BattleTech - The Board Game of Armored Combat

Off Topic and Technical Support => Forum Technical Support => Topic started by: Akalabeth on 28 August 2013, 10:53:58

Title: Forum Rules and Permissible Behaviour
Post by: Akalabeth on 28 August 2013, 10:53:58
Is this a discussion forum?

If the answer is yes, then why might I ask are responders permitted to not debate the points of discussion but the discussion itself?

It is my firm belief that if someone is going to post in a thread they should be contributing to the topic of that thread. But far too often I have noticed that individuals have brought up concerns related to their perception of the game (or other points of contention), and some people have responded not by addressing or debating those concerns but by discouraging the topic be discussed at all. In some cases, these individuals might even agree with the points of contention yet are still contending out of an apparent desire to muffle dissent among the player base.

And frankly I think this short of behaviour should be against the rules. You should either CONTRIBUTE to a discussion, by debating the merits of what's being discussed, or you should not be contributing at all. Now people have fun and throw in side comments and that and that's fine, people shouldn't be discouraged from having fun. But posts by individuals who are trying to dictate whether the topic should or should not be discussed is frankly just trolling. No one who is not acting as a moderator in the context of a post should be trying to dictate what is and what is not discussable.

So in short I think this sort of behaviour should be against the rules. And it should be stated clearly on the rules page. It should be spelled out, because if it is currently against the rules no one seems to understand it and it is not seemingly enforced (except perhaps when reported).


And this is not a critique or complaint on the locking of any recent or past thread, or on the moderation thereof, this is simply an appeal of enforcement against this sort of attitude.


Because quite frankly these sort of posts, posts which contribute nothing except the message "you should not be contributing/talking" are cancerous. In my mind it's creating the perception that's this forum is an old boys club, or a forum where criticism is not allowable, particular when some of the individuals who share this mentality are long time forum members or indirectly represent the company (ie have a Battlemaster under their name).  And frankly for my part it's killing my interest in supporting this game. I don't buy a lot of books, but I woke up today with the mentality that I would sell off any book that wasn't a TRO or the rules and frankly that's a problem. I'm just one individual but I know for a fact that other people don't contribute to some discussions for this very same reason.
Title: Re: Forum Rules and Permissible Behaviour
Post by: foxbat on 28 August 2013, 11:32:52
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But posts by individuals who are trying to dictate whether the topic should or should not be discussed is frankly just trolling. No one who is not acting as a moderator in the context of a post should be trying to dictate what is and what is not discussable.

This kind of behaviour, essentially telling people to shut up and stop posting, would be a violation of rule #3, regarding confrontational posting & trolling. If you find a post that you think meets these criteria, we may have missed it or not have come to it yet (we try to read and check all that's posted, but we're just fans like you spending ourt free time doing that job, and some things may slip through our net)

Or it has already been reported, and, in that case, examined and discussed by the moderation team. It may well be that after discussion, we found that the post was not objectionable enough under the board's rules to warrant a warning, or even a moderation post in the topic, and we elected to do nothing. Yes, it happens, we may disagree with a member's opinion of a breach of the rules. But be sure that, in every instance, whatever happens afterwards, a notification to moderation is never taken lightly, whoever made it, and examined by our team, as our duty demands.

Quote
Because quite frankly these sort of posts, posts which contribute nothing except the message "you should not be contributing" are cancerous. In my mind it's creating the perception that's this forum is an old boys club, particular when some of the individuals who share this mentality are long time forum members or indirectly represent the company (ie have a Battlemaster under their name).

Like everyone else, Battlemasters of every colour have to follow the rules of the forums  nd are answerable for straying from them in the same way as any other fan. We do not publicize moderation actions here, and they are kept strictly private, so that only the interested parties (moderators and offenders) are aware they have taken place. But whenever we have to act upon a Battlemaster's actions, he is treated the very same way everyone else is. Being a long time member, or even have any kind of CGL endorsement, does not shield you from sanctions listed in the rules.

In conclusion, I'll invite members to notify us if they have any problem with any post from anyone. Just be aware, we customarily never inform  the notifier of what resulted from his notification.
Title: Re: Forum Rules and Permissible Behaviour
Post by: Akalabeth on 28 August 2013, 12:02:59
I'm glad that this behaviour is considered unacceptable and do realize that forum admins and so forth contribute out of their spare time and not every infraction is necessary caught.

However I would respectfully suggest that I believe this infraction is not really enforced to degree that it should be. That's simply an observation, one which may be incorrect or one that may be shared by other individuals. Because in the past I have had individuals contact me to share their opinion and they did so privately because they were sick of dealing with the backlash their opinion would attract.

And I think that any time you have a forum member choosing not to post because they feel the forum is unfriendly it's a problem. As the official forums for the game, the environment should be such that every individual can feel that they can contribute freely and without reservation so long as they respect the people they're talking to.
Title: Re: Forum Rules and Permissible Behaviour
Post by: Weirdo on 28 August 2013, 12:58:47
However I would respectfully suggest that I believe this infraction is not really enforced to degree that it should be.

Feel free to report any post you feel violates the forum rules. As foxbat said, we take EVERY report seriously, and are discussed among the entire moderation team. No report is ever dismissed simply because the Mod who sees it first doesn't think the post is actionable. On the other hand, bear in mind that responses to forum violations are discussed ONLY with the rules violator. If you report a post and we decide that a warning is needed, you will be told nothing. Same goes if we decide that no warning is needed. Similarly, sometimes a backlog builds up. So if you report a post and nothing happnes, it means, either we didn't think a rules violation took place, we decided on a course of action that doesn't involve removing the post, we're still discussing and deciding what the best course of action is, or we're busy discussing/dealing with other reports, and simply haven't gotten to that one yet.
Title: Re: Forum Rules and Permissible Behaviour
Post by: Akalabeth on 28 August 2013, 13:00:42
Yes I realize there is a delay and also I realize that any actions wont be publicly discussed.
Thanks for your time and again it's good to know that this attitude is not acceptable.