Systems Wars "rules" a little to strict?

[Gaming Geezer 78]

What gives? I can understand wanting to end the "flame-fests", but to eliminate trolling and all flaming? Why?

Look at the old board! Some of the very best, longest, most replied to and most read posts were "childish" personal squables. This board is dead compared to the original! Look at what you are taking away from us!

Folken saying "Xbox is bad." and "Xbox is for to just PC in black box." Funny stuff! Trolling? Yes. Funny? Hell yes!

Benedict Arnold saying "Microsoft is an American company! Buy American!" Trolling? Yes. Funny? You bet.

Game Reloaded complaining about people calling him by his old posting name and said behavior being condemned by the board. So what do we lively gamers do? We start posting as "Wedge-E" instead or Reggie. "Flame Rebloated" instead of Game Reloaded. "Mood-e" instead of Moody. This is great, comical material!

Joking about "Ron Jeremy's Brand Yogurt" and other off-topic things. Pushing the limits a bit? Yes. LOL, ROFL, LMAO funny? Damn straight.

I have many friends who don't necessarily post, but get on and read what is said. They count on me and guys like Snobbit Yppat and Massimodo to talk about things totally off the wall, get off topic and flame each other. Nobody gets hurt in the process! What's the big deal? Look back through some of the posts on this new board before I got my sign-on straightened out: Guys were taking pot-shots at me before I could even post or they knew I was around. I had to PM Slade and ask him to tell these flamers I would be back.

Why not ask the people posting here how they feel about flames, trolls and the like? I will abide by the rules, but this board would be a whole lot livlier if the restrictions were lessened. More people would get on again, more "pop-ups" and adds would be clicked and make your sponsors happy. I'll do a poll and just see what the others think.

Please, just consider what I am saying. Look at the old boards and tell me that at least once, you didn't LYAO. Thanks for your time.

[Fragmastar]

I voted for "Yes-I preferred the open "battles" of days gone by"

It's not that the new rules for System Wars are gonna kill me, it's just that the new rules have taken 45% of the fun/entertainment out of this board.

45% of System Wars was boosted by anger/rage/flaming/trolling.....All leading to a lot of fun.

We could still have fun now but not as much fun as we used to. :(

[slade]

I voted for, "I could care less." Honestly, I'm of the mind that the status quo will be maintained whatever rules the forum admin's throw at us. This board is defined by its posters not the other way around. Which is why it didn't bother me at first when there wasn't a System Wars forum.

[tekbit]

I voted yes. I am a periodic poster formally know as techbit, but i read the threads here all the time. I can't even count the times I've almost fell out of my chair laughing because of the sheer comedy written by posters like Renzatic, Xboxster and ivirtual(thats a compliment)and so many more. There will definetly be a void here at system wars if they refuse to allow those threads where posters just go at it. Thats what kept system wars alive when things got a little boring.

[Chris]

I appreciate the gesture of trying to get user feedback - unfortunately, it will end up being a flawed poll. Those who care and actually will take the time to vote or voice their opinion will be the ones who want the freedom to post whatever they want (including insults and flames). The voices of those people who have been flamed and have left without voicing their opinions will not be heard. Of course, we do receive the email complaints, which the posters of the board do not get to read.

Who here leaves the site to view/participate in more mature, quality discussions about gaming-related subjects on other sites? Probably because you don't feel that you can have a mature coversation after seeing what has been allowed here. This is what we're trying to address. We're simply going to moderate a little more.

Just because childish bickering draws a crowd doesn't mean it's good for the site or the community. Let me pose this question to you: A fight taking place inside of a restaraunt will attract people to come inside and watch. Does that mean it was good for business just because it attracted more people?

[tekbit]

<div class=\"smallfont\">"I appreciate the gesture of trying to get user feedback - unfortunately, it will end up being a flawed poll. Those who care and actually will take the time to vote or voice their opinion will be the ones who want the freedom to post whatever they want. The voices of those people who have been flamed and have left without voicing their opinions will not be heard. Of course, we do receive the email complaints, which the posters of the board do not get to read.

Who here leaves the site to view/participate in more mature, quality discussions about gaming-related subjects on other sites? Probably because you don't feel that you can have a mature coversation after seeing what has been allowed here. This is what we're trying to address. We're simply going to moderate a little more.

Just because childish bickering draws a crowd doesn't mean it's good for the site or the community. Let me pose this question to you: A fight taking place inside of a restaraunt will attract people to come inside and watch. Does that mean it was good for business just because it attracted more people?"</div>


We're talking about a videogame forum, not the senate! I have posted a few threads here very flame worthy and have been burnt a couple times but I didnt go away crying. Either way you guys are gonna lose people but thats life. But why not enjoy it. Let people voice their opinions as long as its not full of profanity who cares? I don't. Let us skip the threads we don't want to read.

[Chris]

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We're talking about a videogame forum, not the senate! I have posted a few threads here very flame worthy and have been burnt a couple times but I didnt go away crying. Either way you guys are gonna lose people but thats life. But why not enjoy it. Let people voice their opinions as long as its not full of profanity who cares? I don't. Let us skip the threads we don't want to read.</div>

So, if we were to enforce a flame-free forum, like other videogame sites do, we will lose people? If everyone visiting videogame sites wanted to read flames, I suspect we'd be the largest gaming forum on the web by now.

I think you're completely misunderstanding the point we're trying to get across - people can voice their opinions. They can have fun. Some just need to show a little bit more respect for our rules than they have in the past. They shouldn't post offensive material that would drive away other users. People who do nothing but start flames here will be banned, just like they would in most other site forums. Ask questions, answer questions, contribute some good info, and have fun. It's not tough. I don't think we're asking too much here guys. Now please, let's move on and get back to gaming.

[Chris]

By the way, after looking at all the activity in the new forums, it doesn't look like the System Wars forum suffering much. There's plenty of posting and viewing going on still, despite our mention of more moderation. I would say that everyone should just go ahead and move on. The rules will be clear as time goes by and things start getting deleted. Let's stop fussing about the moderation and just get back to some fun and "games".

[T.Tashi]

It certainly seems to be weeding out those who never had any real argument or debate skills in the first place. =P

[sjsharky]

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So, if we were to enforce a flame-free forum, like other videogame sites do, we will lose people? If everyone visiting videogame sites wanted to read flames, I suspect we'd be the largest gaming forum on the web by now.

I think you're completely misunderstanding the point we're trying to get across - people can voice their opinions. They can have fun. Some just need to show a little bit more respect for our rules than they have in the past. They shouldn't post offensive material that would drive away other users. People who do nothing but start flames here will be banned, just like they would in most other site forums. Ask questions, answer questions, contribute some good info, and have fun. It's not tough. I don't think we're asking too much here guys. Now please, let's move on and get back to gaming.</div>

If you intended to maintain a flame free zone, why did you even reinstate System Wars in the first place? It was the most popular board for a reason. All of the previous reasons mentioned. There are a multitude of other boards here to post inoffensive/respectful opinions on, not to say there havent been plenty on System Wars. I have much the same feelings as tekbit regarding the fact that I enjoy reading whats going on on the board even more than posting and have shared my opinion on the matter elsewhere. Occasionally, someone will say something so blatantly outrageous that I feel I must chime in with my own opinion, which makes it all the more enjoyable. If I was just looking for information I would go somewhere else, to another board that is, ie Xbox, PS2, GC board.

I must question your logic when you are asking for one thing, NO FLAMING, and do another, cave to the posters to reinstate the most flame-ridden, but alas the most popular board on VGR.

Sorry to cut it short, LIVE is calling.

[Whaxx]

<div class=\"smallfont\">By the way, after looking at all the activity in the new forums, it doesn't look like the System Wars forum suffering much. \".</div>

HA! you think it hasn't been suffering?! obviously you haven't gone to the original System Wars much, that board was so busy, even during the summer! I could leave the boards and come back like 2 or 3 hours later and there would be like 5 more threads started, one of them, usually got alot more attention then others and would have like 20 replies already, now THATS activity!

["The Game"Evolution]

Lets face it the old"System Wars" was the best of the best on any videogame forum out there.We had it all:Namecalling,swearing,rude gestures,flaming,great videogame debates;etc I mean myself and the rest of the horde always kept things interesting to say the least.

Yes the rules are a tad firm,but rules can be stretched just not broken.Trust me on this MODS "System Wars" indeed should have a little space here.I mean I doubt it'll be as crazy as the old System Wars forum was,but all I ask from you is just let us have some fun.We wont take your generousity on this for granted.Besides sometimes you want to have some quality posts sometimes as well as some racy ones.

Variety is good for the soul.Just think about it fellow MODS.

[Twelve]

I voted "I could care less".

My problem with the other forum structure is that you had to be constantly on the computer to maintain any kind of debate. I can't do that.

At least here, I can easily refer back to posts, and if you happen to enter a debate late, you're not totally ignored.

In the end though, I don't care much about "system wars" anymore. Same people saying the same things over and over again...I read for laughs more than anything else. GF78 still cracks me up because he's manipulating this whole place and people are dancing to his tune, even if he's an old broken record.


12

[Chris]

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If you intended to maintain a flame free zone, why did you even reinstate System Wars in the first place? It was the most popular board for a reason. All of the previous reasons mentioned. There are a multitude of other boards here to post inoffensive/respectful opinions on, not to say there havent been plenty on System Wars. I have much the same feelings as tekbit regarding the fact that I enjoy reading whats going on on the board even more than posting and have shared my opinion on the matter elsewhere. Occasionally, someone will say something so blatantly outrageous that I feel I must chime in with my own opinion, which makes it all the more enjoyable. If I was just looking for information I would go somewhere else, to another board that is, ie Xbox, PS2, GC board.

I must question your logic when you are asking for one thing, NO FLAMING, and do another, cave to the posters to reinstate the most flame-ridden, but alas the most popular board on VGR.

Sorry to cut it short, LIVE is calling.</div>
We thought about getting rid of System Wars altogether, especially from the number of complaints that we've received about the forum to date. I believe we can clean it up a bit and still have a thriving forum. The other VGR forums are there for pure information, as where the SW forum is more for fun and to challenge opinions. However, I admit, we allowed a bit too much freedom in the past which brought down the quality. Sure, it was busy, but not necessarily for the right reasons. By nature, people love to watch destruction take place.

We're basically trying to give the users what they want, but in return, we're asking for some cooperation by the veterans of the board to help us keep the flames to a minimum, and to report constant offenders. That is our logic. I know - it seems like a huge expectation, but it's possible.

[Richard Hobbes]

All,

I voted no with the following caveat: I do not wish all flames, fun posts, etc. to be eliminated from System Wars. Without these things the entire culture of System Wars would disappear. However, what I'd like to see is the general quality of posts improve. There are too many flame wars and too much swearing on System Wars. A little bit is okay, but when a large number of posts contain nothing more than war banter ("you suck... no you suck... etc.) the board becomes rather useless. So my vote is a bit of yes and a bit of no. I'd like to see more focus on games and game debate, but I don't want all flames removed because they add character. Moderation (get it... pun intended) is the key.

RH.