Wolfire Games Forums

Wilbefast wrote:It'll be like "Man of the Year" only with Dylan Moran instead of Robin Williams. Actually - maybe that wouldn't be a bad thing. What would the world be like if a cynical Irishman were president of the USA?

That would be fun

Wilbefast wrote:Don't listen to me though - I'm biased - I'm losing a little bit more of my faith in humanity each time some incoherent tripe that was penned in half a minute and not even spell-checked stimulates immense discussion. Am I wasting my time trying to write things that actually read well?

We love you for it

Wilbefast wrote:I guess people just enjoy being angry - so maybe we should be thanking the trolls

People like being angry, but people also like beer, and neither of them are good in large quantities. And flaming isn't a good way to channel your anger.

Maybe it's just me, but the creator of a thread seems to automatically gain a higher status than the replier. People seem to compensate for this by making their language more extreme, hence, flaming. I think this is one reason why blog comment threads and some letters sections are so depressing and uncivilised: the gap in perceived status between the original poster and all repliers is too great. This is also why face-to-face debates are more likely to go well (and less likely to be reduced to insults): you can see that the other person is human, completely and truly, and they want to treat them as such. On the internet, you're talking to a wall of text and filling in the gaps. Studies show that to interpret what someone is saying, people look primarily at the visual aspect (facial expressions, body language etc.), then at the audio cues (tone of voice), then at the actual words being spoken. If you take away the two biggest modes of communication, there's bound to be trouble.

You got that right - when I first got to France I was communicating almost entirely through wild gesticulation and making loud noises

I think people like the anonymity though, and also the fact that you have time to think about your reply - I'm far too slow-minded for face-to-face debates (though one day I will be fast!)


edit: oops.

Wilbefast wrote:though one day I will be fast!

*groan* You're a bad person! How could you do that to innocent words! Go chew on some pebbles, mr Cicero.

You sound just like my older brother. For all I know, you are my older brother: do you have a younger brother called William?

Wilbefast wrote:You sound just like my older brother. For all I know, you are my older brother: do you have a younger brother called William?

How did you know about William!!! :O Hes dead! Died in an acciident, di dyou knpow him??

Wait, no, cann't bbe... NOOOOOO!


Furthermore it is my opinion that this thread shows why we need moderators.

Just for the record, the flame and spam is half the reason I come here. Conflict = interest.

h2ostra wrote:Just for the record, the flame and spam is half the reason I come here. Conflict = interest.

It seems what we have in this thread is a conflict of interests. Or would that be conflict of half the interest? Conflict of the interest in conflict?

edit:
Furthermore it is my opinion that this thread shows why we need moderators.

The conflict is interesting, untill you find yourself in the center of it ...

I'm willing to be more active as a moderator if called to it.
Currently, all I do is respond to reported posts and delete spam threads/posts... and occasionally edit titles to correct grammar and spelling. And I try to restrict myself to the Randomness forum, sometimes dabbling in the Wolfire forum if either David or Jeff haven't gotten to an obvious problem yet.
Having cohorts for the SPF and Lugaru forums would be nice, since I hardly hang around those.

Fournine wrote:I'm willing to be more active as a moderator if called to it.
Currently, all I do is respond to reported posts and delete spam threads/posts... and occasionally edit titles to correct grammar and spelling. And I try to restrict myself to the Randomness forum, sometimes dabbling in the Wolfire forum if either David or Jeff haven't gotten to an obvious problem yet.
Having cohorts for the SPF and Lugaru forums would be nice, since I hardly hang around those.

Dang, Devilsclub is most active in the Lugaru forums.

Endoperez wrote:If we get moderator(s), we also need a clear set of rules that's exhaustive enough that whenever the mod has to act, he can point at the rules and say "that's why". The rules would also have to be so clear that all threads breaking the rules could be locked. There shouldn't be a gray area.

That's rather draconian. I think we should also set up a Wolfire Bay so we can torture said offenders.

Wilbefast wrote:1. Usagi
2. rudel_ic
3. Jeff
4. David
5. Lotus Wolf
6. Everyone Else

I fixed what your list would look like if it was based on significant contributions to the forums community as a whole.

Note: this is in reference to the forums. Obviously David and Jeff have had more influence over the community in terms of actually making the game.

How dare you misquote me?! Misquoting people is my thing! Copy-cat

I just grabbed anyone with over 1000 posts - I agree it's more of a curiosity that any real indication of maturity

Anyway, from my experience it's important for moderators to have different colored names. It's something everyone recognizes as meaning 'I am a moderator", and that's important if people are going to actually listen to said moderator.

zamzx zik wrote:Anyway, from my experience it's important for moderators to have different colored names. It's something everyone recognizes as meaning 'I am a moderator", and that's important if people are going to actually listen to said moderator.

Well, in a different forum, moderators use bold, colored text when they are forced to use their authority to issue warning, note that the thread will be locked if it goes any worse, etc. Unfortunately, that won't work in here.

Furthermore it is my opinion that this thread shows why we need moderators.

Endoperez wrote:
Furthermore it is my opinion that this thread shows why we need moderators.

-headdesk-