Forum bullying

[-o-]

So there was this thread recently where a person expressed their discontent for the Alpha. They didn't ask for any advice on any methods to improve their gaming experience - they just felt the need to express their dissatisfaction with their pereption of the game, in the same way others have expressed their satsfaction with their perception of the game.

The thread received a massive response from the forum community, some disrespecting the original poster, comparing them to a sulking infant. Eventually after over 150 posts, the mods gave the OP an instruction that if he did not reply and provide more details about his concerns, his thread will be closed. In less than 2 days after his original post, his thread was closed as he failed to respond.

I am not disagreeing with the moderator's decision to close of the thread. That is a decision they have made based on their interpretation of the forum rules.

I am interested and concerned about the mobbing which took place against the original poster in that thread by some of the community. I believe such behaviour is unwelcome and should not be blindly tolerated by the community. Sure, we have the right to express our opinions, but we do not have the right to insult other people in that process.

The OP never broke any of the forum rules, yet his thread got closed due to the responses of others.

Through this project's staggered release, there will be many positive posts about the game, but there will also be negative posts about it too. Negative posts have the same rights of expression as positive posts like this one. You may not agree with what someone has written, but that does not give you the right to deliberately de-rail the thread, or abuse the poster to a point where many posters were actually requesting mods to close the thread because the OP simply did not respond to their posts within 48 hours.

Perhaps the OP was busy during that time and was unable to log in, or perhaps they simply did not want to respond due to the mobbing that was taking place. After all, he was not made to feel very welcome by some after he made his original post, and you just knew what what going to happen to him if he did respond. That is the purpose of bullying - to apply enough unfair pressure on an individual until they are broken or driven away from the 'herd'.

 

[Jenner]

That post was rather nonsensical and didn't lend itself to constructive feedback, but I agree with you. Mobbing the poster was not the right response. The community needs to accept negative feedback. If it's not constructive then fine - just leave the thread alone and it'll sink to the bottom naturally. No need to be disrespectful.

 

[Smugallo]

Welcome to the world of Internet forums.. They are all the same. Put a bunch of people in a room and you get a load of people with various 'opinions'. The post you are referencing to did get out of hand length-wise I admit, but I would hardly call that bullying.

 

[Susimetsa]

If I am thinking of the same thread as the OP is, I believe the first page or so was filled with rather constructive posts, asking for more details and pointing out other relevant ideas.

The problem with internet forums is that everyone wants to have a say. And it is easy to say something if the original post in the thread is ambiguous or in some other way controversial. No one cares if what they are saying has been said by 140 people before them (mainly because they don't actually read more than the first and perhaps the last post in the thread). And some get frustrated if they don't get further input from the OP and come to the conclusion that it was always about trolling or similar behavior.

 

[SAB380]

Welcome to the world of Internet forums.. They are all the same. Put a bunch of people in a room and you get a load of people with various 'opinions'. The post you are referencing to did get out of hand length-wise I admit, but I would hardly call that bullying.

Yup..............

 

[Maxeren]

I'll admit i was one of the people commenting against the OP in a maybe not to positive way, but nonetheless i told the OP to give some constructive critism instead of just spouting "I don't like this game!".. for me that IS just whining, he didn't even seek advice as to his predicament, nor did he reply to any of the posts by people trying to help him.

But i'll admit that i myself could have been more forthcoming and helpful, it will not happen again.. im sorry

 

[Alien]

-O- is right, bullying is not welcome on this forum (and shouldn't be welcome on any forum)
I did a search to see what I posted in the thread -O- refers to, and I said two words ... Be nice.
Elite: Dangerous will not benefit if all people say is how great the Alpha is, Frontier need people who will say why they don't like this or that about it, maybe the OP of that thread could have gone into more detail, but that's irrelevant now.

 

[Robert Maynard]

The thread received a massive response from the forum community, some disrespecting the original poster, comparing them to a sulking infant.

I just played the ALPHA version of the game... I dont like it! At that moment if they dont change something... this is a bad game! Nothing special in graphic... (like STAR CITIZEN, I mean the graphic) bad control with che joypad (joypad of the XBOX), in combat mode is caotic and can't change/control system... no I dont like very much this game.

The OP (in the thread in question) expresses opinion as fact and uses a scattergun approach in their criticism of the game. Given the previous posts by the OP, it is surprising perhaps that they bothered to upgrade to Alpha - especially if their main gripe is the graphics and given that there is plenty of in-game footage on YouTube.

That and fact that although they remained on the forum for approximately 1:09 after the original post (long enough to read up to reply #23) would imply that it was likely to have been a drive-by rant rather than a post seeking any form of assistance.

The OP had ample opportunity to respond and, presumably by not returning to the forum since, chose not to.

 

[Squicker]

The thread received a massive response from the forum community, some disrespecting the original poster, comparing them to a sulking infant. Eventually after over 150 posts, the mods gave the OP an instruction that if he did not reply and provide more details about his concerns, his thread will be closed. In less than 2 days after his original post, his thread was closed as he failed to respond.

The OP never broke any of the forum rules, yet his thread got closed due to the responses of others.

So logically, the mods should close down any threads praising ED unless the posters back the praise up with detailed observation within 2 days.

I am glad you posted this because you pretty much sum up how I feel about this forum: It's a nanny state. And let's face it, 2 days is not long. I am posting a lot lately but most of the time I am not on here for a week or more at a time, it's that thing called real life.

Many times I myself have felt under pressure from forum members because I have questioned some of FD's behaviour or dared criticise the general worshipping of ED\FD. It doesn't particularly bother me, but as a result I don't contribute to this forum as much as I do other games I am playing right now.

Although there have been one or two recent threads that I really got a lot out of and made me rethink some of my own ideas, I don't come to this forum for fun and camaraderie! Whilst there are a few posters I've met on here who I have a lot of respect for, the majority just seem to feel that Braben is some sort of deity and they hold a religious belief that ED is going to be the absolute best game ever released, and ever going to be released.

We're all nostalgia freaks and we hope ED will be a good game, but it could of course be an utter turd, and we need to accept this possibility. It would not be the first time the gaming industry has let us down.

The positive side is that if the game is a success on general release then some more down to earth people will join and dilute the elements you are talking about. There is certainly no doubt that when the game is released, there will be lots of negative forum comments - FD cannot please all of the people all of the time - so if they still have a desire to close such threads in 2 days, well, they'll be doing a lot of typing...

 

[Maxeren]

So logically, the mods should close down any threads praising ED unless the posters back the praise up with detailed observation within 2 days.

I am glad you posted this because you pretty much sum up how I feel about this forum: It's a nanny state. And let's face it, 2 days is not long. I am posting a lot lately but most of the time I am not on here for a week or more at a time, it's that thing called real life.

Many times I myself have felt under pressure from forum members because I have questioned some of FD's behaviour or dared criticise the general worshipping of ED\FD. It doesn't particularly bother me, but as a result I don't contribute to this forum as much as I do other games I am playing right now.

Although there have been one or two recent threads that I really got a lot out of and made me rethink some of my own ideas, I don't come to this forum for fun and camaraderie! Whilst there are a few posters I've met on here who I have a lot of respect for, the majority just seem to feel that Braben is some sort of deity and they hold a religious belief that ED is going to be the absolute best game ever released, and ever going to be released.

We're all nostalgia freaks and we hope ED will be a good game, but it could of course be an utter turd, and we need to accept this possibility. It would not be the first time the gaming industry has let us down.

The positive side is that if the game is a success on general release then some more down to earth people will join and dilute the elements you are talking about. There is certainly no doubt that when the game is released, there will be lots of negative forum comments - FD cannot please all of the people all of the time - so if they still have a desire to close such threads in 2 days, well, they'll be doing a lot of typing...

Its fine if someone posts a negative comment about ED or FD as long as they supply something constructive also and reply to people offering help. Otherwise i can't see the point of their post other than its a rant.

 

[Alien]

So logically, the mods should close down any threads praising ED unless the posters back the praise up with detailed observation within 2 days.

I am glad you posted this because you pretty much sum up how I feel about this forum: It's a nanny state. And let's face it, 2 days is not long. I am posting a lot lately but most of the time I am not on here for a week or more at a time, it's that thing called real life.

Many times I myself have felt under pressure from forum members because I have questioned some of FD's behaviour or dared criticise the general worshipping of ED\FD. It doesn't particularly bother me, but as a result I don't contribute to this forum as much as I do other games I am playing right now.

Although there have been one or two recent threads that I really got a lot out of and made me rethink some of my own ideas, I don't come to this forum for fun and camaraderie! Whilst there are a few posters I've met on here who I have a lot of respect for, the majority just seem to feel that Braben is some sort of deity and they hold a religious belief that ED is going to be the absolute best game ever released, and ever going to be released.

We're all nostalgia freaks and we hope ED will be a good game, but it could of course be an utter turd, and we need to accept this possibility. It would not be the first time the gaming industry has let us down.

The positive side is that if the game is a success on general release then some more down to earth people will join and dilute the elements you are talking about. There is certainly no doubt that when the game is released, there will be lots of negative forum comments - FD cannot please all of the people all of the time - so if they still have a desire to close such threads in 2 days, well, they'll be doing a lot of typing...

You make some good points here.
I think the seeing David Braben as some sort of deity is more tongue in cheek humour than genuine hero worship.
Yes E: D could end up being the worst game ever, but it's not looking like that. And while Star Citizen isn't looking good at the moment, compared to Elite Dangerous or Limit Theory (or several other space games), it will come good in the end because they will listen to their fan base. Take a game like X: Rebirth (yes I know, but it needs mentioning), they didn't involve the fan base to same level Frontier, CIG, Josh Parnell and others have done, and as such when the game was released, there were a lot of complaints.
This is because people who will say "I don't like this" or "This should be changed" are more valuable right now than everyone saying "I love it", but because we have waited 20 years for this, and many have invested a lot of money, and time, and made many new friendships through this one game, you will inevitably see more praise than criticism.

 

[Björn Robèrt]

Good and important post OP! It's way too easy to engange in bullying on forums without even realising you're doing it. It's everyones responsibility to take a step back and not resort to expousing vitriol for the sake of being heard. On the other hand, everyone also has a responsibility to express their opinion in a constructive manner. And as far as that specific thread goes, the OP was anything but constructive. If you're making similar post to the OP in that thread, I really have to wonder what response you're expecting? There's nothing forcing you to make a post that comes across as a invitation for negative and non-constructive responses.

Although there have been one or two recent threads that I really got a lot out of and made me rethink some of my own ideas, I don't come to this forum for fun and camaraderie! Whilst there are a few posters I've met on here who I have a lot of respect for, the majority just seem to feel that Braben is some sort of deity and they hold a religious belief that ED is going to be the absolute best game ever released, and ever going to be released.

To be perfectly honest, I see this kind of view as a part of the problem of any forum. I you've decided that the majority somehow worships X, rather than being in strong agreement with X, you're going to re-inforce your view and shut out any constructive debate based on that predjudice. And it is a pretty bold move to label the majority of posters as Braben worshipers when it seems very unlikely that you (or I, or any one else for that matter) know anyone here that well. It could just be that they agree with the direction FD is taking ED, nothing more nothing less.

 

[Perseus]

So logically, the mods should close down any threads praising ED unless the posters back the praise up with detailed observation within 2 days. ...

I do love it when posters declare their opinion as logic. It's so fuzzy, warm and human.

 

[Maxeren]

I do love it when posters declare their opinion as logic. It's so fuzzy, warm and human.

I would rather say vulcan

Sorry... couldn't help it..

Anyway.. people need to be able to take what they dish out also. The OP of the other thread clearly didn't want any help, he just wanted to express his very negative opinion of the game.. again.. without supplying any form of constructive critisism. Its not bullying telling him to supply that.. nor is it bullying requesting the thread gets closed when it so obviously that the poster had no intention of replying, nor giving said constructive cristism. The thread was getting way out of context and many threads have been closed based on the same premises before.

 

[Frank]

Just this one or every Woolworths?

We now have 6300 forum members. I don't have Alpha access but is sounds like most people who do are out there having a whale of a time with multiplayer. This means more and more people joining and the likelihood of more people starting threads by barking out a criticism and then, for whatever reason, never responding.

This is a good time to establish the ground rules for dealing with such posts. If it is an obvious troll then troll must never be fed. If it's someone who looks like he is having difficulty expressing his thoughts then he should be encouraged to explain himself, asked questions to decipher his post. This does run counter to my first rule but then I do like my paradoxes.

Some threads do need to be closed. The threads I've seen have had several warnings from the moderators before they took this step, but even at this there should be some standard text they put on the final post before closing the thread. Not everyone reads forum rules.

 

[Perseus]

I would rather say vulcan

Sorry... couldn't help it..

Anyway.. people need to be able to take what they dish out also. The OP of the other thread clearly didn't want any help, he just wanted to express his very negative opinion of the game.. AGAIN.. without supplying any form of constructive critisism. Its not bullying telling him to supply that.. nor is it bullying requesting the thread gets closed when it so obviously that the poster had no intention of replying, nor giving said constructive cristism.

Hehee, I agree.
Of course, Vulcans are a human invention that personify some of our attributes in extreme forms.
The OP of the 48hour thread never responded after initiating their debate. Maybe they had no time, maybe there was a language problem or maybe it was a deliberate attempt to wind people up. It generated a lot of posts but the thread never really went anywhere constructive.
I'm not surprised the Mods shut it down.
Amazingly, however, it's really easy to start a new thread, which any registered poster can do at any time on the general forums.

 

[avow555]

That was a pretty bad thread and although the OP was clearly upset a lot of the responses were nothing short of bullying.

 

[Stormprooter]

Yep, we have the right not to be unduly abused or bullied, but also the responsibility and choice not to take much notice of idiots and engage with them. (Just report bad behaviour through the proper channels)

 

[Hellhawk666]

I didn't know what to make of that post when I first read it. My gut said "troll alert", but my head said "temper tantrum - ignore it". Both responses provoked irritation. It is suspicious that throughout the thread, and ever since, the poster has not spoken up again. The whole thing seems very odd.

The poster did not ask for advice or help either, but was just venting, and the appropriate response was to ignore the post entirely or ask for further information so help could be given, which is what several people did.

I think it is, however, positive that such an incident is unusual in these forums, which are generally very civil.

 

[Kroy]

I agree with the op that Forum Bullying and "mobbing" in the definition provided by the link is not a good thing, abhorrent even. It is not characteristic of this community, and nor do I entirely agree with the interpretation the OP here has made of that thread.

I lack the caffeine levels (and intelligence) to be able to put my thoughts over coherently in a way that doesn't leave me sounding like a hypocrite. So I'll leave it there.