Throwback to 2008

Locking threads, editing people's threads. Banning people from forums. Seems like we're reliving the Bad Old Days.

Power corrupts.

Oh when the same handful of people keep posting the same garbage over and over in new threads.. can't really blame them from wanting to do some housekeeping.

Like if every dog that walked past your house took a poo, how long would it take before you went out there and scooped it up? Same thing here.. someone's gotta deal with all this poo.

The poo is the reason many of us keep coming back in the first place. We are the Forum Flies

Censorship/narrative control is definitely 2022.

Not that I like it.

People repost when they don't feel "heard." If there's no resolution, the same issues will be repeated. A pronouncement from authority generates anger and rebellion.

If you don't want open discussion, don't call it a "forum."

What did you think would happen?

How do you know someone got banned from the forums? Asking for a friend.

Moderators have long deleted software threads. These moderators include Zaztozia, Piestro, Roshen, RadarX, Roxxlyy, Dreamweaver, and Mepps. (To be clear, I am not questioning current team or moderators' but making it clear that precedent shows previous norms against those threads). More than anything, software threads end up directly or indirectly advertising the software - increasing the workload on Customer Service and GMs through misinformation or new adopters.

If they are reverting to SOE/Daybreak's longstanding policy on those kinds of threads, then the "feedback period" has reached a point of being unconstructive: dividing the community and spreading unrest.

This is a new forum rule I noticed on the Planetside 2 forums (published last week):

Daybreak is a private company (not protected by the First Amendment or legislation) and they can do whatever they want to ensure smooth, rules-based operation of business.

To be fair, most of the locked treads did end up going into unconstructive circles long before they were locked. We have a longer leash than we used to have.

And if you are wondering about posts that says "edited by accendo", it is sometimes because the 10 first posts from a new member needs to be manually accepted by the moderator. I think it is to prevent spam-bots.

It is not my impression that the mods are stricter than usual. Rather the opposite...

"GOVERNING LAW; JURISDICTION
The validity, construction, interpretation and legal effect of this Daybreak Terms of Service shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the judicial decisions and internal laws of the State of Delaware and the United States of America, without giving effect to any choice of law rule that would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the internal laws of the State of Delaware and the United States of America."

Private companies still have to follow the rule of law. Even if they are owned by a corporation that has public stocks when it comes to free speech it is the same as a private company.

The First Amendment (Free Speech clause) protects governmental speech, public forums (not privately owned), and public squares. For instance, the government cannot dictate who can and cannot speak in front of a city hall (barring time, place, and manner restrictions).

Private company or private venue speech restrictions includes privately-owned or leased sporting arenas, concert venues, and clubs. You simply cannot run on a sport field or jump on a stage because of "free speech rights."

Even US-based social media platforms with wide-reaching public interest such as Twitter and Facebook can regulate speech however they wish. That's why Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter is generating interest.

If Daybreak were nationalized (51% owned by the public or state), you could have a case.

We LawyerQuesting right now?

"This is The LawyerQuestingLawyer and what I have for you today is..."
/Most probably won't get that.

I agree. There's a sense of draconian heavyhandness in the moderation of late that is not respectful of the players that I find troubling. In the past, I've had my posts deleted without any explanation by the mods.

A current excuse for locking threads that is being used is that threads have become derailed. This is actually true. But the problem is that certain posters do their best to derail the thread. This is a manifestation of the Heckler's Veto where the problematic speech of another person is used as a pretence to shut the entire debate down.

Too often, a poster who comes here in good faith can get their thread derailed by bad actors. Instead of punishing the derailers, the mods take the easy route and step in and lock the thread. This is like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. This punishes the people who posted in good faith and rewards the hecklers.

It is regretable that the only time you see moderators post on these forums is when threads are locked. This has the unintended effect of making mods look like traffic cops that only show up when there's a problem. I would respect mods more if they actually participated in these forums on a daily basis and took our ideas and concerns directly to the developers. I believe that is in the actual job description of the forum moderators. Law enforcement is going through a similar evolution to more community policing. It's just good public relations.

Mods, please post more often. Take an interest in EverQuest and the players and let us get a chance to get to know you and you us. I think everyone would benefit if this were to happen. Thanks for listening.

I just don't like when he locks a thread asking for dev feedback and has no comment on the thread at all.

Devs don't respond to those types of threads.

I suspect many threads are locked due to duplication and subject matter. "Derail" is the catch-all phase at times.