I'm sure it hasn't escaped your notice, as it hasn't escaped ours, that things around here have gotten a little out of hand recently, to say the least. Reading the posts from the past month or so, we see bullying, mob-mentality, in-fighting, cliques. Members telling members (inaccurately) "how things are" on the boards and how they "should" act. Name-calling. Nastyness. Our poor mods have had their hands full while we were offline with personal matters. Now that we are back, it falls on us to decide what to do about all of this.
We've tried posting, reminding, pming. Asking, coaxing, cajoling. But all of that has fallen on deaf ears to the point of what's happened in the last month. Saying no more has ceased to work. Deleting posts and threads and visitor messages and karma comments has ceased to work. All the things that we do behind the scenes - which cause us to be accused of "doing nothing" - have in fact ceased to work.
So what can we do to restore the balance we used to have on the board? I guarantee that many of you are not going to like it. But it's necessary - because we are serious about taking back this board and keeping it the place we have nurtured these long years.
So some of you are going to be having a little time out. This is not punishment; we feel that some of you desperately need to take a step back from the board and gain some perspective on what you've all been arguing over. Those who we feel need it the most are going to have to take 3 days off from the boards and the chat; there is no assigning of right or wrong here - we have included people from BOTH sides of the problems. Go outside, watch a movie, call your friends on the telephone...do anything but sit on these boards. We hope that when you come back you might appreciate your fellow members a bit more, might gain some insight that this is just a message board, and to not take everything so seriously. We hope that when we all come back together (those that choose to return) we will be a stronger community that can respect each other. Because if you can't do that, you might as well not return.
Those of you that don't find yourselves with an unexpected vacation from the board, don't think you are off the hook or blameless. We've done our best but we can't pretend to have an all-inclusive list of who would benefit from this. So we still expect you to treat other members with kindness and respect, to disagree in a civilized manner, to accept everyone into this community and not alienate those who are new or different. Because the buck stops here. And when your fellows return, don't forget what it was like to be forced to be without them.
We have run this site under the principle that everyone deserves a second chance, that everyone makes mistakes. But it seems that this policy is being taken advantage of - membership here is a privilege, not a right. So to all those people who are pointing fingers, look back at yourself and how YOU treat your fellow members. To those people who disregard what the staff tells them, don't expect the privileges of membership without following the rules. Here is your second chance - don't expect a third.
So the cliques, the fighting, the name calling, the telling new members how they should post - all of it is finished. If we have to remove karma, visitor messages, the dorms or any other feature of this board, we will. Behavior such as we've seen on this board of late will get you nowhere - yes, it's the internet, but if you try this crap in real life you could end up in serious trouble, so this is a lesson we think everyone here needs to learn. You get what you give, it's as simple as that. And people will either start giving a lot differently, or they'll do it somewhere else.
Buffy and Faith, on behalf of Old Master, Lyri, and Angelic Slayer
P.S. We don't want any pm's, emails, visitor comments, karma comments, posts at AD, or any other comment about this. Everyone should take a break, cool off, and let us all move on from this. Any argument will only serve to extend your time away.
Please don't re-register on the board either - we'll know, and that is something we permanently ban for. In the US this is a holiday weekend - spend the time with your family and friends. Take the break - recharge and de-stress, and come back fresh.
---------- Post added at 02:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:34 PM ----------
When I asked for no karma comments, I meant it.
---------- Post added at 02:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:43 PM ----------
No really, NO KARMA COMMENTS ON THIS POST PLEASE. This is not a topic up for discussion of any kind.
We've tried posting, reminding, pming. Asking, coaxing, cajoling. But all of that has fallen on deaf ears to the point of what's happened in the last month. Saying no more has ceased to work. Deleting posts and threads and visitor messages and karma comments has ceased to work. All the things that we do behind the scenes - which cause us to be accused of "doing nothing" - have in fact ceased to work.
So what can we do to restore the balance we used to have on the board? I guarantee that many of you are not going to like it. But it's necessary - because we are serious about taking back this board and keeping it the place we have nurtured these long years.
So some of you are going to be having a little time out. This is not punishment; we feel that some of you desperately need to take a step back from the board and gain some perspective on what you've all been arguing over. Those who we feel need it the most are going to have to take 3 days off from the boards and the chat; there is no assigning of right or wrong here - we have included people from BOTH sides of the problems. Go outside, watch a movie, call your friends on the telephone...do anything but sit on these boards. We hope that when you come back you might appreciate your fellow members a bit more, might gain some insight that this is just a message board, and to not take everything so seriously. We hope that when we all come back together (those that choose to return) we will be a stronger community that can respect each other. Because if you can't do that, you might as well not return.
Those of you that don't find yourselves with an unexpected vacation from the board, don't think you are off the hook or blameless. We've done our best but we can't pretend to have an all-inclusive list of who would benefit from this. So we still expect you to treat other members with kindness and respect, to disagree in a civilized manner, to accept everyone into this community and not alienate those who are new or different. Because the buck stops here. And when your fellows return, don't forget what it was like to be forced to be without them.
We have run this site under the principle that everyone deserves a second chance, that everyone makes mistakes. But it seems that this policy is being taken advantage of - membership here is a privilege, not a right. So to all those people who are pointing fingers, look back at yourself and how YOU treat your fellow members. To those people who disregard what the staff tells them, don't expect the privileges of membership without following the rules. Here is your second chance - don't expect a third.
So the cliques, the fighting, the name calling, the telling new members how they should post - all of it is finished. If we have to remove karma, visitor messages, the dorms or any other feature of this board, we will. Behavior such as we've seen on this board of late will get you nowhere - yes, it's the internet, but if you try this crap in real life you could end up in serious trouble, so this is a lesson we think everyone here needs to learn. You get what you give, it's as simple as that. And people will either start giving a lot differently, or they'll do it somewhere else.
Buffy and Faith, on behalf of Old Master, Lyri, and Angelic Slayer
P.S. We don't want any pm's, emails, visitor comments, karma comments, posts at AD, or any other comment about this. Everyone should take a break, cool off, and let us all move on from this. Any argument will only serve to extend your time away.
Please don't re-register on the board either - we'll know, and that is something we permanently ban for. In the US this is a holiday weekend - spend the time with your family and friends. Take the break - recharge and de-stress, and come back fresh.
---------- Post added at 02:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:34 PM ----------
When I asked for no karma comments, I meant it.
---------- Post added at 02:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:43 PM ----------
No really, NO KARMA COMMENTS ON THIS POST PLEASE. This is not a topic up for discussion of any kind.