Epicmafia

Community Project

deletedover 9 years

Hi. Recently, I've felt that our current rules do not fit the current meta and playerbase, and are outdated in many aspects. I've been thinking about rewriting them in full, but I figured that a more open approach would allow for everyone to be more content if such a thing happened. I want to use this thread to talk about discrepancies in the system and how to appropriately fix or address them. I believe that the rules are not accessible enough based on website design alone and how they are handled. This leads to a lot of complaints that could be thinned down if people came together and defined the rules in such a way that can make everyone (mostly) happy. I want to use this thread as a placeholder and for people to be critical as much as they please with aspects of the report system also, and how we as a team could possibly improve it or get lucid to notice that it is in need of an overhaul. It's a very daunting task, but I want to believe that the people who spend their time in the complaints section, constantly riding on mods or problems with the site, finally will put their money with their mouth is.

The goal of this thread is to hopefully allow new and old users thoroughly understand the rules more clearly so the amount of reports diminishes and people have a more enjoyable experience.

deletedover 9 years

AdrenalineMime says

jesus please be more articulate, i thought this was about somethign more interesting than that. PCE OL

It's a lot of things, not just that. I really wanna hear how you think we can handle the disconnect between people actually learning about the rules and following them instead using them as a means of grudge or incorrectly.

deletedover 9 years

I mean, this is honestly arguing that mods have LESS rights than normal users... what the hell lmao

deletedover 9 years

Yeah I'm legitimately confused how and where people suddenly forgot they could do something that mods have done since mods were added

AdrenalineMime

over 9 years

jesus please be more articulate, i thought this was about somethign more interesting than that. PCE OL

deletedover 9 years

HC isn't even that gray anymore; and mods have always been able to slap it on people using slurs a lot. I did it countless times.

AdrenalineMime

over 9 years

i think the issue he's pointing out is that each mods' definition of HC/Trolling can vary, which are the grayer rules to enforce

deletedover 9 years

Lashka says

How on earth have you gone for 4 years without knowing this?

I have never seen it happen in the past ~2 years. Not once.

deletedover 9 years

How on earth have you gone for 4 years without knowing this?

That's an imbecilic idea. Who do you think files the majority of Inapp Avi/Bio reports? Mods.

deletedover 9 years

Lashka says

Why on earth would you not be able to?

Trolling is a gameplay violation and different, but as long as you weren't in the game then you'd still be allowed to, yes.

I've been told literally since I've modded that you weren't allowed to. I'd like to include trolling to be related to the community also, honestly.

deletedover 9 years

Why on earth would you not be able to?

Trolling is a gameplay violation and different, but as long as you weren't in the game then you'd still be allowed to, yes.

deletedover 9 years

Lashka says

... Mods can and do instantly report and suspend people for X-Rated Imagery. They always have been able to.

Okay, can I do the same for HC/OPI/Trolling/Hateful now too?

deletedover 9 years

AdrenalineMime says

we kinda take for granted how much we've internalized the rules. they're way too verbose and frankly boring for a totally new player to grasp in one sitting. most of them are common sense, but some of them like ISP and OGI cannot be explained to someone who has never played a game of mafia yet. so that kinda begs the question, when exactly are players supposed to learn about these rules?

as it is now, they only learn rules by a) getting punished themselves, which although to us violations don't mean anything, getting punished is not a very inviting gesture, and b) report everything they think is bad and seeing what sticks, which floods the reports section.

there's also c) players just straight up teaching each other, which i think is great that our community is (was) so welcoming, but it's not guaranteed, and imo that kind of friendly mentoring has petered out with the death of red/unranked games

btw amime i love this post and i wish i had an answer to this overbearing problem

deletedover 9 years

... Mods can and do instantly report and suspend people for X-Rated Imagery. They always have been able to.

The only times mods can't report/do reports on people are A) Harassment and B) Doing reports from games you were in.

You can even report and slap violations on person Y a from game you specated after person X got reported if you want to.

deletedover 9 years

Lashka says

Mods don't have to wait for any rules other than harassment; and it's quite easy to tighten up on that without giving total free reign.

I've always thought that moderators were not allowed to make reports. If Betrayal makes a topic that would be fall under trolling/hc/x-rated/OPI, I'd really love to just give that violation to them then and there. I made the whole moderator discretion as a work-around because I know mods will never be able to actually do that.

AdrenalineMime

over 9 years

aren't the mod action explanation boxes sufficient? on that note, can that area be more navigable?

deletedover 9 years

Time to release the new-look Epicmafia.com website.

deletedover 9 years

Lashka says

The community aspects are where mods have handled it worst in the past. Arbitrary powers are either dictatorial or idiotic. Which are you going for?

I want moderators to be allowed to judge and be judged for certain actions instead of given freebies for casual abuse of their own as it is not covered or reprimanded. If a mod is going around deleting posts because he doesn't like that user, clearly he isn't fit to mod. It makes mods shape up too.

deletedover 9 years

Mods don't have to wait for any rules other than harassment; and it's quite easy to tighten up on that without giving total free reign.

AdrenalineMime

over 9 years

i actually have 0 idea what the context is

deletedover 9 years

The community aspects are where mods have handled it worst in the past. Arbitrary powers are either dictatorial or idiotic. Which are you going for?

deletedover 9 years

I really can't think of a website where moderators aren't actually allowed to moderate the community and instead have to wait on for the community to report someone else in it.

deletedover 9 years

Devante says

Lore says

Think of it as a rule when you have users like Betrayal making troll topics that are highly offensive and shouldn't even be allowed to be made. Moderators don't have the proper authority to delete such topics because users will just turn to the report system and say 'hey there isn't a violation for this unfair mods etc.'

and if it's like that then you'll have mods who dislike Betrayal just deleting everything he posts or does at their own discretion

Then their abuse will be handled accordingly and the admin will have more to do than look pretty and appoint mods once in a while once the report count gets high.

deletedover 9 years

Lashka says

If you're going to give mods something that lets them arbitrarily do whatever they want, why bother to even make a rule? Delete the lot, and put every game under 'mod discretion'.

It's not going to be related to games, mostly forums and such. I don't think there will ever be an epicmafia will mods will be allowed to give violations on their own when it comes to games, but I'd like to think that the community aspects could be possible.

deletedover 9 years

Lore says

Think of it as a rule when you have users like Betrayal making troll topics that are highly offensive and shouldn't even be allowed to be made. Moderators don't have the proper authority to delete such topics because users will just turn to the report system and say 'hey there isn't a violation for this unfair mods etc.'

and if it's like that then you'll have mods who dislike Betrayal just deleting everything he posts or does at their own discretion

deletedover 9 years

If you're going to give mods something that lets them arbitrarily do whatever they want, why bother to even make a rule? Delete the lot, and put every game under 'mod discretion'.