Poll: New forum rules - Yay or Nay?

[magicmonkeybars]

Edit:

* Piracy
* Ad Blockers
* Illegal Drugs in the United States
* Illegal Acts in the United States
* Pedophilia
* Pornography
* Sexist, Racist or Perverted Remarks

Wow.. Am I the only one who thinks this is a bit messed up?

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.

most companies who provide sites with ad revenue take ad blockers into account so it shouldn't matter if you do or don't.

Beside that, if I'm a pubclub member and don't see ads, will it be okay if I have an ad blocker ?

 

[TheEdgeofDespair]

[Post Deleted]

 

[Ghost]

Fair enough, only you can see your 'health bar'. At least the mods respond to queries regarding individual punishments.

Now, this 'spot check captcha'... THAT is a pain in the ass. So it's to stop our accounts being used to spam shit even when we have been registered for years and have thousands of posts? Yeah right, too obvious that it's to make joining the publishers club more attractive. (Maybe the captchas been here for ages but my PC subscription only just ran out so it's new to me)

 

[standokan]

I'm worried about the whole 3 strikes your out thing, I know it's more than 3 but still, not that I'm in the danger zone or anything but still, the thought of it.

 

[jml spells jumle]

This has been pointed out and beaten to death, but I feel it's important to reiterate that nothing has actually changed. People like Hope Chest (now banned) and myself have been well aware of the "strikes" system used by the Escapist moderators since LONG before this rule change. You all think it's new because you never knew it was there, BUT IT WAS.

The only change being made is that now ordinary people can see it, which is how it always should have been. The idea of an invisible scoreboard I can't see which counts every perceived infraction and which I can never erase by my good deeds is absurd. A visible one is slightly less so. At least this way it's more honest.

i'm a bit ayn randy when it comes to these things; i don't think something shouldn't be allowed simply because others may find it offensive. i can understand banning people from name calling and babyish profanity, but i can't shake the feeling that these rules nudge everyone slightly in the direction of 'smile, nod and agree with whatever the post says. if you dissagree, all sentences must end with "but i totally respect your opinion"'
sometime i don't respect others' opinions, i won't try and change them, and they have every right to have them, but i won't pretend i don't find somebody's opinion completely stupid when i do - but i totally respect your opinion...

Oh, oh damn. I made a monumental boo-boo here. The fact that Spinwhiz got suspended kind of made me forget that he was a mod. I figured he was just a member of the site saying something that some people could consider controversial. Yeah, if he's banning people for something he's not fully educated on/he just doesn't like for his own reasons, something needs to be done about that.

These.

Why did I get a warning for this? I was agreeing with them instead of posting the same thing.

 

[JochemDude]

Edit:

* Piracy
* Ad Blockers
* Illegal Drugs in the United States
* Illegal Acts in the United States
* Pedophilia
* Pornography
* Sexist, Racist or Perverted Remarks

Wow.. Am I the only one who thinks this is a bit messed up?

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.

I have honestly never gotten an ad on the escapist before, I'm pretty sure I don't have an Ad Blocker. I use a Mac with Safari does that have anything to do with it... Hmm gonna have too look into this further.

 

[Knight Templar]

UPDATE

As of right now, we have implemented a new system due to community feedback and to continually make these forums a better place. From now on, every 6 months a strike will be taken off your forum health meter for good behavior (meaning you have no infractions). After 2 years of no infractions, your infractions will be completely cleared.

Please note, this does not mean that every 6 months you can afford an infraction. If we see that you are playing the system, our moderators will hold you accountable.

You will see these changes taking place over the next 24 hours for those of your with no infractions over the last 6 months or 2 years.

That addresses my issue. I doubt that issues with the rules themselves will be more than minor complaints.

I feel the exact same way. I'm anxious enough about what I consider past mistakes without having them counted and marked against me forever here.

 

[A Pious Cultist]

Edit: Seems the "I AGREE" thing causes me to accidentally submit this twice.

 

[A Pious Cultist]

* Ad Blockers

Wow.. Am I the only one who thinks this is a bit messed up?

Not really, up until the introduction of Pub Club memberships (and possibly still) ad revenue was the Escapist's main source of income. So it's the equivalent of talking about torrent sites on a video game, film, or music producer's website.

With this in mind I've never installed or enabled an ad blocker.

 

[Caliostro]

Why did I get a warning for this? I was agreeing with them instead of posting the same thing.

Please read the rules [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/codeofconduct]. Particularly the part about "Low Content Posts". A reason is, also, always included in the warning/probation/suspension, so you can refer to that.

 

[exampleAccount]

There are new rules?

I've never liked the fact that I can't insult people on here, I know we can't have everyone flaming all the time but some people need to be put down sometimes.

 

[Yureina]

It seems very hypocritical to me and thank you for bringing this to my attention. I was not aware of this, but yes, it does appear you're correct. God I love the double standards on this site...
-.-
-Tabs<3-

Yeah, I know. The average forum poster risks loosing posting privileges, but it's our jobs that could potentially be on the line. Where's my equal treatment!

You are at risk of being fired because of forum moderation issues?

Somehow I doubt that...

Part of working here, as with many jobs, means adhering to a our employee handbook. Penalties for continued problems at failing to act in a professional manner leads up to and include termination of employment.

That makes sense to me, except that I still doubt that these forum moderation issues would be your problem. They would seem like Spinwhiz' problem, if anyone's.

Color me confused as to why events on these forums could potentially affect you personally.

 

[subtlefuge]

* Ad Blockers

Wow.. Am I the only one who thinks this is a bit messed up?

Not really, up until the introduction of Pub Club memberships (and possibly still) ad revenue was the Escapist's main source of income. So it's the equivalent of talking about torrent sites on a video game, film, or music producer's website.

With this in mind I've never installed or enabled an ad blocker.

Indeed, not many people are going to like hearing this, but:

Using an ad-blocker is pirating the Escapist. You get payed to look at ads, you give that money to the Escapist, and then they use it to buy food. Think of it that way if it makes it easier.

If everyone used ad-blockers, there would be no Escapist.

On that note, shameless plug for the Pub Club...it's like leaving a tip but you get a bunch of cool stuff. We have more fun.

 

[Leg End]

Don't forget, we know what kind of people will have a problem under the new system and end up getting banned because of it. We expect those people to get banned. It's not something that we didn't already think about.

You expect people to have problems with this and expect to ban them? Just because they have a problem with it? What the fuck?

Basically, this. I was hoping I read it wrong in some way, but I don't think I have. Now I see that I am not going blind. :L

 

[Ice Car]

I'm assuming this "forum health meter" is measuring how "low your health was" and this feature just added the ability to see it, but if not, I dislike it.

One thing I don't understand is how you are supposed to raise your health meter again. After addition it showed my meter at a "Probation permanent" mode I believe? The rules aren't even specific enough to tell me how to raise health, or what the exact point is that you lose the ability to.

And even if this meter changed nothing in terms of how close to a ban I was, I still dislike it as I've only just found out I am about 3 points away from a ban and had no chance to make a serious change in behavior, or in other words, get out of casual mode and start being paranoid about everything I post. At least then I could maintain a high health meter. I like to be able to measure how close to a ban or perma I am, so I know when to start being careful, but the new system only just allowed me to see that, and too late as well...

tl;dr: When are you unable to get points back? How do you get them back? Why was this only instituted now, I would have liked to be able to track my infractions so I know when to really get serious about the rules, instead of keeping the rules in my head and just posting like I normally do... I'd really like to get my points back down.

 

[Slycne]

That makes sense to me, except that I still doubt that these forum moderation issues would be your problem. They would seem like Spinwhiz' problem, if anyone's.

Color me confused as to why events on these forums could potentially affect you personally.

Ah, I think I see where the slip up is.

I was actually commenting in response to staff forum health meters being hidden being a double standard by saying that yes, in fact, there is a huge "double standard." If I, or another staff member, personally was to be a big enough jerk on the forums or otherwise violate the Code of Conduct repeatedly it could effect my employment, not just my posting ability.

 

[Yureina]

That makes sense to me, except that I still doubt that these forum moderation issues would be your problem. They would seem like Spinwhiz' problem, if anyone's.

Color me confused as to why events on these forums could potentially affect you personally.

Ah, I think I see where the slip up is.

I was actually commenting in response to staff forum health meters being hidden being a double standard by saying that yes, in fact, there is a huge "double standard." If I, or another staff member, personally was to be a big enough jerk on the forums or otherwise violate the Code of Conduct repeatedly it could effect my employment, not just my posting ability.

"With power comes responsibility"

Your higher position would mean you receive more serious consequences for doing wrong. That is exactly how it should be. It should also be like that for moderators on this site as well.

If such consequences did not exist, then what you have is despotism, plain and simple.

 

[itf cho]

tl;dr: When are you unable to get points back? How do you get them back? Why was this only instituted now, I would have liked to be able to track my infractions so I know when to really get serious about the rules, instead of keeping the rules in my head and just posting like I normally do... I'd really like to get my points back down.

Here's the link...

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/codeofconduct

And the relevant portion:

Amnesty
After every 6 months without any warnings, you will drop down one level on the Forum Health Meter. After 2 years without any warnings, your meter will be returned to 0, regardless of where it was before.

These adjustments don't apply to any users that have been permanently banned, and they don't remove the history that the moderators can see on your account. Anyone that is seen "gaming the system" will be held accountable for it.

 

[Ice Car]

tl;dr: When are you unable to get points back? How do you get them back? Why was this only instituted now, I would have liked to be able to track my infractions so I know when to really get serious about the rules, instead of keeping the rules in my head and just posting like I normally do... I'd really like to get my points back down.

Here's the link...

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/codeofconduct

And the relevant portion:

Amnesty
After every 6 months without any warnings, you will drop down one level on the Forum Health Meter. After 2 years without any warnings, your meter will be returned to 0, regardless of where it was before.

These adjustments don't apply to any users that have been permanently banned, and they don't remove the history that the moderators can see on your account. Anyone that is seen "gaming the system" will be held accountable for it.

Oh, I see. I guess that was added recently because yesterday I looked it over multiple times for something like such and couldn't find anything. I honestly think 6 months for a one point drop is too long, but then again, it's better than having no way of removing points...

So, I'm wondering, does it matter if you do not visit Escapist for a certain period of time? I may blank out for the few months on Summer Break with no access, and sometimes I get bored of a site and leave. Will it only count those days I post at least once or every day, whether I am active or not?

I have a feeling this is a "I never should have asked that" moment but I hope not...

 

[RUINER ACTUAL]

My "health meter" says I'm on probation, but I haven't been posting very much at all, and I don't remember why or when I was even put on it. If anything, they should've reset everyone and then implemented the health meter.

I think it will just make people worried about posting, not really make them think about what they are posting.