The readers of FP this summer between the months of June and
July were subjected to a generous but unpalatable treat comprising of what in
the desi lingo is referred to as MC BC galiyan. The venue being the
comment section. Almost everyone whose comments were not dressed up with modimantra was given generous helpings
of these low level abuses.
To get a firsthand experience you are free to visit the following links and read posts of the
Commentator Tera Baap (henceforth referred to as TB):
1) Venue1
2) Venue 2
3) Venue 3
4) Venue 4
(Statutory Warning: Almost
every decent, civilized and sensitive individual has reported feeling a sense
of wading through a verbal sewer. Therefore kindly proceed at your own risk.)
For a regular visitor/participant at FP who is not an ardent Namobhakht generous ‘prasad’ of bullying, personal attacks and abuses has
become ritualistic. But what occurred this summer was an uncontrolled perverse
troll fest which was beyond the consumption level of any civilized person.
It is to be noted that this unsavory summer bash was against
the rules of FP comment policy but no attempt was made to spare the readers
this forceful treat.
The mute question is why the concerned authorities did not
take the necessary action against this rampant, repulsive and abusive trolling.
To be fair to the moderators in the past they have taken due
cognizance of these kind of posts and have rightfully subjected them to the
hammer. In some cases they have even blocked accounts.
In fact they have gone to the extent of shutting down the
entire comment section well before the stipulated normal 48 hours time line as
observed in the following screen shot:
Link: Comment section grounded unfairly
Appeal 1:
Appeal 2:
Link to the above screen Shot: Appeal Link
However the abusive comments by this same commentator escape
the moderator’s hammer.
It is an unfair world out there and FP is no exception. :(
Here is an example of a decent comment being snapped without a trace :
In the following screen shot the comment by @Firangi_paani is not published:
It is to be noted that on the same forums where this abusive commentator TB is spewing his filth generously some comments have come under the knife and deleted. Interestingly several abusive comments which were a direct reply to the deleted ones have been spared. What can be the reasoning behind this selective moderation?
These observations leads one to conclude that at FP some
participants are privileged and enjoy special status while ‘others’ have to toe
the line with no guarantee of fair treatment.
An objective analysis of the comment section leads one to
conclude that it has been judged rather unfairly as there is hardly any abusive
content relatively speaking.
This
in itself makes one ponder that how come the ultra sensitive radar of FP
moderators as on display in this article did not cause them to do the needful
in case of this vulgar posts and why the moderators were allowing a free run to
this troll named TB for so long. In
fact some commentators had made direct appeals to the moderators against this
filthy trollingAppeal 1:
Appeal 2:
Link to the above screen Shot: Appeal Link
Although the appeals in these cases have gone unheeded, in
the following instance the editor himself is addressing the personal
query of a commentator:
It is an unfair world out there and FP is no exception. :(
Here is an example of a decent comment being snapped without a trace :
In the following screen shot the comment by @Firangi_paani is not published:
It is to be noted that on the same forums where this abusive commentator TB is spewing his filth generously some comments have come under the knife and deleted. Interestingly several abusive comments which were a direct reply to the deleted ones have been spared. What can be the reasoning behind this selective moderation?
This sadly is not the only infringement of the concerned
authority entrusted with the moderation of the comment section. The following
indulgence of FP moderators which may or may not be illegal but is certainly a
misdemeanor on moral grounds as it leaves the readers who actively participate
in debates and discussions prone to victimization if they have a different
opinion than the moderators.
In the following instance the FP moderator is seen up-voting
a proBJP comment.
Does this not give credibility to allegiance with troll
theory?
When it is a case of one instance, benefit of doubt can be
given citing reasons like technical snag or even a mistaken click of mouse
button. But can this be justified in case of 19 instances as encountered in the
following link? : 19 technical faults?
Like they say Once Is Chance, Twice is Coincidence,
Third Time Is a Pattern.
The following instance shows a bias against their own staff
member. . A solace for the readers however that they are not the only targets of FP moderators.:)
Glimpse of office politics of FP :
Link : FP Office Politics
Intriguingly FP mods are not merely satisfied with
participating in voting but also are commenting laying bare their political bias.
The commnet of FP editors is deleted. :)
Link: Saboot Gayab
Saiyan bhaye kotwal to
darr kahe ka is aptly applicable
in this situation. No wonder the ‘worthy’ commentator TB was allowed a free ride as he was targeting everyone who was not
a Namobhakt.
SUMMARY:
Even if the concerned authorities come up with some lame excuse
for this and hide behind some technical reasoning, the fact that the moderators
completely ignored the vulgar posts of TB and indulged in selective application
of their moderation policy gives credibility to the theory expounded by many
commentators time and again that FP is indeed a ModiPost.
In the words of Benjamin
Franklin
“As we must account
for every idle word, so must we account for every idle silence.”
The silence of the moderators with respect to TB is screaming the truth loud and clear
about troll allegiance.
After all as Plato said:
“I shall assume that
your silence gives consent.”
Or as Sherlock Holmes
would have said :
“It is elementary my dear Watson the dog didn't bark at night!”
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END OF PART 1