Negativity in PB
So… Time for some real talk..
One of the things we see in the Player Behavior board are responses that are overly negative, dismissive or combative. This is not cool, especially when the poster appears to be genuinely confused or seeking understanding.
Here are some examples of responses we’re looking at:
“Get rekt.”
“You deserved it. I’m glad you got banned.”
“People like you shouldn’t be a part of this community.”
“Bye. XD”
[slayer-pantheon-popcorn]
In the past, we have taken a relatively hands-off approach to moderating these responses, mostly because we think it’s a good thing when people speak their mind honestly and openly. Unfortunately, sometimes things get a little too “honest” and this tends to have an opposite, chilling effect. We will never know the number of people who look over these responses and think, “nope, I’m not getting treated like that.”
Player Behavior is poorer for it.
We have had a lot of discussion about what we can improve and are debating some changes to how we handle these kinds of posts, especially as we onboard new moderators, but we’re looking for feedback and suggestions before we move forward. Here's what we're considering:
- New guidelines for the Board
- Remove low-effort responses more frequently.
- Respond to "Don't Be a Jerk" violations more sternly and with an eye toward escalation.
- Removing the ability to downvote on the Player Behavior board or removing votes entirely.
On the flip side, we would like to start moderating low-effort posts in the other direction more aggressively, as well. This is part of our overall push to remove chaff from the Boards. It can be really daunting to log on, only to see a long string of unproductive rants.
Thank you.
