Media Create Sales: Week 36, 2021 (Sep 06 - Sep 12) [Read STAFF POST]

[cvxfreak]

Lately, there has been an uptick of reported posts and disciplinary action related to the weekly Media Create threads. Many posters have complained of no longer having a voice in these threads because certain posters, including thread regulars, have replied in a hostile or condescending manner. This needs to stop. Please keep the following advice in mind when participating in these threads, regardless of how long you've been part of this community. Failure to do so could result in action being taken.

• Sales threads should always be about that — the sales data itself. They should not be used as a guise for port begging, console/platform wars or other forms of trolling that wouldn't be allowed elsewhere on the forum.
• In general, sales threads should focus on business and economic elements, i.e. comparing past and present data, observing trends, or making educated guesses.
• While these threads do focus on Japan, it is not against the rules to discuss worldwide sales trends in the context of Japanese sales. It is OK to compare data from Japan to other countries, but like all posts, it needs to be done in good faith.
• Do not be snarky, passive aggressive, condescending or otherwise disrespectful towards other users that you don't agree with. Not everyone has the same knowledge of sales and business, and if you feel someone is incorrect in their interpretation of data, constructively correct them (in as much detail as possible) instead of mocking them. Make yourself useful, not disruptive.
• Sales data should never be weaponized or used to justify racist rhetoric, such as generalizing, mocking or trivializing the interests of another country, such as Japan or China.
• Accusations that companies or creators/developers are showing favoritism for or bias against certain companies (i.e. Nagoshi, Harada, Nihon Falcom, etc. for Sony/against Nintendo) are not allowed unless there is evidence supporting such accusations.
• Drive-bys and other inappropriate commentary are not allowed. (i.e. no-substance single word/sentences responses like "bomba").
• If you're posting any kind of data, please post a link or source for transparency going forward. This not only includes sales data, but also information gleaned from retail blogs or Twitter accounts.
• If you're posting about information that originally appeared in a non-English language such as Japanese (or a language you don't necessarily understand), please be confident as to the accuracy of the translation. If you're not confident, say so and reach out to the community to get an accurate reading.

If you see a post that goes against the above guidelines, please report it for review. If you have any questions, please DM a mod such as myself. Thank you.

 

[Nepenthe]

Thread unlocked.

Staff are open to criticism regarding the rules we set in place, especially when it is taken to the appropriate channels. However, that criticism should never jump the line into attacking staff or conspiratorial accusations of bias.

It also shouldn't jump the line into equating the issues of minority communities with video game sales data.

Behave yourselves. Any posts violating any rules here or in cvx's post will be actioned accordingly.

 

[Poodlestrike]

Thank you for your patience, there was a lot we needed to look into and a lot of discussions that needed to be had across time zones. We recognize that a lot of the damage is already done and cannot be undone, but we're going to explain this from the beginning as best we can.

This whole thing started when Chris1964 was warned for antagonism in response to a post from Caiops which seemed pretty innocent at the time. We did receive complaints about Caiops afterwards, but none of those complaints could point to any examples of clear trolling, and searching his history didn't turn anything up either. We had already decided to investigate him more closely yesterday morning, but last night we received a tip which included the smoking gun we wish we'd had from the start: Caiops has admitted off-site that he doesn't actually care about Japanese sales.

If we'd known that at the beginning it's likely that none of this would have happened. As is, clearly a subtle troll was able to get away with it, and warning Chris1964 for snapping at him was a mistake. We apologize for that unreservedly.

With regard to Cvxfreak we have to clarify that the screenshots from Discord are NOT about any moderator action; the times listed are Japan Standard Time and Cvxfreak was talking about an argument he'd had with Chris1964 about the Japanese gaming industry. That was a day before Chris1964 made the post that ended up receiving a one day ban. No single moderator is ever solely responsible for a ban and there wasn't any abuse of power.

Cvxfreak was asked to help with the thread because he's been following it for years and knows Japan and the industry as well as anyone does. He did his honest best to understand the issues in the community and privately consulted active posters. He admits now however that the concerns he brought to the staff were incomplete at best and ignorant of more severe and pressing issues at worst. In turn the staff was blindsided by the intensity of the backlash to the guidelines and the way individual staff were targeted personally when they tried to mediate. We want to address this point again in a bit.

Again we understand at this point that a lot of the damage is done and can't now be reversed, but here is what we have done: Caiops has been permanently banned. We are cancelling the new guidelines because they were created without a complete understanding of the issues. The initial warning has been removed from Chris1964's record, and because the ban was escalated off that warning, it's been removed as well. Cvxfreak will be taking a leave of absence from the staff and when he returns he will voluntarily recuse himself from any moderation regarding sales.

One thing we do need to address bluntly: Criticism and concerns are fine, displeasure with what are ultimately collective decisions are fine, we know we can make mistakes and we made plenty here. But vitriol and targeted hate is never going to fly, particularly when singling out individual staff just for being a messenger and trying to help. We've drawn that line because nobody is going to want to moderate this place if personal attacks are their constant reward. It's a lot harder to keep the peace here than you might think. Ban appeals will receive a fair hearing but this point must be understood.

We sincerely regret the mistakes on our end and how this all played out. We can't decide for anyone whether they'll keep participating here, but it was never our intention to drive anyone off.