PlanetCalypsoForum Rules Discussion

nvm…I will fix my first post in this thread before I leave

Dont bother replying anymore. TBH, this stuff really just makes me hate the game now. You won’t see me in game for a long time now. MA knows those guns were bugged, and you go lock threads and say “disproved”. Well screw MA for not addressing the issue with us. You were wrong by closing that thread, you are wrong by not letting us show pms from people PROVING THAT BUG EXISTED, MA was wrong by not making a statement, and 5$ is wrong for being a hippopotamus.

DOn’t reply…last post ever here.

So let’s see if I follow your logic:

1. Another member, in your sole opinion, violates the forum rules (or in this case, the guidelines provided in the opening post).
2. You have been, in your sole opinion, aggrieved, and therefore you are freed from the forum rules and can respond however you like.

Even if you are correct in your assessment of another member violating the forum rules, the proper course of action is to report the post to a moderator, not to escalate the problem by responding with personal attacks and further disrupting the discussion at hand, as you have done countless times here on PCF.

It’s almost as if you believe the forum rules do not apply to you, or that you are justified in ignoring them whenever you feel someone has attacked you.

I sincerely believe a very lightly moderated forum is what is best for the community overall.

You’ll notice on the forums of other MMOs, that there is sort of a “community moderation” feature. If a post receives enough downvotes, it no longer becomes visible (unless you choose to make it so). I’m a big fan of this feature and I think it subtly relieves the moderators from the necessity of over-vigilance.

Opening up a thread for the first time just to see easily a dozen or more posts moderated into oblivion is a horrible feeling. It’s as though the community itself is at war with these forums.

IMO: All the rules are necessary, there’s no need to change anything.
Most of them have long history, none of them was invented yesterday, and many have been improved over time by a team of very smart ppl. Yes, ppl and not gods, but ppl with much more experience and knowledge about forums than most of us.

Maybe not all of us (can’t speak on behalf of everybody). I know I have never been a mod.
I have, however, been the Rebellious One. Not as charismatic as Taco perhaps, but otherwise very close. It was only a few years ago (a different forum, very similar rules thou).
If someone would have said to me back then I will calm down in the future and learn how to behave within this incredibly annoying set of rules… I would not have believed him. I would have thought what a lying smartass, I will never ever change!

And yet, here I am today, believing those rules are actually the best compromise between bad and worse.

Btw, I’m amazed how much latitude we all have been given here lately!
Keep up the good work, mods!
It’s not easy I imagine… Hope u won’t give up and won’t get tired!
Respect!

there is way too much testosterone in this thread…
calm the f**k down, I don’t come hear to read about 2 noobs fighting. I want to read a discussion about the forum rules. k? thanks.. it’s the reason i subscribed

I would like to know if this discussion has any chance of bringing about changes. Since it’s been emphasized how long these rules exist and what they supposedly have achieved, seems rather they’re considered cast in stone. The other issue is interpretation of what constitutes off-topic and everything else which triggers a deletion. However, so far nobody has been moved the slightest by any expression of opposition. Exercises in futility are one thing I really don’t need any more of. So does it make sense to speak up?

Exactly what constitutes off-topic is something specific which I believe is relevant to this discussion thread. I don’t believe you should need to quote the rule you mean here; I’m just following the thread discussion and see the relevance for myself.

On that note, I also think ZPF’s post was very helpful, even if the OP may not think it is directly on topic.

ZPF: You’ll notice on the forums of other MMOs, that there is sort of a “community moderation” feature. If a post receives enough downvotes, it no longer becomes visible (unless you choose to make it so). I’m a big fan of this feature and I think it subtly relieves the moderators from the necessity of over-vigilance.

I would add that I would hope people could form some kind of list with a weighted downvoting for their own personal ignore score. This comment is thus not about an existing rule, but about an alternative method I would like to see implemented. I hope people and the OP consider that my comment is relevant enough to wish it to stay here, ty

That may well work with some game forums, however given the level of ‘forum pvp’ we already see here on PCF, I believe that this sort of ‘voting’ feature would result in significant abuse.

This is why I would hope an additional functionality of personally weighting others’ thumbs ups and downs might make results tuned to personal preference, regardless or even especially if there is ‘forum pvp’ going on.
Maybe a bit much of a difficult ‘ask’ about how forums could work, but still worth mentioning I think.

Edit: Thanks Serica for your answer directly below. Sometimes platforms and apps don’t work well due to a lack of flexibility and how things can be implemented. Maybe an area of future development to help forums perform better, given the imperfections of group communication

While vBulletin 4.x does have an Add-On called “Helpful Answers” ( http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=233296 ) which enables ‘voting’ on individual posts, I don’t see any feature that would allow personal weighting of the votes of other members.

From what I can see, it’s intended more for Question/Answer type forums, not more general discussion ones like PCF.

With some breaks im around here for 11 years and somehow i was able to keep the friction between me and any moderator to an minimum. I believe this hold true for the overhelming part of our forum.

The people who have problems with moderators arn’t bad persons but they have a problem with authority and not all but the most want to utilize the forum as a lobby to push their agenda on others. I like the freedom of self expression and i like the freedom of free speech but the internet is a place where you stay anonymous and it only need a spark to turn the summ of rational and logic thinking people into a lynch mob filled with hatred based on unverified rumours and half facts wich can do real harm to people.

I do understand why all those rules are here but i also feel empaty towards helena for example and the recent ban left a sour feeling in my throat . But no matter what happen in EU, this forum isn’t a pile of logs meant to burn anyone like a medival witch even if in some cases the temptation is overhelming.

Im not sure if it would harm our forum too much to make a time limited TEST where the most debatted rules are softend up for like a month and the mods aswell as the faction that want change can prove who is right and who is wrong. Maybe a less strict moderation would not hurt pcf or maybe this turns into a feast for trolls, we only know if we move forward and try someting new. Its never too late to return to the current state but this debatte wont die out ever as long no side is moving.

If I may add a point to the discussion…

I think this rule is overly harsh.

3.5 - Necroposting
Pointlessly bumping of dormant, inactive threads causes confusion for other members and visitors who may not notice the original thread post date. A thread is considered inactive if there have been no replies in the last four (4) months. Posting in an inactive thread is strongly discouraged, unless there is a very good reason for reactivating the thread. If you feel an issue or topic from an inactive thread deserves renewed discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum or subforum.

4 months isn’t very long in the grand scheme of things. Creating a new thread of the same topic every 4 months seems excessive. I know ( thankfully) this rule isn’t enforced too regularly, perhaps it may be worth while revising it?

There are many types of threads which often contain a wealth of data and information which has been gathered over time, that would be a shame to lose every 4 months and start a new one, and quite annoying to bump the original mindlessly to stick to the 4 month limit.

Yes, I agree. The annoying bit is when I don’t notice how old the revived posts are, but often a reminder and revival of a thread topic is quite a good thing in my opinion.
I’d implement automatic colour-coding (or similar) of dates if I were to program a forum platform, to help keep wasted readership time down without wishing to simply close a necroed thread.

It is quite often that we don’t enforce this rule if the thread has value.

Am I permitted to say:

This thread serves no purpose.

Therefore no point in my posting in it?

/mod note/
Apparently you still have not yet read the first post of this thread.
I’ll post the relevant part here again for you:

to mods .. You might as well close this thread as most of it seems to get deleted anyhow…

Wouldn’t it be worth revising then?

I have found myself dithering over bumping a 6 month old valuable thread or creating a new ( undoubtedly less valuable)one due to the rule. I would presume I am not alone.

good point there