Enough Already

[b.k. barunt]

I just got off of a week's ban for "flaming" and took a look at the "Owenshooter" thread. This has got to be one of the funniest threads i've read here - post after post of it had me cracking up, and then i get to the end and see that andydufresne locked it "to prevent any more spam". Dancing Mustard was permabanned for his contribution, which was hilarious but certainly no more of a "flame" than any of the others - i notice no one else on the thread got banned at all. Selective banning, anyone? The thread now seems to be removed completely, although it may still be on one of the back pages. What a surprise - do you guys have a specific mod for getting rid of evidence?

I gotta say that this is a prime example of what's pushing the forum into a veritable sargasso sea of lackluster, inane threads. So now we have it clearly from andy -
Humor = Spam. If you want to be funny, make sure you kiss some ass first so they won't be out to get you.

The bottom line here is money. Just like the deadbeat situation, where the rules are geared to draw more members and suckitupcupcake to the already existing members whose games are slowed down and beleaguered with a plethora of suddenly neutral countries. The forum is now being treated the same way - the admins have decided that a boring forum is a safe forum - which translates as a more lucrative forum. The sad part is that there's a rather large number of members who prefer a safe, boring forum, even though most of them rarely if ever post on it, and when they do no one particularly cares to read their insipid tripe.

I can now understand why some former members are doing things to sabotage the site, and i can't really say that i blame them. The situation as it stands is pretty damn stupid.


Honibaz

[hwhrhett]

I gotta say that this is a prime example of what's pushing the forum into a veritable sargasso sea of lackluster, inane threads. So now we have it clearly from andy -
Humor = Spam. If you want to be funny, make sure you kiss some ass first so they won't be out to get you.

humor on-topic = not spam, humor off-topic = spam.

if you cant add or contribute(humor is not contributing unless it is in the vein of the thread which it never is) dont post.

but i like the fact that your the first person to complain about it that recognizes that the majority would rather have it lackluster and inane, which i assume translates roughly to threads related to the site.

[b.k. barunt]

I gotta say that this is a prime example of what's pushing the forum into a veritable sargasso sea of lackluster, inane threads. So now we have it clearly from andy -
Humor = Spam. If you want to be funny, make sure you kiss some ass first so they won't be out to get you.

humor on-topic = not spam, humor off-topic = spam.

if you cant add or contribute(humor is not contributing unless it is in the vein of the thread which it never is) dont post.

but i like the fact that your the first person to complain about it that recognizes that the majority would rather have it lackluster and inane, which i assume translates roughly to threads related to the site.

Well since you've got it all figgered out, maybe you could point out to us how Dancing Mustard's post on the aforementioned thread was "off topic". Do you even know what post i'm talking about? Have you even looked at the thread? If you haven't, aren't you just spamming this thread? I certainly hope your not spamming and brownnosing at the same time, because the brownnosing should not make your spamming ok, and you should be band.


Honibaz

[xelabale]

I gotta say that this is a prime example of what's pushing the forum into a veritable sargasso sea of lackluster, inane threads. So now we have it clearly from andy -
Humor = Spam. If you want to be funny, make sure you kiss some ass first so they won't be out to get you.

humor on-topic = not spam, humor off-topic = spam.

if you cant add or contribute(humor is not contributing unless it is in the vein of the thread which it never is) dont post.

but i like the fact that your the first person to complain about it that recognizes that the majority would rather have it lackluster and inane, which i assume translates roughly to threads related to the site.

So by this statement you're actually saying that humour must by definition be off-topic? You live in a sad world my friend, a sad world - cretin.
Really? We'll see - please go vote in my poll about this one - it's about to be entitled "Should CC fora be lacklustre and inane?" - I assume you'll be voting yes - cretin.
You do realise we have more fora than just GD don't you? In fact we have a cute little one that regularly changes it's name which is SPECIFICALLY FOR POSTING ABOUT THINGS NOT RELATED TO THE SITE - cretin.

[jiminski]

.....SPECIFICALLY FOR POSTING ABOUT THINGS NOT RELATED TO THE SITE - cretin.[/color]

heheh perfect example of humour needing almost boundless freedom. I don't even think it was intended as humour but the little random use of 'cretin' surprised and tickled me. Not because i wanted Hw belittled but because it gave a little flourish out of nowhere .. a way to conclude. Juxtaposed against the all uppercase preceding it, it's an almost out of context whispered sneer "nieeeer! no your mother's of questionable morality!" to the burly man once he's out of ear-shot.

to find little nuggets of humour.. which are not staid and ritualised, people need to be able to meander off-topic a little. At its best, flamewars was that; a high level, dare i say intellectual, conversation could be going on in one corner whilst Ronaldinho called your mum a slag and your grandad a bum-bandit. Before Flamewars was reduced in it's remit (it had grown into a place to discuss all manner of topics, not just dice and shitty play) it was the most organic experiment in intellect, humour and frivolity an online forum could be. Sadly they moderated that out of it due to it not being the original intention. It died long before they deleted it as they chopped off its bollox.

Now we are being left with only those who can play the smug forum game - make an irrelevant yet humourous reference and then make an even less relevant 'on-topic' statement to add a veneer of acceptability to the entirety of the post. look at the Pick up Lines thread .. christ it almost makes me weep!

what a pickle.

[khazalid]

amen.

[AAFitz]

I just got off of a week's ban for "flaming" and took a look at the "Owenshooter" thread. This has got to be one of the funniest threads i've read here - post after post of it had me cracking up, and then i get to the end and see that andydufresne locked it "to prevent any more spam". Dancing Mustard was permabanned for his contribution, which was hilarious but certainly no more of a "flame" than any of the others - i notice no one else on the thread got banned at all. Selective banning, anyone? The thread now seems to be removed completely, although it may still be on one of the back pages. What a surprise - do you guys have a specific mod for getting rid of evidence?

I gotta say that this is a prime example of what's pushing the forum into a veritable sargasso sea of lackluster, inane threads. So now we have it clearly from andy -
Humor = Spam. If you want to be funny, make sure you kiss some ass first so they won't be out to get you.

The bottom line here is money. Just like the deadbeat situation, where the rules are geared to draw more members and suckitupcupcake to the already existing members whose games are slowed down and beleaguered with a plethora of suddenly neutral countries. The forum is now being treated the same way - the admins have decided that a boring forum is a safe forum - which translates as a more lucrative forum. The sad part is that there's a rather large number of members who prefer a safe, boring forum, even though most of them rarely if ever post on it, and when they do no one particularly cares to read their insipid tripe.

I can now understand why some former members are doing things to sabotage the site, and i can't really say that i blame them. The situation as it stands is pretty damn stupid.


Honibaz

Easily one way to look at it.

The other would be that CC is just a group of people with the main purpose of playing the actual game and chatting about it and some other things. Its possible that the Mods did not enjoy watching people get attacked repeatedly, so they closed flame wars. Its possible that they actually dont have a clear goal, and are just trying to make it a fun safe place for people to enjoy the game. Its also possible that it will be better this way.

Certainly this cant be the only forum on the internet. Certainly there must be other places to have some fun chatting with other people, with whatever language you want, and whatever jokes you want.

What I dont understand is why some feel, that it is CC's obligation to provide this forum. I can guess that its simply a result of it essentially, accidentally turning into that. Lacks genuine regard for openness and general liberal stance on subjects, allowed the site to become what it was. Now, I completely agree that there were some creative and intellectual gems deleted with flame wars. And I might even like to play in such a forum again. If I do, ill go find one. But I certainly wont suggest to some guy that he should allow it on his game that he set up, simply because he gave me access to play it and post on it for $25, because if he started telling me how I should run my business, Id have the same answer for him, and it would not be allowed under the current posting guidelines.

My point is BK, not that you are wrong, but more that perhaps you are in the wrong place?

[jiminski]

I just got off of a week's ban for "flaming" and took a look at the "Owenshooter" thread. This has got to be one of the funniest threads i've read here - post after post of it had me cracking up, and then i get to the end and see that andydufresne locked it "to prevent any more spam". Dancing Mustard was permabanned for his contribution, which was hilarious but certainly no more of a "flame" than any of the others - i notice no one else on the thread got banned at all. Selective banning, anyone? The thread now seems to be removed completely, although it may still be on one of the back pages. What a surprise - do you guys have a specific mod for getting rid of evidence?

I gotta say that this is a prime example of what's pushing the forum into a veritable sargasso sea of lackluster, inane threads. So now we have it clearly from andy -
Humor = Spam. If you want to be funny, make sure you kiss some ass first so they won't be out to get you.

The bottom line here is money. Just like the deadbeat situation, where the rules are geared to draw more members and suckitupcupcake to the already existing members whose games are slowed down and beleaguered with a plethora of suddenly neutral countries. The forum is now being treated the same way - the admins have decided that a boring forum is a safe forum - which translates as a more lucrative forum. The sad part is that there's a rather large number of members who prefer a safe, boring forum, even though most of them rarely if ever post on it, and when they do no one particularly cares to read their insipid tripe.

I can now understand why some former members are doing things to sabotage the site, and i can't really say that i blame them. The situation as it stands is pretty damn stupid.


Honibaz

Easily one way to look at it.

The other would be that CC is just a group of people with the main purpose of playing the actual game and chatting about it and some other things. Its possible that the Mods did not enjoy watching people get attacked repeatedly, so they closed flame wars. Its possible that they actually dont have a clear goal, and are just trying to make it a fun safe place for people to enjoy the game. Its also possible that it will be better this way.

Certainly this cant be the only forum on the internet. Certainly there must be other places to have some fun chatting with other people, with whatever language you want, and whatever jokes you want.

What I dont understand is why some feel, that it is CC's obligation to provide this forum. I can guess that its simply a result of it essentially, accidentally turning into that. Lacks genuine regard for openness and general liberal stance on subjects, allowed the site to become what it was. Now, I completely agree that there were some creative and intellectual gems deleted with flame wars. And I might even like to play in such a forum again. If I do, ill go find one. But I certainly wont suggest to some guy that he should allow it on his game that he set up, simply because he gave me access to play it and post on it for $25, because if he started telling me how I should run my business, Id have the same answer for him, and it would not be allowed under the current posting guidelines.

My point is BK, not that you are wrong, but more that perhaps you are in the wrong place?

Yeap, that is the point Fitz... but that we are here and pissing and moaning rather indicates that we liked it here better than anywhere else before.

Are you suggesting that we should always accept change happily and not attempt to influence the environment which we previously called 'home'. And if we can not we just leave?

i think you are right and sad though i am, that is what i will do, so i won't be renewing membership for a plethora of reasons. (the last and most final being the manner in which FlameWars was deleted.)

...some bloody monkey (kind and well intentioned friend!) bought me an extension to my frigging membership .. i tried to pass it to another but i was not allowed ..hehe so my dramatic exit and door slam may take some time! .. can you hear the slow-mo 'b' of *bang!!*?

[4myGod]

The other would be that CC is just a group of people with the main purpose of playing the actual game and chatting about it and some other things.

Interesting perspective I have never considered before. I suppose what has happened is over time a certain group of people who loved playing risk have not only continued playing this game but become friends and turned the forums into their back alley meeting area. The majority of them, or at least the loudest of them, find humor in the sarcasm and random off or on-topic flames. However the owners/mods of this site are a different kind of people and are pushing the site into a different direction than the current members are wanting it to go.

So what should be done? Yes, it is lacks business, and we can keep our mouth shut and just quit when we don't like it anymore. In fact, it may be that the majority of people who like these forums as they are, are only here because the forums are already this way, and if the forums were to change into the super strict forums Team CC has planned out, maybe people of that type will also start coming and staying on the site, and those who were of the old type will leave the site for a competing site (yes I know that today there is none comparable). It's a risk that they are taking, but they are doing it slow enough and banning those who put up too much of a fight.

There will be competition soon, and I am sure they would be more than happy to take in all the active opinionated users CC currently is throwing away, Dancing Mustard for example. By the way anyone have contact to him?

[khazalid]

he's next to the waltzing ketchup in the fridge door

[Fireside Poet]

So sabotage of the site is therefore justified because the mods want to run it their way and certain people just don't cotton to it? Brill.

[Fruitcake]

So sabotage of the site is therefore justified because the mods want to run it their way and certain people just don't cotton to it? Brill.

Please explain what exactly you mean by 'sabotage'.

[jiminski]

So sabotage of the site is therefore justified because the mods want to run it their way and certain people just don't cotton to it? Brill.

no i think the point is (to the background that i am neither a saboteur nor an unreasonable man.) That if we are indeed helpless in the face of the sites whim and we have no rights at all in any real sense.

The official line being stated and inferred to be that: we have no rights to any Forum and we should be grateful that we have any at all; that we have no rights to change the tone or environment and that we should expect it to be criticised as unreasonable, tiresome and unwelcome to the site if we try to; that our only recourse, having been spurned and disrespected, is to leave!

And then, as the contract of mutual trust; the windblown tightrope we walk to make a society together is cut, then what right does the site have to expect that we do not make a grab for it on the ledge as we fall from grace?

Do i like that? do i like what Wicked did or IPH?
Nope, not in the least, I hated what they did! But this is a two way process and if, as we are being told and shown, we have no real stake here.. some may say 'why the fuck not!?'

and to those who say .. "ahhh jim, get of the soap-box and find some perspective!" true enough heheh i can see that this is all a waste of time and effort anyway.
But is that what the site wants our perspective to be? Of course not, they want us to be ingrained in the culture here and intoxicated by virtual intrigue. They want to build a microcosm of society and tend us like cattle! Well they got us and now, by changing the constitution of this little society, their actions tell us to piss-off.. But if we can be good little boys and take it lying down in this altered state, we may stay!!

The phrase "have their cake and eat it!" springs to mind!

Shit i get why people are banned (though they still get it wrong and they lose more than Mustard does from his departure) but what i will not forgive is that they deleted a whole forum which i frequented, its past and present, and then made it a joke!
What more could they do to illustrate my worthlessness and their absolute contempt for my contribution here!?
Fine, it is theirs to do with what they will.... but if you court a lover, get the sex and then tell them to piss-off, directly or through more subtle means, you are likely to have to deal with a modicum of inconvenience after!

Christ, it is naive of anyone to think otherwise!

[Fireside Poet]

So sabotage of the site is therefore justified because the mods want to run it their way and certain people just don't cotton to it? Brill.

Please explain what exactly you mean by 'sabotage'.

Read the OP...

"I can now understand why some former members are doing things to sabotage the site, and i can't really say that i blame them."

[jbrettlip]

BK, I received a week long ban for also posting in that thread. Of course, other users running around spamming, trolling adn outright flaming but never get banned, since they are on the mods good side. In fact I have been reporting posts of users that never seem to have to play by the rules. Of course, none of them have received any punishment as of yet, my reports have all been "handled" by Andy.

Here is the thread.
http://www.conquerclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=239&t=91235&start=30

[TheBro]

So sabotage of the site is therefore justified because the mods want to run it their way and certain people just don't cotton to it? Brill.

Please explain what exactly you mean by 'sabotage'.

Read the OP...

"I can now understand why some former members are doing things to sabotage the site, and i can't really say that i blame them."

"When you've got nothing you've got nothing to lose."

He said he understands why people come back and try to sabotage the site. I don't believe he justified it, he said he can't really blame them.

I can blame them though, screw those idiots. If you wanna get back at CC, ThorGhandKing-ificate them. I'm not going to renew my membership for a few reasons I will not mention. Will it work? Will this bring back DM? Will not buying my premium membership throw CC out of business? I doubt it, but I win. I'll get the personal satisfaction of beating the man without being a total jackass. And I may be the only one who does, but say 5 people did, 5 prominent members of the CC community. Pay it forward 6 times, round up, that's like 40000 people we just got to not buy premium. And then what? Then CC moves on by finding new members, new boring Saxitons, (<--- Is that a flame?) and maybe CC admits to messing up!

Whatever. Argue with the admins and mods. It's fun, possibly funny, you can talk about your unjustified ban when you get back, and a bonus is you may actually change their mind once in awhile. But as my father always says, "if we disagree it's because you're wrong." The mods are our daddies' now. Suck it up, play risk, complain and get banned, but don't sabotage the game at the expense of innocent by-standing players.

[hwhrhett]

but what i will not forgive is that they deleted a whole forum which i frequented, its past and present, and then made it a joke!
What more could they do to illustrate my worthlessness and their absolute contempt for my contribution here!?

this is the problem with your thinking, flame wars makes this a better game? perhaps i just dont understand....

[4myGod]

but what i will not forgive is that they deleted a whole forum which i frequented, its past and present, and then made it a joke!
What more could they do to illustrate my worthlessness and their absolute contempt for my contribution here!?

this is the problem with your thinking, flame wars makes this a better game? perhaps i just dont understand....

Perhaps not a better game, but a better site, to the people who enjoyed the flame wars forums.

I have never seen flame wars, however it sounds like a separate forum for those who enjoy flaming each other. I don't see what the problem is with that. It doesn't make the site any worse, however for few people it makes it better, because they enjoy themselves there.

It's like me saying, I don't like clans/teams so I think they should be taken out of the site. If I don't like clans/teams... all I have to do is not join one, instead of going out of my way to find reasons to get rid of clans/teams all together.

If anyone should leave the site, it should be the ones who are so narrow minded that everything has to be fun for them, and if it isn't fun for them, they have to get it removed.

[hwhrhett]

but what i will not forgive is that they deleted a whole forum which i frequented, its past and present, and then made it a joke!
What more could they do to illustrate my worthlessness and their absolute contempt for my contribution here!?

this is the problem with your thinking, flame wars makes this a better game? perhaps i just dont understand....

Perhaps not a better game, but a better site, to the people who enjoyed the flame wars forums.

I have never seen flame wars, however it sounds like a separate forum for those who enjoy flaming each other. I don't see what the problem is with that. It doesn't make the site any worse, however for few people it makes it better, because they enjoy themselves there.

It's like me saying, I don't like clans/teams so I think they should be taken out of the site. If I don't like clans/teams... all I have to do is not join one, instead of going out of my way to find reasons to get rid of clans/teams all together.

If anyone should leave the site, it should be the ones who are so narrow minded that everything has to be fun for them, and if it isn't fun for them, they have to get it removed.

except that clans/teams are a part of the game. and the reason they removed flame wars is ONLY because the people that hung out in flame wars began to think that type of behaviour was ok in ALL forums.. perhaps if all the people in flame wars had kept it in flame wars, it might never would have become a problem...

[stahrgazer]

except that clans/teams are a part of the game. and the reason they removed flame wars is ONLY because the people that hung out in flame wars began to think that type of behaviour was ok in ALL forums.. perhaps if all the people in flame wars had kept it in flame wars, it might never would have become a problem...

My, aren't you a pot calling kettles black.

[xelabale]

except that clans/teams are a part of the game. and the reason they removed flame wars is ONLY because the people that hung out in flame wars began to think that type of behaviour was ok in ALL forums.. perhaps if all the people in flame wars had kept it in flame wars, it might never would have become a problem...

On the plus side, now flame wars has gone there's no flaming or bad behaviour anywhere on the site. What a relief.

[F1fth]

So sabotage of the site is therefore justified because the mods want to run it their way and certain people just don't cotton to it? Brill.

no i think the point is (to the background that i am neither a saboteur nor an unreasonable man.) That if we are indeed helpless in the face of the sites whim and we have no rights at all in any real sense.

The official line being stated and inferred to be that: we have no rights to any Forum and we should be grateful that we have any at all; that we have no rights to change the tone or environment and that we should expect it to be criticised as unreasonable, tiresome and unwelcome to the site if we try to; that our only recourse, having been spurned and disrespected, is to leave!

And then, as the contract of mutual trust; the windblown tightrope we walk to make a society together is cut, then what right does the site have to expect that we do not make a grab for it on the ledge as we fall from grace?

Do i like that? do i like what Wicked did or IPH?
Nope, not in the least, I hated what they did! But this is a two way process and if, as we are being told and shown, we have no real stake here.. some may say 'why the fuck not!?'

and to those who say .. "ahhh jim, get of the soap-box and find some perspective!" true enough heheh i can see that this is all a waste of time and effort anyway.
But is that what the site wants our perspective to be? Of course not, they want us to be ingrained in the culture here and intoxicated by virtual intrigue. They want to build a microcosm of society and tend us like cattle! Well they got us and now, by changing the constitution of this little society, their actions tell us to piss-off.. But if we can be good little boys and take it lying down in this altered state, we may stay!!

The phrase "have their cake and eat it!" springs to mind!

Shit i get why people are banned (though they still get it wrong and they lose more than Mustard does from his departure) but what i will not forgive is that they deleted a whole forum which i frequented, its past and present, and then made it a joke!
What more could they do to illustrate my worthlessness and their absolute contempt for my contribution here!?
Fine, it is theirs to do with what they will.... but if you court a lover, get the sex and then tell them to piss-off, directly or through more subtle means, you are likely to have to deal with a modicum of inconvenience after!

Christ, it is naive of anyone to think otherwise!

Cheers to the new siggy.

but what i will not forgive is that they deleted a whole forum which i frequented, its past and present, and then made it a joke!
What more could they do to illustrate my worthlessness and their absolute contempt for my contribution here!?

this is the problem with your thinking, flame wars makes this a better game? perhaps i just dont understand....

A misunderstanding indeed. He was not saying that FW made the game better, but that some of the community liked it and put effort into making it something enjoyable. The fact that the administration just up and removed it with no warning never to return again and said "Oops, where did FW go?" as if it were a joke demonstrates an utter lack of respect for that part of the community and the contributions they made. And how on earth can you expect to be respected by those who you do not respect?

[PLAYER57832]

but what i will not forgive is that they deleted a whole forum which i frequented, its past and present, and then made it a joke!
What more could they do to illustrate my worthlessness and their absolute contempt for my contribution here!?

this is the problem with your thinking, flame wars makes this a better game? perhaps i just dont understand....

Maybe not, but constantly whining about anyone who disagrees, posts something you just don't like or plays in a way you dislike... definitely makes the site worse.

[hwhrhett]

Maybe not, but constantly whining about anyone who disagrees, posts something you just don't like or plays in a way you dislike... definitely makes the site worse.

indeed.

[Woodruff]

So sabotage of the site is therefore justified because the mods want to run it their way and certain people just don't cotton to it? Brill.

I don't believe b.k. was JUSTIFYING the purported sabotage. He was simply saying he can see their perspective. That's definitely not the same as agreeing with it.