Reporting extremely inappropriate chat when there are no mods online

fredom of speech basicly they can get away with anything on the internet but I would like to see people doing something to get it off chess.com

You have made a lot of assumptions.  I said I work at a school, not that I am a teacher.  It happens that the school I work at is a private school, so you are wrong about that as well.  My boss, who is a private contractor with the school, is fully aware that I use chess.com at certain times of the day, so I am in no danger of being fired.  I do have to get special permission from the school's head of technology to use chess.com, and I would certainly have that privilege taken away if any children saw the things on my screen that I did today.

Kupov is 17 years old, according to his profile.  So, why is anyone arguing with him?

The ugly remarks that CRShelton has noted above have no place here and should earn the offenders an exit from the site.  I assume by now that the staff here are aware of the matter and that they can be trusted to act.

Neil

Not my problem.

My that is quite the ad hominem argument. If my profile said that my age was 55 I would have a point?

Relax old timer.

live chat was a mistake. we'll get it fixed in the next version. very sorry!

Erik,

While your at it, how about you create a way for friends to chat with each other? There'd be a lot less random people joining Live Chess and stressing out the server just to chat and not play games =/

This is just my two-cents. Thanks :)

Brandon, there is already a private chat feature. You just have to click on your friend's name while in live chess and the option should pop up.

Erik: an ICS like fics or ICC would be easy to run. Heck with the way chess.com is growing, you might just be able to buy ICC one day. Advertising revenues on some sites this size are scary big. One day you won't have to worry about 'site' issues, someone will do that for you. 

Or here's one: Run a traditional ICS but limit access to Jin or your own Web interface, and those who are registered at chess.com have access to link there. :) Then you have traditional commands, profanity filters and mod power (timestamp, all that too) already integrated. Just an idea baby, you know how I spit those out, so take it with a grain of salt. I love this site.

Tim

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Erik, you are the man!  I know you will fix Live Chat, 'cause you’re from the Bay Area, and it's just a fact that the Bay Area rules!  LOL!

Everyone else, all your off-topic input is just diatribe.  I would have to agree with CRShelton; though not exactly with his thread-starting post regarding hate speech (see my last paragraph for a detailed explanation of what I mean).  Although hate speech is an extremely valid point, I believe it’s much simpler than all of the brouhaha going on in this thread.  Here are my points:

• I see that most posts in this thread are from paying members.  It's my understanding that it's usually the paying customers that keep ANY enterprise going.  Now, I have nothing wrong with free or free membership.  However, this is a chess site, and I'm a paying member.  I pay so I can play, and also to enjoy of all of the neat stuff that Erik & the team has to offer us (and there is a lot).  As a paying member, at a chess-specific site (you can’t get any more specific than www.chess.com), it’s my expectation that I won’t have to worry about being exposed to the usual crap we see in free social-networking sites.  Even as a free member I wouldn’t expect it.

• I’ve had a pretty good experience here my 1^st month, and I expect it will continue.  I actually don’t pay much attention to the Live Chat window when playing Live Chess.  I’m too busy trying not to lose in 5 minutes or less.  However, while taking a break from an intense round of losing, I have read MANY posts in Live Chat, from Kohai and others, trying to address the issue of Moderators, what’s tolerable, and what happens when the Moderators are not there.  Once again, as with so many other issues, the many suffer because of the few who abuse the privilege.  As you can see from Erik’s post, this is an important issue to them.  They are working to resolve it.

I close with my explanation regarding CRShelton’s thread-starting post.  “Hate Speech” is a term that can have double meaning.  When using this term in it’s general sense, at face value, I concur that what CRShelton has pasted in the thread is hate speech.  It is wrong, and whether the person was sincere, or sincerely joking, or is a satirist, or was intending to be facetious (one of the few words with all vowels in order - a e i o u), it is still wrong to say things like that.  We all know it, and it does NOT fall under the protection of the 1^st Amendment.  There are additional Amendments that redress issues not clearly defined by the 1^st Amendment.  In short, the 1^st Amendment is there to protect all forms of speech, as long as that speech doesn’t impinge on the rights of other citizens, no matter what their color, or their medical condition (I don’t include gayness as a separate item, because I see it as an addiction, which is a medical or mental condition.  It is an issue of choice, not of pre-disposition.  Of course, this in itself is a whole ‘nother topic, but perhaps one best left for somewhere other than www.chess.com).  Beyond the scope of the Constitution; it’s just wrong; morally, ethically, and socially.

However, I don’t agree with the coined-phrase “Hate Speech”, as it is used in the USA to pass unnecessary legislation.  That use of the term IS in violation of the Constitution, as it sets certain classes of people apart from the rest for “extra” provision, recognition, and “protection”.  The only other thing I can think of more in contradiction with the Constitution than Hate Speech law is the Income Tax (again, another topic best left to a separate thread).

Please tip your waitresses, and again, thank you for your time.

Why is there a chat window in live chess anyway?

The purpose of the site is primarily to learn about and play chess - it is not a social networking site. It is possible to meet people and invite them into groups etc., so this fulfils the social aspect, but we don't need an open chat window in live chess.

Forget censorship, appropriateness and moderating - get rid of the chat window. There are plenty of places for people to go and air their opinions about race, religion, politics etc. - we don't need it here.

Forums are much easier to moderate, but whether they serve any useful purpose is up for discussion. There are not many examples of people whose opinions have changed as a result of well-constructed arguments in a forum.

look, it's unrealistic to expect civil treatment from absolutely everyone in any pool of large people, so, as adults, deal with it. Don't let it get to you. Ignore it. That last one was a lesson my mum taught me when I was 8 years old. Stop whinging about it. Get on with it. Play chess.

you: but the person on the internet said nasty things about me

me: so?

you: it hurt my feelings! I going to report them!

me: that's a bit petty. Couldn't you just get on with your life?

you: but they've incurred an infraction of the rules of the website! it's privately owned!

me: again, couldn't you just ignore it,  don't add them as friends and talk to people who are nice to you? As someone who has lived a while( I assume) surely this has happened to you before, and you just ignored it then, right? and that was in real life, so should have been more affecting. Like in school, for example, if someone you didn't really know called you, I don't know, fatty or dumb-arse or something, did you tell the teacher like a whiny little bitch? no. Because that would have been pathetic. I think the analogy is sound, except you are grown men and women now, so you should be better equipped to deal with it. I'm sure the moderators would even prefer it if you didn't burden them with abuse report, upon abuse report, upon....

the other day I played someone from australia. this was the entirety of our conversation

him: pom[ australian slur against a Brit]

me: criminal[referring to his heritage as my great grandaddy's criminal sperm]

him: well criminal's are obviously better at chess

I have won by checkmate

He has Closed the Game Window

as for JonnyJupiter, if you feel that way you have the option of disabling chat for every single game you play. Use it. don't whinge.

Feel what way? I just questioned why the chat window is there. You didn't answer the question. Look up the definition of 'whinge' (as posted in other threads) before using it as an automatic reaction to someone posting a question.

So why is the chat window there? Is this a social networking site or a site for playing chess?

Egg boiling is a good one. Nothing like wasting 3 minutes on watching an egg boil!

my point is that it is optional, not mandatory. So you're opinion on the matter is by-the-by, because chess.com caters for you and for people who want to talk to each other during games.

Apart from niceties, I have engaged with discussions about the game straight after it has ben played with people- very helpful, especially when talking with stronger players- ( doing this actually introduced me to the idea of a 'turning point' or 'critical moment' in a game- infinitely useful). I have once asked if a stronger player could help me out before in the live chat section, saying that i had "hit a brick wall in my game', when a 1500+ player proceeded to walk me though a game I played with him, and give me tips at the end as well as better moves I could have made. I guess what I'm saying that it isn't completely useless, it's all how you use it.

and sorry, re-reading your post, you weren't whinging. Perhaps it was a bit knee-jerk of me to say so. I have a chip on my shoulder today, for some reason.

I have an egg on mine. Fancy some egg and chips?

Fair point.

I use the chat window in online chess, but never in live chess (although I haven't played live in ages - I get too many disconnects).

In online chess, sometimes a player will ask me to go over the game with them afterwards, which I am always happy to do, and often we then become friends, so this fulfils the whole social networking function and does the same job as what you were suggesting, without the use of the open chat window in live chess.

Did you mean that you post an open comment for anyone to respond to in the main control panel or you post directly to your opponent in the chat window underneath your gameboard? I'm referring to the chat window in the control panel when I ask if it is useful or not.

cheese and crackers, anyone ?

both, actually. When I said that i asked someone for help( "brick wall" etc.) that was in the main control panel, but after the game is in the bit under the gamewindow.

Online chess doesn't appeal to a lot of us, though, with short attention spans and a desire for our pulses to be raised.