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So where CAN we discuss moderation policy and the TOS ?
siliconpsycho
Member Posts: 135 Arc User
This topic, in the eyes of our moderators may cross the line. So be it. If it earns me a ban, so be it.
I am merely attempting to discover the means by which we, as a group of forum users (customers) of your product (STO) CAN discuss topics of moderation, TOS and thread closing policy, in a constructive manner.
If you do not want off-company-website discussion to become rampantly negative, which you can not control, a means must be provided to discuss the TOS, Moderation Policy and to raise questions on any "closed without explanation" threads.
Smarter companies would prefer to keep any negative discussion regarding their product on their own forums, with a post-by-post moderation standard rather than blanket thread closing. Heck, some companies embrace, learn from and even use sarcastic and/or negative discussion as a tool for marketing. In some instances, negative feedback en masse has even granted bad products legendary status.
If the development team and product managers are so concerned about the negative discussion, perhaps it is time to take what is being said onboard and FIX IT.
Then, you truly could say Delta Rising is the best expansion ever and the Players Love It!
Imagine the rejoicing, positive feedback, respect and building bridges this would make with the community (your customers) here and on other sites.
So, back to my original point, provide a public means of discussing moderation and TOS policy or face a snowballing of negativity on your forums that will just get out of your control.
I am merely attempting to discover the means by which we, as a group of forum users (customers) of your product (STO) CAN discuss topics of moderation, TOS and thread closing policy, in a constructive manner.
If you do not want off-company-website discussion to become rampantly negative, which you can not control, a means must be provided to discuss the TOS, Moderation Policy and to raise questions on any "closed without explanation" threads.
Smarter companies would prefer to keep any negative discussion regarding their product on their own forums, with a post-by-post moderation standard rather than blanket thread closing. Heck, some companies embrace, learn from and even use sarcastic and/or negative discussion as a tool for marketing. In some instances, negative feedback en masse has even granted bad products legendary status.
If the development team and product managers are so concerned about the negative discussion, perhaps it is time to take what is being said onboard and FIX IT.
Then, you truly could say Delta Rising is the best expansion ever and the Players Love It!
Imagine the rejoicing, positive feedback, respect and building bridges this would make with the community (your customers) here and on other sites.
So, back to my original point, provide a public means of discussing moderation and TOS policy or face a snowballing of negativity on your forums that will just get out of your control.
Post edited by siliconpsycho on
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Comments
That's our only outlet that won't get closed.
Good luck.
Also, the bible said that the bible is true.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
DELTA PRICE RISING
If you have a question about Moderation, make sure to check the TOS first.
If that does not answer your question, you can send me a PM thru your UserCP.
If that doesn't get you the answer you were looking for, you can send in a Support Ticket.
Hope that helps!
~CaptainSmirk
if you want to discuss this then contact them in private and get information. A thread similar to this was left open not long ago it ran its course and then got locked. The rules are fairly straight forward and really only require common sense.
Thankyou for your response, but I don't think you have really grasped what I am asking.
I think a public forum for the discussion of such topics when it involved a great many posters in a single thread, which has either been heavily moderated or closed altogether would go a long way to easing the current tension levels that are readily apparent.
Say you close a thread for violating TOS and individually ban a number of the posters. If the overall reason for closure isn't clear, you would have to expect that others will at some point make the same mistake or break the rules in a similar way.
As moderators you have to act carefully. You do want to maintain an open forum do you not? If there is no option for some open discussion on the subject of moderation and policy you are risking crossing the line into dictatorship, which is very much anti star trek
I want to make it clear that I am not discussing moderation, merely asking for a way that, even if heavily moderated itself, is able to discuss it in the open if there are a huge number of users involved or the topics being discussed are "on the line" and the rules are either not clearly applicable
The terms are set forth and absolute when you create your account, and in doing so you unconditionally agree to abide by them.
And before people start waving it around, Free speech is only a provision that is supposed to ensure your rights to voice your political and social views without the government saying you can't.
Free speech is not applicable on internet forums.
I realise that. Heck, free speech isn't necessarily something that some users here enjoy in the home countries.
However, if an act of moderation involves a large group of people, or the outcome of said moderation isn't immediately clear other than a thread close, even those who believe they have followed the TOS to the best of their abilities may question the action.
There has to be some flexibility and openness
The TREK BBS has a Specific Thread that is ONLY for this type of discussion and is Heavily Modded if things get out of hand.
Why not create such a place here?
In my estimation it would probably curtail much of the open defiance one sees every so often in many parts of this forum.
I Was A Trekkie Before It Was Cool ... Sept. 8th, 1966 ... Not To Mention Before Most Folks Around Here Were Born!
Forever a STO Veteran-Minion
However, for those who have had their threads or posts either cleaned, removed, or closed and actually want to know why, there would be a place to find such information so they, and others can learn from it and perhaps, not repeat the same mistake again.
Getting a straight answer out of Cryptic is like trying to hack off your own leg with a dull spoon...it aint going to happen but it becomes quite painful...
To make things even worse dealing with all the negativity has given the mods all sorts of leeway in conducting their affairs. You can check the thread in my signature for an example of a mod closing a thread for breaking a rule it did not, after he had moved it to another section.
https://youtube.com/channel/UCJZ5FBJ9bFaZ6yAFiNpZiRQ/featured?view_as=subscriber
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/CaptainCidStorm
it goes from a little fun and jokes, to over bored
I sent a support ticket earlier about the forums and within three minutes got a response. That was fast compared to the other ones I have sent about in-game bugs.
And then leads to much, much more PMs and work for mods in addition.
Regardless of what the TOS says, things that happen here on the threads aren't cut and dry, there is a bit of a grey area sometimes and the mods need to make a judgement call on if it can stay or if it should go.
But, I've been noticing more often is closed threads with no explanation what so ever from whomever closed it. At the very least, there should be some explanation as to why a thread has been closed. If a reason cannot be provided, then that probably means it really shouldn't be closed.
No, not at all. I thought that maybe since you won't get a response from a mod or Smirk, you had better chances with the ticket system like I did.
Not sure about the US with your different states and all, but forum regulations are obviously subject to local laws and regulations. In some parts of the world you are allowed to have an open and honest discussion about a number of topics.
In all parts of the world you are required to abide by the terms and conditions you agree to on a forum. Forums are private property and not your to use as you see fit.
While you cannot be jailed or fined for violating the forum rules, the owners certainly have the right to ban you for not following them.
Our userbase isn't nearly as vocal or passionate as Trekkers are, but the reason for such a policy is because if users are permitted to publicly discuss / challenge moderation decisions, heated posts and conflicts would arise from the various parties insisting their side of the story is "correct", and the negativity will spill over to other areas of the forums as users begin taking sides and forming cliques and factions. (We've had users come to blows over disagreements in moderation decisions, and they had gone on to sabotage each other's threads over the course of several weeks before we intervened)
Similar to what Smirk said, on our forum, we ask that users wishing to appeal post removals / infractions / suspensions contact the moderator responsible via PM first. If said user is not satisfied with the response, the matter is privately escalated up to the senior moderators and ultimately, the community manager.
Perhaps a post on the STO forums listing all of the moderators and who they report to might help establish a definitive chain of contact / accountability for those wishing to appeal forum infractions?
No, you're not where exceptions are prescribed in law. Some countries are still dealing with all aspects of the Internet. Private property owners are still subject to any underlying laws. They cannot set themselves above.
Most people honour the spirit of forum regs and that is a good thing.
Welp, ya got yer wish...
Oh BTW: phooey on you.
:cool:
I Was A Trekkie Before It Was Cool ... Sept. 8th, 1966 ... Not To Mention Before Most Folks Around Here Were Born!
Forever a STO Veteran-Minion
Really? You sure about that?
To share what we like about the game...only? I don't know what game forums you visits but of the 8 I currently follow, post like that are rare. Truth be told in all of them by forum mods themselves have said they like to receive constructive feedback of the game, good AND bad. If we just talked about what we like about the game and that's it, it'd be worthless and a waste of time.
And to learn to understand the developers vision? You must be new here, that happens very seldomly and lately, it's pretty much never.
If we followed your advice the forums would be a ghost town...