Idle OOC Rules

[Rahnevyn]

Speaking as a moderator, if someone gets offended by a post, and reports it, and there is a rational reason for them to be offended (racist/sexist comments, profanity, threats, flames, trolling), I will very likely moderate the post.

I do not like doing this, because I am an Armageddon Storyteller and not an Internet Policeman. But this is a game. Players should be having fun and enjoying our community, not being offended by other players on the GDB. I do not see the GDB as a place to prove how macho/intelligent/argumentative you are, or as No Rules Internets Arena. It is primarily a place to discuss Armageddon, and secondarily a place for players of Armageddon to come together and form community.

There are plenty of other forums on the internet. It isn't really a goal of the GDB to be a place to let people say whatever they feel like no matter how offensive. The goal of this place is to let all the players have fun.

[Desertman]

Speaking as a moderator, if someone gets offended by a post, and reports it, and there is a rational reason for them to be offended (racist/sexist comments, profanity, threats, flames, trolling), I will very likely moderate the post.

I do not like doing this, because I am an Armageddon Storyteller and not an Internet Policeman. But this is a game. Players should be having fun and enjoying our community, not being offended by other players on the GDB. I do not see the GDB as a place to prove how macho/intelligent/argumentative you are, or as No Rules Internets Arena. It is primarily a place to discuss Armageddon, and secondarily a place for players of Armageddon to come together and form community.

There are plenty of other forums on the internet. It isn't really a goal of the GDB to be a place to let people say whatever they feel like no matter how offensive. The goal of this place is to let all the players have fun.

I agree with -THIS-.

[Gimfalisette]

You can't agree with Rahnevyn, -I- agree with Rahnevyn; and as previously established, you and I don't agree. Are you sure you didn't misread?

[manonfire]

NO -I- AGREE WITH RAHNEVYN.

[Yam]

I'm Rahnevyn!

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

I think we all think the same thing, to be perfectly honest, most of the times.

It's the mark of a good Staffer to subtly show us that fact.

As a result of this thread, I hope I see more self-policing from our posters.

[Desertman]

You can't agree with Rahnevyn, -I- agree with Rahnevyn; and as previously established, you and I don't agree. Are you sure you didn't misread?

Does the I agreed first dance.

You will have to agree with...Sanvean or something, Rahnevyn is MINE!!!


The brown-haired man says towards the Rahnevyn, wiggling his eyebrows, "Its just you and me. Forget all of those other GDB personalities. Take a stroll over into Desertman's garden of lurve."

[Angela Christine]

No flaming, no IC info, no . . . illicit links.

I think those rules cover everything, really.  It might be nice to have them expanded and explained somewhere, like a sticky post in OOC chatter, just for clarity. 

1.  No flaming.  No overt flaming, no subtle flaming.  Most people understand not to flame in an obvious way, but some don't realize that subtle jabs can still be flaming.  Does attacking a sex, race, religion or other identifiable group without attacking particular posters who are known to be part of that group, constitute flaming?  I don't know!  Possibly include examples.

2.  No sensitive IC info.  This should be obvious, but it would be nice to have more clarity in what is forbidden IC info, and what is permisible.

3.  No illicit materials or links to them.  I've never really understood this one, and it makes me nervous. It wasn't one of the original rules, it just mysteriously appeared one day.   Illicit?  So . . . no tubgirl?  No warez? No horse porn?  No torrents?  What kind of illicit materials are we talking about?


I don't think excessive moderation of the OOC forum is a good use of staff time.  Staff suffer enough without having to read every post in the chatter forum.     For the most part chatter moderation should rely on people reporting posts that seem to break the rules, or the spirit of the rules.  That still forces them to play internet policeman,  but at least it cuts down on the volume.


Most chatter infractions are probably not worth getting hit with the twit stick, at least not permanently.

[mansa]

AC -

Child Pr0n
Beastiality.

Those pictures are illegal in some countries, like Canada, for example.

[Sephiroto]

Can we move the OOC board to a different url?  I can never resist to click on the little blue icon when there are new posts in the OOC board, but honestly I'd rather not even look at them.  It's typically just a bunch of conflicting opinions about meaningless topics that often raise peoples' blood pressure.  Dividing the board into an "IC" and "OOC" zone seems more professional to me.

I propose the following:

www.zalanthas.org/gdb = Armageddon General Discussion Board
www.zalanthas.org/gdb/ooc = Armageddon OOC Board

I have a feeling that a lot of people aren't going to like this idea.  I have a feeling that they'll say "Well, just don't click on the OOC link".  For me, it's that will power I lack.  So, I want the OOC board moved away so that willpower check is never in question.  Conversely, I feel similar about the moderation of the boards.  While I don't want to see a bunch of nasty, demeaning, or abhorrent content, sometimes "offensive" content can be very funny and entertaining.  I would rather see people adhere to a higher standard (another willpower check) than be subject to moderation.  Moderation is not freedom.  However, freedom (in this case the ability to post) can be taken away if the rules are broken.

[Mood]

Am I the only one who finds it laughable that we, the players of ArmageddonMUD, are afraid we're going to scare potential players away by being offensive on the GDB?

I don't think the type of person that would cry and run away after seeing Desertman's posts is our demographic, really.

Another possible solution is, instead of having the Immortals spend their time installing new software, easily offended posters could educate themselves on the intricacies of ignoring posts.

+1

[NoteworthyFellow]

Am I the only one who finds it laughable that we, the players of ArmageddonMUD, are afraid we're going to scare potential players away by being offensive on the GDB?

It's a fairly tasty sort of irony.

Something tells me that the type of person who's easily offended wouldn't last long in this sort of a MUD to begin with.

[Gimfalisette]

You guys have heard of IC/OOC separation, right? There's a huge difference between being OK with IC offensive material, and being OK with OOC offensive material. It shouldn't be a requirement to play ARM that people have to deal with OOCly offensive stuff.

[FuSoYa]

AC -

Child Pr0n
Beastiality.

Those pictures are illegal in some countries, like Canada, for example.

Beastiality is illegal in Canada?

Brandon

[Desertman]

You guys have heard of IC/OOC separation, right? There's a huge difference between being OK with IC offensive material, and being OK with OOC offensive material. It shouldn't be a requirement to play ARM that people have to deal with OOCly offensive stuff.

Its not. Noone requires anyone to click to OOC Chatter link.

In fact. The OOC chatter link actually stands for...."Out of Character".

As in, not related to the game.

I played Arm for a couple of years without ever even reading the GDB. I didnt even realize we had a discussion board.

Come to find out, its not a requirement at all. How about that.

[staggerlee]

Am I the only one who finds it laughable that we, the players of ArmageddonMUD, are afraid we're going to scare potential players away by being offensive on the GDB?

It's a fairly tasty sort of irony.

Something tells me that the type of person who's easily offended wouldn't last long in this sort of a MUD to begin with.

That's like saying that I shouldn't have read American Psycho because I'm not a violent misogynist psychopath.   Or that if I'm willing to read the book, I should be equally willing to watch it happen in real life, or hear someone speak glowingly of how they want to re-enact it.  The logic doesn't carry through.

Speaking for myself... I view Armageddon as a game, the forums are not a game.  Things that happen ic are ic, and I'm more than content to leave them there, sometimes I very much enjoy a certain amount of violence, grit and brutality in my fiction.  When the bullshit starts piling up ooc that's another story and I'd be more than willing to leave a game that no longer presented a comfortable ooc atmosphere.

I've got absolutely no interest in playing a game that's community is restricted entirely to a bunch of young men that enjoy behaving like assholes.    The ooc environment should be welcoming and open to a wide demographic of players.

[Desertman]

Am I the only one who finds it laughable that we, the players of ArmageddonMUD, are afraid we're going to scare potential players away by being offensive on the GDB?

It's a fairly tasty sort of irony.

Something tells me that the type of person who's easily offended wouldn't last long in this sort of a MUD to begin with.

That's like saying that I shouldn't have read American Psycho because I'm not a violent misogynist psychopath.   Or that if I'm willing to read the book, I should be equally willing to watch it happen in real life, or hear someone speak glowingly of how they want to re-enact it.  The logic doesn't carry through.

Speaking for myself... I view Armageddon as a game, the forums are not a game.  Things that happen ic are ic, and I'm more than content to leave them there, sometimes I very much enjoy a certain amount of violence, grit and brutality in my fiction.  When the bullshit starts piling up ooc that's another story and I'd be more than willing to leave a game that no longer presented a comfortable ooc atmosphere.

I've got absolutely no interest in playing a game that's community is restricted entirely to a bunch of young men that enjoy behaving like assholes.    The ooc environment should be welcoming and opening to a wide demographic of players.

Now if OOC chatter actually had anything to do with the game at all, which it doesnt. Or in theory it shouldnt. Its OOC chatter. Chatter not relating to the game.

In fact, maybe Seph's idea about giving it its own link wouldnt be a bad idea. So that people dont confuse OOC with IC on the GDB.

Things related to the game, and things not related to the game.

[staggerlee]

It doesn't matter, as long as it's on Armageddon's webpage or part of the GDB it's tied to the game and the opinions expressed there are going to reflect on the player base, the staff, the environment we want to present and the community as a whole.

[Desertman]

It doesn't matter, as long as it's on Armageddon's webpage or part of the GDB it's tied to the game and the opinions expressed there are going to reflect on the player base, the staff, the environment we want to present and the community as a whole.

It does matter. People should be able to understand the concept of "Related to the Game" and "Not Related to the Game".

But thats a matter of opinion.

You believe people should judge the game based on chatter that isnt about the game.

I believe they shouldnt.

[Yam]

If you want to spew crazyness, go play around on 4chan.

Idle OOC is out of character but that doesn't mean that it's a no-holds-barred wasteland to post trashy threads about how a certain religion sucks or why a certain group of people should be killed.

[staggerlee]

It doesn't matter, as long as it's on Armageddon's webpage or part of the GDB it's tied to the game and the opinions expressed there are going to reflect on the player base, the staff, the environment we want to present and the community as a whole.

It does matter. People should be able to understand the concept of "Related to the Game" and "Not Related to the Game".

But thats a matter of opinion.

You believe people should judge the game based on chatter that isnt about the game.

I believe they shouldnt.

No. I believe that people will judge the game based on the content of the GDB.  That's an important distinction.

[Desertman]

It doesn't matter, as long as it's on Armageddon's webpage or part of the GDB it's tied to the game and the opinions expressed there are going to reflect on the player base, the staff, the environment we want to present and the community as a whole.

It does matter. People should be able to understand the concept of "Related to the Game" and "Not Related to the Game".

But thats a matter of opinion.

You believe people should judge the game based on chatter that isnt about the game.

I believe they shouldnt.

No. I believe that people will judge the game based on the content of the GDB.  That's an important distinction.

I think the important distinction should be between the GDB in general and the OOC Chatter portion of the GDB. I believe that distincition is the deciding factor in what people will consider game related and not game related, and as such judge the game based on that distinction.

If you note the title of this thread you will see that we are discussing Idle OOC Rules, not GDB Rules. Apparently, there is a difference between the two.

[Mood]

I'd rather see Idle OOC undermoderated than overmoderated, personally. I enjoy reading and posting there, and I really think it's fine as is.

[Gimfalisette]

No. I believe that people will judge the game based on the content of the GDB.  That's an important distinction.

Exactly, precisely. People will and they do. Brytta even commented recently that he'd introduce some people to the game if it weren't for our forums. Everything that is associated with ARM is part and parcel of our whole effort to attract and retain players, and denials of that fact are wishful thinking.

[Desertman]

I'd rather see Idle OOC undermoderated than overmoderated, personally. I enjoy reading and posting there, and I really think it's fine as is.

Exactly, precisely. Off the top of my head I can count six people I introduced to this game and none of them have ever had any problem with OOC Chatter. Two of them dont even read the GDB. All of them have been playing over five years now I guess. It would seem that very valueable players that stick around, dont mind the GDB at all. In fact I can only think of one person I have ever showed the game that didnt get instantly addicted. The question..."How is your GDB?" Was never even asked.

It would seem new players could give a shit less. Atleast the many that I have introduced to the game. I guess I just dont try to introduce those types of people that would give two shits about the GDB environment...If I ever meet one though, which I havent, I will try to introduce them just for the new experience.

I'm sure someone out there has introduced someone who said..."Nope, I cant play this game, your GDB isnt friendly enough." And we lost a player because of it. I just personally never have had that happen.