Anger Management
 

The level of anger present on the forums is once again beginning to peak. The anger directed at new members for not being as 'tuned' in to the workings of the forums is appauling. The anger directed at new members, for any reason is not on. And dare I say it, the anger directed at any member is not on.

You may think you're getting points for being smart and nasty, maybe you're even feeling just that little bit better about your own sad situation, but you earn no respect - especially from me.

If I see anymore, I will take action. All it takes is a Private Message to them and to kindly inform them about the issue. There is NO need for anger.

Alcar...

I'm with you Alcar, but I also want to say that I can understand some peoples reactions. Some new people are just 'asking' for it... it's not that hard to look around for stickies and use search and stuff like that you know?

But yea... Lets try to keep it down a bit.

*Walks off back to the main party* Hey you! Don't touch that! Bad newbie! Bad newbie!

Hmm, it doesn't really seem like it's been at an all time high in my eyes, but if it truly is a thorn is the forums' ass I'll see what I can do, assuming I've done something.

I think there are certain members like coughMonkeybaitcough that do seriously need to have a closer eye on though. Not saying they need to have privilages taken away, but to be informed a little more often. So far the only new person in the past few months that I feel I have been mean to has been Rydellrocksyourworld, and we warned her enough about her misdeeds.

Yeah, I've seen the forums in much worse condition. But I suppose it's best to take action for it escalates.

And what urks me a little more is this recent 'Mods on the March' campaign. I have seen threads that with the slightest hint of going a little offtopic be closed in an instant. And I feel that Sekto's and myself's recent warning was rather unjust. Spam should not be tolerated on a lot levels, but not to the point of a member getting warned.

I think spam is fine within moderation. Two word posts in GD should be considered spam, but witty remarks that do - in some way - relate to the conversation, like what OASNT does, should not be considered grounds for warning.
When it comes to anger, well, that comes naturally with the discussions that arise in OT. I agree that in some circles you should have a debate without making it personal, but that's only if the person or persons you are debating with has an understanding of the concept and isn't an ignorant bastich. When it comes to stupidity, whether it's done to be funny or the person has a crayon jammed in their cerebrum, it should be handled with a certain harshness so the person knows that what he's doing isn't welcome in that particular discussion. I've witnessed this first-hand. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. If everyone handles everything with an ill-placed warning or a watered down "try not to do it again", then it will continue (especially with the amount of angst here).
I understand that the mods are using that 'harshness' to try and mop up the forums, but in this instance, I think it will likely just cause more trouble.

In short, minimal member-directed anger is okay, but using the same tactic to get the forums in line isn't. At least not IMO.

We were out of line with the Webber thing, and for that I apologize. Now we have each others messenger handle. We'll stay out of your hair.

I can see a warning for spaming being justified... but it would require a whole lotta spamming first.

As for how strictly the rules should be inforced... well, I don't see it mattering really. If you're spamming frequently (say... more than one spam post a day) I think you deserve to be politely told to stop and, if you don't stop, informaly warned {i.e. "Stop spaming or we're gonna WARN your ass... for real this time!"}.

Ultimitly, the strictness of rules is down to the mods' opinions. You don't like it, politely say so through the proper channels... or leave.

More than one a day? If you're posting even one spammy post every single day, that's way too much and horribly annoying.

And this... pre-pre-warning, pre-warning, and then REAL warning stuff is stupid. Maybe a pre-warning is okay, if something really isn't that bad. But seriously, if someone is doing something huge that a mod knows the person knows better than to do, a flat out warning should be dished out.

A warning is already a 'pre-action'. I don't think it needs anything preceding it.

I don't realy get why there is so much fuss about everything here. There are rules written, the majority of people know how the warning system works and know how strict the moderators are, why is it so hard for these people to just act tordwards what they know and keep their ass out of trouble instead of trying to bend the rules over and over again?

You spam, a mod will tell you not to. You spam again, you had your pre-warning and you'll get a real one. Easy as that. 3 warnings and you're banned. It's very simple realy.

I can understand 'in a way' how the current rules can be somewhat confusing, since there isn't realy anything solid in there. But they are still clear enough to understand, and your comon sence should be able to do the rest. So stop trying to change the rules and try living according to them instead.

One rule I do recommend: “If you don't like the content of a thread, don't reply to it.”

I get sick and tired of otherwise repectable veteran posters thinking that the actions of rookie members gives them an excuse to become high-and-mighty jerks, which is exactly what you're rallying against, Alcar. I think that's a fairly explicit rule, though it doesn't define what constitutes breaking the rule.