Ethics, Morals, Etc..: [Closed] Comment approval option for 'toon makers?

During my membership at Toondoo I've come across many toons which have been labeled "inappropriate" with the little thumbs-down icon. But in all sincerity I have read far many more comments that seem to me inappropriate than most any of the toons which I've seen given the thumbs-down. These comments range from crude to redundant, from harassing to literally threatening, and yet nothing has been done to stop deliberately rude comments appearing. Sure, there is the wonderful delete option the toon maker can use- but what if the toon maker is out of town, in the hospital, died, ect. and simply can't delete? (When I think about it, if I get hit by lightning tomorrow who the heck is going to be nice enough to remove a "U suk" comment left on my toon by some kid needing a Ritalin fix? LOL)

 I guess what my question boils down to is this: as subjective a thing as the concept of what's appropriate and what's not is, if we're going have a certain expectation here at Toondoo about appropriate content within the confines of a cartoon strip panel, is it not too much to expect freedom of expression within the confines of a comment box to be at least given in good taste? And on this note, I end here with one suggestion: Comment Approval Option for toon makers.

Thanks!

subDes

Yeah, Like on iTunes or YouTube! Thumbing down and up comments! But- You could just delete them, or ASK the creator of that toon (If it does not belong to you) to delete it. And, If Comments had thumbs up/down, some vandal could thumb down a bunch of random comments, just for laughs like on YouTube.

P.S.- Take a look at the Toon of the Day! THANKS, JAMBAV!!!

Okay SubDes,

We relent! :-)

From now on, emails that announce to you that there has been a comment on your ToonDoo, will also contain the text of the comment. You won't need to click all the way to the ToonDoo.com website to find out what the comment was.

This is a bonus feature to all regular ToonDoo users. That is, users who have created ToonDoos, or commented/cheered/faved other people's ToonDoos in the last seven days or lesser, won't be bothered to login to see the comment. Only those who have been inactive for more than seven days (imagine that! No ToonDoo for more than seven days! Blasphemous!!) will be asked to visit the site to view the comment!

Fair enough? 

(And, before you ask, we will soon be providing a "Delete this Comment" option too, right in your mailbox, in the same mail... Wait along!)

Rajendran

ToonDude from www.jambav.com

 

 From now on, emails that announce to you that there has been a comment on your ToonDoo, will also contain the text of the comment.
  Rajendran

This is the greatest. When someone leaves a comment that needs a reply you can know from the email notification. So cool. This is really useful Rajendran, thanks.

There are folks that want a comment-approval scenario... They want every comment to reach their inbox, and they will, in their own time, approve a comment, before it can appear in the toondoo page....

There are others, who, on the other end of the spectrum, want even anonymous users to be able to comment (we right now ask for sign in, before commenting!).

In my personal view, I think we must just put our trust on the inherent goodness of the majority of our users/visitors, and the community's active participation to keep the vandals out. I like the immediacy of the instant-comment-publication, with the added facility to knock it off if obnoxious.

Ongoing discussion - we will keep experimenting with ideas.

Keep giving us more food for thought, by posting your own ideas, and also interesting approaches to the same problem that you have noticed in other websites.

Thanks.

Rajendran.
ToonDude from www.jambav.com

same

if it ment no more comments thAt tear people down then yes i would

some great dooers have left so if you need ANYTHING please contact me

It seems as though Toondoo is working towards refinement all the time. The issues requiring time are worthy issues.

The issue of  'comment approval' is one such issue which is not easily solved in a way that will please all users. By making the following comments, I am not trying to say that I have the answer. I am not sure that there is an answer, but I do believe that there is a best way to proceed.

There are commenters who use the comment option only to drag others down, or threaten others. The job of distinguishing between a real threat and a false threat is beyond the scope of anyone but the threatener themself. Since threats are not really comments on the toon, but rather efforts to frighten and terrorize the dooer, then such comments should be relegated to a category which puts them into some 'dumpster of irrelevant comments', or the like.

Again, this is an issue requiring time and thought, and work by the admins.

Comments could be categorized. Category labels could be 'POSITIVE', 'NEGATIVE', 'ENCOURAGING', 'OUTBURST', etc. It would be the duty of the commentor to place his/her comment in the appropriate category. If comments were being placed in the wrong category, then remove that person's ability to leave any comments at all.

A requirement to comment could be placed on all dooers, such that one must have produced 'X' number of toondoos before being able to comment on others.

To me, the 'comment option' becomes a lifeless and uninteresting option when it is censored. The only tolerable censorship is that which prohibits the comments from containing threats. Comments which contain elements that are offensive to the one receiving the comment should not be removed by anyone.

I've noticed that there are users who use their toondoos to tear down institutions and individuals. I am one such user. Therefore, I should have no right to remove any comments that tear down my toondoos. 

If I can dish it out, I should be able to take it. If I can't take it, then I should get out. 

This is a fair approach to the issue of commenting. It's not a new idea, nor did I come up with it. It's an old thought, and a standard often applied in many areas of life. It's often applied to keep whiners and their ilk from their endless whining. It's simple and direct, and usually easy to adjudicate.

Finally, I think the 'comment' option should be restored to it's former 'wide open' self, with as few restrictions as possible, and that your trust in the majority of users having good intentions, be the factor that rules this issue.