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Promoting Constructive Discussion on the Forums, and Adjusting Moderation

  • Inarre
    Inarre
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    Arthmoor wrote: »
    ZOS_AlanG wrote: »
    In my experience stickying something is often the best way to get it ignored. A lot of people get so used to looking past the pinned threads they don't notice when a new one is there. Having lots of pinned threads tends to make this worse.

    Yes, that could happen, but the trade off for NOT doing it is the current chaotic mess we have now where people are looking for information and unable to find it. So they post a thread. They promptly get jumped on by people saying it's over there buried 30 pages deep in a thread that's already scrolled off the first few pages.

    With a sticky, at least for major stuff, you'll simply be able to point people to that and be done with it when they inevitably open a thread anyway. The rest of us will see it there. This forum software is better at making stickies obvious than the current software running Bethesda.net. Probably even better at making them visually obvious than IPB is too.

    Perhaps there is a way to create a hot topic board that holds the most talked about topics but disppears off the hot topic board into its originally placed home after it fails to meet a certain number of replies in a certain time.

    Unfortunately though i can see there is a forum provider so maybe this is not possible without undo work on mods.

    As far as making strikes visible.... Why? So players can continue being disrespectful up. Until the last moment? Seems pointless.
  • ZOS_AlanG
    ZOS_AlanG
    admin
    Additionally, we have been advised to discuss privately with mods regarding their actions instead of specifically naming them in public. What are we to do when those private messages, with legitimate questions, are ignored? There are discussions popping up all over these forums and other non-affiliated forums about the moderating habits of particular individuals and whether or not they are nefariously covering up bugs and problems. I know the forum rules explicitly forbid conspiracy theories, but you can kind of see how the unilateral actions of a mod or two with no feedback can foster this.
    If you want to report someone for game behavior, your best options are to report them in-game or submit a support ticket detailing the problem.

    You can sent staff a PM here. However, if you get us on our evening or weekend it could be hours or even days before we see your message. Some people also message (or tag) former staff members or people who are no longer active on the forums. If someone hasn't posted recently, it's best not to PM them.


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    Staff Post
  • Turelus
    Turelus
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    Zheg wrote: »
    ZOS_AlanG wrote: »
    paganach wrote: »
    It seems to me that in encouraging open, honest and frank discussion throughout the forums, with no desire to quieten any particular topic, an environment has been created in which discussion can quickly turn non-constructive. This isn't a criticism of the environment, it is simply an observation. But, sadly, there is an inevitability about it all. By extending this freedom to users of the forums and accepting that disagreements and slightly heated, but passionate debates can be useful - both to you, and to us - such freedom will continue to create scenarios where people occasionally stray too far across that line where moderators feel the need to step in.
    This is true. It is expected, particularly with a fan-base passionate about the game, that conversations will occasionally stray beyond the acceptable. It's also why we have a team of moderators, and why we don't ban accounts on a single offence. As much as possible, we want to try and educate people for this very reason, and that's also the purpose of this thread.

    If it wasn't so time-intensive, we'd love to have a lengthy conversation about the rules whenever someone is warned. The more people understand the rules, and why they are in place, the more likely they are to abide by them. Better yet, it helps get people invested in the forums, and when people are invested in the community they're less likely to intentionally cause problems.

    Unintentional problems are also worth considering, and another reason for handing out multiple warnings. Some communities are more rough-and-tumble than others.
    Zheg wrote: »
    Furthermore, many of the moderator rules do little to actually foster important discussion. Naming and shaming with regards to your current exploit fiasco would be the first case I'd point to. Moderators frequently cite issues as 'baiting' but cherry pick which posts in a long list they consider baiting. In actuality, baiting would cover a huge percentage of posts on these forums, and this plays into the multiple points raised so far in this thread regarding your moderator consistency.
    I don't believe allowing the public shaming of people believed to be causing problems would result in much constructive discussion. In fact, even with the rule in place we've removed a lot of naming and shaming that was erroneous. This tends to escalate quickly, rather than keeping the discussion even-tempered and constructive.

    Baiting and trolling can be very nebulous, or contextual. If it isn't, chances are it's breaking other rules as well: It's easy when someone is being unconstructive and provocative, or insulting, or disrespectful. In other situations, it can be difficult to discern intention. But this is why we try and review reports of baiting carefully, why we try to issue educational PMs and warnings for offences, and why we're open to further review if content is appealed.
    Zheg wrote: »
    Threads have been shut down for including spiderman themed memes, all other memes are fine, but not spiderman ones because moderators don't understand their own rules. Threads are edited/removed because the topic was on firor's interview and his name was in the title. Players on the PTS were warned about divulging exploits because they included a video of how every gap closer was bugged. I could go on and on with examples, but it's hysterical that you expect people to respect the rules when you guys don't even seem to understand them.
    Spiderman memes were being used specifically to cause problems for a while, but generally any thread that devolves into a list of memes has gone off topic and needs to be cleaned up.

    We're more permissive about exploits being discussed on the PTS forums, but actual instructions or evidence should be sent in privately, same as with the rest of the forums.
    rootimus wrote: »
    Can we have the hot, dirty nerd details on why this is so hard? There are plenty of forum administrators in your player base - perhaps they can identify a solution for you.
    We actually have a solution outlined, but implementing it requires arranging the time to develop and test it, which is resource-intensive. This being said, if anyone has alternative solutions we're happy to hear them.

    We need a system that separately highlights developer comments, customer support, and moderation. However, some staff post across multiple categories, so any solution can't simply be account based. While it would be great to have these present different Z icons on threads, the system also needs to treat all staff posts the same for other mechanics, like jumping between staff posts. A toggle on posts, that allows staff to select what sort of post they're making is probably the easiest solution. Preferably one that remembers your preference, and perhaps limits access to the types of categories someone has. Again, outlining the solution isn't difficult, but prioritizing the resources is more complicated.

    In the meantime, developer comments tend to be added to the Dev Tracker. It's not a perfect solution, but it does highlight the posts more players are interested in.

    A moderator banned someone because they had been 'warned not to post spiderman themed memes' in posts. If you can't see the lunacy at face value, engaging with you is pointless.

    The PTS exploit I mentioned was air quotes, there were no exploits, just a demonstration of the poor code ZOS used in the DB patch, and a moderator deemed it an exploit.

    As to naming and shaming, there is a reason the law differentiates between slander and factual statements. Slander needs to be moderated, hard evidence of cheating, abuse, and breaking rules needs to be championed so as to discourage copy cats and repeat offenders. A game like this is as much social as it is a game; your anti naming and shaming policy inhibits any real consequences on the social side. It also leads to division and confusion between players because many want proof before making a judgement so these discussions devolve into back forths where one side claims wrongdoing and the other claims L2P, lies, or misunderstanding. Do you find those conversations to be productive? We don't. Whether or not you agree, you'll at least be hard-pressed to deny that the policy has done irreparable harm to the company image and how you're viewed when handling exploits.

    My earlier point about ZOS silence fomenting the very negativity your OP sought to address can be clearly seen in the perma-ban lifting thread. Jessica has responded to benign threads all day, but the lack of response on that thread is furthering visceral disdain with every post. Again, I reiterate that many of the problems you talk about in the OP are self inflicted and you need to get your house in order first.

    Without going too far off topic. The reply to the exploiting thread shouldn't be coming from Jessica either, it should be coming from the actual GM's or security teams who are in charge of handling the case.
    I understand ZOS has a system where the community team function as a proxy between developers and the community but with something as bad as exploiting and at the level of attention it's recently had we should be hearing from the actual people in charge or handling it.
    @Turelus - EU PC Megaserver
    "Don't count on others for help. In the end each of us is in this alone. The survivors are those who know how to look out for themselves."
  • Volkodav
    Volkodav
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    ZOS_AlanG wrote: »
    [
    rootimus wrote: »
    Can we have the hot, dirty nerd details on why this is so hard? There are plenty of forum administrators in your player base - perhaps they can identify a solution for you.
    We actually have a solution outlined, but implementing it requires arranging the time to develop and test it, which is resource-intensive. This being said, if anyone has alternative solutions we're happy to hear them.

    Appoint certain moderators to spend their time going through all of the forums every day.It can easily be done.I know this because I tend to go through almost all the threads just in General Discussion alone(which is the most active),at least once a day.
    I do it for a game break while drinking my lovely Hazlenut coffee.
    If I can take the time to wander through and see all the inflammatory and awefully hurtful coments and threads,without pay mind you,..I dont see why you cant appoint one moderator to do it as well.
    Not being snarky.
    (adding my "safety Smiley" now: :) )
  • AmberLaTerra
    AmberLaTerra
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    Volkodav wrote: »
    ZOS_AlanG wrote: »
    [
    rootimus wrote: »
    Can we have the hot, dirty nerd details on why this is so hard? There are plenty of forum administrators in your player base - perhaps they can identify a solution for you.
    We actually have a solution outlined, but implementing it requires arranging the time to develop and test it, which is resource-intensive. This being said, if anyone has alternative solutions we're happy to hear them.

    Appoint certain moderators to spend their time going through all of the forums every day.It can easily be done.I know this because I tend to go through almost all the threads just in General Discussion alone(which is the most active),at least once a day.
    I do it for a game break while drinking my lovely Hazlenut coffee.
    If I can take the time to wander through and see all the inflammatory and awefully hurtful coments and threads,without pay mind you,..I dont see why you cant appoint one moderator to do it as well.
    Not being snarky.
    (adding my "safety Smiley" now: :) )

    That is actually a quite good idea, and one I have seen used in many other games that I have played in the past. It both gives the players who use the forums a feeling of more involvement in the community that is the forums, and gives the ZOS employee mods a resource that enables them to focus more on the threads that need their attention.

    The appointed mods can handle the little things like flaming, or trolling while the ZOS mods focus on the big issues freeing up both more communication and more handling of the important issues that are brought up on the forums. That makes such a solution a win/win.

    I also am not being snarky just going by what I have seen from years of experience gaming. :)
    PAWS (Positively Against Wrip-off Stuff) - Say No to Crown Crates!

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    For the glory of the Pact
  • Turelus
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    Okay so I have just got into work and have some time to post before I start. I wasn't around for the locking of the thread last night regarding cheating but I wanted to give my thoughts on it to the moderation team.

    I understand the reasons for locking the thread however I don't think you realise how bad it comes off. Yes it was getting pretty heated but the issues being discussed have plagued this game since launch and we the community have never had any real communication or feedback since the early days of bank duplication and botting.

    Generally when large issues like this arise an MMO will have someone senior make a statement, or have a news/blog article updating everyone on what's happening. Jessica has done a fantastic job passing on messages but for this issue and how far it's gotten we could really do with hearing from someone more senior.

    Any way, the feedback I want to give is that having Jessica post a blanket statement then immediately locking the thread is the kind of moderation we have complained about. Yes it was full of angry players, yes it was going to require moderation. However now you're going to be spending the entire morning (when your moderation staff get into the office) going through multiple threads locking them, removing posts etc.

    Also reducing the credibility of ZOS once again. I've said my piece enough times on this issue, at this point I am just too disappointed and jaded to care any more.
    @Turelus - EU PC Megaserver
    "Don't count on others for help. In the end each of us is in this alone. The survivors are those who know how to look out for themselves."
  • ZOS_AlanG
    ZOS_AlanG
    admin
    That is actually a quite good idea, and one I have seen used in many other games that I have played in the past. It both gives the players who use the forums a feeling of more involvement in the community that is the forums, and gives the ZOS employee mods a resource that enables them to focus more on the threads that need their attention.
    As someone who was previously a volunteer moderator for Bethesda, and now helps manage the volunteer program on the BethSoft and Bethesda.net forums, I'm a strong supporter of such programs. At the moment, it isn't something we are planning to roll out here. There are a few current issues that prevent us from doing this well, and setting it up for long term success.
    Turelus wrote: »
    I understand the reasons for locking the thread however I don't think you realise how bad it comes off. Yes it was getting pretty heated but the issues being discussed have plagued this game since launch and we the community have never had any real communication or feedback since the early days of bank duplication and botting.
    Half a day before locking that thread we commented on the importance of keeping it open. We stand by that, it is important to keep discussions like that open, and it wasn't an easy decision to lock it. But in our experience, when threads like this get past a certain point it can help for everyone to step back for a moment.

    We were very aware of the problems locking it would entail, but still felt this was the proper course of action. Given the large number of problems in the current discussion, if we left the thread open we'd have to issue a large number of formal warnings for breaking the rules, and that's something we wanted to avoid. It's reasonable that people are frustrated by this, but that doesn't excuse naming and shaming, or flaming, or some of the problems we were clearing out of there.

    As many have pointed out, part of the reason for the frustration is the lack of news, and we'll re-open the thread (or start a new one) when we have new information to share. This will hopefully help the refreshed discussion stay on track, and be less heated than before.
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  • Rohamad_Ali
    Rohamad_Ali
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    @ZOS_AlanG Good morning . I figured despite clashing points of view regarding recent events , we can still be hospital and enjoy the morning before you have to go out and fight the forum war .

    coffeerolls.jpg


    While I won't be participating in said events , I do understand my friends passion for the game and frustration . Please go easy on them as their playground has been raided by exploiters . Just my opinion but in the future a thread opened by ZOS , to set the tone on the subject , may work out better for everyone . When the time is right of course . Good luck and have a nice day .
  • Turelus
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    Thanks for the update AlanG.

    I do understand everything happening it's just as I have said so many times frustrating because this isn't a new issue and the lack of communication on this topic just continues to anger players. I'll be good however and wait for the thread to re-open or a new one to be created.

    P.S: I make no promises not to make snide/witty comments in new threads before they get locked in hopes of farming more awesome reactions.
    @Turelus - EU PC Megaserver
    "Don't count on others for help. In the end each of us is in this alone. The survivors are those who know how to look out for themselves."
  • ZOS_AlanG
    ZOS_AlanG
    admin
    Hi everyone. This thread was made to explain our expectations for civil and constructive discussion on the forums. Some general discussion of moderation policy is acceptable, but please do not discuss specific examples. If you wish to appeal moderation decision, you can submit a support ticket. If you wish to discuss the recent decision to lock the exploit threads, you are welcome to PM me. In the meantime, we are locking or removing threads about this matter. Several posts have also been removed from this thread.
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  • Zheg
    Zheg
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    ZOS_AlanG wrote: »
    Hi everyone. This thread was made to explain our expectations for civil and constructive discussion on the forums. Some general discussion of moderation policy is acceptable, but please do not discuss specific examples. If you wish to appeal moderation decision, you can submit a support ticket. If you wish to discuss the recent decision to lock the exploit threads, you are welcome to PM me. In the meantime, we are locking or removing threads about this matter. Several posts have also been removed from this thread.
    The discussion has been about your general moderation policies, with specific examples given to emphasize points and serve as evidence of the validity of said points. Discussing this, or any specific issue with you via PM will likely be as unfruitful as this thread, so I'll pass. Continue asking people to play nice while willfully ignoring the fact that the driving factor behind the need for you to even make that request of us to begin with has been your company policies and reliably terrible communication.

    I'm going to go 'cool down' and leave. I don't know how else to get you to see the real problem if you still remain unconvinced.
  • rootimus
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    Volkodav wrote: »
    Appoint certain moderators to spend their time going through all of the forums every day.It can easily be done.I know this because I tend to go through almost all the threads just in General Discussion alone(which is the most active),at least once a day.

    Reading all the posts is a large part of a forum moderator's job. Users reporting a post should be for the times when either the moderator misses something or the user sees a rule-breaking post as soon as it goes up. That players are having to make suggestions like this says an awful lot.
    Even on the internet, clear communication is important; it can be the difference between "helping your Uncle Jack off a horse" and "helping your uncle jack off a horse"; the difference between "knowing your s***" and "knowing you're s***".
    Greybeards & Gals - Civilised, laid-back, mature gamers. Beards optional. |
  • clayandaudrey_ESO
    clayandaudrey_ESO
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    This thread is another joke. There can not be constructive criticism when there is no transparency from ZOS. There will be no one left for you to moderate if you do not change how you police your game. Police your game as hard as you police your forums and these types of threads will not be necessary.
  • Balamoor
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    This thread is another joke. There can not be constructive criticism when there is no transparency from ZOS. There will be no one left for you to moderate if you do not change how you police your game. Police your game as hard as you police your forums and these types of threads will not be necessary.

    That is a straw man argument. This is the internet there will always be raging.

    I understand the game has issues.Every single MMO has issues just as bad if not worse they might be different issues, but all MMO's have them.

    The forums really aren't policed that hard, there are some trolls that should have been banned long ago that are still around, and some who are feel that it's worth buying another CD key just to troll the forums. I know personally two people that do that. Heck at quake con last year I heard people say they want ESO to fail because they believe that ES games should only be single player and it will force Bethesda to make ES six faster How incredibly stupid is that?

    What I think is sad is the folks who really enjoy this game but feel like they can't post anything positive because they will get dog-piled by the hate machine.

    I think that the PVP issue is serious and should be addressed, I also think a lot of the PVP player base is going about how they are complaining the wrong way. Being a jerk isn't going to get you what you want, especially if your demographic isn't the majority. Offer Ideas alternatives stick with it have folks who are going to Quake Con discuss this with whoever will listen.

    That is how to evoke change.
    Edited by Balamoor on June 18, 2016 2:27PM
  • clayandaudrey_ESO
    clayandaudrey_ESO
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    Balamoor wrote: »
    This thread is another joke. There can not be constructive criticism when there is no transparency from ZOS. There will be no one left for you to moderate if you do not change how you police your game. Police your game as hard as you police your forums and these types of threads will not be necessary.

    That is a straw man argument. This is the internet there will always be raging.

    I understand the game has issues.Every single MMO has issues just as bad if not worse they might be different issues, but all MMO's have them.

    The forums really aren't policed that hard, there are some trolls that should have been banned long ago that are still around, and some who are feel that it's worth buying another CD key just to troll the forums. I know personally two people that do that. Heck at quake con last year I heard people say they want ESO to fail because they believe that ES games should only be single player and it will force Bethesda to make ES six faster How incredibly stupid is that?

    What I think is sad is the folks who really enjoy this game but feel like they can't post anything positive because they will get dog-piled by the hate machine.

    I think that the PVP issue is serious and should be addressed, I also think a lot of the PVP player base is going about how they are complaining the wrong way. Being a jerk isn't going to get you what you want, especially if your demographic isn't the majority. Offer Ideas alternatives stick with it have folks who are going to Quake Con discuss this with whoever will listen.

    That is how to evoke change.

    How is asking them to police their game as hard as they police their forum a straw argument. There are no in game GMs. There are plenty of forum moderators. Maybe the money would be better spent the other way around. And yes these forums are heavily moderated.
  • dodgehopper_ESO
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    One point I'd like to add is that we should all try to do a little self moderation. Disagreement can progress into insults or hostility rapidly. People also can use terms which are intentionally offensive on a repetitive basis. There are terms people use fairly regularly on the forums that are offensive, and it would be a lot more productive if we as a community pulled away from that, for the benefit of the community. I'm not even referring to the 'trolls' either who are themselves a whole other issue. The Troll element of any community create strife for the sake of creating strife and chaos. The reality is that a society is best when the people regulate themselves, and do not need moderators to do so for them. I'm not expecting or demanding perfection here, I'm just suggesting there is some truth to the notion that we should all attempt to moderate ourselves a bit.
    US/AD - Dodge Hopper - Vet Imperial Templar | US/AD - Goj-ei-Raj - Vet Argonian Nightblade
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  • Turelus
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    I agree dodgehopper but getting the community to stop posting L2P and waving their epeens around is just never going to happen. There is too much ego in this community.
    @Turelus - EU PC Megaserver
    "Don't count on others for help. In the end each of us is in this alone. The survivors are those who know how to look out for themselves."
  • dodgehopper_ESO
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    Turelus wrote: »
    I agree dodgehopper but getting the community to stop posting L2P and waving their epeens around is just never going to happen. There is too much ego in this community.

    That is probably true, but I think just talking about the issue can elevate the community. Many of us just forget ourselves at times, and I'm no different than the rest.
    US/AD - Dodge Hopper - Vet Imperial Templar | US/AD - Goj-ei-Raj - Vet Argonian Nightblade
    US/AD - Arondonimo - Vet Altmer Sorcerer | US/AD - Azumarax - Vet Dunmer Dragon Knight
    US/AD - Barkan al-Sheharesh - Vet Redguard Dragon Knight | US/AD - Aelus Vortavoriil - Vet Altmer Templar
    US/AD - Shirari Qa'Dar - Vet Khajiit Nightblade | US/AD - Ndvari Mzunchvolenthumz - Vet Bosmer Nightblade
    US/EP - Yngmar - Vet Nord Dragon Knight | US/EP - Reloth Ur Fyr - Vet Dunmer Sorcerer
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  • Cyel_Elmlock
    Cyel_Elmlock
    Soul Shriven
    A good thread, and many useful ideas have already been presented. I hope they are heeded.
    @Cy'el
  • ZOS_AlanG
    ZOS_AlanG
    admin
    Hi everyone, if you're discussing cheating and exploits, if you could please keep that discussion in the official thread. We've removed some posts from here.
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    Staff Post
  • Alurria
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    @dodgehopper_ESO I agree, how hard is it to post something positive? I see so many comment in thread after thread negative negative. It doesn't make any sense to me because why would you waste time here if you didn't enjoy some aspect of this game? Time is not renewable you don't get it back and it's finite. Why waste it on being negative on a gaming forum constantly, generally speaking.

  • FaydayanUK
    i have really simple question, will there ever come a time when mods will actually start answering questions instead of moderating threads and leaving them without answer promoting more duplicates and more despise towards zos. also if you would answer questions people have You wouldn't need to moderate as much because topics would be answered.
  • FaydayanUK
    @dodgehopper_ESO I agree, how hard is it to post something positive? I see so many comment in thread after thread negative negative. It doesn't make any sense to me because why would you waste time here if you didn't enjoy some aspect of this game? Time is not renewable you don't get it back and it's finite. Why waste it on being negative on a gaming forum constantly, generally speaking.

    because it is the only way to get it fixed and get the problem to be noticed. i mean what percentage of green posts is actually answering about certain problems and what is just censoring?
  • AJ_1988
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    So with the 3 strikes rule do we get those strikes back over time. Eg I have 1 I know will I get that back say in a few months or something or will it be permanently with me?
    Edited by AJ_1988 on July 2, 2016 1:44PM
  • clayandaudrey_ESO
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    AJ_1988 wrote: »
    So with the 3 strikes rule do we get those strikes back over time. Eg I have 1 I know will I get that back say in a few months or something or will it be permanently with me?

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  • ZOS_AlanG
    ZOS_AlanG
    admin
    FaydayanUK wrote: »
    i have really simple question, will there ever come a time when mods will actually start answering questions instead of moderating threads and leaving them without answe
    The forum moderators are just that, forum moderators. Often we're not in a position to answer those questions because we simply do not have the information, or we know the generalities but not the specifics. It's also worth noting that the forum moderation team operates across all of Bethesda's forums, so while we keep apprised of the games we cover, there are a lot of them.

    We are able to more actively assist with some support questions, and we post more frequently in this regard in the Customer Support section. Much of the information we provide is actually available on the help site.
    AJ_1988 wrote: »
    So with the 3 strikes rule do we get those strikes back over time. Eg I have 1 I know will I get that back say in a few months or something or will it be permanently with me?
    Warnings don't expire. However, we do note the age of past infractions when actioning an account, and we may be more lenient with someone if they had a few warnings a long while back but haven't been a problem since. We don't want long time members to be unduly punished, but there's also a point where someone really ought to know better.
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  • menedhyn
    menedhyn
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    FaydayanUK wrote: »
    because it is the only way to get it fixed and get the problem to be noticed
    But it isn't the only way. It is one of several ways you can approach communication with others, but is one which, in my opinion, has the fewest benefits to the general community.

    I can understand why people get frustrated, angry, disheartened and what not. I get frustrated too. Maybe not as often as some, and maybe sometimes about less important issues than the current hot topics, but then we're all very different people playing the game in very different ways. I just choose not to post on the forums to vent in anger. But what we can do - what we are encouraged to do - is to provide constructive, honest but critical feedback on the game and to share our opinions about those things that don't work, things that could be improved, things that might make the game a better experience. You can do all of this whilst keeping discussion positive, without resorting to name-calling, without disrupting a thread, without 'throwing all of your toys out of the pram' and the myriad of other instances that requires a moderator to intervene. Equally, if something catches your eye that you like, share it. @dodgehopper_ESO is spot on here. A bit of self-moderation is absolutely necessary.

    There remains a bigger problem though. The cause of some (not all) of the frustration that I presume has necessitated this broader discussion about forum moderation relates to the need for more open communication with the player base. I don't think for one minute that every single one of our questions demands an answer from those within the company that could provide one. But as I said before, a rebalancing would be a hugely positive step in the right direction. I firmly believe that if people put more thought and care into their posts/comments, along with some regular and helpful (honest) dialogue from the Studio to compliment ESO Live, it would be a positive step towards making the forums a healthier, happier place to be.
    'Pure rains make sweet rivers'
  • UltimaJoe777
    UltimaJoe777
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    I would like to propose filtering stereotypical slang on these forums. The following words and pair of words would be censored if this happens:

    Carebear
    Filthy Casual
    Elitist
    Elitism

    I would add Master Race but no one really takes that one seriously and at most it makes people pull a Charlie Brown and roll their eyes while saying "good grief". If anyone has any others to add feel free to suggest it. Fight the toxicity!
    Edited by UltimaJoe777 on July 13, 2016 3:20AM
    Guildmaster of Power With Numbers in PS4 NA Server's Aldmeri Dominion.
    Proud Founder of the Yaysay cult! DOWN WITH THE NAYSAY CULT!! #ToxicRemedy
  • Pomaikai
    Pomaikai
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    Well, now I understand a huge part of the communications breakdown here on the forums.

    The forum mods aren't actually Zenimax employees, they're Bethesda employees who moderate the forums for all of their games.

    It's now painfully obvious that the lack of communication is worse than we ever believed, as maybe on 10% of the communications by what are denoted as ZOS_ employees, actually are.

    Has customer support been farmed out to a small group of Bethesda employees trying to field customer service requests from a bunch of disparate games as well? That would certainly make the automated replies which aren't even related to the questions being asked/reported, as well as the "we're too busy to continue trying to provide support for your ticket" responses.

    Is this why in-game enforcement of cheating and exploiting has been so non-existent and so quickly reversed? That when the in-game GM program was shelved early on, these decisions are now being made by Bethesda employees who may or may not even play the games that they are supporting? Is this why phone support for ESO was suspended, or at least hidden deeper than the lost treasure of the Incas?

    AlanG's post was probably the most chilling and disheartening post that I've ever read on these forums. We're not actually talking to Zenimax Online Studios on these forums. We're just talking to a Bethesda call center, without the actual phones of course.

    :/
    Edited by Pomaikai on July 13, 2016 6:38AM
  • ZOS_AlanG
    ZOS_AlanG
    admin
    Pomaikai wrote: »
    The forum mods aren't actually Zenimax employees, they're Bethesda employees who moderate the forums for all of their games.
    This moderation team began as ESO exclusive back in beta, and only more recently expanded to assist on other Bethesda forums. This expansion didn't change our role here, it just brought us to some new locations. Everyone on the moderation team is well-versed with ESO.

    The primary purpose of the Moderators is to help maintain a safe and welcoming environment for the community to discuss the games. We aren't involved in communicating deeper game discussion, and leave those conversations to the Community Managers and Developers. We do work closely with the CMs, and we're also more involved in the support sections.
    I just now read the ABOVE POST.... and it FEELS as if YOU GUYS DO NOT Want to REALLY LISTEN to us?! That YOU DO NOT WANT PPL TO HAVE an *EXPRESSED OPINION* .. . And expect everyone to just be absolutely POSITIVE! And 100 percent friendly and say.. THANK YOU Eso/Zenimax for upsetting us, for not listening to us, for banning ppl for expressing themselves and HAVING AN OPINION...
    There's no requirement that everyone be positive, and criticism is quite valuable. However, it is also important that all discussion be kept constructive, particularly when commenting on the views of others. One of the reasons for posting this thread was to specifically highlight that criticism and debate is perfectly acceptable, but to suggest some ways to ensure it remains constructive so we can help ensure a respectful atmosphere on the forums.
    I would like to propose filtering stereotypical slang on these forums. The following words and pair of words would be censored if this happens:
    Blocking a term can create its own problems. These are often used in an inflammatory or trollish manner, but this isn't always the case, and out of the context of MMO discussion they're unproblematic.
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    I’ve moved to a new position and I am no longer active on this forum. For assistance, please check the resources linked above
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