GM_GooglyMoogly

Thank you for being polite. I think I know the thread you are talking about, but feel free to PM me if you want to tell me the one you are thinking about. I can see what you are saying that it may come across as mocking. The whole "Be Excellent To Each Other" has become my meme, for better or worse. I don't mean it to be mocking, I sincerely want players to be excellent to each other. We are all here because we love this 20 year old game that lets us pretend we're superheroes or supervillains and run around in costumes using powers. Despite all of our differences, we have that in common. If we weren't passionate about it, we wouldn't be here arguing about it.

Other than you bringing it up, I would have no idea that you felt someone saying "those neckbeards" referred to you or any other poster. I am pretty sure I know who the "morons" Sai is referencing. So you can call it selective if you like, but I do have some reason for my selectivity.

Have you looked at our list of emojis when you hover over the heart at the bottom right of the post? I know what some of them mean but moose, banjo, pizza Finland flag . . . anyone of those could work.

I generally agree, but there is a nuanced difference between insulting the poster and insulting the idea. I think it depends on the context and the wording.

I think I know the thread you are mentioning, though I'm not sure which specific comment you are referencing. If I hide a post, I am also going to hide all the posts quoting it. Sometimes you'll have a comment that doesn't quote a hidden post but now makes no sense without the hidden posts and that may also get trimmed. It's also certainly possible that I made a mistake.

Thank you for your input. But I am not upset, just having a forum discussion. You can send me PMs with examples and additional details if you wish.

I do! That's why I asked. I was just giving you some life advice. You are free to ignore it. But saying moderation has been unacceptable is better than saying it is asinine.

I agree that some people on these forums can be contrarians or argumentative or relentless or all of the above. And sometimes people with a suggestion are just as relentless and argumentative and take criticism personally. It's OK to post suggestions; it's OK to disagree with suggestions; but it's not OK to attack each other or beat the proverbial dead horse into tiny pieces.

I have privately contacted players on occasion, but not habitually.

The only way I have of keeping people from posting in a certain thread is to ban them from all threads for whatever given time, or to lock the thread. It would be nice to have a tool that blocked a poster from a specific thread. Maybe no one ever told you, but poking bears or insulting the neighborhood cop is usually not a strategy for success.

I learned something new today. I looked it up and found the same wiki then searched the forums for it. Your complaint pre-dated my arrival. But to be honest, I probably would not have taken action at that time either. If you called me a moron, I would take offense. If you called me a neckbeard, I would not take offense. Maybe because I actually have a beard that is partially on my neck. I would also not be offended if you called my a poopyhead but would if you said I had shit for brains. *shrug* Edit to add: I would be more disposed to take GM action if you were insulting other players vs insulting some outside group.

It's not OK to be insulting to anyone. But, I'm sorry, neckbeards doesn't register as an insult to me. Maybe I'm just not versed in Urban Dictionary. Other reasons thing might seem selective: 1) While I and other GMs do read the forums and can spontaneously act when we see something, more often than not we are reacting to a report made by someone else. If no one reports it, we may never see it. 2) We do try to be consistent and even handed, but different GMs (like different cops or teachers or parents) have different pet peeves and tolerances. And we also have good days and bad days and might let something slide today that we don't tomorrow because the pet died, or the boss yelled at us, or any other bothersome thing. We should be consistent and even handed anyway, but we are human. 3) We also take into account the poster's history. Is this the first complaint we ever got about them or have they already received multiple warnings and temporary forum bans?

Such as . . .? Calling people names on the forums is one way to get moderated. Would you like to edit your comment or should I take some other action? **Thanks for editing, Sai**

Ah. Got it. I misunderstood.

A few points: 1) One can disagree without being disagreeable. 2) There is generally no need to continuously and repeatedly say the same thing. 3) MM balance is a weird thing. A well-built level 50 MM can essentially "walk" through x8 missions solo at even level with some minor management of the pets and an occasional heal or buff. That same MM will struggle at *4 and even more so on incarnate or 4 star content. I think the trick is to buff them at the highest level of difficulty without making lower levels too much of a cake "walk." While the proposal will make MMs easier and less tedious I don't think it really does anything for them at the higher levels. And then we'd have to come up with 2 new powers and animations to replace the upgrades and that can be incredibly difficult and time consuming to design and balance. (Note: #3 is just my opinion as a player and not an official HC statement.)

So I have been on the GM team for a little over a year and it seems that I've settled into the role of forum moderator. I know that many of you aren't happy with my moderation style and decisions so here's your chance to tell me why. How would you suggest that I do it differently? What feedback do you have? Go ahead, take a whack.

LIES! Widower is. I just seem to lurk the forums more than other GMs.

This thread has been circling the drain for a while now. Time to bury the dead horse.

My version of toxic positivity: Be Excellent To Each Other . . . OR ELSE!! Or is that more positive toxicity? Hmmm . . .

Less toxicity, please.

As always, discuss the merits, or lack thereof, of the suggestion. Please do NOT discuss the merits, or lack thereof, of each other.