Review [Special] Chat Violations Section Closure

[Vikingsrallentando 3,058]

 

Sir James M. Barrie once stated: “Temper is a weapon that we hold by the blade.” Our temperaments vary between each individual. Some people’s blood runs hotter than others, or boils much faster when provoked. Recently, the Chat Violations section of the forum was closed due to the few who took advantage of the system and used it with bad intentions. Let’s explore the situation further.

 

 

Official Statement
 
Let’s start with the official statement that could've been seen at the top of the Chat Violations sub-forum that is now closed, then we’ll dive into the deeper issue that caused this closure.

 

The whole system started out as a good idea - to bring the community together by players helping moderators to clean the chat from offenders and scammers but it became obsolete over the years; for some time now it has been serving only a handful of Tanki players to deal with personal grudges or to feel like moderators by reporting others, no matter if the offense is bannable or not. It brought negative atmosphere into the game with players waiting for others to make a wrong move so they can report them or threaten them with bans, even making fake screenshots in order to frame someone.

 

We don't support such behavior and we feel that players should have more freedom while enjoying this game and that our role is to help players achieve that, more than to serve just as a ban tool. Also, these reports were just taking moderator's time away from the chat so it was decided to do something that will work for the benefit of the majority - and that is to close them.

The system worked quite well, however that was not the purpose of taking these submissions. It was more appropriate for circumstances where a whole server is threatened by a scammer, for an example, and a moderator was not able to come in time.

 

Players took it upon themselves to act as wannabe mods and watch for ban worthy offenses. The desire for justice is understandable. But moderators are designated, approved helpers that are trained to handle offenses in an appropriate manner.

 

Since the opportunity was available, players were capable of; falsifying offenses and submitting them, threatening players with evidence they may or may not have against them, and submitting violations to further their personal vendettas.
 
The rules of the community are put in place to ensure the Tanki experience is a pleasant for people of any age, ethnicity, and culture. If players are submitting violations of these rules to get a rush of justice or further their own injustices, then that defeats the point of submitting these violations in in the first place; thus, the Chat Violations Section is now closed due to the actions of the few.
 
It might be worth considering these two cases of misuse of effort and emotion and figure out where they can best be focused towards.
 
Seeking Justice
 
Fighting for something you think is right and eventually obtaining that something is euphoric experience. It has been successful on such a small scale for this community that a few have fought to defend the rules, though it has not worked out in this case. There are other ways to seek and gain victories and participate within the community in such a way as to better it without going too far.
 
Set mini-goals within the battles you play. Daily missions are a great starting point. Maybe there is an annoying Shaft that is picking off your teammates as they enter the enemy base, perhaps you can be the one to destroy it, allowing your teammates to attack. Simple things within the context of the battle go a long way.
 
When you’re not in battle, participate in forum conversation. Sometimes heated discussion (that does not involve flaming, or “arguing for the sake of arguing”) can be healthy for developing argumentative skills. It can be quite satisfying knowing you put forth better ideas. There are also many creative opportunities, where you can express yourself in many different mediums.
 
Join a clan and participate in eSports, where the rewards can be quite fulfilling. Play in community events. Conquer buildings in parkour. There are a multitude of different augmentations to game to take advantage of.
 
If you are interested in becoming a helper, you can apply in the designated section if applications are open. We are looking for mature and organized individuals to maintain the community. Clean ban history isn't always a must but the will to help the whole community and work for the benefit of everyone in it is.

 

Cooling Tempers

 

Getting back to Sir Barrie's quote, "Temper is a weapon we hold by the blade." It's human nature to have things get under the skin, causing tempers to flare and choice words to fly. If it makes you feel any better, adults still struggle with this as well. The notion that adults are more sophisticated than children is kind of misleading as any adult can act like a child, but they chose not to for various reasons that are self explanatory. Similarly, they keep their tempers controlled in public.

 

As a general rule, it's best to back away from something that stimulates anger. In Tanki, if the participants of a match or if the match itself is frustrating you, take a deep breath, maybe step away from the game entirely and come back when you've calmed down. This will prevent you from unintentionally saying or doing something you'll regret.

 

Little did the few players out to further vendettas know that what they were doing is no better than a single, lone violation. They are holding the blade by its sharp, cutting edge instead of the safe, dull handle. Their cause is not better, it's worse. To such a degree that it overshadowed all legitimate cases of regular injustice reports.

 

 

How to Handle Violators

 

The official statement directs you to the help site page on the chat system, check it out to find a complete list of possible commands. Right now we want to focus on the following commands:

 

/block username — blocks messages from the player (works everywhere).
/unblock username — resume receiving messages from the player (works everywhere).
/blocklist — show the list of blocked players (works only in the general chat).
/unblockall — clear the list of blocked players (works only in the general chat).

Instead of taking the time to screenshot the chat, upload the image, and report, you can block the player who is causing trouble. Simply click on that player's nickname and then choose the option "Ignore". Or you can copy the nickname, type "/block" and space, paste the username, and hit enter. The foul comments will be removed, you won't have to worry about that player anymore since you won't see him or her again. And it can be done with an unlimited number of players. 

 

Another way of protecting yourself on the chat is to simply disable private messages from everyone or disable the whole chat. Both options are available in Settings. Disabling either or both options will not influence your game-play in any way. 

 

Of course this only works for text violations. For cases of sabotage and anything of the like, you can used the "/vote nickname" function in battle. You can also report any game violation in the Game Violations Section on the forum. 

 

Can I still Report Chat Violators?

 

The answer is yes, and no. There are some instances where contacting a Chat Administrator would be necessary, though it is difficult to quantify or mention specifics. The block function should take care of the problem from your perspective. If you however decide that a measure is needed against an individual player, please only report the serial offenders, those who are disrupting the community at large.

 

To report these rare instances, contact Chat Administrators. They will assess the evidence and decide accordingly. Do not contact a Chat Moderator with evidence. If you ever have any problems with a Chat Moderator, please contact a Chat Administrator and they will try to resolve the problem.

 

Similarly for the forum, if you see a post that violates the rules, click the "Report" button in the bottom right corner of the post. You can enter an explanation of why you think it is a violation and press "Submit Report". A Forum Moderator will handle the situation as soon as possible. If you have any problems with Forum Moderators, you can contact a Forum Administrator to get the issue resolved.

 

---

 

Hopefully all wanna-be moderators find other outlets to success and all skirmishes between fellow tankers are squashed (kindly). And find a food for thought in these words by Calvin Dillard: "Weak people revenge, strong people forgive, intelligent people ignore!"
Thanks for reading and take care.

 

Please Note: I am not a Chat or Forum Administrator. I have no control over matters regarding chat or forum violations. I am a Reporter Administrator. Please contact me with issues regarding Special Features only, thank you!

 

[Yisroel.Rabin 16,224]

Never break rules. <_<

[unholycloak5 1,814]

Very informative - well done! ^_^

[marc.jp_44 20,837]

I just love Vikings. He's always so lowkey and doesn't usually talk but he's a smart guy who makes ripper articles. Great one! Loved the quote, it suited the article very well.

[Hate 5,582]

Great article, I should direct people in here from now on so they can learn more info about it and why the section is closed or was closed. :)

[Momma_Bear 149]

Nicely done!  I appreciate the clear instruction to contact chat admin instead of chat mods when there is need to report serial and/or serious offenders.  Thank you for writing this.  

[HAPPSHOT 2,029]

Noice! Omg momma bear posted! ^^

[ldea 1,544]

I'm a simple idea and ideas are bulletproof

[Rooky 414]

Well written article. It would've been better if u added some sense of humor to it.

[Guest]

Wait, so is it part of newspaper or part of violation section? jk xD 

Good one vik.. tho tooooooooooooooooo many vikings in reporter team <3

[r_poopyu3 12]

dude....

now people can insult wherever forum mods arent there....

Hypocrites.... now is your chance to insult anyone you want....

or not xD

[r_KillAura7 15]

I hope there will be Ignore All button xD

 

Or just ignore spammers :ph34r:  

 

[DarkVengeance 31]

ok, 1st out, you are a very chilled guy and that is cool. If you choose to turn the other cheek that is your choice. Seeking Justice is not a bad thing. There is a difference between being aggressive/passive/assertive. A person enforcing their rights is being assertive, and is not in need of psychiatric help as you imply. Younger people all need to learn to handle temper and anger, but also to enforce rights, be assertive and not tolerate abuse. Tanki is getting a reputation as a foul community on places like Steam due to the lack of reporting of flamers and trolls. I have seen trolling on here that would amount to a criminal offence in most parts of the world. During the Magnum release contest, for example, some guy got on and flamed 3 players continuously for about 4 hours, no exaggeration, saying things like 'I have your IP addresses, police will come to your houses and take away and rape your mothers and sisters and burn them on their private parts with acid,' together with a load of racial abuse. I was bummed out cos I had not screen-shotted this in time, to discover that chat reporting had been shut down. It would have made no diffence had I collected evidence. Do you mean to tell me that there is something wrong with a person, that said person is weak and lacking in intelligence if they seek justice for this? Here is another quote, 'Fiat justitia ruat caulum.' 'Let Justice be done tho the heavens fall.' Yes, there were pernicious persons who, say in high ranked battles would tell mid-rankers to leave, notwithstanding said persons being ranked to take part, and threaten reporting and bans. There is a far greater problem. Just sit and watch the chat for an hour, take part in 3 battles to see how much flaming and abuse goes on. People using the old system to victimise was by far the lessor of two evils, what the Tanki community needs is cleaning up, more reporting and bans, not less, until the flamers realise that said persons cant get away with this sort of thing. 

 

 

Dark Vengeance

Edited May 22, 2017 by DarkVengeance

[Cyborg 3,189]

Ignore option is the best. You can just silence the dude forever :D

[MSI 1,926]

Nice ^_^

[D_A.N.I.E.l 55]

Finally i can insult those noob freezes who kill me on gold no matter where i am (even if i am a mile away from the point)

[Taco 2,820]

"Weak people revenge, strong people forgive, intelligent people ignore!"

+++++++ 

The quote above is something to strongly stand by, and to live by.  :D

 

Amazing article, well written, easy to understand. Hopefully this will sort out any confusion amongst players that are still questioning why it was closed.

[ptcl 116]

I like this update because I can do "a lot" of things now :ph34r:

[Mr.Kenan 1,331]

Good Work!

[Nolo 366]

Nicely done, pretty clever! I like the use of quotes from renowned figures. ^_^

[Shadowmaster2.o 125]

Tried of getting banned :angry:  

[JUNAID2803 10]

get some sense of humor guys who think this is good.

Now players can insult your mom and you cant do anything to him.

This is just to make moderators work slightly.

And yes why did a moderator banned me when i insulted him, you said  ''player can insult freely''

Lazy moderators.

Players can now insult freely so i will insult freely and i will also insult moderators.

Edited May 23, 2017 by Hate
Please avoid using inappropriate language as well as writing with caps, thanks

[D_A.N.I.E.l 55]

hh i wouldn't recommend to try that.

[M.O.N.O.X.Y.D.E 123]

get some sense of humor guys who think this is good.

Now players can insult your mom and you cant do anything to him.

This is just to make moderators work slightly.

And yes why did a moderator banned me when i insulted him, you said  ''player can insult freely''

Lazy moderators.

Players can now insult freely so i will insult freely and i will also insult moderators.

Be carefull with this ! forum mods still be able to ban you from the forum

[sid262 283]

too late but gud decision by dev... B)  B)  B) . I suffered many months as nub chat mods believed the one who was using my name to insult others....  :angry:  :angry:  :angry:  :angry: