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Forum Changes
 Lakshmi.Jaerik
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By Lakshmi.Jaerik 2011-04-19 17:47:17
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Hey guys, hope I can have your attention for a moment.

As anyone who's been around here for awhile probably knows, I'm a pretty lenient admin.

The forum rules are more like subjective guidelines. We're perhaps overly-forgiving in our disciplinary measures, choosing to slowly escalate issues from private warnings, un-indexing topics from the main page, topic bans, temp bans, etc. We work through problems in private, out of respect for user privacy. The number of people actually permanently banned from the site is surprisingly few: no more than a few dozen over 4 years.

Well, we have a problem.

You may have noticed that the number of ads, etc, on the site has been on the decline. Today, Google pulled their ads off the site entirely, citing that the amount of sheer profanity, nastiness, and other behavior exhibited on the forums was so bad, they no longer want to be associated with our brand. In other words, the behavior of our forum users has now put the future of the site itself at actual, tangible risk.

The blame here is shared. On one hand, it's our users' fault -- particularly a handful of regulars -- who have repeatedly refused to act with even a modicum of decency. But on the other hand, it's our fault for being too vague, too lenient, and failing to clearly delineate where the line is and take consistent, public action when it's been crossed.

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

So, some changes are coming.

I'm still working out exactly what they will be, but you can expect a lot less leniency towards posts that are profane, hostile, indecent, or target certain people or groups.

Flame Core may be going away. "Player Warnings" may be as well. We're tossing around the possibility of a global profanity filter. We don't know yet. But we will be less lenient in our disciplinary system, relying far more heavily on permanent site bans than we have in the past. And we will be far more pro-active in communicating precisely what the rules are and our process for dealing with infractions.

For site regulars who feel their prolific participation has previously entitled them to push the boundaries of the rules, I suggest you adjust your expectations accordingly, because our sponsors have been quite clear that you make up the bulk of the problem. On the other hand, we will need your help in fixing the immediate issue, and your continued participation is equally important to the health of the site.

But we can't mess around with this stuff, or there will no longer be a forum for any of you to participate in.

Thanks for your time, and your understanding. More specific info will be forthcoming.
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 Lakshmi.Jaerik
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By Lakshmi.Jaerik 2011-04-22 15:34:41
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An update from our side:

New rules are in the process of being finalized. I'm discussing them amongst the other site admins and moderators to reach consensus.

Most points are agreed upon already. We're just wrapping up exact policies surrounding some inevitable gray areas.

Thanks for your patience. Your cooperation in keeping things toned down a bit while the new rules are finalized is appreciated.
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 Lakshmi.Jaerik
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By Lakshmi.Jaerik 2011-04-26 21:01:23
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A potential finalized list of new rules has been submitted for moderator / other site admin review. I'll update once they're official.

A significant portion of the changes are around our own internal policies, so you may feel slightly underwhelmed by the list that's made public.

As always, I apologize for the delay in getting this out. Users have a right to know exactly what's permitted and what isn't as soon as possible.
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