Forum Guidelines and Moderation Actions

[YetiChow]

First and foremost, the Steam forum guidelines are the basis of everything else here - this thread only exists to clarify the areas that keep being argued over. If you haven't already done so, you can read Steam's forum policy here: steam://openurl/https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=4045-USHJ-3810.

So, to clarify a few values specific to Towns:

1. The game is what it is, please leave any prior notions of "what you are owed" at the door. Do not make arguments about what "should have been", because that's a moot point and only muddies the waters for people who are interested in the game as it stands. By all means talk about your experiences with the game, but do not extend those opinions into making sweeping statements about morality, ethics, individual players, developers or anyone else for that matter. Those discussions do not serve any purpose relevent to this forum, and there are other forums set up specifically to go over those points. If you want to take the discussion down that path, feel free to link into another forum to continue the discussion, but do not divert the topic of threads in this forum with moralising or proselytising.

2. In the same light as point 1, this is not the place to write game reviews (there is a section dedicated entirely to that, you can access it from your game library or the Store page.) If someone asks for opinions then that's a productive discussion; but threads like "do not buy this game" again serve no relevent purpose. Remember that these forums exist primarily as a place for players to form a community and share their game experiences, NOT as a place to broadcast personal opinions. In other words: if the opinion is about something in-game (or something that should/should not be in the game, or anything else that directly relates to the game and NOT to the exterior issues that tangentially relate to it) then go for it; if you're just looking for a place to set up your soap box, look somewhere else.

And, since it apparently wasn't clear enough, calling for boycotts of the game falls under this behaviour as well. If the thread asks for opinions as to whether the game should be purchased then that's a different matter, but again, the first place to look to is the Steam guidelines and they make it very clear that any opinion must at least remain respectful - so no sweeping judgements or condemnations, just a straight up "yes I do/no I do not suggest it because of [politely phrased and well-explained reasons]."

3. Again along the same lines as 1 and 2, this is NOT the place to publicly air grievances with users or moderators - sort it out in a private messages or take it to an official channel. This isn't just "no arguing" (although that's pretty clearly covered under Steam's policy), it's more "agree to disagree, or take your disagreement somewhere else". Again, I won't stop you disagreeing with another user, just don't do it here - because the vast majority of forum users simply aren't interested, and therefore it's considered spam at best.

4. The Steam guidelines are very clear about this, but I want to be even clearer: NO DEFAMATORY OR OTHERWISE HARMFUL STATEMENTS, WHATSOEVER, ABOUT INDIVIDUALS OR GROUPS WILL BE TOLERATED. Any post that causes harm will be deleted, end of story, regardless of whether it was intended to cause harm or not.

5. The last point I want to make is really about general respect. Valve has provided this space for community engagement and discussion, in the good faith that it will be used as such. The Towns team do their work in good faith, and are open to suggestions so that they can make the game better for you. I volunteer my time as a moderator here. And most importantly, the community members who answer questions, provide advice etc. do so in their own time, in good faith that their efforts will help someone else enjoy the game. Anyone breaking that faith, or disrupting that community engagement, simply isn't contributing to the community and, really, doesn't help those efforts (no matter how strong their personal feelings that they need to "take a stand".) We welcome anyone who wants to take part in the community, but be aware that we require a certain level of respect from community members... in other words, if you want to be part of this community you have to respect its values and its members, and treat their work with the same respect. It may be done for enjoyment, but it is still work - without the time and effort put in by many contributors, there wouldn't be a community to be part of.

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This thread originally served as a place to record all moderation actions and decisions; however, most of those records are no longer required. This thread is being slightly re-purposed -- it will still list locked threads and threads with edited titles, plus any which are merged into existing topics, so that those threads aren't lost (just in case anyone wants to review the discussions in them). I've unlocked this thread so that people can use it as a place to make suggestions about better ways that moderators can help everyone out, and generally support the community better. However, this does NOT mean that it's a place to argue about moderation decisions, or to report problematic posts -- use the official channels for those.

[YetiChow]

Locked the thread "newest pinned post" because that discussion has nowhere to go, but kept it visible so that the explanation can be read by anyone who cares to do so. Or, to put it another way, the thread is spam with argument and a few personal digs sprinkled in.

Thread URL: http://steamcommunity.com/app/221020/discussions/0/35220315866364532/

[YetiChow]

Locked thread "New Update Disappointing", Reason: it's going around in circles, and at this point it's pure argument. Again, kept it visible because I'm not trying to censor views, but everyone has said their piece and the thread isn't adding anything to the community, it's not worth the disruption of keeping it open.

Thread URL: http://steamcommunity.com/app/221020/discussions/0/43099722179656136/#p5

[YetiChow]

Locked thread "To buy or not to buy...?". Reason: the discussion has run its course, in fact it had run its course a while ago and probably should have been locked before the arguments set in.

Thread link: http://steamcommunity.com/app/221020/discussions/0/38596748343451875/

[YetiChow]

Locked thread "Is Towns building again...?" Reason: the discussion had answered the original question, and was sinking into argument for arguments' sake.

Thread link: http://steamcommunity.com/app/221020/discussions/0/46476691951751385/

[YetiChow]

Edited post by user Solo Solitaire in the thread "I think this game is very poor". Reason: took out the spam but wanted to keep the legit post.

Also deleted two posts by the same user in the Community values thread. Reason: bullying, name calling, argument, generally being disruptive... take your pick really.

Legitimate, constructive criticisms are most welcome. Sly and sarcastic digs at people aren't; and quoting people to make an example out of is just rude. Quote to respond directly to someone's point, not to call someone out. And bullying just plain is not accepted.

User issued a 1-month ban, as this is a repeated offence.

Thread link to edited post: http://steamcommunity.com/app/221020/discussions/0/35221584452531088/

[YetiChow]

Locked the thread "I think this game is very poor". Reason: the discussion was going into a way different area and was on the cusp of becoming a problem. It goes back to the guideline "discuss the game, not other users".

[YetiChow]

Moved thread "Will trade Orcs Must Die! 2: Complete Pack Humble URL for this game." into the trading forum. Reason: well... it's a trading request...

I realise that not many trading requests have been made for Towns (and of course there are no cards... although players have asked about whether they might happen in the future, no solid plans exist yet), so if the trading forum doesn't get more use then I might well not bother with this in the future - it doesn't seem to be doing any harm, the whole reason the rule exists is simply to prevent the general discussion forum being filled with trading threads; but I don't see that as a huge risk at the moment.

Or in other words, this is purely a decision based on the letter of the Steam rule on the matter, but it's a case where the letter and the spirit of the rule point toward different outcomes. The last thing I want to do is move this request into a practically dead sub-forum, so I'll look at options for making sure that it's still visible.

Thread link: http://steamcommunity.com/app/221020/tradingforum/616187839153011216/

[YetiChow]

Merged thread "if this game is incomplete, why doesn't Valve remove it from the store?" into the "everyone says this is a abandoned game, is this true?" thread. Reason: virtually the same question; at least the answers will certainly be very similar, and the main forum is filling up with similar threads.

Redirect left for 1 week. Really this is just to save cross-posting between threads later down the line; again it's not a "punishment" just an attempt to keep things a bit neater.

[YetiChow]

Changed the title of this thread: http://steamcommunity.com/app/221020/discussions/0/619568074746245788/ from "A question to YetiChow" to "Anyone know if there will be a sale, or where I can find a coupon?". Reason: The thread is about someone trying to find a discount on the game, so I wanted to make it easier for people to help with that; rather than the thread becoming another discussion about me as a moderator.

As I said in the thread; the original title isn't a problem at all, it's a 2-second change to hopefully make communication easier. Having to post an explanation makes it sound like something more serious was going on when really it's just me trying to point out the topic in a way that would be clearer to those who can help out.

And saying it here as another reminder: feel free to PM me or even add me as a friend on Steam if you want to talk directly, I can't promise I'll be able to get back to people immediately but I'll do my best :) One way to PM me without having to friend me first is to go into the group chat (you can start a private message from in there), I'd suggest posting the question publicly if it's appropriate and say in the post you'd like to take it to PM, or else title the thread something like "request to private message". Or alternatively, comment on my Steam profile page with a request to PM.

Also, related to the above name-change: deleted a post in the same thread by user Innocent-OJ. Reason: the answer given had no helpful information, and was derailing into spam with possibly inflammatory overtones. Again, it's a BELIEF, and the topic wasn't asking for those kind of beliefs.

[YetiChow]

Deleted a post by user Elder Caster in the thread "everyone says this is a abandoned game, is this true?" Reason: outright attack.

I've decided to lock the thread since it's only generating attacks and abuse at this point. Link in case anyone wants to find the thread in the future: http://steamcommunity.com/app/221020/discussions/0/35222218634378786/

[YetiChow]

Locked the thread "dead forums?". Reason: the discussion is going in circles; the original question has been answered, and it's moving back towards problematic territory that has nothing to do with the game or the community and everything to do with a few personal beliefs.

Long story short: it's disrespectful to post judegements about other people without giving them room to enter the discussion. While some valid points were raised, the manner they were raised was bordering on slurs and flaming; and I chose to cut that off before it turned into a major issue.

Feel free to continue the discussion respectfully, just remember this: we're here to discuss, not pass judgement. Leave room for the discussion to flow and grow, don't point fingers or draw sweeping conclusions because those actions only lead to argument.

Thread link: http://steamcommunity.com/app/221020/discussions/0/619569608717737913/

[YetiChow]

Deleted two posts by user diggergig in the thead "Games like Towns?" Reason: attacking the game and attempting to de-rail the discussion. Issued a 3-day ban because of the second post, which intentionally disobeyed the rule about re-posting deleted content.

I also deleted a post by Cyborgt which was made in response to this trolling; however I quoted a section of Cyborgt's post back into the thread, since that section was relevant and helpful to the discussion as a whole. I could have edited the post instead; but as I had already stated in the thread, it seemed to me that removing the post would be preferred since some users have asked for me not to edit their posts. Please note that I'm not removing Cyborgt's post for any reason other than to keep the thread moving along - diggergig's post being removed, the response just seems out of place and confusing.

Thread link: http://steamcommunity.com/app/221020/discussions/0/622954302089065854/

[Zoopy]

@YetiChow

It would be nice if you didn't lock threads that are not in contravension of the forum rules. I understand that your job is to keep everyone in check, but this is not the first time you lock a thread simply because you deem it unfit for discussion, despite nobody being in contravention of the rules.

[YetiChow]

Despite the fact that the thread (I presume you're talking about this one: http://steamcommunity.com/app/221020/discussions/0/598198173698462316/) was going around in circles, the main reason I locked it was that it was attracting a lot of flamers. I had been hiding/deleting (the "delete" button really just hides the post) the obviously agressive/trolling posts to keep the discussion "clear", but since no new questions were coming up and the discussion wasn't going anywhere I figured it wasn't worth the effort to keep doing so.

Since most of those flaming posts were "passing shots" from users who never came back to the forums, I didn't bother making notes of them in the "moderation decisions" thread... which is pretty much defunct now anyway.

I'm going to merge this thread in with the "moderation decisions" thread, since I don't want to see the forums start filling up (again) with threads about my moderation actions. However, I'll unlock that topic so there's a place to continue this discussion if anyone feels the need.

[Ordo]

You're really trying to maintain this forum. Well done.