In Regards to Wild West

Fiz_The_Toaster

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Jan 19, 2011
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Hello all.

As some of you may have noticed, the Wild West sub-forum is no longer accessible. This is not a glitch, nothing Defy did, but something that we, as a moderation team, have decided to do, and this was something that was not done lightly nor without group consideration and discussion.

Yes, there was a thread a while back to ask the community their thoughts and feelings about what to be done about WW. It was decided to let it be, and let users post how they wish since it was conveyed to us that users were having fun in there and it was an outlet they really appreciated.

However, due to recent threads that range from borderline harassment to outright bullying, we have decided to close it off. What was originally a sub-forum for topic-less threads, whimsy fun, and random shenanigans has now turned vitriolic and unacceptable. It has now turned into a place that some users feel that they can now get away with this behavior and consequences will not happen due to the lawlessness of the sub-forum.

Not anymore, nor will it come back.

Again, this was a decision that wasn't made lightly nor without serious input from the whole moderation team. That being said, if there are threads in WW that should be moved to other forums so that they can still be continued posting in, please do let either myself, or another member of the moderation team know and we will be more than happy to do so.

Cheers.
 

Sigmund Av Volsung

Hella noided
Dec 11, 2009
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It doesn't solve the underlying problem, but whatever helps people sleep at night. The Escapist was never that good in terms of the community and removing this aspect will only cause those with attention seeking behaviours enabled by a general passive aggressive sentiment to lash out or just find ways around limitations.
 

Johnlives

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Dec 6, 2009
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But they've been bullying Zontar since it opened, why now?

Where do we go for our whimsy?
 

the December King

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I was going to ask about that.

Sometimes I found Breakfastman's callouts of popular genres and writers/artists quite funny, partly because I was amused by the antagonism, partly because a lot of people (me included, at least in a few examples) who were initially insensed by their opinions, especially if it was something we personally enjoyed or appreciated, then commented, and added to an often lighthearted discussion (and showed that we were still out there, watching and lurking)...

but, you know, overall not much else there seemed important.
 

Thaluikhain

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Jan 16, 2010
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I thought the whole point was that it was for vitriolic threads unacceptable anywhere else. Never seemed like a good idea to me.
 

Silentpony_v1legacy

Alleged Feather-Rustler
Jun 5, 2013
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Baby's first /b/ is gone?! Now where will people go to post dank memes and attack threads where people mistake vulgarity for biting commentary?!

Alas poor Wild West! I knew him, edgelord, a forum of cringe worthy jests, of most "excellent" hentai pictures.
 

MinimanZombie

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As a representative of the "America: Le Buk" Author team I'd like to formally request that all ALB related threads and topics be moved to other subforums to preserve them, as they are an integral and vital part of the site's history, and represent traditions and beliefs preserved by a variety of users over many years.
 

Catfood220

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Hmmm, just noticed that it had disappeared. I think this is possibly a good move. While the forum started out as a bit of fun, it soon devolved into people attacking each other and right wingers posting their toxic views without the fear of getting their wrists slapped.

Most of the threads there could have just been made in Off Topic and hopefully the WW removal will revive this forum. I just hope the mods will be a little more lenient with the rules as some posters, Bobular for example, posted some fun threads there. I was one of the people who voted for the Wild West to stay back in that thread, but looking at what it became, I can't say I'm upset to see The Wild West go.
 

BreakfastMan

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Jul 22, 2010
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Can we move over the Gangsta rap and Fantasy threads I had created over to OT? I liked those threads, and wanted to see where further discussion on those topics would lead.
 

Ninjamedic

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undeadsuitor said:
I guess it's time to go back to the R&P subforum and blatantly insult people through a thin veneer of self righteousness, edging the line closer and closer towards actual insults until someone gets a warning like a game of chicken
Speak for yourself.
Sigmund Av Volsung said:
The Escapist was never that good in terms of the community and removing this aspect will only cause those with attention seeking behaviours enabled by a general passive aggressive sentiment to lash out or just find ways around limitations.
I think you'll find they see this is a feature and not a bug.
 

chocolate pickles

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Apr 14, 2011
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The site is dying, and you guys got rid of one of the main attractions? I'm honestly not trying to be a dick, but not matter your feelings on the Wild West, at least it was bringing traffic.

People were attracted to the Wild West because of the generally poor state of moderation on these forums. That's not a dig at any particular mod; it's been a problem for years. Other sites have been laughing at this place for years for overly strict, bordering on bizarre modding and rules. Rule 0 is perhaps the best case, and the fact that people believed that April Fools joke about even stricter rules.

This site has always had a double standard, punishing direct aggression but tolerating pretty much anything that could be dressed up nicely enough. Fact is, the sites such a mess that I don't expect any improvement. Not gonna lie, I'm half expecting to get a warning just for daring to criticise and address the site's problems.
 

Silentpony_v1legacy

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Jun 5, 2013
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chocolate pickles said:
The site is dying, and you guys got rid of one of the main attractions? I'm honestly not trying to be a dick, but not matter your feelings on the Wild West, at least it was bringing traffic.
It was never a main attraction. No one outside of the Escapist knew about it, and only premium members could access it. It was just a Good Old Boys club for calling people cunts/fags/weebs and cucks, and posting meme pics that'll get you a warning on the proper site, with all of the same 15 users saying the same stuff over and over and over and over and over.

It was never more than a desperate ploy, The Purge of the Escapist with the exact same thinking. If people can post shit there, they'll be less likely to post shit on other forums, and much like the Purge it was a terrible idea that backfired. The Wild West should have seen this coming when people started posting WW bait threads on other subforums.
 

EvilRoy

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Ninjamedic said:
undeadsuitor said:
I guess it's time to go back to the R&P subforum and blatantly insult people through a thin veneer of self righteousness, edging the line closer and closer towards actual insults until someone gets a warning like a game of chicken
Speak for yourself.
Sigmund Av Volsung said:
The Escapist was never that good in terms of the community and removing this aspect will only cause those with attention seeking behaviours enabled by a general passive aggressive sentiment to lash out or just find ways around limitations.
I think you'll find they see this is a feature and not a bug.
I mean it is a shame but really everyone who brought enjoyment to the WW through shitposting threads or other weirdness pretty much moved on. All we were left with was a few people actively bullying while trying to maintain an outward veneer of "fun" in the face of their own apparently endless aggression.

Whatever the WW brought to the site pretty much ran its course. Passive aggressive snarking isn't fun to deal with but the WW hadn't been helping reduce that for a while. The worst culprits just willfully engaged in both areas.
 

Ninjamedic

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Dec 8, 2009
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Silentpony said:
with all of the same 15 users saying the same stuff over and over and over and over and over.
You've just described Off-topic and the forums as a whole word for word.
 

Silentpony_v1legacy

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Ninjamedic said:
Silentpony said:
with all of the same 15 users saying the same stuff over and over and over and over and over.
You've just described Off-topic and the forums as a whole word for word.
Granted the site is slow, but at least the main forum is open to new members. When was the last time someone signed up and got a membership just to post in the Wild West?
 

Ninjamedic

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EvilRoy said:
All we were left with was a few people actively bullying while trying to maintain an outward veneer of "fun" in the face of their own apparently endless aggression.
Replace "fun" with "morality" and you have most of this site's community.
 

JoJo

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MinimanZombie said:
As a representative of the "America: Le Buk" Author team I'd like to formally request that all ALB related threads and topics be moved to other subforums to preserve them, as they are an integral and vital part of the site's history, and represent traditions and beliefs preserved by a variety of users over many years.
BreakfastMan said:
Can we move over the Gangsta rap and Fantasy threads I had created over to OT? I liked those threads, and wanted to see where further discussion on those topics would lead.
Done and done.

Catfood220 said:
Hmmm, just noticed that it had disappeared. I think this is possibly a good move. While the forum started out as a bit of fun, it soon devolved into people attacking each other and right wingers posting their toxic views without the fear of getting their wrists slapped.

Most of the threads there could have just been made in Off Topic and hopefully the WW removal will revive this forum. I just hope the mods will be a little more lenient with the rules as some posters, Bobular for example, posted some fun threads there. I was one of the people who voted for the Wild West to stay back in that thread, but looking at what it became, I can't say I'm upset to see The Wild West go.
Yeah, we're intending to be a little lighter on the discussion value requirements in Off-Topic from here on out, so that any fun threads still have a home. That and Forum Games can take up some of the slack.
 

Leg End

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Oct 24, 2010
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Welp, that's the last thing of value gone.
Silentpony said:
When was the last time someone signed up and got a membership just to post in the Wild West?