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The Problem With Monkeying

Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 10:28 am
by ngtm1r
In retrospect, it's kind of obvious.

Given the inability to post in public threads, and not having strong ties to any project (or even if you really do, sometimes)...it's just not different from banning. Because you don't bother to visit anymore.

I didn't even intend to have my HLP activity fall off, I have a couple of pages of mission testing notes I need to slap together for TVWP, but it just did. I've visited like three times since I was monkeyed.

So what's really the point or the difference from being banned in the end, unless it's to make the moderators feel better?

Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 12:47 pm
by aldo
AFAIK it was part of the moderators grand plan to stop people talking about anything other than Freespace modding.

(Because, obviously, you're more induced to make free stuff for people that you don't actually know)

Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 6:56 pm
by Droid803
Yeah, monkeying might as well be a ban.
Doesn't make too much of a difference, except that banning would actually have more consideration done before doing so.

Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 8:12 pm
by Snail
Something is happening to HLP. Seriously, one of you social psychologists work it out.

Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 9:05 pm
by Black Wolf
Try now.

Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 10:27 pm
by Top Gun
I could definitely see your motivation to visit dropping off if you weren't tied to any specific project, but I don't think that's the scenario that monkeying was designed for in the first place. It's really meant for those individuals who are active and valuable members of one of the hosted projects, yet for some reason or another have occasionally proven to have certain...issues...with the off-topic folders. It enables them to keep contributing to their mod while still being punished for a perceived transgression, whereas a flat-out ban would prevent direct work on the mod and potentially harm the whole mod team. I think it's a decent compromise, at least in theory.
aldo wrote:AFAIK it was part of the moderators grand plan to stop people talking about anything other than Freespace modding.

(Because, obviously, you're more induced to make free stuff for people that you don't actually know)
You really want to start that up again?

Re: The Problem With Monkeying

Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 2:52 am
by karajorma
ngtm1r wrote:In retrospect, it's kind of obvious.

Given the inability to post in public threads, and not having strong ties to any project (or even if you really do, sometimes)...it's just not different from banning. Because you don't bother to visit anymore.

I didn't even intend to have my HLP activity fall off, I have a couple of pages of mission testing notes I need to slap together for TVWP, but it just did. I've visited like three times since I was monkeyed.

So what's really the point or the difference from being banned in the end, unless it's to make the moderators feel better?
Monkeying is and always has been meant to be one step below a ban. Monkeying is meant to be "We're sick of dealing with you but your team might not be."

If you don't work on any projects during that time and the team don't remind you to log on we've always taken that as an indication that maybe they're sick of you too. :p


However I have added a new usergroup which bans people from Hard-Light while leaving the rest of the site open. This one will probably be used instead of a monkeying for most infractions since most of them are caused by behaviour on Hard-Light.

Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 5:32 pm
by Snail
Hard-Light meaning The Pub/General Discussion?

Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 5:41 pm
by Black Wolf
Snail wrote:Hard-Light meaning The Pub/General Discussion?
Yeah

Re: The Problem With Monkeying

Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2010 6:44 am
by ngtm1r
karajorma wrote: Monkeying is and always has been meant to be one step below a ban. Monkeying is meant to be "We're sick of dealing with you but your team might not be."
Then why did you monkey Cobra back in the day? He wasn't on anything.
karajorma wrote: If you don't work on any projects during that time and the team don't remind you to log on we've always taken that as an indication that maybe they're sick of you too. :p
Yes, because all projects are progressing rapidly, and all people on the team are required constantly. But by the time they're needed again, they're gone! And you do realize not all of us hand out contact information to the team, right?

This isn't personal, Kara, so kindly get your head out of your ass. This is general. Is Mobius still contributing at all to all those things he was in? I'm guessing no?

Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2010 12:26 pm
by aldo
Top Gun wrote:
aldo wrote:AFAIK it was part of the moderators grand plan to stop people talking about anything other than Freespace modding.

(Because, obviously, you're more induced to make free stuff for people that you don't actually know)
You really want to start that up again?
Start what up? It's just an opinion.

Re: The Problem With Monkeying

Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2010 5:28 pm
by Snail
ngtm1r wrote:Is Mobius still contributing at all to all those things he was in? I'm guessing no?
(allegedly) he's been having real-life issues.

Re: The Problem With Monkeying

Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 4:01 am
by karajorma
ngtm1r wrote:
karajorma wrote: Monkeying is and always has been meant to be one step below a ban. Monkeying is meant to be "We're sick of dealing with you but your team might not be."
Then why did you monkey Cobra back in the day? He wasn't on anything.
Sometimes people don't check whether anyone is on another team. Monkeying is about as quick as a ban and like I said, they're equivalent when someone isn't on a team so there is no real reason to do one rather than the other.

It depends on the personal preference of the admin. On one hand Monkeying clearly demonstrates that the user is banned (which can sometimes cause disruption to other threads with people asking why the user was banned). On the other hand, it has to be manually removed while bans expire which means there is the potential danger of forgetting that someone is monkeyed.

I suppose we could make an official policy over which one to use and when but personally I've never seen it as much of an issue since we always monkey people who are on a team.
Yes, because all projects are progressing rapidly, and all people on the team are required constantly. But by the time they're needed again, they're gone! And you do realize not all of us hand out contact information to the team, right?

This isn't personal, Kara, so kindly get your head out of your ass. This is general. Is Mobius still contributing at all to all those things he was in? I'm guessing no?

From what I understand Mobius was still working on his attempt to destroy Inferno long after being monkeyed. He was certainly still posting in November.

The question isn't did monkeying stop him contributing. The question is if he was banned would the result be any different? By the point Mobius was monkeyed he'd become too big an annoyance to everyone on the board not to ban him from all the public boards. If monkeying wasn't an option he'd simply have been banned from HLP entirely.

So monkeying leaves him the option to at least work with his team if he wants to. If it causes him to get bored of FS modding and wander off, well a ban is more likely to do that.

If you have a better solution I'm all ears. But the point of monkeying is that it means that it is the user's choice to wander off. When a user is banned they can make the argument that it is the admins who forced them off a project.

Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 9:18 am
by Top Gun
aldo wrote:
Top Gun wrote:
aldo wrote:AFAIK it was part of the moderators grand plan to stop people talking about anything other than Freespace modding.

(Because, obviously, you're more induced to make free stuff for people that you don't actually know)
You really want to start that up again?
Start what up? It's just an opinion.
Yeah, I know; I just didn't want to see it turn into anything more. :P