General Discussion > Moderation Discussion

Break a leg.

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Mizhara:
As with all good things, they must come to an end. I debated where to put this post, but it didn't quite seem to fit into any of the subforums so into off-topic it goes. I feel that even though I may be one of the most moderated posters on this board, I've contributed quite nicely since the days a few of us gathered on Scagga's little sub-forum to discuss a potential new board after Chatsubo grew intolerable. Days of optimism, both cautious and with wild abandon. Careful deliberation on rulesets and how to avoid just copypasting the problem on a new template. The discussion on both boards when it went live, about hidden motives and outright hostilities. About cross posting, police states, pigdogs and we-didn't-want-you-there-anyway etc.

They were heady times, uncertain and even forging ahead into unknown territory.

We succeeded though. Damn we succeeded. Backstage should be recognized for what it was and what it is. A gigantic success from very humble and mean origins. It is easily the greatest collection of ramblings, world-building, fiction, discussion and more from the Eve RP community and it has weathered every challenge it has faced. A few of us have been around since the beginning, even if many has fallen to the wayside along the way, and many new contributors have come along since. Some of us has come, gone, come again and so on. Some have burned brightly and burned out, others have never really sparked much and some few have kept an even glow throughout the whole history of this place.

Still, an end must eventually come, and this is mine.

The Moderation Discussion board holds a few locked threads on a topic I felt warranted discussion. They certainly had the potential to turn out poorly and then locked, but hadn't reached that point yet. While the topic itself was not important enough that I'd be overly annoyed if the discussion didn't solve the issues raised, the way the discussion was stamped out before it was allowed to even occur was a step too far for me. I would even go so far as to say stamping out any talk on the subject with official moderation amounts to censorship.

I have since contacted the moderators Havohej, Morwen and Silver Night in shared PMs. Havohej largely responded with abuse, Morwen did not respond at all (but let me know why in-game, and I fully understand his position which shall remain between me and him until/if he chooses otherwise) and Silver responded with fair and thoughtful reason, even if we didn't agree on the subject. I have, by the way, taken screenshots of all those PMs just in case I need to document both what I have said and what has been said to me.

This disagreement overall on the two separate topics of moderators adhering to the same or higher standards than the users, and how such things needs to be a matter users (and moderators) can discuss openly as long as certain standards of discussion is kept to, is a little too important for me to remain a contributor on this site. The differences in opinion on this matter is a little too severe and it would be hypocritical of me to continue to as a contributor in tacit support of what I feel is an unacceptable approach by the moderation team. That said, I want to make it clear that I do respect both Morwen and Silver and the job they're volunteering for on this site. Morwen often has to take the role of the bad guy, being the most active moderator and Silver certainly strives to be reasonable and decent even in disagreements. They have earned that respect, even though they have been amazing headaches for me and I have railed and even gotten angry at the both of them at times. I still appreciate it when they do their jobs, and they almost always do the job flawlessly. This decision to leave is not even remotely about that, but about the stifling of discussions that could improve moderation or at the very least clarify situations where it is less than optimal.

As I started with above, I do feel I've contributed here. In fiction. In world-building. In shitposting, here in off-topic and elsewhere. Raising the bar and standards in the catacombs occasionally, and generally adding a touch of class and thuggery alike sometimes. Narcissistic and arrogant it may be, but I think this place will actually be a little lessened by my absence, but I can see no other option available to me as my continued presence would be a tacit approval of something I just can't approve of.

I just ask that everyone reading this sit back and remember what this place is.

A resounding success. A truly inspiring place, where people holding wildly different opinions on the mercurial and chaotic subject of RP in New Eden come together to lock horns, smooth over differences, discuss and explore the wilderness of New Eden's characters and themes, forge alliances and perform that wonderful thing that holds a special meaning to all roleplayers worth their salt...

Creation.

Of men and women. Societies and nations. Entire worlds and universes. The most simple and insignificant of thoughts.

Don't forget that this place is very much a special place, and it has become that place through a whole lot of work by a whole lot of people coming together. At first, a few in a smoke-filled room and eventually a whole line of people great and small contributing a little or a lot. Don't lose sight of how great this place can be, or take it for granted. I may not be able to contribute anymore, but that is on me and my conscience. You can.

Backstage is where the magic happens. So rehearse your lines, explore your characters, shoot the shit with your co-actors and then...

Break a leg.

Lyn Farel:
Backstage was a forum on steroids, one of the best I have had the occasion to post in, with a lot of great people.

The community decaying as well as the atmosphere, and the mod team I feel having lost their ways somewhere in the process, doesnt make it true today in my view.

There seems to be a power struggle between the mod and the folks, and the sad thing is that there is a clear lack of willingness to admit that there is a problem, as the state of things clearly attests. Scagga created a thread himself on the matter a while back, and nobody of the admins, seemed to care.

Cling to the little power you still have if you want, plug your ears, through whatever means you need to... The ball is in your yard eventually. I am more and more considering that the team is the crux of the problem and the source of what the forum has turned into. I have so many PMs from various people, active and participating members as well as people that just got disgusted of it, that it's uncanny.

I am also considering to drop it altogether considering how obnoxious the mod team has become.

Maybe hypocritical from the most contributive member of the forum, but whatever.

The Rook:
Casual observation regarding moderation: seeing a lack of etiquette is human but a bit disappointing in some folks as it violates the set standards in a very unsided manner. However, moderation is a thankless job.

Does this have an impact on the quality and quantity of the content discussed here?
Not really. There's not much going on beyond community members drawing lines in the sand or whining about more or less everything.  This is bittervet overflow and the reason people don't bother posting or coming back to start discussing.
A negative environment isn't inviting.

Louella Dougans:
bye o/

Utari Onzo:
As someone outside of all this drama over past things and former banned members, I feel confident saying I honestly don't give a flying fuck about those issues as I wasn't a part of them, nor is it my business to get involved.

Miz, what interaction I have had with you OOC (including our fanbois moment the other night over a bunch of stuff) has been pretty good overall. We haven't really interacted much IC, which is a bit sad, but none the less I hope things go well for you. If you're sticking around for eve, great, see you flip side there. If not, maybe we'll bump into each other on another game.

Regardless, forums are just forums. There's always plenty of places to shoot the shit. Backstage is nice, but it's not a be all and end all for roleplay within Eve.

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