Here's a working link:
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/11/21/report_abuse_button/

Something has already been lost when people are looking over their shoulders. Moderation dealt with a light touch by those both respected and experienced is one thing. An unknown intern popping in to scold or delete comments entirely is quite another. Of course, it may just be me. I consider a deleted comment to be a form of censorship - not a big fan.

I'm still waiting for folks from the moderating team to chime in - Does moderating stop over the weekend? Or is there just unannounced blitzes where they come in guns a'blazin' single out folks and then leave?

The way this was handled is pretty typical, I'd say, of the way other changes have been handled. It's kind of a "sink or swim" method. Actually, the posting of the blog for comments is kind of something new in terms of how fast it happened.

The report abuse button is an unbelievably stupid fucking idea.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/loki_redux/2008/11/fuck-you-andrew-golis.php

If people are complaining about 'thought police' and nervously looking over their shoulders, I respectfully suggest those people get a grip. There's no big mystery to this. The site has a terms of use that has been in effect for more than three years. Harassing behavior, hate speech, threats of violence are all banned. However, we also want a forum that isn't driven down to the lowest common denominator by denigrating and coarsened speech, abusive attacks, etc. I explained this in more depth in a post here at TPMCafe back in April.

Now I see 'loki' has reacted by posting a post with FUs and cock-this and f-that, etc., apparently with the idea that this is him making a stand for free speech. Loki, I strongly believe in your right to write whatever you want on your own website. But not here. We have no blanket ban on four letter words. But abusive speech is not welcome. So take it somewhere else.

The only point in addng the 'report abuse' bottom is that we don't have nearly enough staff to monitor the thousands of comments that get posted every day. And often we'll only find out days later that someone has posted some clearly offending or racist or whatever comment. This simply allows reader to ping us to look at a comment and the site editors can make a judgment. To be clear, there are no 'abuse reports'. It just sends the site editors an email with a link to the comment.

Finally, I know the situation with Tena. And I've written to her directly through email. This was a case that was a miscue on our part. Tena wrote a phrase that seemed over-denigrating. But he didn't know the satirical backstory behind the phrase. And being human, I'm sure we'll have other miscues. But we have a choice between letting the cafe be a free-for-all with fuck yous everywhere, suck my this and suck my that and endless name-calling and trying to set some basic rules of the road to keep the discussion intelligent, pointed, lively and civil. And the latter is our choice.

Loki -- I was, needless to say, referring to your post, which may have been for effect, but was a good example nonetheless. In any case, you're creating a strawman. I'm not saying TPMCafe was a hotbed of FUs. But you don't necessarily see everything we see. Out of five thousand comments, it's the one that's blatantly racist that we hear about. And we want to get down as quickly as possible. And that's why we have the button. But we want to be flagged. We'll try to be more transparent and consistent in our application. But the post I did explaining the site's rules back in April is still a good explanation of the kind of ground rules we want to stick to.

I must admit, I'm surprised at the level of "flurry" the report abuse button has created.

But this is fascinating in a hilarious kind of way. Put a bunch of liberals in a room and look what happens - I can't help but think this reaction would not be the same on a similar conservative blog, if such a thing existed.

I don't know if any of you are familiar with Jonathan Haidt's Moral Foundations theory, but basically it goes like this: 5 foundations of moral: harm/care, fairness & justice, Ingroup/Loyalty, Authority/Respect, and Purity/Sanctity. Liberals create morality out of the first two, conservatives out of all 5. This seems relevant here. ;)

With regards to the moderation, Josh, the only thing I'd say about it is use it sparingly. Which posters here should also be doing. Obviously, this is only my opinion.

But you've got a great thing going here, indeed, nothing else like it out there.

Josh, someone earlier today came up with the idea of wiring up the 'Report Abuse' button so that it made flames shoot out the ass of the person being Reported.

Personally, I think such a feature would not only boost TPM's profile across previously hard-to-reach market segments, but would garner major media attention.

Plus, if you could get someone to figure out how to capture these moments on video, I suspect it would propel TMPtv up the charts.

And I'd be personally willing to dress up like Sarah Palin while you shot flames out my ass if you thought this would help.

Thanking you in advance.

P.S. I am volunteering Loki to help Beta test this program.

oops!. hoist on the anglo saxon petard! redacted final sentance incorporated herein.

sparingly

Laudable, but not achievable.

I am astonished that my brother Brunonian, straight outta my own history dept, and steeped in the dark lore of constitutionalism, would make such a rookie mistake as to buy all the baggage that appears on his board.

cf. the fate of those who have a First Amenmdment (us) and those who don't (The Danes, for instance.)

With a First Amendment, when a complaint is received about speech, the enforcer is permitted to shrug.

Without a First Amendment, the enforcer is obliged to justify his forebearance.

Moderation makes the enforcer responsible. Who the fck would want that for himself?

Here is the whole point, and I think it a valid one. I agree with Josh 100%. And if this new "moderation" were to only expunge blatant fu's, suck my this and that, we would not have a problem.

Josh, you really cannot tell us that Andrew telling people to watch out when they use the word "wench" in a sentence, or Claire Wilcox admonishing us like a mother hen on clearly benign comments, qualify.

You have created a wonderful alter world where we, of political geek persuasion, can come and offer our free flow of ideas. We all cherish it more than you can possibly know.

It is for that very reason that this censorship cuts to the core. There was no reason for the heavy hand, you must realize this. I hope the "moderation" your staff does in the future will be done judiciously and without the [DELETED BY MODERATOR] tag that is sure to send up the censorship flag.

TPM Cafe Members: Reporting Abuse-ur doing it wrong

Since my return as a regular visitor a few weeks ago, after a several month hiatus, I've used the "Report Abuse" email link at the bottom of every page several times. In every instance, it was to report commercial spam blog posts, and the authors of it. OK, I have a thick skin, and am not easy to offend, but usually there are better methods for dealing with offensive posters than running to site mods crying for censorship.

Offensive posters are almost always trolling, although they may not realise it themselves. They desire attention, and are attempting to stir things up to get it. Before responding to a troll, or busting them to site mods, always consider the old net adage first: "Don't Feed The Trolls". Ignore them, and most will eventually become anorexic spectres.

If one feels compelled to respond to a troll; learn the Art of Counter-Trolling first. There are many different ways to Counter-Troll with élan, but a primary tactic is to not fall into the ping-pong trap; trading insults back and forth. Strike once, with high velocity out of a low elliptic orbit, hitting low at the knees, and then just walk away. Leave them sputtering in your wake.

The "Report Abuse" button is not a new toy, and this site's membership is older than most collaborative online communities. What is the inner need that causes such a membership go running to mods, like they were 10 year old children complaining to their moms and dads?

Many thanks to all for your contributions to this discussion!

You're all on report.