Friendly Forums?

We shouldn't assume it is always malicious. Sometimes you can misinterpret or misunderstand someone's words or intentions, and think they are doing something they are not. But you never see your mistake or never bother to remove the flag after the fact.

For some people I think it is just trolling. They know it will upset and annoy people, so they do it. In the grand scheme of things, relatively harmless.

But some people are petit tyrants. They want to assert themselves and their will onto everyone else. A difference of opinion is a grave insult. Telling them 'no' is the most reprehensible injustice.

Fortunately they have no real authority. Though they still want to lash out at those who they believe have wronged them. So they use the only tool at their disposal: flagging.

"I flagged your post. I told the mods on you. Maybe you will get banned, as punishment for your transgression."

In either case, the behaviour is exacerbated by the fact that flags are public. It has a visible effect on your profile and your posts. Both trolls and tyrants see immediate feedback confirming that their actions had an effect.

I have been using this forum for months on end with only 3 flags to my name. But in the last couple of months it has exceeded 100 flags. Clearly it is an increasingly prevalent practice.

I think we should probably not have flags visible on profiles. Nor should they have any negative effect. That would remove the main incentive.

I think the only option should be to report posts, so that the moderators can review them. That way, if there is genuinely something wrong or not permitted in the content of the post, a mod can take action. But equally, if the user has done nothing wrong, there is no detrimental effect.

Further, I think there needs to be a punishment for malicious or nuisance flagging and reporting. People will soon stop abusing the system if they themselves are punished instead.