Edict from The Management™

[kingcomrade]

Wasn't there an outright ban on NSFW images under VD's "nazi regime"?

Nope, ever since he tempbanned me for tubgirling the rule has been behind-links-is-okay

 

[DarkUnderlord]

It'd be like me, a sysadmin at my company, kicking the ceo and programmers out of the building because I have the root passwords and they don't.

I don't agree with your analogy. Think of the Codex staff more as shareholders, all with equal shares. It doesn't matter what they do or even if they do nothing, they're shareholders. They own the company. And when the shareholders vote, it's the majority of them that matters.

Especially considering that your main concern after firing the entire writing staff was just to preserve your cherished shock porn rules?

I realise you disagree with us. We have however, made a decision on that. It is essentially a written up decision of "the rules" as they stood when this forum was founded. We did not see the need for change. You will clearly always have a problem with that and that's perfectly fine. We are all different people with different beliefs on what is right and what is wrong. We have developed rules which we hope will allow both groups of people to co-exist relatively peacefully, without favouring one side or the other.

While you have yet to replace said writing staff? Fine, you hired some newsposters, but that's not WRITING STAFF.

You are incorrect. Some of the new staff have expressed interest in writing reviews and content. Some are even following up with interviews already. Are you not willing to give them a chance to prove to you that they might have what it takes to write content for the Codex?

Exactly. The sudden flood of newsposters is a really fail attempt at trying to make it look like losing VD wasn't that big a deal.

Losing Vault Dweller was always going to be a big deal. Whether that be because he stepped down or because of this. We acknowledge that and are willing to accept the consequences of that decision.

Adding a ton of news posters is just cosmetics.

The RPGCodex has always had a variety of news posters posting news. Each news poster has their own unique and distinctive style. It has been unfortunate that for the last year, we haven't been able to find anybody else who was willing to post news other than Vault Dweller and so he had to carry the Codex alone.

I already asked this in the other thread but nobody answered me, I don't think there is an answer.

I apologise for not having addressed your concerns earlier. I may have missed your post given the events of recent days.

Why should a newcomer visit this site instead of RPGWatch etc, now that VD, the only high quality writer, is gone?

The RPGCodex has always stood for not sucking up to developers and posting news and reviews that bucked the mainstream trend which is to heap praise on the shiniest, most prettiest thing, even if it is completely devoid of any and all content. Vault Dweller was one person of many who held the views of the Codex.

The only remaining advantage this site offers over other conventional sites now is banhammer immunity

You are incorrect. The RPGCodex still intends to offer its "Oblivion sucks" (for lack of a better turn of phrase) attitude and we are confident that many people will see that in our news items and our future content pieces from our new staff members. I would appreciate it if you could give them a chance to prove themselves before you write them off.

and given this, what kind of crowd do you think is inevitably going to increase their already ridiculous numbers at the Codex?

I am sorry that you feel certain individuals do not deserve to be here. If you could put them into a list and post them here or PM them to me for discussion, I would appreciate that and we will review them. However, the Codex has always tried to "give them enough rope so that they hang themselves". We have done this in numerous ways, including giving them special tags which have worked quite well in the past. From time to time, we have also banned and de-activated accounts where necessary, such as for those who have spammed up the forums.

Oh, in case it wasn't obvious in the other thread, I am asking you this, DU.

Thank you for your question. If you have anymore, please don't be afraid to ask.

According to DU, VD was being unreasonable and would not compromise. However, Calis, VD and Shagnak all seemed ready to open up a new thread, forget about what had happened, and attempt to find a decision amenable to all. DU did not seem to like this idea, posted more inflammatory stuff, and no more was heard of it.

It may be unfortunate that my attitude resulted in a certain course of action taking place. However, I have aways held firm beliefs about the type of place the Codex should be. Vault Dweller and I often did not see eye-to-eye on these matters but I can assure you I did not want to throw him out. I would love to see Vault Dweller return to the Codex one day, if not soon, and continue to post his excellent news and content pieces. Unfortunately, I did not agree with him on his plans to ban or warn several individuals for what I saw as simply copping some flak for disagreeing with him.

I wouldn't want to point the finger in an absolute sense, because VD did make some early statements, in the heat of the moment that made it seem he'd accept no compromise, but after things had cooled down, it looked as if all except DU were happy to discuss the situation.

I am happy to continue to discuss this situation with Vault Dweller and others if they should so choose. I feel I have made my position clear however, that I did not agree with Vault Dwellers proposed plan of action.

It may just be DU's irascible style that makes him look the bad guy, but I really cannot see how VD was doing the site more damage by banning/warning a lulzer than DU and Calis (mostly) have caused by forcing out the site's greatest asset, by escalating (intentionally or not) a possibly miniscule (civil discussion with VD would have determined whether he was willing to compromise on his position, rather than the swift, tactless action taken, along with later lulzy celebration from DU.

I apologise if my posts offended you in anyway but I am, from time to time, a lulzy guy. I am also capable of quite serious discussion, as is evidenced by posts made by me in the past. However, I do like, from time to time, to be childish. It's too much pressure to be "on cue" all the time.

This seems to contrast strongly with the new rules, where discretion, tact and proper thought seem to be encouraged. If no middle ground could be found, VD could have left the site of his own volition, or been forced out without other site members feeling as if the situation was either badly mishandled, or had some other motive behind it) issue, to the point where VD was forced out.

I am not aware of Vault Dweller's opinions on the rules or whether he would be willing to accept them as a compromise.

If I throw a temper tantrum and post a bunch of NSFW can I pick which admin gets the boot next?

I am of the opinion that Vault Dweller made a mistake when he made you a moderator and that it has set an unfortunate precedent.

 

[spacemoose]

If I throw a temper tantrum and post a bunch of NSFW can I pick which admin gets the boot next?

why don't you be a man and do it. only one way to know for sure

 

[spacemoose]

Some are even following up with interviews already.

this should be very interesting. I suppose the codex really is gaining legitimacy if they were able to get interviews just a few days after becoming content-contributors. (or did VD vouch for them?)

 

[Ivy Mike]

I don't agree with your analogy. Think of the Codex staff more as shareholders, all with equal shares. It doesn't matter what they do or even if they do nothing, they're shareholders. They own the company. And when the shareholders vote, it's the majority of them that matters.

Was this also the policy when VD, a staff member and "shareholder", was forced out? We saw precious little of the "vote" then. I don't agree with VD course of action back then, but he was in his right to exercise that power by being an admin. Especially since, by your own and the others admission, you weren't around as much as you should've been, and if you had been perhaps most of this could be avoided.

I realise you disagree with us. We have however, made a decision on that. It is essentially a written up decision of "the rules" as they stood when this forum was founded. We did not see the need for change. You will clearly always have a problem with that and that's perfectly fine. We are all different people with different beliefs on what is right and what is wrong. We have developed rules which we hope will allow both groups of people to co-exist relatively peacefully, without favouring one side or the other.

We'll see. I hope you're right, but given the recent history of this place I suspect that those rules will do nothing more than establish the current state of affairs (i e "lulz county").

The RPGCodex has always had a variety of news posters posting news. Each news poster has their own unique and distinctive style. It has been unfortunate that for the last year, we haven't been able to find anybody else who was willing to post news other than Vault Dweller and so he had to carry the Codex alone.

Given the recent influx of news posters that's hardly the interpretation I would make. One of the best news posters and writers this place has ever had was forced out and you now have to make amends by letting whoever wants step up to the plate and handle news duties. Nothing wrong with letting some new blood in, not at all, but in the context of recent history it sure does look suspect at best. It could be that there was never any interest from others to take on news duties, but wouldn't you agree that it was your duty as admins to oversee the list of contributers? By your own admission, VD handeled most duties alone, if you had taken a better part in managing this site this shit-storm might never have come to pass.

I am sorry that you feel certain individuals do not deserve to be here. If you could put them into a list and post them here or PM them to me for discussion, I would appreciate that and we will review them. However, the Codex has always tried to "give them enough rope so that they hang themselves". We have done this in numerous ways, including giving them special tags which have worked quite well in the past. From time to time, we have also banned and de-activated accounts where necessary, such as for those who have spammed up the forums.

I agree that the policy was to let the trolls burn themselves. The problem was, as I and many others have pointed out, that there was no Codex police to handle matters. You certainly weren't here, neither was Calis or Shagnak, and if they were they were hardly noticable. Yes, I am trying to shift blame, since I am of the opinion that VD took more flack for the recent events than was justified.

It may be unfortunate that my attitude resulted in a certain course of action taking place. However, I have aways held firm beliefs about the type of place the Codex should be. Vault Dweller and I often did not see eye-to-eye on these matters but I can assure you I did not want to throw him out. I would love to see Vault Dweller return to the Codex one day, if not soon, and continue to post his excellent news and content pieces. Unfortunately, I did not agree with him on his plans to ban or warn several individuals for what I saw as simply copping some flak for disagreeing with him.
...
I am happy to continue to discuss this situation with Vault Dweller and others if they should so choose. I feel I have made my position clear however, that I did not agree with Vault Dwellers proposed plan of action.

How does this fit in the the shareholder view you expressed above? Just asking. If VD was also considered a shareholder you have no right to kick him out, even when you don't agree with him. You could always vote against his decision, or even undo his decision, but to kick him out? Or is it that some shares count for more than others?

I'm not asking for a flame war, I'm only calling it as I see it. If it came through as confrontational I'm sorry.

 

[Otingocni]

Ladies and gentlemen, Darkunderlord is proud to present you with the classic why it was an unfortunate necessity to dispose of old regime to institute our own, though of course we would have chosen any other option had it been available speech in all its charming insincerity. Straight from the third world to the power machinations of your favorite gaming counter-culture forum.

 

[dagorkan]

You are incorrect. The RPGCodex still intends to offer its "Oblivion sucks"

Well then, everything will be just fine! You can all stop complaining now the Codex is in good hands.

 

[Longshanks]

I apologise if my posts offended you in anyway but I am, from time to time, a lulzy guy. I am also capable of quite serious discussion, as is evidenced by posts made by me in the past. However, I do like, from time to time, to be childish. It's too much pressure to be "on cue" all the time.

Given I'm neither an active, nor a quality poster, your responses to my posts were very reserved and considered, a true gentleman :wink:. I don't feel I'm entitled to any kind of explanation, and was not demanding any in my posts, just expressing a degree of displeasure. I've said all I intend to on the matter, hope the new news posters and content writers work out, and thanks for the thorough explanation.

:end sirius bizness retardardy:

 

[dagorkan]

3. I am taking steps to ensure news & content quality doesn't suffer more than it has to. I spent a good chunk of yesterday evening dealing with this. It could very well be that my weighing of the two issues changes over the next two weeks and I judge the drop in quality to be too big and too unfixable for me to maintain my stance, but we're not at that point. It could also be that I see a viable way to accomplish both goals. We're not at that point either.

So you're 'taking steps'? Can I ask what exactly? You see you'll 'judge' if the quality has decreased 'too much' in a few weeks time... but don't say what you'll do if it is the case. Sack the current news posters and hire a bunch of new ones hoping they're better? Or ask VD to come back? You really think you still have that option? Don't you think maybe you should have tested out the new staff first before telling telling VD to fuck off?

 

[serch]

I think VD would agree on serious decisions be taken by admin's consensus, why kick him from staff? I don't see the need. That's why I'm sure there is more in this than meet the eye. A critical voice and vote is useful in the game industry and in a forum. WUT HAS THE CAREBEERS DON?

 

[spacemoose]

You are incorrect. The RPGCodex still intends to offer its "Oblivion sucks"

Well then, everything will be just fine! You can all stop complaining now the Codex is in good hands.

a poopoohead! do you realize that you've been coming off as a macaque for the last few days? but its not like you've got a sterling reputation to worry about anyhow

 

[Shagnak]

Don't you think maybe you should have tested out the new staff first before telling telling VD to fuck off?

Well, no.

The best solution would have been for us to have VD on board, with new staff, and for him (and others) to whip them into shape. I don't think VD ever wanted to be a one man band. The Codex had failed attempts at bringing people on board relatively recently, but there have been times in the past when there were plenty of news posters, and that would be the ideal.

Shit has happened. People are trying to move forward and get on with shit. The ultimate solution would be VD + new news posters, we know. I'm not going to dwell on it.

But everyone, please be mindful of the new guys, k? We know things have been rocky recently, but even VD would be happy about trying out new staff.

And dagorkan, stop being so shrill. If you're going to peck our scrotal sacks at least attempt to do it with the brio and sting of Walks or Astro. If even the guy with a "fluffy bunny" fursona can see that you've got all the impact of a floppy piece of celery on a masochistic fatty's arse, well, you've gotta try a new technique. There are several guys in this thread who can argue like champions (hint: I'm not one of them). Study them.

 

[Calis]

Despite the way it may seem with this chaos, it's not like editorial control is out the window. JarlFrank found out the hard way yesterday when he asked me "So, is this review approve-worthy?" and got a shitload of corrections and demands for clarifications on certain points, instead. I fully realize that by committing to this course of action, I have also committed to doing my best to keep the consequences of this for the site's editorial quality to a minimum. In fact, since I haven't done the editor-thing in a while, I may ask Astro, Baby Arm or even VD some input on this in the near future (and hope I don't get a "Fuck you, reap what you sow, bitch")

Also, while the recruitment may have been low-threshold, I can assure you that selection on who gets to stay will be less so. I realize that initially this'll boil down to "Lookie, news!" but as long as I'm the guy watching over this (and I do hope this will be a short period rather than a long one, but like I said, I'm prepared to reap the consequences of my own actions, even though I never wanted the job or saw myself as a viable candidate).
I *will* be judging the quality of the news posts, *will* PM concerns to the noobies, and *will* expect them to have a critical look at their own work, address my criticisms, and learn. And by *will*, I mean: "have".
In short, I never expected to take on a few noobie newsies and end up with a good news/content staff from the get-go but am committed to put in the effort to prevent an irrepairable slip in quality, even though I'm kinda hitting the ground running, here.

If the above hasn't made this clear yet, yes, I am the kind of guy who is predisposed to second-guess his own judgement, but that has only strengthened my resolve to not flip-flop on this unless I am convinced I am in a position to better quantify the criteria I am basing my own position on than I was, before.

@Dagorkan: None of your business, really. I'm not going to speculate on what I'll do *if* my assessment of the situation changes, but suffice it to say that if I come to the conclusion that this was all a big mistake on my part, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to fix it. I haven't come to that conclusion yet, and do not intent to simply adopt the value calls of others (no matter how well-articulated or reasoned they are - see Astro's posts and also a few of Snails' posts), no matter how little of a right you think I have to do this.

 

[DarkUnderlord]

I don't agree with your analogy. Think of the Codex staff more as shareholders, all with equal shares. It doesn't matter what they do or even if they do nothing, they're shareholders. They own the company. And when the shareholders vote, it's the majority of them that matters.

Was this also the policy when VD, a staff member and "shareholder", was forced out?

Even when Saint was here, the staff of the Codex always took it upon themselves to discuss matters and seek the feedback and advice of the other staff members. While I have spoken up until now of admins, these conversations often included others with news posting access or forum moderator status. Sometimes, these discussions would happen after someone had acted. However, if the consensus of the staff was that a certain course of action should be taken, then that action was taken. Saint_Proverbius does receive some special exemption however, often because we trusted his judgement more than anything else. Plus he's really big and scary if you piss him off. In such cases, the word of Saint was law and further feedback was not required. However, I believe the real truth of the matter is that we all believed Saint had exceptionally good judgement. He has been around some pretty nasty forums for a lot longer than the rest of us.

I have stated previously, that people such as myself and some of the other staff members, disagreed with Vault Dweller's course of actions from time to time. It is my opinion, having born witness to such events, that Vault Dweller would often ignore that consensus when it was reached. This is over matters such as who should be banned and why and so on. The "little things" involved with running a forum such as this. I believe it is important that if the staff of a website are to work together, that we need to be able to trust one another and be willing to listen to one another. I know I come across as an opinionated asshole. Please acknowledge however, that no matter how much you may dislike it, I was not alone in the actions of the past few days. While my opinion of Vault Dweller's actions with regards to forum moderation certainly did not help bring about any sort of amicable agreement, the others did have their say and their input.

We saw precious little of the "vote" then. I don't agree with VD course of action back then, but he was in his right to exercise that power by being an admin.

You are correct. Sometimes an administrator needs to act. However Vault Dweller, in my personal opinion, often exercised poor judgement. That is why I was deeply concerned about any proposed course of action put forward by him. Particularly his "hitlist" of people he wished to ban or threaten with a ban. Having seen the posts of those people and their input to the forum, I could not understand why we would threaten any of them for the posts they had made. To be specific, this was what Vault Dweller was proposing:

• When (if) I come back, I immediately ban Percolator, Riso, Helton, Cassidy, Vrok, Sovard, and anyone who will start posting "unban patriots" therads, warn a few others (skyway, Slavemaster, etc) . More if necessary. I assume that Pooper, Nico, NL were banned already.

I did not understand why vrok, Sovard, Cassidy or Helton would be banned immediately. I understand Vault Dweller's reason was that they all posted threads or made comments to the effect that Spacemoose should not have been threatened with a ban for the comment he made. Hence they made "unban Spacemoose" threads and posts.

Especially since, by your own and the others admission, you weren't around as much as you should've been, and if you had been perhaps most of this could be avoided.

It is unfortunate that I have not been as involved with the Codex as Vault Dweller. I have however, always tried to be there whenever an issue was raised in the Staff Forum. While I may not have posted an immediate reply within half an hour, I often made sure I spoke up where necessary.

I realise you disagree with us. We have however, made a decision on that. It is essentially a written up decision of "the rules" as they stood when this forum was founded. We did not see the need for change. You will clearly always have a problem with that and that's perfectly fine. We are all different people with different beliefs on what is right and what is wrong. We have developed rules which we hope will allow both groups of people to co-exist relatively peacefully, without favouring one side or the other.

We'll see. I hope you're right, but given the recent history of this place I suspect that those rules will do nothing more than establish the current state of affairs (i e "lulz county").

If there are any specific posters whom you feel do not deserve to remain at the Codex, please put them in a list and PM it to me. I will raise the issue with the other staff members and we will consider what to do with them.

The RPGCodex has always had a variety of news posters posting news. Each news poster has their own unique and distinctive style. It has been unfortunate that for the last year, we haven't been able to find anybody else who was willing to post news other than Vault Dweller and so he had to carry the Codex alone.

Given the recent influx of news posters that's hardly the interpretation I would make. One of the best news posters and writers this place has ever had was forced out and you now have to make amends by letting whoever wants step up to the plate and handle news duties. Nothing wrong with letting some new blood in, not at all, but in the context of recent history it sure does look suspect at best.

I am not sure what you mean by "looking suspect". The fact is, we had lost our primary news poster and needed others. Despite that, we were aware of the situation before-hand and were looking to resolve the issue. It is unfortunate but this issue brought things to a head and forced us into the position of hiring people quickly. So far, I believe those people have done a good job. If you have any complaints about the news items they are posting or the way they are posting their news items, please raise them in the Site Feedback forum and we will address your concerns.

It could be that there was never any interest from others to take on news duties, but wouldn't you agree that it was your duty as admins to oversee the list of contributers? By your own admission, VD handeled most duties alone, if you had taken a better part in managing this site this shit-storm might never have come to pass.

We realise that in that respect, we have made a mistake and we are endeavouring to ensure that it does not happen again. Vault Dweller was a competent news poster (above competent. Actually competent is insulting. Replace it with brilliant) and was also very good at choosing and selecting people for content roles. I understand he had been in conversations with a few people who had expressed interest in writing content and that he was handling that matter. We are now handling that issue.

I am sorry that you feel certain individuals do not deserve to be here. If you could put them into a list and post them here or PM them to me for discussion, I would appreciate that and we will review them. However, the Codex has always tried to "give them enough rope so that they hang themselves". We have done this in numerous ways, including giving them special tags which have worked quite well in the past. From time to time, we have also banned and de-activated accounts where necessary, such as for those who have spammed up the forums.

I agree that the policy was to let the trolls burn themselves. The problem was, as I and many others have pointed out, that there was no Codex police to handle matters. You certainly weren't here, neither was Calis or Shagnak, and if they were they were hardly noticable. Yes, I am trying to shift blame, since I am of the opinion that VD took more flack for the recent events than was justified.

As I understand it, the primary complaint with the "lulz" in the forum getting out of hand is in the General Discussion forum. I understand that Vault Dweller appointed a moderator there to "handle the lulz". I am aware that moderator has caused some problems, perhaps because he was new to the job and perhaps because of his reputation. If you feel that there are certain people who are deserving of a temporary reprieve from the pressures of posting at the Codex, please PM me with their names and we will look into the matter. I am aware, however, that a number of people found a "tasteless" bad joke made by Spacemoose offensive and that they wished Spacemoose to be banned. Unfortnuately, we have not typically banned people for making offensive remarks.

It may be unfortunate that my attitude resulted in a certain course of action taking place. However, I have aways held firm beliefs about the type of place the Codex should be. Vault Dweller and I often did not see eye-to-eye on these matters but I can assure you I did not want to throw him out. I would love to see Vault Dweller return to the Codex one day, if not soon, and continue to post his excellent news and content pieces. Unfortunately, I did not agree with him on his plans to ban or warn several individuals for what I saw as simply copping some flak for disagreeing with him.
...
I am happy to continue to discuss this situation with Vault Dweller and others if they should so choose. I feel I have made my position clear however, that I did not agree with Vault Dwellers proposed plan of action.

How does this fit in the the shareholder view you expressed above? Just asking.

I am stating my own personal opinion as it is not right for me to speak for Calis, baby arm or Shagnak. It is unfortunate that they often choose not to speak for themselves and that really shits me off sometimes because I end up being the bad guy. However, in this instance, I was expressing my own personal opinion, hence the "I". I have also been criticised for stating "we" when speaking of the decisions that have been made by the staff. It appears that no matter what I say, and no matter how many times Calis, baby arm or Shagnak post to clear their stand on the issue up, people will not believe that we are in unison with our decision. There is clearly an undercurrent of mistrust in me and a feeling that somehow, I am over-taking the Codex. I assure you this is not the case. Calis, Shagnak and baby arm are more than able to stand up to me when required.

If VD was also considered a shareholder you have no right to kick him out, even when you don't agree with him.

That is why the shareholders comparison is only an analogy. Perhaps a partnership with specific conditions attached is more apt?

You could always vote against his decision, or even undo his decision, but to kick him out? Or is it that some shares count for more than others?

We did vote against his decision. However, Vault Dweller - 9 pages before I ever got anywhere near the thread so you can't blame me for it even if you tried really, really hard to - stated quite clearly that he felt things needed to change and that if we did not agree with him, then there was no point him being on staff anymore. To be exact, that if we did not agree with his list of people that needed to be banned and warned. After 19 pages of conversation, it was becoming reasonably clear that a compromise could not be reached. It is unfortunate that Vault Dweller and I feel that way but there it is.

I'm not asking for a flame war, I'm only calling it as I see it. If it came through as confrontational I'm sorry.

I am trying, ever so hard, not to ban and dumbfuck half the forum right now. It is one of the pressures of being an admin. Often, it is too tempting to slip into the admin panel and go "TAKE THAT YOU FUCKER FUCKING PISS ME FUCKING OFF YOU GOD DAMNED FUCKING SHIT". I like to think that I am able to control these urges though, through years of experience as a forum administrator and just having some good sense not to let people's fairly reasonable complaints get to me. I have always been a big believer that if you have something to say, you should say it. Even if you piss off half the room of people you're in.

I think VD would agree on serious decisions be taken by admin's consensus, why kick him from staff? I don't see the need. That's why I'm sure there is more in this than meet the eye. A critical voice and vote is useful in the game industry and in a forum. WUT HAS THE CAREBEERS DON?

Before I was even involved, in fact after I had gone to bed having re-instated Vault Dweller's admin powers after they were removed from him during the take-over, Calis and Vault Dweller had had an e-mail exchange. That exchange led to Calis removing Vault Dweller's forum admin access. I was not involved in that decision in anyway what-so-ever. There was no discussion with me before Calis made that decision. Calis made that decision entirely by himself. Calis has stated the reasons for his actions as both "VD said in the staff forum he felt he needed to take a breather. Since VD is like me, in that he has trouble letting things go even when he states he wants to, I've demoted him for now" and "In fact, I e-mailed VD that I was going to demote him for a bit to put a pause to the entire people get banned, drama ensues, people get unbanned, others get dumbfucked, etc, etc. Told him I would reverse this action if he gave the word."

Calis, Shagnak, baby arm and I have a problem with Vault Dweller when he begins to ban people without our consensus. I believe Calis was trying to stop another fifteen people being banned and dumbfucked by Vault Dweller before the rest of the staff had had an opportunity to discuss the issue. Given what had happened, I believe Calis felt that this was a pretty serious issue that needed to be discussed before any further bannings took place. I believe Calis did not trust Vault Dweller not to come back and ban / dumbfuck various people and that he demoted him in order to give him a chance to cool-down, stop, and think about what he was doing and why. It would also give the rest of us, who live in different time zones, an opportunity to discuss the issue. If that is an incorrect assessment of Calis' actions taken from his statements, then I'm not really sure why Calis did what he did.

Given I'm neither an active, nor a quality poster, your responses to my posts were very reserved and considered, a true gentleman :wink:. I don't feel I'm entitled to any kind of explanation, and was not demanding any in my posts, just expressing a degree of displeasure. I've said all I intend to on the matter, hope the new news posters and content writers work out, and thanks for the thorough explanation.

I know Calis disagrees with me but I actually believe it is better for us and for the forum if we have these discussions out in the open. It's why I often quote selective passages from the Staff Forum out here and it's why Calis berates me for it. I am also well aware that I can be a nasty piece of shit when I want to be. However, I also like to believe that I am capable of stepping back, calming the fuck down and responding to people without getting into the "no ur a moron" crap. Clearly, I have made a mistake thinking this discussion was near it's end (which is usually when I come out with teh lulz). However, it is clear that many members of this forum would like to see Vault Dweller returned and they are struggling to grasp the reasons as to why what has transpired has transpired.

 

[Astromarine]

@Reinigungstruppeführer:

I'm perfectly willing to give the news team a chance, I have absolutely nothing against them. Only the manner in which they were selected and their job description. The Codex could have survived just fine for a week without new news posts. You could have taken the time to do it properly, asking for a quick writing sample, like 1000 words reviewing Minesweeper or whatever. You could have made sure to hire one guy (or attribute yourselves the job, as you're not actually idiots) to serve as chief editor, responsible for maintaining a coherent line for the site's content and evaluating other contributors. Most of all, you could have stressed the point that what is necessary is someone who can think and talk creatively and critically about RPGs, not scan other news sites for regurgitated press releases. I know most of the people on the new staff, and have no problem believing that they would all pass that bar with flying colors. But the attitude should have been different.

The shareholder analogy doesn't work because a board of directors usually has people with different competences in it. Our group leader is in there. So's the head of programmers. But they don't get together with the head of finance to vote out the Sales guy because he can't code. VD had tremendous competence at his job, and you and calis are not downright embarrassments at yours () but there's no Head Moderator, never has been, and VD should not have had his privileges removed because he wasn't a good mod (which he wasn't, no matter how much I may agree with him about the worth to the site of people like Nicolai and KC)

About the rules: sure, they're what we're stuck with, and no matter how ineffectual I think they may be at making the codex a better site (seriously, NSFW in IMG tags should be ban on sight and fuck everyone that disagrees. Anything else just encourages people thinking it'd be worth a warning for the lulz.) I'm not a retard that thinks the solution is defying them. I just hope someday you'll come to terms with the knowledge that Bill Hicks was perfectly capable of doing his thing on TV and bypassing all the strict censorship of the time. Or if you prefer other terms, we should be HBO, not network TV. But not 24h Scheisse-porn channel either.

 

[Vault Dweller]

I may ask Astro, Baby Arm or even VD some input on this in the near future (and hope I don't get a "Fuck you, reap what you sow, bitch")...

Always happy to help, Calis.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

VD are you going to return to the news and articles front anytime soon?

 

[Lumpy]

I don't get one thing. Why don't the VD lovers just start their own forum free of lulz and other such shit? Is the name of RPGCodex so important for them? Everyone hates us anyway.
Though, I don't know all that well how the Intarnets work, so I have no idea how feasible that would be.

 

[Astromarine]

same reason why the lulzers can't just have a tabbed browser with one tab on RPGCodex and another on 4chan.

 

[Vault Dweller]

VD are you going to return to the news and articles front anytime soon?

No.

 

[Nedrah]

So people, I can only ask you to give me your honest feedback when you feel there is anything wrong with news or coming articles or interviews. Well, actually I'd like to hear from you when you think something's good, too

Note that I am already aware that the coffe-bot news were kind of messy, I feel I have learned some things from it, though, and given your feedback I hope to keep getting better.

I have actively been seeking out input on my news from various members, staff and non-staff. If you feel something is worth criticizing, I am more than happy to hear from you, be it via pm or in the news feedback threads.

 

[Micmu]

I don't get one thing. Why don't the VD lovers just start their own forum free of lulz and other such shit? Is the name of RPGCodex so important for them? Everyone hates us anyway.

It isn't about the name.
Maybe you missed out that VD (and SP before him) had contact with many other game developers and knew how to write his own articles, interviews, reviews, etc. In other words, he was an editor not just news(re-)poster.

 

[Nael]

Y'all care about this shit way too much. Wipe yer tears away and move on for fuck's sake.

IMO.

 

[dagorkan]

even the guy with a "fluffy bunny" fursona can see that you've got all the impact of a floppy piece of celery on a masochistic fatty's arse, well, you've gotta try a new technique. There are several guys in this thread who can argue like champions (hint: I'm not one of them). Study them.

Thanks for the tip...

If you feel something is worth criticizing, I am more than happy to hear from you, be it via pm or in the news feedback threads.

I am concerned about the number of Germans now on the staff.

 

[Lumpy]

I don't get one thing. Why don't the VD lovers just start their own forum free of lulz and other such shit? Is the name of RPGCodex so important for them? Everyone hates us anyway.

It isn't about the name.
Maybe you missed out that VD (and SP before him) had contact with many other game developers and knew how to write his own articles, interviews, reviews, etc. In other words, he was an editor not just news(re-)poster.

Okay. So how about VD starting his own site, keeping all his contacts and enforcing his own brand of frontier justice? It wouldn't be much effort from him, since RPGCodex was VD until very recently. He did the content, and he did the administration.
And we'd still have DU, Calis and the merry gang of lurker admins trying to rebuild the Codex of old, which was indeed started by them.
Isn't that pretty much what happened to RPGWatch and RPGDot?
Besides, gray sucks.