rule. They made no racist remarks, they only defended Giselle when she mouthed the N-word. Do we agree with them defending her? No, we don't. Giselle mouthing the N-word put a bad tastes in our mouths, too, but we simply can't punish someone for not breaking a rule and just because you're mad about something.

 

[cocomelon]

That is literally what I said (except for the second part), and that still doesn't break the rules. It is an opinion after all, and everything I mentioned above still applies. Yeah, I am not American but I am Middle Eastern with a German nationality, so idk what you consider that.

I understand that you may feel hurt by this, but what exactly would you even do if someone IRL told you that? You need to understand that someone was arguing with you with an opposing opinion that you fundamentally cannot agree with, but this will happen all the time to you. Morally being right or wrong can't apply to us mods in these situations because each of you thinks in a different way but none of you were crossing a red line in the eyes of the rules. I can promise you that none of the staff even agreed with what the user was saying and we, in fact, thought what the idol was doing was wrong. But, we can't infringe people from voicing their opinion like that. How would you feel if we said that no one is allowed to talk about anything related to race since KS is on an international level and any mention of race can trigger any user? Wouldn't that be wrong too?

It was a racist comment. When I was in pain, the admin told me to deal with it. I still stand by my point. I just don't see it merely being a difference of opinion. The user was being very ignorant and insensitive. And it's real sad to see that post still being up.

 

[cocomelon]

Stop saying that "no one helped you or gave a shit".

Why? I didn't lie anywhere.

 

[Panda]

It was a racist comment. When I was in pain, the admin told me to deal with it. I still stand by my point. I just don't see it merely being a difference of opinion. The user was being very ignorant and insensitive. And it's real sad to see that post still being up.

I mean, like I said, I can delete the entire thread, no problem with that. You have to understand that this is the final decision that was made. If you don't like it, we can't help you.

 

[cocomelon]

we can't help you.

Good teamwork then ig