Originally posted by boxsnd

The mods seem to be closing threads left and right. Why don't you let the users decide what they want to discuss? Those who don't like a particular thread can simply ignore it. I understand that some mods want to show their employers that they are "needed" , but I think you guys are overdoing it.

We aren't kids. Let us discuss stuff without interfering (unless it's REALLY needed).

 

edit: this was supposed to be created in the site suggestions forum.

Above you ask your question even though I'm sure you read the rules:

http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/265158/READ-FIRST-Notice-of-Increased-Moderation-in-The-Pub-MMORPGcom.html

Also see RoC:

http://www.mmorpg.com/disclaimers.cfm#conduct

And then you do a pretty innocuous but nice little "belittling" of the mods indicating that part of the reason they eliminate threads is brecause they want to  show that they are actually doing something. Not because they have been trained or that they have been given specific instructions on how they should do their job.

In any case, read the first link and contact community@mmorpg.com

This site is 20% news and 80% commentary. Much of that commentary is bought with advertising money and it shows.

This is barely a "gaming site". It's just one big advertisement for who pays more.

I agree. MMORPG is run like Communist China. it used to be a good site to visit to see how other games were and to read other peoples opinions on the games. You used to get the odd person being being blantly offensive, but for a few years now they started banning people for expressing their opinion in a cival and mature way.

I've been a member at this site for 7 years and there used to be a lot of cool people on this site but they don't even visit here anymore because the Moderators banned them all for expressing their opinion. There is not as many people as there were when i first came here because they bann everyone for the most stupid things imaginable. I myself hardly ever post here anymore because I get banned just for even being nice to people, and then labled a troll. Moderators seriously need to lay off the crack pipe. Seriously.

*ps* Ill probably get banned again for saying this site is run like communist china then labled a troll.

*Rolls Eyes*

Originally posted by trash656

I agree. MMORPG is run like Communist China. it used to be a good site to visit to see how other games were and to read other peoples opinions on the games. You used to get the odd person being being blantly offensive, but for a few years now they started banning people for expressing their opinion in a cival and mature way.

I've been a member at this site for 7 years and there used to be a lot of cool people on this site but they don't even visit here anymore because the Moderators banned them all for expressing their opinion. There is not as many people as there were when i first came here because they bann everyone for the most stupid things imaginable. I myself hardly ever post here anymore because I get banned just for even being nice to people, and then labled a troll. Moderators seriously need to lay off the crack pipe. Seriously.

 

*ps* Ill probably get banned again for saying this site is run like communist china then labled a troll.

 

*Rolls Eyes*

QFT communist china... definitely.

My 2p.

Been here for years. Had many warnings, and almost as many temp-bans. Mostly for calling out trolls and ocasional trolling myself (can't help it). The longest have been for daring to bring up religion. THAT my friends will get you a ban real quick! Oh and don't forget about the "P" word, oh my! File sharing is SOOOO evil! The fall of civilazation for sure. Banned straight to hell for mentioning that abomanation of computing as it was meant to exist and was created for.

That being said, these here forums are no worse than any other ones I've been on. A quick-fingered Mod here and there but most of the time I deserved it. The calling out of trolls and you getting the warning and not the troll itsself is kinda silly but oh well. It's not bad enough for me to leave.

At least the CEO of the site hasn't called anyone a dirty thieving "pirate" for (insert deity of choice here) sakes! Now THAT would be cause to bitch.

Lets hope not...

Hi guys,

Well, I've read through this entire thread, so let me touch on a few things:

First to address the OP:

• XFIRE: I addressed this topic at the link posted earlier in this thread.
• Politics: We simply don't allow political discussion. It never stays within the realm of gaming and goes into very volatile territory very quickly. Believe me, we've tried.
• Locking threads due to violations: We don't close threads if there are simply a couple of violations in them. We'll just deal with individual violations. Threads are locked in this case if the thread has basically devolved into an unsalvagable mess by the time we got to it. If things were bad enough, but still salvagable, we'll clean it up and warn users in the thread that continued derailments and other violations will result in the locking of the thread. If things continue to spin out of control, the thread will be locked.
• Temp Locks: Temporary locks are utilized by our mod team in order to give them the time to thoroughly go through a thread. Combing through a thread takes a considerable amount of time. If the thread is particularly active, it may end up spinning further out of control by the time the moderator's done going through what was already there when they got to it.

• Thread Deletions: We rarely delete threads. Moderators are instructed to reserve thread deletions for very specific criteria, usually nonsensical spam and threads that are in major violation of our ROC. We prefer locking threads in order to preserve discussions for you all, even if they did ultimately go wildly off-course and necessitate said lock.
• Mod Edits: Similarly, [Mod Edits] are used to do what we can to preserve a post, though sometimes entire posts will be edited out instead of deleted if its part of an off-topic chain or something of that nature and we want to spare you the hits on your star rank.  We'd actually be able to get a lot more done if we didn't bother and just deleted the post. Let me tell you, it's no fun to [Mod Edit] a post and then every post your post is quoted in. Especially when it's nested in those lovely quote pyramids!  If a post or thread can be salvaged, you bet we'll try to salvage it.
• Issue? Question? Concern? Contact Me! As many other users noted, if you have an issue with a specific action taken by a moderator either against your account or on the forums  I'll be glad to look into it for you. Just shoot me a note at community AT mmorpg DOT com.
• Staff & Procedures:  We do actually have paid moderator staff and there is a protocol and process to everything we do. This does include reading non-reported posts and threads (patrolling). If it helps illuminate things, part of our process is to identify our most active forums on a rolling basis and give them priority when it comes to patrolling. Reports are but one layer of our mod team's daily responsibilities.
• Reports: Speaking of reports. No one is ever actioned just because they are reported. If someone has a vendetta against you and we notice they are just reporting your posts to try and get you in trouble, it's very likely that they will get in trouble instead for abusing our post report tool. Moderators use reports as a way of flagging a post or thread for review. Ultimately, if any action is taken, it is because the post content was in violation of our ROC in some manner.  Of course, we make mistakes, both in patrolling and when dealing with reports, and as I noted above, if we make a mistake, we'll rectify it for you. If you don't feel a report was handled to your satisfaction or have a question, my door is always open and you can contact me about it at the e-mail provided above.

As far as us missing things goes, as much as we try, our team can't be everywhere at once. It's likely that we'll sometimes miss things given the volume of posts on our boards, but it doesn't mean we're OK with that behavior if it is out of line. This is why we ask that you pitch in and report posts instead of fighting it out on the open forums. While it is our moderators' jobs to enforce our Rules of Conduct, this is ultimately your community. If you see something lingering somewhere that you know from experience that we'd jump on, there's a very good chance we just missed it somehow.  So, please just flag it and we'll look into it!

Anyways, this post has gone on far too long as it is. I'd just like to assure you all that I've read through each and every post and we do appreciate your taking the time to offer your feedback, both positive and negative.

How come people come in my threads, ruin them, attack me, and I say something back I get temp banned... I ignore them, the thread gets locked?

Almost every ban/warning I have comes after somebody decides to call me out or I receive a ridiculous warning/ban because I feel SWTOR was the 2nd worst game now (TSW) being the worst imo that I have every played.

Originally posted by phantomghost

How come people come in my threads, ruin them, attack me, and I say something back I get temp banned... I ignore them, the thread gets locked?

 

Almost every ban/warning I have comes after somebody decides to call me out or I receive a ridiculous warning/ban because I feel SWTOR was the 2nd worst game now (TSW) being the worst imo that I have every played.

It's your avatar.

You've been profiled.

/just saying

Oh well I think it is obvious by the hundreds of warnings/bans I have that I will never stop arguing back when somebody tells me I am wrong, or cannot comprehend something and tells me its contradicting, or comes in attacking my thread and gets it locked...

Originally posted by Acidon

Originally posted by Impulse47
I've been here a long time now. Every year the mods get a slightly longer stick up their asses. Very saddening as this board in general used to be awesome.

Having been warned recently (for good reason, I think), I certainly think about what I write more than I used to.  It certainly put a damper on how much I enjoy this site, but they gotta do what they gotta do.  

I don't feel that I can truly express my opinion any longer though.

Originally posted by Kyleran
Do any of you folks posting specific moderation actions or comments that your other account got banned actually read the rules for this site?

It's been a pretty typical Fight The Man thread.  See: Chapter 13=Authority Figures, Problems With.

Becoming what you expect to see appear on a weekend, pretty much every weekend.  Odd coincidence, eh?

The problem is that the RoC is pretty broad and open to interpretation depending on the mod and those who like to spam the report button.

Basically, you can report anyones' ideas if you do not like what was said or you lack a valid response. Personally, I think it's a cowards way out. But, if you can spin your report into an interpretation of offending the RoC, you'll win. Depending of course, on who the mod is that day.

Define "troll". Or even better, define "hate". How can you ban or censor a feeling? If you asked everyone what the definition of some RoC, you would get that many different answers.

If you look at a dictionary for some of the RoC buzzwords, one stands out for me, you will see that the definition of the word includes "usually", which of course is not definite at all. My point is that definitions are definite. The wording of the RoC is up for interpretation by a moderator. Which will make a decision based on their personal belief of what they consider right and wrong based on personal, political, and moral ideas. Nothing wrong with that at all. It's how we all make decisions and why we protect those among us that share those same beliefs.

Threads can't be expected to be constructive all the time. If I didn't have a chuckle once in awhile, I wouldn't come to this site anymore. Nothing says you have to agree or disagree with anyone. Nobody says that you have to respond to other peoples' ideas or thoughts. What's important is having the ability to have different thoughts and ideas. Sometimes it's nice to hear other peoples' ideas. "Oh good, I'm not the only one". Ever say that to yourself?

I think Gen. Patton said, "If everyone is thinking the same, then nobody is thinking." That's why censorship is bad.

Am I calling for everyone to run amuck here? No. But, banning someone for stating something so daring, so dangerous, such as,

A: "themeparks are for simpletons with neck-beards and fat, little sausage fingers"

instead of stating,

B: "In my opinion and experience, I highly suspect that a number in the majority of those who patron, what is refered to as "themeparks", have low IQs and expectations in life, to include social, financial, and health."

I said the same exact thing but with less pork products and facial (neck?) hair.

Everyone like the referees until the call goes against them...

OP left less than 10 posts so far and is complaining about moderation; moderation is a philosphical topic and at the end of the day "it is what it is". A forum will take eventually take on the personality of the moderators, which is I am sure what the site owners prefer.

Most of us do, too.

Originally posted by NorseGod

The problem is that the CoC is pretty broad and open to interpretation depending on the mod and those who like to spam the report button.

Basically, you can report anyones' ideas if you do not like what was said or you lack a valid response. Personally, I think it's a cowards way out. But, if you can spin your report into an interpretation of offending the CoC, you'll win. Depending of course, on who the mod is that day.

Define "troll". Or even better, define "hate". How can you ban or censor a feeling? If you asked everyone what the definition of some CoC, you would get that many different answers.

If you look at a dictionary for some of the buzzwords, one stands out for me, you will see that the definition of the word includes "usually", which of course is not definite at all. My point is that definitions are definite. The wording of the CoC is up for interpretation by a moderator. Which will make a decision based on their personal belief of what they consider right and wrong based on personal, political, and moral ideas. Nothing wrong with that at all. It's how we all make decisions and why we protect those among us that share those same beliefs.

Threads can't be expected to be constructive all the time. If I didn't have a chuckle once in awhile, I wouldn't come to this site anymore. Nothing says you have to agree or disagree with anyone. Nobody says that you have to respond to other peoples' ideas or thoughts. What's important is having the ability to have different thoughts and ideas. Sometimes it's nice to hear other peoples' ideas. "Oh good, I'm not the only one". Ever say that to yourself?

I think Gen. Patton said, "If everyone is thinking the same, then nobody is thinking." That's why censorship is bad.

Am I calling for everyone to run amuck here? No. But, banning someone for stating something so daring, so dangerous, such as,

A: "themeparks are for simpletons with neck-beards and fat little sausage fingers"

instead of stating,

B: "In my opinion and experience, I highly suspect that a number in the majority of those who patron what is refered to as "themeparks", have low IQs and expectations in life, to include social, financial, and health."

I said the same exact thing but with less pork products and facial (neck?) hair.

Being a mod must be hard at times.They are hated and loved at the same time.

 

I believe that both examples "A" and "B" are inappropriate and the poster should be warned.  Both are personal attacks against a subset of the community. 

Originally posted by Ozivois

OP left less than 10 posts so far and is complaining about moderation

Which leads one to believe that he's a full-on pure antagonist pulling down warnings at an unprecedented rate; or he's indulging in a little forum-alt fun...which happens to be..something he can also get into trouble for.

So OP? Curiosity wants to know, which?

Originally posted by phantomghost

Oh well I think it is obvious by the hundreds of warnings/bans I have that I will never stop arguing back when somebody tells me I am wrong, or cannot comprehend something and tells me its contradicting, or comes in attacking my thread and gets it locked...

 

 

Sounds like there is some that don't want you to speak. It also sounds that they didn't offer any ideas of their own to challenge you so they had to get someone else to force your silence. How brave.

Originally posted by Ozivois

Originally posted by NorseGod

The problem is that the CoC is pretty broad and open to interpretation depending on the mod and those who like to spam the report button.

Basically, you can report anyones' ideas if you do not like what was said or you lack a valid response. Personally, I think it's a cowards way out. But, if you can spin your report into an interpretation of offending the CoC, you'll win. Depending of course, on who the mod is that day.

Define "troll". Or even better, define "hate". How can you ban or censor a feeling? If you asked everyone what the definition of some CoC, you would get that many different answers.

If you look at a dictionary for some of the buzzwords, one stands out for me, you will see that the definition of the word includes "usually", which of course is not definite at all. My point is that definitions are definite. The wording of the CoC is up for interpretation by a moderator. Which will make a decision based on their personal belief of what they consider right and wrong based on personal, political, and moral ideas. Nothing wrong with that at all. It's how we all make decisions and why we protect those among us that share those same beliefs.

Threads can't be expected to be constructive all the time. If I didn't have a chuckle once in awhile, I wouldn't come to this site anymore. Nothing says you have to agree or disagree with anyone. Nobody says that you have to respond to other peoples' ideas or thoughts. What's important is having the ability to have different thoughts and ideas. Sometimes it's nice to hear other peoples' ideas. "Oh good, I'm not the only one". Ever say that to yourself?

I think Gen. Patton said, "If everyone is thinking the same, then nobody is thinking." That's why censorship is bad.

Am I calling for everyone to run amuck here? No. But, banning someone for stating something so daring, so dangerous, such as,

A: "themeparks are for simpletons with neck-beards and fat little sausage fingers"

instead of stating,

B: "In my opinion and experience, I highly suspect that a number in the majority of those who patron what is refered to as "themeparks", have low IQs and expectations in life, to include social, financial, and health."

I said the same exact thing but with less pork products and facial (neck?) hair.

Being a mod must be hard at times.They are hated and loved at the same time.

 

I believe that both examples "A" and "B" are inappropriate and the poster should be warned.  Both are personal attacks against a subset of the community. 

It's not a personal attack if it's a general statement. A personal attack is an insult against a specific user, not a broad subset of users. Neither of those statements qualify as personal attacks.

It doesn't surprise me that people overreact and view general statements as personal attacks, and it also doesn't surprise me that the modding staff reinforces that overreaction by warning or banning users. I wish people were less ignorant about that specific issue.

I agree with NorseGod, and not just because I fear that he'll use his divine powers to smite me if I don't. When rules are not strictly defined and left open to interpretation, you'll have confusion and disagreement from all parties on whether or not a rule is violated.