What follows is my editorial opinion only, and IS NOT a change in the direction or format of this site.
So before anyone cries like a little girl about what I say below, first understand that I'm allowed to express my opinions here just as you are, and if you can't handle that you should re-enroll in the third grade and go grab a box of tissues from your mommy.
I received the PM below from a user I respect. I thought I'd post it anonymously because I believe it is well stated and identifies a massive problem on this site:
Quote:
Freedom of Opinion. So I was talking to the folks in my guild last night, and some of them had questions about their classes, so I directed them to check out eq2flames and post their questions here. The response I got was overwhelming. The reason they will never come here is because of the lack of freedom to express oneself.
These boards were created for the purpose of open expression. It has gotten to the point that a select group of posters influence to flow of discussion just by being forum bullies, and griefers. Having the freedom to discuss openly is great, but people are becoming afraid of posting just because they feel like they will get stalked and harrassed everywhere they post.
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There is no doubt that a large number of users, possibly up to the same number that post here, will never post here, and are regularly driven from this site, by a smaller number of "type A" posters and outright bullies on this site.
I don't have a solution to this, and I don't think there is one. I walk a very fine line here, and just suggesting people should tone down their shit is often met with accusations that I'm being a "nazi censor", which I consider extraordinarily retarded, because with only a few exceptions since we've been open based on specific
Site Rules, I never remove anything on this site unless it involves pr0n pics or a racial or religious slur.
On the other hand, I'm frequently astonished by the depth and breadth of some of the ignorance I witness on this site. Some people actually believe that just because this is a flame site, the preferred method of communication for everything here is extreme hostility, and that users should ALWAYS flame EVERYTHING they write.
Nothing is further from what I ever intended or expected for this site. The purpose of making this a "flame obvious" site was to put people on notice that they better be prepared to back up their shit before acting stupid here or making bullshit claims. The possibility of honest communication is increased in an environment where someone has the freedom to tell someone else they have the IQ and personality of a retarded leg humping chihuahua. This alone prevents a lot of lies and ignorant behavior before it ever starts.
And that's because, when you post here, you put your skin in the game. You risk your posting personality, and there is no safety net. If you post unwisely here, nobody is going to prevent someone else from calling you a dumbass retard.
But things have gone so much further from what I ever considered the "original model" for this site to be. Basically, a few dozen people on this board now respond with amazingly aggressive negativity to just about everyone that posts here, outside of the small group that normally posts in support of them, despite how genuinely sincere and non-offensive the original poster was attempting to be.
Now, I don't even need to name the people I'm talking about. You all know who you are, so do I, so does every user on this board. And I really can't do shit to you, call you out by name even, or start getting down on you for merely being "mean" and "rude" too often. Because if I did that, it would destroy these boards, they would lose the very soul required for the format that's developed here.
What's even more interesting is that even though many of our "type A" users are often accused of chasing others from this site, they are also some of the biggest draws on this site, and attract a following of others who just want to read about how these outrageous and controversial people pwned a noob today.
What I'm suggesting is this - VOLUNTARY self-limitation and cooperation. I'M ASKING YOU TO USE YOUR POWER MORE WISELY, AND MORE RESPONSIBLY. YES, I SAID POWER, YOU HAVE POWER HERE.
These boards REALLY AND TRULY ARE BETTER with diversity - and when I say that, I mean hardcore raiders, newer players able to ask questions and post in a respectful manner without a chip on their shoulder, gay people, heterosexual people, and people of every ethnic and religious background. Truly, all these people can blend together and create some extremely interesting content for us all to enjoy when we don't chase them from this site.
Helping get more people to post here, at minimum, provides you with more entertainment and the ability to further hone your skeelz as a L337 internet flame board badass. If you just consider trying a more subtle approach, rather than bringing out the big guns and destroying your target in every reply you make on this board, you will help this site attract more posters, and by doing so, you will create higher quality targets for your ire. With more posters, you can simply be more selective and only destroy dumbasses who really deserve it, rather than trying to destroy every person you come up against.
All I'm suggesting - and let me remind those who like to accuse me of beign a nazi censor that this is ONLY A SUGGESTION - is to pursue greater quality in your art here, and only rip to shreds the small number of people who really and truly deserve to be vaporized, and not every single person you come across that disagrees with you.
Thank you for reading this.
Freedom of Expression - let's talk
