Are the forums too strict?

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BGH122

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Jun 11, 2008
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Soviet Heavy said:
Go to the Bioware Social Network and come back talking about strictness. At least here we're allowed to have differing opinions.
This.

I think the mods here walk a very fine line and do so admirably. I spend almost all my time in Off-Topic, debating threads as diverse as paedophilia to the typical romance/relationship stuff and the mods typically don't rise to the 'OMG THIS PERSON IS A TROLL BECAUSE HIS OPINION DIFFERS TO MINE' nonsense.

The people who get probated are typically people who flagrantly broke the rules or were personally insulting to other users. Mods here don't typically shut down lively debate, they only shut down blatant flaming with low discussion value.
 

Hader

Elite Member
Jul 7, 2010
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Kortney said:
Make it stricter.
Then my flamboyantly strange wrath will be triggered even earlier!
Kakashi on crack said:
Hader said:
Criticize the post, not the poster. A simple rule many fail to follow, so they get slapped for it.
This kinda sums up the whole thing. I've generally (with a little censorship due to my colorfully dirty vocabulary) been able to speak my mind about a topic without any interference, it's mostly the people who are directly criticising another poster, or the topic starter who get suspended/probed/etc.
It's the most simple rule of thumb to go by on a forum such as this, something I learned from moderating another forum. I've hardly ever seen any gray area for that rule, so I think it's best to go by.
Mxrz said:
Too strict? Dunno. Spotty moderation? Absolutely. The joy of user mods.

Anyway, Someone quotes or responds to you with some sheer brain-hurting stupidity, and when you point it out, they hit report and poof. It's all pretty silly, but it doesn't mean much in the long run. Kind of entertaining, in a way.
Mods definitely read the report to be sure it's legit. In fact they probably joke about it when it's obviously someone reporting something that breaks no rules but just makes them a bit butthurt. I should know, I have done this before.
 

DanDeFool

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Aug 19, 2009
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The Spartan E1337 said:
We can't talk about these things! They... have... eyes... everywhere!! Nowhere is safe!!

I actually haven't really noticed it being too much of a problem. It's also gratifying to see when someone who deserves to be banned actually gets banned.
I tend to agree. Given the circumstances, I'd much rather have strict moderators and Captchas rather than to have this thread be full of trolls and assholes and have bots spamming us with ads for penis enlargement pills.

Speaking of which, has anyone noticed that the comments posted from Facebook on things like videos and news articles tend to be a little bit less civil than those posted on the site's forums? Does The Escapist have the ability to moderate the Facebook comments?
 

escapistraptor

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Dec 1, 2009
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The strict rules have actually been pretty effective at keeping the hardcore trolls out, especially for a gaming website. Then again, it's at the cost of lively discussion sometimes.

What I don't like is the warnings for short posts. When someone makes a topic asking a question that can be answered in one word, why shouldn't we be allowed to post just one word? I was tempted to make this post only "Yes" but knew I'd get another warning for it
 

JDKJ

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Oct 23, 2010
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Mxrz said:
Too strict? Dunno. Spotty moderation? Absolutely. The joy of user mods.

Anyway, Someone quotes or responds to you with some sheer brain-hurting stupidity, and when you point it out, they hit report and poof. It's all pretty silly, but it doesn't mean much in the long run. Kind of entertaining, in a way.
There's a lot of that, I think. You disagreed with me and made me look like an idiot in the process, so I'm gonna tell Mom what you did and she's gonna punish you. That'll teach you!
 

jovack22

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Jan 26, 2011
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It's hard to find moderators for this reason.

The problem lies with mods let the "position" get to their head and try to discipline people for anything to assert a sense of authority that they feel lacking from their own lives.

The same goes for any "guard" position. eg. I was yelled at by Trump's doorman over nothing.


Mods are important though, otherwise forums just regress into trash, but I agree.. occasionally the posts they caution are seemingly fine.
 

KeyMaster45

Gone Gonzo
Jun 16, 2008
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Bags159 said:
Great compared to most forums. *Cough* Blizzard *cough*
PFFT, the blizzard forums are like the seedy back alleys of Victorian London compared to this place. I think I posted maybe a total of 20 times on their forums over the course of my 5 years in WoW, cause frankly it wasn't worth the trouble.

Ando85 said:
I notice a lot of times on this forum I see people being put on probation or suspended for posts that I don't think deserve it at all. Maybe, they were a bit controversial or offensive, but its hard to please everyone when you want to simply speak your mind. I know some posts are downright worthy of bans and such and its good to clean up trolling. But, I just feel we have to tip toe around so much to avoid getting on probation/suspension/bans.
I think rules #8 and 9 from the rules of the internet may shed some light on your intellectual quandary.

From Da Rulz of Teh Interwebz said:
#8. There are no real rules about posting.
#9. There are no real rules about moderation either - enjoy your ban
Hope that clears things up for you. Welcome to The Escapist; stay out the basement.
 

Ham_authority95

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Dec 8, 2009
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Ando85 said:
I notice a lot of times on this forum I see people being put on probation or suspended for posts that I don't think deserve it at all. Maybe, they were a bit controversial or offensive, but its hard to please everyone when you want to simply speak your mind. I know some posts are downright worthy of bans and such and its good to clean up trolling. But, I just feel we have to tip toe around so much to avoid getting on probation/suspension/bans.
One reason I go here and not to the 100,000 other gaming forums is because there is a refreshing lack of hooting dickholes. I like how often people get suspended and banned because it makes my experience great.
 

loodmoney

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Apr 25, 2011
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Blitzwing said:
loodmoney said:
Me too. This, and badges for not incurring mods' wrath, allows you to judge if someone is worth listening to much of the time. Very helpful, and very much needed elsewhere on the internet.
I don?t see how that matters just because someone has a Neo badge doesn?t make his or her points valid.
Of course it doesn't. But inevitably someone will reply to you in such a way that you can't tell if they're trolling or not. If you can see that they have gone 5000 posts without getting pinged for bad behaviour, it is much easier to take them in good faith. If they are on probation for racist slurs, on the other hand, it is probably best to ignore them.
 

Assassin Xaero

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Jul 23, 2008
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I've been put on probation a few times, and well... most of them I probably deserved. Anyway, this is one of the few forums I've seen that doesn't drop the hammer on swearing, which I like (then again, how Steam turns swear words into pink hearts is pretty creative). But no, not to strict at all.
 

Z of the Na'vi

Born with one kidney.
Apr 27, 2009
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Kortney said:
Make it stricter.
As Super Skrull would say:

"There's too much trash in the universe!!"

This man speaks the truth. I say tighten the rules even further, so we may cull those who infect the Escapist with their immaturity and asshattery. The Escapist is one of the few websites on the internet where I have been able to simultaneously speak my mind and make new friends, all the while keeping my attitude in check so that I do not incur mod wrath. Not only does this shape me into a more polite person, but it also sets an example for others to follow.

So thank you, Escapist, for being so rock-solid with your guidelines. I follow them both on and off the forums.

/bow
 

SovietSecrets

iDrink, iSmoke, iPill
Nov 16, 2008
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I have found it all right. At least I can argue here my way and haven't been in trouble for it once yet.
 

Owyn_Merrilin

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May 22, 2010
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JDKJ said:
Make it whatever they want but apply it consistently and evenly. I guess that they don't is a product of having a bunch of different mods doing the modding, but it seems like one guy will get banned and the other guy will get nothing even though they both posted the exact same thing.

I also suspect that some of the mods read reported posts in a vacuum and don't take the larger context into consideration. That's how one combatant in a flame war gets time-out but the other combatant don't get shit. Because they're not seeing the entire flame-war. They're merely looking at who's firing a shot at a particular point in time.
This pretty much covers it. I think people do get banned for some ridiculous things, but that would be alright if one could tell from the written rules what those things are. As it is, things can be inconsistent at times. We're one of the biggest laughingstocks on the internet because of it. The one thing that really bothers me, though, is the piracy rule. On a gaming forum, it is really important to be able to candidly discuss piracy. Now, the way the rules are written, it is possible, if difficult -- one can't outright advocate piracy, but they can admit to it, and at least make arguments to the effect that it's not as bad as it is made out to be, or that, to re-purpose a drug related argument, the laws should be changed to make it legal. As it stands? People get banned for admitting to it all the time. About the only way someone can get away with admitting to piracy is if there's at least 10-20 other people admitting to the same thing. In that case, the thread just gets locked, in order to keep things tidy. Meanwhile, people who admit to smoking pot or to enjoying porn -- both things covered under the same rule -- always get off scot free.

Use Our Forums Appropriately
Our forums are a place to talk with like-minded people, not a place to advertise your blog or YouTube channel. Your profile has a place for such things, and that is where it should stay. Similarly, posts including, advocating, or linking to illegal or adult material are a very quick way to end your time as part of The Escapist community.



Can anyone honestly tell me that it's being enforced as written?

Edit: Holy crap, 2020 posts. How on earth did I miss number 2000?
 

AbsoluteVirtue18

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Jan 14, 2009
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There was a user who got to over 800 posts recently, and every post was nothing but ban-worthy bullcrap.

If anything, they need to be stricter.
 

Marik2

Phone Poster
Nov 10, 2009
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Ando85 said:
I notice a lot of times on this forum I see people being put on probation or suspended for posts that I don't think deserve it at all. Maybe, they were a bit controversial or offensive, but its hard to please everyone when you want to simply speak your mind. I know some posts are downright worthy of bans and such and its good to clean up trolling. But, I just feel we have to tip toe around so much to avoid getting on probation/suspension/bans.
Yes, Ive seen posts where they clearly say they were joking and they get put on probation for it even though they really didnt have a bad history of posts.
 

CM156_v1legacy

Revelation 9:6
Mar 23, 2011
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AbsoluteVirtue18 said:
There was a user who got to over 800 posts recently, and every post was nothing but ban-worthy bullcrap.
If you are refering to whom I think you are, then I agree 100%.

I don't mind them. Unlike other forums I have visited, if you have an honest opinion, you aren?t penalized for it. And the ?This user was ____ for ____? is good, and allows you to look at what they had said. It also allows you to see the rules and how they apply.
 

Yopaz

Sarcastic overlord
Jun 3, 2009
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I was once banned permanently from a site for saying fuck. That is strict. Here you are either put on probation or suspended if you're a complete asshole, I'd say that's fair. Having a bad day doesn't mean you need to spread the misery, so if you can't behave because the cool kids wont play with you, just deal with it alone rather than being a dick on the internet because you have the need to hide behind a mask when you're down.
 

sheic99

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Oct 15, 2008
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Soviet Heavy said:
Go to the Bioware Social Network and come back talking about strictness. At least here we're allowed to have differing opinions.
And we don't risk losing our games.
 

Podunk

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Dec 18, 2008
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The strictness of the forums is the only reason I post here. There are plenty of forums full of stupid hateful BS and 'first' posters. I genuinely like that the Escapist has higher standards.