BLOG PIECE: Nexus moderation system overhaul, etiquette and ethos

[Thandal]

Nov. 21, 2012: Glad to see this blog piece, it got me to finally read the entire ToS (after spending some time tracking it down... I think it's on the move;))

 

Link to the ToS is on the top-right of every page of the Forums... :whistling:

[Zaldir]

Nov. 21, 2012: Glad to see this blog piece, it got me to finally read the entire ToS (after spending some time tracking it down... I think it's on the move;))

 

Link to the ToS is on the top-right of every page of the Forums... :whistling:

 

To his defense, it is rather hard to spot when you don't know it is there. ;)

[Keleigh3000]

@Zimitry: I really like your idea for a way to 'like' a post without leaving a pointless comment; but there was no way for me to show that without clogging up the thread with a pointless comment like this one. Edited November 22, 2012 by Keleigh3000

[RaffTheSweetling]

A lot of good ideas here, and worthy changes to the banning and moderating system. I look forward to seeing them implemented.

I am curious how the "Mod author comment moderation tools" will be put to practice though. I have met a couple of pretty rude mod authors on the Nexus, and I think one or two are living in a bubble, and having that power might only make them worse. But the principle is sound and I trust Dark0ne's judgement.

 

I wonder about a couple of issues and I hope it is OK to raise them here:

 

* Having your own mod removed for breaking a rule/guideline, when you know for a fact that at least one other mod broke the same rule and has not been removed. How can this issue be handled diplomatically?

I think that it is fair to say that no-one likes a tattle-tail. So to say the name of the other mod would be something that an author would most likely be reluctant to do, but still, knowing that that mod is out there, breaking the same rule that your mod was removed for breaking would be hard to take and incredibly frustrating.

Ultimately I know that it comes down to publishing one's mod with knowledge of the rules being paramount, and releasing said mod knowing that a rule would be broken is just foolish and inviting trouble.

 

* I also think It should be said that, ..gulp.. a measure of intimidation exists on the nexus with regards to querying the removal of mods. This being an intimidation coming from moderators, and I think at times it was downright unfair to see a moderator 'shutting down' user comments about the removal of a mod without any justification shown and especially using the intimidating and dismissing tone as I have mentioned.

I have no real problems ultimately with the decision-making processes behind a particular mod's removal, and yet I am sad now to see, for example, that Apocalypse Armory is now "in the wastebin" and removed completely.

I had honestly expected this mod to be one of the first to be reinstated, or at least, for the transparency format to be used against this mod's blocking, so that we could see what rules this mod's author had broken, and how he was warned, etc.

I and many, many other users were left without any idea as to the reasons for this mod's blocking and in a few situations, when one or two users started threads to inquire, they were met with the intimidation and/or dismissal. That being the absolute opposite of transparency.

 

I personally wanted to inquire about that mod, but when I click on the link to that page, to check if it has been reopened, prior to its removal, the message would say, along the lines of: "....do not contact us about this mod or you may be banned.." (paraphrasing). Which is also a form of subtle intimidation and exactly part of the problem I am talking about.

 

Perhaps the issue of AA will never be addressed, now that that particular mod is completely gone, but other mod's are still present on the nexus which use AA as a master file. So I ask, Is it also against rules to allow a link to another modding website so that users can find AA there? Given that AA was removed in a way that left so many unanswered questions.

 

I really hope I won't get into trouble voicing these concerns on this thread. But I honestly think this is the best time and the right place.

 

Best regards

 

Griffin

[joedacro]

Great Job with this.

 

This all makes perfect sense and i love sense! its good to see you and the team are always looking at how to continually improve all aspects of the community you have created here, and how you make it very cozy for members by fairly enforcing the TOS. Keep up the great work you are doing for the community!

 

[MitchellCrane]

I think this is a great change in nexus. looking forward to a cleaner,kinder,less pirate filled place.

[elderago]

you know I would think that the creator of a site as large as this would have more respect for the users, yes there are people who constantly complain, insult and are overly self entitled, however not all are like that, and would be nice to see complaints taken more seriously instead off the old " well they are just the "minority attitude" because really they arent just don't want to be banned....

 

heck even people who have comment on this site with criticisms are afraid of being banned, because people are banned so often ,albeit usually for stupid reasons.

 

is that something you the nexus staff wants to be proud off ?

 

p.s I am not trying to troll here, just putting out my own thoughts in as fair or respectul way as possible.

 

[billygoat654]

just wanted to say i love how the download system works now i havent had any issues downloading since it was changed :)

[Xescream]

I am all for that. I have long loved the nexus community and as site owner you have full right to do as you please with the Nexus. Honestly, most of the rules are just common sense and manners. This site is actually what got me into PC gaming with its awesome modding community. While it's had tech issues every now and then (reasonable, and with something like modding there is a lot of "I clicked install with NMM and it's not working") but they've always been resolved promptly and thoroughly. My only complaint would be I feel that a lot of moderately successful mods (50-200 endorsements) really get buried after they leave hot files. I think like a "random mod" feature with a few filters would be spectacular.

[Lanceor]

you know I would think that the creator of a site as large as this would have more respect for the users, yes there are people who constantly complain, insult and are overly self entitled, however not all are like that, and would be nice to see complaints taken more seriously instead off the old " well they are just the "minority attitude" because really they arent just don't want to be banned....

 

heck even people who have comment on this site with criticisms are afraid of being banned, because people are banned so often ,albeit usually for stupid reasons.

 

is that something you the nexus staff wants to be proud off ?

 

p.s I am not trying to troll here, just putting out my own thoughts in as fair or respectul way as possible.

 

Perhaps you are not yet familiar with how this site works. I'd recommend taking a look through the Forum rules and strikes forum - every ban is documented there with a reason why that person got banned.

 

Other than spam and piracy, "Mod comment trolling" is probably the most common reason for banning. Unfortunately, it is also the least understood and probably the source of the "I got banned for stupid reasons" complaints.

 

Here's the problem:

A lot of people don't visit the forums or check their private messages. Let's say member X posts something that's borderline offensive. They receive a warning. The warning gets ignored. So member X posts something borderline again, and receives another warning, which also gets ignored. After several warnings, they get banned for a post that was seemingly very tame. After a while, it was determined that warnings were being ignored and the only way to limit the damage was to adopt zero tolerance policies. It's harsh, I agree. But if warnings have no effect but to delay the banning, it clearly wasn't working.

 

Dark0ne's super long post is basically saying that a new system is in place: It is now IMPOSSIBLE to ignore a warning. The user must click to acknowledge it before s/he can continue to use the site. As a result, it's possible to relax the zero tolerance policy. While pirates, spammers and intentional trolls are still going to get instabanned (and cry foul), borderline cases will receive a warning instead. This was aimed at reducing the number of bans.

 

I agree with you that some of the bans are quite harsh, but at the same time, anyone who has common courtesy, isn't a pirate and isn't a spammer shouldn't be in the position to receive a warning or ban in the first place.