A few quiet words...

GeorgeBates

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In the bigger scheme of these strange times our doings in this forum don't amount to much. However, it is time to speak up. My first attempt to express concern in the form of some lighthearted ribbing apparently did not land (but thanks for the likes, guys). Perhaps this message won't either, but I'm also talking with my feet. A few quick thoughts for good friends in our hobby:
  • New management could breathe fresh energy into this environment and improve the user experience
  • No-one disputes that ownership and management are entitled to set and enforce the terms of use
  • Setting new standards and bringing stakeholders along is akin to bringing a large vessel (in our case, a supertanker filled with hot, volatile gases) about - it turns slowly
  • Even if this site did not have a built-in constituency, fostering a critical mass of stakeholders is job one for leaders of any enterprise
  • The post quoted below and others like it do not demonstrate the leadership essential to maintaining and growing such a constituency
  • Objective suggestions for management:
    • Your present state of mind is not suited to shepherding this community, and your behavior is preventing you from getting the result you want - take a sabbatical
    • If you love it, consider asking someone you trust, a person with a gentle (but firm) hand and large reserve of goodwill, to manage GameSquad for you according to goals you set
  • Without speaking for anyone else, I am curtailing my presence and will not be renewing my support for GameSquad
  • Barring unforeseen circumstances I will not comment further publicly, but may engage in offline conversations where there is opportunity for understanding and progress.
Keep calm, be well and if you wanna roll low, don't ask to use my dice. ;) Cheers!

- G

Quoting from the end of the recent Dinant thread:
Stop complaining and start complying. All that happens to you is due to your actions. I have got hundreds if not thousands of members that comply with the rules. You and a few others appear to go out of your way to break the rules in defiance.
There are several members that do not like it here. You either leave, start to comply or continue to break rules and be banned. Start compliance now. The forum would greatly improve with less turmoil. I have heard all of the arguments about rights, etc. The decision has been made so follow the rules, use common sense, no more double talk, no more searching for perfect explanations of rule enforcement, etc.​
Last warning! If you even think you are one of the few, you probably are, so follow the rules.​
This discussion has stayed in Dinant to make sure all read about it.​
I have locked it for this weekend so all can read and understand.​
By the way, I am short of patience, so beware.​
 
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Robin Reeve

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George, thanks for your useful reflexion.
As for me, I will remain here.
When I was a moderator, I remember that about any change in moderation politics - especially trying to limit the noise and the agressivity - was met by anger by some of the forum members.
Moderating is a complicated task and errors or clumsy moves are bound to be made... and hopefully lessons taken.
I won't comment about the way Randy tries to enforce the new rules, because of the passions which are presently ignited.
I choose to adapt to the rules, and to give some slack to the moderators team.

Many people left this place because of the agressivity, of the personal attacks, of the polemics whic made GS a wild place.

Now some want to slam the door because they feal limited in using profanity and in attacking other forum members.
Some others - sometimes the same - didn't like to see their posts edited or moved elsewhere : I understand their discontent for the first thing, less for the other one (before, some posts were moved elsewhere).

As you see, whatever moderators want to do to make the forums evolve, they will be met by heavy Flak...

I would recommend that we all took a step back, breathed deeply and try to find a peaceful way of interacting.
The burden is not only on Randy and on the moderators : we all are part of the situation (at least those of us who don't just remain passive but take part in the discussions).

I would recommend that people don't throw the towel too quickly about GS.
The Rules and Errata folder is an invaluable resource - including the Perry Sez, where Klas can retrieve quite a lot of the answers that MMP gives to our questions. Neither Facebook nor BGG do that work - even though they do have their merits.

If people don't want to be exposed to conflictual threads, I would suggest that they only tag the Rules and Errarta folder.

The Unofficial Company Support folders are really useful too.

Those are reasons why, IMO, GS should not be shoved away too fast.

Peace to all of you, in this quite complicated and somehow concerning time of our civilisation.

Robin
 

'Ol Fezziwig

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'Community' extends to owners and moderators as well. I've found many of the responses from moderation to be as much, or more, offensive than the behaviours they excoriate ruthlessly. Not being sensitive to the room is as egregious a flaw as the words used enforcing them..

Before this whole episode goes nucular, some may consider the power of THEIR words while they try to pass judgment on others. Belligerence does not promote community, or growth within an established one.






(Standing upright awaiting the hammer)
 

Honza

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I will stick around. I don't tend to be an aggressive poster and I am very unpolitical. So I do not ruffle many feathers. I hope that most people will stay and observe the tighter rules. It will reduce the noise but maybe it will enhance the content? Who knows. It is early days yet of the new management.
 

von Marwitz

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I'll stay. Period.

Best format here, best resource, and I have the impression that some people elect to inflate things to an extent that is neither necessary nor justified. Don't turn this into some sort of FaceBook where everything is hyped.

I have lived with literal non-moderation (and the resultant deficiencies). I can live with tighter moderation.
I will not live with FaceBook crap or comparable social media formats. I will not live without a good ASL resource.

So I reckon I will do my part to keep it alive and invite all others to join and/or stay with the effort.

von Marwitz
 
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Sparafucil3

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'Community' extends to owners and moderators as well. I've found many of the responses from moderation to be as much, or more, offensive than the behaviours they excoriate ruthlessly. Not being sensitive to the room is as egregious a flaw as the words used enforcing them..

Before this whole episode goes nuclear, some may consider the power of THEIR words while they try to pass judgment on others. Belligerence does not promote community, or growth within an established one.
And to add to this, the rules must be fairly and evenly applied. The moderators--and the owner--must be above reproach. They can't be part of the problem. -- jim

PS: I fixed Fezz's spelling for him. I wanted people to know I changed his post.
PPS: That wasn't so hard now, was it?

@RandyT0001
 

Robin Reeve

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I just have gone back on FB, with a pseudo, after 30 months quitting it.
I am very selective : I only visit gaming groups and keep away from religious or political ones.
The ASL groups are peaceful places.
No flamewar, no conflict.
I am glad to see that the ASL Players group that I created in 2008 is still alive and kicking.
But GS remains as an excellent resource that is complementary with FB.

I also will stay over here and do my best to interact positively with people here.
Klas hasn't said that he was leaving and he manages to keep away from controversies.
So I hope that we can still count on his expertise.
And, with others, I will also try to answer rules questions, even though I am much more prone to errors.
 

dlazov

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It's sad to see so many good folks leave, a lot of them built GameSquad (you can tell by the actual number of years that they have been here posting).

It does seem that we can no longer have any friendly discourse, without the threat of edited posts, deleted posts and or outright banning without any warning.

To be honest I don't even know what is or what is not allowed any more. I have not used any foul language (at least in 7 years), nor any political talk (that I am aware of) and have seen others that have and they are not chastised nor banned, so its all very confusing on who the rules applies to and who they do not.

I am trying to conform to the new rules but I don't know what is really allowed, and I feel that since I am and have been marked that each post I may make has a bullet aimed at my head.

I detest censorship, dictatorship and unfair rules.

I first came to GS because of my love and excitement of ASL and found a wonderful community to chat, jib and hang with.

Now they are leaving in droves (or being banned) and each post I make may be my last and the unfairness is that others get to post foul language, abusive attacks and political garbage.

I am not trying to push any limit, and trying to be a good citizen however some of us, I mean me, are just not smart enough to figure out the complexity and unfairness of it all...

I made many friends here and am sad to see them go and ...
 

Robin Reeve

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That would work here too. Ignore, scroll wheel, or simple self selection on what you chose to read. -- jim

@RandyT0001
I think that simply keeping within the Rules and the Unofficial support folders is a good way to avoid the most conflictual threads.
 

Sparafucil3

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I think that simply keeping within the Rules and the Unofficial support folders is a good way to avoid the most conflictual threads.
And I think the rules would be unnecessary if you adhered to the ignore feature, usage of your scroll wheel, or exercised self control over what you read. No rules needed, as there are none in society at large. My personal belief is each and every one if us should take ownership and personal responsibility for the issues we have. You disagree. That's life. -- jim

@RandyT0001
 

Sparafucil3

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Of all the ignorant things you've posted in the last week, that's probably the most egregiously stupid of them.
Perhaps my wording was a little too simple. There are no prohibitions of changing the subject in society. There are no prohibitions on talking politics. There are no prohibitions on talking about abortion. There are no prohibitions on wearing Donald Trump's face on a t-shirt. There are no prohibitions on wearing anti-Trump slogans on a t-shirt. Some will find it distasteful and try to change the subject (AKA self discipline on what they read). Some will find it distasteful and move along (AKA scroll wheel). Society expects you to be a big-boy. -- jim

@RandyT0001
 

Chas

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The mods are in a difficult place.
Over the years the Forum has been criticized for the personnel attacks, flame wars, etc. How many good threads historically go off topic into something else.
Unfortunately what may be happening now is overcorrection making people as equally frustrated.
What appears to be happening is that they shut down the Political Stomping Ground, and now commentary normally going on there is trickling into the ASL folder.
 

'Ol Fezziwig

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And to add to this, the rules must be fairly and evenly applied. The moderators--and the owner--must be above reproach. They can't be part of the problem. -- jim

PS: I fixed Fezz's spelling for him. I wanted people to know I changed his post.
PPS: That wasn't so hard now, was it?

@RandyT0001
HEY! I PURPOSELY MISSPELLED THAT!
 

lluis61

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I'll stay. I will try to follow the rules, because it's not my forum, I'm merely a user of it, and that implies respect for the rules and other users. I ignore always all the flames, abuses and attempts to impose one "truth" above other opinions. I think misunderstandings can be solved, if anyone calms down, gives himself a bit of time to think and reconsider (and, above all, express himself with less agressivity). And, in the odd case I've been in the verge of to be abused or mistreated, I always answer with irony. A powerful tool.
I know that all this situation it's too hot by the moment, so give yourselves time to think and consider.
But I'll stay, nevertheless.
Best wishes
 

lluis61

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Haven't been on GS much in the last month or so. What did I miss? :)
Steve
A quitting wave relatively massive (or in numbers or in names) and a forward attack to the moderation politics. And that's why my answer to this was an appeal to the personal behavior of the ASLrs contributing to this forum
 

bendizoid

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I just have gone back on FB, with a pseudo, after 30 months quitting it.
I am very selective : I only visit gaming groups and keep away from religious or political ones.
The ASL groups are peaceful places.
No flamewar, no conflict.
I am glad to see that the ASL Players group that I created in 2008 is still alive and kicking.
But GS remains as an excellent resource that is complementary with FB.

I also will stay over here and do my best to interact positively with people here.
Klas hasn't said that he was leaving and he manages to keep away from controversies.
So I hope that we can still count on his expertise.
And, with others, I will also try to answer rules questions, even though I am much more prone to errors.
How non-conflictual and incontrovertible of you.
 
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