Please, that's almost a compliment. I would say that it's more like being run by a bunch of Puritans. That would explain the Scarlet Letter like punishments.Bobzer77 said:
Poll: New forum rules - Yay or Nay?
- Thread starter awesomeClaw
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Well, based on my experience as a moderator of other forums (not here) and chat channels, I've had first hand experience with this sort of issue. And it's basically proof of two things.HG131 said:
First, that The Escapist forums are an evolving organism. Things change... I'm pretty sure that when they first came up with the rules, they never even thought that anyone would discuss a subject in (admittedly my opinion) such poor taste. When it happened, one of the mods reacted and banned the guy. I've been part of similar discussions of the type that I'm sure happened after this... at some point, someone said something like, "Jeesh, I'd never thought we'd need a specific rule to not discuss X."
But it also shows that the staff here are willing to give second chances and react to the community. Now in this case, that reaction was basically along the lines of, "Okay... there wasn't a specific rule against it before, so you've got a second chance; but there is one NOW, so don't do it again". Some people seem to take that sort of reaction as a bad thing, but it's not. It's simply the reality of The Escapist attracting a wider audience, and with more people, the task of moderating becomes much, much harder.
The Ad blockers thing has always been a rule. The Escapist makes money from ads, if you are saying that you are blocking those ads on your browser, and the companies providing the ads find out, they may pull their ads, and thus funding, from the Escapist.zama174 said:
I dislike the permanent probation idea, and considering how I am one infraction away, it'll always jitter my nerves.
I thought the punishments were much more 'scarlet letter' like in the prior incarnation. You could never scroll down through more than a page of posts without seeing at least one, "X is on probation for this post in ." That always seem to be me like the site was celebrating the warning/probation/banning of someone.For.I.Am.Mad said:
As it is now, it seems much more discrete... unless of course, I've hit that rarest of all threads and none of the posters of the dozens of pages of comments I've perused have been made by anyone who is on probation. If that's the case... opps.
I didn't care about this one way or the other when I first saw this thread.
But now, I think I can comment on some changes that are good. Maybe it's because they saw this thread but the Amnesty thing seems nice.
Means your strikes can be taken back somewhat. While it's not like a clear record, it's still sort of like a second chance.
But now, I think I can comment on some changes that are good. Maybe it's because they saw this thread but the Amnesty thing seems nice.
Means your strikes can be taken back somewhat. While it's not like a clear record, it's still sort of like a second chance.
I think it's an improvement, to be honest: there's a way to atone for any... er, early indiscretions that one might commit if they misunderstand the community and/or the tolerance of the mods when they first start posting here. There were a couple of posters who I thought had some promise for intelligent discussion who ended up flaming out quickly, and I bet they would've benefited from this clearer system.
Also, I like that they are codifying that you should be coherent and intelligible in posts: I can see "U R STUPD!!!! (whatever) IS TEH R0XX0RZ!!1!" posts anywhere on the Internet; I'm very glad that this site explicitly states that behavior will not be tolerated. (Of course, since it's always been that way at the Escapist, I suppose that really doesn't apply to a 'new forum rules' thread. But hey, reinforcement is good.)
Also, I like that they are codifying that you should be coherent and intelligible in posts: I can see "U R STUPD!!!! (whatever) IS TEH R0XX0RZ!!1!" posts anywhere on the Internet; I'm very glad that this site explicitly states that behavior will not be tolerated. (Of course, since it's always been that way at the Escapist, I suppose that really doesn't apply to a 'new forum rules' thread. But hey, reinforcement is good.)
Ah, but pity the poor poster whose single poorly-thought-out joke at someone's expense took him straight to a suspension. For he shall, without warning, be on probation forevermore.
I think I agree with other voices here - some sort of "health regeneration"/new lease on life system is going to be a necessity at some point. Old punishments were given with the old system in mind (which was much more "punishment fits the crime" than the new point-based system); with the new system in place, moderators might give less harsh penalties in light of the newly-increased weight of said punishments, but those of us who stumbled before are straight out of luck.
I think I agree with other voices here - some sort of "health regeneration"/new lease on life system is going to be a necessity at some point. Old punishments were given with the old system in mind (which was much more "punishment fits the crime" than the new point-based system); with the new system in place, moderators might give less harsh penalties in light of the newly-increased weight of said punishments, but those of us who stumbled before are straight out of luck.
They've already but in a 'health regeneration' system... it's a couple of pages up, but hasn't made it into the forums rule page yet. Basically, 6 months with no infractions, and you get a strike removed; 2 years with no infractions, and you get a clean slate.omicron1 said:
Ban JumpingNicolasMarinus said:
If you create another account after being permanently banned, suspended or on probation, both of your accounts will be automatically banned
I suppose the only foolproof way to jump a ban would be to get a new email, a new address, a new ISP, a new computer, and a new "typing accent." At that point, it's surely more money than it's worth, even for the most hardcore Escapist fan.itf cho said:
I'm glad there's some sort of health regeneration system; I'm just worried now whether it's six months from the original infraction or six months since the new system was implemented.
Incidentally, according to the pre-post popup I just got, amnesty is in the rule page now. Good times all around.
I don't always agree with the Escapist's policies on things, piracy being one example. However I'd much rather see the rules clearly stated and clarified for all to see than watch as the community degrades. It's obvious the reason things have been changing around here is because the user base is growing, and the larger a group of people get the less intelligent they get, so rules and moderation are for the most part the right idea.
Yay, that means one bad thing and I'm banned -_- (I've been suspended twice and put on probation numerous times)
You expect people to have problems with this and expect to ban them? Just because they have a problem with it? What the fuck?Virgil said: