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Topic: State of the Community Address

Posts 1 to 20 of 33

Tasuki

Hello fellow Pushsquares,

Ok guys it's time that I address the following issues that I have seen in the past few days and especially the past few hours about the comment sections of articles.

First off let me say this is not directed to one person but rather the community as a whole, so don't take any offense to it.

In case you guys didn't know a few weeks ago both Sammy and the rest of the staff brought me on as an official moderator. So just in case you didn't know I do have Sammy and staff's backing when it comes to reprimanding users as well as editing/deleting posts. If you do have a post edited or deleted please do not take it personally and if you have a problem please contact the staff using the contact form found here https://www.pushsquare.com/contact and also on the bottom of the page. We will be more than happy to discuss it with you.

Now let me say I love this community and everyone here in fact this is one of the friendliest communities I have been a part of online however I have seen some problems cropping up as of late that I want to address.

1. Language — This is a minor one and honesty due to most of our viewers we tend to let some go by. This doesn't mean it's ok to string a list of cuss words as long as your arm in articles or go around using an F bomb (which just to let you know the F word will not be allowed here at all) here and there. Keep in mind that some words may be offensive to other users so please watch the language. If I get a report that someone is offended by a word it will be edited. Just keep in mind that there are other words that you can use instead. Also keep in mind that anything I edit and is reedited by a user back to its original state will be met with a punishment. Honestly I do not enjoy having to edit text so I am not doing it to be mean or a jerk about it.

2. Insults to other users — This is the one I have been seeing alot lately. Now as the community grows we are going to get trolls or fanboys or whatever you want to call them coming around it's inevitable and just a sad fact of forums getting more and more well known. Also we are not all going to see eye to eye on different things obviously that is not how the world works and even if it did it would be a pretty boring place y' know. It's ok to not agree with someone what is not ok is insulting them cause they do not agree with you. If someone is being hostile to you or insulting you please don't fire back insults to them. For the most part we are all mature people who are past the first grade (at least I hope ) instead be the bigger person and let it go. If it does bother you please use the report button and someone from the staff will step in. I will not settle for well he insulted me so I thought it was ok to insult him back, regardless of who started it both parties will be punished which could be a temp or even a permanent ban.

3. Spam posts — This is kind of a problem here as from time to time we do get assaulted with a wave of spammers, it just so happened we were hit the other night but I took care of them. If you guys see a spam post do not reply to them. More then likely they are either bots who don't look at the response or people from another country who it is their job to spam forums. In other words telling the off or yelling at them does not matter to them and in the end just makes a bigger mess for me to clean up. If you see one just report it and move on and we will do the rest.

Now hopefully you all have read and understood the community rules, if not now might be a good time to

https://www.pushsquare.com/rules

Take this post as a warning that is the point of it. I wanted to first hand tell you all what I am keeping an eye out and what is acceptable and not acceptable

If as always you have a problem please use the report button and if you have any questions let us know that's why we are here.

Also just a heads up even if I don't post anything for awhile doesn't mean I am not watching the site. When I am away from the computer I do have a smartphone and do keep an eye on the forums that way too.

You are all great here and I am sorry that this had to be addressed but it is just the nature of forums getting bigger and bigger. There are many exciting things in the year ahead for PushSquare and I hope you all are around to enjoy them.

If Sammy or any of the staff has anything else to add then they may do so but for now I have said what I had to say. Any questions you guys can post it here and I will answer it unless it can't be discussed in public (like user bans for example)

Thank you all for being a part of PushSquare!!!

Tasuki

Edited on by antdickens

RetiredPush Square Moderator and all around retro gamer.

My Backlog

PSN: Tasuki3711

larry_koopa

I feel that yesterday that I may have gone too far in a reply that I made to somebody's forum topic.  I was a bit too rude and harsh in my reply and if that community member or any other was offended by my response I do apologize. 

Before I knew of Push Square's existence I was a very active member on the sister-site, Nintendo Life.  I will freely admit that I was once banned (and deservedly so) for my actions over there.  I don't really like the phrase "trolling," but I will say that I was a jerk.  Anyways, I apologized for my actions and was fortunate enough to receive a second chance on the network under a new user name.  I believe that I have turned over a new leaf and I am ashamed of how I used to behave over there.  Forgive the bad metaphor, but I feel that my forum reply yesterday was a slight shadow of my former self. 

I obviously can't speak for any user other than myself, but for me this message came through loud and clear.  The fact is that I love Nintendo and Sony and feel very passionate about the video game industry and this wonderful pass time of ours.  Nintendo Life and Push Square are two of my favourite gaming sites and I take pride in being a positive member of the community.  I've got a lot of respect for Sammy, Thomas Whitehead over at NL, and for all the editors at both sites.  If I didn't then I wouldn't keep visiting the sites every day.  Please keep up the great work, everybody.  I will continue to do my part in trying my best to keep my comments clean and positive.

Edited on by larry_koopa

My game library ranges from Mario Kart to Call of Duty to Tales of Xillia to Diablo 3 to Forza. To me gaming is about having fun - not blindly supporting only one company while thumbing your nose at "the evil other systems."

get2sammyb

Thanks for that Tasuki, totally agree - and it's nice to have a reminder from time to time.

I think the most important thing is that we promote positive and constructive discourse, and we never devolve into baseless taunts or insults. Disagreement and discussion is encouraged, but let's always keep it friendly and remember that, even when others don't agree, we're effectively discussing video games here -- it's meant to be fun.

The more that you moderate yourselves, the less we have to do on the other end, and the more enjoyable the site will be for everyone. Honestly, I enjoy less work - and I'm sure Tasuki will agree!

TOMBOY25

If you have to edit out a rude word just replace it with gibberish like gobbledygook its a good word i want it used more often

Edited on by TOMBOY25

TOMBOY25

PSN: TOMBOY25

Tasuki

@Diddy_kong:  I understand that, that is a big part of the problem, people being to passionate about a subject, whether it's a company, game, idea or whatever.  Because of that passion we can let things slip out in the heat of the moment.  What I am more concerned about  is the back an forth banter between users.  If you do find yourself in one of these situations the best thing to do is as I said in the above post just let it go.  Also if you have said something that you regret there is an edit/delete post button.


@TOMBOY25:  I could do that but honestly I just prefer to remove the word all together for one thing it draws less attention to the edit.  That and I dont want to disrupt the post too much.

RetiredPush Square Moderator and all around retro gamer.

My Backlog

PSN: Tasuki3711

Jaz007

If I may have one suggestion it's that a few swears not to use are listed (like the A word), because I have noticed that this place seems a bit more lax with it than NintendoLife and it'a much more prevalent. Thanks for your work too, it's much appriciated. This and its sister site are great places to be because of the moderating quality.

Jaz007

get2sammyb
Jaz007

If I may have one suggestion it's that a few swears not to use are listed (like the A word), because I have noticed that this place seems a bit more lax with it than NintendoLife and it'a much more prevalent. Thanks for your work too, it's much appriciated. This and its sister site are great places to be because of the moderating quality.

With Push Square, we're coveting a slightly older audience, so I'm personally comfortable with very light swears like 'arse' and 'ass'. Of course, this all depends on context -- saying "I can't be arsed with blah blah" is completely different to using the word as an insult, which would be frowned upon.

larry_koopa
Tasuki

@Diddy_kong:  I understand that, that is a big part of the problem, people being to passionate about a subject, whether it's a company, game, idea or whatever.  Because of that passion we can let things slip out in the heat of the moment.  What I am more concerned about  is the back an forth banter between users.  If you do find yourself in one of these situations the best thing to do is as I said in the above post just let it go.  Also if you have said something that you regret there is an edit/delete post button.


@TOMBOY25:  I could do that but honestly I just prefer to remove the word all together for one thing it draws less attention to the edit.  That and I dont want to disrupt the post too much.


Generally speaking I do not engage in "back and forth banter."  I simply write my post and leave it at that.  Personally, I don't see much of a point in arguing with people over the internet.  I see the bitter exchanges that go on at other gaming sites and know that that isn't for me.  I do want my voice and opinions to be heard, which is why I choose to come to PS and NL, but I don't need to know whether people agree or disagree with me.  The comment sections of these two sites give me that outlet.

I'd much rather be playing games than arguing about them at my laptop screen.

My game library ranges from Mario Kart to Call of Duty to Tales of Xillia to Diablo 3 to Forza. To me gaming is about having fun - not blindly supporting only one company while thumbing your nose at "the evil other systems."

TOMBOY25

nobody got the blackadder gobbledygook reference then

TOMBOY25

PSN: TOMBOY25

larry_koopa

@get2sammyb

Just curious, but how much larger is the NL community when compared to that of Push Square?  Stories over there frequently get over 100 comments, and you can usually at least double that number if it's a review for a big game.  But over here at Push Square articles are lucky to get 10 comments. I spend equal time on both sites and it's just something that I've noticed.

Perfect example:  GTA V was one of the biggest releases of last year.  That review only got 43 comments on this site.  Compare that to the 382 comments for the Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze review at Nintendo Life, which got 382 comments.

Edited on by larry_koopa

My game library ranges from Mario Kart to Call of Duty to Tales of Xillia to Diablo 3 to Forza. To me gaming is about having fun - not blindly supporting only one company while thumbing your nose at "the evil other systems."

Ginkgo

I don't believe that I have ever sworn in a post on this site, but after reading the above, I have an almost insatiable desire to....$%^&. Dammit. 

Does that make me bad? 

This leaf from a tree in the East, has been given to my garden.
It reveals a certain secret, which pleases me and thoughtful people. - Goethe

get2sammyb
Diddy_kong

@get2sammyb

Just curious, but how much larger is the PS community when compared to that of Nintendo Life?  Stories over there frequently get over 100 comments, and you can usually at least double that number if it's a review for a big game.  But over here at Push Square articles are lucky to get 10 comments. I spend equal time on both sites and it's just something that I've noticed.

Perfect example:  GTA V was one of the biggest releases of last year.  That review only got 43 comments on this site.  Compare that to the 382 comments for the Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze review at Nintendo Life, which got 382 comments.

Nintendo Life is much bigger than Push Square... For now.

We've come such a long way over the past six months, though, it's quite incredible.

MadchesterManc

I haven't posted much myself of late due to the increased moderation & waiting to see how it will effect community. In all my years posting on websites, theres been a couple of times where an increase in moderating has led to a stagnating community. This was probably due to those moderators dictating instead of moderating discussions, which I doubt is gloing to happen here - but you never know. Ive nothing against moderating, its always needed, but Im just keeping an eye on just how 'Strict' it is from here onwards & wether its going to adversley effect discussions.

http://www.otakugamers.uk
https://twitter.com/OtakuGamersUK

"Love is a device invented by bank managers to make us overdrawn" AJ Rimmer

PSN: MadchesterManc | Twitter:

larry_koopa
get2sammyb
Diddy_kong

@get2sammyb

Just curious, but how much larger is the PS community when compared to that of Nintendo Life?  Stories over there frequently get over 100 comments, and you can usually at least double that number if it's a review for a big game.  But over here at Push Square articles are lucky to get 10 comments. I spend equal time on both sites and it's just something that I've noticed.

Perfect example:  GTA V was one of the biggest releases of last year.  That review only got 43 comments on this site.  Compare that to the 382 comments for the Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze review at Nintendo Life, which got 382 comments.

Nintendo Life is much bigger than Push Square... For now.

We've come such a long way over the past six months, though, it's quite incredible.


Thanks for the reply and congrats on the growth of the site!!

My game library ranges from Mario Kart to Call of Duty to Tales of Xillia to Diablo 3 to Forza. To me gaming is about having fun - not blindly supporting only one company while thumbing your nose at "the evil other systems."

RoosterCogburn

Hey guys.  I have been following this site and reading the comments for quite awhile now and decided to join today.  Of all the videogame sites I follow this is the only one that intrigued me enought to actually join.  Would love to add some friends to my PSN account as I only have two and have been reading will need a minimum of six for raids in Destiny.  I consider myself a very passionate Sony gamer, and Sony exclusively.  Tend to enjoy RPG and open world games but am also open to some FPS and adventure titles.  I have also noticed that I have become pleasantly surprised with the nice "indy" selection on the ps4. (Hate the use of the word indy).  Anyways  was not sure where to post this but would would love the chance to get to know you all better and add serious gamers such as myself to my PSN account.  Thank you for all the excellent I sight and news on videogames!

Grab and Growl

get2sammyb
SonyInfinity

Hey guys.  I have been following this site and reading the comments for quite awhile now and decided to join today.  Of all the videogame sites I follow this is the only one that intrigued me enought to actually join.  Would love to add some friends to my PSN account as I only have two and have been reading will need a minimum of six for raids in Destiny.  I consider myself a very passionate Sony gamer, and Sony exclusively.  Tend to enjoy RPG and open world games but am also open to some FPS and adventure titles.  I have also noticed that I have become pleasantly surprised with the nice "indy" selection on the ps4. (Hate the use of the word indy).  Anyways  was not sure where to post this but would would love the chance to get to know you all better and add serious gamers such as myself to my PSN account.  Thank you for all the excellent I sight and news on videogames!


Hey, thanks for registering. We actually have a specific thread for that: https://www.pushsquare.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=1012

MadchesterManc

I haven't posted much myself of late due to the increased moderation & waiting to see how it will effect community. In all my years posting on websites, theres been a couple of times where an increase in moderating has led to a stagnating community. This was probably due to those moderators dictating instead of moderating discussions, which I doubt is gloing to happen here - but you never know. Ive nothing against moderating, its always needed, but Im just keeping an eye on just how 'Strict' it is from here onwards & wether its going to adversley effect discussions.

That's definitely not going to be the case. If we're doing a proper job, you shouldn't even notice we're there. Please send an email if you're not happy with anything, though.

larry_koopa

That is too funny lol

My game library ranges from Mario Kart to Call of Duty to Tales of Xillia to Diablo 3 to Forza. To me gaming is about having fun - not blindly supporting only one company while thumbing your nose at "the evil other systems."

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