This is not exactly a complaint but just a clarification thread so that we all and me in particular have clarity on what we can do and what we can't.
First I will give the background.
1
Initially slurs were not banned and people took it in a sporting manner and shrugged it off as in game ate and rage and people only reported for harassment in case it was not game related but personal. People reported for hateful comment when it was intended to racially abuse people or their sexual orientation or if something was outright unprovoked.
Even then if it was game related appeal to emotion and provoked then people shrugged it off without reporting. We used to abuse each other and later become friends
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Then came a time where riotkiller reported this website and it threatened to deny us adds. So lucid had a strict policy of hateful comments in the forums. He made it clear that it was ok in games.
This was implemented really well and he introduced censor. We bypassed censor and were warned that it was not ok. Post that I made sure to not bypass it at all. Then others bypassed and were reported by me. They got vios.
Then more people bypassed it. Then mod friends bypassed it. They changed the rule and just started deleting the posts. Later on they started ignoring it completely.
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Then one fine day the mod team were instructed to have zero tolerance on slurs in games too. I was given a vio for using the r word im gy when I was alone in gy. I discussed it with mods and especially giga on skype who after a point completely shut me down and refused to even change it to a warning as I was not aware of the zero tolerance rule as no mods made a thread about it or announced it.
I was ok with it. I completely stopped it. It was really difficult for me, but I always make sure to not break a rule.
Since I was not allowed to do it, I was not going to allow anyone else to do the same. I reported people who used that slur. They got vios.
Then many people got vios for it. Some mods didn't give vio for it when their friends were involved and said it was their discretion. Then they started giving notes for it.
Then they started giving it no vio and then without making any announcement they started giving judgement in the reports saying "it was not severe"
4
Then came the phase where no one gave a rat's rear about these. Just like the good old days. I stopped reporting people for it but I still didn't use the r word or any other slur because I didn't want to take any risk.
Then one fine day a group of people used the r word against me. I requested them to not continue. They continued and I reported them. The mod said it wasn't severe enough. Later in a game, I used the slur and said that a particular role was retrded. I didn't even direct it to a person. I said it 3 times, once was to a role, twice to a strategy. I was given a vio for it.
The mod said that if we do it more than 2 times then it was a vio. I said fine. But this rule was also changed later on when mod didn't wanna give a vio. In some cases they gave notes to experienced players and in some cases they just said "no vio"
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Then came the phase where the mods were good and decided that these slurs were in game banter and doesn't need a mod to intervene. I was delighted. I didn't report a soul for it even when they abused me racially or said absolutely mean things. I insulted people when I was provoked or needed to do to win the game. No one gave vios.
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Now, I see that there is a change in rule again.
https://epicmafia.com/report/242208
I am not sure what to make of this. Whether we are allowed to use the r word or not? I know that the mods can't officially say that we are allowed, but we need a hint that what will lead to a vio.
We need clarity on the below
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Is it a vio to use the r word against a player in the game? or to wish them death or to tell them to kill themselves? Whether excessive or not.
In my opinion it should not be, because if it is in a game or post game or pre game then it is part of the game and post game rage. This game is based on emotions. And invoking those emotions is thus part of the game.
However, it should be a vio, if a player is seen to be targeted by someone and is following the player around and hurling slurs without any provocation. Even this should be a vio only if the person who reports has first filed a report saying that they are not ok with it. Once it is made clear that they feel they are being targeted and they want it to be stopped, then they can file a report for violation. Otherwise they should man up and take the insult if they fuk up in games.
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If it does not matter and the mods have decided that it should be a vio no matter what, then please make it clear here. I will not break the rule at all and if I absolutely have to use a slur, I will not fight the vio at all.
But this will also mean that I will not take a single slur against me as well and I will report each one of them and will absolutely wreak havoc if the mod shows double standards.
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On the other hand, if it is decided that it is ok and users can express their emotions in the game and people are expected to endure it as it is part of the game, then I will never report anyone for it.
However, if I or someone else goes out of their way to harass someone or racially abuse someone without any game related issue, then that person should be first asked to stop. If they continue to do it then they should get a vio.
I request the mods to give us clarity on this. Believe me when I tell you that at the moment I am not blaming any mod for the current status. I just want clarity for future.
PS: This is a serious thread where we need constructive discussion and a confirmation from the admin. If the admin says that it isn't black and white, then I request them to write it in their own words as to what will lead to a vio and what will not. (being a friend or enemy of a mod should not be the criteria here). I request everybody to not derail this thread. If they continue to do it despite my warning, I will report them for in thread spamming.