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An Open Letter

A place to talk about our community
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Le Mon
Member
Posts: 11
Joined: September 4th, 2013, 3:54 pm

An Open Letter

Post by Le Mon »

No, You(didn't)don't have to delete or lock this thread. I think the users on this forum are adult enough to withstand an opposing viewpoint, and maybe a discussion about said subject.
And if (since you did) you do moderate this thread, (you should have) at least (had) have the courtesy to leave it where people can see it (you didn't).

(Why am I not surprised)


With that out of the way, this is my open address to the OMB community.

I'm going to be completely frank:

This community will never, ever grow in the form that it is currently: A forum with an indeterminate topic with an aim to be as little intellectually stimulating as possible.

There are two reasons for this, the first of which is the fact that most of the users fall into one of the following catagories: Immature, Uninteresting, and Very Uninteresting.

This isn't meant to be an insult at all, this is simply my experience as I have grown out of this community that I loved when I was in my tweens.

The other reason is the moderation. (as seen by phantomboy's intentional censorship)

On some level, there is a fundamental need for a peacekeeper in a forum with a considerable amount of people with different viewpoints and different feelings.

And on a level that hits closer to home, there is NO need for moderation that is borderline micromanaging all the viewpoints and feelings of all of the users under the guise of keeping a "constant atmosphere of tolerance and mutual respect".
Different points of view is one of the main things that keep human interaction interesting.

When humor in general is discouraged and regulated because of the fear that some jokes "might promote ignorant or negative stereotypes about said subjects", you create a very dull discussion with a very dull atmosphere.

Criticism of any kind is virtually non-existent because it is discouraged vehemently.
It's ridiculous that the moderation team feels a duty to protect the self-esteem of an individual and shield them from any information they could have used to improve themself or their work.
This reinforces an already dull discussion and atmosphere.

Well, what about having fun?
When you try to post on a thread with the intention of having fun, not necessarily pertaining to the topic, but contributing to an overarching interaction just the same, you are shut down for not interacting in a way that is not expected, and is therefore frowned upon to say the least.

(To be concise, the moderation in this TINY community treats everyone like they're 12 year olds who can't handle criticism or critical thinking.)

I could keep talking forever but let's move on.

All of these things contribute to a community that just plain sucks to people with developing personalities and intellects, and only appeals to the people who are already participating.

Moving on...

Now that I've explained why just about everyone has left the community hasn't come back, I'll explain how you guys can improve yourselves a bit. You guys really are very easy to mock, but on some level I feel for you, and I feel sorry sorry to see this community wallowing in it's stagnation.

Mods, it's not necessary to maintain a police state level of authority over user-to-user interaction at all times. It just makes you look like control freaks trying to micromanage a small lot of lesser beings who would rip each other to pieces if not left alone. The triggerhappy and irresponsible tone you've set for yourselves is not acceptable.

Achieving a somewhat higher status of authority IS necessary in a larger community of... I don't know, more than the 15 users you have right now. But it really is ridiculous, and I think that if you all really as tight-knit as you want to believe, you really should be able to police yourselves by now.

Then there's the problem that you all keep trying to run away from: internet forums with little potential for growth are doomed to wither and die.
This is not a problem with a solution. If you guys want to remain a "tight-knit community" similar that of what this forum is right now... This is the magic part...

You should just all make a steam group.

I know most of you have steam profiles, and for the ones that don't... Steam is a free program and even if your computer isn't strong enough to run any games, even the most basic ones should be able to run the program so that you can post on the BUILT IN FORUM-LIKE STRUCTURES INCLUDED IN STEAM GROUPS, Not to mention the fact that there is a built-in chat which is ten thousand times better than a geekshed IRC.

This would improve practically every aspect of this community because steam is a game program, which hits a lot closer to the idea of being a "community oriented towards fans of games based around blocks" than a plain, boring looking internet forum.



For better and for worse, I feel attached to this community because this it will forever be the community that helped me grow as a person.
I feel like I have somewhat of a responsibility to help this community so that when I look back on it as it exists today, what I see won't be warrant for mockery."
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