My Personal Rant about The Nexus

[Nephenee13]

My friend got banned for trolling, when he was rather serious, good god, you moderators need to learn what "trolling" means.

As you can see on the left of this post, I've been on this site for over 4 years (in fact, before Nexus even existed, it was another site back then), and only made 40 comments so far. On most sites I tend to make 500-1000 posts a year.

 

This is the best and possibly an essential way to avoid ban - don't post if you can help it. Some sites are pro-community and let free speech prosper, others try to be corporate and keep comments to "yes" "no" "thank you". Know one from another, and you won't get banned on either.

 

And I've been on the site a month and a half, have 5 times your post count, and have never once felt like my "free speech" (which is meaningless on a private website, but whatever) is infringed, or I was incapable of expressing myself adequately due to fear of being banned.

 

Sure, I have to moderate my language compared to how I post on some other sites, but not so much that its an incredible burden.

 

Of course, I'm mostly confined to the Oblivion section, which is very nice and friendly. Some of the other parts of the site seem to have more...vociferous inhabitants.

[avidmelon]

Wow, never expected this thread to go on this long, can we just forget about it and move on? I'll still hate the rules but you'll hear nothing of it.

[FMod]

...and have never once felt like my "free speech" (which is meaningless on a private website, but whatever)

You say "private website" the way you'd say "private residence". But when I think of a place for every modder to post his work, I think of a public library, or wikipedia, not a family home. That's the discrepancy that misleads a lot of people.

 

 

But I'm forced to use it. I need it for work as most software I'm forced to use only runs on Windows platforms.

The difference though is, I'm not "forced" to publish my mods at the Nexus. I'm not forced to publish my mods "at all".

Honestly, I don't see much difference.

 

Are you in military service? I've been there, with no way out, unless I wanted a dismissal. And even there, I had the option, if I really hated the computers we had to work with (which are far less user-friendly), of getting transferred elsewhere, where I wouldn't have to deal with computers.

In civilian employ, the employer doesn't even have a say if you want to leave him, you can walk out at any time and never come back.

 

So you're not forced to publish your mods at all - and you're not forced to work in a computer-related job, either. But if you want to do it, you have, at least, the right to have your opinion about the policies and the availability of choices.

Edited December 22, 2011 by FMod

[Nephenee13]

...and have never once felt like my "free speech" (which is meaningless on a private website, but whatever)

You say "private website" the way you'd say "private residence". But when I think of a place for every modder to post his work, I think of a public library, or wikipedia, not a family home. That's the discrepancy that misleads a lot of people.

 

No.

 

You are quite mistaken in that assertion. Also its quite possible to get kicked out of a public library for being a jerk, and banned from Wikipedia for the same.

[LadyMilla]

...and have never once felt like my "free speech" (which is meaningless on a private website, but whatever)

You say "private website" the way you'd say "private residence". But when I think of a place for every modder to post his work, I think of a public library, or wikipedia, not a family home. That's the discrepancy that misleads a lot of people.

 

a) Nexus servers are hosted in the UK where US interpretation of free speech is not applicable;

b) Even in the US, in 1980, in Pruneyard vs Robins the Supreme Court of the USA confirmed that freedom of speech is not applicable to, and not enforceable in private establishments even if the owner decided to open them to the public;

 

 

 

 

[FMod]

b) Even in the US, in 1980, in Pruneyard vs Robins the Supreme Court of the USA confirmed that freedom of speech is not applicable to, and not enforceable in private establishments even if the owner decided to open them to the public;

Yet there is no law that requires you to quash the freedom of speech just because you own an establishment either.

 

It's not a discussion on what the owner is in his right to do, but on how we would prefer this community to be treated.

 

 

You are quite mistaken in that assertion. Also its quite possible to get kicked out of a public library for being a jerk, and banned from Wikipedia for the same.

Yes, it is. You also have to actually be a jerk for it, not just say you don't like some books, and you'll normally get a warning or more than one before being kicked out.

 

Well, anyway. Don't mean to split hairs on this. Let's just say in my opinion this site is being policed more like a corporate guestbook than a community forum, and in my opinion the latter would be more fit to the role of a central modders' resource. Your opinion can certainly differ, and I would be a hypocrite if I didn't respect it.

Edited December 22, 2011 by FMod

[Nephenee13]

Yet there is no law that requires you to quash the freedom of speech just because you own an establishment either.

 

You either completely do not understand what "Freedom of speech" entails, or are being deliberately obtuse.

 

It's not a discussion on what the owner is in his right to do, but on how we would prefer this community to be treated.

 

Assumptions not in evidence.

 

Well, anyway. Don't mean to split hairs on this. Let's just say in my opinion this site is being policed more like a corporate guestbook than a community forum, and in my opinion the latter would be more fit to the role of a central modders' resource. Your opinion can certainly differ, and I would be a hypocrite if I didn't respect it.

 

Analogies only go so far, of course, but everyone I've seen banned due to their actions in mod release threads, has gone significantly further than you are asserting.

[FMod]

Analogies only go so far, of course, but everyone I've seen banned due to their actions in mod release threads, has gone significantly further than you are asserting.

This doesn't hold true for my experience. I've been involved in the Fallout modding community since Fallout 2, and on Bethesda boards since 2003. In the meantime I've come to know a number of modders, and quite a few people I know to be responsible and respected members on other boards have been banned here for things that would hardly warrant as much as a verbal warning anywhere else.

 

In fact, checking my mod load orders, about 1/4 of the mods and their authors have been deleted and banned from Nexus. Maybe it's my choice of mods (some are indeed as edgy as Wasteland Flora Overhaul), so I won't cast definitive opinions. But my impression of Nexus etiquette is that it's akin to a graveyard: don't say if it isn't nice, lest you join the residents.

[dazzerfong]

You know, everything you submit to in life often conflicts with 'rights': in situations such as these, contracts and ToA always trumps the rights (unless it directly infringes with the law). For example, a site might prevent you from discussing, say, religion or politics. You admitted to that when you joined up. However, if a site forces you to kill someone to join, that is illegal.

 

About moderators being ban-happy, they're just doing their jobs: since the OP is not a mod author, you would not understand the ridicule of someone calling your mod 'stupid'.

[DrakeTheDragon]

I never questioned your right to have your opinion. Your post just sounded like we all were here at the Nexus only because it's the only choice we have and we had to obey the rules, whether we like them or not. This is simply not the case. If nobody would agree with those rules, "agree", not just "accept" or "tolerate", nobody would be here. And no matter how "famous" the Nexus might be, all fame would be quickly gone, if the modders would go away. In fact over several years I repeatedly witnessed modders leaving other sites due to disrespect or being treated like crap there and coming here, just because of the very same rules you're questioning and the strict way they're enforced around here.

 

I can only repeat it again and again, I have never even once seen a single unjustified ban around here, and I've read all, repeat, "all" ban reports so far.

 

Just by reading inside the Mod Author forums for a short while it will become evident you're opposing the "majority" of mod authors in your point of view. And I'm not talking of some small elitist group of old or reputable members or something. No, majority actually means majority (as in by numbers) in this case. The rules around here and their strict enforcement are "welcomed" by most modders, not just "tolerated". I've even read the term "safe haven" from many modders on multiple occasions these days.

 

...and I'm still waiting for a link to a ban report for an offense that did "not" warrant a ban... It's all there, show me just "1"...