Journal of Other Forum Analysis

[kaleidoscopium]

Snormy attempts to defend the "not a mod like system"

We did consider community driven, that is the entire point of members reporting it. The fact that we need to screen it for moderation purposes doesn't really change that. If something is decided by the community but turns out to be a problem in the view of moderation, it will be removed regardless. Just like every other feature be they poll, thread creation, gift bot abuse, avatar shenanigans etc. The point of making moderation screening it before the highlight applies is to try and prevent problems rather than having to deal with them as a reaction. I'm looking for abuse/issues, not doing a "is this funny" check or whether or not I personally like it.

Here are some things we simply don't want to deal with: inappropriate/insensitive comments being highlighted by members, reducing discussion or replies, highlighted posts being used to win fights, highlighted posts being used to troll or otherwise antagonise members in subtle ways, getting into an argument with members because we removed a highlight. A post can be 90% fantastic but have a small element that is also not ok. A post can be 100% correct but the user is still being an asshole about it. The point is, we don't want to be too picky with these but there are considerations that we need to make as staff that we don't expect other users to be able to make. Users might not be happy with not being able to choose but I'd bet that is still better than when we're taking highlights down that they feel are 100% correct to users/communities. There will also be a cascading affect where you can then highlight posts that call out mods/users taking down the highlight. Community tends to react faster than moderators, this is why reports are often a game of catchup, find out what is happening, decide on it. You already see posts that were reported go unaction for a long time, imagine such a post highlighted... It will be frustrating to everyone involved. All of this nonsense is really far and away from the purpose of this feature which is simply an option to try and highlight some positivity or fun. I'm sure there will still be mistakes and issues now and then but it will be far less and easier for us to manage.

Nothing stops you from both reporting it for a highlight and posting to tell the member you appreciate them/their post. If anything, posting to say something can be nice in and of itself which is sort of the intent of this feature any way.

The "is or is not likes" calling argument feels pointless. This isn't how I use likes. Maybe it is how you use it and how you will use this feature. Cool. Moving on.

This feature is also not intended to replace threadmarks which are a more permanent feature to highlight important updates or informational posts within a thread. These features might work together but generally speaking serve different purposes. If you see a threadmark, you should probably read it to better understand either the rules or the topic at hand.

On the concern for moderator workload front, sure. It is more work for us, it will not always be quick either but I'll be honest. Seeing a maybe not funny post in the report queue will not do anything too much for me. The report queue can be at times a queue of some of the forums most toxic and tiring posts. Adding some "Is this worth highlighting?" into the mix is not going to be a problem personally and I'll be honest, I don't see a huge number of members using this feature regularly any way.

The way this feature works is a bit clumsy. It is one of the many features we have wanted for a while but also on the backend of things it isn't exactly the what it appears to be. It is a bit complicated but this isn't a feature built from scratch to do what we want so what we can change is also limited. It frustrates staff too and while we turning it back off is always an option I still hope there is stuff we can enjoy from this. I'm not sure what else we can add or change to this all I know is that it isn't easy to work with so try not to take our lack of commentary on people posting "This is a better method" type posts as us dismissing the idea entirely. Even if I like some ideas I can't even really comment on the feasibility of it right now.

Jokes will always be subjective and how familiar you are with the context definitely affects how well it lands. For this reason I personally didn't really want jokes and funnies to be highlighted. With that said though I also recognise it isn't just about me. Who am I to say that others shouldn't get to have a look at a maybe funny. I did consider that if it becomes just a jokes and funnies feed it would be a bit disappointing but I can add that to the considerations when the time comes. I can't exactly force members to make the content I want and then other users to report it for highlighting. This is still going to be something that needs to happen as users post, as others react and choose to report and then moderator reviews.

In any case, if this isn't a feature you want to use that is fine too. I've yet to do tournaments myself, not everything is for everybody. If you don't like any of the highlighted posts, that is fine too. If you do like the highlighted posts, that is great. There will always be some disagreements in this. When I clicked this thread I was expecting to see more discussion on what type of posts people wanted to highlight and examples. If you don't like what we have, give us examples of the cool stuff, the good stuff. We can add to the examples as well.



part 2:

I've talked with mods endlessly about giving things to the community, this is one of them. I want more but honestly, some of the reactions make me question whether it is worth it at all.

Have you seen how discouraging the poll results were for things like inclusitivity and representation. Probably not because we ended up killing such polls almost every time. If you think that our forum is full of compassionate, understanding people who are also not internet users who have been over multiple decades now, conditioned by consumerism, social media and entertainment to be reactionary and often hyperbolic or worse yet dismissive in their online interactions I don't know what to tell you.

It isn't just important topics either. There is endless console wars. Trolling each other "for some fun and laughs" in typical internet fashion. Sometimes there are valid criticism that can be subtle or dogwhistling or inappropriate in some ways. You could read an otherwise great post and maybe highlight it. You might not catch the comment that calls out the problematic nature within the post. Others might not as well and so a post with inflammatory or inappropriate content continues on highlighted. This will only further serve to frustrate members. The amount of of "fuck you, got mine" type posts that users will casually endorse. The "I'm just here to talk about games, this is issue is important but I'm not here to talk about that and it doesn't need to be in this topic". The "this is fine to me" handwaving. "All the [minority status] friends I have say..." type posts. The dogpiling over something minor. The snark that made you laugh at the expense of another member. The us vs them mentality across threads, against different communities, against staff etc.

As a moderator, I have been forced to view things with a lot of intersectional considerations. I still make a lot of mistakes. So yes. Forgive me if I don't feel confident that giving users the keys won't result in messes that we'll have to step into and moderate, likely leading to pointless bans and frustrations all around. You have something? Our users will argue over it. Some of them to the graves of their accounts if they are passionate enough. Look no further than this thread where users feel like quitting over it. And I don't mean this in a disrespectful way, people feel how they feel and will have disagreements. I trust members to make mistakes. We all do. I don't want to ban people for them/situations caused so if looking through and denying some of the highlight requests leads to less of it then so be it.

I realise your post probably didn't deserve all of this response but I'm tired of people trying to paint moderators like the forum's biggest asshole.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/announcing-new-feature-highlighting-posts.873306/page-4?post=123182613#post-123182613


JasoNsider rakes him over the coals pretty well:

I don't think people are trying to paint you all as the forum's biggest assholes. Obviously a lot of work goes into weeding out the riffraff. But this post and others like it really come across as the forum elite thinking they know better than us regular users. The moderators in this thread have made it pretty clear they 1) do not trust the community (as a whole) to promote better posts and 2) see no issue in them being sole tastemaker/king maker in discussions themselves. I think those who are frustrated in this thread are running out of ways to express why this is so concerning. When we voice concern, we are effectively hearing (literally) "nah" and that mods will have an even heavier thumb tipping the scales in our discussions.


...like this here. Many of us brought up what I believe are pretty salient reasons on why this is pretty contradictory position the moderators are taking here. It feels cynical and hand-wavy.

And finally, I believe you're revealing quite a lot about the type of discourse the moderators want to take a heavy hand with here, making me doubly uncertain that a "Mods Like" feature will be used in ways the community actually agrees with. Obviously I don't expect the mods to get everything "right" (as that's pretty subjective), but I see no reason to give even more leverage for influencing the "correct opinions" in a discussion between average users. If anything, I'd advocate that a lighter touch on moderation would be better, by letting the community navigate hearty debates for itself.

Anyway, I feel like all of us have stated our positions about as conclusively as we can at this point. No need for me to drag this on further. If the mods are truly this dead-set on rolling it out as-is, then I wish you luck and hope we can have good conversations in future threads.

[Besticus Maximus]

Snormy; yes we do rule by terror. What the fuck you gonna do bro?

[Eric Cartman]

I mean... the A Modest Proposal take on Bitchdubs I Can't Believe Its Not A Like System like system would be "We will let people like posts, but if we disagree we will ban the poster instead"



......BUT THATS WHAT THEY ALREADY SAY THEY'RE GOING TO DO

[PogiJones]

Sooo they are openly admitting that the game only went with Yasuke for “diversity”. Despite the game already being diverse by its location being Japan. 

No, bad boy. I've had to watch the rest of the country torture the poor definition of "diverse" for years, I can't abide the bire doing it too. "Asian" does not mean "diverse." A setting in Japan doesn't make something diverse; a diverse cast is when the characters are each unique and distinct from one another, primarily through personality, looks and age. Having a cast of all Asians isn't diverse, because "diverse" isn't a property of "Asian," it's a property of a group. An all Asian cast can be diverse if they're written to be diverse, just like an all white cast or an all black cast can be written to be diverse. But just saying "They're Asian so they're diverse" is gonna have a carepost knocking on your door.

[kaleidoscopium]

I love how their greatest concern is that their users may disagree with them and like/highlight "problematic" posts.

[Eric Cartman]

Sooo they are openly admitting that the game only went with Yasuke for “diversity”. Despite the game already being diverse by its location being Japan. 

No, bad boy. I've had to watch the rest of the country torture the poor definition of "diverse" for years, I can't abide the bire doing it too. "Asian" does not mean "diverse." A setting in Japan doesn't make something diverse; a diverse cast is when the characters are each unique and distinct from one another, primarily through personality, looks and age. Having a cast of all Asians isn't diverse, because "diverse" isn't a property of "Asian," it's a property of a group. An all Asian cast can be diverse if they're written to be diverse, just like an all white cast or an all black cast can be written to be diverse. But just saying "They're Asian so they're diverse" is gonna have a carepost knocking on your door.

Uh, actually, Bollywood is super diverse because theres barely any white people in it and if there are they're often bad guys

[Snoopy]

They really all do hate each other.

[PogiJones]

but I'm tired of people trying to paint moderators like the forum's biggest asshole.

But you are. 

[kaleidoscopium]

it is funny how some of the worst prolific posters on the site are moderators, someone like nepenthe should be flat out banned on the site for racism and actual antisemitism. But shes instead an administrator

[Rendle]

Not "ha ha" funny, like a Woody Allen film, it's more "peculiar" funny, like a Woody Allen marriage.

[DocWager]

1716131289[/url]']
New article on noodle soup and co, includes his mugshot. 

https://agitationrising.com/peace-activists-arrested-for-occupying-isu-building-students-for-palestine/?amp=1

They look like the Joker who shot up a theater.

[Nintex]

“Has anyone ever noticed that there’s just no happiness on the left? They’re not happy. They’re not happy people—and for good reason”

[Uncle]

Sooo they are openly admitting that the game only went with Yasuke for “diversity”. Despite the game already being diverse by its location being Japan. 

No, bad boy. I've had to watch the rest of the country torture the poor definition of "diverse" for years, I can't abide the bire doing it too. "Asian" does not mean "diverse." A setting in Japan doesn't make something diverse; a diverse cast is when the characters are each unique and distinct from one another, primarily through personality, looks and age. Having a cast of all Asians isn't diverse, because "diverse" isn't a property of "Asian," it's a property of a group. An all Asian cast can be diverse if they're written to be diverse, just like an all white cast or an all black cast can be written to be diverse. But just saying "They're Asian so they're diverse" is gonna have a carepost knocking on your door.

kingdom come was too woke, just by being set in czech republic it was super diverse, DEI around every corner 

[Potato]

Lilith that's depressing, stay safe people, this is why we shouldn't be ignoring these trash people online on twitter and elsewhere or the grifters encouraging them because they can be really dangerous, they can and will hurt us.

Again stay safe.

Wilsongt said:

I blame Twitter/X/Elon and the people he protects.

I really want Elon to rot in jail, I really want people like him held accountable for allowing that rhetoric on their sites and him openly encouraging and accepting it should be a crime and his assets stripped from him to support social programs.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/us-warns-of-possible-pride-month-attacks-worldwide.874992/post-123174561

All of them just ignoring that the warning is about chatter coming from ISIS and has nothing to do with alt right grifters.

...also yes, they said Lilith instead of god 

Lilith, female demonic figure of Jewish folklore. Her name and personality are thought to be derived from the class of Mesopotamian demons called lilû, and the name is usually translated as “night monster.” A cult associated with Lilith survived among some Jews as late as the 7th century ce.

        Cultural appropriation?
          /

[Potato]

New article on noodle soup and co, includes his mugshot. 

https://agitationrising.com/peace-activists-arrested-for-occupying-isu-building-students-for-palestine/?amp=1

Amazing that the Reeject is the most normal looking one.

I see at least 3 school shooters in that group.

[Uncle]

andariel > lilith

[Potato]

I've said it before but I'm at the point where I'm genuinely considering getting a license and purchasing a firearm for self defense purposes.

I'm a (mostly) closeted cisgender pansexual white man who's primarily been in hetero relationships so I'm not exactly walking around all day feeling targeted but I go to pride. I don't hide my queer passions, affiliation with my local queer community or suppress myself so long as I'm not around family. Fuck, it's really not even about me. If I were murdered, fuck it, but I'll be damned if I live the rest of my life fearing for the safety of other queer people.

I don't feel totally comfortable with the idea as someone who's struggled with suicidal ideation since I was young (it's gotten better but it's never truly gone away) and is vehemently anti-gun in just about every conceivable way and circumstance but I just don't see an alternative at this point.

Protecting the people in your community is how queer people survive. To a lesser extent, I should try to protect myself too. If I have to live in fear of some psychopathic bigot with a gun, I should have the ability to try and stop them since there still isn't any effort from governing bodies to protect us in any meaningful way.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/us-warns-of-possible-pride-month-attacks-worldwide.874992/page-2?post=123167193#post-123167193

Reads like the posts they find 6 months before a mass shooter goes on their spree.

This person has genuinely NEVER been in a situation where they feared for their own safety and may have needed a gun for protection. This is pure "good guy with a gun" fantasy manifesting in a future suicide or mass shooting.

[Potato]

On the contrary, I think it is a big deal that a lot of the reflexive reactions to Yasuke starring in this was a mixture of anger and a feeling that something was "taken" from Asian men, which is a sentiment that has been expressed in other threads. When Black representation causes that kind of feeling, I'm inclined to want to ask why.

Asian men literally had this taken from them. There’s no need to have quotes around taken, you insanely racist cunt.

If there were any Asian men still around Resetera left to protest, I could see Nepenthe needing to make another heartfelt "I fucked up" apology post. Alas, she already executed AsianEra in the digital realm.

[Besticus Maximus]

Mod note to self: Always highlight Nepenthe's posts first

[Potato]

Being fair, both sides are retarded in this situation.  

I’m just enjoying the shitshow that half assed intersectionality causes. 

Absolutely. 

The reason the Yasuke legend/character has endured is because it's an interesting and intriguing concept. Fish out of water stories are great because the reader/viewer gets to learn about a different culture along with the character. A black samurai is cool. Just like all those black characters in Hong Kong martial arts films from the 70s.

The problem is that in 2024, the retarded left has turned any representation outside of a defined "your lane" into "that's racism".

[Potato]

The posts if the game sells terribly in Japan will be incredible. Neppy will fully drop the veil and let the “fuck them white adjacents” posts fly. She’s already just about there.

its not on switch, so its going to sell like shit in japan regardless

You think these retards care about facts? The Japanese are racist white-adjacent chuds. Fuck them.

[Potato]

Snormy attempts to defend the "not a mod like system"

I realise your post probably didn't deserve all of this response but I'm tired of people trying to paint moderators like the forum's biggest asshole.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/announcing-new-feature-highlighting-posts.873306/page-4?post=123182613#post-123182613

Who's trying? The mods do all the work themselves.

[Potato]

it is funny how some of the worst prolific posters on the site are moderators, someone like nepenthe should be flat out banned on the site for racism and actual antisemitism. But shes instead an administrator

Can you imagine if they had a free day...a The Purge-like system where anything goes for one day and there's no future repercussions?

How much would Nepenthe get slaughtered?

[D3RANG3D]

andariel > lilith

[BIONIC]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/helicopter-carrying-irans-president-raisi-crashes.875088/?post=123181242#post-123181242

So Hux is dead, but Snokes lives?

[Hap Shaughnessy]

I don't understand, can you explain that in MCU?

[Besticus Maximus]

Have you ever heard the tale of rezah shah the wise?

[Gamegirl Nostalgia]

the CIA did it again! 

[clockwork5]

I honestly get a kick out of it when the white character in a Japanese game is referred to as “the foreigner” the majority of the time. I remember even persona 5 did this a bunch with the blonde girl (Ann?) I wonder if that kind of language will make it past Ubisoft and their “diverse team of individuals from various cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds.”

[Boredfrom]

Good riddance if confirmed, he is/was a somewhat key element in the regime's line of succession, and even if the whole apparatus is bigger than him, this surely would have some impact on its sustainability.

How curious, however, that I can join the chorus in wishing and cheering for his death here but earlier got banned for wishing the same upon a certain white president.