berryfloss | ✗PROBLEMS

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If there is a character in the Poly world that is taken from a source material that one personally finds offensive or derogatory, are you still obliged to interact with that character if they approach one of your characters, even if it makes you really uncomfortable to do so?

http://community.livejournal.com/polychromatic/191567.html?thread=9691471#t9691471

Purposefully being attacked by a couple of other players here for no apparent reason? Honestly, I tried to be as polite as possible, but there's only so many re-lights a fuse can take, you know?

I have no access to AIM at the moment with which to contact the moderators.

With response to this:

http://community.livejournal.com/polychromatic/191567.html?thread=9752399#t9752399

I don't mean to be rude, but I do think that as moderators, speaking of the whole moderation team, you should be responsible for moderating this HMD more carefully, least players find it necessary to send themselves to the Problems Thread?

It's unfair to tell players to take 'problems' to IM or e-mail when the problem clearly can't be solved through communication.

I'm just trying to be helpful by offering my opinions as a player, which were shared by a few other confused players. It feels like the mods WRT the HMD are saying 'here's this critique form, if you have a problem, put up, shut up or take it to IM.'

That sort of formal and detached response solves...nearly nothing. And in point of fact, I was once directed, by a moderator, to this thread in the case that I needed to report harassment from another player. To repeat, I'm being sent mixed messages. One moderator informs me to use this form to report abuse, another informs me not to report that abuse at all, but to solve the clearly irreconcilable through IM?

Please appropriately explain somewhere on the community for players the correct channels to take when harassment occurs?

Regarding the previous response: That wasn't the issue. The issue at hand is that there is a strong feeling that the moderation does not actually read material cited in complaints or follow up appropriately on character complaint form issues and abuse. It is the job of the moderation to seriously consider and read any complaints and not respond with a copy-pasted, informal response.

I don't feel it was directed at me. Please don't patronize players by making assumptions, this is certainly not the first time you've made assumptions such as this, suggesting that players feel attacked by you. Just because a person has an issue, does not mean they aren't being civil about bringing that issue to you. There is further no reason why players can't offer constructive criticism concerning the moderation.

(As a side point, there is a lack of a suggestion or criticism thread concerning Polychromatic moderation, which might be a good idea to institute, so that players who are concerned can voice their opinions in an appropriate forum and not the 'Problems' thread?)

Merely consider: A lot of players lately are distressed by the informality of the mods concerning many subjects. It is the informality and the general uselessness of any mod interaction because of that informality that is the reason for the further complaints.

I felt myself and another player were being attacked by other players. A different situation removed from the fact that I felt that the moderation was doing a job at moderating the HMD which they had a responsibility to moderate in a substandard fashion (aware that two mods were away, but if this was the case HMD should have been rescheduled clearly).

It is presumptuous for the moderation to always affirm that players are acting like moderation is attacking them. To be honest, it's happened three times with me and more times with other people.

I believe that the reason you are not receiving suggestions is that this thread is not pointed out to players as a venue (I had to hunt to find it), and that the way the thread functions itself is an issue. Comments are unscreened after 'dealt' with? And screening all comments does not allow players to leave anonymous comments. I know players who have suggestions but would worry about mod animosity based on those suggestions or complaints.

Regardless of 'general' happiness (and I'm a bit taken aback that you would describe me as a player as generally unhappy, or I wouldn't be playing here) if even one comment, complaint and/or suggestion is made regarding a point of moderation, 'so far alone' comment in question should be seriously considered and regarded. Out of respect for the players, each individual voice should be considered equally, along with the assumption of the fact that an individual comment does not represent an individual sentiment. It has been recently brought up in discussions that there is no arbitrary magical number, besides '1', which delegates the idea of importance.

Please seriously consider the suggestion of an unscreened suggestion box with anonymous posting available. I am sure that the idea of a suggestion box in lieu of an intimidating 'Problems' form would not be frowned upon by any players.

(deleted comment) (Show 2 comments)

I'm tempted to app for a character that was previously played (dropped or kicked) in this game, and I'm wondering whether I'd have to pick up where they left, or if I can make it as though they never existed?

I'm a little concerned about how many times poly issues have been popping up on roleplaysecrets and in anon comments there, and at how crude and mean spirited some of the secrets and comments can be sometimes.

Perhaps the comm needs a gentle reminder that mun to mun communication is always preferred over making nasty secrets and anon statements? It's just something that's disturbing me more and more lately. I want poly to be a place of classy people, not bitchy anons.

Any ideas on what can be done?

This is less of a complaint about a specific mod action and more a request to think about altering the way in which applications are reviewed. I realize that applications at this moment are approved/reviewed in a sort of rolling basis; if an application is turned in early, there's a good chance that it'll be reviewed prior to one submitted later, although there is per se no guarantee, exceptions being (most likely) when a couple of moderators are very familiar with a canon and happen to vote on a later app such that it's approved earlier. However I think that this method of reviewing applications lends itself to a very problematic situation for those whose applications are reviewed late, and oftentimes much later than applications which are perhaps submitted a few days afterward.

I would then like to suggest that application reviews be dealt out in chronological order. I think that this would create an incentive for the moderators to actually review some apps which they're reluctant to review on a timely basis (because maybe someone has a stellar app later from a canon which, arbitrarily, the mods happen to know or play). I think that the reasons behind using the current system of rolling stamps doesn't actually serve a positive purpose, outlined as such:

Some may say that the reason why some apps are reviewed more slowly is because moderators don't know the canon. In this case, I would contend that setting the application aside isn't going to help at all, unless mods delay in this manner to actually go out there and read/watch/play the canon, which I find... unlikely. At best, you displace the time that you'd spend waffling over the application. At worst, you invite the sort of procrastinating which I'm pretty sure all of us fall victim to.
Some may say that the reason why some apps are reviewed more slowly is because the moderators disagree on how the app should be reviewed. I don't see this as a justified reason to slow down the process, though, nor necessarily that accurate--given that apps are decided on a two-mod agreement basis (or so I've heard). I don't think that such disagreement/discussion should really go on longer than a day or so anyway, because... in the end, it's an app, you can't know for certain whether the player will be awesome or a wanker or OOC, so added time doesn't really make the judgment all that much better.
Some may say that the first part (that mods don't know the canon) may be ameliorated by delaying of the judgment because that would allot more time for peer reviews. However, I don't see why apps with obscure canons necessarily deserve to be swayed more by peer reviews than apps with popular, mod-known canons (as the peer review page does state that reviews are just meant to aid in a decision, not make or break one). And in fact, if this should be the argument, I think that making the timing of judgments chronological should make the urgency of peer reviewing much more predictable, in that if an app you desperately know you need to review is about third or fourth on the queue, you can quickly type one up and send it in.

I realize that sometimes mods probably just know how they want to rule on an app that has been turned in that day, and given the really nice example post we were given of the app table, I think that mods will be able to continue voting on apps out of turn if it really so pleases them, but I think that there's a special harm incurred when the decision comments/stamps are delivered in a non-chronological order. So, if mods want to just rule quickly on the canons they know, that's fine, but when you give out the stamps in a non-chronological order, there are specific problems/distasteful side-effects that happen from that. I mean, waiting on a decision is nerve-wracking enough, but then seeing someone whose application was only posted a couple/few hours ago getting approved when yours has sat around for days is just another blow to the ego.

Oftentimes, the extreme delay on a stamp conflicts with a player's schedule, given that recently there have been some applications which haven't even been addressed until well into the next slot week--can they app again? Technically, yes, but they lose a lot of time in an application process which I am fond of but does have a large time interval of two weeks per app, because many will be dissuaded to app a second app until they've at least heard back from the first one. Moreover, in the case of a rejection on the first go-around, this can further make things difficult in that they don't know whether or not they'll have to submit that same app again next period.

I think more importantly though, it creates unease. Even if, for instance, the applicant is friends with all the mods and trust in the objectivity of the mods in making a decision, this sort of delay creates doubt in many players despite the delayed rulings often being for reasons that aren't related to the player him/herself or the quality of the app--such as simply not knowing an arbitrary canon. At best, this leads to a temerity in play which I just find rather unfortunate. At worst, it can engender accusations of favoritism, which I just think hurts the view of the modship overall, engendering wank which I don't think any of us are fond of. And I think that this is most hurtful when it comes to new players, many of whom proclaim to have been nervous about applying in the first place when they introduce themselves on

poly_tldr and might be checking the app page day after day--I don't think that simply having 'Queued' notifications (although those are handy) will calm them down much. Having apps submitted sometimes weeks later being accepted first just looks... bad, I guess.

So, yes. I understand if this is sort of a huge request/operation/idek what you'd call it, but these are just some of my observations and I really do think that this sort of change could be beneficial to the game. If there's something big that I've missed, since I'm obviously not a mod and my knowledge of mod mechanics in Poly is very tentative, please do let me know! Any sort of reply is appreciated. ♥

Less of a problem more of a question. The google list that has all the taken characters is really really outdated, would it be possible to make it an open list so other people could help you all keep it updated?

Hi there!

I sent an email a while back to ask if it would be at all possible for Adam to have Dog arrive in the City, but I don't think I got a reply back. If you guys did, I'm really sorry for being like a broken record here. I'm really suspecting that my email is just devouring all emails from users it doesn't recognize.

Thanks,
Shikki.

Hello,

I was wondering if there was a suggestion thread that perhaps I should post in, if I have some sort of suggestion? I didn't think to exactly classify it as a 'problem', so I wasn't sure if this was the appropriate thread to do so.

Thanks!

Sincerely,
Nikki

Hi guys.

I emailed a permission asking thing to mods @polychromatic-rp.info. on the 27th May and haven't gotten a reply yet? I don't know the usual wait time as I haven't emailed you before, and I think it's the right address as it's the only one I could find.

If you guys are busy then of course it's fine, I'm just hoping it hasn't gotten lost in spam somewhere, as it's been almost two weeks? I've checked my own spam to see if a reply went there too.

Sorry if this is the wrong place too, I'm not really sure where this should go.

Not a problem exactly, but I just thought I would let you know that the application slot thread on the profile page of polychromatic is still linked to the old one that is now locked. =3

Hey~

I am absolutely understanding that all of you have lives outside the internet, but the taken characters list [not the spreadsheet] is severely outdated in some sections due to players not going back and deleting entries. I feel that, when advertising for Poly, it gets sticky when the players have to constantly remind potential castmates that "the taken characters list isn't updated." It also reflects badly on the game as a sign of disorganization.

Also, I ask that you clear up the rule - perhaps in the application notes? - that the third person sample should not be from other games. There are a number of multi-game players who may use third-person samples from actual logs in other games, and I feel it should be clear in the application notes for new applicants just in case.

This is kind of an odd problem and I have no idea what might be causing it, but...I app'd my first character back in April and was approved, at which point I promptly went and requested a section for her series on the taken characters thread and then filled out her info when the section was added. Every month since then that section and her comments has disappeared and I've had to re-request it again. The first time, I figured it was just a weird glitch, since I'd been having computer problems, and the comment must not have posted or something. But the second and thirds time I went back and checked the series thread later to make sure all had posted and it was fine...until I'd come back and see the Kaleido Star section was gone once again and when it was added back on Rosetta's character info would be missing as well.

I have no idea what is causing this...if I've posted her info wrong somehow, please tell me and I'll redo it right, or maybe it's just a glitch, I don't know, but since this has happened every single month since I first joined, I'm really starting to worry...

This isn't so much a problem as it is a question/suggestion.

I'm wondering if it's at all possible to have a game-wide discussion post, probably after HMD. It's been a long time since the last player feedback post (http://community.livejournal.com/polychromatic/195644.html) (about nine months) and a lot's changed. There are so many new players now that tastes have probably changed since the last discussion and I think it'd be a good idea to get some kind of notion as to what everyone's moving to. I'd also like some heavy discussion on curses going on, personally: what kind would we like to see more of, what we'd like less of, how grabbags and other big curses could be organized and facilitated better. Not necessarily for specific curse suggestions, but a general idea of what players would like.

Didn't know where to put this so here, I suppose.

The images at the Current City Map (http://community.livejournal.com/poly_extra/745734.html) thread seem to be down. It'd be nice to have them up again because I'm kinda working out where my character is going to live. The broken images say that it's due to account inactivity that the pictures aren't showing. I'm going off of the older map, but I'd like something more accurate. Thanks!

(screened comment) (Show 1 comment)

Hey guys! I was wondering how come I got removed from the community? I have activity here (http://tampered.livejournal.com/919852.html#cutid1) and here (http://advancetheplot.livejournal.com/5167.html)!

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