Semper wrote:cue Severian....
Don't mind if I do
This topic is quite meh for me though and something I tried fixing over a long duration of time unsuccessfully with stories, detailed posts and always posting an alternative opinion so posters and alliances could read two opinions rather than succumb to the almighty uni voice. So I say as a last resort, splice Semper & Wolf359 for a good balance, Clone said unholy abomination a hundred times, let loose on forums and problem solved.
But in all seriousness, I've stated my thoughts on this problem many times before to willingly deaf ears and find it amusing that now this issue has become a politically viable thing to say that select people are expressing certain views which I must admit evoked a giggle when you cross reference with what was said and done, condoned or ignored 6-12 months ago in the last great hurrah.
People made their bed, ignored all warning signs or pleas for reason and basic decency/respect and now complaining that it’s an uncomfortable sleep?
I love vindication.
Standard[spoiler]
- Changing Demographics and expanding social networks on forums leading to a lack of diversity, the creation of a large uni voice and the consolidation of the "Us" against "Them" sentiment.
- Changing purpose of forums as it is now seen as a battleground where the objective is to degrade to demoralise due to the failure of proper game mechanics to settle scores.
- A series of lax, incompetent or corrupt administrators promoting abusive culture as well as a series of scandals removing almost all faith in the team and respect of their position/words which allowed such culture to spread and sink its roots in deep.
- A lot of people dropped the ball and no one was man enough to admit it.
[/spoiler]
High Definition[spoiler]As for the topic at hand; People say that the problem arises because a select group of individuals left? More like the unwelcoming environment drove them from forums and ensured that the void they left remained vacant.
Being different is taboo. Being against the grain is seen as almost an offense in a polarised server. How dare they question what we as a large collective believe in. How dare they spread propaganda? It used to be that people accepted your view and either did or did not agree with it. Now even holding a different view is looked down upon as a grave misjudgement or a malign and intentional undermining of those large collectives.
Pack mentality. People back their mates, people believe their mates and when that social networking chain rides off the back of a rather large faction, suddenly the forums are drowned of diversity, the free independent voices broken down and degraded until silenced. Look back then, look now. Two things changed.
1. Size of factions and forum presence.
2. Boundaries Pushed.
The first relates to the polarised server and how that then reflects on forums. No longer alliances, now empires means more voices, reduced demographics as larger collectives absorb and take over diversity and not only that but this is further increased in that holding a major presence on forums was encouraged. So rise in numbers and rise in interest and recognition of the usefulness of a forum presence lead to a large change. The death of the old mid range alliances and lack of proper replacements also widened the gap in demographics on forums and is even reflected in the moderation team (A dozen from one group, individuals from others).
Also the forums were no longer a community site but a valid battlefield where you specifically went in numbers, spammed and attacked people, refusing to accept their opinion as it was seen as "conceding" to the enemy where in times past even if you did not agree with their opinion, you accepted it as a valid stance. So Demographics shift in the wrong direction to a more uni-voice rather than diverse voice and the purpose of forums also changed. The two big whammies.
People now specifically go out of their way to be horrible on forums, people intentionally provoke and attempt to ruin others playing experience as when their domination was finally questioned they conceived a new final solution.
Degrade someone long enough for them to become indifferent. Make them not want to even log into the game, make it as unwelcoming as possible, harass them to the point where they no longer find joy in the game, where the game becomes a chore and a burden they'll eventually drop and that is the way to win the game.
Kind of harsh, but at the same time as this tactic arises en-mass and in sanctioned environments, there is also the rise of the licence of "it’s only a game and therefore I hold no responsibility and more importantly no guilt over degrading a community, making thought out posts taboo, validating the removal of basic respect".
The second point ties in with this. People forgot fear. You could no longer mash someone and expect them to roll over and quit. 0 Staters could do damage, the small could inflict punishment on the large without losing much in return. Wars became long drawn out conflicts when this was realised on a large scale and so the battlefield therefore was transferred to the forums and to morale and mental fortitude. In such an environment people pushed boundaries, people grew more bold and ambitious in their ways to attack or degrade others to win wars and the complete and utter failure of a succession of administrators did little to stop this growing phenomenon and in fact promoted such things by lifting, removing or reducing restrictions to allow the freedom to do it.
In effect, the point of the game is to abuse and to remain guilt free we say "Its only a game".That’s what we've become, that’s our bed and that is the core issue that gnaws away at this community.
So a nice little phrase to tie it all up;
It takes stubborness to stand up for yourself, loyalty to stand up for others but true courage to stand up to yourself.Note: This is not to say we go as far on the opposite side of the scales and dance around in the medows with Bob Dylan on but rather find some middle ground and settle there.[/spoiler]
To my usual groupies, call it what you will, I have expressed this opinion many times in the course of the past year and still stand by it. The only difference between now and then is that today the things I expressed are a lot more prominent.
av some fun, ignore the insults directed at you and just close the window, works every time... then theres this "foe" button found someware ive heard oh so much about... never used it though in the chance i miss that epic 1 in a trillion post. 
