Forum Moderation Policy

Here is the new forum moderation policy:

* Moderators may move topics to a different forum if it is posted in the wrong forum.
* Moderators can post new topic in the news forum to appear on the front page of the site.
* Moderators may lock topics that are inappriopriate.

Any moderation that takes place the moderator must make a comment saying that "moved by XYZ" or "locked by XYZ"

A list of the current forum moderators is available.

The big concern people will have is how will a moderator determine what is inappropriate? I hope that this will be self evident in the posts that get locked.

Please feel free to post your thoughts on this policy with and suggestions and/or comments. This is only a starting point for the policy, I hope the community will shape what it is to ultimately become.

But for now, this the policy.

ok will you let me join I promise I will not do anything bad ifIi do you can just ban me from the group it should be fair because you let those people join Canuck,Kax,Killjoy,Min,sheeps. so will you let me join :D :) o is says it is This is a closed group: no more users accepted

if those are the "rules" then it doesn't really matter much if someone locks something that shouldn't have been locked. becuase you can simply unlock it.

Min

Good point Min. And regarding deleting posts, there might be a few options:

1. Posts don't get deleted, just locked. This would allow them to remain visible and be used as evidence if necessary.

2. Delete posts and create a message in News forum titled "Deleted post/threads" where the mod can document the deletion and rational.

3. Mods edit the posts to remove offensive parts and document why they edited it. I don't like this option, but it's possible.

Of course, this does not go into 'why' something could be deleted or edited, which is another kettle of corn.

And I think profanity falls under that category of 'offensive material' as well, sheeps, and I'd like to see it completely removed from Winbolo. It has no place on the forums or in the games.

Profanity is everywhere...Youve got to remember bolo is big in middle-high afterschool programs.
If your worried about posts becoming deleted and not being able to use as 'evidence', moderators could move them to a moderator-only board.
Also, if your worried that someone could just unlock a post, then the moderators should get together and decide what is removable behavior. Both sides would be willing to compromise, even tho half or more of posts are : hehe, good point, or :wink: :arrow: .
(whats funny, those wont be deleted, only the ones where someone speaks their mind)[/i]

sheeps wrote:

Good point Min. And regarding deleting posts, there might be a few options:

1. Posts don't get deleted, just locked. This would allow them to remain visible and be used as evidence if necessary.

2. Delete posts and create a message in News forum titled "Deleted post/threads" where the mod can document the deletion and rational.

3. Mods edit the posts to remove offensive parts and document why they edited it. I don't like this option, but it's possible.

Of course, this does not go into 'why' something could be deleted or edited, which is another kettle of corn.

well, if your going to get fancy, why not just have a forum that only moderators can see called "threads marked for deletion" and then instead of deleting them, simply move them there ... once elvis/everyone reviews them, they could then be deleted .. or left there forever since they wouldn't be publicly viewable .. one of the major problems with this forum is the amount of profanity, it makes reading it like wading through sludge.

Min

WE DON'T NEED SOO MANY MODS!!! In fact, we don't need any. This will just lead to a big controversy. When we got rid of mods, ppl felt free to speak their minds and voice their opinions. Now everyone who is not a mod has to watch what they say so it will not offend any mods and no longer has the full right to voice their opinion. The whole concept is stupid. If we are going to have mods, we only need 1 to delete EXTREMELY offensive posts.

-Madd Maxx-

Actually, they let people speak their minds and names of hacks were said so often I often mistake them for slang.
As for the mods having to watch what they say in order to not offend other mods...well, thats what you get when you give moderation power to a bunch of children.

Madd Maxx wrote:

WE DON'T NEED SOO MANY MODS!!! In fact, we don't need any.

Most intelligent users will tend to disagree with you on this point. You are one of the reasons we needed, and still need, mods. Yes, most people felt free to speak their minds. Unfortunately, it was on a topic that is looked down upon in most other gaming forums and something that spawned enough threads to warrant a new topic in the forums. It's great that we have more freedom to discuss things but whats the point of discussing when most of the posters don't even know proper grammatical rules nor make witty conversation?

.::jhood::. wrote:

As for the mods having to watch what they say in order to not offend other mods...well, thats what you get when you give moderation power to a bunch of children.

I really do hope that this is not a insult toward the mods as none of them are children nor do they act like them (at least, most of the time :wink: ).

*end of thread-jack*

Min wrote:

if those are the "rules" then it doesn't really matter much if someone locks something that shouldn't have been locked. becuase you can simply unlock it.

Perhaps putting the name down was to prevent any particular bias of who closed the thread. This should not apply if the post is a flame directed at one or more moderators. A flame directed at one or more users, however, could be a different situation requiring different consequences.

I think that only the most useless or defamitory threads should be deleted. And when they are, do what Min suggested: put them in a Mod-only forum where every one else can view them before deletion. Or how about this: have a 12 hour (or some other reasonable time frame) "buffer" between when threads are marked for deletion and when they are moved to the mod-only forum. Otherwise, locking threads seems to work fine as sometimes valid arguments/input (or evidence) can be used from them at a later point in time.

sheeps wrote:

1. Posts don't get deleted, just locked. This would allow them to remain visible and be used as evidence if necessary.

All well and good, but...

sheeps wrote:

3. Mods edit the posts to remove offensive parts and document why they edited it. I don't like this option, but it's possible.

If they can edit, then the evidence won't be very good, as it can be alleged that it was tampered with

.::jhood::. wrote:
As for the mods having to watch what they say in order to not offend other mods...well, thats what you get when you give moderation power to a bunch of children.

I really do hope that this is not a insult toward the mods as none of them are children nor do they act like them (at least, most of the time ).

Tell me again, what went on in the IRC?

so what is this topic about can u guy explain what u guy talking about

bluesnake wrote:

so what is this topic about can u guy explain what u guy talking about

I guess in a round about way its getting to a forum usage policy/terms of service.

And another point, do we want to make a decision on whether people should be allowed to post information on hacks and cheats in the forums? Does this cause more harm then good? (Does it cause any good?) Maybe a good topic for a poll.

Elvis wrote:

And another point, do we want to make a decision on whether people should be allowed to post information on hacks and cheats in the forums? Does this cause more harm then good? (Does it cause any good?) Maybe a good topic for a poll.

my personal feeling is that it shouldn't be allowed, hacks/cheats have nothing to do with improving the game in my opinion. My vote would be that anything to do with hacks/cheats should be locked on sight ...

Min

Deleted if they have the name of the program in the message.
The 'I saw (player) using hacks' should be locked, just so it keeps the forum clean.
Also, players who decide to give out the name of the program should be considered to be using it as well. That doesnt tie in with the locking policy, but I thought I would share that one.
-jhood

ok jhood, ''i seen hacks used, it was that speed hack'' so now im using it? now i should be concidered a cheater? no. i think that its going to get better now that post are regulated. if u need to accuse some one dont post it...it will get locked to no avail on your part....just email it to someone that can look into it.

Min wrote:

my personal feeling is that it shouldn't be allowed, hacks/cheats have nothing to do with improving the game in my opinion.

Hacks and cheats should improve the game but not in the direct sense of making it more fun or helping you beat someone, but rather in the sense of improving the security of the game. I think that Elvis would have eventually tightened up the game security but now that this whole frenzy about cheats has occured, perhaps a proverbial "fire under his ass" has been lit concerning upgrading the security of winbolo.

Of course this is only theoretical because I don't know what JM had planned for the next version (1.14). But yes, I agree with Min that they shouldn't be discussed in plain view like they have been. As of now, not too much good has come of them other than a couple entertaining posts by yours truly and some locked threads.

so does this mean we can delete posts about hacks or cheats? is this part of the policy now?

and can we delete posts that provide information that can be used to abuse winbolo?

underdog wrote:

so does this mean we can delete posts about hacks or cheats? is this part of the policy now?

and can we delete posts that provide information that can be used to abuse winbolo?

seems to me you've taken that apon yourself ..... and who decides if this info is able to be used to "abuse" anything? ..... you? .. I don't think so... oh mr. god moderator.

Min

posting instructions on how to bypass a ban and view the server passwords is a form of hacking.

are you fucking retarded? ... first of all, there hasn't been an offical decision to add anything related to hacking etc to the forum policy, thanks for interpreting it for us .... and of course, acting apon those decisions. good work.

Min

maybe you should take a deep breathe and learn to control your feelings there partner. resorting to personal insults really isnt solving anything.

i already posted how i stand in a different thread.

Min wrote:

first of all, there hasn't been an offical decision to add anything related to hacking etc to the forum policy, thanks for interpreting it for us

Let me remind everyone to take a look at the FMP, the first post in this thread. No official rules have been instituted concerning what should be locked/edited/deleted..

Elvis wrote:

The big concern people will have is how will a moderator determine what is inappropriate?

This is probably the most pressing matter of moderation. Heaven forgive me but MaddMaxx may be on to something when he complains about too many mods. It's true that the more you have, supposedly the more control exists over the forum. But where have the mods been? Am I missing something or have kax and Killjoy been totally quiet on this whole deal? I think Sir Canuck had a post or two earlier relating to this thread.

But the more mods you have, the bigger probability of conflicting opinions between mods exists. Min and ud are both mods yet they are at odds over the content of Min's edited/deleted post. Min then brings up a point stating that a "no-stating-hacks-in-posts" rule has not yet been put in place. Which is true, but there's also no rule that states you are ALLOWED to post hacks/workarounds/cheats. So from a ruling standpoint, ud was perfectly within the FMP to do what he did. It now becomes a question of whether stating facts which circumvent protective measures to keep unwanted players out of games is allowed or not.