I felt it was reacting to what Mythros said on the previous page - and talking about more specifically how some will choose to not engage in more heated threads or stay away from controversial topics that appear to be done for their own sake.
There is too much ‘listening to know when to restart talking’ rather than actual listening both online and in real life. In the US I am finding it increasingly hard to untangle corrosive political strife from … well, anything. Whether it is running, enjoying the outdoors, work, travel, food, family and so on - everywhere there is disinformation and hatefulness and plain lies being thrust upon us from malicious individuals.
I have always (since the founding of this site) disagreed with Mythros on his core moderation approach - but it is his site, and I do my best to operate within those rules most of the time (
). My disagreement comes down to how many people through the years have used posts to spout hatefulness against groups of people with no consequence … but that calling out someone gets you punished.
But what he was talking about is that conundrum - where things get heated in a discussion but aside from looking to ‘cool things off’ it can be hard to see particular offenses - what do you do?
The obvious answer is ‘just be kind’ - but honestly that is wonderful advice but situationally not a trivial thing. We get passionate about things, get argumentative, and occasionally lines are crossed. And there are more than a few occasions where it is a direct argument between two or three people (could likely find multiple 3+ page battles between JDR and D’Art, for example) … and generally the fight ‘stops’, and yet those things are frequently come back up in subsequent fights - we are all just people after all.
And honestly, when I talk about things like racism, religious intolerance, misogyny, homophobia and other stuff on the site … I recall not just threads and posts but *people*, just as I know that others will pre-judge a post based on it coming from me.
I have no control over what people think, but I do have control over what people are allowed to say on this forum.
You are not allowed to accuse people for what they have done in a time when there was a different TOS.
“when I talk about things like racism, religious intolerance, misogyny, homophobia and other stuff on the site …”
The only place where that is allowed is in P&R.
“when I talk about things like racism, religious intolerance, misogyny, homophobia and other stuff on the site … I recall not just threads and posts but *people*”
Yes, you are spreading accusations - in many threads, not being P&R, and now again, here, in this last post of yours in “Goodbye from me”.
“I have always (since the founding of this site) disagreed with Mythros on his core moderation approach - but it is his site, and I do my best to operate within those rules most of the time (
)”
Yes, up until this very day you keep on disagreeing, complaining about his core moderation approach.
You have barely witnessed how things have changed, how different people react, that the whole team, including Myrthos, is more aware of unwanted situations, that moderation is more tight. You clearly don’t accept me saying in a different thread things have changed.
You yourself on the other hand have been acting as in the old days, as if there never had been introduced a new TOS and a new way of moderation, which is also described in the TOS btw. ‘Play the ball, not the person’, is a Dutch expression I have used on these forums several times. Most people are doing that by now. And I must say I am very pleased to see how restraint people react(ed) to your verbal aggression towards their persona.
Unlike you I don’t care what people have said in the past, or did not say, I care about what they are saying NOW on our site and whether that is in accordance with TODAY’s TOS.
I don’t care what new members are thinking, or saying outside this site about “racism, religious intolerance, misogyny, homophobia and other stuff”, there is no questionnaire they have to fill in, no ballot committee to see whether they have opinions that are (not) acceptable for us (or you!). As long as people abide by the TOS they are free to post and talk about games.
Games!
If you like to debate with people, anyone, “calling out someone” as you prefer to call it, talking about the “hatefulness” from “malicious individuals”, getting “passionate” about it, and “finding it increasingly hard to untangle corrosive political strife from … well, anything”: please, broaden your horizon. Plenty of places on social media where you can call out plenty of people. This is a gaming site. On P&R, the place to be for these topics, there is hardly any activity.
Do your passionate work to confront people with the consequences of their past/present(?) hatefulness elsewhere and allow people here to be judged on what they write now, what they write now about games, and not about what they wrote in the past or what you might think/remember they wrote.
“I do my best to operate within those rules most of the time”
Others are expected to follow the rules ALL of the time, I don’t see why we should accept any infringements from you.
Consider this to be a proper notice.
So I don’t see these as empty moral posturing, but more a chat about ‘what to do’ as the main activity of this thread dies down, and it is very clear that WE must be the change we want to see.
Yup, so start being respectful to the rules of this site, and to other members of this site and stop that hatefulness of yours.
