#Kametsu IRC channel issues

[Nekone]

Before I get started with this, I must apologize up front if this post ends up being long. There's a lot on my mind on this particular subject and I don't quite know if I can condense it all into a shorter post but I'll try.

 

I suppose I should start off with why I'm making this post to begin with. After a private discussion with Koby via IRC, we came to an agreement that there was a problem in how the main IRC channel was being run. Koby and I have both observed a marked increase of oppression in the channel over the past months and beyond. People have noted as such - there seemed to be this "submit or else" vibe in the channel as of late, that people felt they were being oppressed/threatened into silence and thus scared to hold a discussion in the fear they would be retaliated against. We have lost valuable members of the IRC community because of this. And yes there's been a lot more use of that kick command than there really should have been in the first place. And, I have to admit, yes a major part of this problem is me. I can recall numerous times where I've either threatened to shut someone up or outright just kicked them out of the channel when there wasn't a clear cut rule violation of any sort. BUT, it's not just me, this occurs with a number of people as well, and I think this needs to be addressed with the public. Trust must be re-established. The channel must be freed from this oppressive iron grip, and I'd like to make it so that the people who felt they could no longer express themselves in the channel, can one day return and take part in regular discussions.

 

Obviously the channel has to have rules. And those rules have to be enforced. But the line is crossed when we interpret and enforce these rules to our own liking...or even worse, when we start making up rules of our own or just take personal vendettas against people - *raises hand* guilty - and then crud hits the fan. I spent all day trying to think up ways to address this, and this is what I came up with.

 

1. Moderation of the channel: We're going to greatly relax moderation of the channel overall. We will still of course monitor for rule violations, but we will do so only under official published rules as linked previously. If new rules must be enacted, they will be published in the IRC rules thread, and it will be communicated to you as soon as possible. Removal from the channel will only occur when it is absolutely necessary to do so and only when all other options have been exhausted. In addition, there will be no more "joke" kicking, even among channel staff. I feel this just sends the wrong message to users. The kick command is, after all, NOT a toy. THIS will take effect immediately.
2. Open discussions: To help foster a more favorable environment for open discussion without fear of retaliation from channel staff, I'm going to propose that channel operator rights be more strictly regulated. Particularly, if a channel staff member uses their status (a) to suppress a discussion/silence those involved (b) to threaten users (c) to remove anyone without any justifiable reason - they will risk at the very least demotion to lesser status, and depending on the severity, possibly complete and permanent revocation of channel access and even being removed from the channel themselves. This will apply to ANYONE who holds a staff position in the IRC channel - myself included. This will be regulated solely at the discretion of the channel founder (Koby) and nobody else. This will ALSO take effect immediately, pending approval from Koby.
3. Peer Review: Something we do at my job, whenever we feel there's a serious workplace concern or a dispute involving a manager, we file it to "Peer Review". This is where a complaint is filed and reviewed by a panel of employees + a few management level employees. I want to try a similar concept here - I want to put together a peer review group, consisting of a handful of normal users who use the IRC channel every day + myself + channel ownership (Koby). This group will be charged with reviewing any complaints brought against channel staffers in private, and will provide input on the matter to me and Koby. We will review the complaint, and Koby will then have final say in how to address the complaint based on that input. Now, I know what some of you are probably going to ask - "why does he have to include himself in this" - but let me explain - I wanted to include myself in this initiative because I was a huge part of this 'suppression' problem to begin with, and I want the opportunity to not only clean up my act but also involve myself more with fellow users of the channel, rebuild their trust in me, and instead of being the problem, I want to help contribute to the solution. As to how to implement this, I haven't yet come up with, but soon as I do I'll run it by Koby and see what he thinks.

 

That's what I've come up with so far in the short term. However, it can't be just me pitching ideas here - I want you all, ESPECIALLY those of you who regularly frequent the channel or have in the past - to provide your insight to this. If you have any ideas to add to this to help make the IRC channel a much better place, we want to hear it! Mind you, forum rules still apply, so no bashing people's faces in. I also kindly ask that you not directly criticize anyone in this thread - it was only created for suggestions/insight from IRC regulars. Rest assured I will not attempt to be a douchebag here either - while I do wear a 'staff' tag in my profile here, it is in name only. I do not carry any special privileges here so I cannot moderate here - and for this thread, that's the way I want it.

 

And just so everyone knows - I do have a...colorful...past in terms of both forum administration and IRC channel administration from nearly a decade ago. It was not pleasant. And I let it take control again on more than one occasion. For that, I am truly and sincerely sorry and I do hope you will forgive me in particular for being the ass that I was, and that those of you who once frequented the IRC channel will come back again and hang out with us once more.

[Nabull]

Spoiler

I read it?! I read it!!!!!!!!! 

 

[Nekone]

Hm. Been almost 24 hours, and nobody has any input to this at all? I see people looking at it. Surely some people have some sort of idea to pitch or opinion to post. I do think it's that important.

[MaxxCatt]

52 minutes ago, IkarosBD said:

Hm. Been almost 24 hours, and nobody has any input to this at all? I see people looking at it. Surely some people have some sort of idea to pitch or opinion to post. I do think it's that important.

I must be blind to what is going on. But then again I've only been hanging out there for less than 2 months.

[shamil11]

3 hours ago, IkarosBD said:

Hm. Been almost 24 hours, and nobody has any input to this at all? I see people looking at it. Surely some people have some sort of idea to pitch or opinion to post. I do think it's that important.

didn't see the thread till now.

 

Peer review and open discussions are solid points and are probably the best policy changes it could have going forward for building and encouraging trust between users and staff.

 

I've been a part of various groups and IRC stuff on and off for a few years; mostly off, since I don't like people very much, but I see a lot of places and people and all sorts of group dynamics and environments. In the time I've been kicking around this place, I would say that #Kametsu doesn't really have any genuinely world-class asshole douchecanoe users stinking up the place and causing real mood-killing problems in the chat (even the actual official Moodkiller does not count for this), so a heavy hand is not really needed to run the place except when obvious outsiders come in to troll and destroy. These types are usually not regulars, and they're easy to spot, deal with, and move on from. That fact of there being generally decent folk around the place is probably what really amplifies the problem people had/have with heavy-handed or capricious administration (and that's just fancy talk for "why the hell did you kick him for no reason??!")... but it's also an easy fix, it starts at the top, and the stuff you've outlined above is a good step in that direction.

 

But I'm worried about one point though--you say "joke kicking" is now on the Not-List, and that's probably a good thing since those things inevitably get taken too far at some point, but you're still going to joke-kick Etzimal at least once in a while right??! It wouldn't be the same and I think that one rule may do more harm than good..

[Idle]

I'm still new to IRC, but I never had a problem with anything personally. I have seen some drama/conflict go down, but that seemed to be due to people being too rash.

 

So, my suggestion (which is probably the easiest to implement) is if someone (staff) is/gets "triggered" by something, they should take some deep breathes and think/rethink about the situation with a level head, and try to act on logic rather than emotion.

 

I also agree with Etzimal about kicks/joke kicks, I don't really know what kind of image the channel is trying to represent, but it seems more like a place to hang out and talk rather than a professional work environment. There's no harm in a little fun, right?

 

Lastly, if you're having a bad day, look at some cat pictures/videos or something. http://i.imgur.com/NecOqzl.jpg

[Nekone]

18 hours ago, Idle said:

I'm still new to IRC, but I never had a problem with anything personally. I have seen some drama/conflict go down, but that seemed to be due to people being too rash.

 

So, my suggestion (which is probably the easiest to implement) is if someone (staff) is/gets "triggered" by something, they should take some deep breathes and think/rethink about the situation with a level head, and try to act on logic rather than emotion.

 

I also agree with Etzimal about kicks/joke kicks, I don't really know what kind of image the channel is trying to represent, but it seems more like a place to hang out and talk rather than a professional work environment. There's no harm in a little fun, right?

 

Lastly, if you're having a bad day, look at some cat pictures/videos or something. http://i.imgur.com/NecOqzl.jpg

LOL yeah cat pictures always work! But aside from that I have my usual methods of letting off some steam - through Steam (get it? lol) - that is I just go off there, pick a game, play for a while until I feel better. And yeah it's usually going to either be one of my JRPGs or one of my FPS games. Something I can devote (and divert) my focus to for a decent amount of time without any problem.