To the moderators of the Escapist:

[JC175]

I don't think there's much more than can be said here, it's a case of making sure you are aware of both the intent and the consequences of your own actions before you post, and respecting the moderators to interpret your comments in the same fashion. Sure, I've said things in the past that I've regretted, and have yet to come under any sort of moderator action. The mods are lenient if you give them the opportunity to be, but at the same time of course there are going to posts that slip under the radar.

The main point I'd like to reinforce though, is that ultimately you have a large influence on moderator action - as they've stated in the past, the more people that click the report button on a post, the more urgently it will be dealt with. It's anonymous and has no after effects, so if we were all to use the reporting system even if we were unsure about a post, I'm sure the moderators would be able to satisfy the community as well as possible.

And to reinforce the above, in an ideal world I'd love to see a widespread mod system similar to what Alex_P uses when closing a thread - he leaves a post with a brief explanation as to why the thread was closed. I think that in some of those ambiguous cases where a suspension or permaban seems unecessary, a simple line from the moderator added onto the offending post (or replacing it, if needed) would be all that the community needs to stop such unrest as we've seen here.

But all in all, I'd like to thank the mods for doing such a good job. Sure, it's never the best outcome to eradicate a long staying and highly regarded forum member, but sometimes they do what they have to do. If anything we should be commending them for the confidence to do so in the face of such scrutiny from the community as a result.

 

[Major_Sam]

*Puffs Ultrapipe*

Seems to me, you silly bunch, that you're only so passionate about the issue because you care so damn much about the community and the people in it. This is great, this is fantastic, a community like that is a dream for any administrator or company, and you users are right to want to defend it, and to take pride in it.

It just seems that this pride and awesomeness might stem from the very things you see as wrong. Perhaps, says the tin-can, this forum is the way it is because it is the way it is. And threads like this show that the ways things are is obviously not all that bad, because it's made you care. I know I care, and I only care about two other thing, my Dog and my Ginger Beer.

And when I find out a way to combine all three, the world will tremble.

I agree. I see the pride and the passion in this which is why I'm not too worried about anything else.

 

[Bat Vader]

In my opinion I believe the moderators are doing an excellent job in making this site enjoyable for all members of the site.

 

[scotth266]

*Puffs Ultrapipe*

Ah, somehow I missed this gem of a post. Indeed: I think that the majority of the community cares a LOT about what happens here. In fact, what led to the creation of this entire petition was a worried conversation between myself and two fellow Escapists on Twitter.

Maybe you could also give him anthropomorphic training, so that he could suggest witty comments as you type? It'd be like a disney film in the comfort of your own UltraDen.

While I do appreciate the humor, if you could spoiler the dog? I'd like to try and keep things as on-topic as they can be, for the moment.

My problem is why <color=indigo>certain users aren't banned after repeatedly breaking the rules, insulting others, and making the community an all around worse place.

Sanity... I believed that I mentioned in a PM to you that you should not reference other users in your posts on this issue. Don't make me upset.

 

[phwbt]

Please could I be added to the list.

I was recently also wrongly put on 'Probation' for commenting on a video before watching it.
I had watched it and my comment was posted over 40 mins after the video was uploaded.
I think the moderators need to get better at their job.

You got put on probation for saying "first". Consider yourself lucky. Most people get suspended for stupid comments like that.

Again, as I mentioned to the person above, the comment says more than just, 'first'.
I'm new to the Escapist and I have NEVER come across any rules for posting on the forums.
I have never been directed to any 'terms' or 'conditions' or been sent a message explaining the rules.

Then you're not looking hard enough. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.116827]

That's stickied to the top of every forum. You should have read it before posting.

Granted, it says nothing about "first" comments. But that's why you only got a probation. Nothing bad actually happened, you have just been reminded to not repeat the mistake you made.

Huh, it feels weird to justify the actions of a mod.

Actually, under the heading "Probations Tier 3" in "The Banhammer and You: A User's Guide to the Forums" it says...
Pointlessness: Did you post just to say something stupid, such as 'FIRST' or an internet meme with no relevance? Maybe just posting to up your post count (and, by default, your inflated ego)? Well, we don't like that. Forums are all about discussion, and non-contributions such as these are not liked here....so you were more right than you thought. And considering I know this and I've been around for less than a month, anyone who's been around for longer than me really has no excuse. The first rule of any forum is to read them...the rules, that is.

 

[quiet_samurai]

Some of the most interesting converstaions I've had on here were with some of the more controversial members. I think their willingness to push it a little makes it funner, i'm also just a big fan of confrontation.

 

[Berethond]

...I'm...not sure how to be more silly.
I suppose I could wear a festive hat.

Just look at what the right piece of headwear did for that Yahtzee fellow.

Fixed up that misquotation you had going on there.

 

[quiet_samurai]

...I'm...not sure how to be more silly.
I suppose I could wear a festive hat.

Just look at what the right piece of headwear did for that Yahtzee fellow.

Actually that was me, but yeah.

I was thinking a fedora...

Some of the most interesting converstaions I've had on here were with some of the more controversial members. I think their willingness to push it a little makes it funner, i'm also just a big fan of confrontation.

Congrats on 1000 posts, though.
Also your mom is an unpleasant lady.

Yeah... that's why i'm constantly hanging out with yours.

 

[mshcherbatskaya]

See above about the balance of intelligent conversation and bullshit asshattery. You are right - he was intelligent and funny. He was also a chronic racist, sexist, and homophobe. He generated a lot of negativity, too much negativity in the end. I'm surprised he lasted as long as he did.

You're talking about him as if he's been banned.
He's just got 90 days.
Which, while nothing to spit at, isn't permanent.
And I somehow don't see him changing.

Unless of course you were talking about someone else.

Honestly, I was taking my cue from others who were also speaking of him as though he'd been perma-banned, but I didn't actually check his ban status. 90 days is a long time, though. I don't recall ever having seen a temp ban that long.

 

[NoNameMcgee]

The moderation here confuses me a lot, to be honest. Sometimes it seems really strict and people get probation or a ban for next to no good reason; and other times someone verbally attacks someone else and they don't even get warned. This happened to me and I felt a bit injusticed.

As for the Necroswanson, I can't say I ever liked the guy, to be honest I found him annoying and didn't like his attitude. I'm not sure if whatever he did deserved a ban though, I haven't seen the post(s) in question he got banned for - but like someone said on the first page, his history on the site had to be taken into account.

Anyway, for all the ups and downs I have on this forum, its the only one I have stayed to post at in recent memory so it must be doing something right. The moderating is just something I wish was a bit less unpredictable and a bit more ordinary and understandable.

 

[Mister Ash]

I feel I should add my 2 pence around here, being used to moderating an such, and wondering why most of you don't have better things to do.

I, personally, don't think any Moderator/Admin/Staff should ever have to explain themselves to anyone, about anything[*} if it's something obvious, or 'the straw that broke the camels back' situation, it doesn't matter. Mods, Admins, etc, don' get to the position they're in by being stupid. they know the rules better than most (and probably wrote some of them)

I've banned 'noobs' (hate that term) and veteran posters who, yeah, I kinda liked. (hell, I once suspended my girlfriend [from the forums we both posted on - before the sick jokes])

really, the job of moderation is left up to, strangely, the moderators (weird how that works....) if someone didn't think they were up to the job, the Admins [Administrators**] would take away their responsabilities and powers.

Without them, this place would be a hell hole, full of trolls, spammers, adverts and generic shit. like 4Chan. Love the forum, Obey the rules, and everything, will. be. shiny.


* except their superiors obviously, the guy that owns the site probably has a right to know
** I think someone got a little confounded earlier, as regards the structure of a forum team. generally speaking, i believe it goes something like- Moderators < Administrators < System Administrators < Paid Staff < Owner. at least, thats how it worked where I started out.


ok, I'm done now...carry on regardless

 

[Ultrajoe]

Honestly, I was taking my cue from others who were also speaking of him as though he'd been perma-banned, but I didn't actually check his ban status. 90 days is a long time, though. I don't recall ever having seen a temp ban that long.

People who request self-bans (In a serious manner, via PM, not comments like his) often recieve the 90-day as a placeholder ban (They PM the mod again to have it lifted). Although I have never seen it given as a form of punishment before.

 

[wilsonscrazybed]

There's also a slight matter of thread-locking inconsistency that I'm curious about. Around the same time every night, I'll see a whole load of lock-worthy threads pop up, but these will tend to stay open for baffling amounts of time. Another small issue is what threads deserve to be locked. Aren't threads of a sexual nature against the Guidelines? Then why does stuff like this [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.120471?page=1] slip through the net?

The reason for the "inconsistency" is that the community chooses not to hit the report button. I know we had stickies up saying pretty much that for a week or so.

The Escapist has three off-hours mods who all have full time jobs and other obligations, if it doesn't show up on page one, in the mod queue or in a PM box, then it's probably not going to be seen. The sheer volume of daily posts means that unless the thread is on page one and screams "LOCK ME," you probably won't see any action taken unless we're contacted in some way about it. That means it's up to you to take charge of the site, hit that report button or send us a link!

It's my feeling the system works best when the community agrees on quality control. You don't want moderators who go 'poking around for trouble,' micromanaging every thread. This is where the democracy of a forum comes into play. You the user can say "Hey moderator, I don't like this!" If enough people agree with you, then the moderators will likely come try to fix the problem. In this sense everyone on a forum has a say in policy to an extent.

The community speaking up is what happened with both of the users who were banned this week. Enough of you said "we've had enough of this." The moderation team listened, discussed it, and agreed with the community. If you for a second think "These moderators ban people at random." Then you need to know that before anyone is banned it is discussed with THE EDITORS and consensus is formed before anyone is sent packing. I challenge you to find another site that has it's staff down in the trenches making sure the community is healthy, happy, and well moderated.

Yea, I know it hurts to lose community members who we have gotten to know over the years. It makes you ask yourself, "Am I next? Will I be banned without warning? Does all this investment I've made in The Escapist mean anything if they could just ban me tomorrow and all of that is thrown away?" No, we're not going to ban you for no reason. Those users who were recently banned all had long histories of being warned about their behavior on the site. The simple truth is: If you follow the guidelines, even generally, and think about what you're writing before you post it you will never ever hear or see us, and the less you see of us, the happier everyone is.

 

[mshcherbatskaya]

My only problem with Cheeze is something he actually put into words perfectly: He mentioned that he's something like an argument vampire, sucking the energy out of the opposing party.

Just to clarify, that's not how I put it. I said something like I feed off of the other person being detailed and precise in their arguments, in reference to my multi-page conversations with a specific member and how another specific member kids both me and him about the two of us being argumentative. Yet I can't recall a rude comment either way between us to each other.

I wouldn't call the two of you argumentative, I would call you Epic Bickerers. The pair of you were like an old married couple. I was joking with a friend of the Ultra persuasion about writing fanfiction about members of this forum (it's a rule 34 thing, just go with it) and if I did, you two would be totally canon. But (back to our point here) while you did argue every issue into. The. Freakin'. Ground. You stayed on point and never devolved to ad hominems and personal quarreling.

 

[Kinguendo]

It's good to see the mods talking though, Hello mods.

The only time I normally see them talk is a singular (off-topic) post on one of my threads before it is locked, but hey I dont hold grudges... Hey, you're alright.

 

[CheeseSandwichCake]

Funnily enough I haven't even read the guide lines yet. I'm generally going to assume they're exactly the same as they are on every other forum.

• No spamming
  Trolling
  Flaming
  Being a moron
  Making repeat threads
  Harassing other members
  Liking 4chan etc

Just to be safe I'll go read them now, though.

edit: Wow, I was just about right, except the 4chan part.