Looking at Forum Moderation Standards

[Mrbeansman]

It would be nice if the GMs gave us actual human responses and not a bunch of stuff that reads like it was run through a protocol machine.

[noodles355]

They prolly have set replies. Like an IT help desk.

Have you tried turning it off and on again?
Is it plugged in at the wall?
Is the screen turned on?

[Kensagaku]

They prolly have set replies. Like an IT help desk.

Have you tried turning it off and on again?
Is it plugged in at the wall?
Is the screen turned on?

I'm aware this is the case, which is why I'm making this thread in an unlikely-to-be-met hope that one of the community reps or some other actual human behind the screen could take a look. I'm aware chances are slim and this is likely to be buried, but personally I'm fed up of people getting away with spamming their own personal delete-over-time report button and yet having their harassing posts intact.

[Mrbeansman]

They prolly have set replies. Like an IT help desk.

Have you tried turning it off and on again?
Is it plugged in at the wall?
Is the screen turned on?

Which is why these forums are doomed to fail. If mods can't talk like human beings then we as a community are doomed to make no progress. Just look at the last thread that tried to resolve these issues the thread was locked by a gm and the gm instead of addressing the issue gave a very vague response as to what justifies deleting a post. Just once I would like to see GMs tell a group of people to knock it off without trying to sound like Jesus.

[Zyeriis]

They don't take context into consideration when banning people. Just the other day I was banned temporarily for calling some one a troll who was purposefully following my posts around and trying to piss me off. Want some one banned? Have a few people spam the report button, they will ban that person regardless of context.

[BorkBorkBork]

The player base as a whole would take these forums a lot more seriously if you could actually have a real discussion without getting banned. Part of having a real debate is conflict and that includes telling people flat out that they are wrong. The way these forums are moderated you can basically say anything you want and if anyone disagrees you can report them until their posts get deleted.

And as far as people acting innocent when they've trolled someone....SE is seeing the results of how they moderate and the users of this forum are irritated and playing around with them. I'm not saying that there doesn't need to be rules but this practice of protecting little Johnnys eyes from any kind of criticism is resulting in what is happening here.

Bottom line if you post something wrong, you'll probably get made fun of a little bit but at the same time people will most likely tell you why your wrong. So grow some thicker skin and use it as a source of knowledge instead of a reason to mash the report button.

[Melodicya]

Hello Everyone!

First I just need to say we did need to remove a few posts from the thread as they were off topic. Do try to keep the conversation to the topic at hand please.

While I'm not necessarily able to address all your concerns, I would like to provide insight on a few topics that came up.

In regards to the manner in which the Moderation team speaks on the forums. We try to speak politely and clearly in all our communications, both in game and on the forums, which sometimes leads people to rather logical conclusion that everything we say is "scripted." While I understand how it may seem that way, we do endeavor to provide the best service.

This leads me into the second answer to a question that was posed. You may recognize our names from within Final Fantasy XI if you've ever spoken to a Game Master in game. Some of the Game Master Team does work both In Game and on the Forums. (However, please keep in mind that because issues are handled differently, Forum issues can only be addressed through the forum, and In Game Issues only addressed in game.)

I just want you all to know your complaints have been heard, and while I can't address each of them individually, I will see if I can bring this thread to the attention of others who may be able to provide more insight.

Meanwhile, please do try to keep the conversation on topic.

As always, you can review the Guidelines here:

FINAL FANTASY XI FORUM Guidelines
http://support.na.square-enix.com/rule.php?id=20&la=1

Thank you very much for your continued feedback!

[Kensagaku]

Hello Everyone!

First I just need to say we did need to remove a few posts from the thread as they were off topic. Do try to keep the conversation to the topic at hand please.

While I'm not necessarily able to address all your concerns, I would like to provide insight on a few topics that came up.

In regards to the manner in which the Moderation team speaks on the forums. We try to speak politely and clearly in all our communications, both in game and on the forums, which sometimes leads people to rather logical conclusion that everything we say is "scripted." While I understand how it may seem that way, we do endeavor to provide the best service.

This leads me into the second answer to a question that was posed. You may recognize our names from within Final Fantasy XI if you've ever spoken to a Game Master in game. Some of the Game Master Team does work both In Game and on the Forums. (However, please keep in mind that because issues are handled differently, Forum issues can only be addressed through the forum, and In Game Issues only addressed in game.)

I just want you all to know your complaints have been heard, and while I can't address each of them individually, I will see if I can bring this thread to the attention of others who may be able to provide more insight.

Meanwhile, please do try to keep the conversation on topic.

As always, you can review the Guidelines here:

FINAL FANTASY XI FORUM Guidelines
http://support.na.square-enix.com/rule.php?id=20&la=1

Thank you very much for your continued feedback!

Thank you very much for your reply, Melodicya! It's very much appreciated, and it goes a long way to showing us posters that you guys are listening. I understand your difficulties and concerns; after all, this may be a game for us, but for you guys it's a business and a job. As a result, you're expected to behave on a professional note, and we all know how robotic the professionalism has to sound sometimes. xD

But again, it's nice to see that you guys really are there, and the occasional post like this really does help. Especially since you're passing it along to others who may help. Once again, thank you for your time!

[Korpg]

I just want you all to know your complaints have been heard, and while I can't address each of them individually, I will see if I can bring this thread to the attention of others who may be able to provide more insight.

I understand that you have to babysit a lot of little children on this forum it seems like, but some things seems like they were deleted because people hit the report button on others just because they don't like them.

Several of my posts in previous threads were deleted because a moderator stated that they were either "derogatory" or "off topic." If they actually read those posts, they would have seen that I was referring to an question asked or responding to a point made in another's post. How can that be either off topic or derogatory? The posts were answering questions made by others.

I'm sure you have a log of users who use the report button, but maybe you should include in that log who reports who, and you might see a lot of people abusing this system even though they are putting "meaningful" replies in the report button.

[Glamdring]

I understand that you have to babysit a lot of little children on this forum it seems like, but some things seems like they were deleted because people hit the report button on others just because they don't like them.

Several of my posts in previous threads were deleted because a moderator stated that they were either "derogatory" or "off topic." If they actually read those posts, they would have seen that I was referring to an question asked or responding to a point made in another's post. How can that be either off topic or derogatory? The posts were answering questions made by others.

I'm sure you have a log of users who use the report button, but maybe you should include in that log who reports who, and you might see a lot of people abusing this system even though they are putting "meaningful" replies in the report button.

A reply to a question is a reply to a question, but if it isn't the OP's question, then it is off topic... TO THE THREAD. Not sure if that is grounds for deletion.

Derogatory content can occur at any time, even in the original post. A good guideline is if your post paraphrases the following snippet from my daily speech: "Hey you innefectual intelectual weenie pinhead" followed by almost anything. I work in the legal field, can't you tell?