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The only parts of that movie I enjoyed were the ones with Sidious in them. Because Darth Sidious is my spirit animal.
 
I'm a mod in a group chat at work. Somebody posted a pretty NSFW image, so I deleted it.

Instantly, I saw before me the full extent of my powers. I had became the Arbiter of the Seen, able to dictate the limits of the team's world. With but a click of my mouse, I could banish someone, render them invisible, or - surely a worse punishment! - able to speak, but unable to be heard. I, and I alone, could dictate how my colleagues saw not only each other, but also themselves.

I had seen the brink of the abyss, dear readers. And it was tempting - oh, how I desired to throw myself over that edge, to impale us all on the rocks of ignorance below! But I turned back. With all of my will, I politely asked them not to do it again.

I administrate the accounts on my workplace's network. If I ever decide to really screw with someone, I am just going to force a password change every other day.

"I don't know why that keeps happening, Paul. Maybe if you explain again what you were doing when you logged in, we can figure out what you did wrong."
 
I've been ruminating on this thread all day while at work, but wanted to get my thoughts organized before commenting.

I agree that we've been very lucky so far in that really the board has yet to need any moderation(with one exception I'll discuss in a bit). In a perfect world it would stay that way, but I think EF and I both know that will eventually change at some point as the board grows. I think we are both on the same page, though, that the solution for that is not necessarily a long list of rules, rather an approach we both agree on. I'm going to sum that up simply as "mutual respect." I'm going to treat everyone here exactly the same way I'd like to be treated, and unless irrevocably proven otherwise assume by default we are all mature adults and capable of dealing with conversations, debates, and arguments. Moreover, I'm pretty much for complete openness and transparency. If anyone wants to question or debate any mod call I ever make, I have no problem with that and you can do so without worrying about consequence or reprisal. I want this to be a community, and that means I'm open to input from everyone here to keep this forum the great place its been so far.

So far we have the one rule, no politics, and even that was decided as a group when the forum first got started. I'm going to interpret that as broadly or specifically as needs be depending on common sense. No one is going to get instabanned for slipping up. The first resort will always be to talk it out, maybe just give a heads up. I was exceptionally pleased shortly after the forum started that one thread sort of drifted towards that, and I didn't need to even step in and say anything because the other posters here did it first. I think this is something we all want and recognize as what gives this forum its identity. Moreover, I think its an advantage most of us here come from theRPGsite,and are still members, so if we want some place to discuss that stuff, we know where to go. Its great that Pundit provides that venue.

Otherwise, I think common sense is going to see us through. It doesn't need to be a rule, for example, to not post porn here, or link to illegal activities. If I erase a post for that reason, or say to someone "knock it off", I'm not going to take seriously them complaining that rule wasn't specifically written out. We ALL know better here. Thats part and parcel of treating each other like adults.

On the other hand, I think EF and I are both pretty supportive of free speech. You guys can argue all you want. If it stops being a conversation, and devolves into just a couple posters name calling, I may close the thread at some point, but that will probably be very rare. Another thing, with most of us veterans of theRPGsite, I think we all can handle the occasional flamewar. It isnt necessary for moderators to try and prevent that or freak out and try to stop that.

Another concern raised was that we don't want the forum to be defined as the place posters go when they are banned from other places. I agree completely, and I think the best approach there is that there is not going to be any rivalries with other forums here. Thats not a rule for posters, thats coming from myself. Whatever past thoughts or feelings I have regarding RPGnet or the RPGsite, bygones are bygones and I'm not going to be engaging in complaints about either place. Most posters here post at more than one forum, and this place is not the anti-RPGnet nor the anti-RPGsite at all. Its an alternative, thats it. I think its important for me to state this because most people here know why I left the RPGsite, and I don't want anyone to think that I hold grudges towards that place or anyone who posts there. Even the Pundit.

Which brings us to the first and thus far only time I've moderated anything here, which I'm going to briefly discuss just to give an example of my approach and what I thought about it. Ultimately it was a situation of my own creation. As many of you know, I had a long-running thread at theRPGsite, referenced just a few posts earlier, "Old School Inspirational Art" (which btw yes, I will be continuing again, once I get some free time) that is now over here. Shortly after the forum started I went back to theRPGsite and collected all the links I'd posted there. In the course of doing so, I replaced some of the pictures with random humorous images. And there was a backlash. It was brought up here in the Site and Community forum, and I discussed it a bit, before EF requested that we discuss it elsewhere since it really had nothing to do with this forum. We all agreed, and removed the thread. Shortly after, another person posted about it in the main forum, expressing the concern that we were trying to stifle conversation about it.

OK, so first off, this was tricky because it was a conflict with my desire for transparency and free speech. I empathized with the poster's concern, but on the other hand, I think it could also been seen from the PoV that cross-forum drama hits the same buttons as political discussions. In that respect, it was good that EF made the call and not me. So I erased the post and at the same time immediately messaged the poster, apologized and explained why I did that, and then told them that I would be happy to discuss the issue further elsewhere. I offered to discuss it on the RPGsite, or even invited them to discuss it with me in public on my blog. In response to their concern and those brought up previously, I also went back to theRPGsite and explained my actions, stated clearly that I had no desire to foster any enmity on behalf of The Pub towards theRPGsite or Pundit, and offered a formal apology.

(I am bringing this up now, BTW, only insofar as it pertains to the topic of moderation here on the Pub so please don't take this as an invitation to start up that conversation again. I maintain the same offer I made before as far as discussing it elsewhere)

Anyways, the point is that this is my approach to moderation : reluctance and communication.
 
I've been ruminating on this thread all day while at work, but wanted to get my thoughts organized before commenting

...snip...

This is perfectly reasonable and I have no problem with any of it. Especially this:

Whatever past thoughts or feelings I have regarding RPGnet or the RPGsite, bygones are bygones and I'm not going to be engaging in complaints about either place. Most posters here post at more than one forum, and this place is not the anti-RPGnet nor the anti-RPGsite at all. Its an alternative, thats it. I think its important for me to state this because most people here know why I left the RPGsite, and I don't want anyone to think that I hold grudges towards that place or anyone who posts there. Even the Pundit.

This reflects my thoughts on the matter. I like Pundit. In the RPG.net thread about alternative forums, when theRPGsite came up, several posters were quick to trash talk Pundit. To my surprise, the mods put that down. I'm glad. I would have spoken up if they hadn't.

I made my thoughts clear in the "Bitches Deserved it" thread when I walked out. I said my peace and did what I needed to do. I don't have a beef with Pundit, the Site, or anybody who likes going there. I want to live and let live, not harbor a grudge. I honestly don't have the time for that kind of crap.

We should be an alternative option, somewhere else to go, but not a replacement. I think if we start looking at RPG.net or theRPGsite as competitors, we're going to suffer for it. Attitude matters.
 
This reflects my thoughts on the matter. I like Pundit. In the RPG.net thread about alternative forums, when theRPGsite came up, several posters were quick to trash talk Pundit. To my surprise, the mods put that down. I'm glad. I would have spoken up if they hadn't.

Theoretically, I liked the Site, but I didn't like where it went over the course of my time there, for a number of reasons; I was never a fan of the Pundit, though.

But I don't think that my going into detail here would really add anything to the conversation. Everyone seems to be on roughly the same page about how to go forwards.
 
I appreciate everyone contributing to this thread. It really helps sets a good foundation here. Somebody mentioned that I make the rules because I own the place. Yeah, I started the forum, but I consider it owned by everyone here. One person does not make a community.
 
It's what they know and have continued to do over the past 10 years? Bureaucracy to cover all moderator decisions, with just enough vagueness to have no accountability.

I hope that the Rpg Pub doesn't take any inspiration from past models, because, IMO, both Rpg.net and theRpgSite are lessons in abject failure as gaming forums.

One site I think is a useful inspiration is the boardgame site Fortress Ameritrash. It's fair to say that F:AT was birthed from full on drama over on Boardgamegeek. Bans, flame wars etc.

But while there were some interesting articles in the early days, the site didn't really come into its own until it became its own unique thing rather than just the anti-BGG.

More generally, as a non RPGsite veteran, I'm hoping for something of a happy medium.

I'm all in favour of vigorous debate and even argument. But while I'm remarkably thick skinned, I don't have the energy to sift through five pages of people calling each other "cunt" to get to the useful information.

On the other hand, I'm hoping this turns out to be a place where I'm less prone to getting regular temp bans for being "antagonistic" which is a regular occurence over on the Geek.

This is the kinda of thing that will develop organically though. In my experience online communities tend to find their own level sooner rather than later.
 
More generally, as a non RPGsite veteran, I'm hoping for something of a happy medium.

Let us be the True Neutral of RPG boards then!

:eek:... but be warned, there will come a time when some will insist a particular Lawful Good or Chaotic Evil idea is in fact True Neutral, and that anyone who denies this fact is committing an alignment violation. We must be vigilant and critical minded enough to present a unified front against this eventual challenge.:eek:
 
On the other hand, I'm hoping this turns out to be a place where I'm less prone to getting regular temp bans for being "antagonistic" which is a regular occurence over on the Geek.

Tristram, we'll have to keep an eye on this one.

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People are free to like what they like and choose where they spend their time. We wish all RPG sites well and we forge our own path with high hopes for the future.

I like what I see here so far and the direction the stakeholders want it to go. Please don't go the route of endless rules. That's the kind of place a lawyer loves and a player hates
 
I like what I see here so far and the direction the stakeholders want it to go. Please don't go the route of endless rules. That's the kind of place a lawyer loves and a player hates

Thanks, Bunch. I can promise you that we will not go down that route. This place should be fun for people and not a place where you have to post on eggshells.
 
I find it interesting that the rpg.net mods in the thread are eagerly suggesting this forum writes up detailed rules. I'm of the opinion that the convoluted legalism of rpg.net is one of its biggest problems.

For what it's worth, I agree. Don't go overboard with rules. Keep it simple, keep it casual, keep it friendly.

There's an old saying in the Marines, "our SOP is written in blood." That is, we've got these rules because of how things went down in the past, and we're trying to keep them from happening again." That's why rpg.net is the way it is - 15 years and a lot of users have made things build up.

My advice is to carve out a niche of being a friendly, laid back place to talk about games. Keep the rules to a minimum. I'm more than happy to recommend this place over on rpg.net, and hope it thrives.
 
For what it's worth, I agree. Don't go overboard with rules. Keep it simple, keep it casual, keep it friendly.

There's an old saying in the Marines, "our SOP is written in blood." That is, we've got these rules because of how things went down in the past, and we're trying to keep them from happening again." That's why rpg.net is the way it is - 15 years and a lot of users have made things build up.

My advice is to carve out a niche of being a friendly, laid back place to talk about games. Keep the rules to a minimum. I'm more than happy to recommend this place over on rpg.net, and hope it thrives.

Thank you for the insights, Cessna. I know you have a long history with admin and appreciate the advice.
 
Somebody mentioned that I make the rules because I own the place.

For any online forum, the real Rule Zero is and has always been "don't piss off the guy who pays the hosting bills".

A long time ago over on the 'Site, I opined that if I ever ran a gaming forum the rules would be "no SPAR, and be polite to each other". You just beat me to it.

Although I will get neocortex.online up one of these days.
 
For any online forum, the real Rule Zero is and has always been "don't piss off the guy who pays the hosting bills".

A long time ago over on the 'Site, I opined that if I ever ran a gaming forum the rules would be "no SPAR, and be polite to each other". You just beat me to it.

Although I will get neocortex.online up one of these days.

Forgive my ignorance, but is SPAR an acronym for no politics or religion?
 
Yes, I added Like Legend last night because there was a trophy for 500 but not 1,000. I have one more trophy to add and it’ll be called (drum roll) Posting Legend. I just have to decide how many posts to set it at (probably 5,000) but the total amount of trophy points you will be able to get is 200 total.
 
This thread seems somewhat moribund, but I thought I'd say something.

I'm here because I want to talk games generally and Purp feels stifling, period. The moderation comes off as super-heavy, judgmental, and frankly hostile to anyone who doesn't share their outlook. I like playing games about politics, but that doesn't mean I want RL politics infecting my gaming talk. I've spent a fair amount of time on the WW/OPP forums for specific games, but that doesn't fill the need for a general gaming forum, so here I am.

I never spent much time on the Site, but I read a few threads that were so bare-knuckle it made my head spin. Yeah, I love free speech, but every conversation need not be a brawl. I'm hoping the Pub is the healthy middle for me.
 
This thread seems somewhat moribund, but I thought I'd say something.

I'm here because I want to talk games generally and Purp feels stifling, period. The moderation comes off as super-heavy, judgmental, and frankly hostile to anyone who doesn't share their outlook. I like playing games about politics, but that doesn't mean I want RL politics infecting my gaming talk. I've spent a fair amount of time on the WW/OPP forums for specific games, but that doesn't fill the need for a general gaming forum, so here I am.

I never spent much time on the Site, but I read a few threads that were so bare-knuckle it made my head spin. Yeah, I love free speech, but every conversation need not be a brawl. I'm hoping the Pub is the healthy middle for me.
I'm pretty sure everyone is hoping it's a healthy middle cuz we know how unfun the other extremes are
 
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