The closing of the "Fluffy Hunters" thread

[Mouse]

I was a poster on the Fluffy Hunters thread. Imho, it was one of the best threads I have participated in on my time here. A lot of people put a lot of thought and creativity into their posting, Tonight I logged on to see what further fun and frolics (if any) had taken place. It had been closed by Ziroc.

Now, this disturbed and saddened me.

I understand fully that to join in on this forum, there are rules that must be observed. I also respect Ziroc’s right to apply these rules as he interprets them. I also know that if I don’t like the way this forum is run/moderated, then the solution is simple – I go elsewhere.

Yes, there were some posts near the end of the thread that were in questionable taste, (though I would classify them as absurd rather than anything more sinister ), and if Ziroc decided to close the thread so be it. I would rather he had deleted the offending posts (if that had been possible) That’s the sad bit.

The disturbing aspect are the comments “Have I not said kids under 14 read this forum?” and “ I'm closing this.. it's spam.” .

Firstly, I did not consider the posts spam. As I said above a lot of people took time, effort and creativity in their posts.

Secondly, and bearing in mind my earlier comments, does that now mean that we all have to self-censor our posts to try to make them acceptable to some undefined age range? If that’s the case, as a 42 year old, I don’t think I’m up to the task. And anyway would such a policy only lead to this forum becoming utterly anodyne and sterile?.

Finally, I am posting this not to provoke a great “was Ziroc right or wrong” debate, but out of a genuine sense of unease. If this topic has been fully discussed elsewhere, let me know. If this gets any of you guys heated up and starts unpleasantness between members, I will delete it.




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Regards



Mouse

[Jerome]

I feel the same mouse... It was another thread created in the Evil Smiting theme, and i dont think that it needed to be closed... but i dont run the site

Ultimiley it is up to Z, and despite whatever he says....EVIL SMITING 3,4,5 AND ALL THE OTHER SEQUALS WILL RETURN, BIGGER BADDER AND MUCH MORE OFFENSIVE THAN EVER BEFORE!!!!

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Jerome, Chairperson Of The International Fluffy Hunting Society

[Sazerac]

While I can understand your disappointment, Lord Shield's comments were in extremely poor taste and I can well understand Ziroc's reasoning for closing it. Granted, there have been plenty more SPAM-filled topics out there, but I don't think Ziroc would have closed it if it hadn't been for the "potty" language.

I admit I did not really pay close attention to this thread, since it seemed to me to be only just "so much fluff." I realize that as a moderator, I need to be a little more vigilant, especially on the longer threads where it's so easy to be caught up "in the heat of the moment" and not really think about what you're posting or where you are. That's really what I think happened in this case.

[Jerome]

Originally posted by Sazerac: While I can understand your disappointment, Lord Shield's comments were in extremely poor taste and I can well understand Ziroc's reasoning for closing it. Granted, there have been plenty more SPAM-filled topics out there, but I don't think Ziroc would have closed it if it hadn't been for the "potty" language. I admit I did not really pay close attention to this thread, since it seemed to me to be only just "so much fluff." I realize that as a moderator, I need to be a little more vigilant, especially on the longer threads where it's so easy to be caught up "in the heat of the moment" and not really think about what you're posting or where you are. That's really what I think happened in this case.

Point taken



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Jerome, Chairperson Of The International Fluffy Hunting Society

[Lavindathar]

I would just like to offer my opinion, and I respect Ziroc's right to close the thread.

Ok, Lord Shields comments.I do think they were slightly off,but nothing bad.If a child IS in there,he will not understand comments about vaseline,will he/she?

Although I didnt mind the comments,and I think Lord Shield did it for humerous purposes and not to offend anyone,I just think that the offending comments should have been deleted.

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[SSJ4Sephiroth]

believe me, young children know more about stuff like that than you would know lav. i should know, i interact with them on a daily basis (SAVE ME FROM THEM, PLEASE!) those comments didnt, in my opinion, warrant that the thread should have been closed. the offending posts should merely have been deleted.

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I'll kidnap ya fer 100, reprogram ya fer 300, and kill ya fer 500! Oh come one! I'll throw in the killin' fer 250!

[Lavindathar]

Originally posted by SSJ4Sephiroth: believe me, young children know more about stuff like that than you would know lav. i should know, i interact with them on a daily basis (SAVE ME FROM THEM, PLEASE!) those comments didnt, in my opinion, warrant that the thread should have been closed. the offending posts should merely have been deleted.

Well, I am 16, and my brother is 12.I know all about young kids,cos I am mates with everyone in my skool.I still dont think that they would really understand.And if they did,they was mature enough to realise it was a joke.

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[Sazerac]

Guys...I may be speaking for Ziroc here, but...

The point I was making is that Ziroc did consider the thread to be "spam"...now, I think he's rather lenient about most of the spam threads here, but when one gives him an excuse to shut it down, he's well within his right to do so. (He owns the place, after all!)

Lord Shield's comments weren't just on one particular post...they were throughout the entire last page of that thread. At least four or five individual posts with sexually explicit language, if not more. (I lost count). That's a LOT of stuff to go back and edit! Had it been just one post, it probably wouldn't have gotten out of hand.

On top of that, Ziroc said that others had e-mailed him complaining about the content of the thread. I have a feeling he probably wouldn't even have investigated the thread if it hadn't been for that.

Just to let you know...I knew nothing of this until I saw this post, then went and looked up the locked-up thread on the 2nd page to see what had happened.

A word of advice: In the future, if you see something like this happening, jump in and suggest calmly that the poster rethink what s/he posted. It can save a lot of heartache in the long run. Self-policing is always the best way. Most of the time, a person may be so caught up in the moment that they don't realize that others may be offended by what they're saying...a gentle word can bring things into focus quickly and then no one really gets hurt.

Okay, I've said my peace. I'm letting this drop.





[This message has been edited by Sazerac (edited 06-13-2001).]

[Larry_OHF]

I have never had a post deleted by anyone, yet.
I think that if we allow some stupid kid to learn a vulgar joke from us here, then that kid tells his brother or somebody, and the mother of the child overhears the joke and asks, "Where did you learn that horrible joke, and the kid says..."Ironworks Game Forum", and then that kid no longer is allowed Internet priveleges and he cannot get the game help he needed in the first place, because he is banned by his mommy from our site.
Maybe Ziroc gets e-mails from mothers all around the world and he is sick of it. (Especially if he don't understand the native language they may write in...) Maybe his wife reads the posts, and expects him to keep it as clean as she would like it to be...(And being newly-wed, I can understand if he obliges for at least the next year...then it don't matter anymore )
(Larry: Looks over his shoulder to see if his wife is reading this...)


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Loyal guardian of the OHF
Devoted member of the Ironworks
Only member of the Elite Bodyguard to Rikard (the fool that takes the bullet)
Ertai's back-up
Memnoch's chief look-out
Member of the Ancients club
Witness of the 4,000th post by Cloudposter

[Sazerac]

Originally posted by Larry_OHF: I have never had a post deleted by anyone, yet. I think that if we allow some stupid kid to learn a vulgar joke from us here, then that kid tells his brother or somebody, and the mother of the child overhears the joke and asks, "Where did you learn that horrible joke, and the kid says..."Ironworks Game Forum", and then that kid no longer is allowed Internet priveleges and he cannot get the game help he needed in the first place, because he is banned by his mommy from our site.

That would have to be a pretty stupid kid to admit he learned it from one of his favorite sites! I would have said "from school" and let it drop. What's Mommy going to do, ban the kid from school?