A moderator responding to my Getting Help Request advised me that this forum was the place to raise my specific concern.
The GHR read something like:
"Task ID:#255466
Response:
Hi,
I know it has been several months since this particular incident, but I would like to revisit the issue of players posting the same content onto multiple embassy RMBs. As I indicated in my previous query (if my records are accurate), I would like this to be considered and discussed by the wider moderation team, and not just an individual moderator.
The previous response to my query failed to address my concerns in a constructive manner. In the time since, I am seeing an increase in the volume and severity of moderator action being taken on this issue. I am seeing entire posting histories of nations being deleted. I am seeing nations being deleted. I am seeing players being puppet swept. I feel that the action being taken seems disproportionate. I feel that the action being taken is unnecessary.
I would like to highlight again that posting the same copy-pasted content to multiple RMBs is not explicitly prohibited in the “spam” section of the one-stop rule shop. This lack of clarity is causing confusion amongst players. Some players are asking for me to confirm by telegram, or by posting on their RMB that I am willing to accept their posts. Others are asking for me to ensure my region is tagged "Recruitment Friendly". Players are simply unsure as to what acceptable behaviour is here. No one knows what the rules are. No one knows if they are breaking the rules. Everyone is wondering why they are being punished.
Typically copy-paste content is pasted to embassy RMBs. The only practical purpose of having an embassy is the ability to post on each other's RMBs (admin settings permitting). This unpublished ruling imposes a situation where players can communicate with their embassies, but they're not allowed to communicate the same message to each embassy. This impedes players' abilities to treat embassy regions equally.
Copy-paste messages often invite nations in embassy regions to take part in an event or poll (so building a sense of community via shared activity), or spread news (building a sense of community via sharing information).
By clicking 'like’ or 'upvote’, by voting in polls, or joining in events, players give quantifiable positive feedback to the copy-paster. The copy-paster is then able to retrospectively make a judgement as to whether the chore of copy-pasting is worth it. This influences their future copy-paste choices.
Of course, there is sometimes negative feedback too, either via telegram or quoted RMB posts, or GHRs to moderators. And this is where our collective problem lies.
It is important to respect the desire of other players to have a spam-free RMB, and I accept that there should be rules in place to handle this. The rule for RMB spam stated in the one-stop rule shop appears to place the responsibility for dealing with such spam to the regional officers. I don't understand why copy-paste is apparently treated as an exception to this approach, especially when a large number of regions and players do not view the same post as being spam.
For my part, I love these posts. I like the creativity. I like the raps. I like the newspapers. I like the polls. I don't want this wonderful world taken away from me. How can we create an environment which allows this creativity to blossom, without the threat of deletion?
I see two obvious solutions to this issue. One (which I don't like) is for the moderation team to explicitly declare this action to be spam in the one-stop-rule shop. The advantage would be that everyone was clear about what was expected of them. The disadvantage is that NS would be a less interesting and appealing place.
Another option would be to encourage players to take responsibility for their own lives, and learn something about diplomacy. As mentioned in my previous query, players have a number of avenues open to them to deal with unwanted posts [Edit: details in the "My follow-up question" spoiler below]. Players learning to deal with their own problems should also reduce overall demand on the moderation team, making your lives that little bit easier.
There may of course be other solutions which I haven’t thought of."
Since filing the GHR, another solution has been suggested to me. Maybe a new region tag, "Subscriptions", could be used to indicate that the region was willing to accept pre-agreed copy-paste content.
As background to all this, I had originally raised a GHR back in April asking why a player's post on my RMB had been suppressed by a moderator. The player had been posting their newspaper dispatch.
The relevant parts of The One-Stop Rule Shop Spam section appear to be:
*Regional Message Board Spam: Posting multiple messages on your message board within a short period of time can be considered message board spam. Founders and regional officers they designate may suppress spam (or any other messages) on the regional message board.
and more tenuously:
*Regional Advertising Spam: The only places where you are allowed to put region advertisements are: The Gameplay Forum (they will be deleted if posted elsewhere) and the regional message boards of the game-created regions (The Pacific, The North Pacific, The East Pacific, The South Pacific, The West Pacific, Lazarus, Osiris, Balder, The Rejected Realms and the Official Warzones). Note that it is not legal to advertise in copycat regions such as "West Pacific". One ad per 24-hour period or per 10 posted messages, whichever is longer.
RMB Ads are allowed in player-created regions if and only if the region has a "Recruiter Friendly" tag.
Thank you for your attention.
