CGI-Quality said:
What is it exactly that you'd like to see changed? Let's start with feedback here and see if there are areas that can be agreed upon.
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A few things from the top of my head.
I'll give a list of a few rule changes later, but as for right now the ruleset is too bloated and can be used against the mod team and the community with relative ease. The mod teams use of said ruleset is problematic, because a lot of things are taken too literal. I've argued for years that moderators should use them as basic guidelines rather than an exhaustive list of what should and shouldn't be moderated. Using the ruleset in this way leads to a lack of common sense ruling.
As an example, this can lead to members being moderated for calling out trolls and trouble causers, while trolls and trouble causers remain free because the ruleset lets them get away with it. This leads to extended discussion in this very thread where members of the community are having to repeatedly complain about said trouble causers.
This can be called a Conegamer situation.
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I feel like the mod teams response to the rise in far right/ alt right rhetoric being spread over the forums has been lackluster at best. New moderators were brought onto the team to combat problems in political threads, while political threads have seen nothing but problems this year and have poisoned the well. One of your moderators sincerely believes that Adolf Hitler was a far left socialist.
This has been extremely problematic for the growth of the community in general.
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The mod team is as big as it's ever been, while activity levels on the forum are as low as they've been in over 10 years. Despite this, your moderators have often refused to handle even the simplest of tasks. I've been over this problem with Ryuu and he's acknowledged that it is indeed a problem on the team, for whatever reason. I also echoed this problem to Miguel in October. Due to my old position on the team, I know that you personally took over the "coaching" of a bunch of the new recruits. If the new recruits aren't following basic moderator guidelines, that falls at your door.
This would lead anyone to the conclusion that a number of moderators are either incompetent or simply disinterested.
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It's becoming more and more apparent that the current mod team is overly sensitive to criticism and has been quick to dismiss any real concerns. Certain moderator replies in this thread highlight that, as well as your team deciding to shut the thread down until Miguel returned and opened it back up. Certain discussions from Discord would further prove this point and we both know exactly what gets said in mod chat.
The community is key to any forum. When the mod team isn't really listening to concerns from the community, the community will not last. Toxicity drives people away.
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In terms of a few rule changes...
Rule 3 doesn't need to be so bloated, it can include the entirety of Rule 4 and the mod team isn't quick to actually implement the rules. The search function on the site pretty much makes Rule 4 impossible without having to scroll through a few pages of threads.
Rule 5 and Rule 6 are both bloated with things that don't need to be there, specifically the NSFW stuff (Which would instead just come under the NSFW rule). These rules could also be mixed to a single rule
Rule 8 and Rule 9 could again be combined into a single forum etiquette rule. A guideline which encompasses things we like to see and things which should be avoided. Points 1, 2, 3 and 6 of Rule 8 could easily be put into Rule 9 as an example
Rule 10 is pointless and should never have been added. It can slip into both 11 and 13. More bloat
Rule 11 and 13 could both be condensed into a general forum etiquette rule with Rule 8 and 9.
Rule 14 doesn't need to be a thing, because nobody actually pays attention to it anyway and either repeatedly asks to be banned or nukes their account
Rule 16, much like Rule 4, simply isn't implemented. Can be put into another rule or mixed in with forum etiquette rule
Rule 17 is fine, however I've always felt more recently that moderators should start to reply to reports and let members know why certain situations haven't been dealt with. This is a bonus for the team, primarily because it removes any urge to complain about it in more public channels (In threads, in the mod thread)
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This isn't everything.