An open letter to the ZDoom community regarding drama

[Xtyfe]

Just my 2 cents on this.

With a community as old as Doom's you expect a certain level maturity especially from those who have been around the longest. We need to set an example for all others that not all gaming communities are filled with pre-teens yelling and screaming at each other. We shouldn't have to implement any forum wide system to contain this as it shouldn't even be a thing at all for us.

Maybe I'm too idealistic

[Athel]

Maybe if we stop being childish over little things, maybe the drama will be cut down. (Most famous example: Y {insert famous mod here* NOT COMPATIBLE WITH *insert famously overhyped mod here*?! FIX!, etc.)

The truth in the end is simply this: Drama will always be a part of us. We can't do anything to stop it. Diminish the impact it has? Definately. Permantley? That's the same as trying to stop a hurricane-tornado-tsunami mixed into one. I'm not saying we all have to be peacekeepers, but in the end, one fact remains that we simply cannot help but to be a part of drama in one way or another.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to take off this wise old guy mask I'm wearing now.

[FireFish]

Skimming trough this thread i seem to notice the same things as always ;
People having childish and near impossible to understand problems with other opinions, are egotistical, think they need to prove themselves as the true internet tough guy, are stuck in the ancient past, claim to be 24+ yet they use and follow severely [censored word] internet hypes, have no common sense or understanding of foreign cultures or countries yet they act like specialists... And when 'person A' doesn't like something a well liked mod or map maker made "person A' has to be targeted or destroyed by the internet maffia... because whats more cool than implying you had a brain-spasm and want to get revenge by means of the internet... or the select club of cool and elite internet nerds (cough).

Behave like some of those forum users in real life and you wouldn't be able to communicate with people at all... But the internet is the internet, i could care less...

[NeuralStunner]

Behave like some of those forum users in real life and you wouldn't be able to communicate with people at all... But the internet is the internet, i could care less...

Then why post this at all? Are you trying to demonstrate how not to act?

[phantombeta]

-suspended action is for everyone, so if graf, randi or every high level staff reach a certain warning level, they'll get suspended (so everyone will be treated like everyone else)

Let's hope it never gets that far, but I'd be entirely willing to do that if it were necessary.

About suspending Randi...
That would be useless. Even if the mods can do that, he\she can easily remove it. Randi has complete access to the forum's server and MySQL database. (Kinda obvious, since it's his/her forum-site-wiki thing :v)

[FireFish]

Behave like some of those forum users in real life and you wouldn't be able to communicate with people at all... But the internet is the internet, i could care less...

Then why post this at all? Are you trying to demonstrate how not to act?

I think it should be simple to understand what i wrote
1 - i notice the same behaviour as always ; small list of examples, comma separated.
2 - behave in real life as listed in point 1 and you wont be able to communicate with most people.
3 - its the internet... i cant care. (public internet locations ...)

So the reasons why i posted are clear... its the same in a whole lot of other places and i acknowledge it while i resent the truly weird behaviour types of the main offenders. Because i do not care, i could just close my browser or tab and never think about it again.

[wildweasel]

Skimming trough this thread i seem to notice the same things as always ;
People having childish and near impossible to understand problems with other opinions, are egotistical, think they need to prove themselves as the true internet tough guy, are stuck in the ancient past, claim to be 24+ yet they use and follow severely [censored word] internet hypes, have no common sense or understanding of foreign cultures or countries yet they act like specialists... And when 'person A' doesn't like something a well liked mod or map maker made "person A' has to be targeted or destroyed by the internet maffia... because whats more cool than implying you had a brain-spasm and want to get revenge by means of the internet... or the select club of cool and elite internet nerds (cough).

Behave like some of those forum users in real life and you wouldn't be able to communicate with people at all... But the internet is the internet, i could care less...

While I suppose I can understand where you're coming from, maybe this is a bit extreme.

3 - its the internet... i cant care. (public internet locations ...)

I'm not sure what you're getting at here.

[FireFish]

While I suppose I can understand where you're coming from, maybe this is a bit extreme.

3 - its the internet... i cant care. (public internet locations ...)

I'm not sure what you're getting at here.

So the reasons why i posted are clear... its the same in a whole lot of other places and i acknowledge it while i resent the truly weird behaviour types of the main offenders. Because i do not care, i could just close my browser or tab and never think about it again.

The part in bold letters should have explained that on top of something which should not have needed an explanation in the first place. But if the ''public internet'' joke confused you then i will elaborate on it ; sites like this one are publicly accessible so anybody could post, with any age, any nationality, or even any mental condition... and in most cases they will be total strangers with not one possible link to your real and actual life. Kind of like a random stranger yelling something on the street somewhere. So why should one care beyond closing the browser or closing a tab ?

[DoomRater]

Because everyone should strive to contribute to a community they bother to join...?

[FireFish]

Because everyone should strive to contribute to a community they bother to join...?

You share a wad or mod you made, file a bug report, use the engine(s) and if needed post something else on a forum somewhere. The entire concept of a 'community' is a bit far fetched IMHO... Nobody joined any community by registering an account on a forum, making a post, or downloading a wad. But that does not stop other people from thinking about it differently. To each his own.

[wildweasel]

The part in bold letters should have explained that on top of something which should not have needed an explanation in the first place. But if the ''public internet'' joke confused you then i will elaborate on it ; sites like this one are publicly accessible so anybody could post, with any age, any nationality, or even any mental condition... and in most cases they will be total strangers with not one possible link to your real and actual life. Kind of like a random stranger yelling something on the street somewhere. So why should one care beyond closing the browser or closing a tab ?

I can see this being interpreted in two ways.

1. "If shit's going wrong, just take a breath and step away, because it's not worth getting upset about," or...
2. "I can MAKE shit go wrong, and it won't matter because the worst that'll happen is I lose access to a random website."

For a lot of people here, this forum is a place to speak one's mind, to engage with other people, to possibly collaborate and make friends. It doesn't have to just be a place where you download mods and nothing else.

[DoomRater]

To further what weasel said, if one is posting, contributing WADs, and offering feedback or otherwise helping others, I'd wager they are more invested in a community than any of these actions alone would signify.

[FireFish]

I can see this being interpreted in two ways.
1. "If shit's going wrong, just take a breath and step away, because it's not worth getting upset about," or...
2. "I can MAKE shit go wrong, and it won't matter because the worst that'll happen is I lose access to a random website."

For a lot of people here, this forum is a place to speak one's mind, to engage with other people, to possibly collaborate and make friends. It doesn't have to just be a place where you download mods and nothing else.

Both interpretations are very valid, and your third point is one of personal choice. People differ and so do their opinions and how they look at a forum. No matter how much i would post on any forum i would never think, or claim myself to be part of a community. And many of those so called 'communities' create their own problems by taking themselves to serious... Your opinion differs from mine and i accept that, and this final step is what separates me from the fools constantly having their online fights.

side note ;
DoomRater, I did all of that... still i wrote the paragraph above this line.

I am one of those people able to just quit any forum, chat, or website to never return. I have done that a lot. Be it because they had no content i liked, or because there where no decent people on it (in my opinion)...

[Trooper 077]

Tl:Dr, Don't be an ass to people

[FireFish]

Tl:Dr, Don't be an ass to people

even though that might be a general concept of the poster as i did not notice any person being an ass in the last posts...

But the TL;DR its generalized (not directed at Trooper) existence on discussion boards and forums are a proof of how many people wouldn't even be able to have any form of a community on a forum as they cant even communicate beyond two words.... and the usage of TL;DR could also create drama by giving those whom are easy to influence the idea they are being targeted as irrelevant.

Everything is do dynamic, people are all so unique, opinions differ by miles, and the so called drama could come from so many angles. the humanity of it all.