Respect for each other & new mod policies

[Ashley]

The below was to be posted a few days ago, but a combination of illness and generally not wanting to trench it all up again delayed it. However, as these things are cropping up again tonight it cannot be unsaid.

 

What happened last week in the 3D World thread can be boiled down to a complete lack of respect for each other that has been running rife for far too long.

 

As a whole we're a fairly laid back and lenient site. Plenty of others would have banned people long ago for the way some people act towards each other, and many sites would have banned simply for speaking so rudely to a member of staff. Trust me, there have been times in the intervening days where I've almost logged in and banned some people. I don't think it would be without reason, it just would be without precedent.

 

In all the ugliness that ensued following the publishing of the review nobody commented upon any issues I raised with the content of the game, instead people were obsessing over the score. The score, which, at the end of the day, was still a bloody good score. But apparently some people had decided that it should get a 10 and it was their business to shout loud enough until we submitted.

 

Telling someone, anyone, their opinion is invalid simply because you don't agree with it is ridiculous in itself. Telling someone their opinion is incorrect when they have played and completed a title, while you have at best played a demo, is patently stupid. There is no other way to put it. It's just stupid. Let's take a moment to look at the dictionary definition of opinion, because some people seem to be unaware:

 

a personal view, attitude, or appraisal.

 

Saying other sites gave it a better score doesn't make mine somehow wrong, nor does it vindicate your pre-judged opinion. I don't agree with some of the scores of comments out there on other sites, but I don't email them telling them they're wrong, someone else should have written it and insulting them personally. Why? Well, I'm an adult for one thing, and I also appreciate other people have different opinions.

 

And you know what? I sent the review to Nintendo and they thanked me for a good review. If it's good enough for the people that make the game why the hell is it not good enough for you? Is your life really held together by ultimately pointless numbers attached to some text, which in no way shape or form alters your life?

 

I was accused of journalistic dishonesty, being anti-Nintendo (yeah I hate them, that's why I run a Nintendo site...) and of being soulless (and yes I know it wasn't serious, but at the end of the day its still a personal insult and it just added to the Katamari-ball of shit that was rolling at that point). This is no way to speak to another human being, regardless of who they are or what they do.

 

I spent time on that review and I know not everyone is going to agree, obviously, but to be told that I basically shouldn't have bothered because you don't like the score is purely disrespectful. If I were a lesser man I could have easily pulled the plug on this place. It's not a card I want to use lightly, nor do I have an intent to, but don't forget I am doing this off my own back (as are all the staff that help out here, site and forum) and, at times, out of my own wallet. If I were really so anti-Nintendo would I really be doing this? Ask yourself if you think I'm that much of a masochist? Perhaps I have different, or some might say higher, expectations of them as a company but that doesn't mean I hate them.

 

I, and the other people that dedicate their free time (with no financial gain) for this site, deserve more respect. Hell, I'm not asking you praise us, you simply treat us with the basic human respect that everyone deserves. Yet, that didn't take place. I make sacrifices for this place, not grand sacrifices that I expect to be martyred for obviously, but I sacrifice my time and to be treated in that manner makes me question why I continue to do it. Trust me, there have been times I've wanted to leave. Be it for personal or professional reasons (as at times I feel this place interferes with my career plans) but I know a lot of people enjoy coming here, enjoy interacting with others and I feel a sense of obligation and responsibility. Some people recently made me question why I bother because it feels like they don't even want to be here.

 

Let's get this clear once and for all. There is no giant internet anti-Nintendo conspiracy. Do you realise how FUCKING PARANOID even saying that makes you sound? Like it or not Nintendo's post-GameCube policies have fractured their existing audience, and many of us have been around since before that day. Everyone is entitled to an opinion. Nobody here works for Nintendo's PR team (or any other company's PR team). You can discuss and debate until your heart's content, but you don't have to defend it with your life. The way some people go on, on all sides of the console debate, you'd think their very lives depended on it. I read some people's posts and it seems they are in pain and it makes me question why they keep bothering.

 

There are plenty of sites that are just dedicated and will only allow discussion on one console, or multi-console sites where things are much more segregated, but I think this place works well having people mingle. Our members may have signed up as Nintendo fans and they may not like recent decisions, which is why some "Sony Ponies" (really, are we 12?) may post in the Nintendo board. Not because they're out to get you or piss you off, because they did have a vested interest. It is not as likely (although still possible) that it works the other way around as we're not a MS/Sony forum. Yet people are frequently scared off because they dare utter an opinion others don't agree with. This has happened to many people, myself included recently, and we've lost members because of it. This can't continue.

 

This is a Nintendo forum, yes, but it's not an official one. Everyone doesn't need to have a PR-friendly view as long as their views are justifiable (i.e. "Nintendo is rubbish because its for kids lol" is obviously not, but saying "I think the GamePad was a bad idea because..." is a valid opinion).

 

Hopefully we can put this all behind us and move on, like adults. It's happened before (Wind Waker springs to mind), but it shall not happen again. No more niceities or being forgiving. This is it. This is when I start becoming more willing to ban people. The usual three warnings we give people, more than many other places would I wish to point out, will be ignored if necessary.

 

Other people have different opinions and if you can't get behind that, and if you can't debate products without getting personal or overtly defensive, then you will no longer have a place to come to.

 

It's that simple.

 

With that in mind we shall be introducing a new moderation policy to try and curb these incessant arguments.

 

1) Arguing/flaming = Instant thread ban

2) Do it in another thread = Temp 3 day ban

3) Do it again = perma ban

 

Hopefully we won't have to do that, but the way some people talk to each other is ridiculous and it needs to stop.

[nekunando]

I've felt the general appeal of this place decline over the last year or so, mostly due to the pointless bickering

 

Everyone needs to wise up

[Happenstance]

Is sending reviews to Nintendo something that you guys always do?

[Ashley]

Oops meant to close this as it's not a discussion.

 

But to answer happenstance, yes.