Keep Our Forum Clean!
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Stardock Forums
Stardock Forums
OK, y'all. I'm not the most frequent poster of games by a long shot, but I've kept my ear to the ground here in the Forums for quite a few months. And on several occassions, some players have gone beyond competitive bantering and started flaming, without regards to the rest of the audience around here. The little escapades of the last few hours are only the latest example.
Those of you who are Citizens may not be aware of the "Galactic Council," a separate Forum for Vets and above. Don't worry, this isn't the Trilateral Commission; it's just a way for those that Stardock has recognized to discuss issues away from the hubbub in here. The topic of flame wars has come up on several occassions. I here reprint a few excerpts from one of my posts on the topic - mainly because it's easier than typing up something fresh to match current events:
In case this quiet, well-reasoned post doesn't catch your fancy, here's one that's new and a bit more blunt. I don't care if you're one of my best friends or a troll; I don't care if you're in my empire, another one, or none at all. I don't care who started it. This is a PUBLIC FORUM read by ALL AGES and isn't the place for this crap. Many Empires have private off-site forums; if you must vent, do it there, do it by email, or scream it into a hole in the ground. I freely admit that I've done all of these things, on several occassions; none of us are saints. But if you feel motivated and absolutely MUST respond here in public, make your point in a civil manner. Apologies after the fact don't cut it.
Anyone who thinks I'm being high-handed and superior here may well be right. But the fact that this nonsense is still going on is a sign that not everybody here agrees with simple politeness, and these issues HAVE to be raised by somebody.
If you're tempted to "flame on" by reading this post, or think I'm demanding that you explain your actions to keep your audience happy, you're missing the point. If you demand that your "opponents" be exiled for rudeness while ignoring the fact that you threw gasoline on the same fire, you're missing the point.
The point is that it doesn't belong in here, period.
P.S. Kudos to Spellforce for stating that he's willing to lower the boom on offenders if neccessary.
Those of you who are Citizens may not be aware of the "Galactic Council," a separate Forum for Vets and above. Don't worry, this isn't the Trilateral Commission; it's just a way for those that Stardock has recognized to discuss issues away from the hubbub in here. The topic of flame wars has come up on several occassions. I here reprint a few excerpts from one of my posts on the topic - mainly because it's easier than typing up something fresh to match current events:
...We need to do a better job of policing ourselves. ..There's a line between good-natured Imperial trash-talking and mean-spiritedness. That line has been crossed on several occasions...I'm here for the community as much as the game, and it gets tiring trying to skip around a thread to dodge the attitudes. On the whole, I understand that many have said this forum is pretty tame by Internet standards, maybe because the game attracts older players. It's still not good enough...there are better ways to settle disagreements than with flame wars.
If players start dropping out because they just get tired of the attitudes, there will be a smaller customer base for the game and thus less reason for Stardock to support the product. That hurts those of us who are still here. For the sake of enlightened self-interest if not common decency, let's keep it down.
If players start dropping out because they just get tired of the attitudes, there will be a smaller customer base for the game and thus less reason for Stardock to support the product. That hurts those of us who are still here. For the sake of enlightened self-interest if not common decency, let's keep it down.
End of quote
In case this quiet, well-reasoned post doesn't catch your fancy, here's one that's new and a bit more blunt. I don't care if you're one of my best friends or a troll; I don't care if you're in my empire, another one, or none at all. I don't care who started it. This is a PUBLIC FORUM read by ALL AGES and isn't the place for this crap. Many Empires have private off-site forums; if you must vent, do it there, do it by email, or scream it into a hole in the ground. I freely admit that I've done all of these things, on several occassions; none of us are saints. But if you feel motivated and absolutely MUST respond here in public, make your point in a civil manner. Apologies after the fact don't cut it.
Anyone who thinks I'm being high-handed and superior here may well be right. But the fact that this nonsense is still going on is a sign that not everybody here agrees with simple politeness, and these issues HAVE to be raised by somebody.
If you're tempted to "flame on" by reading this post, or think I'm demanding that you explain your actions to keep your audience happy, you're missing the point. If you demand that your "opponents" be exiled for rudeness while ignoring the fact that you threw gasoline on the same fire, you're missing the point.
The point is that it doesn't belong in here, period.
P.S. Kudos to Spellforce for stating that he's willing to lower the boom on offenders if neccessary.
and in all the game forums ive ever posted on ive never seen a fan club for a programmer! as i said, i read most of the posts on here and the only time i ever see any wonky words are in the empire posts, other topics do get heated sometimes but IMHO i feel these forums are very good.
