Voice Your Opinion Thread

Author: Vader

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Vader
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This thread is a general thread for people voicing their opinion about things on the site and discussing things related to DART

A starter Voice Your Opinion Thread?

Does DART Drama benefit the site or cause a detriment to the site? 

PRO Drama- increase activity, increase forum posts
CON Drama- harrasment potential, spreads out to other sections of DART
Raltar
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I'm sure drama seems "good" to the majority of users who stick mostly or entirely to the forums. 

It really has no benefit for the actual debates. People throwing giant hissy-fits when someone votes against them, harassment of certain users and obvious troll debates with no intellectual value are serious problems on this site. 
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@Vader
Of course it is harassment potential, but maybe degenerates shouldn't get so flustered in the first place lol. 

RM made it clear that it can spread outside of the site, no debate on that.

KingLaddy01
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This isn't an active site. The future is inevitable, people will tire of the site's moderation and the vestiges of the DDO community will be in shambles. 

Vader
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@KingLaddy01
DDO was filled with nutcases like BryanMullins

That dude had a furry wife and believe PETA ate dogs
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@Vader
Time for a fucking crusade.

Vader
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@KingLaddy01
The dude was litterally a FURRY, 19, LIVED IN HIS MOM BASEMENT, HAD A FURRY GF, AND SAID THAT KILLING A FAMILY IS JUSTIFIABLE, AND CALLED HIMSELF THE SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD WTF
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@Raltar
Fair enough point

Does Drama engage you more in the forums tho?
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@Raltar
throwing giant hissy-fits when someone votes against them
Your best buddy seems to love doing that
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@Vader
Furry, 19, and has a wife.

Fuck me, it seems like anybody can pull it off these days.

Vader
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@KingLaddy01
The dude may have been pyscho. His youtube channel is filled with stupid shit

Bryan Mullins the Fox. He has 2k vids and 248 subs...tf...this dude is PATHETIC
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@KingLaddy01

Thats his old one
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@Vader
@KingLaddy01
@supa;

Does Drama engage you more in the forums tho?

Me personally? No. I avoid the forums except to give feedback on the problems with the site. You may recall that I dropped out of a forum mafia game I was considering because I didn't trust this site enough to want to participate anymore.

...

@kingladdy01;

Your best buddy seems to love doing that
I assume you are talking about RM? From what I hear, he is quitting the site once his ban is over. But maybe thats just a rumor. Not like I can ask him, since I have no communication with him beyond this site. 

But actually, I was inferring toward another user of this site. Several users, all of the same ideology actually. And I've seen a certain moderator do it too. The mods say that arguing with people about their votes is a good thing, but I've rarely ever seen it result in anything positive. People rarely say much beyond "I clearly won and you are an idiot for voting against me!" (Or something very similar to that effect.)

Ramshutu is about the only person on this site who will discuss his vote and the reason for said vote in a reasonable manner, even offering constructive feedback for those looking to improve their debating skills. If I disagree with his reasoning on a vote, I'll discuss it with him and can expect a reasonable response (if not a response I'll like). Most other users will either say nothing about votes (which is fine) or fly into a berserker rage leading to childish insults being hurled in every direction (which shouldn't be okay). 


This isn't an active site. The future is inevitable, people will tire of the site's moderation and the vestiges of the DDO community will be in shambles.
I definitely agree with you on this part. Activity has already visibly declined in the short time I've been using this site. 
Vader
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@Raltar
I assume you are talking about RM? From what I hear, he is quitting the site once his ban is over. But maybe thats just a rumor. Not like I can ask him, since I have no communication with him beyond this site. 
Don't get my hopes up

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@Vader
I don't believe it for a second, lol. He said it was a rumor anyway, so time will tell. But it is the type of thing RM would say before turning on a dime.
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You guys don't seem to like him much, but I will say he is one of the few people on this site who has treated me respectfully. 
Vader
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@Raltar
He is a hypocrite crybaby Eminem wanna be who calls people bullies yet doxxes others. He treated me as a peasant bc of my age
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@KingLaddy01
Don't believe it. He will make a grand appearance with a forum title as...

this is for all the haters, i am here and better than ever
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@Raltar

Are you informed of why he received his 2-day ban?

Do you not realize his issues and how it is toxic to discussion with his detractors?
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@Vader
...a hypocrite crybaby Eminem wanna be who calls people bullies yet doxxes others...
I mean... doesn't that describe about half the users of this site though?

Seriously, almost everyone on here claims to be a rapper, musician, lyricist, poet, song writer, etc, etc, etc. 

And every other day we have a new rap battle. But rarely any serious debates.

Raltar
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I should also probably clarify this; I was never a DDO user. 

I know that almost everyone in this community was a former DDO user. Most of you have "history" (or "baggage") with each other. I don't.

I showed up one day, looking for a serious debate site where intelligent people were interested in discussing the most relevant topics of our day.

Instead I seem to have stepped into a shitstorm of half-insane internet drama with intermittent breaks for rap battles.

So I guess the best way to explain my perspective is this; Being pissed off about one person on this site is a lot like being pissed off that your car has a flat tire when the gas tank is on fire. 

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@Raltar
That just about answers it for me. I would presume that you do not know about RM's background and what he has done to others, then. Not trying to dismiss your stake in this issue, it's just that I don't believe you know the full extent to which RM is toxic to others, even if he is respectful to the likes of you and a few of his other friends.

Raltar
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Perhaps.

But I still think my viewpoint as a non-DDO user is valuable here. I'm not biased for or against anyone because of past behavior.

What I'm seeing here and now, at this exact moment, is still one giant mess of people all trolling and harassing each other on a daily basis, for no immediately apparent reason, and no benefit. 
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@Raltar
May I ask you this?

If you are not biased, then why did you believe that him being banned was a poor decision?

I wholeheartedly swear will not mock you for this.

Btw, you don't need to know DDO history to answer this. All of the context is in the DART age itself.



Raltar
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@KingLaddy01
If you are not biased, then why did you believe that him being banned was a poor decision?
In regards to the specific decision you are talking about (the 2-day ban, not the current 10-day one), I believe that RM himself agreed that he deserved to be banned in that specific circumstance (at least initially, before a certain moderator began adding snarky responses to the thread). RM actually told me I was wrong to object. 

My real problem with the ban is with the moderators. They act selectively against users who are problematic for them and/or who are unpopular with the community. And mainly even in those cases, it is usually in regards to behavior that takes place here on the forums. 

Equally bad behavior, and even worse behavior, is often completely overlooked when the victim is a relatively "minor player" on the site, or if the behavior was mostly within the context of a debate/comment section. 

What mystifies me most, is that "verbal warnings" and "temp bans" seem to be the only tools the moderators are ever willing to even consider, much less utilize. If someone does something that breaks the rules, I believe there should be an immediate reaction to rectify the situation. If I make a post insulting someone, then the post should get deleted ASAP. I could say the most horrible things possible about you right now, and I would likely get a verbal warning (at most), while the horrible comments themselves would still be preserved here for all eternity. Why should actions that violate the rules be preserved that way? Just delete them. If statements that violate the CoC got deleted, people would be less likely to such things in the first place. 

The only thing the mods will delete are votes. And even that is sketchy, as some votes that blatantly violate the rules are left intact, while others get deleted for highly subjective reasons. And if someone votes an hour before the debate closes and a moderator can't get to it in time? Oh well. Tough luck. 

On top of all else, the moderators actually encourage (and some times commit themselves) some of the most problematic issues that I've observed, such as allowing obvious trolls to harass people who vote against them. 

Basically, my issue is with the "spectrum of force" options that the moderators currently use. Their options are basically do nothing, or temp ban. Nothing is the most common option, with only the most outrageously severe repeat trouble makers getting petty temp bans that serve no real purpose. There should be a TON more options in between those two points, as well as beyond those two points. And the fact that most bad behavior is simply ignored or given a verbal warning is the reason why this place is basically a troll nest of the worst order. 

I will give the moderators one thing; I recently appealed a moderator decision that I disagreed with, Virtuoso agreed to reconsider and eventually made the right call. That gives me a minor ray of hope. But it is a small one against the mountain of problems this site faces. 

If this community really wants the drama to stop (and thats a big IF) then the only way that can ever happen is with better moderation. Smaller offenses need to be handled quickly with small responses, such as deleting rude comments. Bigger offenses need to be dealt with more harshly, without months of verbal warnings proceeding actual action. And frankly, certain users who do nothing but troll the forums without ever contributing to an actual debate need to face the very real possibility of a permanent banhammering. 

Really what it boils down to is this:

Do you want this to be a serious debate website?

Or do you want it to be a life support system for the dying DDO community? 

Because you obviously can't have both. 
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Do you want this to be a serious debate website?

Or do you want it to be a life support system for the dying DDO community? 

I am going to bed, and will get back to you about RM and moderation when I can. The way I see it, the site will always be option B. Debateart is waning in its userbase by the week. From the beginning it was an obscure refugee camp for DDO users, and one that hasn't even attracted every single important member to the site. Now, people have begun to flee either due to firmly disapproving of moderation, or realizing that the quality discourse on this site does not even closely resemble the level that DDO had even in it's dying days, let alone years ago when DDO was a hub for discussion, and not a site where activity is turned on/off like a switch. The downfall will not be avoided.

DDO established a culture that had less and less of a passion for serious debating, but would remain interested in forum activity. This was carried on to here, and it will not be a serious debate site as long as it exists. The only way to recreate the magic of old DDO is another website with a name that newbies will be able to search for easily and be able to ingrain themselves in this community. This site is losing breath and can't afford to hold itself, really. I'm not even 2 months into genuine activity and I have already noticed a drastic decrease in its usage.

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@KingLaddy01
  • DDO established a culture that had less and less of a passion for serious debating, but would remain interested in forum activity. This was carried on to here...

That would explain a lot. 

Debateart is waning in its userbase by the week. From the beginning it was an obscure refugee camp for DDO users, and one that hasn't even attracted every single important member to the site. Now, people have begun to flee either due to firmly disapproving of moderation, or realizing that the quality discourse on this site...

You make a good case, and I have to agree.





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@Vader
The drama has turned harmful. With multiple members banned unfairly, activity went down.

Vader
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@Raltar
There are serious debates. Some people just don't have the time to make huge debates with school and stuff. I know I don't have the time

Poetry is different than rap. Rap is rhymes and verses that correspond with music. Poetry is writing thoughts and different subject matters without any certain word scheme. I am a poet

Vader
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@Mharman
Which members? Fmpov every ban has been justified