Dear Users Complaining About Moderators

[DanDanikov]

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...So you were part of an internet community for six years and after one, I repeat one instance of unfair moderation you quit the whole thing?

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The fact that the rule still stands (that is, admitting to using adblock) is pretty much why I quit the community, but there's been other reasons and incidents along the way (the whole paycheck fiasco and losing Extra Credits springs to mind). It isn't just that things are wrong, it's that there's seemingly no way to change them. People are always saying 'fight with your wallet', well, it's the closest thing... and the sad thing is, if it does have an effect, I doubt those who'd notice would correctly attribute it or do anything to solve it.

I still think the community is great, and if any collection of strangers could have a reasonable, well-thought out discussion about the many facets of difficult subjects like adblock, piracy, drugs, human sexuality, sexual assault, or other difficult and controversial topics, it'd probably be the Escapist community (I don't know if that makes you all look good, or just the rest of the internet look bad). I'm not saying anyone would necessarily be right but there would be food for thought.

The core problem is, as mature as the community may be, it's primarily attached to and policed by a business which imposes its own rules out of things like legal requirements and the seeking of profit. Naturally they will endeavour to appear reasonable and be responsive to serious issues they perceive as a threat to the community or their bottom line (pretty much the same thing in their eyes), but ultimately what comes down on high is a business decision and we're left with "accept it or leave"- a sentiment that is offered often. I came to the realization I didn't accept it, so I left, and it really shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that people take that choice.

 

[DSK-]

I'm going to give my 2 cents, not that anyone particularly cares.

Over the last couple of years I've been surprised at quite a few warnings, suspensions and bans on the forums.

I fully accept that not everyone has as tough of a skin as I do, but I have seen warnings and suspensions that were particularly light, and posts by some of the more prominent members of the community that are on the strong side left alone.

These are just some of my observations. I know the mods have a tough time of it, and I really don't envy their job

But still, this has been on my mind for a long while

 

[DarkRawen]

I don't mind the mods at all, though, that might be because I post mostly in the Roleplaying forum. I've never had any incidents involving mods, yet at least.

Which makes me a bit curious, to be honest. Are the RP threads less moderated? It certainly seems like that at points. Is this because less people read them/flag them? I mean, there's certainly less posts in those threads that seems like they would be breaking the rules, but there has to be some of them, somewhere.

>_>

<_<

*Not that I mind such a thing, of course *

Perhaps we just report less people, seeing as spam usually is taken care of rather quickly.

But yeah, I've never seen a post that I thought was unfairly given a warning/ban/stuff like that for, some were a bit borderline, but I haven't really seen anything that looked like outright abuse of powers.

 

[lacktheknack]

My only qualm with the mods at the minute is that they havent locked this thread although to be honest it shows them in a good light

One mod (I dunno who) actually did sink this thread (not lock it), but another mod (not saying who) unsunk it.

I'm also pretty amazed that the thread still lives, but as long as people don't start committing en mass forum seppuku (only one so far!), there's no real reason for them to lock it.

 

[shootthebandit]

My only qualm with the mods at the minute is that they havent locked this thread although to be honest it shows them in a good light

One mod (I dunno who) actually did sink this thread (not lock it), but another mod (not saying who) unsunk it.

I'm also pretty amazed that the thread still lives, but as long as people don't start committing en mass forum seppuku (only one so far!), there's no real reason for them to lock it.

I forgot you made this to point out people complaining. At the time of my comment I thought it was just people complaining

 

[Vareoth]

While I mostly agree with you I will also say (please don't take this personally) that I do not need someone telling me whether or not I should agree with general mod behaviour. I'm perfectly able to judge this myself. The mods are not omnipotent and they do make mistakes. They are only human after all.

Even so, I have almost naught but good to say at the way this forum is being moderated. They abide by a clear set of rules and do so amicably and resolutely. I've only been in a singular instance where I disagreed with a warning I received but in the end it is up to them to decide on the correct course of action. And that's the way things should be and people must accept that.

And the only rule I fundamentally disagree with is the Adblock one. That rule itself ultimately does more damage than whatever purpose it serves. But it's not up to the mods themselves to decide whether or not a rule is worth enforcing.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

As much as I completely agree that pointless whining about moderators is silly, these times when the biggest users on the site sing their praises aren't really all that helpful.

It feels like a major executive in a company cheering for the board of directors of said company. I'm not saying you or anyone else is bad, just that it's an odd position.

Not really. It shouldn't be surprising that the people who have been here the longest are the ones who work well with the mods and ruleset.

Well of course, but it also calls into question the objectivity of the arguments. Especially since it's most often one of you fellows that makes these threads.

 

[lacktheknack]

As much as I completely agree that pointless whining about moderators is silly, these times when the biggest users on the site sing their praises aren't really all that helpful.

It feels like a major executive in a company cheering for the board of directors of said company. I'm not saying you or anyone else is bad, just that it's an odd position.

Not really. It shouldn't be surprising that the people who have been here the longest are the ones who work well with the mods and ruleset.

Well of course, but it also calls into question the objectivity of the arguments. Especially since it's most often one of you fellows that makes these threads.

Oh, I never claimed to be objective myself. The "arguments" are not objective arguments, they're objective facts. No amount of excellent debate and arguing is going to change that the mods are the wrong channel for people's frustrations with the rules, which was the point of the thread.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

As much as I completely agree that pointless whining about moderators is silly, these times when the biggest users on the site sing their praises aren't really all that helpful.

It feels like a major executive in a company cheering for the board of directors of said company. I'm not saying you or anyone else is bad, just that it's an odd position.

Not really. It shouldn't be surprising that the people who have been here the longest are the ones who work well with the mods and ruleset.

Well of course, but it also calls into question the objectivity of the arguments. Especially since it's most often one of you fellows that makes these threads.

The "arguments" are not objective arguments, they're objective facts.

Well, to a point.

The fact that this thread is 5 pages long is evidence that at least [i/]some[/i] of the things you said are debatable.

 

[lacktheknack]

As much as I completely agree that pointless whining about moderators is silly, these times when the biggest users on the site sing their praises aren't really all that helpful.

It feels like a major executive in a company cheering for the board of directors of said company. I'm not saying you or anyone else is bad, just that it's an odd position.

Not really. It shouldn't be surprising that the people who have been here the longest are the ones who work well with the mods and ruleset.

Well of course, but it also calls into question the objectivity of the arguments. Especially since it's most often one of you fellows that makes these threads.

The "arguments" are not objective arguments, they're objective facts.

Well, to a point.

The fact that this thread is 5 pages long is evidence that at least [i/]some[/i] of the things you said are debatable.

If you'd like to point them out, I'd be interested. I'm not exactly sure how this thread managed to hit five pages of really-not-that-much-content.

 

[Ieyke]

My complaint with the mods is arbitrary standards of "rudeness", where apparently sarcasm containing no insults is considered rude.
Somewhat hilariously, flagging my sarcasm as "rude" marks it as legitimate and something the other person should feel insulted by, and confirms that the moderator understands that the person I was being sarcastic to WAS an idiot.
Had my post not been flagged, it would've just been me sarcastically telling someone not to believe everything they read on the internet.

In effect, I got a Warning because the Moderator turned my sarcastic comment into an insult....which, while funny, is BS.


Also, the whole "Low Content" thing, while being good for blocking spambots, I guess, is pretty completely and massively stupid when it comes to being able to make concise points like a competent human being.

 

[DoPo]

Also, the whole "Low Content" thing, while being good for blocking spambots, I guess, is pretty completely and massively stupid when it comes to being able to make concise points like a competent human being.

Making "a concise points like a competent human being" would, actually, not ding the low content post. I do not understand how can this keep being misunderstood after being reiterated so many times: "low content" does not mean "too few words" (and simply having X amount of words doesn't actually make a "full content" post). It is basically to stop meaningless posts like "^ This", "First!", "Yes", "LOL", and other similar things. This includes "What this person said", "I post first in this thread", etc which would be longer rewordings of the same. Posts such as these are clutter and entirely meaningless in the context of a discussion. Hence "low content" as they don't have any. If one does make a point in under 10 words (or whatever), then the post, by definition, is not low content. On the other hand, it's rare to find posts with under 10 words making a point, simply because if one does make the barest amount of effort, they'd usually be able to come up with at least two sentences about that point.

 

[Darks63]

My complaint with the mods is arbitrary standards of "rudeness", where apparently sarcasm containing no insults is considered rude.
Somewhat hilariously, flagging my sarcasm as "rude" marks it as legitimate and something the other person should feel insulted by, and confirms that the moderator understands that the person I was being sarcastic to WAS an idiot.
Had my post not been flagged, it would've just been me sarcastically telling someone not to believe everything they read on the internet.

In effect, I got a Warning because the Moderator turned my sarcastic comment into an insult....which, while funny, is BS.

This problem is not a new one on the Internet though. Sarcasm relies on tells that don't translate to text so when you use it online people will take your words and twist it whatever way their personal biases lean. This is why having a snarky sense of humor can be problematic on the net since people can easily think you're being snide and rude instead of light-hearted and funny.

 

[Shamanic Rhythm]

My brief experience being a mod on another site taught me that it's a thankless task, which is really only worth it if you are genuinely keen to keep that particular online community together. In that case, I quickly came to the conclusion that I would rather leave.

Seriously, Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy is a pretty good analogy for what being a mod is like.

 

[Ieyke]

Also, the whole "Low Content" thing, while being good for blocking spambots, I guess, is pretty completely and massively stupid when it comes to being able to make concise points like a competent human being.

Making "a concise points like a competent human being" would, actually, not ding the low content post. I do not understand how can this keep being misunderstood after being reiterated so many times: "low content" does not mean "too few words" (and simply having X amount of words doesn't actually make a "full content" post). It is basically to stop meaningless posts like "^ This", "First!", "Yes", "LOL", and other similar things. This includes "What this person said", "I post first in this thread", etc which would be longer rewordings of the same. Posts such as these are clutter and entirely meaningless in the context of a discussion. Hence "low content" as they don't have any. If one does make a point in under 10 words (or whatever), then the post, by definition, is not low content. On the other hand, it's rare to find posts with under 10 words making a point, simply because if one does make the barest amount of effort, they'd usually be able to come up with at least two sentences about that point.

Unfortunately, that's not true of any of the things I got Low Content warnings on recently.
I can make a point in a few words and often more powerfully than any greater number of words would do. What makes that really damn annoying is that I'm ordinarily verbose and have trouble being concise.
I CAN pointlessly extend a complete thought of a few words out to hundreds of words worth of "padding" without adding any content, and it would NEVER EVER get flagged....but I rather not sound like so many others who waste everyone's time making a lot of redundant noise.

 

[Colour Scientist]

See? typical escapist modders at their best. A warning for simply telling them how I feel about their work as a result of their actions in a forum topic that specifically ASKS for honesty. I won't stroke your ego trying to suck up to you, I will speak the truth like I always do. So sorry that hurts.

Here's the thing. That warning no longer effects me, I know the truth of you, you out of control mod that flags me for HONESTY and know that my time is not even worth spent here as a result of you being so bad that these forums are not even worth it. No matter how many times you flag me or even ban me you will NOT change my mind. This is just internet land, nothing you do here truely effects me. Even if you were to ban me I can simply stand up from my chair and your little world where you think you have complete control amounts to NOTHING to me. My life is not effected in any way, shape or form. You have nothing over me. In reality you are just a desktop dictator. Nothing you can say or do will change that, even banning me. THAT is your reality. Mine is at least now free from you. But you are still who you are in reality.

Goodbye, escapist. Your mods truely are terrible people not just here but in real life for flagging HONESTY when it was asked for. Good riddance. Oh, and mod? take a good look in the mirror next time you go to brush your teeth. Take a good look, and realize you are a petty, awful person. Sorry for speaking what I felt was the truth. You are just like the Chinese government, throwing people in jail for simply speaking up. You must be so fucking proud of yourself for that, dictator. Pat yourself on the back for your powertrip, did you get an emotional high? must feel SOOOOO good for you. I am logging off, not looking back and laughing at you for this. Your ban can't stop that!

Yes, it really does seem like getting mod wrath has had no effect on you whatsoever.

For the millionth time, I still don't understand why people get so worked up over this.

 

[Lucem712]

[II|:{

I don't think it was the 'honesty' that got you the warning, [user]Zeckt[/user]. I think it was insulting the Mods. Mods[footnote]Most of them, anyhow.[/footnote] are people, too. And, you kind of aren't allowed to insult people directly or indirectly. (The part where you said, 'the mods suck', not just some criticisms you gave)

Though, I hope you find happier and greener pastures out there in internet land.

Happy travels, my friend.[br]

 

[Sassafrass]

See? typical escapist modders at their best. A warning for simply telling them how I feel about their work as a result of their actions in a forum topic that specifically ASKS for honesty. I won't stroke your ego trying to suck up to you, I will speak the truth like I always do. So sorry that hurts.

Here's the thing. That warning no longer effects me, I know the truth of you, you out of control mod that flags me for HONESTY and know that my time is not even worth spent here as a result of you being so bad that these forums are not even worth it. No matter how many times you flag me or even ban me you will NOT change my mind. This is just internet land, nothing you do here truely effects me. Even if you were to ban me I can simply stand up from my chair and your little world where you think you have complete control amounts to NOTHING to me. My life is not effected in any way, shape or form. You have nothing over me. In reality you are just a desktop dictator. Nothing you can say or do will change that, even banning me. THAT is your reality. Mine is at least now free from you. But you are still who you are in reality.

Goodbye, escapist. Your mods truely are terrible people not just here but in real life for flagging HONESTY when it was asked for. Good riddance. Oh, and mod? take a good look in the mirror next time you go to brush your teeth. Take a good look, and realize you are a petty, awful person. Sorry for speaking what I felt was the truth. You are just like the Chinese government, throwing people in jail for simply speaking up. You must be so fucking proud of yourself for that, dictator. Pat yourself on the back for your powertrip, did you get an emotional high? must feel SOOOOO good for you. I am logging off, not looking back and laughing at you for this. Your ban can't stop that!

Yes, it really does seem like getting mod wrath has had no effect on you whatsoever.

For the millionth time, I still don't understand why people get so worked up over this.

So they can live out their fantasies of fighting da powah so they don't get the shit kicked out of them in real life is my guess.

That or free tome galore.

 

[Charli]

Escapist forum is lax as hell. I mean ...the fact that I've never recieved an infraction kind of astounds me. The mods on say...MMO champion are way more trigger happy.

 

[The Lunatic]

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To be fair, from what I can gather (Unless the post was editted!), the warning was given for saying (And I quote) "The Mods here suck".

Which falls under "Mod Sass".

However, if the statement was changed to "The mods here aren't very good".

Then the meaning is still exactly the same. The words are just different.

So, it raises the question as to if moderators are moderating based on the intention or just a choice word they take offence to.