[Lack of] Site Rules

[LambentHammerBurst]

I do have to agree with the rules unneeded overall. Yes there's some limits as to what will be tolerated - but those are common sense (pirating games, releasing a link to a leaked game, pornography, ect). Like Solecord did say "everyone here is mature enough" (with exception of a few). The game turns 15yrs old this year - so generally MOST of us are adults - hell everyone I've added to my MSN/Facebook from here are all adults and most with kids too.

[Baker]

I thought this was a great discussion topic, btw.

[golden_boy]

And those who want the rules defined are the ones who are just looking to break them

That is BS, sorry.

[Baker]

That is BS, sorry.

Sole's comment has a lot of merit, even if not literally true.

Consider the target audience for a list of rules ... people that need rules to behave properly.

A couple of years ago, I would have been for a list of rules somewhere.

But today, I wouldn't be.

1. First, I dislike "slave culture mentality". I think some humans are conditioned to slavery, but don't really realize it. Slavery, in a sense, is that some corporation or a government is your master, dictates your schedule and your duties and how you can think. Those people love to give you a list of rules. They post them on the wall and makes signs.

Corporate slave drone enters bar.
Corporate slave drone: Milord, I cannot find the list of rules. I am shaken and disturbed and unsettled because I don't know how to act.
Bartender: Son, there are no rules.
Corporate slave drone: But Milord, I am conditioned to not think for myself. It is unsettling for me to use my judgment.
Bartender: Son, I trust YOUR judgment.

2. Quake is open source. Open Source is about your rights. This is the opposite of other gaming communities where those communities about Valve's rights, Sony or Microsoft's rights. I reject the idea of accepting their culture. This is a public forum, you don't need our permission to post.

3. Third, no one here is looking to supervise you. In fact, pleas for such a thing here are almost always rejected. I've been asked before to step into arguments. I don't. You continue an argument of your own free will. If you can handle that freedom, it isn't a moderator's problem --- that's a personal problem. You may leave that argument at any time.

[Baker]

The above is a very good post in several ways. Especially the last couple of sentences.

Reality is, the way the forum is moderated continually changes with the environment and situations as they occur. Like the Google Adsense spammers that actually occasionally trivially participated in a couple of threads.

[Baker]

There are things more important to moderation than how it is done.

There is also audience shaping.

Case in point, I noticed continually in the past that low-life degenerates love using the "N" word and the 3-letter "F" word for gay.

If a thread invited itself to this avenue, these low-life degenerates would come out of the shadows and start posting here.

I'm referring to a very small number of particularly foul people I've seen do unconscionable things on servers. And they were serial cheaters. And I even saw a couple of incidents where they would harass players and follow them to different servers. This is a group of maybe 8 people max. Most of them, we have not seen in quite a while now. They didn't play match games, like DM or CTF, they just liked being verbally abusive.

Conversations with the "N" word and the 3-letter "F" word were the kind of thing those people relate to. It was like a beacon, "Hey, I like that and can relate to that and if that is acceptable, I must be too!" And these low-life degenerates mistakenly believed this site thought they were an acceptable part of the community. (Those low-life degenerates, not surprisingly, were verbally abusive to players on servers, wallhacked back before anti-wallhack, etc. No community should want them, and we don't either.)

So I used the word filter to make those conservations very difficult to have. Yes, you can evade the word filter but you know it is there and it encourages a more polite tone of conversation. Most of us, as a result, tend to phrase things in a way that words with the word filter. Resulting in a more civil conversation, which is great for the community.

And the troublemakers, seeing a lack of profanity tirades, seeing no source of the kind of entertainment and conservations they could relate to, found other things to do.

[rambo]

I personally like the derivatives of the "n word," and usually dont mean it in its true meaning of the word. This is why I usually spell it differently, not so much to escape the filter.

[Baker]

I was referring to a small pocket of super-antisocial malign serial cheaters.

The kind of would connect to a server with a bot and a wallhack and insult people repeatedly and often challenge someone to a 1 on 1 in CA (not DM, they weren't bright enough to deal with things like map strategy or guarding guns).

They couldn't spell, used the above referenced words like they were the only words they knew. Antiwallhack got rid of most of them, hard to trash talk when your cheat no longer works. But a couple of them still persisted and maybe a couple of still lurking in the shadows somewhere.

One that I can think of would mostly only surface in a thread if the "F" word was used repeatly and then would post some barbaric screed, with everything misspelled.

[rambo]

Got ya...I was going to say hey I'm not a low life. lol.

[Baker]

I kind of was drifting into a deep tangent and didn't bother to explain that.

[LambentHammerBurst]

Case in point, I noticed continually in the past that low-life degenerates love using the "N" word and the 3-letter "F" word for gay.

This is the main part that I do feel that needs to be a rule. Once you start using words that are harassing to a sub-group - even if it isn't directed at them - should never be used. It's distasteful and doesn't belong on a public forum or online. Using it on your friends: "hey my n****!" ok fine. On a forum - no.

[ninjamonkeyz]

I understand that we are all responsible for ourselves and we don't need a dictator over our shoulders making us feel like we are on egg shells with our every post, But my idea is this.... A good description of this site for new comers wouldn't hurt, and that would let them know that it is laid back and without cause for rules because most people can behave but the ones that cant behave will be dealt with.. and Let the ones that don't understand how to behave the deadly sins of quakeone.com forums... like the few things that cross the line, just so its clear. Also to the new comers, such as or in the about section, add a part that lets them know what all is involved with the site so they know they are in the right place. a side not a newbie section wouldnt be a bad idea either .... just some ideas.

[ninjamonkeyz]

i feel like everybodys scratching their chins saying among themselves this ninjamonkeyz guy comes in here trying to change things.. we love our grey areas and stuff "he needs to go!" and quit posting crazy stuff! I hope somebody bans him..lmao

[MH]

I think two simple rules are sufficient in all cases:

• Show some respect.
• Don't be a dick.

Covers pretty much everything, eh? ("Don't pirate Quake" might be added as a third .)

Regarding specific rules, I've seen other communities where people frequently ask for hard and fast definitions, and my opinion is that these do not work. The trouble with a hard and fast definition is that it provides that famous line that has been mentioned. Now, I'm not saying that the mere existence of this line will naturally result in trouble in and of itself, but there is a certain class of troublemaker who will dance along the line, not going so far as to break any specific rule but going far enough to cause upset and outrage.

Moderation must be free to interpret each and every situation on it's own merits (and/or demerits), take context, past behaviour and reputation into account, and form a judgement based on the sum total of that. Nothing else works.

[Baker]

This is the main part that I do feel that needs to be a rule. Once you start using words that are harassing to a sub-group - even if it isn't directed at them - should never be used. It's distasteful and doesn't belong on a public forum or online. Using it on your friends: "hey my n****!" ok fine. On a forum - no.

That is the in stock vBulletin terms of service thing when you register here.

A good description of this site for new comers wouldn't hurt, and that would let them know that it is laid back and without cause for rules

If you want people to act responsibly, you have to let them use their own judgment.

I find the idea of sign handing around telling someone what they can or cannot do is offensive.

And contrary to the feel that we want to have here of a relaxed environment that will also include from time to time really silly arguments about something having to do with a server usually.

Every person made a moderator here knows it is mostly to deal with spammers and/or illegal download links. My expression is that if you are "do nothing" moderator, you are probably doing a great job. Moderation should be rare and it is rarely done except for dead horse situations or where there shouldn't even be a horse.