Things Need To Change Around Here

[Matthias720]

It has recently come to the attention of the staff that some members have misgivings about the conduct of other members on the forum. No names will be mentioned here. I simply wish to discuss behavioral patterns and their consequences. However, if you feel you are being described here, or if it seems like I'm calling you out, I'm not. Please keep this in mind, I'm not attacking any specific individuals, but rather I wish to point out negative aspects of the community that I feel need resolving. If you feel that that isn't true, I suggest spending some time in self-reflection as to how you conduct yourself on the forum.

Our Rules of Conduct are quite clear:

1.  Respect everyone's opinion. Everyone has the right to have their opinion. If you don't agree with someone, then it's okay to say what your opinion is as long as you respect theirs.

2.  Everyone is entitled to their own belief in politics and religion, and that must be respected. But because of the volatile nature of these discussion topics, please refrain from posting topics about controversial subjects (ie: politics, religion, etc..). These subjects are not banned in general conversations, however, they will be heavily moderated to ensure that they do not get out of hand. The forum staff reserves the right to judge to determine whether a topic or discussion falls under this rule.

These two rules have been bent and skewed over the past several months. We have so many differing opinions swirling about that one can hardly go between two threads without seeing something that could cause a possible argument or disagreement. Whether it be religion, politics, current events, or old history, we need to keep civil tongues in our heads and cool minds in adversity. There has been a surprising lack of self-control in both of these regards recently and that disappoints me. We all should strive towards making this a place of unity. But, unity can only exist when we put aside our differences for our common and shared similarities.

Once again, I'm not going to mention specific people or events; I will only point out what needs to be recognized. With arguments veiled as debating and squabbles disguised as discussions, we have members who no longer want to be here. When a fellow forum-goer stops coming around due to feeling bullied or harassed, we have a real problem.

It seems as though many have lost sight of the purpose of this forum. It's not your soapbox. It's not a platform to make you feel better about yourself at the expense of others. It certainly isn't a breeding ground for hate and contempt. These virtual walls are meant to be a safe place to escape the craziness of the world. A virtual manifestation of Redwall that all can take part in, joining in the spirit of cooperation. When you knock others down for disagreeing with you, or when you point out that someone else is wrong and then rub it in there face, you ruin the very essence of this place.

A perfect example of what I mean; the last sentence of the last paragraph has a typo in it. Someone may feel compelled to point it out to me (though I seriously doubt anyone will). Things aren't so bad that I would be bothered by that kind of criticism. But, there may be someone within our number who does have a sensitivity to having their spelling and grammar mistakes pointed out. Just because something doesn't affect me in no way means that other people are the same. On the contrary, I am certain they exist, even if their feelings are unknown to me. So, to be courteous, I make an effort to not point those sorts of things out, unless someone asks for it. By making an effort to see from another person's point of view, not only do you better understand their feelings, but you also gain empathy for them and offer them consideration. That doesn't happen enough these days, both here and out in the world, in general.

The primary reason we should be gathering here is to share in our love of Redwall. When we constantly bring in our outside beliefs, practices, views, and opinions, we stir up the worst of the darkness inside of us. I've struggled with it, James Gryphon has struggled with it, and you, member who's reading this, have no doubt struggled with it too. Brian Jacques created a utopia for all. Goodwill and kindness being the mainstays of Redwall Abbey. Time and time again, those who sought it and its inhabitants ill were crushed by the forces of those who sought peace. Sometimes, in the name of peace, we have to lose a fight, or compromise on something we are passionate about. But in the end, those who seek to maintain the goodwill of the spirit of Redwall are the real winners. So I challenge all who read this to consider what sort of community you wish to create. Do you try and embody the virtues of Martin the Warrior, Abbess Germaine, and the rest of the Founders? Or does this place turn into a scattering of Juska tribes, warring for power and control over each other, striving to be 'right'? The choice is yours. Choose wisely.

[James Gryphon]

I wanted to add some of my thoughts on things here.

When I saw some of the recent member feedback on how things were on the forum, and saw how awry it had gone, I thought for a little while about offering my resignation to Matthias, for him to accept or reject. It would have probably been a formality, I admit; I don't anticipate I would have gone anywhere (if for no other reason than that it would have been difficult to implement what with the server being set up the way it is) but I considered it anyway.

The reason why is because I feel, as the most active staff member and forum member, I set the tone for much of what goes on here, both in moderation and contributions. The rest of the Staff are busy men and women. This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, but what it means in practice is that I am to a great extent their connection to the rest of the forum. I collect what they need to see as it comes up and keep them informed, and usually, after we as a group have decided on a course of action, I'm the one that implements those policies. So, the forum has been in a very real way under my watch for the past few years.

Well, I've been negligent in my responsibilities to the community, both in doing my part to keep things moving along and in regulating the arguments when they come about. In some cases, I've even done my part to add to that trouble, by getting involved with unproductive discussions. Perhaps it was for that reason that my response to misbehavior when it comes along has been so lenient; I'm not sure.

Regardless of the reasons, the result is that with me running the ropes, the riggings haven't been as tight as they should have been and the ship's been blown off course. Things shouldn't have gone that way, and I apologize.

The idea came up in our private Staff discussion to ban controversial subjects outright. There is some justification for this in the existing Forum Rules, which ask members to refrain from posting topics about these things. I'm not inclined towards this on principle, because I'm not inclined to censor entire topics; I would rather people be able to get their feelings out into the open and resolve them than bottle them up, and I feel based on my online experience that the community should be able to discuss these things reasonably. However, if that's not how it's going to go, then we will have to react accordingly. From now on, I intend to set a stricter, more active and more professional tone responding and dealing with these kinds of discussions than I have done over the past few months.

There was a time not so long ago that the community was a fun place to be for everyone, as it had been for years. We have largely the same roster we've had all this time. That's normally considered a prime chance to build team chemistry. While, as some members have suggested in Gonff's recent topic on the subject, some of our differences might become more defined as we age and become more 'sophisticated', our time and experiences together should allow for a strengthening, not a weakening, of our common bonds. We all need to do our best to focus on that common background moving forward, so that we can build up another five years greater than the last.