Can we direct any serious issue with the moderation of this site to conversations or posts in the OneMoreBlock section? It makes it a lot easier to deal with and you are more likely to get a serious response.
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."
Yeah, this isn't lemon. Welcome back Papaya.
I do actually agree with some of these points (mainly that OMB needs a niche or no-one will want to visit it.)
In terms of steam, its something that some people don't have. As well, its hardly accessible to mobile devices or other places. Some people also use shared computers.
While steam seems like a good idea, a person like myself would have no point in using it (I don't play PC games).
Anyway, I did address this in an earlier thread "Where are we going?" or something like that. It referenced that we have a small community and need to chose where to go with it. One of the main questions is:
Would you be willing (if possible) to see this community grow into 100s of people?
This is a tight community where everybody knows references to voxelus or atmosphir, and knows each other well. These would mostly likely go away if we became a bigger community. If we (can) become one.
The youtube idea was a good one, but it would of been better if everyone %100 focussed in on it and it became the center of this community.
If we want to expand (rather than get smaller and smaller by making a steam group) we need focuses. This means servers for things like Minecraft, Team Fortress 2, League of Legend teams possibly, whatever other games (CoD or whatever). Its difficult to just make a community focused on just gaming and let it stand with all the others.
I have no comment on the content of the original post, but I would like to say in response to Sebane:
Sebastian Lawe wrote:In terms of steam, its something that some people don't have. As well, its hardly accessible to mobile devices or other places. Some people also use shared computers.
While steam seems like a good idea, a person like myself would have no point in using it (I don't play PC games).
Regardless of legitimate excuses for getting Steam, this is a poor one because both iOS and Android devices have had a dedicated app to Steam for at least a year now, probably longer. And it's like you completely dodged over the "but you can download it easily if you don't have it" paragraph he wrote.
...and who the hell uses a shared/public computer (besides with their siblings/family) as their primary/only computer? This is a ridiculously tiny minority, if anyone in their right mind would even do this unless they're like, absurdly frugal and demented in the head.
This is the only thing I have any real opinion on:
Le Mon wrote:
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.
We're talking about completely new mods here. Moderating is a first time experience for both Phantomboy and Bionicnacho, so you really can't expect them to be perfect.
Obviously, don't let me control you... But seriously, if you have a problem with the way the mods are doing their job, confront them directly about it in a PM instead of singling them out in a thread. I think you'll find yourself making much more progress doing that.
ElectroYoshi wrote:
We're talking about completely new mods here. Moderating is a first time experience for both Phantomboy and Bionicnacho, so you really can't expect them to be perfect.
Obviously, don't let me control you... But seriously, if you have a problem with the way the mods are doing their job, confront them directly about it in a PM instead of singling them out in a thread. I think you'll find yourself making much more progress doing that.
I would say that I don't mind being confronted in a thread, as it is certainly easier to be held accountable if others are more aware of the fact. I've commented on my opinion this thread over on Voxelus, so I won't bore you all again with it. I do apologize for those who have felt that they were censored by me or another person, I really, truly am sorry, guys. It makes me sad that it needs to be highlighted after the fact and wasn't dealt with seriously during the felt censorship. Because, that tells me that people are likely to hide it if they are upset by something. Now, I've been talked to by users requesting, or in some cases demanding that I take care of something; I don't particularly mind, in fact it is easier to deal with something if someone it open about what exactly happened. I just hope that more people come forward honestly and truthfully during their issue. Not after it.
Swords761 wrote:I have no comment on the content of the original post, but I would like to say in response to Sebane:
Regardless of legitimate excuses for getting Steam, this is a poor one because both iOS and Android devices have had a dedicated app to Steam for at least a year now, probably longer. And it's like you completely dodged over the "but you can download it easily if you don't have it" paragraph he wrote.
...and who the hell uses a shared/public computer (besides with their siblings/family) as their primary/only computer? This is a ridiculously tiny minority, if anyone in their right mind would even do this unless they're like, absurdly frugal and demented in the head.
To be fair, I haven't used, touched, or looked at steam for at least two years. Any notice of it being multi-platform would have sailed over my head. In terms of skipping over the easy installation (I wasn't aware that exists now), I'm not going to assume every person has administrative privileges on the computer they use (you can correct me if steam doesn't require that). However, I suppose you win against my argument (provided the persons machine can withstand games. Mine can't, so I have no use for it).
Yes, they were spamming and they could be annoying and even offensive, but they weren't doing any real damage to the community. They were ignorable for the most part and this is just an extreme.
Papaya did damage to the community, but they wern't, and just because tta defended papaya doesn't mean he's just as bad. I'm not pretending like I can change your decision, but I think it was rather rash.
1. Wild Life 2. China Pig 3. The Blimp (Mousetrapreplica) 4. Sugar N' Spikes 5. Ant Man Bee 
you'll love it, it's a way of life