7 votes

Tipster tags for comments?

Tipster tags for comments?

I was going to post this on the daily discussion about tag, but I'm not sure it's something "easy" to implement or even worth considering. Some feedback would be appreciated.

I was thinking there could be a special type of tag or report that goes directly to the poster in a private way (like a "whisper" tag, similar to the whisper comments someone suggested).

This could be useful especially in polarizing topics, I believe.

The idea is something like this: a (somewhat) trusted user sees a comment that is worded in a confrontational or maybe aggressive manner or its unsubstantiated and foresees conflict, but instead of tagging it like "flame" for everyone to see, they tag it as "rephrasable" or "sounds confrontational?" or even "citation needed" (I'm sure you guys can come up with better names and ideas, but you get the gist, something that communicates that it could be worded in a softer, more objective way or using a source, etc.), only the OP sees this tag on their own comment and can thus react appropriately (or maybe ignore if it seems unfounded, or discuss -privately?- with the anonymous reporter) by editing their comment (possibly leaving some kind of trace of the change or acknowledging the report).

too long/didn't understand: allow giving the poster a private warning that someone thinks their comment is problematic before things get too heated!

2 comments

  1. [2]
    Silbern
    Link
    I don't think this would work very well for two reasons; #1, the user would likely be barraged with them since everybody else has no way of seeing if the tags have been used before, and #2 in the...

    I don't think this would work very well for two reasons; #1, the user would likely be barraged with them since everybody else has no way of seeing if the tags have been used before, and #2 in the heat of the moment, you're likely to ignore just a tag anyway, especially if you know nobody else can see it. I think a PM would be much more meaningful in that it shows the commenter's username and also gives you room to put in a serious comment, which cuts through emotions better.

    1. ajar
      Link Parent
      Thanks for the input. Yes, I thought about being barraged as well, but it wouldn't need to send a notification every time someone tags it, it would just show on the comment (with a x3 or whatever...

      Thanks for the input. Yes, I thought about being barraged as well, but it wouldn't need to send a notification every time someone tags it, it would just show on the comment (with a x3 or whatever number) or just send the first notification (and then put a counter with the number of reports by it).

      Regarding #2, I'm not so sure. If people understand that one of the basis of the site is being civil, they might appreciate being warned about stepping over the limits. I don't think the worst of conflicts start with blown out outrage, especially when good faith is present, but by unknowingly crossing some lines and people getting more and more upset.

      Sending a PM would certainly be an option, but it would be used far less, the user should be inclined to help out other users from their own initiative. But if it is baked into the common system, it might be an easier way to just give someone a poke to pay attention. The anonymous part doesn't need to be like that, it was just one of the options that came to mind.

      My fear is that it would be abused by using it again opinions contrary to your own, but that's why it should be used only by trusted users.

      The idea is to prevent public conflict before it happens.