Staff moderation of Mafia games

[higgs2]

THe "talk or be suspended" choice is a bit draconian.

[oblivion]

I just want to know what the problem is. This friction seems to be a very recent development. You can deal with it like an adult and we can discuss it or you can keep posting snide remarks.

We set up a special sub-forum for the players of this game, so it should be obvious that we don't mind the game. However, what is going on now is making the place uncomfortable for players and potential players and people are leaving because of it. Your call. You can work your way to a suspension or we can discuss what the real issues are.

Just to make it clear, it's the style of moderation you guys have engaged in that has led me to decide ratz isn't the place for me. I'm saddened by all the us/them behavior between members, but it's the staff role in how this has played out that is really off the charts imo.

I don't want there to be an us/them feeling. This is a pretty laid-back place. (If the staff wants to get your attention, we send you a PM or post in blue.) We generally don't take things too seriously, but if there is a problem we want to discuss it and find a solution.

I think you are probably sincere. Your buddy Gawdzilla should maybe take a rain check from this discussion or something, if you're serious about trying to resolve the outbreak of hostilities.

Asking for input and threatening to suspend, as you did in your earlier post is not really a good way to get feedback. And it was in the same vein as earlier posts by JimC and that dude with a tiara on his head, which makes threat-based interactions look like standard procedure.

[gandalf]

guys plz dont ban higgs2 for that she is mai frand i will take her place if need be

[Uselesstwit]

Just to make it clear, it's the style of moderation you guys have engaged in that has led me to decide ratz isn't the place for me. I'm saddened by all the us/them behavior between members, but it's the staff role in how this has played out that is really off the charts imo.

OK, bye.

Really? Oblivion has worked her butt off making the mafia game over her what it is. Her opinion is absolutely valid and her leaving is a big loss for us.

When this mess first started I was absolutely on ratz's side. Green tentacle should have been banned and bart needed a wake up call. Now it's looking like both sides are at fault. It really does seem like the mods are being overzealous. Maybe they feel they're protecting the community but it's definitely feeling heavy handed from where I sit.

[Azathoth]

Any chance you could type in English Gandalf? The lolspeak doesn't help in making you look less troll-like.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Just to make it clear, it's the style of moderation you guys have engaged in that has led me to decide ratz isn't the place for me. I'm saddened by all the us/them behavior between members, but it's the staff role in how this has played out that is really off the charts imo.

OK, bye.

Really? Oblivion has worked her butt off making the mafia game over her what it is. Her opinion is absolutely valid and her leaving is a big loss for us.

When this mess first started I was absolutely on ratz's side. Green tentacle should have been banned and bart needed a wake up call. Now it's looking like both sides are at fault. It really does seem like the mods are being overzealous. Maybe they feel they're protecting the community but it's definitely feeling heavy handed from where I sit.

I'm utter disinterested in the mafia games. If they're so important to you and you want to play uninterrupted, there's an obvious solution. Start your own forum.

[gandalf]

Any chance you could type in English Gandalf? The lolspeak doesn't help in making you look less troll-like.

lolz this is english what now typing in the language of teh internetz is the new tr0lling?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Any chance you could type in English Gandalf? The lolspeak doesn't help in making you look less troll-like.

lolz this is english what now typing in the language of teh internetz is the new tr0lling?

It's silly.

[gandalf]

Any chance you could type in English Gandalf? The lolspeak doesn't help in making you look less troll-like.

lolz this is english what now typing in the language of teh internetz is the new tr0lling?

It's silly.

how rude

[sparklecat]

Yes, I really would like to discuss what the problems are. However, making broad insinuations of staff hypocrisy and incompetence is not going to get us any where. I'm will to discuss specific issues, but only if there is going to really be a discussion and not just implied insults and name-calling. I've moderated on several forums and I always try to find out what's going on before making a decision.

Cool I can certainly explain my perception of what's happened recently, and what I've found upsetting - understand this isn't all in reference to you personally. I certainly don't think I've made any broad insults; it appears to me that to a certain degree, staff here are simply conflating all posters who have come here recently from TR who become involved in this and mentally labelling them troublemakers. The focus is likely on protecting the community, but we're not all the same. I'm not BartRob, or green tentacle, or gandalf. I'm not going to spam the forum with goatse, or tell anyone to shut the fuck up; even at TR, it's pretty rare for me to insult anyone. But because I came here with some of the others, I'm looked on with suspicion, and threatened with a suspension when I indicate that it's rather unfair to suspend someone else for a post they've already been warned for simply because they're not showing proper deference to the moderators.

That sort of behavior on the part of moderators is reprehensible, and I absolutely meant my insinuations that some of you are acting as badly as the mods at Rapture Ready did, in my experience. It's not even simply that it's unfair to BartRob, and myself, and anyone else who gets caught up during this circling the wagons behavior. It's terrible for the site as well. The kind of atmosphere that sort of thing fosters is poisonous, and encourages abuse of power. Your job as moderators isn't to force people to agree with you, or show you proper respect. It's to facilitate communication between all your members within the rules of the site. And threats aren't the best way to go about that. Neither is suspending people because they're not pandering to your ego sufficiently, and I'm sorry if FBM feels offended by my characterization of his motives there, but it's really how his behavior came off to me and others I've talked to.

The right way to go about this is exactly what you're doing, Ayaan; talk with people, find out what their problems are, and work together to find a solution that both members and staff are happy with. But you can't dismiss their concerns because you don't like how they're being presented; if gandalf, for example, is expressing that he feels the moderators are behaving hypocritically, find out why rather than threatening him for doing so, and consider whether there's something in your own attitude that warrants that criticism. There may well not be; I'm uncertain what precisely he was referring to with his post myself, but it's still important to consider all feedback and recognize the fact that anyone in a position of power is inevitably prone to corruption. Even if it's just a message board moderator.

I've never played the mafia game, in fact, until the past two or three days I'd not paid much attention to the mafia game forum. People seem to enjoy playing it and if something is now keeping people from doing that, I want to know what it is and discuss a solution. No point in ruining something that people find fun because of a lack of communication. I'm here, I'm willing to listen, but I need to know what the problems are - not just that someone thinks the staff are hypocrites or that the moderation on this forum sux.

I hope I've helped clear up some of what is bothering people; others, of course, will have different concerns. Mafia is simply about having fun, and you've absolutely got a right to run your games according to a more friendly set of rules than TR operates under. It's your site. Just... don't overreact to things that aren't even insults. Don't treat us like children to be punished for talking back to you. That's only going to engender more hostility. And for god's sake, can we try to avoid the 'if you don't like it, fuck off' sort of comments? I've only posted like, 10 times, sure, but I'm a member here too and I have a right to have my concerns heard and addressed fairly. Oblivion deserves that even more, with what she's put into this.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Any chance you could type in English Gandalf? The lolspeak doesn't help in making you look less troll-like.

lolz this is english what now typing in the language of teh internetz is the new tr0lling?

It's silly.

how rude

As in?

[oblivion]

Just to make it clear, it's the style of moderation you guys have engaged in that has led me to decide ratz isn't the place for me. I'm saddened by all the us/them behavior between members, but it's the staff role in how this has played out that is really off the charts imo.

OK, bye.

Really? Oblivion has worked her butt off making the mafia game over her what it is. Her opinion is absolutely valid and her leaving is a big loss for us.

When this mess first started I was absolutely on ratz's side. Green tentacle should have been banned and bart needed a wake up call. Now it's looking like both sides are at fault. It really does seem like the mods are being overzealous. Maybe they feel they're protecting the community but it's definitely feeling heavy handed from where I sit.

I'm utter disinterested in the mafia games. If they're so important to you and you want to play uninterrupted, there's an obvious solution. Start your own forum.

Consider letting your more diplomatic colleagues work with members on this.

[Ayaan]

Just to make it clear, it's the style of moderation you guys have engaged in that has led me to decide ratz isn't the place for me. I'm saddened by all the us/them behavior between members, but it's the staff role in how this has played out that is really off the charts imo.

OK, bye.

Really? Oblivion has worked her butt off making the mafia game over her what it is. Her opinion is absolutely valid and her leaving is a big loss for us.

When this mess first started I was absolutely on ratz's side. Green tentacle should have been banned and bart needed a wake up call. Now it's looking like both sides are at fault. It really does seem like the mods are being overzealous. Maybe they feel they're protecting the community but it's definitely feeling heavy handed from where I sit.

I'm glad she has put in the work to make a community for you here. I would hate to see her go after all of that work.

It's been my experience that it is very exceedingly rare for there not to be fault of some sort on all sides of situations like this. However, let's not derail this by trying to assign blame. Let's discuss what you see as the issues at hand before the community oblivion worked so hard on falls apart.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Consider letting your more diplomatic colleagues work with members on this.

Ok, just ignore me when I say "Take a hike" then.

[gandalf]

Any chance you could type in English Gandalf? The lolspeak doesn't help in making you look less troll-like.

lolz this is english what now typing in the language of teh internetz is the new tr0lling?

It's silly.

how rude

As in?

see Article 13 of the UN declaration on the rights of indigenous pplz plx