How civilized are the Escapist forums?
- Thread starter retyopy
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The forums aren't necessarily /better/ than any other forums, but they are definitely more /civilized./ This is because the mods enforce the rules with an iron fist; the community at large isn't smarter, although the trolls have to be, since it takes a certain level of intelligence to troll a forum with rules this strict and avoid getting banned for any real length of time.
Do you realize you just described what /b/ would be like if all of the users were pretentious snobs on top of their other failings? Think about the terms "oldfag" and "newfag."OmniscientOstrich said:Inb4 supercilious derisive platitudes towards the influx of new members/lamenting of current state of forums from those whose only jejune notoin of virtue essentially amounts to 'I wuz ere FIRST!'. (It'll happen anyway)
OT: One thing I do have against these forums is the level of smugness that seems to exude from a fair amount of user's posts. Whether it be from sweeping generalisations about cultures/behavioural patterns/tastes etc., 'I've lost faith in humanity' misanthropy that stems from someone throwing a sandwich in your face or something and the incredibly grating sense of superiority you get from user's pining over the good old days, sneering down at any kind of behaviour they can attribute towards some kind of trend and acting with the same sense of general myopic smugness they accuse younger users of having as if they've unlocked the fucking zenith of cultural and intellectual fulfillment in their early-mid 20's. Also, there are some rather questionnable attitudes towards Feminism here...but probably best not to open that kettle of fish...again. But apart from these few gripes I'm rather fond of these forums, I've met quite a few people I like, some of the threads can be fun/interesting and while it isn't necessarily difficult to amass a userbase a little more erudite than the horde of illiterate troglodyte's that have plagued a fair many other communities on the Interwebz, I still hold this up as one of the better communities out there. Every forum you go to is going to have an asshole or two, but I've found most users that I recognise here to be rather pleasent.
Civilized?! You can take your civility and shove it up your...
*Ahem.*
Such things are really rather difficult to measure, as there is no barrier between this place and the vast sea of "everyone in the world with a computer." However, I have found that most people here spell out their words with tolerable regularity, and while they may refuse to answer your question they usually do so for some at least arguably clever reason... a joke that at least gets a chuckle as opposed to just shouting incoherent insults.
All in all, I'd say the Escapist forums rank higher than the only other forums I frequent, but it says something when I seriously consider "most people actually bother communicating here" to be high praise.
*Ahem.*
Such things are really rather difficult to measure, as there is no barrier between this place and the vast sea of "everyone in the world with a computer." However, I have found that most people here spell out their words with tolerable regularity, and while they may refuse to answer your question they usually do so for some at least arguably clever reason... a joke that at least gets a chuckle as opposed to just shouting incoherent insults.
All in all, I'd say the Escapist forums rank higher than the only other forums I frequent, but it says something when I seriously consider "most people actually bother communicating here" to be high praise.
The examples you gave are outright no-nos here. The other big no-no is advocating piracy. Outside of insanely disgusting vulgarity, that is the quickest way to a total ban.
We are in deed breeding a new type of troll. Its kind of like how antibiotics and pesticides breed stronger more resistant species of pathogens and pests. We have to conduct our arguments within the forum rules, and therefore must tone down the maliciousness while keeping our argument in tact.
I for one am all for this. It takes mediocre thinkers and forces them to think more critically. Even if they are just being augmentative they are using their brains and improving themselves as human beings.
We are in deed breeding a new type of troll. Its kind of like how antibiotics and pesticides breed stronger more resistant species of pathogens and pests. We have to conduct our arguments within the forum rules, and therefore must tone down the maliciousness while keeping our argument in tact.
I for one am all for this. It takes mediocre thinkers and forces them to think more critically. Even if they are just being augmentative they are using their brains and improving themselves as human beings.
I make sure to wear a monocle and top hat at all times when posting on the forums, and I never enter the politics section without a 12 year scotch in hand.
I'd say their pretty civilized
In all seriousness though, I left all other messageboards for here because on the whole it's a good place to get a good argument and viewpoint on a whole slew of different options.
Fellow Escapists, I salute you!
I'd say their pretty civilized
In all seriousness though, I left all other messageboards for here because on the whole it's a good place to get a good argument and viewpoint on a whole slew of different options.
Fellow Escapists, I salute you!
Pretty good. I generally like the people here, although sometimes people tend to freak out a bit much (and yes, I have been that guy)
/b/?...Oh dear christ no! I must...atone for the dishonor!:Owyn_Merrilin said:
Heh, but yeah I've heard the terms 'oldfag' and 'newfag' before, but the concepts they represent are hardly new/unique to the anon crowd. In almost any kind of forum/medium/other that people appreciate there's always going to be that crowd who believe their opinion holds more credence because they've been around longer/before it was popular or what have you. There is an air of pretention to a fair few users on this website yes, but we thankfully lack the propensity for casual racism, homophobia, sexism, bigotry, inanity, vulgarity and of course trolling for which /b/ have gained their infamy. Don't get me wrong, I really like this community, there are just a few tropes exhibited among some users that really grind my gears and I'm at least not going to pretend I'm above it either. I've made a fair few bewailing, pointless or smug posts in the past that I regret, but I don't delude myself into thinking I'm anything particularly special, or that I'm above the majority of users here. I'll generally make the effort to be civil and thaknfully most of the users here share the same initiative and if they don't the mods tend to keep people in line quite nicely.
I don't personally understand the whole "good old days" mentality. I think it's been pretty much the same since I started here, save a few changes here and there.
I do think the community has a thing (which I dislike) about its own supposed superiority to the rest of the internet, although the words "last bastion of intellectualism on the internet" haven't hit me in a long while except in paraphrased form, which is better than someone saying it in all seriousness.
I've certainly seen less ordered forums that's for sure, but I also enjoy the anarchy of 4chan, as well as having places where I can just have a conversation/discussion, although to what extent I feel I can have a conversation/discussion depends on who I'd be talking to here. Quite a few old members are pretty good if they've grown up and realised people have different opinions and, furthermore (which is most important), that it's completely fine.
A lot of people have yet to figure this out, and I really can't be arsed to give them the time of day. The more vocal "good old days" members for instance still haven't grown up, the way I see it.
I do think the community has a thing (which I dislike) about its own supposed superiority to the rest of the internet, although the words "last bastion of intellectualism on the internet" haven't hit me in a long while except in paraphrased form, which is better than someone saying it in all seriousness.
I've certainly seen less ordered forums that's for sure, but I also enjoy the anarchy of 4chan, as well as having places where I can just have a conversation/discussion, although to what extent I feel I can have a conversation/discussion depends on who I'd be talking to here. Quite a few old members are pretty good if they've grown up and realised people have different opinions and, furthermore (which is most important), that it's completely fine.
A lot of people have yet to figure this out, and I really can't be arsed to give them the time of day. The more vocal "good old days" members for instance still haven't grown up, the way I see it.
What, you mean like this?OmniscientOstrich said:
Honestly.
It's fine, a lot of forum members here like anywhere else seem to think they're above the rest. Then they go and say something stupid like they think all MW3 players are idiots which, as I said in another topic, generalizing and makes said person the idiot. Don't even have MW3, it's just how I feel.
Oh, man, you took the wrong message from what I was saying here; I didn't mean to say you were insulting the users. The Escapist isn't really all that far removed from /b/ -- in fact, there's more than a little overlap between the two userbases. The problem here is that a lot the users let the fact that we're heavily moderated and they aren't go to their heads, which I always find funny because, like I said, we're pretty much /b/ with a thin veneer of civility.OmniscientOstrich said:
Fair to say it's one of the "better" forums...whatever that means. There are trolls still, but they're just far more disguised. The forums used to be a bit more "intimate" when there were less users, but they have hardly changed. I just simply don't know as many people anymore.
I still enjoy reading the occasional topic here and there, but they're mostly the same since I started actually posting.
I still enjoy reading the occasional topic here and there, but they're mostly the same since I started actually posting.
We do still have discussions, it's just that too many of the threads don't have enough discussion value to encourage it. "Your avatar Xs Y, with Z twist" doesn't really lend itself to deep discussion. Decent topics usually lead to decent threads, even now.Sup I said:
Ah, my apologies I just didn't think the comparison was favourable as, well.../b/ doesn't exactly the most esteemed reputation on the web shall we say (not that this really say's much in the grand scheme of things but you get what I mean).Owyn_Merrilin said: