But why is that necessary? Why cant you say crap or dang or something like that? Why MUST you use a word that is very explicitly not allowed?

 

In regards to swearing on the server it is simple - it is against the rules and should be enforced. This is rarely an issue with our youngest players as they are usually asking for this to stop as they have the most to lose because parents do watch over their computer use. Every time you choose to swear you potentially deprive a player who loves the server from playing here. Are we really that calloused as a community that we are not able to show self control in order to not lose valuable (mostly our youngest) players?
As for Spaaam: This is clearly considered spam per the current rules which I hope stay in place. I rarely see anything other than a notice that this is against the rules unless done over and over again - which means the player simply needs to stop.
If a player continues to break (or attempt to push the limits continually) there should be consequences for the action. The whining and crying over a warning amazes me. After all, it is simply a warning - nothing else, nothing more. If the action is stopped, it is over. If not, then take the ban and hopefully learn from the mistake.
As many have stated, take the spam to a party chat and leave the majority of the players that wish not to see it to a peaceful play server.
Not sure exactly how it works but is there really no one that is willing to create a party chat - trollchat?
I am also willing to put my money where my mouth is:
If approved by staff, I will donate the $85k to a mayor that is willing to locate a town not within the "local" distance of another town where all the trolls and spammers may just have a blast - Maybe call it "trolltown"? Then simply some signs designating the "dead zone" so players don't build a town in the local range by accident.

 

There's one solution to the problem.

1. Don't be an idiot in chat or you will see the consequences

 

I believe that there is a definite line between certain things. (Spam and "Not really spam) (Cursing and... Uh... "Fake rage words?")

So, I don't usually curse in either world, in-game or irl. I also don't like seeing people using profane language at all. This is actually one of the reasons I had my chat opacity at 30% a few years ago. To me, a person who spouts profanity is a definite problem. It shows that they have very little self-control, and that they don't think before they type.

A few days ago, a person said "Hiiiiiiiiiiiii" in global. To me, this is pretty much what spam is. I quickly typed "Hello, but please don't spam.: )" The user then said "Shut the f up poke." I was very surprised that the user would give such a hostile response so quickly. Thinking of something to say, I settled on a passive aggressive response. I said "If my kindness is bothering you, please tell me, because evidently, you don't want me to try and make the community a better place." To me, it worked, because the user promptly logged off. The thing I didn't like about the whole thing is that it went unnoticed by the staff.

So in some cases, I think that the staff should be more strict on enforcing chat rules.
-1

 

I see a flaw in your logic there. You say language is bad because parents think it is bad. An opinion can't
factify itself. At its core, bad language is still just vibrations of the vocal cords or binary on the screen, and it's our perceptions of it that make it bad. But we should still control it a little on ECC.

 

My opinion is we shouldn't excessively swear just to ruin little kids gameplay. I think the rules should be tweaked a little bit. Enforce a list of "naughty" words that are appropriate (dang, dammit, crap) and make a list on the rules of the swears words your not allowed ( sh*t, F*ck, c*nt) or have a swearing filter on the server to remove all forms of inappropriate words.

About the touchy subjects, I think there should be either a new channel where people could just spew their emotions out to relieve stress. If you bottle it up, you can most likely start to get very angry or break rules. By making a new channel, I think there will be less bans in the community. But no political or religious stuff, it could either confuse little kids or hurt other users.

I think not being able to go like Hiiiiiiiii will draw away new members to the server. Real spam is if someone's taking up 1 long line of text (e.g. Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii) then that's what I would consider spam or repeating the same thing over and over (e.g. Bob:hi
Bob: Hi
Bob:hi
Etc.) that's in my opinion spam. So I am on the fence on this suggestion so +1 and -1

 

Alright, I'm fully in support of this suggestion.

To start with, I think the problem lies within how different moderators handle situations differently - There's strict moderators like @TaylorBros22, as he's admitted to being one in this thread and there are some moderators who tend to take things a little more lightly. What we really need to work on is finding a common ground for moderators to handle situations.

Some people say moderators are too strict and some say they're taking things too lightly. It honestly depends on the moderator and their take of the situation - some will warn for some things others will not.

Anyway, I'll respond to a couple of points people have made here.

Very well said, here. We need a more decisive definition of what defines a touchy/political subject. There's an explicit difference between talking about Putin's alleged net worth of billions of dollars, and talking about how his Policies effected Russia and the world. The latter should be banned, but the first example should not. Global wealth in itself isn't a touchy subject nor is wealth of heads of state and such, while politics is.

We understand that. However, we shouldn't be warning players for saying a word or two containing foreign languages. Saying "Bonjour!" should be allowed, as we see people both on ECC and IRL using greetings from foreign languages all the time. "Bonjour tout le monde!" on the other hand shouldn't, as you're initiating a conversation in a full sentence in french.

Rules are already consistently enforced though. Players are already warned for anything that may possibly break rules, including some things I disagree with.

As for the spam discussion, honestly @chocolatecheese1 is right. That whole discussion is silly. Spam is one of the few things that should be completely limited to staff discretion based on the context.

As for enforcement of the rules, I think staff should find a middle ground on enforcement and start from there. I think that the stricter mods like taylor warn for far too much however, such as a discussion about Putin's wealth - I'm not trying to bash you or anything taylor, I just believe that such discussions should be allowed.

Again, as I've said staff should reach a middle ground and start from there. Having players thinking "Hmm.. Mod B is fine with me saying "f***" but Mod A isn't, so I should break rules when Mod B is online but not Mod A" is definitely something we don't want.

 

I'm in favor of the spam part.
+1
But not for the other part
-1

 

I mean i have the same thoughts about what this guy thinks about spam

 

After reading many of the thoughts on this thread, I believe I agree with certain parts regarding the consistency of enforcement and how we enforce certain rules.

@Physicistsmom and I will be reviewing and changing many of our staff/guidelines and punishments over the next few days - 1 week.

 

+1 this is a game, and people want to have fun, not be scolded for things that are sometimes not so bad.

 

This is a game, and people want to have fun, no trolling, no breaking of rules, and no cursing so some of our players don't get "parent banned" and then the scolding can stop :D

 

Extended to over next 2 weeks as I've been busy with LWCs exploding and finals and whatnot.