RPGnet's decay (TBP madness)

[Ratman_tf]

That's been something that peeves me off. It's one thing if they said 'OK look, we don't have a rule about doing this. We do now. Don't do this again.'

Instead, it's perpetual tiptoe-through-the-minefield if you want to post anything beyond the most bland, bloodless commentary.

I mean, holy shit, you can never plan for every eventuality. Sometimes, yeah, you have to patch in some rules.

But I stand by an assertion I've made before: the mods get their jollies by swinging that banhammer. 

I think part of the problem is they try to make a rule for everything, so they can point to the rules when they make a shit moderation decision.
How many rules here at rpgsite? Not very many, and if you use a modicum of common sense, and don't intentionally honk off Pundit, you'll be pretty much ok.

  I always thought there rule 0 was the main one over there, which is pretty vague and nebulous, and basically means you can get banned at any time for "not being a good fit".

And they invoke it to justify moderation. I'd put it as evidence that they finally had to invent a rule equivalent of a tactical nuke.
A mod could just come out an take responsibility for it. "Hey man, I don't think you're going to be a good fit here." But RPG.net has to have a rule they can point to.

[Ghostmaker]

You spin me right round, baby, right round!

https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/cannonball-receives-a-🚫-fourteen-day-ban-gravedancing.888241/

Actually, I don't have a problem with this, and it's fascinating that even TBP's mods can't stomach gravedancing like this. Guess even they have SOME standards, lulz.

https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/silvercat-moonpaw-receives-a-🚫-thirty-day-ban-group-attacks-involving-religion.888271/

This one is ... very odd. As annoyingly euphoric as Silvercat comes off here, I don't think it warrants a thirty day. I mean, they're not WRONG -- the Greek pantheon in particular was notoriously mean-spirited and petty in many myths.

[Kyle Aaron]

It must have caused rpg.net mods physical pain to have to ban someone for mocking the death of a Conservative at the hands of a Moslem convert.

I am amused that they are now banning people for mocking religions which nobody has followed for more than a thousand years.

[Horace]

https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/silvercat-moonpaw-receives-a-🚫-thirty-day-ban-group-attacks-involving-religion.888271/

This one is ... very odd. As annoyingly euphoric as Silvercat comes off here, I don't think it warrants a thirty day. I mean, they're not WRONG -- the Greek pantheon in particular was notoriously mean-spirited and petty in many myths.

Funny how Silvercat's innocuous comment on polytheism is deemed insensitive in the same message that the mods accuse others of propagandizing, engaging in atrocities, and having blood on their hands. I guess it's okay to slag whole groups of people as long as it fits the Leftist narrative.

[Neoplatonist1]

When did RPGnet itself become a political game the mods and their toys play, rather than just a place to converse about RPGs?

[Nephil]

When did RPGnet itself become a political game the mods and their toys play, rather than just a place to converse about RPGs?

It really started in 2010 onwards, but the signs where there earlier. 2000 to 2005 were the "good ol' days" as far as I can remember.

[Ratman_tf]

When did RPGnet itself become a political game the mods and their toys play, rather than just a place to converse about RPGs?

It really started in 2010 onwards, but the signs where there earlier. 2000 to 2005 were the "good ol' days" as far as I can remember.

I left (haven't logged into my account since) in 2015, but that was a slow boil.

[Neoplatonist1]

When did RPGnet itself become a political game the mods and their toys play, rather than just a place to converse about RPGs?

It really started in 2010 onwards, but the signs where there earlier. 2000 to 2005 were the "good ol' days" as far as I can remember.

I'm afraid I no longer even understand what I'm not supposed to talk about on such places. I am genuinely mystified.

[David Johansen]

I don't really hang years on it but I think Kuma's appointment as administrator was the beginning of the slide towards the left.  I'm not sure it's so much Kuma's fault, it was the time when things started getting nailed down and policies on things went from fairly loose guidelines to rules.  Cessna followed Kuma when Kuma wasn't strict enough for the rabid wolf pack.  Cessna was clearer but also more of a list of rules guy.  Professor Umbridge would have approved of the endless flow of proclamations that followed.  I can still identify with the mods a little bit at this point because there were occasional event driven flareups like elections or major news stories.  They called it the "werewolf season" because everyone suddenly seemed to turn nasty.  With the election of Donald Trump, the bias and willingness to let the angry mob define morality became set in stone policy.  At present the greatest sin seems to be contention of any kind rather than any actual left right bias.  I suspect this is because the mods have hunted down all the enemies of the state and now need a new enemy to continue their reign of terror.

[Nephil]

When did RPGnet itself become a political game the mods and their toys play, rather than just a place to converse about RPGs?

It really started in 2010 onwards, but the signs where there earlier. 2000 to 2005 were the "good ol' days" as far as I can remember.

I'm afraid I no longer even understand what I'm not supposed to talk about on such places. I am genuinely mystified.

Nothing. You are supposed to just repeat the party line. RPG.NET is a dead forum, spiraling into irrelevance, the only reason to go there is to laugh and cry over what used to be.

[Horace]

I'm afraid I no longer even understand what I'm not supposed to talk about on such places. I am genuinely mystified.

This is why I never bothered to create an RPG.net account. I'm pretty sure I would have been banned a long time ago for some made-up reason that I never could have foreseen.

Me: "I enjoy playing RPGs."

RPG.net mod: "Enjoyment is an ablist concept that harms people suffering from depression. You are permanently banned under Rule 0."

[DocJones]

Me: "I enjoy playing RPGs."

Mod:  No one here plays RPGs. Clearly you aren't a good fit for the forum.  Banned.

[Abraxus]

Lol Doc Jones I almost spit my coffee at the screen. So true though it should be a meme if it's not already.

[Crawford Tillinghast]

Lol wtf is this shit? Literally little tyrant stuff. OMG!

It is clear that you will not be able to participate here in good faith and follow our rules.

You are permanently banned under Rule 0 for being a poor fit.

Now I'm curious... What's a "good fit" for these looneys!?

There is none.  Seriously.  You are a good member...until you aren't.

You can compare TBP to 1984, (Complete with Two Minutes of Hate!), or China under the Cultural Revolution.  But I prefer thinking of the site as The Body of Landru from "Return of the Archons".

Everyone is going along smiling and happy, until someone does something "odd." Then "He is not of the Body?"  "HE IS NOT OF THE BODY!"
(Then they wind up here.)

"Umm...what is 'odd'?"
"We don't rule on hypotheticals!  You'll find out when you cross the line!"

LOL, and it gets better.  Landru doesn't have planetary surveillance: You'd think a planet wide computer would.  Anyone who is Of the Body is also an Ear of Landru.  So if you say something outside The Spirit of Landru within the hearing of someone Of The Body, the guys with the long staves and red text show up. 
"What is within the Spirit of Landru?"
"If you were Of The Body, you would already know the answer."

[Crawford Tillinghast]

There is none.  Seriously.  You are a good member...until you aren't.

You can compare TBP to 1984, (Complete with Two Minutes of Hate!), or China under the Cultural Revolution.  But I prefer thinking of the site as The Body of Landru from "Return of the Archons".

Everyone is going along smiling and happy, until someone does something "odd." Then "He is not of the Body?"  "HE IS NOT OF THE BODY!"
(Then they wind up here.)

"Umm...what is 'odd'?"
"We don't rule on hypotheticals!  You'll find out when you cross the line!"

That's been something that peeves me off. It's one thing if they said 'OK look, we don't have a rule about doing this. We do now. Don't do this again.'

Instead, it's perpetual tiptoe-through-the-minefield if you want to post anything beyond the most bland, bloodless commentary.

I mean, holy shit, you can never plan for every eventuality. Sometimes, yeah, you have to patch in some rules.

But I stand by an assertion I've made before: the mods get their jollies by swinging that banhammer. 

To be fair:  That rule is because they have a lot of rules lawyers and line dancers.  What's the name of the guy with the arrow?
"OK, I do this, is this halfway to the line, but not over it?"
Yes
"OK, I do this, is this again halfway to the line, but not over it?"
Yes
Etc.
Or,
"I'm a Russian kick dancer!  If I stick my foot over the line but don't touch ground, is it still over the line?"

If I were a mod at TBP, I'd just use the line of your post I bolded and be done. I know, then we couldn't play with Stormbringer uh the Banhammer.