This a joke or something?

I had to ask because shouldn't something like that be in a report? 

We're they breaking any rules though? 

I appreciate your passion for this topic. I assure you that if users are trolling or slandering any fanbase, they will be subject to moderation. And the mod team has been cracking down on "stealth" users, I can assure you of that.

But the mod team doesn't want to start censuring members for their unpopular or controversial opinions. They're allowed those opinions, as long as they communicate them respectfully and with sufficient evidence.

If there are individual posts you think worthy of moderation, please report them. If they were reported and dismissed, and you want an explanation, please contact the mod team via PM.

Remember the guidelines of this thread:

• This is not the place to ask for moderation on another user. Report said user's potentially moderatable post/thread and let the Mod team handle it from there on out.
• This is not the place to ask why your report did not result in a moderation for a user. Be respectful of the process and trust that every report is carefully examined before it is either dismissed or acted upon.

Hello fellow moderators! OnlyForDisplay here! I don't have a question, but rather a request. Please complete your peruse of my statement before replying, as I know this will not be easy for some of you, but something I need to state to obtain permission per this request. Anyway.. on with my request!


When I first entered VGChartz, it truly was a new beginning; brave new world a better term. Striking out twice, I decided to roll the dice one last time after my friends recommended this site to me. After contributing positive substance to the site, I decided to make my first thread. Afterwords, I had come across a user to turned out to remind me of myself a lot in my childhood; JayWood. One of my first friends on the site; my very first friend of a blog site that was a veteran of the site no less, I was elated. It was less about his rank and more about what we had in common.


Over time, I became more and more comfortable with learning how to blog better than I ever had since that day. I do admit any thread I make is quite a hard sell in terms of length, but I could do it with more confidence after JayWood gave me some pointers as to how to properly create threads. Not only that, my abilities in posting content, be it in comments or on someone's walls, had gotten better, even if by a little, and do get better each time I forum and contribute in a positive way to the site.


However, even more than something such as improving abilities on foruming or making friendships with others made me realize what had JayWood helped me to achieve; the power to believe. I did gain that confidence day by day, but talking to JayWood allowed me to continue to work harder towards what I had set out to do on VGChartz and then some. I am not there yet, but thanks to him, as well as the other friends he helped me obtain indirectly, I now see that while such goals, such as 100k gamerscore are far away, each time I log on allows me to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It was thanks to him and others who were good friends of his that I have matured this far, even if it seems to you guys I might not have. That being said, onwards to one sentence that is critical in this post.


Much of what I had explained to you mods now brings me to my request.


Fellow moderators of VGChartz, please allow me to create one final salute to JayWood via a thread. Much like how the former moderators on the site, such as ConeGamer and Mummelman, that I did create a forum for, I want to give JayWood one final salute before he will become a distant memory.


I do understand that moderators on any site would not honor nor tolerate those who have committed serious offenses to those who have broken major infractions on various sites and even asking for such a request could have me severely punished. However, I do owe to not only JayWood's friends, but JayWood himself for my continual growth towards my three goals on VGChartz and ultimately, for being that rare find of what many of us have lost in translation, definition, or both, a friend.


Sincerest apologies for the long post, but I do believe it is more apporpiate to ask you all for this request. As a member of VGChartz, I do understand, without question, any form of punishment that may be dealt once this has been perused,  I will accept any form of punishment without question. At the same time, I do know that it is thanks to JayWood, that I, OnlyForDisplay, can ask you such a question.


Fellow moderators, thank you for your time and cooperation! I look forward to hearing from you soon. Till then, and, if this is the last message for quite some time if punished, this has been a request is;


OnlyForDisplay.

That's the problem. There aren't any rules being enforced on stealth trolling. Even when a member frequents threads for a company that he/she has absolutely no interest in just to leave those demeaning troll comments, nothing happens until they slip up and break a "real" rule.

Do you realize how many users can be banned for that? If you use too broad of paint brush, everything will be painted. 

So people from different camps go into other camp's threads, post their opinion and because it upsets that camp and it's their thread, the user can be banned for it? If the person explains and reasonably justifies their opinion, they should be fine regardless if it upsets some people. I rather there not be anymore wall gardens.

If someone intentionally goes into a thread just to ruffle feathers, I can understand. If someone with an unpopular opinion who is vocal about it but discusses everything, it should be fine. How do you figure out which one is which? 

The term "Stealth trolling" is too generalized in my opinion. I can't even find a definition for it easily.  It's too much of a one size fits all type of unwritten rule that users want other users banned for. 

So you're saying many trolls would get banned for going into multiple threads leaving demeaning troll comments slipping under the line? Good.

Too broad of a brush, my friend. If they were leaving troll posts, they would be banned for it. How do you define a troll comment that slipped under the line?

Well padib already gave examples. But there's concern trolling, generalizing a fanbase while tiptoeing around the word "fanboy" and there's straight up demeaning and put-down posts posed as opinions. I didn't see it as a problem until it became the same users over and over doing it. They've gotten banned multiple times for slipping up and then they're right back on the job.