As of today, in response to several recent incidents, I have made a few minor tweaks to the rules, as follows.
1. First, under
Asking for Help, I have added:
- Be patient. We can't all be online all the time, and nagging will make us want to help you less, and may lead to warnings.
This applies to troubleshooting help, waiting for mods to update, etc. we have had far too many members over the past two weeks creating a hard time for people who were working on mods, and more drama than I'd like over it. If I continue to see this sort of behavior, I
will take action.
Among other things, that means if a question has already been answered, accept that answer. If you're told "I'm still working on it, it'll take a few more hours", then wait instead of complaining. If someone is trying to help you get something working and they're not posting fast enough, do
not post again asking why they haven't answered yet.
2. Second, under
Reporting Posts, I have added:
Only use the report button to report actual rule infractions. Do not use it to report mods or tools that don't work, missing download links, members being unable to solve your problems despite their best effort, or updates that take longer than you hoped. If you cannot cite the exact rule being broken, chances are pretty good you shouldn't be reporting the post. Abuse of the report button will lead to warnings and potential moderation.
I am serious about this. Don't report posts just because you disagree with them. Don't report posts just because they weren't helpful enough. This button is
only to be used if someone has actually broken a rule. I would prefer it if, when reporting a post, you would actually quote the rule in question. Not just for my sake, but for your own, so that you can know for sure that what you're reporting is actually something worth reporting. If you can't find a rule against it, don't report it.
We are open to suggestions for things that you think should be rules but aren't currently. We won't necessarily take those suggestions, but we're open to hearing them and discussing them among staff. But it's hardly reasonable to expect us to take action against a post that you think SHOULD be against the rules but isn't.
3. One final rules and moderation point: In the interest of stopping drama in its tracks, I am going to start taking a very liberal interpretation of our
Don't Be a D*ck rule. We've got a solid community here that's made some really impressive mods over the years, and many of us have made lifelong friends because of this site. The last thing I want is for that to be torn apart by hostility and aggression like I've seen recently, and I'm not afraid to issue high warn levels, or if necessary, even bans, in order to keep the peace. I would rather not have to resort to this, but I will if I feel it's needed.
Let me take off my
admin hat for a moment and put on my
regular dude hat: I have long believed that it is more important to be kind than to be right. This is one of the most central points of my personal philosophy, and something I consciously and deliberately brought with me when I first became a moderator here a couple of years ago. I can attest first-hand that this philosophy has worked wonders for me; I am generally a joyful person even in the face of emotional pain, arguments, etc., and this mindset is at the heart of that. I, Covarr the person, beg you all personally to keep this in mind so that Covarr the moderator doesn't have to take action. Give it a try; choose kindness over rightness or winning, and chances are pretty good you'll never have cause to be moderated. That'd certainly be a dream come true for me.