Cyranix and his moderating style (A group of complaints)

[ThatHIppyMan]

Allright, first off, we'll start with the newest example of moderating fail.
http://www.fun-motion.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1055
Here, we are talking about an offtopic section.
All is going as well as a complaint thread can be. Suddenly, here comes Cyranix with a horribly unmod-like post "If you want an off-topic area so badly, use the chat that Maltor set up."
In response, I stated that a chatroom =/= forum and listed reasons why a forum would be more benificial. Relys agreed and brought up the fact that he got into some trouble by saying that AJJecko was some "fuck" from 4chan. Cyranix felt "fuck" warrented a warning. After I made my post and Relys made his, I got a wonderful little PM from Cyranix

Following your comment in the thread about an off-topic board, I'm curious to know what you mean about losing reputation points. I do my part in keeping things friendly, on-topic, and spam-free and when I find time to post on physics topics I think I post sensibly. I'm not the type to pick fights with anyone.

If you take issue with something that I'm doing, let me know what the problem is. It's silly to use the boards to "call me out", especially when I have made it clear that I am always open to discussion.
Way to be offtopic, Cyranix. You ignore my post about how a forum is better than a chatroom, but you PM me when your reputation is brought into the equation. I thought mods were supposed to care about the forum more than their e-reputation.
After that being posted, the floor is open. Any suggestion/complaint/addition goes. I'll most likely add your opinions to this post.

[Cyranix]

The PM was not about my e-reputation. It directly relates to my actions as a moderator and whether they serve the community. That said, reputation is important in a small sense -- in that users need to feel that they can trust a moderator to make sound decisions, admit and correct mistakes, and treat all users fairly. I welcome this thread as an opportunity to improve, and I thank the users who have already discussed issues with me (mostly by PM) in order to reach an accord.

I won't check this thread again until much later tonight, in order to let any concerned users have their chance to speak without my presence.

[ThatHIppyMan]

Thats great, Cyranix. Now we can have those issues they have with you recorded and posted.

[Relys]

Well, I'm fine with everything now, but since there's a entire topic devoted to his moderating I might as well post our private conversation. (To see how everything went).

The topic that I was warned on:

http://www.fun-motion.com/forums/showthread.php?p=22881#post22881

The forum posts:

http://www.fun-motion.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1055

I noticed that. I got a warning :eyetwitch: for saying Ajjeko was some "fuck" from 4chan or the OIFY.. Cyranix must clearly not know what those horrible dark places on the internet are. I don't casually swear to an extreme extent (And I NEVER swear in real life). The word fit the case, he insulted us, and put up horrible shock pictures. Calling him a "fuck" (As in being "fucked up in the head"), was perfectly justifiable... I have never, I repeat, never ever gotten a "warning" on a board (And I go to a lot of them). I wasn't even breaking any board rules or TOS. :/

So because all other message boards are full of junk, this one has to be? That seems like odd reasoning. At any rate, your use of the word "fuck" has been restored to its original position. I have no problem with admitting a mistake, and I'm okay with letting that go. The "warning" that you're up in arms about is just a reminder to be careful with your language; it's not a permanent stain on your record.

If you have a problem with my decisions as a moderator, send a PM or create a separate topic. If you feel that perpetuating a slight against me in your signature is the most mature way to handle your feelings, so be it... but never let it be said that I haven't made myself available for discussion and compromise.

That said, this thread is about the suggestion for an off-topic board. Further posts not related to the thread's topic will be removed, as is SOP for all threads.

The PM's:


Him:
"Dear Relys,

You have received a warning at Fun-Motion Physics Games Forum.

http://www.fun-motion.com/forums/showthread.php?p=22881

Reason:
-------
Inappropriate Language

You are receiving this message in regard to your participation in the thread "Hacking."

People are getting a little too accustomed to casual swearing. Forum norms state that swearing should be incredibly limited. There's no need for gratuitous cursing just because "all the cool kids are doing it".
-------

Warnings serve as a reminder to you of the forum's rules, which you are expected to understand and follow.

All the best,
Fun-Motion Physics Games Forum"

Him:
"I'm sending this PM to you as a show of good faith. Please reply with whatever complaints you have. I am a fairly strict moderator because I have high expectations for what kind of place Fun-Motion can be, but I am reasonable when given the opportunity.

Meet me halfway and let's discuss this."

Me:
"Ok, I'm cool with you now. But, I don't think you still fully understand my meaning.

The OIFY, is a dark part of facepunch studios. Usually filled with obscene porn and /b/tards. The members at facepunch post a lot of topics to this site, so it's pretty well known. OIFYers sometimes go on "raids" of other sites and spam/post nasty things.

4chan is a image board, that is slightly less worse. /b/ is the random section. There's lots of spamming of other sites there too.

Both are full of sick twisted people, and I was saying he was probably one of them that saw a some link of the frequently posted topics about physics games, that most of the time link to fun-motion.

Next time you want to lean more about the general internet, it's customs and memes. Please visit www.google.com"

Him:
"I knew about 4chan but hadn't heard about OIFY. If you know of people who are just here to raid, spam, or harass users, please let a mod know (whether it's me or anyone else).

Although memes are an integral part of the Internet experience, Fun-Motion does have a degree of control over itself. Through Matthew, the moderation team, and the general will of the users, this place can be an oasis from all the unwanted junk that's out there.

I reviewed the Forum Guidelines post and found that, yes, I was the one out of line in editing your post. The stipulation for vulgar language is that it is excessive or continued, and yours was isolated and (to an extent) justified by intense emotion.

All the same, I'd rather make a mistake on my end and have someone call me on it (politely!) instead of letting things go too often. So yeah -- just send a note, and I'll review my own moderating actions. And, of course, if I stick by a decision that you really find fault with, you're welcome to PM the other members of the moderation team; we'd discuss the issue on the Moderators board and reach a consensus about how to handle things.

Whew, that's far too long for a PM. Thanks for your concern; it helps me be a better mod, thus helping the community too.

Enjoy the boards,
Cyranix"

Me:
"Ok, thanks!:D


Oh wait, just a second!

I HAVE PROOF HE'S FROM FACEPUNCH AND THE OIFY!

I didn't see this message in my PM's. (From last month).

It says "OH GOD UNCLE PETE" which is a meme that was started on facepunch recently..

http://forums.facepunchstudios.com/showthread.php?t=400916&page=1"

So, it turns out the Ajjeko was from facepunch. (I didn't put two and two together at the time of his ban). Cyranix was very nice about everything and I don't have any sore feelings (Besides the waste of time lol).

[Ryu Hinote]

So, it turns out the Ajjeko was from facepunch. (I didn't put two and two together at the time of his ban). Cyranix was very nice about everything and I don't have any sore feelings (Besides the waste of time lol).

I thought AJJeko was also from /b/? He made that fresh prince thread, wich was a meme on 4chan. Oh well.
I'm also going to state that this argument really has nothing to do with me because Cyranix and I have never really had any misunderstandings. So, I'm going to stay out of this and let the 3 of you work it out!

[Sokuto]

You guys can think what you want about Cyranix, but personally, I think he's an excellent mod. I've never been modded in any forum, but he does his job, and he does it damn well.

Cheers to you, Cyranix, and all the other mods. This place would be like Hell without you guys.

[Ryu Hinote]

You guys can think what you want about Cyranix, but personally, I think he's an excellent mod. I've never been modded in any forum, but he does his job, and he does it damn well.

Cheers to you, Cyranix, and all the other mods. This place would be like Hell without you guys.

Yeah, most other forums are already a hell like place. It usually happens when the mod-to-people ratio is very unbalanced.
This is practically one of the best communities on the internet!

[CX1329]

Tell me something, do you take the Internet seriously? Is it serious business for you?

Cyranix is a good mod. Saying someone is a "fuck" from somewhere is considered to be flaming on most message boards of good repute, and well worthy of a yellow card. There's no room for contest. Now stop taking the Internet so seriously.

[ThatHIppyMan]

weet, seems like Cyranix is pretty well liked here.
Thanks guys

[CX1329]

It's nothing personal, though. I don't know Cyranix very well. I'm speaking strictly professionally when I say he's a good mod and made the right decision. I'll disagree with any mod when I find their actions to be questionable, but not in this case.

[Kurrus]

Cyranix is one of the best mods I've ever seen anywhere in a long time, kthxbai, period, I am right.

[Demean]

Cyranix is a big silly, guy with a silly avatar.

AWHEEEEEEAAAGGGG.

[oxology]

his avatar sorta creeps me out:)

[Cyranix]

Big noses are creepy, I'll admit. But it's in homage to Cyrano de Bergerac (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrano_de_Bergerac_%28play%29), a personal hero of my childhood, for reasons that often hold true today.

[668.5]

I feel left out. I always miss the fun stuff here D:

[razer]

Cyranix is one of the most...different (as in BAD) mods I've ever seen anywhere in a long time, kthxbai, period, I am right.
Edited :D 1234567890

[Christcross9]

I H8 Cyrinx!!,naaa im just kidding hes a Friggn great mod,chears to u man XD

[GreyMario]

I can't see why the hell calling the kettle black ONCE warrants an instant warning.

But that's just me. Carry on with your complaining and complimenting and occasional 4chan bashing, please.

[Ghos7Soldier]

Wow, when mods are picked for the forum..give it less than 5 months and complaints rise.

Don't know the situation, but I'd rather not know.

[Jokker]

This is exactly the same reason I turned down the mod position. Think this, only ten times worse.

Also, will everyone please stop with the "I H8 JUU LOLJK I LUV JUU" posts? If you have a complaint, say it, if you don't, please don't post just for the sake of it. This thread is about issues with Cyranix, not about how you feel about his moderating in general. Those things can be sent via PM or something. :/



Also, just an opinion from me, but calling someone a "fuck" most times is a good thing. Because if they get called a "fuck", they probably deserve worse than a single word, and simply calling them one word isn't that bad.

Also, hits from search engines people! Did you forget that?! =o

[oxology]

I think cryanix was in the right, we don't need people bashing other members, even if they were banned, and besides, it was a gentle warning, it's not like he banned you!

[CX1329]

Also, just an opinion from me, but calling someone a "fuck" most times is a good thing. Because if they get called a "fuck", they probably deserve worse than a single word, and simply calling them one word isn't that bad.


No. The wrong actions of others do not justify your own. It's flaming, and will always be punished, regardless of the circumstances. If someone does something wrong, leave it to the mods to take action, or you'll only be adding to it and making mods have the extra work of giving you a warning/ban too.

I can't see why the hell calling the kettle black ONCE warrants an instant warning.

But that's just me. Carry on with your complaining and complimenting and occasional 4chan bashing, please.

Your reasoning is flawed. Like I said above, flaming is flaming. For instance, it doesn't make it any more acceptable if you call someone a "gay faggot" if the person is, in fact, gay. It's still an insult.

[muffinmonkey]

I'm still new here but I really think Cyranix is one of the best mods about

I came from the DRFF (well, I kind of ran away) under the tyrannical fist of WJ and so was so surprised when I came here and found a lovely little forum with an excellent (and most importantly discrete) mod(s?) where everyone is nice to everyone else and we can enjoy some physics games and some chat and stuff. Until I saw this thread I couldn't even tell you Cyranix was a mod and I think that is a major part of the job.

so I say BRAVO TO ALL INVOLVED

[Relys]

No. The wrong actions of others do not justify your own. It's flaming, and will always be punished, regardless of the circumstances. If someone does something wrong, leave it to the mods to take action, or you'll only be adding to it and making mods have the extra work of giving you a warning/ban too.

Why should something be prosecuted if it's not a rule? Are you saying we should fallow some moral law of yours?

Your reasoning is flawed. Like I said above, flaming is flaming. For instance, it doesn't make it any more acceptable if you call someone a "gay faggot" if the person is, in fact, gay. It's still an insult.

That doesn't mean we can't call him one if he's acting up, even if he's not gay. I don't think we need to turn this place into a church to bring salvation and love to all the biased jerks on the internet...

[CX1329]

Why should something be prosecuted if it's not a rule? Are you saying we should fallow some moral law of yours?



That doesn't mean we can't call him one if he's acting up, even if he's not gay. I don't think we need to turn this place into a church to bring salvation and love to all the biased jerks on the internet...


1 - No, it is a rule. You might have noticed the "BE CIVIL" rule if you had actually bothered to read them. In addition, EVERY message board I know has a "NO FLAMING" rule on it.

2 - It's not about values, it's about rules. You break a rule, you get a warning or a ban, simple as that.

You really should have the common sense to think logically before discussing RULES which will always be enforced, with no exceptions whatsoever. If you don't like it, you are free to leave the message board, but if you continue to post, you are obligated to abide by these rules, willingly or not. You don't have to like the rules, they're there to be enforced, and they will be.

You know another word for a set of rules? "Terms of Use". Which means that in order to use the privilege of posting on this message board, you have to agree to a contract. Fun-Motion has its own, and it is in no way open to emotional or personal interpretations. If the Pope came here and flamed an user, he would get warned and/or banned.

Keep in mind that this is nothing personal, I am just stating facts, so that you don't stay under the illusion that rules can be enforced on some, but not on others. You wouldn't get away with killing a murderer in real life, you won't get away with flaming a rule breaker on this message board.

[668.5]

Alright, Now I'm a little, just a little bit irratated.

Cyranix takes his moderating too seriously. He told me to shorten my signature because it was too big, but I noticed other people had bigger signatures and they didn't have to change theirs.

Now, he edited my 300th post, and changed the "300th POST" Text from Size 7 to Size 3 or something. Why? I'm obviously breaking a rule if I post in SIZE 7.

[Cyranix]

From the Forum Guidelines (http://fun-motion.com/forums/showthread.php?t=804) sticky:

Avoid forum fouls.
Certain forum actions serve no purpose other than to distract and frustrate others. These are highly discouraged, and they include (but are not limited to) the use of the following: over-sized signatures, over-sized fonts, all caps, alternating caps, cycled bold/italics/underlining, rainbow colors, scrolling, egregious multiple posting, and ultra-deep quoting. (Truly bizarre formatting, spelling, and grammar are also discouraged.) Please fix your posts using the Edit function if they contain such fouls.

Using huge fonts is distracting in the same way that shouting is distracting during a casual conversation. I don't feel that it's too much to ask that we keep this place pleasant for all users and restrain ourselves from doing things that don't add to the value or content of the conversation (including forum fouls).

I pick up on oversized signatures when they take up about 1/4 of my screen's height; that comes out to about 10 lines of text. For comparison, signatures are cut off at 100px high on the 1UP boards. 1/4 of a screen's height is a very generous size, but we ask that no one abuse the feature.

I am not on here 24/7, nor am I the only moderator. I fix what I can fix; if I miss something at first, I hope that one of the other mods will pick up on it. If you feel that you have been unfairly targeted or picked on, please contact me or another member of the moderation team by PM. You're welcome to report a post or a user if you feel that they are violating a rule and no one has detected it. I want to assure everyone that I do not hold grudges and I treat every action purely on a case-by-case basis.

[CX1329]

Better yet, if someone has an oversized signature, report any of their posts and type "oversized signature" as the reason for reporting. All the moderators will be alerted, and will then be able to contact the person as soon as possible.

Seriously, people, you have no reason to complain if you're breaking the rules. We give everyone a fair treatment on a case-by-case basis, like Cyranix said. If you see something wrong, report the person or post. Do your part in helping the forum too, don't just come here and complain about a rule you broke.

[668.5]

If size 7 is against the rules, why can I use it?

Why?

Also, My signature was not oversized.

It was about the size of half this post.

[Cyranix]

If size 7 is against the rules, why can I use it?
There are lots of things in life that that you can do even though they are against the rules. We assume that you can exercise self-control. Although shouting in the middle of a conversation only violates social rules of polite conduct -- unlike software/music/movie piracy or murder, which you can still do even though they are in violation of laws -- we will remove material in accordance with aforementioned rules and guidelines. (I'm leaving your size 7 text in so that people can see how it is visually disruptive, and how people use it in a way that doesn't contribute value to a post.) End of story.

Also, My signature was not oversized. It was about the size of half this post.
Then change it back.

[668.5]

No, that's something different.

That's like a cop offering you to shoot someone in the head.

[ThatHIppyMan]

Well, in a heated debate like this, I feel as though this is all my fault.
Sweet.
Anyways, stop treating the internet like serious business, Cyranix. Yes, you're a mod, people look up to you and will always not like your moderating style. Our current beef with you is that you are far, far too serious about what you do. You moderate a so-so sized forum about physics games that doesn't even have a general board. Take a break and just act like a normal member for a bit instead of barging into a thread like a SWAT team barging into a meth lab during a hostage situation in Iraq while Hitler provokes the said SWAT team through the window with a burning American flag.
EDIT:Font size 7 isn't annoying nor is it disruptive. Its only annoying if an entire, 100 word post is that way. Its only disruptive if its entirly off-topic and consists only of dirty words (Can we even say anything mildly "dirty" at this point?)

[GreyMario]

(Can we even say anything mildly "dirty" at this point?)

This (http://www.fun-motion.com/forums/showpost.php?p=24917&postcount=15) should answer your question... or at least it's how rocketeer would answer it.

<_<

[Cyranix]

Yes, you're a mod, people look up to you and will always not like your moderating style. Our current beef with you is that you are far, far too serious about what you do.

I guess that sums it up pretty well. I am serious about upholding well-established and reasonable rules, and it's up to you to decide whether that's a bad trait for a moderator to have. The irony of a serious thread about how I take things too seriously isn't lost on me, however.

I'm glad that this was all discussed openly. I now know your positions on things, and you know mine: I will do my best to fairly enforce stated rules and guidelines when users lack the self-control to follow them on their own. It is up to each individual to choose how he will feel about his post getting moderated, but the ground rules have been established to ensure that the most people get the most utility out of their forum experience. Of course I don't ask that everyone like me, but it is irksome to have people complain about moderator actions that fall well within the purview of our job.

This thread has revealed -- according to the positive and negative testimonials within it -- that the source of the tension is mostly personal opinion regarding individual instances of moderation, rather than a well-defined pattern of unfairness or neglect of responsibility. When an individual has questions, comments, or concerns about moderating decisions, the appropriate response is to send a PM to one or more members of the moderating team. Discussion will be conducted on a private, case-by-case basis.

The air has been cleared, and so this thread has served its purpose fully. Please continue to enjoy the Fun-Motion forum and website, and know that the moderation team is responsive to all polite requests and comments that contribute to making Fun-Motion an excellent place to discover and discuss physics games.