This post is directed as much to moderators as to us Escapist civilians, & I'd be genuinely interested to hear anyone's opinion.
As the subject says, over the last year or so the standard of the Escapist forums has taken a distinct turn for the worst. Compared to other public forums, from Steam to the truly mindless slough of YouTube, the Escapist has always firmly enforced its posting rules with rigid moderation. The guidelines can be seen here:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.116827-These-forums-and-you-Forum-Posting-Guidelines
The posting guide is comprehensive, articulate & specific, covering anything from grammar to advertising. Unfortunately it's becoming more & more apparent that the posting guidelines no longer apply, or that if they do then only arbitrarily. To illustrate this I've given a few paraphrased examples below of what I consider to be the most chronic transgressions against both the guidelines & common decency. However please note that the paraphrasing isn't done for the sake of clarity, but to protect the names of the guilty:
1. Flagrant racism.
E.g. Post after post insists that a particular European country is a nation of cowards, or that a specific American country's citizens are all stupid & fat (both scurrilous accusations); post after post insists that skin colour X is inferior or superior to skin colour Y; etc.
There's a difference between citing official statistics concerning the demographic of a nation (religious or political inclination; economic or educational status; ethnic composition; etc.) & racism. In addition to contravening the forum rules, racism is actually illegal in many countries & yet it seems to be flourishing here at the Escapist.
2. Trolling & Flaming.
Perhaps a more difficult activity to categorically identify, there are hundreds if not thousands of examples of this from 'Aww U sad? Go cry to mom fanboi' to the efficiently economical 'You're an idiot'. What is really staggering is the number of times blatant abuse is hurled around, apparently without consequence. Not simple insults, but much more profound attacks alluding to other posters' & even their families suffering physical hardship, or even trauma from cancer to rape.
As with racism, there's a difference between the citation of empirical evidence to support an argument & simply casting an unsubstantiated aspersion on someone's character.
3. Homophobia.
As with racism, this is an illegal practice in many countries, yet on these forums it would seem to be thriving. Surely there's no need to even demonstrate homophobia with examples, I'm sure we all know it when we see it.
I just wonder what happened to the forums. I'm certain someone will attempt to argue that to prohibit certain posts is censorship of free speech, but bear in mind the difference between free speech & libel, & also consider that in order to join the Escapist & post on these forums we all agreed to abide by the guidelines.
So how can someone be suspended or banned for posting 'First!' but ignored for 'Faggots will burn in Hell' or 'Your mother is a whore'? Is it just me that thinks this is crazy?
As the subject says, over the last year or so the standard of the Escapist forums has taken a distinct turn for the worst. Compared to other public forums, from Steam to the truly mindless slough of YouTube, the Escapist has always firmly enforced its posting rules with rigid moderation. The guidelines can be seen here:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.116827-These-forums-and-you-Forum-Posting-Guidelines
The posting guide is comprehensive, articulate & specific, covering anything from grammar to advertising. Unfortunately it's becoming more & more apparent that the posting guidelines no longer apply, or that if they do then only arbitrarily. To illustrate this I've given a few paraphrased examples below of what I consider to be the most chronic transgressions against both the guidelines & common decency. However please note that the paraphrasing isn't done for the sake of clarity, but to protect the names of the guilty:
1. Flagrant racism.
E.g. Post after post insists that a particular European country is a nation of cowards, or that a specific American country's citizens are all stupid & fat (both scurrilous accusations); post after post insists that skin colour X is inferior or superior to skin colour Y; etc.
There's a difference between citing official statistics concerning the demographic of a nation (religious or political inclination; economic or educational status; ethnic composition; etc.) & racism. In addition to contravening the forum rules, racism is actually illegal in many countries & yet it seems to be flourishing here at the Escapist.
2. Trolling & Flaming.
Perhaps a more difficult activity to categorically identify, there are hundreds if not thousands of examples of this from 'Aww U sad? Go cry to mom fanboi' to the efficiently economical 'You're an idiot'. What is really staggering is the number of times blatant abuse is hurled around, apparently without consequence. Not simple insults, but much more profound attacks alluding to other posters' & even their families suffering physical hardship, or even trauma from cancer to rape.
As with racism, there's a difference between the citation of empirical evidence to support an argument & simply casting an unsubstantiated aspersion on someone's character.
3. Homophobia.
As with racism, this is an illegal practice in many countries, yet on these forums it would seem to be thriving. Surely there's no need to even demonstrate homophobia with examples, I'm sure we all know it when we see it.
I just wonder what happened to the forums. I'm certain someone will attempt to argue that to prohibit certain posts is censorship of free speech, but bear in mind the difference between free speech & libel, & also consider that in order to join the Escapist & post on these forums we all agreed to abide by the guidelines.
So how can someone be suspended or banned for posting 'First!' but ignored for 'Faggots will burn in Hell' or 'Your mother is a whore'? Is it just me that thinks this is crazy?
