Decline The Codex is going down the toilet

[commie]

Ever since we became partially bought out by a third rate publisher and hosted Knobgobblin's JA raping studio, the Codex has indeed become shit.




Oh and ban copx already.

 

[Ulminati]

I didn't really mind all that much, but it would be better to get these restrictions out in the open. If I was going to post the thread in GD or politics, I might have made it more speculative and interesting. But it was really a better fit for SCIENCE!!1, according to the rules as I understood them, so I kept it boring. It still got moved.

If science bores you, feel free to leave it alone.

I left the thread overnight to see if something useful would come off of it, but it was just a bunch of butthurt sprinkled with WCDS circlejerk. It had picked up reports from 3 different oldfags for move to GD/retardo while I slept. I was tempted to just cut out the derailment posts and send them to retardo. The reason I didn't was because once I had marked the butthurt, chain-quoting, WCDS librulism et al away, only the OP remained. I concluded that it would just get another batch of the same, so I sent the entire thing off to a forum that catered for the kind of response the OP was baiting from the start.

Most of the moderation that happens in science generally follows these steps:
1) I see something that irks me slightly and decide to ignore it.
2) I go to sleep.
3) The next day, it's picked up a bunch of reports from people who say it's off-topic or whatevs.
4) I confer with a couple of regular codexians over skype/steam/administration forum to make sure it's not just personal bias.
5) The posts in question are moved/retardoed as applicable in the way that's expected to be least intrusive overall.

On the topic of moderation in Science, the reports I read have a ~66% rejection rate after the above steps. So apparently it's not nearly heavy-handed enough for some of our regulars preferences. Hopefully that means it's reached a kind of equilibrium.

 

[Roguey]

Roguey for mod

I have no interest in moderating, but I'd actually be very hands-off if I were. There was even a time where Lesi had her own subforum where she was okay with people calling her a "bipolar bitch" (her words). No one actually posted on this forum though.

 

[DarkUnderlord]

I'll be honest, DU is the greatest admin I've ever encountered on the internet.

Not really. He is a greedy bastard who removed custom avatars and the gallery is shit.

I can understand why you might think this, given you joined Nov 6, 2011 and all - but allow me the opportunity to correct you: The Codex has never had custom avatars by choice. For 9 years we restricted users to choosing avatars from a gallery. It was only with the move to XenForo that we lost that ability, as XF does not have an avatar gallery feature. That has only been brought back recently after we decided to pay someone else to code it (DU cannot into OOP code... yet). There are currently some slight technical issues with it which we hope to resolve (like avatars not showing up).

Not to mention that I find it hard to take his internet badass persona seriously after seeing what he is like in real life

It's true, my attractive good looks and natural charm disarm many people into thinking I'm mostly harmless - usually until they see an e-mail from me tearing their argument down piece by piece. And when I see them again, I just smile.

It is fun though, if it weren't for all the commercialization of the Codex lately. DarkUnderlord, if it weren't for the donations would the codex be sustainable on its own (with ads, of course).

One of the issues we have with many ad providers is they take one look at the place and say "no". They have a thing about "offensive content".

We have no intention of toning things down for them.

Have you looked into alternative methods of gaining money, like writing paid reviews better advertisement deals? I am sure there must be other ways to monetize on the Codex's growing popularity besides donors.

Nope, donors is pretty much it. We do make a bit of money from the ads but donors top it up. And I'd prefer to be reliant on donors who know what the site is like, than ad providers who run off on a whim.

But FFS, return custom avatars. This is worse than DLCs

As I said before "return" would imply that it was the default state of the Codex, and this simply wasn't true for nine whole years. We have actually "returned" to our original intended avatar state.

Not to mention registering on the Codex is harder than registering an always-online DRM game on release day. Really, the Codex is starting to behave like an AAA publisher.

I'm sorry you are unable to manage a standard internet forum registration form. Would you like some kleenex for your tears?

 

[Cassidy]

There are currently some slight technical issues with it which we hope to resolve (like avatars not showing up).

For one, I'm still hoping XF will stop stretching the sprites in the Fallout avatar gallery because they aren't square.

 

[Tzaero]

For one, I'm still hoping XF will stop stretching the sprites in the Fallout avatar gallery because they aren't square.

The stretching of avatars is not limited to fallout. The new ones at 100 x 100 seem to be getting stretched too.

 

[Murk]

Heh, didn't even know the avatar gallery thing was back. Hello old friend.

 

[Kane]

There was even a time where Lesi had her own subforum where she was okay with people calling her a "bipolar bitch" (her words). No one actually posted on this forum though.

I think I would be OK with any type of insult on such a forum as well.

 

[DwarvenFood]

Becoming another Tumblr is a fate worse than a serious permanent shutdown.

I'd abandon the decaying ship should that happen.

Roguey for mod

That would be an interesting experiment.

 

[RRRrrr]

One of the issues we have with many ad providers is they take one look at the place and say "no". They have a thing about "offensive content".

We have no intention of toning things down for them.

What is so offensive about the Codex? I really don't get what might upset the ad providers. Are they retarded? I don't think there is much to tone down as it is. Well, except for the two girls one cup link in the forum's rules, but that's mostly it. The Codex is very tame these days, even GD.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

What is so offensive about the Codex? [...] Are they retarded?

See, that's what. In "reputable" forums, saying someone is retarded would at least get you a warning.

 

[Brotherman Bill]

The problem is that more active moderation requires some measure of good judgement, and the codex has a tradition for mods being selected for retardry. I means seriously, KingComrade would be a step up from most of the current crop - I don't think anyone can dispute this.

 

[Roguey]

What is so offensive about the Codex? [...] Are they retarded?

See, that's what. In "reputable" forums, saying someone is retarded would at least get you a warning.

Lesi, who used to call things retarded here all the time, now points it out as ableism whenever someone uses it in a conversation with her.

 

[Mangoose]

My custom avatar works fine.

Just wish it would play its animation

 

[Admiral jimbob]

What is so offensive about the Codex? [...] Are they retarded?

See, that's what. In "reputable" forums, saying someone is retarded would at least get you a warning.

Lesi, who used to call things retarded here all the time, now points it out as ableism whenever someone uses it in a conversation with her.

Aren't you supposed to take photos of her house and send her death threats when such things from her past are brought to light? I thought that was how that usually went.

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

Ok, people who are able, sure. But what about those who are willing? Are we discriminating against the poor lazy people out there? If I call you lazy am I being willingist?

 

[Random]

The RPG Codex's post content shares a startling similarity to ancient Greek graffiti from eras long past.

The decline is only what you make of it.

 

[Jasede]

One of the issues we have with many ad providers is they take one look at the place and say "no". They have a thing about "offensive content".

We have no intention of toning things down for them.

What is so offensive about the Codex? I really don't get what might upset the ad providers. Are they retarded? I don't think there is much to tone down as it is. Well, except for the two girls one cup link in the forum's rules, but that's mostly it. The Codex is very tame these days, even GD.

Yeah, I don't get it either. They must be sensitive faggots or weeping vaginas to find anything even remotely offensive here.
All right, time to update my Rance Let's Play and talk about how niggers ruin everything in GD.

 

[Stabwound]

I err to the side of FILTHY LIBRUL and even I disagree with censoring things like that. Everyone should be allowed to make bigoted statements; it makes it easier to identify the people that shouldn't be taken seriously.

But seriously, censorship is stupid.

 

[Ulminati]

The RPG Codex's post content shares a startling similarity to ancient Greek graffiti from eras long past.

The decline is only what you make of it.

There is a startling similarity between the codex and the graffiti of ancient Pompeii.

Each inscription begins with a reference to where it was found (region.insula.door number). The second number is the reference to the publication of the inscription in the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, Volume 4.
I.2.20 (Bar/Brothel of Innulus and Papilio); 3932: Weep, you girls. My penis has given you up. Now it penetrates men’s behinds. Goodbye, wondrous femininity!
I.2.23 (peristyle of the Tavern of Verecundus); 3951: Restitutus says: “Restituta, take off your tunic, please, and show us your hairy privates”.
I.4.5 (House of the Citharist; below a drawing of a man with a large nose); 2375: Amplicatus, I know that Icarus is buggering you. Salvius wrote this.
III.5.1 (House of Pascius Hermes; left of the door); 7716: To the one defecating here. Beware of the curse. If you look down on this curse, may you have an angry Jupiter for an enemy.
III.5.3 (on the wall in the street); 8898: Theophilus, don’t perform oral sex on girls against the city wall like a dog
VIII.2 (in the basilica); 1863: Take hold of your servant girl whenever you want to; it’s your right
VIII.2 (in the basilica); 1882: The one who buggers a fire burns his penis
VIII.2 (in the basilica); 1904: O walls, you have held up so much tedious graffiti that I am amazed that you have not already collapsed in ruin.

The Romans didn't use intentional misspelling in lieu of wit however.

 

[Cowboy Moment]

One of the issues we have with many ad providers is they take one look at the place and say "no". They have a thing about "offensive content".

We have no intention of toning things down for them.

What is so offensive about the Codex? I really don't get what might upset the ad providers. Are they retarded? I don't think there is much to tone down as it is. Well, except for the two girls one cup link in the forum's rules, but that's mostly it. The Codex is very tame these days, even GD.

Yeah, I don't get it either. They must be sensitive faggots or weeping vaginas to find anything even remotely offensive here.
All right, time to update my Rance Let's Play and talk about how niggers ruin everything in GD.

You wouldn't be saying that if Rance had furries in it.

 

[Jasede]

Fortunately for me there's Morenatsu.

 

[Severian Silk]

This site needs more moderating not less. I don't care who feels entitled, this shit is just disgusting and vile.

Maybe we should do away with anonymous pseudonyms for usernames and see who keeps this behavior up.

 

[evdk]

This site needs more moderating not less. I don't care who feels entitled, this shit is just disgusting and vile.

Maybe we should do away with anonymous pseudonyms for usernames and see who keeps this behavior up.

And maybe sell this site to Zuckerberg while we're at it.

 

[Alex]

This site needs more moderating not less. I don't care who feels entitled, this shit is just disgusting and vile.

Maybe we should do away with anonymous pseudonyms for usernames and see who keeps this behavior up.

I see this sentiment repeated in a few posts around, and it really puzzles me. I mean, there are plenty of sites around with a lot more moderation and even with more friendly posters than the Codex. If you feel this is the way to go, why not just frequent one of those? The deal with the Codex, at least for me, has always been that people could come here and exchange ideas more or less independently of whatever political or social ideas were going on in the outside world.

I am sure there were plenty of cases in the old days where someone was banned, or content was just retardoed. But the place back then seemed to give much less of a shit about what people were discussing, and it was never as bad as, say, Something Awful. Back when VD left, I was very much in favor of him staying. As I saw it, the policy changes he wanted to do would try to focus this site on discussing CRPGs, and like many, I had just grown annoyed of GD (which, as I remember, was much worse back then).

Nowadays, however, I am not sure I would side with him, though I would surely like it if he posted around here more. I think VD is a swell guy, and was a very good mod around here (and continues to be in his site). But I think the GD, not the forum section, but the idea behind it, its spirit, if you will, is important to the Codex. The Codex is a kind of place where people shouldn't be afraid to speak their own minds. Sure, we have a whole lot of juvenile humor, tasteless jokes, stupidity and so on. But if you take this away, you take this away, you also take away the fool out of the Codex. The fool that laughs up at the new releases that are pretty much the same. The fool that keeps trying to discuss about a genre that has been pretty much dead for 10 years. The fool is actually capable of recognizing when something promises to be good and once again, after being strung along God know how many times, actually manages to raise several thousand dollars for a kickstarter.

As I see it, our biggest problem in need of moderation is that GD has two big camps that, while not at all formed by stupid people, took on the most stupid aspects of politics. "Leftards", "librulz" or whatever you call them on one side and the WCDS, or the nazis, or whatever you call them on the other. Instead of ever arguing, these two groups seem intent on repeating slogans and ideas to each other, never really forming a conversation or even going anywhere. Instead, they look like two picket lines facing off, shouting at each other, waving around banners with slogans and sometimes making smug faces at each other.

But the big problem is that any kind of action to reduce this behavior is going to change the foolish spirit of the Codex. I think the case posted by the OP is an example of that, where a mod, trying to avoid having the trash from the picket lines hit non related discussion, ends up retardoing what is pretty much part of the Codex etiquette. So basically, we end up with a situation where you are damned if you do, and damned if you don't. I don't really know how to solve this, to be honest. I guess the only way for all this political picketing to die down is if people actually start to listen to each other, so we have actua discourses instead of simple repetition of ideas? Or maybe if we somehow cultivate a culture where people will be polite enough to keep political discussion in its proper place, but aren't paranoid to the point where just a hint of a political idea cause them to lose their cool? Neither are very likely, I think, but I don't see any other way to keep the Codex spirit I've come to love, even if it is far from perfect.

P.S. Sorry if this is a bit disjointed, but I didn't really know what I was going to write until I wrote it.