Forum Winter is Coming

@FunATuns, please avoid escalating; @norill probably could have skipped the parting barb but as bait it's pretty tame, so please2unrustle your jimmies.

I would, I confess, appreciate not having words put in my mouth.

If you took time to revisit my posts, an observant reader will notice I neither state there will be a change in the rules (@mcrifel), nor do I say any of this comes down to me disliking particular people (@FunATuns).

For the sake of clarity, which appears in short supply amid the sea of salt, let me be specific and particular:

1. No rules or official policy have changed, nor are any changes planned at this time.
2. What has changed is how I, fbb, plan to go about exercising my right as administrator to be lenient with community members who break the rules.
3. This change is relevant to the community at large---and hence got an announcement---because with a shift in how I administer mercy comes the end of a long-standing tradition (wherein I would strenuously oppose the removal of almost any member unless there was no other way).
4. This has precious little to do with personal affection, or lack thereof (in point of interest, I like bunnie, and have stood to prevent his permanent removal on a few occasions).
5. This has everything to do with my realising, perhaps too late, that just because I wish to give people multiple chances to get themselves straight doesn't mean they are willing to use those opportunities.

Them's the facts. If you want to be upset with me for relinquishing some of my naïveté... Eh. I guess you can do that. There is, iirc, a long-standing tradition for blaming me for all manner of things.

Finally:

I have. Repeatedly. It's why he's still around to shitpost in the first place.

IIRC, I was not the one who brought his name up; specifically because this isn't some dumb grudge against a single person. It's the marking of the changing seasons. Of me recognising I'm a little less callow, a little more grim, than I ever used to be.

Don't make the mistake of assuming the map has any bearing on the terrain. This isn't about bunnie, although he may feature in it. It's about coming to terms with what *is*.

 

Don't go giving yourself affectations, bunbun darling. This is bigger than just you. As I said: the map, is not the territory.

 

Idk. Here in the southern hemisphere it seems pretty accurate, meteorologically speaking.

I'll address the salt levels in my reply to mcrifel below.

"Not derogatory to anyone" is somewhat at odds with the discord---which is generally tamer than ingame---featuring slurs toward race, gender, orientation and capacity on a fairly regular basis, I would opine.

"...respect them" there's a bitter-sweet irony here, Didgedy. That sentiment? That's the attitude I took on administration with. It's still, in my heart of hearts, what I believe. And yet here we are. Funny. I wonder what ever could have happened to bring us here... (protip: having people repeatedly abuse the freedom you give them? It gets old).

If you truly feel you need to fear the admins here, then I'm sorry to hear that. That wasn’t my intention.

Unless, ofc, you had plans to repeatedly push and break rules and then push and break the second/third/fourth/fifth/etc. chances you get given.

If that's your gig then, yes, you are right to be afraid.

 

From the bottom up:

Thank you, I appreciate it. I think you're the first.

Yeah, I'm hearing that a lot. It's possibly true, although maybe it's fairer to say that it could have been presented better. Sorry about that.

I hear the confusion and I'm sorry for that. The context for this personal shift being of community interest boils down to a few points:

• Like it or not, there's a fair amount of discretion involved in administering the rules;
• Dislike me or not, I'd suggest my reputation for being the "bleeding heart" admin is fairly well established;
• Predictably or not, there's been an ongoing history of some (not all) people blatantly, and repeatedly, misusing the second chances my bleeding-heart discretion gives them.

And, for various reasons:

• I'm tired of the bullshit.

The material upshot of all this being users, who find themselves on the wrong side of the rules, won't necessarily have a sympathetic fbb ear to lean on any more.

Maybe that didn't deserve its own post, my conceit. It certainly deserved a more carefully worded post, my apologies.
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As do we all.

In the end the forums, discord, ingame---they're all still the same places they were before. Except there'll be less of me. Less 'goodmin fbb'.

Because I'm tired.

Tired of being the meat in the sandwich between users, staff, and the inevitable misunderstandings; of having people assume that every move I make that doesn't make obvious sense to them must be terrible & a sign that I am terrible; of, honestly, being taken for granted.

Not that y'all owe me any favours, ofc; but to consistently give rule-breakers (who clearly enjoy the community & game) another shot to fit in---and consistantly have it spat back in your face for lols? That's been a part of the fabric of this community, as I've run it, for years now. And with this announcement, it's gone.

I don't want to inspire fear (except where it belongs), I don't want to wallow in self-pity (although I'm sure that's what this looks like), I don't really (if I'm honest) want to be making this announcement at all.

I just felt I should let you all know, even if I didn't really know how best to do it---for better or worse, for this admin and in some small way for the rest of you: winter is here.

 

yall need to chill... if you dont want to read this then dont and piss off

 

I hear you; but at the same time, to be fair, the thread title does carry the "forum" tag quite prominently.

I believe I can see your argument; however, I guess I would raise the counterpoint that oft-times what looks like a "wide blanket" attack to an onlooker can count as a deeply "personal" attack to the persons in that category.

For example:
If you've grown up having a particular set of words regularly used to belittle & alienate you, to degrade your friends and family, then even if you encounter those words in a completely different context---even if they're not aimed at you---they'll hurt. If you've been slapped regularly enough, then even observing a playful slap between randoms can immediately put you back in that bad headspace. Psychologically, it's not dissimilar to the mechanics of vets with PTSD triggering flashbacks in stressful situations.

Not to say the goal here is to build an oasis for speshul snowflakes, but imo it's a simple matter of human decency to avoid words/phrases that are commonly known to serve little purpose apart from referencing shit others might find painful.
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As a meta observation: I think people are doing pretty well with what could definitely be a powderkeg of a topic; but as a pre-emptive reminder to people, do take @blackjoker77777's advice while reading and especially while posting: