Poll: New Forum Rules: Yay or Nay?

[JoJo]

[HEADING=1]JoJo Proudly Presents:[/HEADING]


[HEADING=2]New Forum Rules: Yay or Nay?[/HEADING]​

That's right Escapists, in the last few minutes for the first time in a long while, the Code of Conduct of our forum was updated. You can find the new text by posting, or by following this link here:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/codeofconduct

In summary, the rules themselves are largely identical but the code gives further explanation for how those rules are applied. "Targeted Harassment & Bullying" is now a specific offence, which is probably for the best. The 'Use Our Forums Appropriately' has in particular been expanded, which is definitely a good move as the previous format was very unclear on what exactly was prohibited. Posting in a thread older than 30 days, i.e. 'necroing' is finally explicitly forbidden, with some exceptions on the discretion of the mods so our favourite long-time threads can survive.

Unfortunately, there are perhaps a couple of oversights. Regrettably, this section still exists:

Regardless of what some of our content creators may say, do or provoke within their videos or articles, this does not give members the ability to act in the same way. They are entertainers and if they brought their language or flaming into the forums, they would be held accountable, just as any other forum member of The Escapist would be.

While moderating content creators would obviously be unhelpful, we know from several examples that it doesn't occur and so this section is at best misleading. The following sentence is also a little unhelpfully vague: "Discussion of ad blockers, pedophilia, illegal acts, and pornography is never allowed." Does this mean that discussing a crime in the news would technically be against the CoC, since we would be discussing an illegal act? Probably not in practice but it could be interpreted that way.

Overall, it's a 'Yay' from myself but there's still room for improvement, still good effort on the behalf of the staff and mods, so hat's off to them for all their hard work. Oh and we have a new community manager [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/profiles/view/DrStrangelove] too, or something, so go worship him.

[HEADING=2]Important Edit[/HEADING]​

By official request, I have organised a list of the clarifications moderators have given on how the rules will apply. A copy of this can also be found later in the thread. If you have a question about the new Code of Conduct, please check the links listed below to see if it has already been answered before asking your question. Thanks!

[li]sky14kemea confirms it is okay to admit to watching porn, and to discuss illegal acts, pedophilia and ad-blockers without admitting to them or advocating that others do so ( http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.839376-Poll-New-Forum-Rules-Yay-or-Nay#20613362 )[/li]


[li]sky14kemea confirms it is okay to swear in moderation ( http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.839376-Poll-New-Forum-Rules-Yay-or-Nay#20613539 )[/li]


[li]sky14kemea confirms that the 'illegal acts' will be judged by the laws of North Carolina, US ( http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.839376-Poll-New-Forum-Rules-Yay-or-Nay#20613539 )[/li]

[li]TimeLord confirms that certain threads, such as the scary thread, will not be subject to the necro rule. Threads to be decided by the discretion of the moderators ( http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.839376-Poll-New-Forum-Rules-Yay-or-Nay?page=2#20614371 ) [/li]

[li]Marter seconds that cursing is permittable, as long as it is not in excess ( http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.839376-Poll-New-Forum-Rules-Yay-or-Nay?page=4#20616476 )[/li]

[li]NewClassic gives a general Q&A on various rules and reasons behind them, too much to summarise, just follow the link and read if you're interested ( http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.839376-Poll-New-Forum-Rules-Yay-or-Nay?page=4#20617328 ) [/li]

[li]JonB confirms that official contributors do experience repercussions for breaking the CoC, though not publicly for professional reasons and answers other concerns related to slander and moderation abuse, in particular noting that constructive criticism of official content will not be punished ( http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.839376-Poll-New-Forum-Rules-Yay-or-Nay?page=5#20619792 ) [/li]

So Escapists, the new Code of Conduct, Yay or Nay?​

 

[Longstreet]

Bloody hell mate, you are quick with this thread.

To be honest, i just agreed without reading, like 99% percent of the people.

But since it is just a clarification of the rules, it gets a yay i guess. Since there was some confusion every once in a while.

 

[God'sFist]

I didn't have any problems with it. So yay from me. I like clarifications on the necroing of old threads because I didn't much about it.

Captcha: stay safe thanks captcha I will try.

 

[FPLOON]

Well, to be honest... Just like Kyle in that one South Park episode, I just hit the "I agree" button and did not ONCE read the initial changes... (My forum soul feels weirder than usual... Eh... I'm going to call that "normal" for now...)

Anyway, I'm fine with the changes so far... It's not going to make my threads any better (or worse), but I'm not complaining...

Now, how about them [insert something here], captcha? *captcha does not respond* Of course you would say that...

 

[Barbas]

Much like the ISU-152, it's a noticeable improvement over its predecessor.

 

[Elfgore]

Now they can give warnings for necroing threads without me getting angry. About time it was put in.

 

[Eamar]

It's a yay overall from me, for pretty much the reasons you describe. That said, I'm pretty certain I've discussed pornography in the past as part of a legitimate discussion, and I really don't see the problem with that, so I'm still a bit confused and uncomfortable about that whole rule ("discussion of ad blockers, pedophilia, illegal acts, and pornography is never allowed.").

 

[username sucks]

I guess the magical ward protecting us from necromancers is nice. That seems to be the only significant change, and it was an unofficial rule long before this.

Still, I answer "Nay". Not because of the content, but because it has already asked me three times if I wanted to accept the new rules, and on one of those occasions my post was swallowed and I didn't feel like re-typing it. I hope it's not going to do that for every single post.

EDIT: It asked me to accept again for this post. That makes four of the three posts today. I'm just going to refrain from posting until this stops.

EDIT 2: It asked me again for the edit. I'm assuming it will for this edit too. So, now six out of my three posts today have provoked the Code of Conduct Gods to force me to bow to them.

 

[Marter]

I guess the magical ward protecting us from necromancers is nice. That seems to be the only significant change, and it was an unofficial rule long before this.

Still, I answer "Nay". Not because of the content, but because it has already asked me three times if I wanted to accept the new rules, and on one of those occasions my post was swallowed and I didn't feel like re-typing it. I hope it's not going to do that for every single post.

EDIT: It asked me to accept again for this post. That makes four of the three posts today. I'm just going to refrain from posting until this stops.

EDIT 2: It asked me again for the edit. I'm assuming it will for this edit too. So, now six out of my three posts today have provoked the Code of Conduct Gods to force me to bow to them.

You should maybe ask the <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/chat/Tech-Team>Tech Team to look into it if it persists. Sounds like a glitch to me.

 

[Drummodino]

I like them. The addition of necroing has been long overdue and I'm glad its there now. No major problems that I can see.

I am a little confused about "discussion of ad blockers, pedophilia, illegal acts, and pornography is never allowed". I've seen plenty of people saying that they watch porn or hentai and they didn't get flagged. I guess specific discussions about them aren't okay, but just mentioning them is?

 

[sky14kemea]

I like them. The addition of necroing has been long overdue and I'm glad its there now. No major problems that I can see.

I am a little confused about "discussion of ad blockers, pedophilia, illegal acts, and pornography is never allowed". I've seen plenty of people saying that they watch porn or hentai and they didn't get flagged. I guess specific discussions about them aren't okay, but just mentioning them is?

Since it's a PG-13 forum, having a lengthy discussion about your favourite porn isn't going to be met with open arms. However, it's not illegal to watch porn, so people are entitled to mention that they have done so.

I hope that clears it up slightly?

Actually, discussion about most of those topics can be done, as long as you're very careful about it. Like avoiding links to anything that gives information on how to perform any illegal acts/everything else, and not advocating any of it.(admitting to using it, or telling someone they should do it. etc.)

 

[FalloutJack]

It's not the words I worry about. It's the people. I got an argument from the staff over the word 'silly' in a post once. Fortunately, I overturned that one, but I don't think it should have ever been considered offensive to begin with.

 

[Drummodino]

Since it's a PG-13 forum, having a lengthy discussion about your favourite porn isn't going to be met with open arms. However, it's not illegal to watch porn, so people are entitled to mention that they have done so.

I hope that clears it up slightly?

Actually, discussion about most of those topics can be done, as long as you're very careful about it. Like avoiding links to anything that gives information on how to perform any illegal acts/everything else, and not advocating any of it.(admitting to using it, or telling someone they should do it. etc.)

Ah okay, that makes sense. Thanks for clearing that up!

 

[omega 616]

I like them. The addition of necroing has been long overdue and I'm glad its there now. No major problems that I can see.

I am a little confused about "discussion of ad blockers, pedophilia, illegal acts, and pornography is never allowed". I've seen plenty of people saying that they watch porn or hentai and they didn't get flagged. I guess specific discussions about them aren't okay, but just mentioning them is?

Since it's a PG-13 forum, having a lengthy discussion about your favourite porn isn't going to be met with open arms. However, it's not illegal to watch porn, so people are entitled to mention that they have done so.

I hope that clears it up slightly?

Actually, discussion about most of those topics can be done, as long as you're very careful about it. Like avoiding links to anything that gives information on how to perform any illegal acts/everything else, and not advocating any of it.(admitting to using it, or telling someone they should do it. etc.)

The problem is you can never be careful about it, what I consider to be just a passing comment could be warning worthy for you. Perception is everything and since you're the one with the power, what you says goes ... appeals can be made but again that person who reviews the appeal could side with you.

Basically, rules can never really be clarified enough.

Just to quote you

it's not illegal to watch porn, so people are entitled to mention that they have done so .... not advocating any of it.(admitting to using it, or telling someone they should do it. etc.)

Can I admit to it or not?

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Hmmm... To my knowledge neither Yahtzee or Jim have ever gotten into a heated argument in the forums themselves. It's just their content that may provoke such strong responses. Not everyone can keep calm and carry on it seems but that's unsurprising. I thought that particular passage was mentioned in the last CoC but whatever. After remembering the Game Dog threads I've been sure to just stop watching content here I have issues with rather than kick up a fuss about it.

I knew this latest bout of Necromancy would spoil the fun for everyone else... Now I can't be safe behind my '20 page' rule, going through old threads I found interesting and silently bringing it back up to the front page without anyone noticing.[footnote]Nobody ever seemed to bring it up when I bumped threads like that.[/footnote] Poor me and my occasional hobbies on this site!

All the other changes seem appropriate to me.

 

[sky14kemea]

The problem is you can never be careful about it, what I consider to be just a passing comment could be warning worthy for you. Perception is everything and since you're the one with the power, what you says goes ... appeals can be made but again that person who reviews the appeal could side with you.

Basically, rules can never really be clarified enough.

Just to quote you

it's not illegal to watch porn, so people are entitled to mention that they have done so .... not advocating any of it.(admitting to using it, or telling someone they should do it. etc.)

Can I admit to it or not?

Sorry, that does make it sound confusing, doesn't it. :/

You can basically only share things that are legal in the United States. Watching porn isn't against the law, so it's fine if you do, but linking it to underage people is against the law, so you can't tell people where to find it on the forums.

Everything else on the list is illegal in the United States, so admitting to using it is admitting to a crime. Since The Escapist offices are in the US, they abide by all the same laws.

You're right though, it's amazingly hard to pinpoint a rule down to one simple explanation.

 

[Asita]

...Is the "spoiler your images and videos" now an enforced rule or is it still "just good etiquette"?

 

[Weaver]

Everything else on the list is illegal in the United States, so admitting to using it is admitting to a crime. Since The Escapist offices are in the US, they abide by all the same laws.

I don't think Adblockers are illegal in the United States, but I know what you mean

Does this mean posts laden with profanity would be banned? If we're trying to take "PG-13" then, as per the MPAA's guidelines:

A motion picture?s single use of one of the harsher sexually-derived words, though only as an expletive, initially requires at least a PG-13 rating. More than one such expletive requires an R rating, as must even one of those words used in a sexual context.

How are we to interpret this?