IMO I think the nation threads are a good thing. I'll be giving my view on the empire thread because it's the only one I comment in. I think the Xbox empire thread was mainly created to have Xbox discussion without the constant trolling and bashing that happened before it. Nsanity for example was a fantastic user that posted so much xbox news on the forum but his threads didn't get much decent discussion because there were always trolls flaming and derailing. Result was almost every xbox fan got baited and banned or left due to the toxic environment. I think you can count the Xbox fans left just before Empire on your hands. So I think it's a bit hypocrite some mods are now complaining about the succes of the nation threads because that succes lies in their failure to moderate this place and ban the rotten apples ( though you guys are making progress now on a positive note). So instead of complaining or even thinking about deleting them ( which would be so stupid, this forum would lose a lot of people) the mods should try to make the general forums a better place. I think if the general forum wasn't that toxic towards Xbox a lot more Empire people would post there and make threads.

Absolutely im free to post anywhere, that doesnt mean i feel welcome to post anywhere.

I actively posted in the Empire thread prior to that incident, in what you might say is a positive manner (afterall i was discussing games i was hyped for) and during that period i had a positive experience. If you would like me to send you links then i will do that. 

I then stopped for while and returned to discuss the Tomd Raider topic, thats when i saw your post and replied since i disagreed with how you presented joe's view (and i certainly wasnt upset at this point). Here is my reply to you, i dont think it was an aggresive post and it doesnt seem like im upset http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=6579013

Some people flat out disregarded my post choosing not to discuss any of the points i raised. Simply saying http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=6579053 or making this about who to trust more...http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=6579134 i wasnt saying trust me i was simply saying decide for yourself.

I kindly asked Jay to not get into a tit for tat debate, as we have never seen eye to eye. The mods reacted, which i did not agree with http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=6579185 and i made it known to them at the time. This post which appeared to be directed towards me at the time (at least this turned out to be a joke). Keep in mind my post and that i was in no way confrontational at all at this point.

Then the insults came http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=6579956 how my post warranted that response is beyond me.

I then replied to your post again, a different one. Keep in mind you still havent replied to me http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=6581347 still not upset, not confrontational. I then get told to drop the subject. http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=6581353

Now why drop the subject? Considering that this was all the buzz at the time and not even a day had passed. I only actually made two posts on the topic. Most likely because it was a viewpoint that differed from everyone elses in the thread. I didnt insult, flame or troll anyone.

Cone then adds in to drop the subject, trying to cool things down. Yet i was cool. Again i didnt agree with this and i told cone that at the time.

Now if this is the type of discussion people want to be "safe" from then i cannot agree to it in any sense. I am only one person with one incident. I've seen this happen to many people in all nation threads (except nintendo one, which ive never been in), people who raise legitimate points get shut down, told to drop it, asked to not participate in the thread or in a more subtle way flat out ignored. This is intolerance and i dont agree with it.

Personally i do not feel that this is okay in any way and imo nation threads, ALL nation threads, perpetuate this type of behavior more so than normal.

Heres the important thing though....

Is this the be all end all to why i feel the way i do? Absolutely not. I've raised many points in my initial post, as have other users in this thread, all who do not have my experience, and thank god for that. Do i have "beef" with the users who replied/didnt reply to me that day? Absolutely not. A lot of those users are great users who i actually thought i got along with at one stage :) But i do feel that the way the nation threads are setup it is only natural that certain discussions will end up like that, that people who have different views from the norm will get targeted in a way.

Does this mean that everytime someone goes into a nation thread and disagrees the same thing happens? Nope. I've raised differing views before in that very thread and it was discussed healthily.

I like the nation threads. Small news stories that don't deserve their own thread can just be posted in there. And remember the days of Nsanity where he made like 20 threads a day? I didn't like that at all and I don't want that to happen again.

You couldnt accept people disagreed with you.  Whether you see eye to eye with me i was very nice and asked you to drop it instead of searching for him to reply.  Remember youre the one that brought up our history, not me. If somebody wanted to reply to you they would, they didnt and you couldnt accept that.  So instead of arguing about it i wanted it to just be dropped.  

You still couldnt accept it, got moderated and then ran off to Vizioneck, ironically a place that talks trash about many users on this very website.

There was not this all unacceptance of you like you make it out to be.  It was rather simple, drop the subject about why somebody disagrees with Joe and you.  So any kind of unfavored opinions of you lies on your personality and not a thread.  People form their own opinions.

I was not moderated, not sure why you thought that was the case.

I was always and still am on Vizioneck :) Its a great site, and a great forum. And believe it or not Vizioneck also has rules which we as a mod team (vizioneck mod team) came up with and actively try and implement the best way we can considering the size of the community. We actually have a whole thread dedicated to what you mention. Feel free to check it out and see my opinions on the matter.

If all you got out of my post was bitterness then thats on you. If you see nothing unacceptable about that situation then thats your opinion but i strongly disagree.

Hmm, i feel like you were for some reason.  Though im not going to go back and look it up.

And you do sound bitter, no offense.  I mean searching up something that has been explained to you on multiple occasions which was how long ago?  6-7 months or something.  Accept the reason that we asked you to drop it.  You still cant accept it.  Not everybody shares your opinions, and that is something i think you need to do a better job with.

EDIT: YOu werent moderated but publicly warned, then you made a post about it and then asked for a permaban. It was an over-reaction on your part and that is something i stand behind.

See this is something that transpired 6 months ago. I feel I've changed a lot since 6 months ago in terms of how I present myself on this forum. And yes I made the mistake in NOT replying to you when in fact I should have. But you not feeling welcomed from what I've gleaned, seems to have been from this one isolated incident. 

And again I think the biggest thing that you said is that "my summation of the rant was incorrect." My summation of the rant was/is my opinion of what I saw from AJ on TR, how can my own opinion be wrong? You're free to disagree with it as are others, but it's m own opinion. 

The nature of these threads are more positive. If I went into Nintedomination and starting complaining about lack of games, 3rd party, or online infrastucture, I'd be either ignored, or moderated (as I should be) for going into a place to start trouble. Now I'm not saying negative opinions are completely dismissed. I provided an example from XBE above where people rejected the idea of Halo 5's MP and that eld into healthy debate within the community. I've seen Seece get annoyed with Xbox's IPs such as Halo, Gears, and Forza being too careful and/or conservative. A lot of people want Japanese games in Empire, and I've seen Angelus voice his own opinion against that. I understand not wanting a hive mind, but in terms of Empire I feel it's not like that. Yes, most of the time we will agree, but that's because we are all part of a sub community that shares common interests. But again there have been times where we disagree with one another. 

No i literally wasnt moderated for anything. What exactly would i even be moderated for in that case? The fact that you tihnk anything done in that series of posts warranted a moderation is probably part of the problem we actually discussing right now.

Slade chose to give his account of those posts, i simply gave my opinion as to exactly why i thought it was an issue and how it has impacted my opinion. I chose to give links because i do not enjoy being called a liar or fabricator. Who exactly explained things to me? And what does that even mean. You make it seem as if i misintepreted something on my part. I am quite clear as to what happened.

Obviously i have dropped it, you dont see me in there posting more on it? But bringing it up here is well on point, as its exactly the type of elements that we see in the Nation threads. Links included. That is precisely why i am bringing this up here. Otherwise id be bringing it up all the time, which other than now i havent spokent about this at all since that period. Being ignored, flamed, insulted, being told what to talk about what not to talk about is the elements i am talking against. Why wouldnt i back up what im saying?

I am personally not a fan of those threads at all.
As a Nintendo fan, I never visit the Nintendo thread and as some people have mentioned news get lost and it is pretty confusing to browse occasionally.
Not only that, but the "gang mentality" is real and I feel in many cases those threads become a forum of their own and are totally disconnected from the main site.

Whatever happened to official game specific threads? We used to have more of those and I personally feel they are better alternatives to the Nation threads.

Read my edit, and youre still posting about it now.  Accept it and move on