A thread to complain about the small issues of the escapist forums.

[ToastiestZombie]

The way that the warning system works is probably my biggest problem.

Unless you go offline for six months, you are slowly going to work your warnings up. it definitely needs reworking. I mean, a guy could be banned for having 8 low-content posts as it stands.

That would imply that he/she did not regard their first strike seriously. If something is against the rules, but you keep doing it, then you will get banned. It only gets to that point if they either do not care about the rules, or simply can't abide by them. In my opinion, 8 chances are enough so long as you follow the rules.

How would you change it though?

Personally I think that there should be different cool down periods for different infractions. Say, Low content posts could be 2 months, being a dick should be 6 months. It's kind of like if a person who got a speeding ticket or whatever got the exact same punishment and people remembered it the exact same time that a murderer gets.

Also, another thing I get annoyed about. People who immediatly say you're comparing X to Y if you make an analogy. It's an analogy, in that above paragraph I wasn't saying that breaking the rules on the forums is the same as murder.

 

[Lyri]

I think you're putting far too much emphasis on post count.

In fact, I think it's rather insulting that you think the only reason anyone knows who I am is because I have a high post count.

I didn't actually say that, I even went out and said in one of the posts that you're a nice person.
You could at least take a second to read it over again, I know what it is like being targetted in posts as it's easy to just mash away a response.
I didn't say you're only popular because of post count though, so no.

Well if you complain about something to everyone then everyone is eventually going to be interested in what you're complaining about. If I was a normal user who didn't know who Aylaine was but they amount of times she was mentioned in the Community Awards this year and for the community spotlight thread, I would wonder who she was and go look her up and then she would have another person who knew who she was to make her "famous"

Aylaine did stir up the mud a bit though, everyone was happy with how things were going I guess and the status quo was very much settled.
Then she came along and started to help people for no other reason, was then given her own forum and mod status (only in that forum, right?) and people looked funny on it.
Internet cycism at it's best right there but thats how it was.

You're bound to hear about her from both people who love her and disliked her, her name got thrown around a lot.

There is a difference though between what she did and what others do.

Nobody is perfect and nobody is going to love everybody at the end of the day. But they are posters with the ability to gain thousands of posts without getting banned and still have a presence on the forums. Whether you don't agree with how they do it or not doesn't really matter. They get posts, people know who they are, they don't break rules. I'm fine with all of that.

Right and at which point did I contest their not breaking rules?
I'm not attacking them personally at all or saying they're breaking the rules of the forum but it is very annoying have to sift through a thread between OT posts and a conversation or just general larks between people.

This post is more a reply in general to things you've said over this thread, I'm just too lazy to go through and quote you in sections.

We get it, you don't like me, Daystar or anyone else who's conceived to be "popular" because it apparently allows us to get away with stuff here. But just because we're "popular" doesn't mean we're above the forum rules. Daystar himself has three hits to his name right now and I've had two which were removed due to a broken health bar. And if I were to call you a **** right now, do you honestly think I'd get away with just because I'm "popular"? No, I wouldn't. I can prove it to you if you wish, I'm willing to take the hit to prove we're not all up the Mods asses and they're not up ours. Because it's fucking bullshit. We'd get mod wrathed whether we were popular, unpopular, loved, hated or just a normal poster.

Once again, I have no strong feeling one way or the other about you as people and the content of your character has mostly shown as jovial and mirthful and people like that.
I have no issues there.

I take issue with how readily the presence of certain members in a thread moves it in the polar opposite direction.
I no way did I say that you're getting away with breaking the rules where you insult everyone, so yes feel free to call me that if you want to do so but that was never my intent.

Try looking at the core issue of the actions of peoples posts freely wandering where ever they please regardless of topic and not your wounded ego.

As for the contribution thing, yeah, I've made next to no contribution here. You want to know why? Because I like having fun. That's why 50K+ of my posts have been made in FGs and User Groups, so I don't clutter the forum with the worthless jokes, friendly insults and random shit that fills the majority of my posts. When I'm on the forums, in OT, GD and User Reviews, I try to be serious but if someone quotes me and tries to have fun, yeah, I'll respond to it. If this makes me a "derailer" in your eyes, so be it, I'll continue to do it because it's fun to goof around with friends, at least for me. And tell me, while we're talking about contributions, what contribution have you made to the forums? What have you done here to actually make anything you've done worthwhile? I'll admit, I've done fuck all to contribute to the forums apart from a couple of user reviews, but what have you personally done to make you think that you've contributed to the forums and the "popular" users haven't? Unless you've made a new sub forum like Aylaine or had some content published by the escapist itself, you've done the same as me to contribute around here.

I was actually going to highlight the fact that you didn't really derail any threads at all when I made my post yesterday, I rarely see you around if I'm totally honest so maybe I should have done that but I figured I'd be just pointing fingers at Daystar in that list and it solely wasn't just him.

Also lets no turn this into "my contribution is bigger than yours", there really is no need to utterly self validate yourself or your actions.
We both know on the contribution scale you would win because I haven't contributed at all but once again the contribution of members was never pulled into question.

I'm not out to get the personalities of The Escapist but I am to get them to stop from having conversations amongst their friends mid thread.
Why would I attack you because "you're popular", this isn't high school.

And Timelord is right. By going on about this, you ARE making the "celebs" more popular.

And, just in general, not just to you Lyri, I'm glad we're doing this horrible cycle all over again because it was so much fun the last time this fucking bullshit happened with Furburt and my user group, which were accused of the exact same things people have been mentioning here. ¬_¬

[sup]Also sorry for bumping this thread but...yeah, I'm fed up with this shit and want to address it.[/sup]

What's the saying, there is no such thing as bad publicity?
Of course people will get to see your names and think that but so what? I'm really not concerned with how popular you at all and as I've said before, the personalities are fine and dandy and it's great having people who can inspire mirth and laughter and glue the community together.

You're taking this shit way to personally and for the record yes, Furburt did the same with his constant appearing and then derailing.
I even remember people having little contests to see if they could get into a thread before Furburt because he was usually first in everything.

 

[TimeLord]

The way that the warning system works is probably my biggest problem.

Unless you go offline for six months, you are slowly going to work your warnings up. it definitely needs reworking. I mean, a guy could be banned for having 8 low-content posts as it stands.

Or you could just not break the same rule 8 times

That's whole idea of the 4 warning "buffer" you get before actual moderation punishment of probations and beyond is that you learn your lesson and don't do it again.

 

[ToastiestZombie]

SNAPE

That sounds like a decent suggestion in my opinion. Though, I can see people laying low for a little awhile, letting their lower strikes expire then going on the offensive again. So it's not without it's faults. When looking at suggestions, I try my best to see both sides of said suggestion. How a good member would see it, and how a bad member would see it.

Yeah, that is a problem. I really reckon it'll benefit the good users who make a mistake, or the clueless user who doesn't know what he's doing since they're so new. Perhaps for simple warnings an LC post would get you 2-3 months, and a probation or a suspension 6-8 months? That way people who are very close to being banned have to wait longer to get further away from being banned, whilst a person who's only warning was that he/she made a mistake wouldn't have to wait long for his warning to go away.

 

[RatRace123]

The fact that there's not a section on these forums dedicated to how awesome I am. Or that I've been here long enough and nobody knows who I am.

I want to flash my E-Peen for a change.

On a serious note: There's nothing that really bothers me. There are minor annoyances here and there, but nothing that jumps out at me and begs for a change.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

Hmmm. Off the top of my head?

People getting angry at others for using the phrase "Am I the only one?" It's just a damn figure of speech. Turns out, people are not 100% literal 100% of the time. I guarantee that you aren't, either. This is a very simple concept.

I understand that a lot of folks use it as a way to express some sort of uncertainty about the commonality or validity of some habit or point of view (as in "Am I the only one who hates X?"), but there's been a few times where I seriously had the impression that the OP seriously thought his object of inquiry made him special or notable. Something trivial's brought up as a means for the OP to determine or examine himself, and the replying folks feel the need to say "No. Think for two seconds, and you'll realize you're probably not the only one who does or thinks what you've described, which is, when you think about it, a pretty mundane thing."

My personal peeve is the Self-Validation Thread. OPs of that nature more or less go like this:

"Oh jeeze, an acquaintance of mine dared to criticize something which I hold very near and dear to my heart and which I'm incapable or unwilling to examine objectively! This makes me so freaking mad; I mean - Gawd, how could anyone be so stupid as to think that X and Y are related in any way or alike in any shape or form? I don't understand! I think I'm formulating a question when I'm asking how that acquaintance of mine could possibly be so dumb, but I'm really just venting and too caught in it to realize nobody will be able to add anything to validate or infirm my short-sighted feelings on the subject!"

This is a public forum. If you want to vent about how your technical or cultural knowledge makes you much more apt at making sound decisions than anyone else you know, use LiveJournal. Better yet, spew your bile into your word processor of choice and save it, for when you'll need to relive that chunk of vitriol to feel good about yourself. Better STILL, don't save it! Trash it immediately, and grow up! Learn that it takes colours to make a goddamned rainbow and that opinions are those colours!

If it's verbal validation you're looking for, the best solution is still the simplest. Find a group of people who have no idea what in God's name you're talking about and who still are close to you. Whether you're talking about Beast Wars, the Power Rangers, Captain Planet, Ponies, Chip n' Dale the Rescue Rangers or whatever the Hell else; their proximity to you will make them agree with you on a defacto basis.

There ya go. Ego successfully flattered. No need to add another thread to the pile of discussion topics doomed to keep going round and round. No need to bother people who are like to wonder just how it is that items related to Geek or Pop culture can come to matter so damn much to some people. A little critical distance wouldn't hurt some people.

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

I suppose I would have to say the general feeling of unwelcomeness I get in the gaming forums. Don't get me wrong, a lot of the population on here is pretty chill. But it's like there are the site rules, and breaking them gets you moderated, and then there are the opinion rules, where breaking them gets you insulted. Basically, differing from these opinions makes you be seen as "less" of a gamer than the person who disagrees with you:

1) Valve is God.

2) EA eats babies. And is also Satan. And the Antichrist.

3) Bioware is dead, and it's all EA's fault.

4) Ubisoft is also evil, but not as bad as EA, because they don't know any better.

5) Activision is Emperor Palpatine.

 

[Sonic Doctor]

OT: Also the term "strawman". If you don't throw that in your argument about 50 times then you're debating wrong apparently.

I've seen that word so many times, it's like the internet suddenly learned a new word.

There's ultimately very little point of arguing, because most people have justified their own opinions to themselves; if they're not willing to have their opinions challenged, then why express it at all?[/quote]

Yes, I can't stand that word either. I had never heard of it or knew what it meant until about a year to year and half ago(don't remember when).

The stupid thing is that when I looked up when it was used it against me, it didn't even fit the description of what my argument was or stood for.

And every time since then that it has been spouted my way, again, it has been used wrong.

As you said, "it's like the internet suddenly learned a new word." Though, the internet doesn't know how to use it properly. Instead of meaning what it means, it now means, "I don't agree with your argument, go away," or "Oh crap, this guy/girl is right but I don't want too look stupid for being wrong and stubborn, so I'm going to try and smear it so that it looks like he/she the one that is wrong."

Something that always comes to mind when I see the term "strawman" is that I've never ever seen it used outside these forums. Hell, I didn't even see it in these forums until a year or so ago. Now everyone and their bloody dog goes tossing it around in an attempt to sound intellectual.

I was also thinking the same thing too. This was the place I first heard of it, and as well, never seen it used anywhere else.

It kind of feels like someone on the Escapist coined the term, probably for some dastardly purpose. There are some users that I've seen use the word quite a bit as a go to label.

Hmm....The Strawman Conspiracy.

 

[Sonic Doctor]

The way that the warning system works is probably my biggest problem.

Unless you go offline for six months, you are slowly going to work your warnings up. it definitely needs reworking. I mean, a guy could be banned for having 8 low-content posts as it stands.

Or you could just not break the same rule 8 times

That's whole idea of the 4 warning "buffer" you get before actual moderation punishment of probations and beyond is that you learn your lesson and don't do it again.

Yeah, I find it amazing how people just don't learn.

I've do my best to stay level headed.

A long long time ago, in thread far far away, I got warning. Really, it was just "wrong place, wrong time" type of situation situation. While I was making a post about a side subject in said thread, a mod happened to wander in and post that anybody would get a warning if they continued talking about the side subject(basically to avoid a flame war). I was oblivious to that fact and posted my point of view and it appeared couple posts down from the mod post, and got the warning.

No problem though. As it was a long time ago, my record is now clean.

 

[Lucem712]

Even though most of you will disagree with me, I think .gifs for avatars are stupid. They are distracting me from reading your post.

LOOK AT IT. LOOK AT MY GIF AVATAR!

The fact that there's not a section on these forums dedicated to how awesome I am. Or that I've been here long enough and nobody knows who I am.

I want to flash my E-Peen for a change.

On a serious note: There's nothing that really bothers me. There are minor annoyances here and there, but nothing that jumps out at me and begs for a change.

I know who you are, you've got a kickass Krogan avatar!

 

[Vault101]

I was also thinking the same thing too. This was the place I first heard of it, and as well, never seen it used anywhere else.

It kind of feels like someone on the Escapist coined the term, probably for some dastardly purpose. There are some users that I've seen use the word quite a bit as a go to label.

Hmm....The Strawman Conspiracy.

Something that always comes to mind when I see the term "strawman" is that I've never ever seen it used outside these forums. Hell, I didn't even see it in these forums until a year or so ago. Now everyone and their bloody dog goes tossing it around in an attempt to sound intellectual.

but its not unique to the escapist....its one of the logical fallacys (like false dychotomy or ad homenim and such)

and no ones "throws it aroudn to sound more intellectual" ok it may get misused ...but its a mistake that ALOT of people use as in

[i/]"I can't fucking belive thease whiney "fans" getting their undies in a twist because ME3's ending wasn't happy enough, I mean for fucks sake not every ending has to be sunshine and rainbows...and NOW they are demanding it be changed with this "retake" bullshit....did they also start an online war of Schindlers list or pans labrynth?....entitled twats[/i]

I belive thats strawman

 

[Toriver]

I suppose I would have to say the general feeling of unwelcomeness I get in the gaming forums. Don't get me wrong, a lot of the population on here is pretty chill. But it's like there are the site rules, and breaking them gets you moderated, and then there are the opinion rules, where breaking them gets you insulted. Basically, differing from these opinions makes you be seen as "less" of a gamer than the person who disagrees with you:

1) Valve is God.

2) EA eats babies. And is also Satan. And the Antichrist.

3) Bioware is dead, and it's all EA's fault.

4) Ubisoft is also evil, but not as bad as EA, because they don't know any better.

5) Activision is Emperor Palpatine.

You forgot one.

6) Nintendo hasn't had a good idea or a good game since the N64 era and should be destroyed for it because Yahtzee said so.

Also, there are the opinion rules that have nothing to do with games. It is for breaking many of those opinion rules outside gaming, coupled with the attitude so many people have about said opinions, that have made me often feel unwelcome here, and even led me to stop posting for months, or more recently, over a year at a time. In other words, I totally agree with those who comment on the elitism and passive-aggressive BS that goes on around here. This site has definitely become the site I visit a lot less than another community that has made me feel a lot more welcome there, even if we disagree about things on occasion. Oh, and BTW, they're just as smart and polite as the posters here, even if they don't write academic essays every two posts.

 

[TacticalAssassin1]

To be fair, I've rarely seen the "forum celebrities" (christ I hate that term) actually say or do anything worth reporting in the first place whereas the Zeels and Katos get reported for generally being assholes.

Honetly, I think there'd actually be a lot less reporting and arguing than there is if we were all just allowed to tell each other to fuck off now and then. Civil discussion is all nice and...well, civil, but I feel like the insane amounts of passive aggressiveness and "insulting people without technically insulting them, thereby avoiding mod wrath" that goes on around here end up doing a lot more damage to the community, rather than if we could just tell an asshole that he's an asshole.

Granted, that's probably just my Irish-ness speaking. Quite often our conversations will end with a "Yeah? Well fuck you so!" or something along those lines ^_^

Yeah, I'd love to be able to tell a tosser to fuck off every now and then.

My main problem with these forums are that all the mods are strict as shit. Seriously, fucking relax and stop banning people for minor infractions. It's pointless, stupid and only serves to make people want to leave.

 

[TacticalAssassin1]

Even though most of you will disagree with me, I think .gifs for avatars are stupid. They are distracting me from reading your post.

Thank christ. This too.

This site needs the ability to thumb up/down comments so comments like this one need not exist, and we can all stop typing out these extra two sentences to stop us getting warnings.

 

[userwhoquitthesite]

I hate how the Escapist considers itself a civil and polite board, when really people quite often just aggressively or infuriatingly belittle each other's intelligence.

Sure, other websites involved people actively attacking one-another, but on the Escapist it's often done in such a slimy, indirect way that it makes my blood boil.

Nature of the beast. When you have a bunch of people who are intelligent, or at least think they are, they will do anything they can to be the smartest in the room.

that's why I like youtube. When I think something is bad, I can freely say that it fellates diseased donkey dick, people can get angry at me for having a negative opinion and having it in profoundly profane ways, I can explain to them all the reasons WHY I think a particular thing gargles scabby testicles and do so in an exceedingly professional manner, and they can get pissed and tell me to eat a dick. Very simple, none of this "oh, you must be [reason for intellectual inferiority] and bullshitting. Just. "hey, i dont appreciate this" "your disrespect makes me upset" "well alright then"
much more civilized in a way

As for what I hate on the escapist, I hate knowing I can't discuss certain things, because certain mods will auto-ban people who bring them up, or who provide dissenting opinions concerning certain topics. Now, I try to be respectful on here, even when rudely mocking someone for being an intellectual inferior, and if I know a topic renders me incapable of responding without ban-worthy venom, I will avoid it. But, knowing that legitimate discussion of topics, even when kept civil, will lead to being punished for not adhering to these certain mods personal politics or ethics really rustles my jimmies, to use a meme I haven't had call to use before (and wish to)

Spoiler: to elaborate

 

[userwhoquitthesite]

In fact, I think it's rather insulting that you think the only reason anyone knows who I am is because I have a high post count.

well... it kinda is. You could have started a legendary thread, but if you only posted three times, people would forget you, even if they remember the thread.
People know you because you have a large presence on the forum, thus a high post count.