[Appeal] Warning for baiting in TGW

[RiderSyl]

viewtopic.php?f=12&p=23857150#p23857150

I was warned for baiting in that post. My post is not any different than the normal snarkiness that's been ruled as 'not actionable' time and time again.

Also, after handing out my warning and a ton of others, DLN expressed some, in her own words, "personal not-moderation-approved views", which included this snippet:

To those stating that GP can't be moderated the same as other forums? I'm challenging that here, with this, and the reasons I've posted. Flaming, baiting, trolling, ought to be treated the same, regardless of where it is. No one should have 'immunity'. We work it out with RP, and have for years. GP, and in-character threads as mentioned above, should be no different.

I highlight that specific phrase, because I think that personal view improperly influenced the decision to warn me. If it's possible, I'd also like to know what the other "baiting" comments were "throughout the thread" that DLN referred to upon handing down my warning.

I'm almost certain that I was staying on the right side of the rule barrier with my posts in the thread. That's why I'm appealing here.

EDIT: I'd also like to include the context of the post I was warned for, as that may help rescind the warning;

Cormac making the only rational reply -- Gameplay really is the cesspit of the NS world.

Guy made dig at Cormac there, and at the Gameplay forum to a lesser extent.

I looked up the definition of "rational", and it said "If Guy approves of it." Then I realized I had checked the RRA Dictionary by mistake, and quickly burned it.

There's people that take this game too seriously and would definitely prefer to, uh, 'call more loudly' to the admins. Thankfully, there also seems to be people on both sides of R/D that realize that this is just a game and aren't going to be part of some premeditated shitstorm for the sake of "legitimacy", or whatever the moralistic word of the now happens to be.

That's my first response to Guy in the thread, and the one I was warned for. The first part is a dig at Guy, and the second part is my opinion on the discussion going on between Guy and Cormac. (that defenders should get together and protest against the admins for the changes to be put in faster).

Then this exchange happened, which were just more mild jabs.

Congratulations, Ridersyl, on passing Introduction to NS Rhetoric. I look forward to you enrolling in the intermediate course.

Thanks! When will you be passing Avoiding Posting with Puppet Acounts? I aced that course, but I understand some people struggle with it.

There's the context of the post. I really, really don't think it was actionable. It was basically your average banter.

[Dread Lady Nathicana]

No, personal views on GP had nothing to do with my decisions there. I read the entire thread, went through every post, and watched the situation escalate. I went back, noted where the baiting was taking place, and who was initiating it, and made my decisions from there.

When you are posting things in order to get an inflamed reaction from another player, that's baiting. This is something that can easily cross lines - and did, in my opinion - in that thread. Obviously I can't be involved in any decisions on the appeal, but given the accusation of bias, I felt it appropriate to post a clarification.

The rest there was simply opinion on the overall toxicity of the GP environment. Oddly enough, there seem to be a number of players who agree with that assessment - and GP is their home base of operations. Take that for whatever its worth.

[RiderSyl]

There were a couple of warnings in that thread that are normally deemed unactionable that turned out to be warnable baiting once you combed through. That, and your subsequent rant, lead me to question if the 'toxicity of the GP environment' was on your mind while you were deciding what was actionable. I'm not accusing you of some personal mod conspiracy or anything, just of getting your mod/player wires crossed a bit.

[Dread Lady Nathicana]

Entirely understood - there's a reason I separated the two sections of my post, mind. What I'm trying to get across to you is that in this case, I don't believe I have crossed the lines, nor tangled the wires, nor anything else. I try to be very careful about posting if personal feelings or opinions are going to overshadow the matter at hand.

Granted, that's simply a personal verification on my part, and worth only what anyone is willing to grant it, but there you go. *shrugs* Said opinion has been developed over years of hearing from GP members, involved players, players who have quit on account of the problems and atmosphere. That part at the end was based for the most part directly from info given to me by said players, on a number of issues that could not, for reasons posted, be properly addressed. It wasn't just something I dreamed up, or decided on a whim. I'm not sure if that matters to you folks or not, but given some of the accusations and matters brought up by players in that thread, it seemed like a good time to offer some suggestions, and address some of the 'unspoken but known' problems that have been ongoing for some time now.

Again, folks can take it or leave it, but I stand by my assertion that GamePlay is, and will remain, what GP'ers make of it. If nothing else, by its very nature and how it has evolved over the years.

[Dread Lady Nathicana]

Bumping back so it gets seen.

[RiderSyl]

Bumping.

[RiderSyl]

It's been almost a week since I filed this appeal. Is someone working on it, or did it get lost in the shuffle?

[Frisbeeteria]

My post is not any different than the normal snarkiness that's been ruled as 'not actionable' time and time again.

We've also said time and time again that Moderator calls are judgment calls. Sedgistan makes most of the Gameplay forum calls, and he has a much higher tolerance for that sort of snark than Nathi does. Because Nathi and most of us leave Gameplay to Sedge and CG, GPers seem to think that there are different standards for different forums. Not the case. The same rules apply across the forums, though mods with different tolerance levels exercise their jobs in slightly different ways.

I thought your post was right on the edge, and didn't rule. Nathi apparently thought it was over the edge, and dinged most everyone who pushed the limits. I uphold her ruling as a reasonable reaction to that particular collection of posts.

Appeal denied.

[RiderSyl]

The only thing I can take from this is that any banter in GP can be "right on the edge" and "over the edge" of being warnable for baiting, since my posts are on the lower-end scale of the kind of stuff that is posted in Gameplay on a daily basis.

I don't intend to file a 'Final Appeal' or anything like that. It'd be a waste of everyone's time. I'll just take the warn and move on.

Thanks for finally answering my appeal.