Policy Discussion: Banning Players

[Kelly Chen]

Yay survey.

1. Do you feel experience requirements are acceptable in Large (Theme/Normal) games?

I think they're downright desirable, even if the requirement is just a single in-game post in any other game. Large games get their own signup threads and brand new players are quite likely to try joining in here.

2. If so, do you think they would be appropriate for other types of games, such as Mini Theme games?

Yes, I really think so. I can easily imagine mini theme games where you wouldn't want to have totally green players.

3. Should Mods be allowed to ban specific players from their games?

4. If so, what reasons are acceptable for doing so?

3. absolutely.
4. I don't even care why a mod wants to ban someone, unless we start having major disputes here. I am willing to trust the mod to use good judgment for the sake of his own game. It's hardly so important to guarantee everybody the right to sign up for any game they want, or second chances when they have a bad history.


MrBuddyLee's idea is interesting, but I think it would be simpler to say that flakers can't sign up for new games for some amount of real time (i.e. merely punitive), than to ask them to pay back a debt that they might do very half-heartedly. As a mod I probably wouldn't even want such players as replacements.

[Kelly Chen]

once they return

I'm not so concerned about people who leave the site. I'm talking about people who never leave the site but still have to be replaced. Especially those who don't even ask to be replaced, they just do nothing until the mod comes to their own conclusion that the player needs to be replaced.

I guess I think MrBuddyLee's idea isn't as good as selective bans being more common.

[Kelly Chen]

Denying completely raw newbies (as in "I've never played before, but it looks exciting!") is acceptable for an intricate set-up, but

not

an open set-up [which we now have at mini size, New York size,

and

Newbie game size], since there are no special mechanics which can be ruined.

I don't understand here whether you're making a distinction between "intricate" and "open," or you're saying that intricate open setups don't have "special mechanics which can be ruined."

[Kelly Chen]

Oh I see. The concern is that a closed setup can only be tried once. Whereas if newbs wreck an open setup, the mod can always get back in line and try it again later with different newbs.

[Kelly Chen]

Am I the only one that believes that moderators banning players from joining their games is not acceptable under

any

circumstances?

I think that is quite a bad suggestion.

Some of my fellow scummers have mentioned that it is acceptable as long as it doesn't come as the result of personal grudges. However, if a moderator decides to ban a player, that in itself is a subjective decision.

Who's going to make better decisions for the game than its mod?

How about this: The mod has to have some other mod back them up on the decision.

If one moderator allows a player to play while another moderator refuses to allow them to play, then it is bias, it is discrimination, and it is something we don't need here on the boards.

It's GOOD bias. If you're so useless, or are perceived as such a risk, that you make a mod want to ban you, I don't know why you should have the right to know in advance which mods will admit you.

If a player's behavior has become disruptive or harmful to the boards to a degree where it would seem justified to ban them from a game, then it should be a decision made by the MafiaScum community, and apply to all games a player would be able to join. If a player is to be banned, they should be banned from all games.

I think an institutionalized global ban list, in place of isolated decisions, would be much uglier and much less useful.

[Kelly Chen]

Incidentally, is there a site policy on PG-13ness? I personally object censorship in all it's forms and find the occasional "fuck" very useful, but wouldn't blatantly disobey any site rules or anything.

I don't object to occasional bad language since it can be useful to adjust the tone of a post.

Profanity (or personal attacks, or spam) that is useless to the game and annoying other players will likely cause the mod to intervene.

[Kelly Chen]

It's important to realize that banning annoying players from your own game means burdening some other mod + player group with them.

[Kelly Chen]

If the players are actually ORGANIZING A VOTE on this, I think mod action is probably overdue.

I would probably act on it.