Geoff, I think that was a pretty good write-up. There are good reasons for the CoC, and it's damn stupid for anyone to whine about getting banned for violating it. It gets foggy when someone is banned for a minor infraction. It gets even foggier when examples of that same infraction remain posted by others in the same thread.
TL;DR: You have not thought this through.
Quote:Hey, you pride yourself on how outlaw you are, you make a point of breaking the rules, okay, be that guy. But own it when you get caught, and stop blaming others for your own behavior. No one cares that “you can’t prove it for a fact” as if this was some kind of court of law where proof was necessary. You knew what you were doing. It was not Jerry, it was you, and you know it. Now man up (or woman up!) and own it.
This paragraph expresses the majority of opinions posted in the Infractions section. Why have you written it as if responses here are not exactly the same? I think you're missing some crucial information.
You don't make it a secret that you lurk here. Is it just that you missed all of the times someone came whining after getting banned, showed us the infraction, and then got laughed at and told they deserved it?
Or is it too much cognitive dissonance for you that sometimes the consensus is an infraction was unfair? You do recognize it's impossible to hold Jerry to a standard of no mistakes, right? Meanwhile, it is a good standard, and serves an important role in getting the judgment right as often as possible, and especially in correcting a judgment made in error.
I'm confused. You appear willing to group everyone who posts here with the whiners. By that logic, how do you not characterize the official forums by their lowest?
Matters of uneven enforcement aside, the official forums are associated with a place of business, and that business is legally at risk, and at risk in the market for what goes on in them. It's understandable that a moderator treats everyone there the same way a playground monitor treats children. No one can be allowed to take responsibility for themselves, because that puts Turbine's liability in the hands of strangers.
It doesn't have to be likable. Painting someone in an adversarial light for expressing dislike on a different forum is unhealthy. And in no way is it one of Jerry's job responsibilities. Come to the place where it is spoken, if you disagree. If this concept is difficult, be aware that is a sign you are at risk of codependency. It's called passive aggression. Turbine's policies, while reasonable in other ways, force any participant in their forums to act in a passive aggressive manner. I imagine this goes double for a moderator.
Often, those who have been banned have been banned for refusing to be passive aggressive. Yes, I hear the objection you raise, why participate then? I think that question demands the participant to be clairvoyant. But the better question is if you can see it coming, then why are
you participating?
The Vault does not have anything like the same liabilities. People can be treated like adults. And regardless of their age, they usually are. Just as the opposite happens on the official forums. Regardless of age, people are treated like children.
Accountability is possible here. On the official forums, it's impossible. That responsibility is moderated for you (or left unattended, sometimes for years, until someone with a chip on their shoulder goes digging through history).
In The Vault's Defense, it can't be defended. There is no "Vault" in the way you seem to think of it: a singular entity, with a singular personality and agenda. There will always be an urge to paint the posters here as a unified group, but the simplicity of thinking it doesn't make up for how wrong it is. You post here. Uurlock posts here. Cetus posts here, etc. Each owns his/her own responsibility.
You don't know me, and for that reason, you shouldn't trust me. That's the way I like it, and that's why The Vault suits me. Don't take me at my word; take my words on their own merit,
or lack thereof. If you prefer, you are quite free to group me with some of the idiots and fuckwits who post here. Dismiss me because of where I post, if you like. Who am I to say how much complexity of thought you want to have when you look for community resources for your video game?
If you think my words have merit, though, then you have a problem with the official forums. Blaming me or anyone else for that irritation will never make it go away. Excusing Jerry for his part in an adversarial relationship with Turbine's customers is also not fair to Jerry. He has reasons. Holding him accountable for them is adult behavior.