I figured this would be a bit of a slam dunk response, given everything else you may have had to deal with recently.
Also: why can I never, ever, ever get a straight response on the site owners? The upcoming shift has me anxious that posters will have no recourse if / when moderation gets out of hand.
I unfortunately do not have an answer at this time. Any moderator should be able to reach the site owners in the case of an emergency on Discord, however, so you will still have an avenue.
You like to compare this site to a 21st century physical store, bob: if you felt mistreated by a GM at say Target or Walmart, is "well you're not allowed to call corporate, but you can talk to another manager" really the best answer?
It certainly is not my preferred answer, but unfortunately is the only one I have to give. The owners prefer to have messages filtered through the moderation staff, so as to not be overly inundated with tickets that are best handled by the content staff. Even if I were to give you their usernames on MTGS (a giant breach of their trust in me), it would do little good, as they dont regularly visit this site - they have quite a few sites, and tend to focus more on 'managing the managers' ie, us, the moderators. We have a few avenues to reach them, such as Discord, but these are not open to the public.
Unlike a big box store, we don't have a customer service call center to handle and direct tickets - we have a volunteer workforce of moderators, which has unfortunately gotten smaller as time has gone on. My various efforts to seek new blood have all ended in some sort of failure.
The only other resource I can direct you to, is that we are owned (our "corporate") by MagicFind (which you can see on the footer of every page) with the logo directing you to https://www.magicfind.us/ . This is our "corporate" if you will.
Is there no longer a mod for the Rumor Mill? Or someone who can sub in when the main mods / admins are conspicuously absent for the better part of a week during spoiler season? The lack of a response for some truly asinine behavior is validating some posters that, in my mind, desperately need a time out.
That's why I asked about a sub. I assume when neither you nor Shadow step in that you're taking care of personal business, as is perfectly reasonable (and expected), but is there some kind of procedure for tapping in a mod from another forum and saying "Hey, I'll be out for a few days - can you look after this?"? Spoiler season is almost certainly the one time you don't want to leave a given forum unattended, as appeared to be the case since Tuesday.
Is there a repository of active mods? A list of names? I've been struggling to get into contact with anyone going on 3 weeks now, and I'm about to just send messages to everyone if that's what it takes to get a response.
I'm getting the impression MTGS is dead now, effectively. Zero moderator presence, no response. What happens when the wider forum population discovers they can do whatever they want now, without repercussion? How do the site owners feels about all of this?
If something bothers you report it, usually gets dealt with sooner or later if its relevant.
It's not. The site admin just admitted, via PM, that he is deliberately avoiding his site responsibilities and ignoring legitimate complaints out of petty, personal grievances. I followed the rules and waited for a response for 5 weeks, patiently, and only got a response after suggesting that I would make the contents of the PM chain public. Even then, the response boiled down to "I'm not going to do what I'm supposed to because it's you," after admonishing me for following the procedure that he himself had set.
Shadowlancer is abusing his role as admin, which is almost exactly what I was afraid would happen when bob stepped down. I was promised recourse - that other mods would step in correct rogue leadership, or at least report it upwards to the site owners - but I have yet to see any transparency on that front.
If something like a bot spams or some stuff is a problem, report it and it gets dealt with at some point.
Thats to quite a degree all thats needed.
Rumor Mill and other parts have some healthy discussions and nothing really got out of hand for quite some time, so that is also fine.
Maybe what you ask for is a overzealous flame wielding crusader for your own cause ?
But what good does that bring ?
Site seems quite fine in my perspective as it is, its a hub for Rumor Mill as its by far, most relevant section and people check in regularly, it full fills that purpose and moderators really just have to act if something gets out of hand, which it simply is not at the moment.
Could moderators be full time tracking and working the forum ? Sure ... but thats simply unrealistic and it doesnt really benefit much anyway, as long as the majority of people is capable to be reasonable (and for quite some time, nothing out of the ordinary came up).
----
"Threatening" a person to make a private discussion public is low blow that will not provide you with trust or help, so i cant fathom how you thought thats a good idea to begin with.
Could moderators be full time tracking and working the forum ? Sure ... but thats simply unrealistic and it doesnt really benefit much anyway, as long as the majority of people is capable to be reasonable (and for quite some time, nothing out of the ordinary came up).
There's a huge difference between not working a forum full time, and waiting 5 weeks to manage a simple response, and only then after being cajoled into doing the job they volunteered for. This wasn't accidentally sidelined because mods have real lives, it was deliberately ignored, and they admitted as much.
"Threatening" a person to make a private discussion public is low blow that will not provide you with trust or help, so i cant fathom how you thought thats a good idea to begin with.
It's called simple accountability. People in positions of power and authority are expected to act in a manner that is beyond reproach; if they're concerned about their conduct becoming public, they should change their conduct.
This site is dead. I now avoid it except to talk story. The mods insufficiently moderate n be latent hate here.
From the usual customers of course.
Give us some examples.
Compared to last year its tremendously more fair by now in the general rumor mill at least.
People at least "try" to keep politics out of the discussions and keep it on topic of the game, so that is just plain fine.
The occasional comment is not blown up, so stuff calms down on its own.
People i report get dealt with in time, so i cant support the claim moderators dont act.
People feel more comfortable chatting on Discord and private Facebook groups rather than put up with Mods and harsh penalty systems that won't allow them to speak their mind freely. I've been doxxed, gas lit, back stabbed, and shadow banned on various Message Board Forums for my personal opinions in the last 2 years since the pandemic started. Did I enjoy it? No. It's just more proof that people only want to hear what sounds good to them instead of being able to handle the criticism of certain topics and subject matters that makes them feel the most uncomfortable. We've conditioned ourselves as a society to be hypersensitive to just about everything. So instead of engaging a healthy debate with these people they punish them by removing their platform to communicate and speak with. This is why we're still stuck within the echo chamber mentality Social Media created with Cancel Culture.
This is also why you should NEVER take the power and authority that Mods have for granted cause chances are you're going to be excommunicated from the tribe especially without warning. It also depends on how well you behave in these communities where friction can happen between those who blindly go along with the crowd and those who aren't afraid to speak their truth to power. Guess who gets punished more? The ones who disobey the hive mind mentality of others and is accused of being a conspiracy theorist or heretic. Part of the reason why there's so many problems in our society right now is because people want to "cancel" others instead of politely talking things over with them to solve problems through direct communication. Because of that Message Board Forum Mods have pressured people to use other online platforms to communicate with without fear of being punished for it.
When you add someone on Social Media especially If you're a MTG player then you got to be REALLY careful because you don't know this person in public or what their agenda is and they can easily betray you without a second thought. This is also another reason why you shouldn't use your Facebook and Twitter outside of contacting customer support services If the company's website doesn't have a ticket system. When a MTG player adds you on Social Media it just means that they want to ruin your life without going to court as a means of avoiding potential lawsuits or what not. Do I think it's fair? No of course I don't. Granted I actually avoided creating a Facebook and Twitter account for this very reason because you can't really trust anybody unless you know them personally in public or If they have a good track record of being a good person. That's also a part of the "Wild West" nature of the Internet.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
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Also: why can I never, ever, ever get a straight response on the site owners? The upcoming shift has me anxious that posters will have no recourse if / when moderation gets out of hand.
---
#BLM
#DefundThePolice
Retired EDH - Tibor and Lumia | [PR]Nemata |Ramirez dePietro | [C]Edric | Riku | Jenara | Lazav | Heliod | Daxos | Roon | Kozilek
You like to compare this site to a 21st century physical store, bob: if you felt mistreated by a GM at say Target or Walmart, is "well you're not allowed to call corporate, but you can talk to another manager" really the best answer?
---
#BLM
#DefundThePolice
Unlike a big box store, we don't have a customer service call center to handle and direct tickets - we have a volunteer workforce of moderators, which has unfortunately gotten smaller as time has gone on. My various efforts to seek new blood have all ended in some sort of failure.
The only other resource I can direct you to, is that we are owned (our "corporate") by MagicFind (which you can see on the footer of every page) with the logo directing you to https://www.magicfind.us/ . This is our "corporate" if you will.
Retired EDH - Tibor and Lumia | [PR]Nemata |Ramirez dePietro | [C]Edric | Riku | Jenara | Lazav | Heliod | Daxos | Roon | Kozilek
support@magicfind.us
---
#BLM
#DefundThePolice
Retired EDH - Tibor and Lumia | [PR]Nemata |Ramirez dePietro | [C]Edric | Riku | Jenara | Lazav | Heliod | Daxos | Roon | Kozilek
---
#BLM
#DefundThePolice
Thank you.
---
#BLM
#DefundThePolice
---
#BLM
#DefundThePolice
If something bothers you report it, usually gets dealt with sooner or later if its relevant.
WUBRG#BlackLotusMatterWUBRG
👮👮👮 #BlueLivesMatter 👮👮👮
It's not. The site admin just admitted, via PM, that he is deliberately avoiding his site responsibilities and ignoring legitimate complaints out of petty, personal grievances. I followed the rules and waited for a response for 5 weeks, patiently, and only got a response after suggesting that I would make the contents of the PM chain public. Even then, the response boiled down to "I'm not going to do what I'm supposed to because it's you," after admonishing me for following the procedure that he himself had set.
Shadowlancer is abusing his role as admin, which is almost exactly what I was afraid would happen when bob stepped down. I was promised recourse - that other mods would step in correct rogue leadership, or at least report it upwards to the site owners - but I have yet to see any transparency on that front.
---
#BLM
#DefundThePolice
If something like a bot spams or some stuff is a problem, report it and it gets dealt with at some point.
Thats to quite a degree all thats needed.
Rumor Mill and other parts have some healthy discussions and nothing really got out of hand for quite some time, so that is also fine.
Maybe what you ask for is a overzealous flame wielding crusader for your own cause ?
But what good does that bring ?
Site seems quite fine in my perspective as it is, its a hub for Rumor Mill as its by far, most relevant section and people check in regularly, it full fills that purpose and moderators really just have to act if something gets out of hand, which it simply is not at the moment.
Could moderators be full time tracking and working the forum ? Sure ... but thats simply unrealistic and it doesnt really benefit much anyway, as long as the majority of people is capable to be reasonable (and for quite some time, nothing out of the ordinary came up).
----
"Threatening" a person to make a private discussion public is low blow that will not provide you with trust or help, so i cant fathom how you thought thats a good idea to begin with.
WUBRG#BlackLotusMatterWUBRG
👮👮👮 #BlueLivesMatter 👮👮👮
There's a huge difference between not working a forum full time, and waiting 5 weeks to manage a simple response, and only then after being cajoled into doing the job they volunteered for. This wasn't accidentally sidelined because mods have real lives, it was deliberately ignored, and they admitted as much.
It's called simple accountability. People in positions of power and authority are expected to act in a manner that is beyond reproach; if they're concerned about their conduct becoming public, they should change their conduct.
---
#BLM
#DefundThePolice
---
#BLM
#DefundThePolice
From the usual customers of course.
The Vorthos community will await the consequences of the Eldrazi Titans' deaths/sealing. We will keep the watch.
“The wind whispers, ‘come home,’ but I cannot.”
— Teferi
Give us some examples.
Compared to last year its tremendously more fair by now in the general rumor mill at least.
People at least "try" to keep politics out of the discussions and keep it on topic of the game, so that is just plain fine.
The occasional comment is not blown up, so stuff calms down on its own.
People i report get dealt with in time, so i cant support the claim moderators dont act.
WUBRG#BlackLotusMatterWUBRG
👮👮👮 #BlueLivesMatter 👮👮👮
This is also why you should NEVER take the power and authority that Mods have for granted cause chances are you're going to be excommunicated from the tribe especially without warning. It also depends on how well you behave in these communities where friction can happen between those who blindly go along with the crowd and those who aren't afraid to speak their truth to power. Guess who gets punished more? The ones who disobey the hive mind mentality of others and is accused of being a conspiracy theorist or heretic. Part of the reason why there's so many problems in our society right now is because people want to "cancel" others instead of politely talking things over with them to solve problems through direct communication. Because of that Message Board Forum Mods have pressured people to use other online platforms to communicate with without fear of being punished for it.
When you add someone on Social Media especially If you're a MTG player then you got to be REALLY careful because you don't know this person in public or what their agenda is and they can easily betray you without a second thought. This is also another reason why you shouldn't use your Facebook and Twitter outside of contacting customer support services If the company's website doesn't have a ticket system. When a MTG player adds you on Social Media it just means that they want to ruin your life without going to court as a means of avoiding potential lawsuits or what not. Do I think it's fair? No of course I don't. Granted I actually avoided creating a Facebook and Twitter account for this very reason because you can't really trust anybody unless you know them personally in public or If they have a good track record of being a good person. That's also a part of the "Wild West" nature of the Internet.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta