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The Big Purple Does Not Love Me Anymore

Started by Kyle Aaron, November 18, 2006, 09:28:09 PM

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KenHR

Wow, they aren't even trying to give a good reason for the ban.

Sorry to hear that it happened, JimBob.

I don't really post too much over at RPG.net, but I read the boards regularly.  I haven't been reading them as much the past several months, though, as the discussions have been dominated by topics that don't interest me personally.  And it seems that the more interesting posters, the ones who pretty much had me reading every thread that could even be of marginal interest to me so I could benefit from some of their insights and experience, are gone due to bannings or otherwise.

You are (were) one of those posters.

I really think the mods have been doing more harm than good there lately with many of their decisions.  I don't think they're trying to be the bad guys; maybe it is burnout like you say.  It's a damn shame either way, though, and just one more reason that this site is taking a more and more prominent place in my daily browsing.
For fuck\'s sake, these are games, people.

And no one gives a fuck about your ignore list.


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Kyle Aaron

Thanks for the vote of cinfidence, guys. Matt, I would note that you can be reasonable, and still piss people off. :cool: Sometimes the very reasonableness annoys them. But who knows.

KenHR, it's a pity that the posts you found interesting, you didn't post replies to. I've learned a lot from people's responses to the things I've said and asked. For example, I could not have written d4-d4 without the contributions, both direct ("you should do this") and indirect ("hey, in this other thread a guy said he hated when games did so-and-so, so I better toss out that idea). You may or may not like d4-d4; nonetheless, actually finishing to publishable standard 44,000 words of rpg is, for me, a significant achievement, and one I give much of the credit for to the posters of rpg.net.

I have said for a while that once a forum reaches a certain size, how interesting or useful it is has little to do with the moderation. The moderation runs in parallel to it, neither helping nor hindering. On a smaller site, the tone and worth of the place is much more sensitive to the moderation. So for example, therpgsite's forums are very friendly to all sorts of approaches to gaming, but they are very unfriendly to women and homosexuals.

But who knows what the future holds. Old Curt got permabanned twice, and came back to be a mod! I do not think that lies in my future, but still.
The Viking Hat GM
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RPGPundit

Quote from: JimBobOzI have said for a while that once a forum reaches a certain size, how interesting or useful it is has little to do with the moderation. The moderation runs in parallel to it, neither helping nor hindering. On a smaller site, the tone and worth of the place is much more sensitive to the moderation. So for example, therpgsite's forums are very friendly to all sorts of approaches to gaming, but they are very unfriendly to women and homosexuals.

I disagree.  This site is unfriendly to thin-skinned people of any kind. Its also unfriendly to people who are coming here explicitly and solely to discuss something that falls outside the  mission statement of the site, be it Forge theory or some pet subject that has little to do with mainstream RPGs.
But I don't think its specifically unfriendly to people of any specific race, gender, or sexual orientation. Unless you're saying homosexuals and women are inherently delicate flowers that must be treated with particular special deference. I disagree with that idea, of course.

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Gabriel

The reason you got banned?  In short, you were no longer amusing to the moderators/admins.  I have a feeling they long viewed you as the jester/clown, prancing about for their amusement.  You've long spoken out about the shift in the site from gaming to "Tangency issues", and it's no surprise that they banned you for making a remark about such a topic.  RPGnet is about the Tangency clique, and possibly the Exalted shills, not much else.

You'll have to share what message you get back from your appeal.  I imagine you'll have to send a few more e-mails to get a response.  The "appeals process" seems to primarily be about ignoring someone until they go away.  I imagine the response will be terse and not answer your questions in any shape or form.  I imagine the entire body of it will be something like, "The ban stands."

J Arcane

I didn't even get anything that straightforward.  I got one sentence to the effect of "I'll talk it over with the other admins" or some bullshit like that.
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BoyTypeRanma

Quote from: JimBobOzSo for example, therpgsite's forums are very friendly to all sorts of approaches to gaming, but they are very unfriendly to women and homosexuals.

You people are unfriendly to me? I hadn't noticed.
 

Gabriel

Quote from: JimBobOzAt one time, Cessna created a new structure of admins/mods, that the mods would make the banning decisions, but the admins wouldn't, they'd only be Courts of Appeal. At the same time, he created a subforum for Trouble Tickets, called the Cesspool, a forum which the moderators couldn't see, but admins and posters could see, the idea being that posters could bitch about - er, talk about moderator decisions, in case of fear of moderators taking it personally.

It was a major bitchfest, and Cessna got disgusted, closed it down, and it was from then on that threads started getting instantly locked in Trouble Tickets. It was a backlash, "fuck you guys, you got nothing useful to say, anyway."

That sort of jaded nature, assuming all criticism will be wrong, is usually an indicator that a person's been doing their job too long. Many of the moderators have had that tone for some time. They're just sick of us.

I just wonder who on Earth would hit the report button for a post where someone said, "why would someone be on this site if they don't like the site's topics?" I mean...

Cessna has directly stated on several occasions that he views the site users as the "enemy."  He has a definite case of "Marine Complex."

My main memory of the Cesspool is the result of a comment I made.  As we both know, RPGnet encourages everyone, particularly the moderators, to have sockpuppet accounts.  The Cesspool was supposed to be off-limits to moderators; only admins were supposed to see the posts inside.  I made the comment that it wasn't really as private as everyone thought, because one of the moderators could easily use one of their sockpuppet accounts to sign on and view the Cesspool.  I certainly don't think this is out of the question, because I had seen moderator posts which had quoted arguments in the Cesspool and several times it had been directly said that the moderators and admins traded back and forth comments made by users about them and joked about the users themselves.  Of course, predictably Cessna blew up, called me paranoid, and claimed that the security on the Cesspool was impregnable.  Shortly thereafter, it was removed.

As for who would press the report button, it's anyone's guess.  It was probably a Tangency regular who regularly brownnoses.  It might have been a moderator who didn't like the implication about their friends.

Kyle Aaron

Someone was kind enough to forward a copy of the Trouble Tickets thread to me.

Quote from: CessnaThere was a straw, and a camel's back, and when examining the straw in isolation it seems very small, but when looking at the pile of hay on the camel's back, it was time for somebody to go.
I guess I am just a pile of straw :(
The Viking Hat GM
Conflict, the adventure game of modern warfare
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Kyle Aaron

Quote from: BoyTypeRanmaYou people are unfriendly to me? I hadn't noticed.
I get a vague feeling of geeks saying, "that's so gay, d00d!" and "st00pid fag!" while reading through these threads. As to women, well, lonely geek boys like RPGPundit saying they're all money-grabbing evil bitches probably doesn't help.

But the proof's in the pudding, really. What percentage of the posters here are female? And what percentage on, say, rpg.net?

I have no worries about there being women and gays on the board as such, it's just like gaming in general - I just want more people around, and to cut out half your potential participants seems foolish. I don't do it with my game group, I wouldn't do it with a forum.
The Viking Hat GM
Conflict, the adventure game of modern warfare
Wastrel Wednesdays, livestream with Dungeondelver

BoyTypeRanma

Well the thread asking about your banning has been locked with no real answer given 'straw that broke the camels back'

I recall a multipage discussion being allowed for someone who was much more hostile but freindly with the admins. Guess you didn't bring them donuts enough.

I recently quit posting there after I asked what people thought of the moderation on the site. Seems a majority are happy or afraid to express negative opinions. The moderation is not likely to change to a style I'd be comfortable posting within so I left. I stop in and read occasionaly but unless something changes I won't post there.
 

Megamanfan

"Beware the righteous man who KNOWS God exists, for he has no faith at all." - Spike

Anemone

JimBob, I think it's a damn shame that RPGnet will not benefit from your posts anymore.  Yours are exactly the kind of interventions I enjoyed: funny, knowledgeable, no-nonsense, written in plain English, and actually, y'know, containing ideas.  I'm certainly offended by the fact that no one can even give a credible or even intelligible reason for the ban -- and that discussion is not allowed.  It would be nice to know where the landmines are!  :mad:
Anemone

Kyle Aaron

Anemone, so far as I can tell, it comes down to "we don't like you." Notice that the first person to comment in favour of my banning was Eric Brennan. He's previously posted in a very hostile manner towards me. Some months ago, I think it was in a Trouble Tickets thread, he posted something to the effect of "I'm sick of your shit, you don't break any rules but threads you're in turn flamey, if you keep it up you'll be permabanned."

I was a bit puzzled by this Landmine Warning - "We won't tell you what you're doing wrong, but set a foot wrong and you're blown" - but decided to lay low for a bit. Not long after that, Brennan stopped being a mod/admin (quit or fired I don't know, he seemed burned out, but then so does Cessna and he stays). But former mod/admins often have, or feel they have, some influence on affairs. Notice for example Topher's frequent posts warning others of their misdeeds.

I said long ago, that really rpg.net - and any other forum - has just one rule: don't fuck with the mods. All the rest is just tinsel on the tree. I didn't fuck with the mods, but someone there obviously disliked me.

If you post a lot, you'll come to their attention. Some, like Amado G., they'll like. Some, like me, they'll dislike. Likes and dislikes are not rational. Haven't you ever kicked someone out of your game group because you just plain didn't like him? Or kept someone who was a cocksmock, but you liked him?

That's life. They're only human.

I say again, aside from feeling sad at in some ways losing all the effort I put into posts there, one of my chief regrets is that RPGPundit will take this as more "evidence" of the Swine Conspiracy. :rolleyes:
The Viking Hat GM
Conflict, the adventure game of modern warfare
Wastrel Wednesdays, livestream with Dungeondelver

Anemone

I sent a private, polite but unhappy comment to the admins (though I didn't post it on Trouble Tickets since that would be considered provocation and would ensure that they don't actually read anything I say before getting angry.)  :ACF114F:
Anemone

droog

QuotePassive-aggressive trolling, being bad for the site as a whole.
Fuck – somebody finally noticed!


RPG.net sure is getting proactive.
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