"Compare and contrast" threads and "I quit" threads are deleted (not locked, but deleted) on professionally maintained MMO forums by stewards who care about the public image of their games.
An example of a "compare and contrast" thread would be the Diablo III thread, whose sole purpose is to rabble rouse, considering its context ("A nail in the coffin?"). "I quit" threads need no introduction. As if it weren't enough to send a few PMs, some folks decide to include the entire community in a going away speech laced with parting shots. Both of these types of threads are a form of trolling called bait. Hundreds of them are likely written every year, allowed to stay on the boards and even openly supported by moderators. Recently, a thread popped up that counter-trolled the people writing these threads, making fun of them very directly. That thread was locked pretty quickly. And rightly so. What isn't constructive is the double standard that was perpetuated by doing so, when that moderator and many others continue to participate in bait threads right alongside the community.
You can defend this style of posting as much as you like. But it is destructive for the game. Complaints can be aired in a responsible manner alongside constructive discourse, but moderators should shepherd that process along to prevent a few bad seeds from treating the forum like a free-for-all shooting gallery, a reputation well-earned by Stratics--a reputation I wish would change this fifteenth anniversary. I understand that people are upset by this change and that change over the years, but en masse the unrelenting trolling and baiting--some of it going back over a decade--has been more destructive than any of those changes. Your grievances are valid, but that shouldn't be carte blanche to avenge your favorite publish era by hurting the game's chances today. More importantly, you lose the credibility to persuasively complain about the devs harming your game when you participate in behavior that harms your game.
An example of a "compare and contrast" thread would be the Diablo III thread, whose sole purpose is to rabble rouse, considering its context ("A nail in the coffin?"). "I quit" threads need no introduction. As if it weren't enough to send a few PMs, some folks decide to include the entire community in a going away speech laced with parting shots. Both of these types of threads are a form of trolling called bait. Hundreds of them are likely written every year, allowed to stay on the boards and even openly supported by moderators. Recently, a thread popped up that counter-trolled the people writing these threads, making fun of them very directly. That thread was locked pretty quickly. And rightly so. What isn't constructive is the double standard that was perpetuated by doing so, when that moderator and many others continue to participate in bait threads right alongside the community.
You can defend this style of posting as much as you like. But it is destructive for the game. Complaints can be aired in a responsible manner alongside constructive discourse, but moderators should shepherd that process along to prevent a few bad seeds from treating the forum like a free-for-all shooting gallery, a reputation well-earned by Stratics--a reputation I wish would change this fifteenth anniversary. I understand that people are upset by this change and that change over the years, but en masse the unrelenting trolling and baiting--some of it going back over a decade--has been more destructive than any of those changes. Your grievances are valid, but that shouldn't be carte blanche to avenge your favorite publish era by hurting the game's chances today. More importantly, you lose the credibility to persuasively complain about the devs harming your game when you participate in behavior that harms your game.
) No, I don't think these threads are helpful. However, sometimes people just want a way to express disagreement or disinterest, and that's healthy. Do not go gently into that good night! they say. Stratics isn't the official board of UO, so I can see why these posts don't get deleted automatically. And when there is a problem with the game, the Devs do listen to these disgruntled players. BUT, for those of us still going strong, they're just another obstacle. Sometimes when someone's done partying they want to close the club for good. We have to keep going, and just turn up the music a little bit louder. It's not as if we haven't all had moments of doubt, but there's always at least two sides of a coin. In the end these threads won't last. Give it a week, they'll probably all be gone from the front page, closed or just ignored. We as players can decide what we want to experience in UO. We also have the option to give an audience to whatever we care about here on the forums. If we've moved on from those threads, we should just move on. Thanks for this poll, for me that's it for that.
