Are the forums too strict?

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Make it whatever they want but apply it consistently and evenly. I guess that they don't is a product of having a bunch of different mods doing the modding, but it seems like one guy will get banned and the other guy will get nothing even though they both posted the exact same thing.

I also suspect that some of the mods read reported posts in a vacuum and don't take the larger context into consideration. That's how one combatant in a flame war gets time-out but the other combatant don't get shit. Because they're not seeing the entire flame-war. They're merely looking at who's firing a shot at a particular point in time.

This pretty much covers it. I think people do get banned for some ridiculous things, but that would be alright if one could tell from the written rules what those things are. As it is, things can be inconsistent at times. We're one of the biggest laughingstocks on the internet because of it. The one thing that really bothers me, though, is the piracy rule. On a gaming forum, it is really important to be able to candidly discuss piracy. Now, the way the rules are written, it is possible, if difficult -- one can't outright advocate piracy, but they can admit to it, and at least make arguments to the effect that it's not as bad as it is made out to be, or that, to re-purpose a drug related argument, the laws should be changed to make it legal. As it stands? People get banned for admitting to it all the time. About the only way someone can get away with admitting to piracy is if there's at least 10-20 other people admitting to the same thing. In that case, the thread just gets locked, in order to keep things tidy. Meanwhile, people who admit to smoking pot or to enjoying porn -- both things covered under the same rule -- always get off scot free.

Spoiler: Here's the rule in question, operative words bolded:

Use Our Forums Appropriately
Our forums are a place to talk with like-minded people, not a place to advertise your blog or YouTube channel. Your profile has a place for such things, and that is where it should stay. Similarly, posts including, advocating, or linking to illegal or adult material are a very quick way to end your time as part of The Escapist community.

Can anyone honestly tell me that it's being enforced as written?

Edit: Holy crap, 2020 posts. How on earth did I miss number 2000?

 

[AbsoluteVirtue18]

There was a user who got to over 800 posts recently, and every post was nothing but ban-worthy bullcrap.

If anything, they need to be stricter.

 

[Marik2]

I notice a lot of times on this forum I see people being put on probation or suspended for posts that I don't think deserve it at all. Maybe, they were a bit controversial or offensive, but its hard to please everyone when you want to simply speak your mind. I know some posts are downright worthy of bans and such and its good to clean up trolling. But, I just feel we have to tip toe around so much to avoid getting on probation/suspension/bans.

Yes, Ive seen posts where they clearly say they were joking and they get put on probation for it even though they really didnt have a bad history of posts.

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

There was a user who got to over 800 posts recently, and every post was nothing but ban-worthy bullcrap.

If you are refering to whom I think you are, then I agree 100%.

I don't mind them. Unlike other forums I have visited, if you have an honest opinion, you aren?t penalized for it. And the ?This user was ____ for ____? is good, and allows you to look at what they had said. It also allows you to see the rules and how they apply.

 

[Yopaz]

I was once banned permanently from a site for saying fuck. That is strict. Here you are either put on probation or suspended if you're a complete asshole, I'd say that's fair. Having a bad day doesn't mean you need to spread the misery, so if you can't behave because the cool kids wont play with you, just deal with it alone rather than being a dick on the internet because you have the need to hide behind a mask when you're down.

 

[sheic99]

Go to the Bioware Social Network and come back talking about strictness. At least here we're allowed to have differing opinions.

And we don't risk losing our games.

 

[Podunk]

The strictness of the forums is the only reason I post here. There are plenty of forums full of stupid hateful BS and 'first' posters. I genuinely like that the Escapist has higher standards.

 

[Pearwood]

Rule 0 of all internet forums - make sure your posts aren't shit. That's the low content posts covered, I think the mods are actually quite lenient about them.

 

[Caiti Voltaire]

Form gets punished far more than content.

I've seen any amount of posts with the most graphic usage of language or the most delinquent of subjects, and it gets totally ignored..... However don't you dare just leave a "LOL" and walk 'cos you'll get it in the neck.

I do admit to finding the the patrolling of the forums most uneven, and dare I say dumber than dumb at times.

This is probably the closest to the problem. Mods are people just like us, and they will react emotionally to a post. If your form elicits a negative emotional response, then yeah, they're going to be predisposed to take action against it. What gets that kind of response, varies from mod to mod.

 

[Bobbity]

No. The people that are banned or stuck on probation for minor things are the people that have had a variety of complaints filed against them over a period of time. The mods aren't being unreasonably harsh at all.

 

[Erana]

i got a warning today for a post that said a new seires they have on this was bad and asked why it still excited but i did not use any bad words or anything and most people agreed with me but then i read a post saying the same thing just in different words im not sure but if they didnt get a warning then there being unfair

Its not about fairness. Its not about people agreeing with you. Its about courtesy. If you said, "This so and so sucks! The music is terrible! The jokes are unfunny!" then you're not making an argument, you'd just be insulting the content.

If someone else said, "I did not enjoy this at all. I feel as though the music could use polish, especially a new microphone. The jokes fell flat here and here because so-and-so" then they'd be fine. They did not insult, they stated their reaction, and explained why they felt how they did. There's a huge difference.

I haven't seen the aforementioned post, but chances are, if you've been warned over site content and you're now simply describing it as "Bad," then you likely do not fully grasp the first half of rule number three:

Have Respect for the Site and its Content
We put a lot of work into the content on the site, and if you've just shown up to trample on that hard work, we will remove your comments and ask you to leave. Constructive criticism is welcomed; negativity for its own sake is not. Further, discussions instructing or otherwise advocating the circumvention of The Escapist's advertisements, security mechanisms, media protections or similar facilities will not be tolerated.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

The only one that bugs me, is when someone posts just a picture and get's probation.

Even when the pic is completely perfect and is easily worth a thousand words, it still get's Mod Wrath.

 

[A Free Man]

I notice a lot of times on this forum I see people being put on probation or suspended for posts that I don't think deserve it at all. Maybe, they were a bit controversial or offensive, but its hard to please everyone when you want to simply speak your mind. I know some posts are downright worthy of bans and such and its good to clean up trolling. But, I just feel we have to tip toe around so much to avoid getting on probation/suspension/bans.

Honestly there have been a few cases where I would agree. Sometime I read a post that warrented a one week suspension and I can't even see how it would be that offensive. Although the "Criticize the post, not the poster." rule does make a few of them make more sense to me now. I can see how in some heated arguments it may be dificult to remain within that rule.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

i got a warning today for a post that said a new seires they have on this was bad and asked why it still excited but i did not use any bad words or anything and most people agreed with me but then i read a post saying the same thing just in different words im not sure but if they didnt get a warning then there being unfair

Its not about fairness. Its not about people agreeing with you. Its about courtesy. If you said, "This so and so sucks! The music is terrible! The jokes are unfunny!" then you're not making an argument, you'd just be insulting the content.

If someone else said, "I did not enjoy this at all. I feel as though the music could use polish, especially a new microphone. The jokes fell flat here and here because so-and-so" then they'd be fine. They did not insult, they stated their reaction, and explained why they felt how they did. There's a huge difference.

I haven't seen the aforementioned post, but chances are, if you've been warned over site content and you're now simply describing it as "Bad," then you likely do not fully grasp the first half of rule number three:

Have Respect for the Site and its Content
We put a lot of work into the content on the site, and if you've just shown up to trample on that hard work, we will remove your comments and ask you to leave. Constructive criticism is welcomed; negativity for its own sake is not. Further, discussions instructing or otherwise advocating the circumvention of The Escapist's advertisements, security mechanisms, media protections or similar facilities will not be tolerated.

That rule gets abused sometimes too, though; remember all the bans over Game Dogs and Top 5? I never watched an episode of Game Dogs, but I can honestly say that the first few episodes of Top 5 were painfully bad, as in "why do we have this show?" bad. I watched an episode recently, and it was much better, but man did it have a hard time finding its legs. I remember quite a few bans from people criticizing it, though, even if they did so in a fairly constructive manner. Moral of the story: be very careful if you want to criticize a show on The Escapist.

 

[SEPECAT]

Ordinarily I'd say they're just fine, but I saw a post the other day that really made me laugh, but the poster was put on probation for it. In short, he made a philosophical non sequitor look like a crack at Xbox fans (like myself). There was nothing inappropriate in the post, and the joke did not even denounce the Xbox or its fanbase. But somehow, that statement was enough to put the poster on probation because hordes of morons thought they were being insulted. That's just unfair.