opinion of the infraction points system

[Mr. Morden]

In the debates about this, people often seem to conflate two different things:

1) Which posts get modified or deleted.
2) Whether infraction points are issue along with the modified or deleted posts.

The vast majority of posters here are never going to get enough points to reach mod review or mute, so what most people complain about is really #1, not #2, and that wouldn't change if we suddenly got rid of infraction points.  Remove the infraction point system, and the moderation would still work pretty much the same.  Very little would actually change.

That said, I think the majority of the mods agree that the infraction point system is stupid.  I myself haven't given out any infraction points since April, except for 50 point bombs given to confirmed sock accounts.  But if you want to get rid of the point system, the person you should really try to convince (since Dave ignores everything we say) is Nym.  As long as Nym is using points as at least a part of the rationale for the decision to ban or not ban, they'll persist.  But if he were to actually announce that he'll ignore points from now on, ask the other mods not to issue them anymore, and just decide on his own initiate when to mute someone, they would go away.  I don't know if he'll agree to that, though, as it's more work on his part, as things would be less automatic.  It's been floated before, but nothing ever came of it.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Nym is barely more active than Dave.

[Mr. Morden]

Nym is barely more active than Dave.

Which is why I think he's happy to keep the infraction point system.  Since scrapping it would mean that he'd have to be more "activist" in making decisions based on other criteria, and he doesn't really have the time to devote to such things as much anymore.  (But that's just a guess.  Feel free to talk to him about it yourself.)

Also, he's not as inactive as you think.  It's just that the overwhelming majority of his posts are on the mod board.  He's made 22 posts since Nov. 1, but I think 21 of those were on the mod board (!).

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I don't like it and I basically never use it.

[Mechaman]

I don't like it and I basically never use it.

FF

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I don't like it and I basically never use it.

FF

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

The system works only in case of instant muting of socks and spammers.