ClassicGamingWizzz said: Calling people salty when they are indeed salty is flaming these days? Because i never saw a moderation about this and people says it all the time around here. |
Thank you for your post. Here's my take:
There have been several moderations for calling someone salty since I've been a mod, and I imagine many more before that.
I know it's frustrating when you come across a post or group of posts you deem irrational, unfair, or otherwise offensive. And I know it's difficult to stand back and allow the post(s) to go unchallenged. But, by throwing out an insult, you're only making the problem worse. Words like "salty" or "butthurt" or "fanboy" have a nasty way of making a heated conversation boil over.
Instead of calling someone "salty" and lumping a group of fans under a single, offensive banner, why not engage with those fans in a constructive and civil way? Write something like, "It's unfair to attack a publication just because your favorite game gets a less-than-perfect score. Xenoblade didn't have a great chance to win GOTY anyway. Just appreciate the game for what it is and don't take it so personally." You get all your major points across without being provocative and dismissive. Will your words fall on deaf ears? It's possible. Will you be attacked for it? Maybe. But you've been the bigger person. You've made your point. After that, it's up to the mod team to determine if any rules were broken.
By the way, I appreciate the argument that we should all be able to honestly assess each other's posts on this forum. We should be able to call a troll post a troll post, for example. The danger inherent in that kind of freedom of expression is that everyone will insult everyone else with impunity. Every post could be invalidated with accusations of agenda, saltiness, and fanboyism. It would be a free-for-all.
So, for the time being, calling someone salty -- even if they are salty -- is against the rules.