I mean, I was on GameFAQs for nearly a decade, a spinoff site from it around as long and I never saw that sort of thing on either of those places. You'd get a couple people maybe taking a dig at someone and that was it. On here you'll sometimes continue to see dogpiling several pages into a thread.
-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
It feels like it's getting harder to discuss thing calmly in the gaming community
- Thread starter TheEchosOfTheCyborg
- Start date
- Status
Well it depends, is the comment on the first page and then every new person points out how dumb that opinion is.
I mean sometimes a opinion is just bad. If knew someone got shitted on for 3 pages after they posted it before hand I probably would hold off on quoting it. But you know how it is, you intend to read through the whole thread but then there is that one comment where you just got to say "no"
Post A - 'I do not like...'
Post B - 'I can see your perspective, but here's my anecdotal or factual response'
Can we perhaps add some sort of 'flair' if that's what it's called nowadays to Post B - that only the person who made Post A can see? But others can also see that's been clicked?
A sort of 'thanks' button or similar acknowledgment that conveys 'I take your point but we can agree to disagree'?
I don't have the solution. I think with new consoles on the horizon we need to understand the generally accepted behaviour around those sort of threads veers too much into the stereotype that we spend every other year/month/week in between trying to say we've grown out of - Bethesda woooo!'s etc.
Post B - 'I can see your perspective, but here's my anecdotal or factual response'
Can we perhaps add some sort of 'flair' if that's what it's called nowadays to Post B - that only the person who made Post A can see? But others can also see that's been clicked?
A sort of 'thanks' button or similar acknowledgment that conveys 'I take your point but we can agree to disagree'?
I don't have the solution. I think with new consoles on the horizon we need to understand the generally accepted behaviour around those sort of threads veers too much into the stereotype that we spend every other year/month/week in between trying to say we've grown out of - Bethesda woooo!'s etc.
I've experienced that first hand and second hand, but its not limited to this forum alone. The internet is a really detached way for humans to be interacting.
Can also relate to OP in regards to Pokemon related threads.... 100% right in that those became less about discussion and more about just being "right" to the point of it getting very personal. Ended up requesting a lengthy ban just because of how draining the Pokemon community was on this site.
I know you're talking to someone else, but last year I got accused of being "anti progressive" among more hurtful things things for disliking the writing in Starfox Command, which resulted in this nonsensical dogpile where someone got a warning for abusing the report system. It fucked with my head so bad and the only reason im still alive is because the mod I talked to about the situation was very understanding.
Another example was a large amount of people in regards to the things happening with Etika where significant amount of people treated him like actual garbage because of something hes said in the past. I was always in there trying to tell people to take these situations seriously and got ignored or belittled for even suggesting that he seemed to have serious issues.
I have other examples but I don't feel like going on about it
Last edited:
I blame Twitter for the dog piling culture. People see a ridiculuous tweet and they reply to that.
In the other hand, a forum is not supposed to work like that. When you see a ridiculous take, you should read the thread for a bit (or at least a post or two below in most cases) and if somebody already conveyed the message for you, then don't add to the pile.
In the other hand, a forum is not supposed to work like that. When you see a ridiculous take, you should read the thread for a bit (or at least a post or two below in most cases) and if somebody already conveyed the message for you, then don't add to the pile.
This to me signals that there's something fundamentally wrong with how things are being done here.
I expect trash from the rest of the internet. But NOT from Era. And I think it's important that people actually feel safe in these discussions.
Because Era is progressive, you will end up with a community that deals with disability and mental illness. It shouldn't be a place of aggression.
For what it's worth, while I think Era as a site does very well in most aspects, there are some pretty heavy blind spots/issues we run into from time to time. I talked about them the most in the toxicity thread about EGS I made a while back, but it basically comes down to when people go way too far, the community either doesn't self regulate them, or puts all the blame/burden onto mods, who are volunteer staff.
It's a place of aggression because we make it one.
There's a lot of things we just don't see or deal with that on the background that moderators do. So I'm not gonna lay any sort of blame on people who are volunteering their time.
However, they are in the unique position to enforce changes. So, you set the tone, and stick to it—people will figure it out (some through bans, others through being saavy).
I've been on the receiving end of some questionable/thoughtless commentary and it's made me anxious. Perhaps not to the level of more serious things, but enough for me to resort to avoidance.
I don't think that's healthy. And I don't think that should be the experience people have to contend with when visiting the site.
I completely agree with you when it comes to the EGS situation. A lot of the rhetoric recently being used about EGS is dangerous (because indie devs are in the crossfire and will be branded sellouts or as taking bribes when they're just trying to earn a living.)
We have to be careful about the kind of rhetoric we're sending to gaming communities at large. ResetEra is influential in the gaming zeitgeist, and if all we're putting out there is anti-developer, anti-creator sentiments, then that's going to send a message that can and will be used to stoke more flames.
I completely agree with that assessment. There's no proper discourse there due to the way Twitter displays posts. It's popularity and culture bled into other forms of social media, forums included. A lot of people just want to get their word in even if it's echoed a hundred times before.
OP
OP
I think some people have misunderstood what my original post was about, it wasn't specifically targeted at ERA, but was something I'd been feeling and seeing in the gaming community as a whole, both in forums, comment sections, game news articles, Reddits, Twitter etc.
I completely get what you mean man. Unfortunately, the internet as a whole is like this. No way to avoid it.
On Era though, thank god for the ignore option. My ignore list is super large now, which has saved me a lot of pain when browsing topics.
On Era though, thank god for the ignore option. My ignore list is super large now, which has saved me a lot of pain when browsing topics.
I love this place but one of the worst parts for me is the race for "who can post the snarkiest take" dog piling that gives you like 15 replies for something could have been handled with a few simple ones. You see it in other communities as well... but its really bad here.
This is a good post and something I've been trying to deal with personally (with mixed results). 4, 5, 8 and possibly 9 are really my biggest missteps I think.
For me, I think a lot of the aggression and toxicity that I've noticed happening online comes down to people being unable to disengage with a topic/discussion/argument which inevitably leads to people arguing over each other in more and more passive aggressive ways trying to win an imaginary point. I've been trying to learn to ask myself before each post online whether my voice is contributing positively to the discussion being had or if it's better off for me to disengage and step back whether that's to cool down or think about my contributions a bit more deeply. I'm still not very good at this and have a long way to go but I've noticed over the years that online discourse has slowly made me more cynical and quick to lash out with poorly thought out, often snarkily aggressive replies which is a part of me that I've really come to abhor.
Yeah there are definitely more than a few places where you're not made to feel welcome because you're being too critical/not critical enough of such-and-such a game/company for that particular thread/community's liking. It's not worth getting worked up about IMO, though I will admit to failing in that regard in the past, I've just had to accept that at times the best thing is to just not engage with people who aren't interested in an honest discussion.
This sort of relates to your second point as something that I've found makes discussion so much harder are threads like these.
If you don't want to click it's basically a thread focused on a video which, for the most part, attempts to call out the shitty alt-right rhetoric that has, unfortunately, become so prevalent in the Star Wars fandom over the past 2 years (and before that, but it really got into gear once TLJ was released). That's fine, and if it were just that then it would be wholly commendable, but the video also decides to use its runtime to 'take down' the wrong opinions of those who disliked TLJ even if said opinions have nothing to do with the alt-right. It essentially relates those who disliked TLJ to those who have visceral shitty reactions to 'SJWs' and other stuff like that, and because it does so anyone who simply dislikes the film is 'tainted' by those in the latter camp.
It's a tactic that I see way too often here, where the awful shit that the alt-right spouts is brought up in conjunction with your typical media-based arguments, most often not to call that shit out but to try and 'win' your own argument. All it does is create an environment where everyone gets more heated because not only is one's 'nerd' honour is on the line, but one's political honour is on the line as well. So you not only have to make your arguments but you also have to continuously 'prove' that you're not the alt-right even though moderation here is extremely good at banning those who genuinely show their asses when it comes to that sort of stuff. But when you have posts that basically say "there are literally no arguments against *x aspect of the film* that aren't rooted in sexism" it's incredibly difficult to do that because anything you say can be twisted to fit that hypothesis.
It also distracts from what the alt-right actually does because it brings in other arguments that are simply not the point. There are multiple complaints in that thread about users 'bringing up the same TLJ talking points' when the video itself simply invited those arguments in in by diluting its argument from "the alt-right is awful no matter what" to "the alt-right is awful... and people that may or may not be them are wrong about Star Wars: The Last Jedi." It shifts the discussion from behaviour to motive, as if racism, sexism, homophobia, etc (and in the recent Ooblets threads, harassment) are conditionally bad instead of universally god-awful.
If you don't want to click it's basically a thread focused on a video which, for the most part, attempts to call out the shitty alt-right rhetoric that has, unfortunately, become so prevalent in the Star Wars fandom over the past 2 years (and before that, but it really got into gear once TLJ was released). That's fine, and if it were just that then it would be wholly commendable, but the video also decides to use its runtime to 'take down' the wrong opinions of those who disliked TLJ even if said opinions have nothing to do with the alt-right. It essentially relates those who disliked TLJ to those who have visceral shitty reactions to 'SJWs' and other stuff like that, and because it does so anyone who simply dislikes the film is 'tainted' by those in the latter camp.
It's a tactic that I see way too often here, where the awful shit that the alt-right spouts is brought up in conjunction with your typical media-based arguments, most often not to call that shit out but to try and 'win' your own argument. All it does is create an environment where everyone gets more heated because not only is one's 'nerd' honour is on the line, but one's political honour is on the line as well. So you not only have to make your arguments but you also have to continuously 'prove' that you're not the alt-right even though moderation here is extremely good at banning those who genuinely show their asses when it comes to that sort of stuff. But when you have posts that basically say "there are literally no arguments against *x aspect of the film* that aren't rooted in sexism" it's incredibly difficult to do that because anything you say can be twisted to fit that hypothesis.
It also distracts from what the alt-right actually does because it brings in other arguments that are simply not the point. There are multiple complaints in that thread about users 'bringing up the same TLJ talking points' when the video itself simply invited those arguments in in by diluting its argument from "the alt-right is awful no matter what" to "the alt-right is awful... and people that may or may not be them are wrong about Star Wars: The Last Jedi." It shifts the discussion from behaviour to motive, as if racism, sexism, homophobia, etc (and in the recent Ooblets threads, harassment) are conditionally bad instead of universally god-awful.
Last edited:
Some topics are definitely painful to read because of these issues and it definitely stops me posting in some topics.
It would be nice to see mods issue more warnings too, instead of going straight for a ban in some cases, seen many bans where I think "bit harsh, a warning first would be more suitable" as that can encourage people to continue the discussion but be more careful of how they approach things.
It would be nice to see mods issue more warnings too, instead of going straight for a ban in some cases, seen many bans where I think "bit harsh, a warning first would be more suitable" as that can encourage people to continue the discussion but be more careful of how they approach things.
Sorry you went through that Pixel, and I'm thankful you're here and able to write the post. Appreciate your perspective on it and the examples you've been affected by.
As you note I think these things are important to discuss, they're also things that are personal to people which is why navigating that conversation can sometimes be hard. Dedicated topics to such issues should largely be free from pearl clutching and other members popping in purely to bat for the developer without even reading the topic. Likewise though I think OT discussions should be (outside of current news before it turns into a distinct thread) focused on the game. I do think with that, that people should be free to put isolated posts of protest - but engaging users within it and blindsiding them isn't the answer. You should by and large have the space to discuss the game if you don't feel comfortable engaging in the topic, without it being assumed you're not doing so because you actually hate minorities and are evil.
I don't personally agree with your thought to cleave the section in two to entirely divorce one from the other as for me there's the potential for a better balance to be struck without that, but I do appreciate you taking the time to get back on that initial point with your thoughts. As someone that's been vocal in discussions like those you mention, I'm aware that I've also sometimes been the problem in cases surrounding this general OP at large. I can ring a few of the numbered points from Morrigan 's brilliant post, and couldn't cast a stone at another within the thread when it comes to it. I'd probably add a tenth about irritating mods.
Though I feel it isn't a clean good/bad divide in some of them - there are times I've been less tempered but felt justified considering the individual and the conversation we're in, and where mods can occasionally (and understandably) miss some of the wider context to a single post - but recognise I can do better when it comes to stepping back before hitting post when I'm there in some rapid-fire and heated discussion. Having the dedicated threads for issues and treating threads as having borders for the most part in the sense of 'because a discussion is being held in one doesn't mean it needs to be replicated in another', or people criticised for posting in one but not the other, would be positive and I'd personally like to both see and take the effort to work toward that over an immediate hard split. I've stuck to dedicated issue threads and, outside of bait posters, have found I've felt my point and view heard without a need to go and @ people in the OT because they're not 'attentive' enough (/s).
It's an interesting one because I thoroughly agree and feel the same for much of the community's takes on marketing. It's not even consistent though which also gets me, with F2P games being defending strongly against any criticism of their pricing models (where in some cases, it is evident the only reason people are engaging is because the game they like is being viewed critically); despite companies repeatedly being receptive to when they overstep and the community reacts and that being a very healthy consumer-corporation dynamic. The by and large, devs = saints, marketing and company = devil viewpoint is a bizarrely rigid thing in many threads.
OP I agree with you extremely. I hate cancel culture so much my God. I also feel this place and this is not only the gaming side but the ETC side is just as bad if not worst. it's like there's a certain set of things that you must like and If you even have a different opinion you are called wrong and piled on. People here have already mentioned the Sony exclusive thing.
Have you ever admitted you like a DCEU movie on the ETC side? The EGS and Steam thing, I have next to no interest in the EGS and steam war or whatever and dont participate in them. I think the whole thing is majorly overblown though.
However though, compared to most forums i like the fact here they dont condone racism and bs like that. IT's important to me. Look at how awful the old place is now.
The ignore function works well and i wish I could ignore mods too if im being honest. I dont think things would change because the mods here would rather think things are fine the way it is and thats not right at all. The piling on and the eagerness to attack needs to stop.
However, It is what it is.
Have you ever admitted you like a DCEU movie on the ETC side? The EGS and Steam thing, I have next to no interest in the EGS and steam war or whatever and dont participate in them. I think the whole thing is majorly overblown though.
However though, compared to most forums i like the fact here they dont condone racism and bs like that. IT's important to me. Look at how awful the old place is now.
The ignore function works well and i wish I could ignore mods too if im being honest. I dont think things would change because the mods here would rather think things are fine the way it is and thats not right at all. The piling on and the eagerness to attack needs to stop.
However, It is what it is.
The passive aggressive attitude here can at times be just as bad as the comment section of a YouTube video.
Quite often people just drop a drive by comment as well such as quoting someone and saying something as basic as "yikes" and nothing else.
If a user has an issue with someone then why not use the opportunity on a discussion forum to try and have a discussion?
Quite often people just drop a drive by comment as well such as quoting someone and saying something as basic as "yikes" and nothing else.
If a user has an issue with someone then why not use the opportunity on a discussion forum to try and have a discussion?
When your life is videogames, people will take any slight as a criticism against themselves. So criticising a game means your criticising them.
Basically, people need other hobbies. Preferably ones where you're not sitting in the same spot consuming media
Basically, people need other hobbies. Preferably ones where you're not sitting in the same spot consuming media
It's getting harder to discuss things calmly in video games?
No it's not; and I'll hit you with a steel chair and the full force of the four horseman of the apocolypse if you don't walk back this opinion brother!
No it's not; and I'll hit you with a steel chair and the full force of the four horseman of the apocolypse if you don't walk back this opinion brother!
The solution OP
Just ask a developer what's it like for you to make games
What does it feel like to get told by someone your the worst
We need to understand where the frustration comes from and in turn
The outrage community should do the same but that's a different set of questions
Usually since they lack the expertise or skill (they could learn or educate themselves on game development marketing in general then make their own game)
Why does this mean so much to you
Is this really the best use of your time or energy
Have you ever been told your the worst
It's because everyone thinks they are an expert today and their opinion is backed by facts
NOT their actual bias toward whatever they are discussing.
Before social media took over with too much information (mostly wrong and misguided) the world would accept hey you know if we are being honest I'm not an expert on anything but maybe 3 topics in life and listen to others who actually knew what they were talking about.
The people making games they have a skill and execute.
The people who just scream outrage on Twitter they have no idea what it takes
to work in this industry
It's like twitch and let's play streaming so many of those same people wouldn't buy the game they are angry about in the first place
they watch 10min-hour and then wanna talk about whatever was relevant on a message board while passing judgement based on one small perspective they viewed
Just ask a developer what's it like for you to make games
What does it feel like to get told by someone your the worst
We need to understand where the frustration comes from and in turn
The outrage community should do the same but that's a different set of questions
Usually since they lack the expertise or skill (they could learn or educate themselves on game development marketing in general then make their own game)
Why does this mean so much to you
Is this really the best use of your time or energy
Have you ever been told your the worst
It's because everyone thinks they are an expert today and their opinion is backed by facts
NOT their actual bias toward whatever they are discussing.
Before social media took over with too much information (mostly wrong and misguided) the world would accept hey you know if we are being honest I'm not an expert on anything but maybe 3 topics in life and listen to others who actually knew what they were talking about.
The people making games they have a skill and execute.
The people who just scream outrage on Twitter they have no idea what it takes
to work in this industry
It's like twitch and let's play streaming so many of those same people wouldn't buy the game they are angry about in the first place
they watch 10min-hour and then wanna talk about whatever was relevant on a message board while passing judgement based on one small perspective they viewed
I'm with you OP. I make peace with my Resetera experience by not viewing it as a "community". Where's the community spirit among the members who care about Pokémon here? There is none. This place is just another Twitter. An entertainment feed where everyone is a pundit. "My opinion is very important/funny! Give me attention please!" and whatnot.
But there is still hope. When the dust settles you can still find good threads here. I like the LTTP threads because they're more chill.
But there is still hope. When the dust settles you can still find good threads here. I like the LTTP threads because they're more chill.
People are emotional and they usually post rampant when their emotions are at a high point. If people just waited to calmly and collectively gather themselves; discussions could be more rational.
I find it useful to type out a post and just delete it. If it's want I want to say, I'll be back to say it. No point adding to a conversation that I don't belong in.
I find it useful to type out a post and just delete it. If it's want I want to say, I'll be back to say it. No point adding to a conversation that I don't belong in.
The problem is most of the threads and topics aren't necessarily garbage threads, but they devolve into it for a variety of reasons.
I agree, OP. I just try to post/reply with calm thoughts and logic, as much as I can.
Blocking out people will never resolve this issue...
Many times, I've deleted draft posts or have not posted at all, when I've believed people might become angry or extremely negative, in response.
Blocking out people will never resolve this issue...
Many times, I've deleted draft posts or have not posted at all, when I've believed people might become angry or extremely negative, in response.
This is spot on. My main issue is that people are increasingly treating social interactions like a weapon, rather than an assistant. This 'decision' may not actually improve people's quality of life, however...
Those that dislike fighting are ignoring the 'call to arms', so to speak. What are people fighting for? Many things, some important. But are they tangible fights, with a plan for reconstruction or alternatives? Nope. These fights are mostly illusionary, like the hyperbole that is brought out of them. They feel like a cry for help from the complexity and unfairness of modern times.... But, I'll avoid going further down the rabbit hole, for now.
I've been doing this since day one here. I add people regularly. It's just extremely irritating how many people seem to want to fight over the silliest of things.
I haven't had many issues here personally even though I see a lot of stupid arguments on Era.
I feel like I argue with people way more on other sites, personally. The times I've actually argued here have been way more trivial in nature compared to the greater toxic hellscape that is internet forums at large.
I feel like I argue with people way more on other sites, personally. The times I've actually argued here have been way more trivial in nature compared to the greater toxic hellscape that is internet forums at large.
This kind of comment is embarrassing and is usually only posted by somebody with an agenda. I've seen Sony exclusives being criticized here. Knack is literally a meme because it sucks and you're in here acting like it's a forbidden thing. Come on, man. Did you mean Nintendo?
It is not a coincidence that we saw an exodus of female posters on ERA, as well as that positive vibe we had here at the beginning.
No matter how much people want to say "lol that must be the ERA Hive Mind I hear about," there absolutely is a mob culture here. Dogpiling, nonstop knee-jerk reactions without any thought, and gaslighting have become disturbingly common on this site.
I understand moderation is rough, and I have a ton of respect for certain moderators like Morrigan, but a lot of this culture is top-down. The overzealous closing of humor threads ("This thread has run its course.") by the moderators early on really set the tone that things should be adversarial here and not light-hearted. And though it's gotten better, there were absolutely untouchable posters who were favorites and had to commit near account suicide to get warned or banned by the mods. (I'm looking at LionPride and him doubling down over 5 pages in a thread saying it's okay to refer to women as bitches.)
The shittiest thing is when these complaints get raised, you get a flood of posters just dismissing them as shit-takes, even though the posters in question usually are part of the problem. What they don't get is that people aren't complaining to raise trouble or because they don't like it here--people are complaining because they believed in ERA and that's why they came here in the first place. You'd have to be blind to see there hasn't been a change since this place started.
No matter how much people want to say "lol that must be the ERA Hive Mind I hear about," there absolutely is a mob culture here. Dogpiling, nonstop knee-jerk reactions without any thought, and gaslighting have become disturbingly common on this site.
I understand moderation is rough, and I have a ton of respect for certain moderators like Morrigan, but a lot of this culture is top-down. The overzealous closing of humor threads ("This thread has run its course.") by the moderators early on really set the tone that things should be adversarial here and not light-hearted. And though it's gotten better, there were absolutely untouchable posters who were favorites and had to commit near account suicide to get warned or banned by the mods. (I'm looking at LionPride and him doubling down over 5 pages in a thread saying it's okay to refer to women as bitches.)
The shittiest thing is when these complaints get raised, you get a flood of posters just dismissing them as shit-takes, even though the posters in question usually are part of the problem. What they don't get is that people aren't complaining to raise trouble or because they don't like it here--people are complaining because they believed in ERA and that's why they came here in the first place. You'd have to be blind to see there hasn't been a change since this place started.
It's been gradual, it wasn't a single thread or event. Obviously I can't speak for all of them, but a recurring explanation was that the attitude here began reminding them of other, more hostile websites when it came to waving away women's issues. The Why women criticise sexualised character designs OT was a good way to read the attitude, huge though the thread is. Lot of goodbyes in there.
OP is mostly right, I recommend staying off enthusiast forums, and the internet in general. You'd be surprised how reasonable the average person is. This works not only for gaming.
If any publisher has earned a critical eye, its EA. There is just way to much history.
Totally agree. Great post. We can all do better and work harder to simply be nicer.
This is definitely something I've run into in the past. It oftentimes just feels like people are looking for low-hanging fruit, so to speak. If I don't end up saying something that either riles people up, or is easy to blast, people kind of just read it (or don't) and move on. There's little progression of discussion when it's not controversial or there isn't some glaringly obvious point of attack.
So close...and then you finish it off with that. Plenty of games get criticized here, including critical darlings. I guess more folk need to read Morrigan's post :P
Admittedly, I've been guilty of some of what she has described myself and, really, I should do better
There's plenty to criticize about them but, if we are going to criticize them or anything, really, it should be sensible criticism. Hyperbole or what have you kinda sours the discussion
Honestly, I feel this way about a majority of things on the internet; it doesn't matter if its videogames, other media, politics or whatnot; its all about people being right and not taking into consideration how others feel about the subject.
Or even a bigger issue, respectfully disagreeing with someone. Not agreeing with an argument nets you snarky comments or either punches below the belt.
I do it myself too, but I do realize this and try to post better responses.
Or even a bigger issue, respectfully disagreeing with someone. Not agreeing with an argument nets you snarky comments or either punches below the belt.
I do it myself too, but I do realize this and try to post better responses.
This
Also it's been like this since the 90s, now it just has the anonymity of the internet. I remember fights breaking out because of arguments about SNES and Genesis in schools.
No matter how many threads are made on this topic, the issue won't be fixed without moderation, and the first mod post I saw in this thread was a deflection.
I feel like some simple guidelines, like allowing OPs to force their threads to stay on topic, and banning members from threads as opposed to the forum at large (if this is possible) would go a long way in fixing some of the negativity.
If I wanted to make a thread about things I think Star Wars Battlefront 2 did well, there is no possible way in the highest heights of heaven to the deepest pit of hell that the thread wouldn't devolve into a discussion about microtransactions, even thought that discussion has already happened 1,000 times. You can't have a thread about a CDPR game without controversy. You can't have a thread about a THQ Nordic game without controversy. I am absolutely ok with a thread acknowledging the issues of a particular game, studio, or publisher. But without proper moderation, any thread will eventually devolve into whatever current controversy is surrounding the game, studio, or publisher, even though there are already a ton of threads rehashing the same discussion.
You can't actually like things around here. It's so fucking hard to make a thread celebrating a game without someone coming in and just ruining it. And it starts at the top. You can't expect the general population to change their behavior without a tone being set.
I feel like some simple guidelines, like allowing OPs to force their threads to stay on topic, and banning members from threads as opposed to the forum at large (if this is possible) would go a long way in fixing some of the negativity.
If I wanted to make a thread about things I think Star Wars Battlefront 2 did well, there is no possible way in the highest heights of heaven to the deepest pit of hell that the thread wouldn't devolve into a discussion about microtransactions, even thought that discussion has already happened 1,000 times. You can't have a thread about a CDPR game without controversy. You can't have a thread about a THQ Nordic game without controversy. I am absolutely ok with a thread acknowledging the issues of a particular game, studio, or publisher. But without proper moderation, any thread will eventually devolve into whatever current controversy is surrounding the game, studio, or publisher, even though there are already a ton of threads rehashing the same discussion.
You can't actually like things around here. It's so fucking hard to make a thread celebrating a game without someone coming in and just ruining it. And it starts at the top. You can't expect the general population to change their behavior without a tone being set.
Sadly, I agree. I don't know if this is something that has happened just the past few years, I think it's been pretty bad for quite a while now. There are subjects that are just... flammable. Like criticizing Nintendo. Or praising EA. Or just being of an opinion that is not popular around here. People care about games, I get that, but I think we should all try to take a step back and remember: it's just games! It's not the end of the world of someone doesn't like Zelda.
Knowing people get upset easily I hardly write anything anymore that could possibly upset someone, not least of fear of being banned for causing something (even if that would never be my intention). So yeah, the climate is just not healthy. It's like walking on thin glass.
Knowing people get upset easily I hardly write anything anymore that could possibly upset someone, not least of fear of being banned for causing something (even if that would never be my intention). So yeah, the climate is just not healthy. It's like walking on thin glass.
Yeah it can be pretty shit around here at times especially if you are just a regular poster.
I once suggested something in one of the Nintendo threads about pivoting an IP into a different genre and was basically ridiculed for it. A few months later someone with a little more clout suggested the same thing and all of a sudden it was a great idea according to the very same people who ridiculed me. Lmao it's kind of a joke.
I once suggested something in one of the Nintendo threads about pivoting an IP into a different genre and was basically ridiculed for it. A few months later someone with a little more clout suggested the same thing and all of a sudden it was a great idea according to the very same people who ridiculed me. Lmao it's kind of a joke.
- Status