Poll: New forum rules - Yay or Nay?

Gralian

Me, I'm Counting
Sep 24, 2008
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A nay from me. Simply for the reason the OP has stated. Having a 'strikes' system where you can't 'regain health' feels very heavy handed. What if someone forgets they have a past infraction from six months ago, then makes a silly comment that causes mod wrath, and they get a 7 day suspension for it out of nowhere. They're likely to feel more than a tad frustrated - i know i would.

While i'm glad a warning system has been implemented, i'd like to say that it's not fair on people who have received infractions prior to this new system. Using my example, about a year or so ago i received a 3 day probation for saying that Americans are a nation of immigrants, not a race. (by that i mean ethnically the real Americans are the native red Indians. The Americans of today immigrated from Europe during the colonisation of the New World) That was a long time ago when my post count was very low and i wasn't as well acquainted with the forum rules as i am now. My behavior shaped up and i learned not to make any more offensive comments like that in the future.

However, if i receive any more infractions now, i'm going to instantly jump to a suspension. That seems a little bit unfair to me given that my last infraction was well over a year ago and i've only received one probation. If i do get in trouble again, will i go straight to suspension, or simply receive a probation again? Or perhaps even just a warning? This kind of thing bugs me and i think should be covered in the new forum rules terms and conditions thing you have to read before accepting. (If it IS in the t&c, please point it out to me, i apologise if i've missed it)

Edit: I didn't know there was an actual physical forum health meter on the profile. I see it now and i have a clean record, so my infraction from long ago has not carried over into this new system. I'm very glad for that and i think this puts a lot of my issues with the new system to rest as i assume people who have not had infractions from as long as a year or more ago also have not had it carry over to the health meter. However, what is the threshold for this? Do people who have had mod wrath within the space of a few weeks, a month, or a few months carry over the number of infractions into this new system, or has everyone started with a clean slate?
 

RA92

New member
Jan 1, 2011
3,079
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*Looks at own Forum Health Meter*

Oh shit.

*Ahem* Escapist, you're doing it all wrong! Instant health regeneration is all the rage these days, you gotta implement some of that... >.>
 

RA92

New member
Jan 1, 2011
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Gralian said:
Having a 'strikes' system where you can't 'regain health' feels very heavy handed.
Not quite the case...

Spinwhiz said:
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.
I still vote for instant health regeneration...
 

Gralian

Me, I'm Counting
Sep 24, 2008
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Raiyan 1.0 said:
Gralian said:
Having a 'strikes' system where you can't 'regain health' feels very heavy handed.
Not quite the case...

Spinwhiz said:
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.
I still vote for instant health regeneration...
Thank you for this. I didn't know this was the case and it has made me a lot more supportive of the new rules, as it gives people a chance to earn back infractions for good behaviour. Even though 6 months is a very long time, it's the fact it's there that makes it feel less like despotism and more like autonomy. It's not so much the fact that you can get away with something and have a clean slate 6 months from now, but rather it's a token gesture to say that you have the right to earn second chances and i'm very much in favour of that.

I'd also like to say that being able to see precisely how many infractions you have against your name is actually a fairly helpful tool. It keeps people reminded of how close they are to what punishment. If someone sees they're one bar away from a full ban, they're much more likely to clean up their act.
 

AngryPuppy

New member
Feb 18, 2010
262
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Nephus said:
You posted pretty much my exact thoughts and have thus earned my unwanted respect *bow*

I will add that I've been surfing forums of all kinds for years and every time they "crack down" like this it ends it disaster and closure isn't far behind. Not claiming Escapist it going to die or anything but, well what Nephus already said clears that all up. Oh yeah! Ad-blocker advocation is bannable and people accept this? So if I go to the Mall and do some window shopping I should be kicked out forever? Laughable.
 

Chibz

New member
Sep 12, 2008
2,158
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jboking said:
"This program does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the network."

It's not the escapist advocating it, it's extra credits. Hypocrisy is not there.
I'm saying it's hypocrisy in that they are NOT punished for openly endorsing piracy in such an event, while a normal user would be. Well, it's more a double standard. But do you REALLY care?
 

CarpathianMuffin

Space. Lance.
Jun 7, 2010
1,810
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To me, the whole thing feels semi-Big Brother-ish, and many different kinds of condescending. But I don't post here more than a few times a week, and I've made as many inflammatory posts as I have weekly cracks at Republican senators (One), so I'm not more than a little irate.
 

jboking

New member
Oct 10, 2008
2,694
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Chibz said:
jboking said:
"This program does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the network."

It's not the escapist advocating it, it's extra credits. Hypocrisy is not there.
I'm saying it's hypocrisy in that they are NOT punished for openly endorsing piracy in such an event, while a normal user would be. Well, it's more a double standard. But do you REALLY care?
Yes, it seems odd that they aren't punished for it, but it seems odd Jim Sterling wasn't punished for the amount of ranting, profanity, and dick jokes/images he put in the first jimquisition.

They're contributors. It's hypocrisy, it's that they actually do something for the site and therein get a bit more freedom with their topics and what they say.
 

Konaerix

New member
May 19, 2010
289
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I don't mind, the Escapist seems to be the only site I know that actually ENFORCES its rule rather then leave them to rot. If they want to change the rules a bit, that's fine.
 

Uber Evil

New member
Mar 4, 2009
1,108
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It does sound a little unfair, but hey, what can we really do, but I think that most people won't commit enough repeat infractions to get Perma-banned..
 

The Random One

New member
May 29, 2008
3,310
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Considering that I post like a drunken bastard and in, what, two years of Escapist I only got one warning (and it was for one of my tamest posts ever), I'm not particularly worried.

I'm taking the assumption that this is just because I am a particularly superior human being.
 

Daedalus1942

New member
Jun 26, 2009
4,169
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Slycne said:
Yureina said:
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.
Which further supports the fact that we should be able to see your healthbars too.
If you have the same system put in place, maybe that means moderators won't be such jerks as often, and it would be a much fairer system.
You should have to adhere to a strict code. The moderators are supposedly our examples (that makes me laugh everytime).
-Tabs<3-
 

Fire Daemon

Quoth the Daemon
Dec 18, 2007
3,204
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Spinwhiz said:
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.


[Update: The changes are already in place, and have run for the first time. -Virgil]
This seems like a better system, although I still feel like the warnings themselves are flawed. Kudos, though, for listening to your community.

However I still want to know why the staff and the moderators don't have their own health bar. Obviously you aren't going to ever face mod wrath, and I can't see a mod banning one of their own, but it seems highly suspicious that The Escapist goes to these lengths to hide the previous actions of it's moderators and it's staff. I would imagine that the mods and the staff are supposed to be model posters, and not act in a way that contradicts the rules that they enforce, and if this is the case why not have a Health bar? It seems like a really strange length to avoid showing a (or what should be) clean record.

I understand that getting into trouble on the forums would increase the risk of you losing your job, but the people who are able to fire you will be able to find out what you've been getting up to without the heath bar, right? Also, shouldn't you be the one person trying to follow the rules the most out of everyone, rather then just hiding your behaviour? I want to know why you don't want the community seeing your, and the rest of the staff's health bar, when you should have nothing to hide.