271 replies to this topic

[DEHK]

"CALM DOWN PEOPLE. THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD."

~Some dudes in uniform, Poland 1941

[Kiiyor]

TBH, I've always imagined the forums as a barrel fire in a post nuclear wasteland, where some half dressed dude gnawing on a bone hisses at you when you approach the fire for warmth. There's another dude nearby that may or may not tell you how to behave to avoid being eaten.

Regarding the moderation, this is good info, and a good step, I think.

While I am an advocate of free speech, i'm also happy with the thought of some of the more foul vitriol being quashed. I've had a few friends driven from the forums due to the outright hostility thrown at them for expressing any sort of opinion that differs from whichever FOTM hate bandwagon is going around. You squash that hate!

/hypocrisy

I would just ask that you don't go too overboard against the low vitriol posts that actually contain a some form of point - those are great, and frankly entertaining.

[Jabilo]

I have been openly critical where I have felt it necessary and I have heaped praise where I felt it was deserved.

Yet, to the best of my knowledge I have never been moderated.

I am guessing those who are moderated are posting pretty abusive stuff, so I do not see the problem with taking action against them.

I have seen community moderators be overly zealous in moving and closing threads however, for seemingly no good reason (I have not seen actual staff members do this though).

I have one suggestion:

Community moderators should only be flagged as a moderator when posting in their official capacity (i.e. taking a moderation action.)

In all other cases it should be clear they are making a post in their capacity as a personal individual (which they have every right to do).

How you achieve this is irrelevant; different colour text, different tags, two accounts - whatever.

Just the other day I say a community moderator slap down an individual (not me) who made a perfectly reasonable post and it was not clear if they were commenting as an individual or as a moderator.

Edited by Jabilo, 07 September 2014 - 06:30 AM.

[Levon K]

It's about time.

And when you're done cleaning out the trash, perhaps you can start putting the General Discussion popular threads back on the main page.

[Kilo 40]

Mack1, on 07 September 2014 - 06:14 AM, said:

If you listened to the fans and did not keep falling back on your promises this would never have needed to be implemented.

I'm so tempted to quote your youtube channels moderation policy right now. Because apparently you must have fallen back on some promises as well.

[Grey Death Storm]

Well Guys this is called Constructive Criticism you charged way to much Clan mechs then you Slap all of your fans in face by Nerfing there purchased product. remove clan weapon Nerfs and try to fix 10 vs 12 so it works.

Also another idea from ThatDwag - good work
-------------------------------------------------------ThatDwagPost--------------------------------------------------------------
Keep the clan tech the way it is, was....

simple add research modules to the IS mechs, all of them, allowing them (after unlocking modules) to add clan tech.

Hey, instead of the community grabbing pitchforks, Paul, Russ, they would be spending money to unlock modules....

The "lore" covered this I thought, first the clan kicked ass...then the IS caught up and all was equal again.......equal cause they had gained better tech, NOT flat lined the weapons..

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't know how anyone else feels about that idea but I thought id post it please feel free comment, giving inner sphere pilots ability research Clan tech and use weapons will bridge gap between inner sphere and Clans

Additional Note I have included this Idea in Feed Back page I leave this link here so if you think it good idea or not you can leave your thoughts. I believe this thread is mainly dealing with trolls see link below go Feed Back page.

http://mwomercs.com/...23#entry3697623

Edited by Death Storm, 07 September 2014 - 07:58 AM.

[Piney II]

If I was a brand new player looking to join this game and checking the forums first, I would turn away. The general discussion forum has turned into a toxic wasteland of rage, QQ, and trolls bent on souring the game experience for everyone.

Time to clean house, PGI.

[MX Duke]

Nikolai Lubkiewicz, on 07 September 2014 - 12:53 AM, said:

• Would you agree with the idea that we should revert to a 3-strike system for most general misconducts in the aforementioned Blue category? No, But a strike system all the same, Some of the examples in the blue category don't warent 3 strikes. Maybe being more specific in that catagory would be better.
  
• It is often said to ignore those who actively ignore what you say or twist it towards their own ends. Given the prolific nature of some of these individuals, many of whom seem to spend whole work-weeks on the attack, should we make stronger efforts to remove those players who actively and repeatedly refute, deny, or ignore staff statements and announcements? I refer you back to my previous post here. I think if these rules posted in the link are enforced, this will be moot. But to hit this from another direction, This forum is the intellectual property of PGI, IGP, and any post made by a third party to this site should be deleted at your discretion. so posts ment to manipulate the meaning of a dev post can be deleted and the offender notified and, or disaplined.
  
• Do you feel it's more important for moderation to be fair and consistent (at the risk of seeming cold or authoritarian); or to handle matters on a case-by-case basis to offer individuals the benefit of the doubt (at the risk of seeming to offer favouritism or being manipulated)? Again, this forum is the property of PGI, IGP and should be moderated as such.
  
• Is our Name & Shame policy fair to the privacy of players, or should we be publicly flagging banned/restricted players who have been repeatedly abusive in the spirit of being more open? What about the potential risk of "bullying the bullies"? Not open to the public, but easily viewable by the individual.
  
• Do you feel that the creation and use of Kaetetoa has been a more open and productive way of handling simply unreasonable and unproductive threads? If not, should those be unproductive threads be un-approved or locked instead? Locked, and or deleted.
  
• What kind of "positive" moderation systems (e.g. Likes. Rewards) would you be interested in us investigating or improving? The privilege of posting.
  
• What kind of "negative" moderation systems (e.g. Restrictions, Penalties) would you be interested in us investigating or improving? A system easily viewable privately, even at the post of in the profile.
  
• Given the increased use of alternate accounts at any time a player is suspended or banned, would you rather see the following: A) Increased thresholds on the Recruit restrictions. B ) Pay barriers placed on the forums for new accounts. C) [Your own recommendation]. This situation is more delicate, but IP bans could be used if nessisary, I have seen forums that refuse to accept open email (google mail and Yahoo mail), but might not work as there options are widely popular.
  
• Without naming individuals or citing cases; If you could offer a simple, polite and constructive suggestion to the staff and/or volunteer moderation team, what would it be?
  
• Without naming individuals or citing cases; Do you have any general questions regarding the moderation system left unanswered by this post?

Both 9 and 10 can be answered in this post

[MX Duke]

Nikolai Lubkiewicz, on 07 September 2014 - 12:53 AM, said:

Even if it means someone resorting to proving Godwin's Law correct every once and a while.

DEHK, on 07 September 2014 - 06:19 AM, said:

"CALM DOWN PEOPLE. THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD."

~Some dudes in uniform, Poland 1941

Godwin's Law Proven

[Napoleon_Blownapart]

Kilo 40, on 07 September 2014 - 06:27 AM, said:

I'm so tempted to quote your youtube channels moderation policy right now. Because apparently you must have fallen back on some promises as well.

im sure when you start paying him to watch his youtube channel his policy might change

[Kilo 40]

Gorantir, on 07 September 2014 - 06:38 AM, said:

im sure when you start paying him to watch his youtube channel his policy might change

People pay to view the forums?

OK...

[orcrist86]

DEHK, on 07 September 2014 - 06:19 AM, said:

"CALM DOWN PEOPLE...

. You're breaking Godwin's law is proof that moderation needs to be adjusted. Moderation may be unpopular but it is the right way to cultivate a community. Period. This is a private space and we all agreed to the top and specific standards of behavior. Failure to enforce those standards reflects poorly on both pgi and us as players. It's time for us to help Niko and pgi in moving forward in a contributive manner. That's what this thread is for. There have already been several fantastic suggestions. And some very real concerns. All of them contributing to the conversation. Breaking Godwin's law serves no purpose and only harms what is trying to be done here.

[Mr D One]

During a game, will these moderation rules be applied for the abusive troll during either lance, team and all chat?

I really don't want to be reminded of abuse from a screenshot that I have had to take and then send to support.

I forgive those who clearly have issues, but for new players who may not have a "thick skin" it might be more emotionally challenging.

[Impyrium]

Death Storm, on 07 September 2014 - 06:31 AM, said:

Well Guys this is called Constructive Criticism you charged way to much Clan mechs then you Slap all of your fans in face by Nerfing there purchased product. remove clan weapon Nerfs and try to fix 10 vs 12 so it works.

Also another idea from ThatDwag - good work
-------------------------------------------------------ThatDwagPost--------------------------------------------------------------
Keep the clan tech the way it is, was....

simple add research modules to the IS mechs, all of them, allowing them (after unlocking modules) to add clan tech.

Hey, instead of the community grabbing pitchforks, Paul, Russ, they would be spending money to unlock modules....

The "lore" covered this I thought, first the clan kicked ass...then the IS caught up and all was equal again.......equal cause they had gained better tech, NOT flat lined the weapons..

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't know how anyone else feels about that idea but I thought id post it please feel free comment, giving inner sphere pilots ability research Clan tech and use weapons will bridge gap between inner sphere and Clans

Nup, terrible idea. You'll just make it so that your IS 'Mechs aren't effective until they run Clan weapons. It'll make stock builds even more useless, and eventually IS weapons will be completely forgotten about. I'm all for OP Clanners, like they should be, but I don't like ideas like that. I was my IS 'Mechs to remain IS, because I want a challenge. I don't want IS IIC 'Mechs.

Anyway, PGI's direction with the Clan 'Mechs has already been stated many times, and it's in the opposite direction to that suggestion. I for one agree with them on this one- IS needs to be kept unique from Clan.

[Naduk]

i believe a firmer hand is necessary around these parts
its hard to believe this is the same place we all hung out 2+ years ago
it was so much more of a enjoyable experience back then
now it seems that the only ppl who visit are the people who have an axe to grind

i think we lost alot of that positivity when the devs when silent
its great that ppl like russ and brian post on twitter and such , but twitter is not what needs their attention
many of the threads that create angry players could be silenced instantly from a dev
even if its a dev with bad news... ie "we hate weapon X, its op" thread, dev appears and says at the current time we are happy with weapon X because we have real data, we are more concerned with weapon V, we might look at weapon X when we are finished with weapon V
it shuts down the whole thread , but its feedback to and from the devs, hell even info passed down by the mods from the devs is enough most of the time, that lovely shiny blue txt is something all the forum users crave


all of this, our desires and thirst for communication and information
this is why the devs left in the first place (i believe) so i stand by my original statement a much firmer hand is needed when it comes to moderation of the forums

[Grrzoot]

I think it is about time.

I don't really go on the forums for well over 6 months or so. It seems that almost all threads that startt out with promise end up being derailed and pulled off topic into a fight, by almost the same people every time.

These consistent abusers need to be removed as it seems there goal in life is to insert dev bashing into every thread no matter how positive it is. Or failing that starting personal attacks in an attempt to derail threads, or just making counter arguments for the mere purpose of inciting more arguments etc.

It seems to me the removal of even just a few of these incredibly voracious posters would help clean this place up alot.

As an aside i would cross reference these people vs when they have played the game. If these people have these huge arguments etc , but haven't played in a match in 6 months- well then they don't even have a point of reference on which to form a current opinion on the state of the game and there feedback is really irrelevant.

I think offenders should be publicly flagged. S.C. forums does this and i think it is an effective tool.

Yes keep the bird-zone, it is one of the few places i actually go just to see what kind of poop landed on the windshield.

[Scromboid]

I know this will be overlooked, but I'll go ahead and put forth the effort anyways.

Niko.... PGI,

Go read Star Citizen forums. Go read LoL forums... Go read Rift or Blizzard forums. Hell, read YOUR forums from 3 years ago.

These are all the same people. Your community is no different than the rest of the internet. The major difference between this forum and the rest of them is how you, the developers, the people who have promised things in exchange for time and money, have treated us.

It is one thing when a date gets missed. It is another when a feature doesn't go exactly as you planned and it has to take a little more time than expected. What you have done as people and a business is lie to your customers over and over again for no less than 3 years. I don't even need to post proof here. It is all over the internet. From Community Warfare to 3rd Person to MW:T to this new debacle AUniverseToExplore...

And do you know what? If those weren't all lies? The way you handled informing your community or communicating with us has been so bad... so terrible and so full of holes and half delivered promises that no matter what you do at this point, it is all going to seem like a lie.

That's the tricky thing about lies. Once you do it enough, no one believes you anymore.

So, you can go on and continue to treat your customers like the enemy.... you proved you felt that way when you hired Niko on. Seriously, he is a terrible, horrible person. He is probably one of the worst trolls on the internet, and the fact that you guys do not understand that is pretty awful. At this point, Garth was better, because he at least tried to communicate with us. We just didn't realize at the time that it was you, PGI, who was blocking his every attempt at trying to get us information.

Anyways, you won't read or won't care about this and if you did you won't believe any of it. That's fine. You gave up believing on your community a long time before we gave up believing on you. Funny thing is... you need us more than we need you You have succeeded in alienating one of the most forgiving and patient communities on the planet - the BattleTech community.

Guess what? We will keep being patient. Eventually you will lose the license, close down MWO and someone who gives a crap about the IP and not just reaching into our wallets for $35 mechs (for shame... for SHAME) will pick up the IP... hopefully the game (MWO) that you bought from someone else already, and give us the game we deserve and were PROMISED.

Until then... I'll keep playing I'll keep my money in my pocket, too.

In the meantime... don't pretend to start being a 'more open, communicative company' and then smack us down because we figured out all the developers and money that we've put towards THIS GAME is going to something else instead of fulfilling the promises you made to us. Don't be shocked when troll supreme Niko Snow starts scorching and salting the ground that we get a little upset and stop trusting you.

Just treat us like real people and we will do the same to you.

3 years in though.... some things will never change.

Like Russ Bullock said to RoadBeer... one of the most prolific fallen White Knights ever... Peace Out.

[RustyBolts]

Daisu Saikoro, on 07 September 2014 - 06:04 AM, said:

Thinking that being a pseudo intellectual in the form of a Bill ORiley or any of his ilk (whichever side of the political/ideological spectrum they stand).

Are you referring to that same ilk as Chris Matthews?

There was no need to bring that part of your discussion into this post. The rest of your post I agree with.

[Mack1]

For some reason the quote is not working for me but never mind, you know who I am talking too.

My channel has a very simple moderation policy. If you are racist or make a verbal attack against m you get banned. You can hate my videos and say publically how terrible they are. I approved 150 comments today, most of them on Dead Rising 3 and if you read them you will see many openly critical about my reviews. Same on every other video I have made....I do not censor opinions, only abuse.

And if you want proof I have hundreds of videos that prove this if you read the comments, try Dark Souls 2 for starters.

[Cerlin]

I would greatly appreciate less bile on the forums. I have mostly ran away starting 2013 but this year I have read them more and they seem to be slowly getting better.

I want to see more abusive players banned and negative vote options. Downvotes would be useful. Of course it can be abused, but that is what mods are for.

I want the discussion to be open, but respectful. Anyone should be able to love or dislike the game but they should respect the other opinion. There is a lot of disrespect coming from the people who hate the game. They should be able to say "I do not like the game because..." but once they get personally abusive verses people who do enjoy the game, I heavily support moderation.