BrikWars Officialer Chat

[Natalya]

Huh. I was about to split this topic off and merge it with the mega-drama thread, but then I looked at the mega-drama thread and everything in it was exactly the kind of stuff I never want to see here. So instead of moving posts from this thread I just deleted that thread instead.

Just close enough? Don't sell yourself short, that was a

[stubby]

So maybe if Mike can give me some sort of benefit to behaving well I'd be interested but otherwise why should I go out of my way to help Mike?

"Not be shitty to everyone? But what's in it for me?"

Especially following the "Why would you help someone who was hit by a car, you must be an idiot" conversation, I've come to realize that you don't have any particular human decency to appeal to. But at the very base level I can take the practical angle and say that there has to be a balance between parasite and host; if I let you kill the host then you have to go find a new one and I might as well have just killed the forum early and saved myself the headache of having tolerated your being here in the first place.

But for once in your life, look at things from other people's perspective besides your own base self-interest. What is the advantage, for me, of letting toxic people exist here? Is there a benefit to letting a few people draw a tiny benefit if it disproportionately decreases the benefit for everyone else?

And which, furthermore, brings zero benefit to me personally, other than the headache I get from having to deal with their behavior? As well as the blame for not preventing it, by either removing the toxic elements, or just shutting the place down completely? Either seems preferable at this point, tbh.

[stubby]

A noble sentiment, and one to which I agree, but content is not the only part of the forums, and people like IB are here for the social interactions much more than the content, so they need a different incentive.

My question is, as the gatekeeper here, what possible reason would I have to keep letting someone like that in?

If people like Silverdream are here to make as many people feel like shit as possible "much more than for the content," should I be trying to find incentives for that? If Vami's here to promote white supremacy "much more than for the content," should I be bending over backwards trying to find incentives to keep him as a non-paying customer?

If people are here to be shitty, do I want them to be less shitty? Or at some point do we just admit that people who only show up to be shitty just aren't worth the sacrifices, regardless of "content?"

[mercury19]

A noble sentiment, and one to which I agree, but content is not the only part of the forums, and people like IB are here for the social interactions much more than the content, so they need a different incentive.

My question is, as the gatekeeper here, what possible reason would I have to keep letting someone like that in?

If people like Silverdream are here to make as many people feel like shit as possible "much more than for the content," should I be trying to find incentives for that? If Vami's here to promote white supremacy "much more than for the content," should I be bending over backwards trying to find incentives to keep him as a non-paying customer?

If people are here to be shitty, do I want them to be less shitty? Or at some point do we just admit that people who only show up to be shitty just aren't worth the sacrifices, regardless of "content?"

I suppose that's fair, I was thinking more about the (potentially) positive interactions they bring, and the incentives as a way to forestall negative behavior altogether but I suppose that's a bit too idealistic. The logical conclusion to your line of thinking seems to be a perma-ban though, and it seems that up till now like you've been avoiding that. It would be nice to find another solution but short of the troublemakers miraculously and spontaneously changing is there one?

[Silverdream]

You know he's messing with you, right stubby? Or do you take him seriously just for the sake of meta-trolling?

[stubby]

And? We just had a pretty good chunk of conversation about how trolling isn't a get out of jail free card. If "I'm going to be a jerk" and "I'm going to pretend to be a jerk" result in exactly the same behavior, then "I'm pretending I'm going to pretend to be a jerk" doesn't make it any better.

[Bragallot]

This. In fact I'd even say it's worse, 'cos a jerk doesn't even tend to realize he's being a jerk.

[stubby]

I suppose that's fair, I was thinking more about the (potentially) positive interactions they bring, and the incentives as a way to forestall negative behavior altogether but I suppose that's a bit too idealistic. The logical conclusion to your line of thinking seems to be a perma-ban though, and it seems that up till now like you've been avoiding that. It would be nice to find another solution but short of the troublemakers miraculously and spontaneously changing is there one?

It seems like "please stop putting so much effort into showing off being ironic racist edgelords" wouldn't be a lot to ask, but here we are.

People get older, but I've never believed that they can be changed in any significant way; the stuff I'm complaining about Silverdream doing is the same stuff I was complaining about him doing eight years ago.

My goal up to this point has been trying to constantly re-engineer the system so that people's negative contributions can be made into positives. Tarren's dickpostings become a thread-balancing mechanic. Warhead's psychotic vendetta against Pedonuker gets defused as Fedonuker buffoonery. Etc. Every new drama is another opportunity for misdirection and forum sleight of hand.

But damn, it's a lot of work, and I have even less free time now than I did back then. I can't keep fixing everybody's failures forever. And guys like Asterios and Whiteagle finally have me convinced that there are people who I can't redeem through cleverness alone. So I need to develop a new strategy.

And I mean yeah, permabans are the obvious solution. God knows they all deserve it dozens of times over. It just seems so banal. I hate doing the obvious thing.

[mercury19]

This. In fact I'd even say it's worse, 'cos a jerk doesn't even tend to realize he's being a jerk.

If I am being a jerk, I'd like to apologize, that was not my intention. Not sure where it was since I'm socially inept, but if you could point it out I'd like to apologize in greater depth or re-explain myself.

You know he's messing with you, right stubby? Or do you take him seriously just for the sake of meta-trolling?

Would you believe that I'm not (intentionally) messing around? I'm simply saying what pops into my head and trying to move the conversation forward. In a way, it's a personal challenge,since I usually contribute zero to anything. Anyhow, my last attempts at trolling or shitposting were in orange and didn't work very well.

That said I am running out of things to contribute; I can't really offer any advice or devil's advocation on trying to find an alternate solution. So I suppose I'll just wait and see what happens, or until I find something else to say.

[stubby]

Rest easy, mercury, I don't think either of those posts were about you.

Although it would be funny to turn this thread on its heel and make you the villain all of a sudden.

[mercury19]

Rest easy, mercury, I don't think either of those posts were about you.

Although it would be funny to turn this thread on its heel and make you the villain all of a sudden.

Oh.Well then, ahem, mumble mumble mumble...

I haven't ever been the villain before I don't think. I'd probably be terrible at it, constantly trying to apologize for me evil deeds

That said I'm totally willing to give it a go for shits and giggles

[Silverdream]

Rest easy, mercury, I don't think either of those posts were about you.

Although it would be funny to turn this thread on its heel and make you the villain all of a sudden.

Yeah, we were both talking about Valiant.

[mercury19]

Rest easy, mercury, I don't think either of those posts were about you.

Although it would be funny to turn this thread on its heel and make you the villain all of a sudden.

Yeah, we were both talking about Valiant.

Yeah, damn that Valiant, always being a jerk and making super awesome tanks.

[stubby]

I haven't ever been the villain before I don't think. I'd probably be terrible at it, constantly trying to apologize for me evil deeds

That said I'm totally willing to give it a go for shits and giggles

Not... the NEFARIOUS APOLOGIES!

...again!

you fiend

[Vami IV]

I'd just like to take this moment since the retardedness has slowed down to say I am kinda sorry for all the edginess.