Good Afternoon everyone!
So its been a few months, everyone seems to have settled in here on the forums as well as here in the Suggestion section. It feels like most of the crosspost suggestions from TO have been completed, and its getting into a more regular groove here . . . thus we feel this would be a good time to address some of our concerns in a more formal manner.
One of the biggest changes we hoped to accomplish when we made the move from TO to TCF was to improve the quality of the forum decorum and respectful behavior towards each other. And overall, we have made significant strides in that regard. However, the Suggestions section still has a lot of lingering hostility and negativity that we've seen far too often - both on TO and here. Frankly, there are still quite a few threads where people are posting excessive amounts of insults, disrespect, and snarky/sarcastic insults towards suggestions, and it is time steps were taken to address it.
With that in mind, we are going to be implementing a new standard of expectations when posting in the Suggestions section, which will go into effect on the 20th of January. These will be added to the Suggestion section rules, and of course, the global Terraria forum rules always apply.
It would be impossible to detail the exact specifics of what we will be considering poor posting etiquette because it is such a broad area, so I will be detailing a number of examples and types of posting that we will be discouraging moving forward. Additionally, you will be able to discuss the new rules or ask questions about them here: http://forums.terraria.org/index.php?threads/suggestion-forum-rules-section.9303/ Please post there if you have any comments or uncertainty about what these rules will mean.
- Trollish or meme-like rejections = There are an abundance of threads which are inundated with content-less negative comments like "nopenopenopenope" or "Just no". This kind of negative dismissal indicates one thing to me: that you aren't interested enough to post constructive feedback, but - for some reason - you still want to get in some sort of jab at the poster to express your displeasure. Even if you continue on to give feedback, there is no need for this kind of curt expression of disrespect. If you don't like a suggestion, say why. Say "I don't like this suggestion, because-" while taking care to be respectful of the person making the suggestion.
- Sarcastic remarks, snarky insults, and personal attacks = There is a unsettled trend where unpopular suggestions seem to gain a sort of unfriendly momentum, and posters move past rejection and begin to attack and belittle the creator of the thread. At no point are personal attacks on these forums ever welcome. Making snide or sarcastic comments out of an intent to shame the poster in order to express just how much distaste you have for a suggestion just isn't necessary. Remember; you don't have to post. If you do post, you are expected to post constructive content without breaking forum rules. Accusing "bad" suggestions of being joke suggestions seems to be a new trend along this line. Just because you find a suggestion unrealistic, consider that you have probably read about dozens, if not hundreds of different suggestions. The person making the post may not have that level of experience, so they do not realize how unrealistic their idea is . . . calling it a "joke" suggestion just isn't necessary.
- Excessive insults targeting towards the suggestion = Sometimes, a suggestion rolls around that really is just bad. This doesn't grant you permission to start tearing it down as brutally as possible. Phrases like "this suggestion is worthless/pointless" or "worst suggestion ever" or "worst idea I've ever seen" help nothing and noone - and thus really have no place here. There is also see abuse of the word "unoriginal" . . . while its not going to be against the rules to use it, try to think of more eloquent, constructive ways of saying it. To someone new to these forums, they may not necessarily know that certain things have been suggested in many forms before. Rather than tear them down, consider politely directing them towards those previous suggestions.
- Getting into excessive, heated flame-wars over suggestions = We get it. The poster of the suggestion has one opinion, you have another. The two of you just can't seem to convince each other, no matter what you say. But you know what? There is no need for you two to fight, because suggestions will be judged on their merits by the Relogic Staff, not based on the outcome over your internet war. This goes for the suggestion poster as well as those providing feedback - this only serves to land both parties in trouble more often than not. You don't need to fight until the other side backs down. Express your concerns over the suggestion, elaborate some if needed, and then move on. The issues you raise will be seen and considered by those who ultimately make the final decision!
Admittedly, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The issues are a lot more pervasive than this, and its going to take time for people to learn what we will be allowing moving forward. Because we want people to have time to learn what the new standards of posting will be, this will not be going into effect until the 20th. From now until then, I will be spending a lot of time in the section, and when I find posts or suggestions which have gotten derailed into unpleasant hate fests, I will be reminding people of the new rules and why the posts within are an issue, rather than handing out warnings. Posts made before the 20th will not be subject to possible moderator action based on the new rules - because, as I said, this is a change long in coming and we want to give people time to adapt.
One additional change: moving forward, and in this section only, we are going to try using alternative forms of penalties, rather than relying primarily on warning points. We have the ability to create thread bans, and even temporary or permanent sectional bans. The suggestion section seems to bring out a negative side for some people, and while we can't allow the sort of posting that is currently an issue, we don't want these people to end up receiving site-wide bans as a result of this section. To that end, consistent misbehavior in this section will ultimately culminate in temp/permanent sectional bans with a smaller number of warning points, rather than giving excessive amounts of points for recurring problem posters. We consider this a more lenient and less penalizing alternative to site-wide bans, and it still allows people to access and contribute to the majority of this forum.
It seems that a lot of posters have either gotten far too impatient with suggestions, or that they've lost sight of the point of this section. This section exists so that people can propose suggestions for possible implementation into the game, and in the mean time, receive feedback on how to improve the suggestion for maximum impact. Remember that nobody is perfect, and that everyone has to be new sometime. Try to be a little more patient with those newer posters . . . and if you just can't, then refrain from posting at all.
Insults and hostility never did anyone any good at all, and it sets a negative tone for newer posters to follow. We want this section, along with the forum as a whole, to be a pleasant place to be, where people can share their ideas without fear of insult or attack. We can't do that unless everyone works together to make this a more friendly and cooperative place.
Again, if you have any questions, comments, concerns or wish any clarification, just post here and we can discuss it at your leisure: http://forums.terraria.org/index.php?threads/suggestion-forum-rules-section.9303/
Thanks for your time!
So its been a few months, everyone seems to have settled in here on the forums as well as here in the Suggestion section. It feels like most of the crosspost suggestions from TO have been completed, and its getting into a more regular groove here . . . thus we feel this would be a good time to address some of our concerns in a more formal manner.
One of the biggest changes we hoped to accomplish when we made the move from TO to TCF was to improve the quality of the forum decorum and respectful behavior towards each other. And overall, we have made significant strides in that regard. However, the Suggestions section still has a lot of lingering hostility and negativity that we've seen far too often - both on TO and here. Frankly, there are still quite a few threads where people are posting excessive amounts of insults, disrespect, and snarky/sarcastic insults towards suggestions, and it is time steps were taken to address it.
With that in mind, we are going to be implementing a new standard of expectations when posting in the Suggestions section, which will go into effect on the 20th of January. These will be added to the Suggestion section rules, and of course, the global Terraria forum rules always apply.
It would be impossible to detail the exact specifics of what we will be considering poor posting etiquette because it is such a broad area, so I will be detailing a number of examples and types of posting that we will be discouraging moving forward. Additionally, you will be able to discuss the new rules or ask questions about them here: http://forums.terraria.org/index.php?threads/suggestion-forum-rules-section.9303/ Please post there if you have any comments or uncertainty about what these rules will mean.
- Trollish or meme-like rejections = There are an abundance of threads which are inundated with content-less negative comments like "nopenopenopenope" or "Just no". This kind of negative dismissal indicates one thing to me: that you aren't interested enough to post constructive feedback, but - for some reason - you still want to get in some sort of jab at the poster to express your displeasure. Even if you continue on to give feedback, there is no need for this kind of curt expression of disrespect. If you don't like a suggestion, say why. Say "I don't like this suggestion, because-" while taking care to be respectful of the person making the suggestion.
- Sarcastic remarks, snarky insults, and personal attacks = There is a unsettled trend where unpopular suggestions seem to gain a sort of unfriendly momentum, and posters move past rejection and begin to attack and belittle the creator of the thread. At no point are personal attacks on these forums ever welcome. Making snide or sarcastic comments out of an intent to shame the poster in order to express just how much distaste you have for a suggestion just isn't necessary. Remember; you don't have to post. If you do post, you are expected to post constructive content without breaking forum rules. Accusing "bad" suggestions of being joke suggestions seems to be a new trend along this line. Just because you find a suggestion unrealistic, consider that you have probably read about dozens, if not hundreds of different suggestions. The person making the post may not have that level of experience, so they do not realize how unrealistic their idea is . . . calling it a "joke" suggestion just isn't necessary.
- Excessive insults targeting towards the suggestion = Sometimes, a suggestion rolls around that really is just bad. This doesn't grant you permission to start tearing it down as brutally as possible. Phrases like "this suggestion is worthless/pointless" or "worst suggestion ever" or "worst idea I've ever seen" help nothing and noone - and thus really have no place here. There is also see abuse of the word "unoriginal" . . . while its not going to be against the rules to use it, try to think of more eloquent, constructive ways of saying it. To someone new to these forums, they may not necessarily know that certain things have been suggested in many forms before. Rather than tear them down, consider politely directing them towards those previous suggestions.
- Getting into excessive, heated flame-wars over suggestions = We get it. The poster of the suggestion has one opinion, you have another. The two of you just can't seem to convince each other, no matter what you say. But you know what? There is no need for you two to fight, because suggestions will be judged on their merits by the Relogic Staff, not based on the outcome over your internet war. This goes for the suggestion poster as well as those providing feedback - this only serves to land both parties in trouble more often than not. You don't need to fight until the other side backs down. Express your concerns over the suggestion, elaborate some if needed, and then move on. The issues you raise will be seen and considered by those who ultimately make the final decision!
Admittedly, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The issues are a lot more pervasive than this, and its going to take time for people to learn what we will be allowing moving forward. Because we want people to have time to learn what the new standards of posting will be, this will not be going into effect until the 20th. From now until then, I will be spending a lot of time in the section, and when I find posts or suggestions which have gotten derailed into unpleasant hate fests, I will be reminding people of the new rules and why the posts within are an issue, rather than handing out warnings. Posts made before the 20th will not be subject to possible moderator action based on the new rules - because, as I said, this is a change long in coming and we want to give people time to adapt.
One additional change: moving forward, and in this section only, we are going to try using alternative forms of penalties, rather than relying primarily on warning points. We have the ability to create thread bans, and even temporary or permanent sectional bans. The suggestion section seems to bring out a negative side for some people, and while we can't allow the sort of posting that is currently an issue, we don't want these people to end up receiving site-wide bans as a result of this section. To that end, consistent misbehavior in this section will ultimately culminate in temp/permanent sectional bans with a smaller number of warning points, rather than giving excessive amounts of points for recurring problem posters. We consider this a more lenient and less penalizing alternative to site-wide bans, and it still allows people to access and contribute to the majority of this forum.
It seems that a lot of posters have either gotten far too impatient with suggestions, or that they've lost sight of the point of this section. This section exists so that people can propose suggestions for possible implementation into the game, and in the mean time, receive feedback on how to improve the suggestion for maximum impact. Remember that nobody is perfect, and that everyone has to be new sometime. Try to be a little more patient with those newer posters . . . and if you just can't, then refrain from posting at all.
Insults and hostility never did anyone any good at all, and it sets a negative tone for newer posters to follow. We want this section, along with the forum as a whole, to be a pleasant place to be, where people can share their ideas without fear of insult or attack. We can't do that unless everyone works together to make this a more friendly and cooperative place.
Again, if you have any questions, comments, concerns or wish any clarification, just post here and we can discuss it at your leisure: http://forums.terraria.org/index.php?threads/suggestion-forum-rules-section.9303/
Thanks for your time!
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