The Site > Site Suggestions & Support

Policy Changes: How do you feel?

(1/36) > >>

Priscellie:
The forum has gone through a lot of changes lately, like a teenager or caterpillar.  Our goal is to stem the tide of unpleasantness that was choking the forum, making tempers flare and making the forum environment toxic.  We're requiring that folks communicate with a certain level of civility and courtesy, and we're cracking down a lot harder on the kinds of crass, deliberately goading behavior and subject matter that seemed to be the root of the problem.

It's become clear that a number of you are uncomfortable with the actions of some of the moderators, but are afraid to speak up.  That's not good.  We want to make this forum a place where you can enjoy yourself again, not where you're living in fear of the Wrath of Mod.

If you have any suggestions on how better to accomplish this, or if you feel paranoid to bring up any topic at all for fear it'll be labeled TT, LET US KNOW.  We thrive on your feedback.  Share your thoughts here, or PM the mods if you'd rather your words be kept private.  Snide remarks about the mods and admins without specific grievances will not be taken well.  Constructive criticism, however, is welcomed, even if we end up disagreeing with it.  We want folks to take an active interest in making this forum a better place.  When folks whisper behind our backs, we can't exactly do anything to anything to remedy the problem they're whispering about, can we?

So have at it!  How do you feel about the changes?

Chiana:
Change is scary but necessary and for the good.  I am getting used to the newness of the board and am liking the way it is set up.  I've found myself being able to navagate the different threads easier.  Overall, I say brilliant job!  And as I said over in Weird, thank you to the mods/admins/wardens who have put in a ton of work to make this forum a great place to be consumed by the sheer awesomeness that is Jim.   :)

Rue-Sal:
First I'd like to apologize if my comments in Weird came across as snide as that was not my intent.  I was agreeing with a fellow forum member with regards to some of the threads being quiet compared to how they were before the change.  I do think that some of the members here feel like they will feel the wrath of mod if they say or do something that crosses the line.  The problem is knowing where that line is.

The second thing is that when I made my comment about criticizing the admins and mods I should have worded that better. I don't believe that admins or mods would ban somebody unreasonably but during the change when several people were banned there were accusations of favoritism in regards to who was banned and who wasn't. Somebody did state that he/she was banned after complaining about this.  Rather this is true or not, and for the record I don't believe it is, I think that somebody hearing this may be hesitant in voicing their concerns.

As for the changes themselves, I think the forum is headed in a better direction and is much less negative than it was just a month ago.  The chatroom is great and adding the new mods was a good idea.  I also think that the new expiration policy for threads in McAnally's will help keep things civil.  All in all I think you guys are doing a good job and have made a lot of positive steps.

Shecky:
Let's all drag something out in the middle of the floor and let the cat sniff it: "the line". I've seen a lot of people make fairly similar comments about not knowing where the line is, but, honestly, it's pretty simple: if you completely remove your own personal knowledge behind what you're saying and look at your post without having ANY reason to ASSUME to the good in any case of doubt, the resulting context-free post should be just about impossible to get ticked off over. In other words, if it stands up for itself without even possibly needing "But I meant..." or "That's reading it wrong" and still doesn't step on toes, you're fine.

Yeah, it does sound all Big-Brothery, doesn't it? It isn't; this is a private forum. Keep in mind that this is Fred's toybox and we're all here by his consent and goodwill, and he wants this to be a civil place. Note that he didn't say it shouldn't be FUN, just not uncivil. There are plenty of ways to do friendly ribbing, joshin' around, poking fun, etc. and make sure that it's OBVIOUS that it's friendly. I know some people have a loathing for emoticon/smileys, but they're INCREDIBLY efficient and useful for just that kind of purpose. Especially for sarcasm, which is obviously highly prized around here... but exceptionally slick sarcasm is hard to discern in print, and we humans need every little bit of help we can get. :)

Rue-Sal:
I'm not disagreeing with you in regards to the "cat sniff" test.  It's a good way to make sure that what's being said isn't going to upset or offend anybody.  And while I'm absolutely positive that you always review everything you post to make sure that it meets that standard ;) some others, such as myself, aren't in the habit of doing that and this is what I mean about walking around on eggshells.  Getting into the habit of reviewing a post to make sure it's toxin free is going to take a little time and until that happens I think some of the threads like Weird may seem a little quiet.

As for the forum being Fred's sandbox I respect that and have every intention of playing by the rules.  I shall not crap make a mess in Fred's sandbox.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page