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If you like the idea of the reputation feature suggested in the comments, why not share some thoughts on it on this thread?
Hello folks, I'd like to talk about something that concerns me. There have been quite a lot of people who have mentioned the Aywas community has not felt the same and has seemed, almost... colder and ruder.
In the beginning, we all knew each other from a small handful of common sites. We recently passed 30,000 users - so we've grown a whole bunch from the original beta testers, and people from all kinds of sites have joined and made Aywas their home.
With more people, the original family feel gets diluted. I suppose that happens when you have so many people coming in. We can, however, all work together on that.
First thing is, for those of you coming from more aggressively moderated sites, you may not know that the moderators are all really, really nice people. If someone rubs you the wrong way or behaves disrespectfully to you, our staff is always here to help. We've seen a large number of these sort of reports lately and we encourage you to keep reporting. We want to help!
Second thing is, we have always required that members be mature and respectful - it's a staple of our TOS . It's kind of awkward phrasing, but I think it's still a decent description - to show respect to other members, the staff that works hard to entertain you, and the site as a whole.
This seems to be slipping. More and more, there are people who are not acting mature and/or respectful. We've seen a larger increase of individuals who express damaging and hurtful comments in public places, on and off site. This also contributes to an overall feeling of coldness and breeds pain and anger, because whether it's here or not, it still affects all of the community in the way that it infects. We encourage thoughtful feedback, but we don't tolerate bashing and mindless insults, whether here or elsewhere. That hurts our community feel, and does not represent a mature and respectful attitude.
While we want to welcome everyone, maturity and respect is necessary to keep our community thriving, and keep that family feel we all yearn for. The best way to ensure this is to report inappropriate behavior and contribute ideas, not venom and hatred.
That said, please remember that Aywas is a private website. It's one of the things that sets us apart from other ones - our ability to filter registrations. That doesn't end at the sign up page, though. We want a community full of awesome people who have fun together and are, of course, mature and respectful. Please remember to be mindful of how you treat others, the staff, and the site - everywhere. Our community does not welcome hurtful attitudes, and we as staff will step up and do our best in preserving the purpose of our filter.
Your reports are the most helpful in aiding us there - whether it's someone speaking in chatspeak or someone who acts disrespectfully toward you, site, or staff, your reports can make or break our efforts.
I think our community needs healing, but I know we can do it. :) Thanks to all for reading. Now let's do our best!
Posted by Jack
(#1) on Mon Sep 5, 2011 8:33pm
- Elijah
(#931)
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Posted on: Mon Sep 5, 2011 11:23pm
*back and fourth. Go me. I win at spelling.
~Elijah
- Jack
(#1)
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Posted on: Mon Sep 5, 2011 11:23pm
It has changed, Lauren - that's one of the points of this post. The community will hopefully be better for it. (Though a more ideal goal is that we don't have to get reports at all, since everyone is nice!)
- Izanmei
(#9481)
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Posted on: Mon Sep 5, 2011 11:32pm
hmmm I'm kinda iffy about the reputation feature. I knowing fixing abuse on it is easy at least for trolling but...I think it could also become a status sort of thing. Also I'd feel uncomfortable if someone has posted down on me and/or wrote a comment as to why. I'd assume most people wouldn't like that either.
That sort of thing is just better as a direct message to someone.
Also thanks Slash for posting this. Although i haven't had any terrible experiences, I am glad for all the awesome people here
- Mew
(#3734)
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Posted on: Mon Sep 5, 2011 11:33pm
I agree c: I'll try to be more mindful of how I phrase things in the future so I don't offend people :( that's not my intention when I post my opinions in some threads v.v
- Elijah
(#931)
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Posted on: Mon Sep 5, 2011 11:33pm
Alright, so to clarify, offsite offenses are now grounds for action? (eg aim harassing, hurtful blogs, ect?) These things can be reported and have on-site consequences?
~Elijah
- ♑ Kat & AK ♈
(#80)
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Posted on: Mon Sep 5, 2011 11:36pm
Like Button sounds fun. :)
- Jack
(#1)
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Posted on: Mon Sep 5, 2011 11:40pm
Elijah - the short answer is yes/maybe, the long answer is we have to take into account the legitimacy of the complaint to ensure it was enacted by the reported person (not a forgery), and investigate the scope of the issue. It is also important to view the report with respect to any other reports we have gotten about that user in the past to see if there is consistency or any patterns.
- TheseWeirdFishes
(#26181)
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Posted on: Mon Sep 5, 2011 11:51pm
I'm not all that sure since I don't know many people at all. xD
- Sandy
(#11020)
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Posted on: Mon Sep 5, 2011 11:55pm
I don't get on the forums much. But I know I like to treat others like I would want them to treat me.
I think part of the problem is parents are not teaching their children how to respect others and also don't see what their children do on the computers.
If children are not taught how to treat real people they don't see any reason why they should treat people they will never see any better.
I am glad I am missing the few bad apples on here.
Posted on: Mon Sep 5, 2011 11:22pm
I have to say that while I want the community to improve, I'd really like to see a solid stance on offsite things. Half the time I have to deal with staff, offsite is offsite and nothing can be done about it. The other half I find myself being targeted for offsite behavior. It's very frustrating for me to have this rule bounce bath and fourth.
~Elijah