Poll: New forum rules - Yay or Nay?

[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.

Just out of curiosity, will you take severity of infractions into account? For example, if someone does something a level above flaming, would you give them 2 strikes at once?

Yes, we are able to do that if someone is just being a complete jerk. The moderators and staff always have the ability to give a higher penalty but it would have to be something pretty bad or vile enough, which rarely happens (but does happen). Same thing with advertising, automatic 30 day suspension, which puts people into the yellow.

 

[Sorafrosty]

Not sure what I think about them. I agree with most of them, and I do not think I will ever try to break them. Nevertheless, getting suspended or banned for just not agreeing is not cool. *considers* not that I think the mods here would do that, but nobody is perfect.

EDIT: *cough* Now that I was directed to read them, I do feel that the probations should be removed after some time. After all, who wants to be on probation for ever, and a few weeks is probably enough for some people...

 

[Woodsey]

Forum health metre.

Awesome, I've never seen this Forum Health Meter before, thanks for making me aware of it! Personally, I think that's a great addition to the site, if only because I like slightly pointless things like that (badges, for example).

P.S: The captchas can still die in fire...

You won't be sayings its pointless - or awesome - when you have a few permanent strikes against your name for simple misunderstandings.

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.

Just out of curiosity, will you take severity of infractions into account? For example, if someone does something a level above flaming, would you give them 2 strikes at once?

Yes, we are able to do that if someone is just being a complete jerk. The moderators and staff always have the ability to give a higher penalty but it would have to be something pretty bad or vile enough, which rarely happens (but does happen). Same thing with advertising, automatic 30 day suspension, which puts people into the yellow.

What about advertising? As in admitting to ad-blocks, or self-advertising? Or both?

 

[Spinwhiz]

Don't care about the punishments but one thing that I see commonly on this website is people being told off for low content posts. Why not just set a lower limit for the number of characters in a post? Then that's one less thing the mods have to worry about and everyone's happy.

Good question. In regards to the other sites I frequent, most people just fill the extra character spaces with crap. We have no doubt members of The Escapist have lots to say, as most of the debates I see are spectacular and most opinions are well thought out and helpful.

 

[Verlander]

So, looked at my health bar, and I'm already two down, one for an unfair probation for bad language, and one for a low content post (apparently). However, if I remember rightly, the new rules say that complaining is now forbidden, and so I'm off to open a bottle of bubbly to celebrate! Cheers!

(now waiting for third strike...)

Oh, and here's an ironic thing, but isn't this sort of fairly oppressive behaviour the sort of thing that the major contributors to the Escapist talk out against in games or society and whatnot? Please don't tell me that the Escapist is turning into the forum version of Final Fantasy 13... nicely polished, but you can't actually do anything?

 

[Spinwhiz]

I find it rather unfair that there's absolutely no way to clear your record. Everybody slips up now and then. I'm usually the first to advocate harsh punishment for infractions, but this is ridiculous. With harsh punishments should come rewards for good behavior. So if you've not committed any infractions for a certain amount of time, your 'forum heath meter' should go back down.

Nobody should be able to slip up 8 times and being given more chances. If anyone can't learn how to be respectful and follow our rules after what is pretty much 8 infractions, they shouldn't be here.

 

[Lawyer105]

I totally agree with of the intention, certainly...

The methods, not so much.

The Escapist claims to be a community promoting games etc. Key word - community. By the very definition of community, it's designed to pull the group together.

A rule like the above simply has no place in modern society. Only in primitive, medieval times did communities practice actions like shunning and exile. This was necessary, as times were hard and a non-conformist could get the whole community dead etc.

Times changed. People grew up. Shunning etc. went away.

Even some criminal records expire these days, and I'd consider that way more serious than an inappropriate comment on an internet forum (oh teh horrorz!). After all... dangerous driving is clearly less evil and depraved than an inappropriate comment on an internet forum. Right?

And ad-blockers on the same scale as pedophilia?? Not to be pedantic here, but there's clearly something wrong when an ad-blocker is listed in the same breath as the vile obscenity that is pedophilia!

And criminal acts inside the US only?? Wait, what? So it's fine to promote criminal activity as long as you do it outside the US?? I'm so confused.....

I've always considered myself fairly uptight, and I know (and have had it pointed out on these very forums more than once!) that I can be more than a little intolerant... but even I understand the virtue of forgiveness and understanding.

As noted previously... 8 strikes is plenty warning. But if you're in a community for years (the way the Escapist is meant to be) they can eventually add up. Surely the most appropriate response is a time-delayed reduction. After all, if you clock up 8 strikes over 10 years, with 15000 posts, surely you're a much more positive influence on the community than somebody who clocks up 8 strikes in 2 weeks with 20 posts. Person A should still be around, Person B should be history. Would seem like common sense to me.

I really think we should push back on this one. The Escapist doesn't exist without us, the participants, and this is one time I think we should stand up and be counted!

 

[Kakujin]

Some yay for me. It is good that there will be a clear and distinct way of keeping track of what you are doing is okay. Non-yay department is the non-reversible nature of the strikes, it has a bad ring inside of me.

 

[Kakujin]

Some yay for me. It is good that there will be a clear and distinct way of keeping track of what you are doing is okay. Non-yay department is the non-reversible nature of the strikes, it has a bad ring inside of me.

 

[JokerboyJordan]

Really? Well at least I now know not to misbehave in this fascist dictatorship! /sarcasm/

 

[Legion]

I don't really care either way, I tend to be reasonably behaved on here as it is. If someone starts pissing me off too much I just leave the topic and ignore any replies I get so as not to say anything I will regret.

As Spinwhiz said, it will make things less complicated. I could never understand how some people got a 3 day probation and others 7 days for things that weren't all that different.

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!

If lot's of people report you but a mod doesn't think you did anything wrong, you realise nothing will come of it, right?

 

[Actual]

And criminal acts inside the US only?? Wait, what? So it's fine to promote criminal activity as long as you do it outside the US?? I'm so confused.....

This is because you need to define a place and as the majority of the user plus the staff are from the US it makes sense to be there.

If we didn't you wouldn't be able to advocate gay marriage because it's illegal somewhere in the world.

So they're saying don't advocate things which are illegal in the US. So you can't encourage raping and murdering in the UK, because it's illegal in the US.

That's my understanding at least.

EDIT: Changed the wording to clarify that you can discuss crimes you just can't encourage them.

 

[Altorin]

hrmm, I have no idea, I haven't read it yet, so I shall and maybe return

 

[zyzzyx]

I have no idea why this place has such strict rules against "trolling". A little smack talk can be good for a community.

 

[ZeroMachine]

... Well... it showed me that I had two infractions, apparently. I remember one...

I'm torn. It sort of gets rid of the idea of "redemption". The least they could do is implement a health pack or regenerating health system.

 

[Et3rnalLegend64]

Yeah, same opinion as everyone else pretty much. The bar is nice and all, but what if we just get in trouble for some little things every half a year or so? We'll be kicked for accidentally stepping on someone's toes in a crowded room or something.

You can accrue points on your driver's license and you get it taken away at 6 points, but for every 6 months/1 year (forgot which) that you go clean, they drop 2 points from the record. If you run another 6 months/1 year after you totally drain your penalty points, your next offense is treated as your very first one.

It would make a little more sense if the more severe penalties were permanent, but I don't want people to be booted because of small misunderstandings. Maybe minor warnings fade after 6 months, more severe ones go after a year, and huge "you were a major dick" punishments are permanent?

 

[Jack and Calumon]

So long as more serious crimes make you skip a few stages, like posting teh pr0nz for no reason other than to troll people, then I only have one real complaint.

I have 2 warnings on my Health Bar, meaning that I should not be held back in terms of badges, but I am, because I got those warnings from before the system was put into place. If someone did exactly the same as I did, the same two rule breaks (Low content and wishing an untimely death on Paris Hilton, which I again apologise for) then he could totally get Neo, but when I hit Neo levels, I won't. I haven't even got the one for the 1000 posts. That's the only thing I find to be unfair in this system.

Otherwise, Yay. It's precise.

Calumon: I didn't even know him when he got those! Why should I have them too? >: (

 

[Legion]

I'm sure we've all seen enough biased and overly starch-arsed modding on this site to know that mods do have their opinions and that they'll be pretty damn partisan about them too.

I have seen what I could describe as biased moderation, but you can't really tell who is biased in what way as it doesn't say who did what moderation.

Anyway, that's why there is an appeal system in place.

So long as more serious crimes make you skip a few stages, like posting teh pr0nz for no reason other than to troll people, then I only have one real complaint.

I have 2 warnings on my Health Bar, meaning that I should not be held back in terms of badges, but I am, because I got those warnings from before the system was put into place. If someone did exactly the same as I did, the same two rule breaks (Low content and wishing an untimely death on Paris Hilton, which I again apologise for) then he could totally get Neo, but when I hit Neo levels, I won't. I haven't even got the one for the 1000 posts. That's the only thing I find to be unfair in this system.

Otherwise, Yay. It's precise.

Calumon: I didn't even know him when he got those! Why should I have them too? >: (

I imagine those two warnings were two "probations" under the old system, so you still wouldn't be entitled to the badges anyway.

 

[Fayathon]

I do everything I can to not piss the moderation off, I keep my posts civil and I don't incite flamewars, so the forum rules for posting have never bothered me, and I think that they will continue to not bother me. Well, slot me down for 'meh' then.

Quick edit: Still isn't going to impact me in the slightest, but I don't agree wholly with the not being able to reset your strikes if you've got good behavior for an extended period of time. Perhaps they will amend that at a later date.