Important Changes

[Stark]

I'm sad, but it sure seemed like he was pushing it here these last few weeks, so I'm not surprised.

[Ivo]

Luke will probably at least lurk this thread so I'd like to thank him once again for the recipes he prepared for me several months (years?) ago. I think that frozen banana dessert will be permanently on my repertoire.

Ivo

[Exhuminator]

After 21,085 posts on this board, this was Luke's final sentence:

Whatever it takes to win...but I'd rather watch an entertaining game than "a good game" by today's standards.

I think that encapsulates Luke well.

He might not have always been a good guy, largely because he liked to "win", but he never ceased to be entertaining.

[jp1]

Luke and I have had our differences, but I do wish him the best. Since this is my first post in a bit I'd like to point out that I am not one of the members who filed a complaint about him. I'm only posting here to say goodbye after many years of good and bad.

As much as Luke didn't seem to consider internet pals to be real life pals, in the end our interactions on these boards have covered a large gamut of discussions both silly and serious. So hat's off to you Luke, I'll miss you sometimes duder. Word to Big Bird.

[brunoafh]

Can someone give me Luke's contact info/e-mail? Or Luke, if you're seeing this, shoot me an e-mail at [email protected]

I don't have much to say other than the noble "act of transparency" thing is nonsense, this is muscle flexing. The thread title translates to "stop messing with us or you're next". Congratulations, you guys kicked out one of the most respected, knowledgeable, and valuable members the racketboy community has ever had over potty mouth and your own personal grievances with him. Well done. There's almost no doubt that the community as a whole would much rather him be able to stay than leave, but clearly that's not a concern. You know what's best for us better than we do, after all.

There's nothing else to say because you guys don't want to hear it. You'd rather let board membership/activity continue to dwindle than even begin to consider the possibility that the excessive moderation and general aggression towards new members could possibly have anything to do with it. Banning and warning people that have brought this issue up has made that crystal clear. I asked why specifically I was warned, but was unsurprisingly ignored, because either you're discussing about banning me next which will make my query irrelevant, or simply don't give a shit because ignoring criticism ("mod-baiting") is much easier to do than actually consider and deal with it, and you just want me to fuck off and go away. Which is what I've mainly decided to do anyway, just like many before me have (including a staff member himself).

[stickem]

^^ i kinda agree with you here. at this point in my life, i'm a part time gamer. i lurk in the game section forums and post more in the lounge. unless i missed something, i didn't really see anything ban worthy. but, that's not for me to say as i'm sure i've toed the line a few times and never got a pm from mods. i think the mods do a good job here in general. i always click on a thread where luke has posted. i enjoy his input, right or wrong, and his banter. he will be missed.

[jp1]

Can someone give me Luke's contact info/e-mail? Or Luke, if you're seeing this, shoot me an e-mail at [email protected]

I don't have much to say other than the noble "act of transparency" thing is nonsense, this is muscle flexing. The thread title translates to "stop messing with us or you're next". Congratulations, you guys kicked out one of the most respected, knowledge, and valuable members the racketboy community has ever had over potty mouth and your own personal grievances with him. Well done. There's almost no doubt that the community as a whole would much rather him be able to stay than leave, but clearly that's not a concern. You know what's best for us better than we do, after all.

There's nothing else to say because you guys don't want to hear it. You'd rather let board membership/activity continue to dwindle than even begin to consider the possibility that the excessive moderation and general aggression towards new members couldn't possibly have anything to do with it. Banning and warning people that have brought this issue up has made that crystal clear. I asked why specifically I was warned, but was unsurprisingly ignored, because either you're discussing about banning me next which will make my query irrelevant, or simply don't give a shit because ignoring criticism ("mod-baiting") is much easier to do than actually consider and deal with it, and you just want me to fuck off and go away. Which is what I've mainly decided to do anyway, just like many before me have (including a staff member himself).

Totally understandable you are upset about your friend. I don't see how the inconsiderate behavior is helping anyone though. Did you notice that a female member addressed she was uncomfortable with the term, a very nice and valuable female member at that. Clearly it rubbed some people the wrong way, a simple acknowledgement of that and an adherence to the boards policies would have resulted in no banning. You are obviously ignoring the fact that many, many people have had disagreements with the mods without being warned or banned. The difference being that those people probably chose to work things out amicably and admit the possibility of some fault, which goes a long way with people understanding you having a lapse in judgment.

I'm sad to see Luke go too (really), I think he brought a lot to the board over the years and he will be remembered. It just wasn't the right way to handle the situation and spitting in the face of those who are asking you to adjust your behavior according to the preference of the community at large is simply asking for trouble. Honestly, this isn't your back yard...it is a private forum, they are free to set the rules however they like. Many people seem to be able to play inside of them just fine. Perhaps it isn't the community or the mods to blame, just perhaps.

I respect your opinion, and your freedom to express it. I also respect the right of the people who run the website to discern if that is how they wish to be represented as a community. I'm very sorry you feel persecuted, but you jumped in and said some pretty unprovoked and nasty stuff, why the surprise at the backlash?

Anyway, sorry if that rubs you the wrong way. I'm not poking I promise, just offering a different perspective. Reflection is always a good thing when you are running on emotion, I know this from experience. Best of luck.

I'm stepping off my soapbox, but come on guys...this nonsense has got to end.

[Key-Glyph]

For the record, brunoafh reached out to me by PM to explain that his post had been in jest and to apologize if I had been genuinely offended. I didn't know him well enough to realize he wasn't being entirely serious, and we discussed whether or not to revisit the confusion in the thread in order to clear it up. He preferred to just let it go, so we let it be. It's all good. (I wasn't offended, but I did genuinely question whether people were aware of how the term is often perceived, so I decided to talk about it just in case.)

Back on topic though, count me among those who are confused by the claims of moderators lording their powers over the little folk. They made their judgment in this particular case based on several years' worth of incidents. That's hardly ban-crazy. If anything it's evidence that they try extremely hard to avoid this outcome, and give people third, fourth, and fifth chances in situations where other moderating groups might only grant a second. It's unfortunate that it came to this, but they put it off as long as they felt they could.

The only way I can possibly interpret the mods' behavior as being "strict" is by comparing it to the free-for-all of other forums which are either utterly unworthy of my time or have led to personal experiences of harassment. It's my opinion that Racket is not ruled with an iron fist -- it just actually has rules, and some kind of collective conscience.

I can't quite figure how the site rules are "stifling conversation," but I'm all ears if anyone has specific examples they want to discuss.

Anyway, thanks for the thoughtful post, Ack. It's appreciated.

[flojocabron]

well its time for my 2 pesos!

I'm also a bit sad to see him go. but I see that he has a full productive life out of this forum. Like pretty much all of us do.

The way I see his leaving of racketboy is sort of like a celebrity. He was popular/infamous among all of us posters, constant or not. We all read and enjoyed his posts.

I'm sure unconsciously he was already ready to leave. He just needed an exit out of here.

Luke wanted to leave racketboy not with a whimper but with a bang! And he did that.

it was suicide by mod! Maybe he wanted it that way maybe not.

Like I said its just my two cents...err pesos!

His posts and his antics are forever more a part of rackeboy lore.

We'll still be taking about him for years to come.

So Luke the member is gone now, but he's still actively a part of racketboy right now.

[o.pwuaioc]

At least three of the mods here have said things as bad as Luke if not worse. And one regularly baits members (maybe two, I haven't been keeping up).

But those actions won't change, will they? Almost two years ago I said the mods were an inside group. This isn't an "inside joke" group, it's a wagon-circling group. Not less than two weeks after I said that, Ack made a thread patting all the mods on the back, as if they needed to reassure themselves that they were the absolute pinnacles of the community. Rather than redress the legitimate complaints of many members, the mod staff here largely just plays favorites.

Case in point, this thread is locked, and Luke's criticisms about moderators' behaviors was never fully answered, just hand-waved.

Fortunately for community, it's not the worst, or among the worst. As far as forums go, it's rather mild-mannered, but some members are bullied here, some are asked to tone down their language (Hobie-wan once asked me to not "cuss" in a particular thread because kids might be watching), some are given preferential treatment. The problem is chiefly that in not being terribly egregious to everyone all the time (we all know which forum is meant by that), they largely get a pass from the community, until one by one members leave.

Maybe it's just those members' time to go. Forums come and go, bloom and decay. That's life. Maybe as brunoafh said there's something else at play. Not sure we could ever really know.

And that's not to single out any moderator or drive any antipathy toward them. But the feelings I get from them is that they're off-limits criticism-wise.

All in all, if the place weren't so modern-centric today, I think it would be a more thriving community, but as it is, Hearthstone, Gaming Screen Shots, Destiny, Fallout 4, Xbox One (fuck!), Wii-U, EVO 2016, NFL 2015, Amiibo, Super Mario Maker threads all are frequently updated and stay high on the active threads list, and only SMM perhaps deserve to be there. That's not to say that there isn't good discussion on the classics, but it's far less than before, and at least I get the feeling that it's being overwhelmed by new and shiny.

Just my two pence from an old member who feels way out of place here these days (and in all likelihood is forgotten as well).