ellebee wrote:I'm kind of on the fence here. On one side, I don't think there's any issues with having a stern tone when warning someone because while it sucks to get in trouble, there's a reason someone is getting the warning in the first place. Some staff also may have issues with expressing tone due to neurodivergence or otherwise. Additionally, I see a lot of people complaining about feeling as if they're on thin ice. This is a site primarily made for family and kids, even though the userbase has evolved to be something more, I feel it should remain on the stricter side in terms of content and moderation to keep the younger userbase safe.
On the other hand, I strongly agree that CS Rules need to be far less subjective, revised, and elaborated on. As much as I don't mind, it can be a real hassle to make a help ticket every single time I'm unsure on how a rule is moderated on, which is very, very often. As far as I know, the main Code of Conduct has barely been revised at all since I've joined, and I think it's long due for an overhaul. Even if none of the rules have changed, at least further elaborating on what they mean and some examples so users don't need to hunt for a post made in 2012 where a mod elaborates in a question post.
I believe the issue with the stern tone is not that it is firm in enforcing in the rules type of stern, but that is an un-needed "You have committed a Big Wrong" stern that is being applied to all situations, even small things like new users posting in the wrong board or thread- which can scare them off from participating in the community, and doesn't take into account that the users are also from a wide background- we have users with disabilities who use screen readers, users who just got their COPPA removed- etc- There's no need to take harsh tones with users and send out messages that threaten to ban people over posting in the wrong place or not using the correct wording on trade threads.
It feels like an overreaction to something that can be corrected with something kinder and direction to the correct thread/resource. The user base shouldn't feel like their account is held hostage by staff looking for the smallest miss-step in public forums while responding flippantly to private reports of inter-user bullying and harmful remarks.
The staff can/do definitely have a script for responses, and I would like to see it adjusted to have a more understanding and kinder default responses to small infractions that don't actually hurt anyone.
I also agree with the rules update. As an example, so many of the resources for knowing where and how to post, what rules to follow for each board etc are scattered all over the place. Some threads even have specific rules that don't apply to the rest of the board they're in, but are treated with the same severity as breaking a site-wide rule. Some of the rules for the site (such as the rules on trading fair/not scamming) are so vague that it's become a ghost of a rule that haunts the trading community: "what is trading fair?" :LOL:
It would not only help the users, but help the staff in terms of being able to enforce and reference it if we had a more central and clear set of rules to abide by on CS and the various subsections on it (trading, user content- profiles & sigs, forums).
Madel wrote:I've been on this site for years and I've never gotten a "warning", so I'm curious what that means if you want to dm me!
The only times I've gotten DMs from staff was to correct posts of mine, but it was never a full on warning as it was a simple mistake.
From what I've heard, the warnings/bans are given out when there is a real reason. ( ex; art theft, being mean/rude, harassment, guilt tripping, scamming, inappropriate behavior, etc )
But again, I've never gotten an official warning and this is only from what I've seen.
I have never gotten a DM from staff asking me to change or correct my post in a friendly manner. It has always been approached as if I was some sort of serial offender, with the post deleted as it was at the point of no longer being editable and a default copy-paste message warning me that if I did not use the right format, that I would be in Real Trouble and further action would be taken. This is also frustrating because the post would be in a fast moving trade thread with multiple other people posting similar/the same, and these warnings would come DAYS after I even made the post. There is no reason to come after a person so harshly for something that small.