Vortex Wars Rulebook Problem

[Swordalchemist]

Thanks sword, that was very good post and I agree with most of the things. What I have problem with is "de-subjectiving" (if you know what I mean ) those rules. I have no idea how to approach it. You can't state all examples when this would apply and you can't make precise rules about it either. I agree that they are too broad and can be easily abused by staff, but do you have any suggestion how to fix this? I wanted to leave it mod's discretion, but I can see that lots of people have problem with that.

Well I do see the dilemna, but that is why I personally suggest a simple ban on all "threats", something that you can define fairly precisely I believe.

Wikipedia Dictionary definition of "threat":

1.A statement of an intention to inflict pain, injury, damage, or other hostile action on someone in retribution for something done or not...: "the family has received death threats"
2.A menace of bodily harm, such as may restrain a person's freedom of action.

These definitions can be applied very easily... if someone is threatening another, a mod can clearly see that it is happening.

Dealing with subjectivity is hard to do (Kongregate's rules are as subjective as they get) but at least presenting definitions of the behavior that you wish to ban would be good in my opinion. To some extent the mods will have to reason for themselves, but I think it is important that players still feel that they have basic rights in this game.

To make the rulebook more widely accepted, I would propose that instead of a rulebook of "do nots", set out a players bill of rights, or something like that.

Allow members to:

1.Speak their opinions freely
2.Be safe from repeated direct insults
3.Be free of in-game cheating by multi-loggers
4.Be protected from threats
5.etc

I think that approaching the rules from the angle of what members are allowed to do will give the moderation team leeway, while still protecting members from unjust or seemingly unfair action (from mods and other players) . I think this will help both sides of the issue... but then again, who knows.

Once again... thanks for reading my monster of a post

[joseph12160]

I second what lopdo says, keep your kong accounts, use them appropriately, I'm not here to ban or anyone.
Yes my expectations are harsh, but i am fairly patient and always give fair chance to members.

The ban chart is basically a guideline a moderator can follow, actions taken by moderators are under they're judgment and decision, not the charts. It is there to help the moderator with issues and how serious offenses are.

I am taking this in a professional way, and i understand your thoughts, it's normal to feel abit threatened.
Get to know me first though, don't start judging me, did you see any abuse from me in-game?

I'm here to help, not corrupt.

I have a right to not be threaten!

Is this professional?

[BelgarionRiva]

I have a right to not be threaten!
Is this professional?

No, to be professional, you have to type correctly.

[Swordalchemist]

I would like to bump this topic.. and bring it back to the surface. The needs that were presented here have not been addressed.. at least not that I am aware. I have also run into continued harassment from one particular mod that I think illustrates possible issues that could arise within the moderation team. I do appreciate Fiend picking for the most part top of the line moderators such as Mipster, but she is not all knowing... which allows some less mature mods to slip through.



While calling someone "dumb" really is not all that bad within itself, it is my belief that moderators should act professionally while on Vortex Wars. I know that Fiend exemplies this very well while on the game, and treats all members with courtesy and firmness. Now of course.. my time on the game is limited, and I don't see everything.. so this may be a common occurence. I personally have not seen any other moderators insult members in any way, and have also noticed that they for the most part use proper grammar.



This screenshot shows the largest problem that I have found with the system thus far. While once again, most moderators have not done this, there have been exceptions in which this activity has taken place. Insomnia for example threatened to ban me after I accused him of using his moderator abilities to somehow alter his gameplay. After he told me that he would ban me, I repeatedly asked him why it was that he was banning me. He failed to answer my questions, and just replied with the statement in the screenshot above. He told me that he would add to my ban time...

Threatening to ban a member is as I see it a form of harassment. Moderators are not given their priviledges to scare or threaten members.. only to make sure that the game is fair and fun for everyone. Receiving threats of being banned are not increasing my level of fun on this game, and rather make me want to leave the game.
Moderators simply cannot ban, or threaten members with ban just because they do not like them. Moderators are representatives... and conduct such as this is simply not helping their image.



This last image really just is another example of unprofessionalism that I mentioned earlier. It is important for staff to follow the example that I have seen Lopdo and Fiend set... and stay mature and professional at all times.

If there are any doubts about the authenticity of my screenshots, I can forward copies of them to whoever would like them. They have not been altered in any way and are exactly as taken last night.

Apologies to Fiend... I never got around to skyping you last night as I told Insomnia that I would

[Lopdo]

Thanks for report, I had my doubts about insomnia and this only proves it. I will deal with it tomorrow