Clarification on rules and moderation

[ShinobuOshino]

@Odious
As someone pointed out before MD is biassed toward the scanlators, or at least in the sense that it has different priorities between users (who post comments) and groups (who post chapters). The objective is to have as many groups as possible, thus they can have such banners. On the other hand the forum should not degenerate, thus MD restrict what people can post. So it's just a political decision as groups' banners and such are felt to endanger the community less then comments and to avoid groups to stop using MD they are let with more freedom. It's also probably felt that those things won't be enough to make the other users and scanlators go away from this website.

EDIT: for anyone rereading this thread, ignore this comment.

 

[MrFakOff]

I like this site but there is one thing i clearly hate and that is the fken chat why isnt there a reply option to reply to some1 directly

 

[tura63]

Not sure what the incidents that put the moderation to question, but, taking a look a the rules, I'm not the biggest fan of them.
For instance: "slandering a specific religion is not acceptable on MangaDex". I believe ideas should be allowed to be criticized. As long as it doesn't derail into a personal attack against a someone, I don't see the problem. Now I understand that a manga website isn't exactly the place to have these discussions, so I don't expect much, but anyway.

Also, "5.1.4: Other Terminology" prohibits things like "homophobia" and "transphobia" and I'm not sure I would trust even the best of mods to accurately determine when these have happened. That's too vague and should be more specific. Finally, 5.1.4 also includes rape jokes. Although I'm not hopeful that this will change, I'm not fond of censoring people for joking about any topic. Regardless if it was funny or not. Rules on harassment should suffice. I believe in having the right to be stupid. And being corrected by smarter people. But that's just me.

 

[kinakomochi]

While I usually stay away from forums and wasn't aware of this drama between groups, I believe a moderate stance on moderation, as said, is the best way to go regarding discussions and comments. However I do think is necessary to revise any loopholes and make sure there's no ambiguity in the rules' meaning and application.

Thanks for the work on making this site a good experience, both for readers and scans groups.

 

[MrTbomb52]

Sniping is perfectly fine. Claiming ownership of a series and saying no one else can work on it only slows down when it will come out. If your work is better than the snipers then people will read it.

 

[OniBarubary]

Moderation could be much tighter, but they've been very responsive and open about all their actions so I can't fault them for transparency and keep posters aware of their positions. Also this isn't a job so the level of moderation so far is admirable considering the sheer amount of shit and human garbage they have to deal with on the reg.

 

[Metalhawk]

While I'm pleasantly surprised that only that one credit page was removed so far, I would much rather it be hidden with an option to show/hide offensive content in the options.

 

[jasty]

If it's not illegal don't bother removing it. You just need to keep child porn and animal cruelty away.

If people are being assholes they can just be blocked.

Actually I think the "Block" button should be added next to the report button.

 

[gomichandesu]

I kind of do have a semi-related question. Why exactly is it that groups get so bent out of shape about "sniping"? I feel like if another group wants to translate something they have just as much of a right to do it as anyone else, and if the viewerbase likes a certain groups work better they'll read theirs. Is it mostly about the money issue? Groups don't want other groups moving in on their territory because it means they lose ad rev on their websites or donations?
I just don't really get the big deal about it, but I am genuinely asking because maybe there's an aspect I don't know about since I've never been a part of a formal group or anything.

 

[gomichandesu]

As for the actual topic at hand, I've always had a firm stance on anti-censorship even if what's being said isn't something I like or agree with. I think the current rules are pretty good, it keeps general order without clearly having an agenda. What is offensive can be subjective to a certain degree. There are things that are almost universally considered uncouth (like as you put, making light of or just outrageous comments about a recent tragedy, or just blatant racism, sexism,whateverism) but when you dip too deep into those grey areas it can easily fringe on censorship. Like for example I've read comments before where people want content featuring sexual violence banned from the site, which I would whole heartedly disagree with. Reading about such things does not mean you condone it, and if you don't want to read it you can avoid it easily and make that decision for yourself. Telling other people they cannot read such content because it makes you uncomfortable is wrong to me. And purely because that same line of thinking can be applied to a lot of different topics. "Homosexuality makes me uncomfortable therefore all yuri/yaoi should be banned" "Non-traditional gender makes me feel uncomfortable so gender benders should be banned" "Horror is too scary for me, therefore it all should be banned", etc.

I would also agree with there being a block function to the site, because that allows others who are bothered by other's "grey area" thoughts/opinions to just ignore it and move on. Reports should only really be used for useless-ly hate filled comments that aren't seeking to argue a point but rather just be edgy, troll like, or encourage real life violence. Like there's a clear difference between "I don't really like the idea of homosexuality because XYZ" and "Kill all f***s", you know? I disagree with both statements, but the former is discussion, the later is just unnecessary and uncalled for.

 

[PantsMan]

@gomichandesu
It can probably feel frustrating to be working on a series for some time, only to have someone else barge in and take over the minute it becomes popular. If everyone just wanted to share series they liked with more people by scanlating them, this wouldn't be much of a problem. However, even in the most innocent cases people want recognition for their work, given how long the translation process can be. This is understandable, although I don't really mind sniping myself.

However, at least in the incidents were people kick up a real fuss, there's usually an economic factor involved, which leads to three groups fighting over a popular WSJ title. Frankly, these people can go fuck themselves if they start to kick up a fuss, hide chapters behind a paywall etc for media they don't even own. I get that it's not easy to translate and costs for acquiring RAWs can add up, but if scanlating's that much of a hassle that you need to be paid to do it, just quit and find an actual, more profitable job.

 

[crazybars]

You guys need to put a report credits page button in the report functions to close this loophole.
Otherwise this drama with Meraki and Hatigarm will simply repeat itself.

 

[Holo]

@gomichandesu

Groups have been known to make thousands of USD a month from patreon and/or ads.

Once you factor that in, of course they won't like other groups taking their work, especially if the group is purposely stalling chapters to encourage people to give them more money.

More often than not, drama between groups (and even internal group drama) is financially motivated to some degree. Sometimes you'll see group A stalling releases, group B sniping, then group A magically releases all stalled chapters so they don't lose "marketshare" of their readers, lol.

 

[ipslfn]

I don't even know what the rules are. But I don't comment, and only made an account to ease the whole captcha process during the (I'm guessing) DDOS stuff.

Do what you gotta do I guess. Just keep the chapters coming ( ' 3 ' ) MMMMMMMMMMWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH

 

[ABCsOfLife]

@crazybars You could report that with, the "report chapter" button.
"Where is that?"
It's located just right beside the "comment" button when you're reading a chapter.
Then I guess just report the credit page under "Other" as reason.

 

[Mebravo]

Im okay with the rules and the only thing i dislike is when a group get salty for some reason and decide to leave and erase all their chapters from MD.

 

[Eesolett]

Moderation right now is far too heavy handed. Saw a guy get muted for saying "faggot" in reference to a particular translation (it was actually used in the manga)
Watch as I get muted for saying it now too

 

[goronyanpai]

Because I have been surfing as naturally as I have in the forum world, I really don't mind.
I'm actually curious about what makes people object?
Do you think the rules here are that strict and prefer a forum that is similar to MAL or 4chan? Do we have to take care of the drama?
Because for the action of donating to buy raws, it has returned to the affairs of their respective groups - and of course, all their other problems. About sniping as well, Mangadex only provides space that is comfortable to enjoy overall service, all matters on the surface. In this section, just evaluating a few points that might invite misunderstandings.
And I agree with what ItsQuote says:

you can't make everyone happy.

Is someone who wants free space is the type of student who doesn't like to be regulated by their teacher?
Just. Grow up. People.
Well, I'm just a reader and I enjoy the service here as it is, so... it can't be completely convincing.
It may be dissatisfaction from some people because they are used to being in an environment that is not full of nonsense (in this case, we usually call it "rules"). This, that, this, that.
But not just sweet talk, I feel so far your hard work and regulations work well. Just get problems from the users as usual. I really think that those who need to adjust are ourselves as connoisseurs of service.

 

[Teasday]

_{@tura63 posted:}

For instance: "slandering a specific religion is not acceptable on MangaDex". I believe ideas should be allowed to be criticized. As long as it doesn't derail into a personal attack against a someone, I don't see the problem. Now I understand that a manga website isn't exactly the place to have these discussions, so I don't expect much, but anyway.

As a borderline antitheist (in a country where most of the people are at best apathetic towards religion lol) I'm not particularly thrilled about this rule either, but as you mentioned this isn't really the place for those discussions anyway, so I see it as more of a tool to prevent derailing via obvious bait.

 

[Teasday]

@Eesolett Moderating comments by hiding is, among other things, for the benefit of people who'd prefer not seeing slurs in comments sections. If you don't mind them, simply go to your settings and change the comment visibility to Show all comments, because the comments themselves are still there.

This was created specifically so that we could avoid heavy-handed moderation. That would be removing comments and banning people.