IRC Moderation

[Veilan]

Ahoy,

in some of the recent threads, there's been complaints about IRC and that ALFA is enjoyed best if it's ignored.

Thus, the moderation team - Dorn, Fluffmonster, paazin and me - would like to invite a constructive discourse over whether it is desirable to change our handling of IRC, and if it can be improved in some fashion.

Up front I'll state that I'm somewhat skeptical that much is wrong with it - the idea that blue-eyed n00bs join our #alfa-players channel and then are taken aback by the rowdiness of it is a myth, as hardly anyone ever stumbles into the channel (we have a very recent exception - notable for it being the first time in ages). We do have spam bots stumbling in though, which has led us to take the channel off the general irc /list for now.

Furthermore, I think we're pretty clear, and backed up by Hialmar, that IRC is a place where ribbing and trolling are going to happen - and I think it's probably healthy for a community to have such a place.

Still, if you have some great ideas or suggestions how we can improve your ALFA IRC experience, let's hear it! Food for thought is always good, and if there is a genuine gripe with it, we'll try to address it to the best of our ability.

Cheers,

[Heero]

We need to appoint an IRC Admin. I self-nominate for this honor.

[Rumple C]

Basic respect is all thats called for I think. Most of us have that allready. As long as folks keep a lid on the language we should be allright. (esp around the ladies)

I have only seen one thing that I thought pushed the limits. Borderline griefing by one player against another by posting pics from in game of a player in a compromising situation (from in game). Enough to make the other player log out of chat, clearly upset. And repeated weeks later. Just a basic respect thing. If you wouldn't do it to your mother, dont do it to another person.

(And saying your mother would never do that is no excuse either).

[Veilan]

We need to appoint an IRC Admin. I self-nominate for this honor.

You'll have to wait 'til march:

D. Infrastructure Administrator—Vault, IRC, FTP, & Website.

March & September—Infrastructure Admin

Also you might wish to re-think the idea of it being an "honour" .

Cheers,

[Magile]

Basic respect is all thats called for I think. Most of us have that allready. As long as folks keep a lid on the language we should be allright. (esp around the ladies).

Uh... sexist much?

[JonnyJerny]

I'm cool with not dropping the F bomb every sentence. I'm just curious as to why it's so looked down upon to utter a bunch of words that was deemed "taboo" by society. They're just words. Every time I type in "fuck" does not mean I'm a step closer to ending up behind bars, or a step closer to psychopathy. I use them because I want to. It's as simple as that.

Whatever. It's cool. I'll keep it down if it's really that big of a deal.

[Burt]

I would like to suggest that we abandon #alfa-players to the filthy heathens, and adopt a new channel called #alfa-gamechat which is for honest god fearing ALFAns. This idea is so simple and effective I am surprised nobody has considered it before.

[Ithildur]

Typical responses; amusing, silly, irreverent... same old same old.

When people are having fun, the more vehement/mean spirited asshattery generally goes down and people are more willing to act civil; we had success today with Lou leading us in a rousing game of 'ALFA Truth or Dare' that exposed all and shocked many of us and successfully provided diversion from what truly ails ALFA - Curm's refusal to dress up as Santa and shower us with bounties IC and ooc while chortling like a dwarf during the holiday season.

I nominate Lou to be irc moderator/admin and call for more games of ALFA Truth or Dare. I want to hear all of your dirty shameful secret behavior related to ALFA.

More seriously, it's not unreasonable to ask people to be intentional about pulling back on some of the negativity/sarcasm. It's cute and amusing up to a certain extent, but there also are times to reign oneself in. Frustrated by something in ALFA or your depressing lonely RL? Log ingame and channel the energy towards recapturing fun; if not log into IRC and do the same. RPers are supposedly a creative bunch, so get creative rather than negative.

[Rumple C]

Basic respect is all thats called for I think. Most of us have that allready. As long as folks keep a lid on the language we should be allright. (esp around the ladies).

Uh... sexist much?

Neither chivalry nor sexism is dead.

[Castano]

The near constant griping about the failures of our project bugs me. Other than that IRC is fine.

[Swift]

The near constant griping about the failures of our project bugs me. Other than that IRC is fine.

You will no doubt be comforted to know that most of the doom and gloom regarding ALFA is done on the forums anyway

I see no issues. IRC is no for everyone. It never has been and it never will be. That should be ok. As someone who idles in the channel 24/7, the actual flare ups seem to be rare. The stigma from years ago still sticks for those that rarely visit, though.

[CloudDancing]

#alfa

is for general alfas past and present to shoot the breeze on any topic they feel prone to share. If you notice it is a popular haunt for people who Alfa made buddies and want to keep their long winded political rants out of gaming related chat most responsibly.

#alfa-players

is for players that play and who want advice on stats, whatever, good strokes, bad strokes,and in general cuddly supports for others RP in alfa. On occasion that breaks down due to misunderstandings that only happen in a text based format of communications.

There are also faction specific chats where players of a certain faction get to talk about faction issues w/o meta. My experience is some of those channels turn into a backhanded kipe-fest about other players and their skills. This was to the point a player contacted me as a Dm and told me they were quitting because the faction group was so nasty about the rest of alfa that they simply did not want to associate with those people.

[t-ice]

There are also faction specific chats where players of a certain faction get to talk about faction issues w/o meta. My experience is some of those channels turn into a backhanded kipe-fest about other players and their skills. This was to the point a player contacted me as a Dm and told me they were quitting because the faction group was so nasty about the rest of alfa that they simply did not want to associate with those people.

Not the first time something like this happens with "splinter groups" making essentially their own game inside the (mechanistic) tent offered, and reveling in hating on the rest. (The worst kind I've come up with was from SA) Really makes me wish ALFA would simply adopt a "everything is public" stance among groups of peers. (There needs to be distinction between players/DMs/Admins of course). Transparency is the only medicine to create honesty and civility.

We can't prevent people from creating their own private channels, nor should we, but we can not provide dark corners for malice to fester in our own tent (= servers & forums). Which means "everything you input into a server is public (among DMs if you're a DM, among players if you're a player)".

[Veilan]

Good input so far, thanks!

Let's see...

I have only seen one thing that I thought pushed the limits. Borderline griefing by one player against another by posting pics from in game of a player in a compromising situation (from in game). Enough to make the other player log out of chat, clearly upset. And repeated weeks later.

Thanks for making us aware, I'm going to have a talk about that behaviour with the user in question. If you're convinced it was griefing however, you should contact an AR or talk to the PA.

Basic respect is all thats called for I think. Most of us have that allready. As long as folks keep a lid on the language we should be allright. (esp around the ladies).

Uh... sexist much?

Indeed - doubly sexist. Inferring men don't need to be protected, and inferring women might be less capable of dealing with it. Tsk tsk tsk... you'll have to act more presidential than that now, sir .

I'm cool with not dropping the F bomb every sentence. I'm just curious as to why it's so looked down upon to utter a bunch of words that was deemed "taboo" by society. They're just words. Every time I type in "fuck" does not mean I'm a step closer to ending up behind bars, or a step closer to psychopathy. I use them because I want to. It's as simple as that.

Whatever. It's cool. I'll keep it down if it's really that big of a deal.

I personally have no real issue with the "f word". It's just a word adults use to express how they feel and add emphasis. As long as it's not getting too bad, I'm sure no moderator will take a beef with it - though, we can't force everyone to share the same sensitivities, and don't want to. If it upsets folks, tone it down a little. Besides, it's only good fun and emphasis when you only use it occasionally to add spice anyway . So, as usual, common sense.

I would like to suggest that we abandon #alfa-players to the filthy heathens, and adopt a new channel called #alfa-gamechat which is for honest god fearing ALFAns. This idea is so simple and effective I am surprised nobody has considered it before.

I'll leave Hialmar to answer this one. Probably with an f-word .

The near constant griping about the failures of our project bugs me. Other than that IRC is fine.

I know what you mean, but it comes in seasons and cycles. Let people rant and vent if it makes them feel better, I don't think anyone would really want to suggest moderating people expressing their opinions.

There are also faction specific chats where players of a certain faction get to talk about faction issues w/o meta. My experience is some of those channels turn into a backhanded kipe-fest about other players and their skills. This was to the point a player contacted me as a Dm and told me they were quitting because the faction group was so nasty about the rest of alfa that they simply did not want to associate with those people.

Not the first time something like this happens with "splinter groups" making essentially their own game inside the (mechanistic) tent offered, and reveling in hating on the rest. (The worst kind I've come up with was from SA) Really makes me wish ALFA would simply adopt a "everything is public" stance among groups of peers. (There needs to be distinction between players/DMs/Admins of course). Transparency is the only medicine to create honesty and civility.

We can't prevent people from creating their own private channels, nor should we, but we can not provide dark corners for malice to fester in our own tent (= servers & forums). Which means "everything you input into a server is public (among DMs if you're a DM, among players if you're a player)".

Well, that's something above my current paygrade, but thanks for your suggestion - I'll forward your suggestion to the Admins to mull.

Keep it coming, feedback keeps the wheels in motion.

Cheers,

[Ithildur]

There are also faction specific chats where players of a certain faction get to talk about faction issues w/o meta. My experience is some of those channels turn into a backhanded kipe-fest about other players and their skills. This was to the point a player contacted me as a Dm and told me they were quitting because the faction group was so nasty about the rest of alfa that they simply did not want to associate with those people.

Sad, but what's even sadder is that this isn't surprising.

Not so much a statement about ALFA as much as people sometimes.