Cinth. I'm going to respond here since
it's been a public discussion thus far. Normally I try not to call out people in public, but this one needs to happen simply for clearing the air, I think.
I'm going to be
brief (edit: why do I ever say that):
1. As a moderator and thus a representative of Arcen, I expect you to hold your tongue to a certain extent. People say things that piss me off all the time. Sometimes it's intentionally trying to stab at my emotions, other times it is a matter of frustration that
Someone Is Wrong On The Internet. Whatever the case, if you wish to remain a representative of Arcen in any fashion, you're going to need to reign that in quite a bit.
2. I understand that there is quite a difference of opinion between Cinth and kasnavada on a lot of topics, and that's something that I don't even find particularly unfortunate. Discord in discourse is where interesting ideas come from. The fact that you don't agree most likely means that there is something actually there that is a problem, but that neither of you are fully right.
3. Instead of trying to win the argument (I gave up on that years ago), I've started trying to see the meaning behind the statements of the other person. Ultimately that may lead to nothing (that is the usual outcome), and the status quo is thus maintained, for better or worse. But sometimes that leads to some sort of ingenious spark that leads to incremental or substantial change, depending.
4. Whatever the case, I suggest that at best we all practice turning the other cheek if we simply cannot agree on something. I will do my best to listen to everyone, but ultimately at the end of the day it's my responsibility to try to please the most people possible while not neglecting the minority. Sometimes, thanks to things like lobby options, we even get to have it both ways: two incompatible playstyles become enabled via lobby options. So the fact that someone espouses something that you deeply disagree with is neither reason to panic (I'm not that trigger-happy), nor a reason to be offended (diversity in playstyles is great, and even things that appear to reduce diversity could in actuality be another form of diversity if we're talking about an optional piece).
5. Ultimately the movie The American President said it best: "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours."
6. For anyone with a moderator badge, you have an added responsibility. While you are speaking using an account with that badge, your speech is less free, as is mine. In the name of professionalism, you have to grin and bear it, even if the other person is theoretically being a complete jerk. I haven't read through the whole comment history here to even check if that's the case properly, but that's because I mainly don't care for purposes of this specific post.
7. Beyond that, for the forum community at large here I hold inflated standards for discussion compared to what you'd see in the youtube comment section, etc. Blatant personal attacks will be censored if they're directed at someone other than myself; I tend to let the ones aimed at me stand, since I don't feel that I'm an impartial judge of what is across the line. I feel that anyone with moderator powers should hold themselves to the same standard, and recognize the role that emotion and our own past experiences bring to the table.
8. Ultimately I think that certain community members may be worried that I will be convinced by a majority of people deciding X, Y, or Z and convincing me that's the way to go. If anyone remembers Control Nodes, you know I'm not THAT easy to convince.
In seriousness, that was a case where I really should have listened far sooner than I did, and I've become much better about that sort of thing in recent years. It can be a struggle, but I strive to be somewhere in the middle.
TLDR:In the vast, vast majority of cases, this is a wonderful community of people that are respectful toward each other and the Arcen staff, and even when someone slips up that's not a reason to crucify them. Cinth is a really good guy, he made a lapse in judgement a couple of times in a row here, and I'm not going to beat him up over that (this post is not meant to shame, although I can see how it may come across that way).
Nevertheless, Cinth is smart and savvy and extremely good-natured in the main. All of us can react too strongly when opposing views are presented at times, and I know Cinth well enough to say with some confidence that some of this overreaction stems from personal things completely outside of the sphere of these forums.
All of that said, regardless of circumstances in our personal lives, I simply expect better. I also have faith that there will BE better. This community is so awesome that we haven't even had to come up with a system for banning people after a certain number of strikes or whatever despite this being an active place for SEVEN YEARS. Do you realize how exceptional that is?? I certainly do, and it's my belief that all of the parties concerned here will take the high road in the interest of preserving this community for all of us.
I highly doubt all the blame is on Cinth, but I'm calling him out because he's a moderator. We all need to be careful of how confrontational we might come across, or we're going to run into this situation between two non-mods, and that will really put me in a pickle. I want to hear all of your voices, ideally unclouded by emotion or ego on the parts of any of us. That will never happen if factions start developing or people start taking too much personal ownership in specific ideas to the exclusion of others.
With a game this large, we are all going to win some and lose some (when it comes to any design changes). Some of your favorite units or mechanics likely WILL be changed or cut. Other things that you've really wanted improved also will be. As much as possible I'll try to make it so that all parties are satisfied, but please understand that is an impossible task and above all be kind to one another about it.
Thanks for your time.
