Pity..

[nath]

I have to say, I don't really blame Ted or any of the other admins. The company has been bought out, Game can't be seen to host a rabble of hostile cunts. If you don't like it, tough shit. I totally understand that.

I just think it's a pity really. This forum was great when we all had free reign, now it's starting to feel like an AOL chat room. Like I said, no personal attack on the admins I can see why it's going this way, and why there's no alternative. But to be perfectly honest, I think this forum has really lost/is on it's way to losing something speshul.

Never mind, eh.

 

[dysfunction]

Aaah the beauty of Capitalism...

 

[Xavier]

I think the point is that if certain people acted in a real social environment, a pub for instance, like they do in here, then members of the "hostile clique" that has formed over the last few months would have ended up recieving an unceremonious pasting... With or without GAME behind them, Barrysworld has recognised its customers aren't paying for a service to be abused...

Things have really gotten out of hand here over the last couple of months... no one group of users owns the general section of the general community forums, and BW is just making an effort to reclaim it for the userbase at large.

The fact that the DAoC forums has outgrown general says a lot - people moan about the quality and volume of posts in here, people leave, and a small number seem reluctant to let new faces participate... so things going downhill as they have seems inevitable. Had we been a little frendlier then the invasions and flaming over the last 6 months needn't have happened... and we'd probably have more of the gamers from other areas talking in here too, raising diversity and overall volume.

 

[nath]

Well, I disagree about the downhill part. I quite enjoyed it all, I dislike the being told to restrain my posts. It's not like I ever posted anything extreme, other people did. I didn't mind that, but I don't like the feeling of having restrain myself, or else!!

Again, I totally understand barrysworld taking this route, I just feel like it'll take away what made the forum such fun in the first place.

 

[The-Don]

Originally posted by nath
it'll take away what made the forum such fun in the first place.

The racist/abusive stuff was fun? oh how i didn't notice... my bad

 

[throdgrain]

Pity ? It was pity that stayed his hand

 

[nath]

Actually I did find some of the racist/abusive stuff amusing. Though I never actually dished any of it out, I took it how it was intended to be taken. I'm not gunna get in to a rant about whether people should have taken it better/worse because I'm fairly open about that: I just dislike not having the choice to see it or not. There was a fully functioning ignore button that anyone could use. That's what I'd rather it be. Free reign, and if it gets a little too hefty for some people, *plonk*. That was the term used wasn't it?

Anyway, now there's no choice. Step out of line and byebye! That's fine, it's owned by a well known games company, and they can't have this sort of stuff shown on one of their forums. I just think it's a shame.

 

[The-Don]

there, is of course... always the door.

If you don't like it, get out...

 

[nath]

Well, I would make one of those big things of saying "man, this forums gone to shit, I'm leaving!" but it's only a website, and takes no effort to browse along to it. It's not like saying "bah, that pubs not the same, won't bother going there anymore" I will keep browsing untill the boredom of browsing this forum surpasses the boredom of work.

 

[DApea!]

Forum registration doesn't include a personality checker, those who are a burden/nuisance to the forum will be banned (hopefully) on recognition. Parallel to that there will be increasing novice conversationalists and poor / unfair jokes as the community gains more interest. But it doesn't destroy the forum until people start believing so.

Imo.

Maybe I've been dormant too long to notice a more recent change.

 

[~YuckFou~]

Originally posted by DApea!


Maybe I've been dormant too long to notice a more recent change.

Theres been some shit here recently.
However over the last week or so, after some encouraging BW/Game news and some bans, it seems to be picking up again.

 

[nath]

But one of the things about this forum was that it was unmoderated. That's what made it fun, somewhere you could chat about whatever you like. Sure you can essentially still do that but big brother watching over us ruins the atmosphere. Or something.

 

[~YuckFou~]

You would think, but one or two fuckwits have been pushing the boundaries. I really don't think we are going to be totally censored, thats not the intention. There are limits though of what is acceptable in general life, let alone on here.

 

[nath]

Well I think being banned for calling the providers fascist is censorship. Now before people start explaining why this was done, stop. I know exactly why it was done, and I understand it. I just don't like that it's come to that, really.

 

[*Kornholio*]

stop bitching nath

 

[~YuckFou~]

Originally posted by nath
Well I think being banned for calling the providers fascist is censorship. Now before people start explaining why this was done, stop. I know exactly why it was done, and I understand it. I just don't like that it's come to that, really.

Theres more history to it than that though.

[analogy] Someone in a pub calls me a cunt. "Fine" I say and continue drinking. Someone comes in to my house and calls me a cunt, I "ban" them [/analogy]

 

[nath]

And you'd be well within your rights to do that, like I said. But my point is <analogy> we all used to hang around at your house and you'd not take any part in what we said or did, it was fun. Now you've said listen you fuckwits, enough horsing around. We all say ngh, yeah sorry ok bye.</analogy> It's fair, it's within your rights, but it sucks.

 

[~Lazarus~]

Do you really think that TtD (or other admins/mods) sit and ready every single word of every single post in every single thread in this forum?

Some people try to push things to the limit - they go to far and pay the penalty.

All of the people posting on these forums need to take some responsibility for what they are posting as well as their own censorship and (if required) reporting of unacceptable posts to the mod.

A lot of you think back - when I first joined the forums it was free

Things change, people change, places change.

If you cant keep up with the change, get off the bus.

 

[gremlin]

Originally posted by ~Lazarus~
If you cant keep up with the change, get off the bus.

Quite, but what do you do when you realise you've fallen asleep on said bus, missed your stop and there wont be another one for several hours? In fact, you've even been on the wrong bus, getting on the N13 when you really wanted the N31.

Think about that

 

[old.D0LLySh33p]

Technically the forums still are free.

But they're part of something larger... corporate, commercial, whatever.

TBH, BW have a right to police what is theirs. If you don't like it, leave. If you push the boundaries, expect to be banned.

It's not about BW arse licking, it's about a service they provide. Simple as.

 

[GDW]

Why should anyone would be worried about censorship if :

a) They dont want to push the boundaries to the limit themselves; and

b) Dont agree with those that do

Which probably counts for the majority in here.

People must realise that as a result of what we say here is now the legal responsibility of what is probably either a plc or a subsidiary of one and theres no way on earth they are going to allow a free reign of what posted here.

 

[Nos-]

It's also about joining the league of unintelligible drones that post endless torrents of shite and never have anything good to say.

 

[doh_boy]

Why don' the people who want a free, uncensored forum host one themselves and be racist/obnoxious over there.

As for cage I didn't/don't get his sense of humour. I have a mate (irl) who is in a rtcw clan who has known him, online, for ages and thinks he is a hoot. We've had conversations on the topic (cage and a guy named blacklotus) he explained why they are funny I disagreed.

Perplex I didn't take any notice of so he can't have been that bad.

Dime I never read a post of his that was pleasant and he was rightly banned.

As for perm bans I don't know but the way TtD is doing it sounds about right (mailing dime at least and talking sensibly).

It comes down to this, if you don't take responsibility for what you post and post within the bounds of good-taste you will show that you need to be 'looked after'. BW kept the general forums un-modded as an act of faith. With the recent behaviour they have realise that the situation has to change. In the end it is BW that will get it in the neck for anything 'out of bounds' posted here.

/edit nos- pot...kettle...

 

[Tom]

Those people whinging should go and visit the myg0t forums, to see how lame things can get if left unchecked.

 

[Shocko]

Stuff wasn't left unchecked though. If someone spammed goatse all over the forums, plenty of people would summon someone to sort it out. If some idiot registered just to pimp his crap, they'd get flamed till they left. The simple fact is, anybody who doesn't "fit in" doesn't stay for very long.

The forums weren't(aren't?) great because people could post whatever shit they liked, they were(are?) great because of the atomosphere and society that emerged from this. There doesn't seem to have been any more or less people posting over the time i've been here(year and a half), and people generally don't seem to be behaving any worse. Dimebag probably did just about earn his ban, since he'd been repeatedly posting stuff that wasn't totally appropriate... A perm-a-ban does seem a bit harsh though.

The 2-forums solution is the best way if you ask me. One general forum for familly-friendly general discussion, and another as sub-forum, for traditional BW-Forums fun.

 

[gremlin]

Yer, give us a 'Traditional' sub-forum where anything goes -- password protect it if you must (password available by emailling ted or something).

Come on tedlington - you know it makes sense.

 

[Xavier]

Originally posted by nath
But one of the things about this forum was that it was unmoderated. That's what made it fun, somewhere you could chat about whatever you like. Sure you can essentially still do that but big brother watching over us ruins the atmosphere. Or something.

These forums? Unmoderated? Hmm

Ted can correct me here if I'm wrong, but afaik Teddeh, Trebz and co have still moderated the forum with their supermodness to one extent or another regardless of the lack of any names in the moderated by: so the lack of dedicated moderators is a moot point. Ted did make that point in his announcement sticky... it's purely a cosmetic addition.

 

[bigfoot]

We have removed the odd post from time to time, but the fact is we were getting an increasing number of people moaning about how the forums had gone to shit and it seemed several individuals wanted to use this place to take out their real-life frustrations by being as racist / abusive / hostile as they possibly could. By taking the action we are doing we might well upset some of those individuals but in the long term the forum will be a better place with them gone or toned down than if we had let things go on as they were.

 

[leggy]

Originally posted by Nos-
It's also about joining the league of unintelligible drones that post endless torrents of shite and never have anything good to say.

You have ironically described yourself young man

 

[GDW]

Tell me this, other than refusing a PMs is there any way of reporting abusive PM from forum users