Poll: New forum rules - Yay or Nay?

[solidstatemind]

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.)

 

[n03s]

I dont really care about forum rules, because usually im not an asshole..
But really, i didnt knew ad-blockers were "illegal"
:O

 

[D088Y]

I'm just posting to see the rules.

Edit: The rules seem very well thought out and fair so I say "Yay"

 

[omicron1]

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.

 

[NicolasMarinus]

If you get banned, it'll be for a good reason. And even so, you can always make a new account.

 

[itf cho]

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.

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.

If you get banned, it'll be for a good reason. And even so, you can always make a new account.

Ban Jumping
If you create another account after being permanently banned, suspended or on probation, both of your accounts will be automatically banned

 

[omicron1]

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.

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.

If you get banned, it'll be for a good reason. And even so, you can always make a new account.

Ban Jumping
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.

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.

 

[Sightless Wisdom]

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.

 

[mip0]

I don't know I didn't read them i don't think many read them there's probably nothing surprising though and if it is they'll only put me on probation and tell me what i did wrongsoitypediagreeintothetypeiagreefieldandpressdaxptorw/eok

 

[crop52]

*testing for new rules*

EDIT: woah, 2 years? that's definitely a little harsh,
but you get 4 warnings dude, you should learn your lesson the first four times around,

 

[Judgement101]

Yay, that means one bad thing and I'm banned -_- (I've been suspended twice and put on probation numerous times)

 

[pope_of_larry]

sense when do i have 4 warnings i hardly post at all.

 

[jml spells jumle]

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?

 

[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.