Poll: New forum rules - Yay or Nay?

[Woodsey]

So I am now on 'yellow' for accruing far less probations than most users manage in a year?

Oh fuck this noise, way to completely neuter debate! Why should I debate a point when I can be probated for holding a contrary opinion if enough people report me? basically this "forum" is now an agreement machine!

I wouldn't recommend making jokes either. That always goes wrong for me xD

But hey, at least you can now live up to your screen name.

But really, the whole rules system was better way-back-when. They seem to have gone through 3 or 4 iterations in the past few months, which should tell you that the changes aren't working.

 

[awesomeClaw]

I agree to what others have said.

A warning should disappear after 3 weeks.

A probation after 2 months.

A suspension after 4 months.

That sounds reasonable. Sure, it could be abused, but you can always take two warnings for people who seem to abuse the system.

 

[Davey Woo]

I don't really understand why people are complaining about not being able to remove a warning. I had one warning ages ago for a fair reason, so I decided to not post anything that could be considered offensive or otherwise questionable again, and I've had no trouble, if you're sitting on 3 warnings, how about you just don't do anything stupid and avoid getting any negative repercussions?

Another thing I'd like to point out, is that the mods probably used a similar system before this new rule set, but the only difference was that you couldn't see the amount of warnings you had.

 

[Verlander]

I shall post this before I see them: They need to sort out their punishment system. Some people get severely punished for nothing, some people throw out massively hateful rants and barely get a slap on the wrist. Standardise the punishments.

Reads new rules.

Ok, well I wish they'd had the appeal/4 warning system up a lot sooner. I got given a probation for having bad language in my post (not hateful, nor directed at anyone, just bad language. Yeah, that's right) out of nowhere, and under the assumption that mistakes can be made, I contacted The Escapist under the impression that a mod had got the wrong end of the stick, a cultural misunderstanding. I have never received a reply, and it's cost me those Matrix badges that you get on your profile. As I go out of my way to try and contribute politely and be respectful, it's still a massive kick in the nuts.

Also, define racist? I see loads of Anti-British stuff that never gets reported or punished, so is slamming my country ok? Or do we need different coloured skin, or a different language to be protected? Same with Anti-Americanisms. I'm not talking about disapproving of the politics of a country, I'm talking about open bad mouthing, use of negative stereotypes and general abuse.

 

[GeorgW]

I'm just wondering why ad-blockers are now rated at the same level as child porn.

I get that they fuck up the business model, but seriously?



And to clarify, I'm not advocating their use ok?

They are classified in the same section, they are definitely not the same.

And really, the mods aren't perfect. If one gives you a stupid sentencing that they then refuse to revoke even though you see it as unfair, as does everyone else in the thread, then that gets counted against you forever.

And that's why there's an appeal system.

 

[Woodsey]

I wouldn't recommend making jokes either. That always goes wrong for me xD

But hey, at least you can now live up to your screen name.

Or having the guts to defend something that 99% of posters are misunderstanding, that's just inexcusable.

Still, want to post videos of Justin Bieber 'getting shot' and say how much you want various people dead? Go for it!

To be fair, that video from CSI is hilarious.

I like it, it'll make my job a bit easier cuz less people will complain about inconsistency. If you have any questions about the new rules, please address them here [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/chat/Moderation-Team].

Why don't you have a FHM?

 

[AngryMongoose]

Can't say I like that forum health-bar. It says I can receive 4 more warnings without negative consequences, but with 1 easily viewable by anyone who clicks on my profile, I've already got a negative consequence.

 

[AngryMongoose]

Okay, for the record, the escapist new rules page did this, not me >.<

If I knew it'd be viewable on my profile, I'd have appealed against the warning. It didn't contain many words, sure, but that doesn't mean it's low content.

 

[Actual]

They haven't really changed have they?

This site needs to be harsher on trolls and more lenient on real users looking for fun discussion who're just wise-cracking.

And the advice forum needs to die in a fire.

EDIT: No I take it back. I have been issued two warnings in the past, at the time these were issued they did not effect my account at all, it was merely the mods' way of letting me know I was getting close to stepping over the line, education over punishment. Now I see that they are counted against me forever, if I get enough I get banned. The new system is a big 'nay' for me.

 

[orangebandguy]

I must inspect this.

*le inspects..

*after inspection, shouldn't really bother me anyways, I've never recieved a probation ever. LOOK AT MY SHINY NEO BADGE! <3

Only thing I would be a bit worried about is the "was put on probation for:" being around permanently and making visual clutter.

 

[GeorgW]

I like it, it'll make my job a bit easier cuz less people will complain about inconsistency. If you have any questions about the new rules, please address them here [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/chat/Moderation-Team].

Why don't you have a FHM?

Because I don't know what you mean. Mind explaining?

 

[Woodsey]

And really, the mods aren't perfect. If one gives you a stupid sentencing that they then refuse to revoke even though you see it as unfair, as does everyone else in the thread, then that gets counted against you forever.

And that's why there's an appeal system.

OK, but without diving into my own specific example, that's what I meant by "refuse to revoke".

I like it, it'll make my job a bit easier cuz less people will complain about inconsistency. If you have any questions about the new rules, please address them here [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/chat/Moderation-Team].

Why don't you have a FHM?

Because I don't know what you mean. Mind explaining?

Forum health metre.

 

[Xan Krieger]

Definitely nay, I'm on permanant probation and most of my forum health bar is from the moderators trolling me. Good to know I'm gonna get banned if the mods feel like being mean.

 

[TimeLord]

New forum rules eh? I'll get back to you after I've made this post.

Edit: After a quick read. Not much has changed, just the punishment system. Which you shouldn't have to worry about if you aren't planning on being a douche. And even then, you get 4 warnings. And you can still appeal.

 

[Count Igor]

The way you put it, it sounds pretty bad.
I'm hoping to inspect it by posting this.

 

[Julianking93]

Seems like a bunch of crap to me. Says I have 3 warnings but... I never received one of them.
Why can't I be forgiven of things in the past? So can I no longer engage in debate because I might hurt someone's feelings? Should I just not post at all? The offenses for getting a probation or warning seems to be getting harsher. By this standard, I'll probably be banned simply for existing round here >.>

Or am I going to get a probation for this post just because I'm questioning rule around here?
I wonder if anyone were to see the irony...

 

[HK_01]

I should probably post something to see these new rules, which I will now do.

Edit: Okay, WTF? You'll be on probation permanently? Why?! That seems a little harsh. Not to mention that I think it's incredibly dickish to take away the badges of good behavior you have already earned if you get suspended once. I mean, I've seen plenty of suspensions for things that really weren't all that bad.

(Did I understand the taking away your badges part correctly or did they simply mean you won't receive any more in the future?)

 

[manaman]

Might be to harsh, might just be a slight misunderstanding of the wording by the OP. Might just mean you won't go back to getting warnings once you have received a probation, etc.

That's what I took away from that at least.

 

[Spinwhiz]

The new rules are created based on a lot of feedback from the community over a large amount of time. They actually haven't changed as much as updated as per members' request. Now we just give examples which again, members asked for.

As for seeing warnings and probations get erased, currently it's not going to happen. We are holding people accountable for their actions and we feel 8 strikes is more than enough. 99.9% of the forum members don't have more than 2 warnings (if I'm not mistaken, 82% don't have any infractions). If people can't learn how to be respectful towards others and follow very simple rules, they won't be here for long. Everyone has a bad day but even off of the internet, if you do something stupid on that bad day, you are held accountable. The same goes for The Escapist forums.

As for the forum health bars, we were tired of hearing "why did this person only get a warning and this other person get a suspension?" Well, now you can tell because we've laid it out for you.

I'm not saying there won't be changes in the future but at this time this is what we are sticking with.

 

[necromanzer52]

It's not exactly the best system. Especially considering that the old one worked just fine.