Closing the FiM forum

[Dulset Tarn]

Yes, and mods like me have said this a few times in the thread already. If you or anyone else plans on trying to make a bunch of FIM threads out of spite, I can tell you now it won't work out well for you.

Okay, but what if it just leads to multiple people making a disproportionate amount of FiM threads out of just wanting to talk about the show? Will you be imposing limits on how many threads there are allowed to be at once? And with the movie coming up no less?

Honestly guys? Just make me the mod for the FiM forum, I'll handle it and you won't have to worry your heads about it. How's that?

[Bekuno]

Yes, and mods like me have said this a few times in the thread already. If you or anyone else plans on trying to make a bunch of FIM threads out of spite, I can tell you now it won't work out well for you.

Okay, but what if it just leads to multiple people making a disproportionate amount of FiM threads out of just wanting to talk about the show? Will you be imposing limits on how many threads there are allowed to be at once? And with the movie coming up no less?

Honestly guys? Just make me the mod for the FiM forum, I'll handle it and you won't have to worry your heads about it. How's that?

We will handle it.

And quite frankly, someone who is on moderated status is not fit to be a mod.

[Baby Sugarberry]

The FiM forum transitioning to Corral or not isn't likely to change my experience so I'll refrain from commenting on it much, but I do want to say, to all the Mods who donate their time, I appreciate your work.  I've done it, over a number of spaces both smaller and larger than the Arena and it's thankless, stressful, and never-ending.  The stress is actually why I don't moderate currently on any sites right now.  I wish I could send you all on expenses paid vacations. 

Do whatever you need to to keep the Arena a welcome place for everyone, of every generation.

[Dragonflitter]

Thank you for saying that so strongly, Bekuno.

Yeah because why be polite when you can just point fingers and accuse people before anything has even happened? -eyeroll- This thread is some of the worst evidence of mods being outright rude to other members that I have ever seen in this place.

No one has said anything about "making random posts out of spite", but people in this thread have shown very real concern about not being able to even have discussions now because our avenue of discussion is being removed without it having been made clear what new rules will be in place. So of course some people are bringing up the fact that the mods are still going to have moderation work to do, since it has been stated that that is one of the main reasons the forum is being removed.

As Dulset points out, we have no idea how it's going to work here after August 31. Are people going to get a 'mod warning' if they make an FiM post in the Corral forum? What if they make two? What if they make three? What if they made one post that was a real discussion point about the characters but one post that was seen by some mod to be "a frivolous post made out of spite"? Or will any FiM post that isn't one of the "two pinned posts at the top of the forum for episodes and the movie" (as someone suggested) automatically be deleted without anyone having a say in it?

This is what happens when you just make an announcement on a forum with a large frequency of people without much explanation about it. Of course people are going to have suggestions for alternatives and predictions about how this is going to go in the future. Threatening with random hostile "you've got another thing coming to you" remarks is uncalled for and unhelpful in this situation.

[lostpony]

On many sites, few members are "moderated" as is done here.  Instead, members are banned either temporarily or permanently for transgressions.   

I sincerely hope that bringing FiM discussion into the Corral, placing all pony gens together as they should be, will inspire us all to act with respect for each other and this forum.  We Are One.  It's time we all behave as one big pony family.

[Taffeta]

If this thread/situation is the worst experience you have ever had with a moderation team then you are really very lucky.

On most forums repeated negative incidents in a space of the forum would probably lead to the area being deleted without notice and members involved being temporarily or permanently banned.

I don't think this decision is necessarily what most of us want, but the fact remains the FIM forum has created excess of work and stress for the people moderating it. Most of us can empathise with that, so we're all looking at a way we can work together going forward. The mods have made it clear the forum is going, so reiterating the points about keeping it open is academic.

As someone who has moderated places in the past, I really want to emphasise that whatever my feelings about this change, it is absolutely not okay for members of any kind in any part of the forum to put so much negative energy and pressure on a mod/mod team that it leads to mental stress and ill health. It doesn't matter how angry any of us are with any situation, mods are people and they don't deserve that. The forum wasn't created for disputes, it was created for discussion. If the area hadn't been misused this wouldn't be an issue now.

Going forward that needs to be accepted by all parties because, frankly, what is more important at this point is the successful integration of discussion in the Corral in such a way that we can avoid a similar issue there.

[Dragonflitter]

Your point is the one that's academic. Most of your points are, actually. The reason a discussion exists IS TO DISCUSS IT. So yeah, questions were asked in this thread, and suggestions were made. Claiming discussion should stop just because "the mods have said what is going to happen" doesn't negate the fact that people want to still bring up questions and make suggestions. People are in this thread looking for answers, and for more information.

Whining about how the mods have it so bad and how we should all just shut up and accept it because "they work so hard" and "it's going to happen anyway so why continuing to talk about it" doesn't help anyone. You're just bringing more conflict to an already volatile situation by purposely aggravating other people in the discussion.

But at this point I'm tired of falling for your little underhanded ploy of "Poke the dissenters and then crow 'see I told you so! Look how badly they behave!' when they react," so I'm done here.

[Carrehz]

If this thread/situation is the worst experience you have ever had with a moderation team then you are really very lucky.

On most forums repeated negative incidents in a space of the forum would probably lead to the area being deleted without notice and members involved being temporarily or permanently banned.

Honestly, this. I remember on another site I'm on - a small, close-knit, private site - a couple of fights broke out in one board and it got closed down without warning. (It came back after a few months and there were no further incidents, but that's besides the point) The mods may seem tough to 'some' people but honestly they're amazingly lenient and fair compared to other sites/boards I've been on. (That's not meant to be a knock on said sites btw, or on the mods here; it's a compliment )

Now.. without sounding too negative, I think the kind of elephant in the room here is that the FiM board seems to attract people who are very.... intense about FiM. Which is not a bad thing in general, heck it's created a lot of interesting topics.. but it also seems to attract a lot of negativity. Sure there's always going to be negativity, but there's more of it in this board, consistently, than any other section on the site. And the Arena isn't really the place for such things, there are many other places (I'd imagine) more meant for that sort of discussion, but having a FiM board may seem to imply to some that it is that kind of place. If that makes sense? Having a couple of generalized FiM threads in the Corral might help to mitigate this.

I agree, though, that it would be nice to know more about the kind of guidelines that'll be in place for FiM threads in the Corral I'm sure it'll all get straightened out eventually.

(And again, mods, if I'm stepping out of line with any of this, let me know and I'll stop, as that's not my intention.)

[Dulset Tarn]

That's something that's honestly been confusing me since I got here, which probably explains a lot of the difficulty between myself and the mods. Is negativity just absolutely unwelcome here on this site? Why is it just so fervently rejected? Negativity isn't abuse, negativity isn't hurling insults or cussing people out. Those things are against the rules and obviously should be dealt with and kept off the site, but the "negativity" that seems so unwelcome here is just people having a less than positive opinion about something (or more specifically, trying to talk with others about it). That negativity is where discussion comes from, it's necessary to really have a conversation, not just to see where things could improve but to truly appreciate what IS great by confronting such negativity openly rather than shutting it down.

I'm sure the staff here aren't overtly aiming for a forum filled with nothing but unending, unquestioned praise for all things MLP (this site included), but it always seems to me like that's what their stance against negativity in all forms is leading toward, intentionally or not. Half the people here should be able to tell of their own experiences that it's far from just rule-breaking and vitriol that gets demonized around here.

[Bekuno]

On most forums repeated negative incidents in a space of the forum would probably lead to the area being deleted without notice and members involved being temporarily or permanently banned.

Yes, as someone who moderates other sites than this, I can say the way we handle things on the Arena is much more forgiving. I can tell you you I'm nowhere near as kind here as I am other places, especially towards those with an attitude problem.


Anyway, we opened this announcement for discussion because we knew people would be upset, and that they would be angry. It's true that our minds are made up, and FIM will be removed from the forums, but the hostility seen in this thread as much as the others only further solidifies our decision as being the ones that's best here.

We will be limiting FIM discussion, especially at first, because we need to see how members will handle it. We are not mind readers, we cannot predict the situation, but we are equip to handle it. Which is why I decided to warn against a sudden burst of FIM topics in the corral, we won't be letting it happen. When we change the rules, and rules get broken repeatedly, then we enforce consequence. This will still be true. Generalized threads will be the focus for now. Yes, we know Season 7 just resumed. Yes, we know the movie is almost here. These points are in mind. I'm sorry to those who think it's not in the best interest, but this isn't the first time such an idea has had to come up. And that's truly saying something about this forum.

FIM show and toy discussion are also separate things, I'd like to point that out. We don't want them blending together too much either, as not everyone collecting the toys watches or discusses the show and vice versa.

We are happy to listen to your suggestions, but hostility is not going to be tolerated. We will not be undertaking new mods to handle FIM either, as Loa stated in the very first page of this thread.



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On the topic of negativity, it is not unwelcome. We do not shun opinions, and you are welcome to voice them. But when that negativity turns into page upon page of arguments (or discussion, as you seem to see it), we raise an eyebrow. We don't see that in other parts of the forum. I'm not sure what it is about FIM, but the analysis culture surrounding it is astounding, and not in a good way. Even when threads in the corral get negative, there is enough discussion from both sides without one sided fights. In FIM, we don't have that. A few people will pop in with their opinions, but those who didn't enjoy something often ban together and go on a tangent. I've seen it more than anyone with the number of threads I've had to lock. It's bewildering. I hope that this trend slows down or stops completely with the move, and also encourages others to join in on the discussion, because I feel like we have members who avoid the FIM forum because of it's "discussions" and that's not the kind of atmosphere we want here on the boards.

[hathorcat]

Ok guys. . I am going to try and ignore the irony that this thread has become such a hot button topic I am now locking it.

I am putting a temporary lock on this thread because it's getting us no where other than people getting upset.

I am going to individually answer some concerns that people have via pm initially. Any thing which is not a concern and just comment I am not answering. We want to reassure anyone who has any worries. . but we are not here to justify the decision any more than we have already tried to do so.

Making an exception to the rule we may reopen this for further comment but we can't answer accusations and comments on so many fronts at once. so this is a little breather for everyone for the moment.