Since most of these rules are the same as the last update, and I didn't comment on that update, I think I'm just going to talk about what I find problematic with these rules. Here goes nothing.
Da Rules said:
First issue I have here: "Don't be a jerk" is too broad to actually be of any use (it's like going to a public pool and one of the rules telling you to "Don't do anything dangerous"). It's broad, it's subjective, and the next section, "Have Respect for Others," covers essentially the same thing, just with less examples. I feel that the first two sections should be merged, use the title of the section section as the rule, and then use the title of the first section as a
guideline instead of a rule, something along the lines of: "As a general rule, try not to be a jerk. If you think that what you say may enrage someone, consider rephrasing your argument." It's a minor nitpick, though. Next comment.
Da Rules said:
Have Respect for the Site and its Content
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.
This seems hypocritical. Your content is always going to draw like-minded people to your site; if your content creators post videos that are deliberately filled with bile and hate (Zero Punctuation, for instance), you're going to attract more people with that mindset to your site. Think about it like this: a band who's songs are mostly about sex, illegal drugs, and violence is going to attract an audience that likes sex, illegal drugs, and violence. If you don't want people mimicking what they see in your videos, tell your content creators to either reign in their act, or remove those restrictions from your userbase.
Da Rules said:
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. An example of these are:
-Ad Blockers
Ad blockers aren't illegal, please don't insinuate that they are. I know you're trying to protect your bottom line, but if your revenue is so dependent on ads that ad blockers pose a threat to your company's well-being, it's time to rethink your company's business plan and how you generate cash flow. Techdirt [http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100306/1649198451.shtml] had a good article on this, and punishing your users for using an ad blocker is ultimately going to hurt you in the long run.
Part of being a media company means you need to grow and adapt to any threats, real or perceived, to your bottom line. Instead of punishing users for using ad blocking software, find a way around that software to generate more revenue. But don't blame us, your
customers, when we're not making you enough money.
Da Rules said:
Penalties
The Escapist forums are different from other forums on the internet. We try to maintain a system that balances intelligent discussion, debate and fun. The penalty system is meant to provide guidance to users - it allows users to better understand the rules and adjust to the differences from other Internet forums. The Escapist uses a strike system that grants you a maximum amount of 8 penalties to learn how to adhere to forum policies. Once a threshold has been broken, there is no way to gain strikes back.
Last point: this seems like an overly draconian way to handle forum moderation. Forums that I have visited that use a similar health system usually also have ways of decreasing the number of strikes against a user, usually by not inciting moderator action against them for a period of time. The system that the Escapist has chosen to use, however, feels like we, the customers, are being treated like criminals just for posting on the site. We're being constantly monitored, and after receiving eight strikes against us--no matter how small or insignificant--will end up banning us from the forums, even if those eight offenses were spread across 10+ years.
Hell, in some ways this system is worse than real world penalty systems. In Florida, for instance, points on your license will stop counting against you after a maximum time of three years (Source [http://www.flhsmv.gov/ddl/faqpoints.html]). Criminal records can also be sealed and expunged, and they stop counting against you once they are. Even if the system that the Escapist is using only removed one point after, say, a six month period (based on good behavior), it would go a long way in making the system in seeming a little more "fair." That's not to say the record needs to be removed; just giving your users a strike back is more than enough. If you're worried about people "gaming the system," keep track of how much of a warn level that user has, and when, and use that data to look for people who might be trying to use the system to cause discord in the forums.
Right now, though, it's unfair treatment to the users. Banning is now no longer a matter of "if," but "when." Users now need to pussyfoot through their posts in their discussions, because if they post something that could even be seem as slightly offense by one person, they get slapped with a permanent mark against them, with the only chance at redemption being available through the appeal process (since I haven't used it, I'm not going to comment on it). This isn't a conducive way to promote discussion on the boards; users holding controversial, unpopular, or minority opinions might be afraid to actually
post and discuss those opinions with other users, out of fear of being labeled a troll, which then turns the forums not into a place of discussion, but rather a machine that spits out nothing but agreeing opinions (no real source on this, but I know this is how some people on these forums feel about this).
Anyway, that's just my two cents. Hopefully I was able to keep my thoughts on the matter somewhat cohesive.
. The videos here still work.
