Why all the Moderating

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by SaltyRobot, Jun 19, 2014.

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  1. Time Lord

    Time Lord Avatar

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    Doppelganger Said;

    All of this considered, personally, I think it would be a good idea to have user accounts on the forums clearly labeled with either "BACKER" or "GUEST ACCOUNT" or something to that effect.
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    That is the simplest way to effect our forums in a very positive way!
    Cost effective too I'll bet... "How hard could that be?"
    ~Time Lord~:rolleyes:
     
  2. smack

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    Actually, did you notice starting 6/13 that the number of New Britannians per day has dropped considerably? We were getting around 500 per day (minus the number of new pledges) and then on 6/13 that dropped to 164, then 134 the next day and now it's averaging 70 per day since the beginning of this week.
     
  3. rild

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    in my experience, all online forums are pretty universally awful. :oops: this one ... not so bad! ;)

    moderation seems fair. honestly i wouldn't mind a little more. still for me the only problem is keeping things organized and keeping posters informed about past discussions and current plans; these are problems inherent in the format of boards.

    for all of us who want to step to the defense of this game against the dastardly nay-sayers, we all need to practice responding not in kind, but with kindness. i've made statements in anger here that i'm not proud of, and in some cases i've even gone back and deleted posts because i thought twice about it. seriously, learn to let it go. remember that just because someone gets the last word in a post, doesn't mean they win everything and now control Shroud development!

    no amount of moderating will make these boards a nice place if we community members undermine their efforts with snark, anger and resentment.

    remember in U4 when you were trying to get all your virtues up and you'd slip up and lose a few points here or there? well it's kinda like that - you just have to rise to the occasion EVERY time!

    True Avatars Try Harder :cool:
     
  4. smack

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    I guess to answer the question posed by the OP....the reason why there's so much moderating going on is because of the lack of self-moderation from the community.

    And to quote myself:

    Looks like Tassilo did implement better security to guard against spam bots and that's the reason for the drop in New Britannians, or in this case, New Botannians.
     
  5. Tarsilion

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    Even worse: That Joe Shmo gets counted as a new Brittanian and is used to make it seem like there are more people interest in buying than there really are. Outrage!

    Honestly: I agree that only backers should be posting in the game forum. But I also think only these should be reported, not New Britannians.
     
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  6. Bohica

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    great point.
     
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  7. rild

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    There have been several occasions in which I've witnessed community members welcome a prospective pledger and respond to some basic questions, reassure them or clarify some points (e.g. I heard there won't be any PVP), resulting in a new pledge.

    Until Portalarium is ready for, and begins, a robust and coherent marketing strategy (which will require a relatively full feature set), this community is pretty much the front line for customer interactions. In the chaotic atmosphere that is this pre-Alpha season where we deal with unstable builds, constantly changing features, missing content and the worst: uncertainty, having a friendly guide through some of the details can make all the difference. Sometimes it's just really difficult to figure out what the HECK is going on around here. If I were a guild recruiter, I'd start by being a tour guide and greeter.
     
  8. Noctiflora

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    Here I am!! *waves*
    As to higher backers, I don't think there is a way to stop it in those cases and not sure those are much of a problem, tbh. I think higher backers would, quite naturally, tend to be less inclined to try to ruin what they've invested in since they've put a lot of money into something they believe in not something they hate & want to change, nor to continuously disrupt the forums and try to drive off new pledgers.

    As you said, why buy extra pledges just to have a forum alt if forum alts are free with full posting privileges everywhere except dev+, even on dev mega posts and game features forums? If someone has multiple paid accounts then I don't see it as that big a problem if they are posting on a paid-for account. And not all higher backers have the same opinions on things so who's to say which sides of common arguments, if any, would be being promoted in those cases anyway.

    Non-backers making extra accounts though, or even a backer making a bunch of free alts, they don't have to buy anything to make more accounts, they just need free email accounts. In fact yahoo and others let you have a bunch of "alias" accounts without even having to make a new one.

    I strongly suspect that a lot of the 1-shot wonder posts here with someone posting some scathing diatribe, pretending to be brand new, "looking into the game," while sounding for all the world like they really do know all about the game and have some grievance, are in reality someone's alt and they don't want to post it on their main for fear of a ban or "tainting" their community image; or trying to make it look like "See! even new people" agree/disagree with whatever/whoever and that if the devs don't change course they "won't pledge," and neither will their 2,748 friends and 762 large guilds, etc.

    Or those who have gotten themselves a ban and are determined to post more of the same that got them banned in the first place, and circumvent the ban. Funny how some of those "first time posters" come across so angry, tossing out insults left and right.

    Then, of course, there are the ones who plague every board they can find on the internet, just out of boredom or whatever mischief-making motives they have, or just for the enjoyment of arguing with people. **shrugs** It takes all kinds, but unfortunately they're out there and no forum is immune to that type if the posting rights aren't restricted in some way. Anyone's guess how many of this type we attract.
     
  9. SaltyRobot

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    Well I'm backed from being banned. Nice to see this thread has drawn so much attention. Looks like there are alot of different views emerging.
     
  10. CaptainJackSparrow

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    Bad Robot! :p For posting this?
     
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  11. Favonius Cornelius

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    Hey just wanted to point out that my Housing of the Avatar rename has the added hilarity of being abbreviated HoA...as in HOA fees...
     
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  12. WebTeam

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    Are you blaming update #77? That was the same day.
     
  13. smack

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    No, as Update #78 explained why there was a drop in New Britannians -- and pretty much confirmed what many backers here suspected was happening.
     
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  14. Beaumaris

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    I do not have a big problem with moderation if it keeps topics here on point and addresses non-constructive attacks.

    That said, disagreement and dialog is healthy. If constructive criticism and disagreement is offered in a positive way without attacks it may represent creative thinking, and my wish is that would not be modified.
     
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  15. Daevin Aruth

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    I wonder if the game will be moderated like the forum?
     
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  16. Ted Striker

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    It's about control for these people's agenda. I saw this in UO and other MMO's. If you disrupt their perfect little fantasy world, you'll be hammered into submission, threatened or deleted. It's one of the reasons I stopped posting here (but here I am....). Now I support Richard Gariott, UO, the Ultimas and most definetly SotA. I'm all about the game, but these people will shut you the **** down if they don't like what you have to say. I suppose it's their right. Just watch your mouth in game too. No telling what will happen to you if you say the wrong thing.

    This isn't a democracy, this isn't The United States of America, this is Lord British's Fantasy World. And what he and his minions deem appropriate, will be the law. Just bow your head and don't have a personal opinion that isn't PC. Hopefully this post makes it...

    I'd expect it to be.
     
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  17. docdoom77

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    Seriously. People disagree with the devs ALL the time and don't get moderated. I've done it. So have others. It's not about what you say, it's about HOW you say it.
     
  18. Trenyc

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    I have to agree with docdoom77 here. I've had open discussions with Portalarium staff members where I have explicitly criticized both game design and the Portalarium business model, and I have not once been warned for those criticisms. I've even flat out told them a few times, "Look, I think you're wrong about this, but it's your decision."

    Along those same lines, I often find myself feeling compelled to step in on discussions where things are getting a little too heated. It's very, very easy to get frustrated when you're interacting with someone with writing alone, and it can be tough to tell in those cases when you're crossing the line. I will tell you plainly, that happens a lot around here, especially when the topic turns to criticism of Portalarium's business tactics. From what I've seen in those cases, the mods, if anything, are pretty tolerant here. Like was said, it's not so much about what you say but rather how you say it.
     
  19. Time Lord

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  20. Ravicus Domdred

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    I agree first of all that the moderation is not that bad, but it can be better. I have recently been moderated for a post that I basically repeated from another poster (the one who reported me by the way lol). I got the notice in my inbox stating that it was rude and in violation. I copied the post that I used for my wording, and sent it back to the mod. showing that I just used his words. Now this by itself is ok and maybe I should not repeat some one else s words. But it would be good to get an answer from the mods even if in acknowledgment that you had some one hear your side of the case. As it stands it feels like a dismissal and am guilty before seeing any evidence. Just my rant. Also, do you not feel like every new pvp thread started is a violation of this:
    Spam not thy Kingdom:
    There is some spamming going on in the Player Marketplace (no surprise there), but other common violations of this rule are continuing an argument that has already run its course, creating multiple threads on the SAME TOPIC that has already been discussed a thousand times (beating that poor dead horse), and using any excuse to make the same point over and over, even if it is not on topic.
    Spam not thy Kingdom:
    Do not post unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials or any other form of solicitation. Likewise, keep posts on topic and in the proper forums. Consistently strong-arming others into the same discussion, or repeatedly posting the same ideas/opinions in multiple threads/forums may also be considered spamming and should be avoided.
     
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