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Post by night on Mar 15, 2008 18:14:51 GMT -5
Also, I believe that you should inform people of the policy before enforcing. Say, in a week or so the policy is enforced, just to give the forum a heads up on the new rules.
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Post by Musogato on Mar 15, 2008 18:36:51 GMT -5
We could do that, but then the people who helped in the recent mass-smitings would get off the hook. While it was their actions that reminded us that this policy needed to be made official, at the same time, the smite feature was still hidden for a reason (albeit an unwritten one), and the majority of the staff still disapproves of what they did. So I think an immediate enforcement of just karma proportions should be in order. But I understand why you would disagree with it.
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Post by night on Mar 15, 2008 18:43:49 GMT -5
Maybe, but the mass-smitings have calmed down. Perhaps those who have participated have moved on, and have no intentions of smiting.
And I still feel that the punishments you laid out are rather extreme. I understand that you believe smiting is bad, but honestly, a permaban for smiting? Yes, you want to enforce it, but does it really have to be that extreme?
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Post by username on Mar 15, 2008 18:47:44 GMT -5
We could do that, but then the people who helped in the recent mass-smitings would get off the hook. Sorry, but you dont punish people for breaking a completely nonexisting rule like that.
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Post by Paraiba Ocean on Mar 15, 2008 18:50:24 GMT -5
I'm going to have to say that those who previously smited should not be included in the punishments. No rules were lain out, and this isn't the US Constitution here, but I'd like to think we're not going to make a rule in spite of people abusing it, and then punish them before it was a rule. >.>
And yeah, the punishments are harsh. DX
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girlunderglass
Metalbending Cop
Runs With Scissors
Just STFU Already.
Posts: 5,014
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Post by girlunderglass on Mar 15, 2008 18:51:35 GMT -5
I'm not understanding why this is such a big deal if it's something you do not do, Night. The rule was made because it was not written up when the smite feature was initially removed from the forum. Taking a closer look- at logs, Jade was able to determine that there was indeed a problem that needed addressing. Collectively the staff agreed that making a rule that would be enforced, in the event someone decided to be abusive again was the right thing to do. So here Jade is informing you of the rule- by way of posting it for all to see. And from here on out if someone is once again caught abusing the rule, appropriate actions will be taken. We could do that, but then the people who helped in the recent mass-smitings would get off the hook. Sorry, but you dont punish people for breaking a completely nonexisting rule like that. The smite feature was removed so people would stop smiting. It was self explanatory.
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Post by Musogato on Mar 15, 2008 18:56:14 GMT -5
If the rule was non-existing, the smite feature would have been available for everyone to use. It was hidden with the intent for people to not use it. We may not have spelled it out, but abusing it would still be considered an offense.
And again, the permaban is just for those who continue to abuse the smite even after the warnings and temp ban. It's the same punishment for those who continue to spam or troll despite previous warnings. The main punishments is a return in karma and for abuse a temp ban.
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Post by username on Mar 15, 2008 19:03:07 GMT -5
ok.
I'm not trying to make a huge thing out of this, and I understand smiting is wrong. I'm not one of those "omg y is staff not letting me spam anymore this iz a big issue i gonna complain about it" people. But I dont think the people who did it before should be punished.
Letting them know that this is an official rule now is enough in my opinion.
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Post by luthien on Mar 15, 2008 19:22:58 GMT -5
I have only one question here. Were the punishments, as laid out in the first post here, handed out prior to the public posting of these rules? And if so, were those people informed why they were being punished? If that's the case, I have no problem with it. However, if people were punished for their actions without being informed what they did wrong, that is indeed a problem.
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Post by Musogato on Mar 15, 2008 19:45:36 GMT -5
luthien: No, the punishments for the previous smiters haven't been given out yet. When it is done though, they will receive a pm explaining it and how much karma was removed, as well as a few screenshots of when they did it.
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Post by mahatista on Mar 15, 2008 19:55:12 GMT -5
I got the smite yesterday and I can imagine it's happened before but I usually don't notice my karma #s. I admin another board and I had the smite button there but not here (I use a mac) so I thought only 'the Man' had access. So I was surprised when I was informed that just anyone could do it. It's such a pointless, petty option it's existence kind of baffles me though. I could see it getting abused very badly. On some of the more contentious boards emotions sometimes run high. So it wouldn't necessarily be a reflection of lowered popularity so much as the result of a smiter's temper tantrum. It does seem like it's a good idea to have some stern rules in place IMO. But how about a 'two strikes your out' rule? A lot of members might never see these newly codified rules and it would be harsh to bring the hammer down when they're ignorant and the button is available. They could get a PM warning with the text from Musogato's first post on this thread so they understand it's not cool. Then if they do it a second time they pay the penalty. Just a suggestion.
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Post by dragonflly on Mar 15, 2008 21:50:59 GMT -5
I never even knew that kind of button existed, and I can't remember seeing it used. But, then again, I don't really pay that much attention to that stuff!
Thanks for informing us, and I'll look a bit more carefully at stuff like that now.
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Post by Cyt37 on Mar 17, 2008 0:15:00 GMT -5
It is like the opposite of Exalting, it is bringing the person down one. Like if I said something offensive, you may Smite me. It is possible with Smiting to bring your Karma in the negatives, which would potentially make other people look down upon you, making your forum experience not very good. Im so happy its gone! Im on another forum just like this one and smiting is allowed. Its the worst. =/
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Post by Koikitten on Mar 17, 2008 8:29:37 GMT -5
I personally don't think we should even have karma on the board, considering that it's just a popularity contest. I honestly think it makes the board less friendly for newcomers. It took me quite a long time of lurking before I even dared to post on the board, and the karma was one of the reasons. But I do support this new stance on smiting!
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Post by spirityue on Mar 17, 2008 12:00:11 GMT -5
I would just like to clarify something on my part of this discussion, when I posted my thoughts of this being a good idea, that's all I meant it to be. Somehow it seems to have gotten blown out of proportion widely! Personally, I don't care how much karma I have or the lack there of. I was simply trying to state the fact that I don't feel that it's right if I decide to give someone karma for a witty post, an inteligent post, or whatever, I don't think that it's fair to have someone else come along and take that away. I do not give out karma willy nilly, if I do give it, there are reasons behind it which I do also explain. I do not personally subscribe to all the popularity crap that people seem to attatch to this! Why is it so hard to understand that if you think or feel someone deserves some karma, then someone else should not have the right to decieptfully take it away! Ugh! I never meant for this to seem like a "BIG DEAL", I was simply stating my view point on it, and in my humble opinion, others have turned it into an inane argument.
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