Thursday, May 29, 2008

Abusing the muting in the game

I have noticed recently that the muting has got out of hand. I enjoy chatting with all of you, but when the muting starts unecessarily (poor Surwidow, et al) then it gets to be too much drama. Muting is so highschool days isn't it? Can't we all just get along?
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6 comments:

23lbs said...

Hey Jenn,

Good post. I was actually thinking of blogging about this myself. I've always considered muting a "weapon" that should only be used as an absolute last resort. That is, if someone is being completely obnoxious and has been warned several times that there are consequences to that type of behavior in "our house."

I have participated in a few mutes over the past several months, but I've always felt justified in my action and have never regretted it. I think it's a good tool to have available to help keep the chat room a decent place to hang out. The question is, how do we ensure that everyone uses the mute button responsibly? Perhaps we should keep a list of "troublemakers" on this blog - and if the same person keeps causing problems, have them reported to fatfree admin.

What do you guys think? Does that sound too regnant?

May 29, 2008 at 3:35 PM
Greeds Creed said...

ay I'd say that it has gonent out of hand I'm sitting here watching the time tick by and waiting waiting oh and did forget one waiting some more to talk, all day ive been sitting around trying to control myself as I laugh my butt off at the fact that mas and miz/hemi are still wrestaling(only cause I'm not able to doing anything cause they know they will lose) LOL jk guys.

Well back to the point here, very recently many people have Bern the target of 'idiotic mutings' and this must stop in Two days me and surfy doll got muted and that was horrid(mostly cause I sat around having to talk to my dadzm{oh no} and playing frozen lexicon) so I say that any ideas that anyone comes up with hell I'm down with dat so let's goout there and kick some solitare a**

Bruce

May 29, 2008 at 6:32 PM
Anonymous said...

So, muting me last night was no big deal because I don't talk that much anyway. But I now feel I do have to say something...

Surf, Maj lied to you today (or maybe just remembered it wrong) when he told you in the chat that I asked if you could mute me while you were muted. I did NOT ask that. What I did ask was whether or not you could read the chats while muted. Then I said "so, if someone were to tease you, you could read it but not be able to do anything?" I thought it was kind of funny that you couldn't talk back so I teased you with the "Ha Ha".

I figured you would laugh since you kind of already knew who I was. What I didn't plan on was all Hell breaking loose. Maj and Greed went crazy and were selling people on my "muteworthyness". (decided to make up a word there).

So, sorry if you were actually mad Surf. But, I have to think you weren't at all. Just like I laughed when you wrote "cheesehead sucks" earlier tonight.

-Cheese

May 29, 2008 at 7:26 PM
Anonymous said...

This game is not yours. You should not be trying to make rules for everyone! Its not right that you are trying to control the chat and are able to do so because you've grouped up.

May 29, 2008 at 7:55 PM
23lbs said...

Sigh...

Anon, you've got it all wrong. No one here is trying to "control the chat" or make rules for everyone. The only folks who can actually do that anyway are the administrators of the website. However, I would argue that since the game is publicly accessible, it partly belongs to everyone who uses it. Therefore, each one of us has an equal influence on what happens in the game. The only laws that apply are those of common sense and decency.

Allow me to make an analogy - if you were at a public park and someone was blasting their radio and screaming obscenities at others and generally making everyone around them miserable, would you not feel compelled to take action? You start by asking them to turn down their radio and stop yelling at other people. If they refuse, perhaps you resort to calling the police to help handle the situation.

Well, we can't call Vexxed every time someone starts acting like a buffoon in the chat room. He has, however, provided us with a tool to help keep this a place where the majority of folks are comfortable and not harassed. In a separate post, tc and surfwidow have stated that they wish to be less involved in "policing" activity. That is their prerogative, but I hope that if a situation arises again in which action is required for the benefit of the community, each and every one of us would unhesitatingly stand up to defend innocence and civility.

The bottom line is - for those who deserve it - muting is a relatively minor chastisement anyway. Their access to all of the other features of the site is not restricted. They can still play solitaire and any of the other games to their heart's content. They can even be as obnoxious as they care to be - the only difference is that the rest of us don't have to listen to it, at least for 24 hours...

May 30, 2008 at 5:59 AM
Cyberspastic said...

I think that what's happening is what happens with all unmoderated chats - sometimes people get carried away. Sometimes conversations aren't suitable for young ears. I consider a mute vote a warning - and most of the time it works. Other times I'm muted right back and the inappropriate posts continue. That's when I choose to leave the game and do something else. Also it's true that a group of people use the chat more than others, but I'm certain if I chose to join in I'd be welcomed with open arms. The regulars are very nice and there conversations can be quite entertaining when the decks are bad!

May 30, 2008 at 10:38 AM

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