Hey folks
It is pretty evident that we are currently seeing a surge in the number of petty exchanges and posts crafted specifically to derail threads or to score 'points' for and against their console of choice. This is a courtesy warning to all involved to stop now. We have attempted to manage these via reply bans, warnings and finally bans, but frankly the tedium of doing this, as well as subjecting the rest of the community to be onlookers has worn thin. It isn't a large group of people, but it is the same people across multiple threads who are making the forum a miserable place for those who just want to chat and discuss video games. On the back of this post, we will be escalating soft touch moderation into immediate short, sharp bans in order to quell the behaviour. If you have current/previous warnings, or are deliberately dragging threads into platform wars then the advice is to cease now or you will be given a break. We would also offer the same advice to those who think being subtle is a way around this policy. If we feel we need to make a decision on whether your comment is in good faith or not, then we will do so. We would advise being as unambiguous as possible.
If you are going into a thread to make a meta comment that's not on topic (e.g. Nintendo makes games for kids, Xbox has no games, Playstation is for the payers, Lyin' Jim Ryan, Lyin' Phil Spencer), it is likely you will foul of the current policy. These examples are not an exhaustive list. If you cannot control yourself in threads that may be contentious or assert a stance that is not glowing in praise of your favourite console, then we suggest you use the ignore functionality in the software. Those starting 'bait' threads will also be given time off if they persist. Ensure you frame your threads properly and not as clickbait or as a disingenuous article. The breaks will be more severe for this.
In addition to this, it should also be shared that these same console warriors, who are too brave and macho to put anyone on 'ignore', are the biggest proponents of using the report button when anyone says bad things about their plastic boxes. They report the very behaviour they exhibit, and while we are happy to let them seethe and deal with each other generally, at the moment the burden on the community is too large.
This post will be stickied while the policy is in place and will be implemented immediately by all the moderators. The timestamp of this post will be taken into consideration when evaluating posts that fall foul of it. It is likely you will know if this is aimed at you or not. To those not directly involved, we hope these measures will improve the quality of threads and overall enjoyment of the forums going forward.
