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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
- Guest
(#0)
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Posted on: Mon Sep 5, 2011 9:04pm
Ouf, I know sometimes I can come across as a rude when I have absolutely no intention of being that, so I hope I haven't made anyone feel like I've been attacking them. DX That said, I'm glad this was posted as I've noticed a lot more coldness lately. Still, I'm pretty impressed with just how friendly most of the players I've talked to are, especially the mods and admins. <3
- Tea.Time [Soulwings]
(#2995)
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Posted on: Mon Sep 5, 2011 9:05pm
<3 oh slash you make my day with how you notice these things ;w; shows just how much you care about this site.
- Jay & Micah
(#4366)
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Posted on: Mon Sep 5, 2011 9:06pm
Oh my goodness, a reputation feature would be amazing, imo. I'm on a trading site that has one (you can even leave comments about why you ranked a person up or down) and I think that it could be helpful. Please do something like that. ~ Krill
- HannahBanana
(#17497)
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Posted on: Mon Sep 5, 2011 9:07pm
Thank you for taking the time to look into this and make a post about it. I'm a forum lurker and I've been here for quite a bit of time now.. I've seen my fair share of rude users; New and old. It just amazes me how some people can be so disrespectful to each other. Hopefully everyone will take the time to read your news post, Slash, and think about what you've written, and their attitudes towards others. - Tøxxikitty. <3
- ♥ Retta ♥
(#63)
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Posted on: Mon Sep 5, 2011 9:07pm
*pounds glass on the table* Here here! Slash you rock. Seriously. Most site owners would just shrug and ignore it. *has always admired how dedicated you are to Aywas* And I second the 'Mods are friendly'~ <3 I might not know all of them personally, but I've talked with most at some point and they're nothing but cheerful and helpful~ <3
- NightWolf714
(#26967)
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Posted on: Mon Sep 5, 2011 9:07pm
The community is actually part of the reason why I joined up here. :)
- Guitarlos
(#6879)
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Posted on: Mon Sep 5, 2011 9:08pm
My issue with a reputation feature is it being abused. I'd be afraid of assholes getting away with harming the reputation of other people just because they don't like/agree with them or whatever.
- Jack
(#1)
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Posted on: Mon Sep 5, 2011 9:09pm
I admined a site with a rep feature. There are sometimes people like that but it's easy enough to correct.
- Jay & Micah
(#4366)
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Posted on: Mon Sep 5, 2011 9:10pm
@ Taxel - It could always be made that it be a requirement for a user comment about why they ranked up/down. And maybe make abusing it be a ban-able offense or sommat. ~ Krill
Posted on: Mon Sep 5, 2011 9:02pm
Add reputation feature y/n?
Lol we originally had one, just forgot to use it and it died with V2.