Where`s m0ds?

Started by [delete}, Mon 14/05/2018 18:15:46

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Snarky

Hi Mark.

Quote from: markymint on Thu 04/10/2018 08:45:45
people like Snarky would rather pull up someone's rant than ever say anything positive...
QuoteSnark has never had anything good or positive to say about m0ds

I'm sure I have had good things to say about you many times, but if I've somehow neglected to, let me do so now: I've had my issues with you, but I have always admired your many talents. We watched your Ben Jordan films again at Mittens a couple of weeks ago and were laughing our heads off (in a good way) and admiring your technique. (And yeah, also moaning about shortcomings and other gripes, as you do.)

And did I say a word against you now? You know, people have been asking after you (including at Mittens), but because you'd seen fit to keep the details quiet, the moderators decided not to go into what precipitated your exit. Since you touch on the topic in that post, it seemed like a good way to sate people's curiosity without breaking any confidentiality.

It's not hard to guess what I think of a lot of the other stuff you put there, but hey, you wrote it. If you stand by it, I don't see the problem with linking to it. (Oh, I see you edited your post, and do not stand by it.)

Quoteand that muppet runs this place!

As much as some people have that idea (probably because I'm one of the moderators who's most active on the forums, and because I tend to favor transparency, so I've ended up posting on behalf of the moderators on a number of occasions â€" plus I just rub some people the wrong way), you of all people should know that's not true. AGA holds the key to the castle, and practically every significant moderator action is discussed and agreed on by the team as a whole (if not always in complete consensus) behind the scenes.

Since I'm argumentative by nature, it's tempting to try to "set the record straight" about various incidents you bring up (and then partially edited out), but I doubt it will lead to anything positive or will change anybody's mind. So I'll just say welcome back to the forums, whether it's as a regular or just for a single post. You did seem increasingly unhappy here in the time before you left, so I hope you've found a venue that you find more rewarding and more receptive to putting your ideas into practice.

LimpingFish

I like you, Mark, you know that. I have fond memories of the times we met IRL, and I admire and am grateful for the work you put into AGS over the years.

But for some time before you left, things changed. "m0ds" became more and more passive aggressive (less of the passive as time wore on) in tone, more and more hostile towards users who didn't agree with his way of thinking. On those times you had posts deleted, it happened because you crossed a line; be it a forum rule, or a personal insult. You weren't "targeted" for speaking your mind, you were reprimanded for behaving like a dick. It's all there on the moderators board, and I can assure you it contains no discussions of "getting" you, no behind-the-scenes machinations...nothing, except a rather sad realization that you had become determined to burn as many bridges as you could.

And none of it was discussed in public, or even hinted at. Out of respect for you, and not as some sort of cover-up.

Snarky is being rather diplomatic in his post, despite your insults, so good for him.

Allow me to be less so; stow that shit. If you can't be civil, don't be here.
Steam: LimpingFish
PSN: LFishRoller
XB: TheActualLimpingFish
Spotify: LimpingFish

Jack

Quote from: LimpingFish on Thu 04/10/2018 23:34:01
You weren't "targeted" for speaking your mind, you were reprimanded for behaving like a dick.

Never forget.

[delete}

Hello Mark,

thanks for your reply! And keep on swimming against the stream, Stickman on Fire (which a good thing in my book). And also for defending me against them, very kind! Will bookmark your Twitter, and E-mail is also a good way to stay loosely in contact. Nothing else to say on this public forum from my side.

Only one thing: Snarky, hereby I give you my second warning, and this will be my last.

ManicMatt

Quote from: Amélie on Sun 07/10/2018 10:51:10
Only one thing: Snarky, hereby I give you my second warning, and this will be my last.

I'm sure he's trembling in his boots. Well, I'm giving you my second warning, and this will be my first.

LimpingFish

Quote from: Amélie on Sun 07/10/2018 10:51:10
And keep on swimming against the stream...

Is this the "Not Being a Dick" stream? Because that's what I've mostly taken from m0ds' recent behavior. Beyond railing at people and lamenting his general situation, he seems to be expending a lot of energy for very little gain.

It's not something I would celebrate.
Steam: LimpingFish
PSN: LFishRoller
XB: TheActualLimpingFish
Spotify: LimpingFish

Snarky

Moderator hat:

Is m0ds a dick? Am I a dick? Let's leave that as questions each member gets to make up their own mind about, and off this thread. If anyone wants to complain about the behavior of any member, flagging a post or contacting a moderator over PM is the right way to go about it.

Andail

Stay on topic, please.
This thread is about Mark's (Mods) current whereabouts.

Grim

Quote from: Andail on Tue 09/10/2018 11:37:58
Stay on topic, please.
This thread is about Mark's (Mods) current whereabouts.

I thought it was Mark's roast? Who can be most horrible to him?

But I think we have a clear winner already! ;)

theSynapse


markymint

#30
This community needs its dicks. It makes it more real, more down to earth, more natural. The constant and persistent incubation of thought and expression here unless it's about love for 2D games or Winzip/Winrar (and that's on a good week) is frankly sickening to me at this point. If it works for you that is great but to me it does not and tastes bad so I spit that shit out, not pretend it's warm and succulent on my tongue. And there are wider geo-political things that are affecting this hobby, this industry and such, that you can see manifesting on smaller scales with people here and in places similar. It's true, this is a place for and about adventure games, but that is made up of people. People who can, are, and will be dicks, idiots, morons, lazy, authoritative, who might just cripple it for the next decent person.

Never Forget. Well it's funny you mention that, because the forum itself won't let you forget "Most Online Ever: 559 (15 Jan 2012, 02:01)". That was when the community cast a vote for a new community leader and I believe I won that or came very close with Crimson Wizard. And that didn't happen. The community didn't get what it voted for. I can only apologize for you most online ever for that, because I was ready and wanted to move this community into the fucking future, but the decision by the owners was that it should just stay stagnant for another 6+ years. And that's what ya got, and that's also considerably what drove me away, and also why I now feel there's really not a lot to lose by being a vocal dick around here.

At least I'm a dick you can see coming. Not like the folks here who are nice on the surface, but actually herald quite dickish qualities underneath. Who in most circumstances you would probably consider either not very nice or just worth no special note - given a free pass and held up on high only because "adventure game". The thing that ties and bonds us all together. The almost superfluous thing that ties it all together at this point.

EDIT BY AGA: ADVENTUREX RELATED CONSPIRACY THEORIES BELOW
Spoiler

I wasn't going to bring up AdventureX but as Tom popped by to post for the first time in 2 years with a wonderful reply, I think I will. This is where I got truly fucked in the ass by people I had tried to respect and trust over the years. People who were not even as close as "family" to me as members of this community. theSynapse and Azure are outsiders as far as I'm concerned. See for yourself, Tom has posted only when my name is mentioned for the first time in 2 years or so. I was STUPID enough to give them the benefit of the doubt. Now don't get me wrong, I do not take issue with you Tom (theSynapse) because ultimately you are the white-knight in this. The one that rallies to the females side in their time of need. We can all be accountable for white-knighting at some point in our lives.

But what Azure did to "push" me out of AdventureX (something I created for this community and the wider community, compared to her creation of nothing for anyone, except some bad voice acting) is only clear in recent times, where we understand more about what makes up the DNA of an SJW and professional victims. I didn't know it at the time. And stupidly I was sympathetic to it at the time. And before I knew it, I was screwed out of my own creation and thing I had worked tirelessly for a number of years. And I will never forgive Azure for that, not until she leaves AdventureX, which she never will, because to her that is a seat of power. A bit like the voice acting website she screeched at the owners to hand back to her when it had gotten successful. She is the kind of person that feel they deserve things they didn't earn for themselves. And to get those things she will use the, what is now bog standard, professional victim method to gain it.

Here's what happened there in a nutshell. The money raised for charity at 2015 AdventureX took a while to reach the charity. This caused "depression" in Azure and the only fix (to keep the event running) seemed to be if I stood down from running AdventureX. That was the fucking fix. Now here's the kicker. At no point did Rebecca say "hey, this is getting me down", despite having personal contact details, despite there being a PRIVATE ADVENTUREX FORUM on this website where we often discussed issues openly, despite the explanation that as the EU had made new changes I had to be sure about the payment to charity which delayed its payment, despite anything really. Here's where I made the mistake. I should then have said "Thanks for your help, goodbye" and carried on. But as I say back in 2016 very few of us knew what "pro victims" and "SJW's" really were, so weren't alert to this kind of behaviour and in many cases acted sympathetic to it thinking that is the best solution. It's not. When someone tries to tear down something you built up, for whatever reason, heed my advice - tell them to kindly sod off.

The part that really annoyed me though, and possibly set "dickhead m0ds" in motion... Was how she used her "depression" to have me effectively removed from the team. The fucking gaule. As you know, one of your members here recently comit suicide. Whilst it may not be possible to fathom what they were going through, I think we can agree at this point that there was something that needed investigation to perhaps avoid that outcome. Much is the case here, where Azure could have easily ASKED why there was a delay, instead just waiting til the last minute to hold the event hostage until her demand was met. Without even a slither of inclination or consideration as to why the event existed in the first place, too much effort to ask or whatnot, but I very much continued to run AdventureX to work through my own depression and anxiety issues, of which it was actually doing wonders to help. And that EDIT BY AGA took that away without even a moment of consideration beyond anything other than her own needs. People should not be depressed, but being depressed cos a charity payment was delayed? To oust someone who was in it to overcome a life-time of depression? Go fuck yourself.

Now, it was only as I came to realize just how insidious what she did was, that I started to realize as soon as these traits appear in other people, to call them out. To make sure me and hopefully no-one else gets caught in the same traps. And there are so many youtube channels out there about this, giving the same advice. And then you start to notice where else these other insidious, or at least, unpleasant traits are infecting. How other people are just one or two clicks away from being the same kind of assholes, putting good people out of their hobbies, their goals and for all they know their depression, anxiety, loneliness, whatever cycles.
[close]

I'm not saying a community like this should be looking for and defusing situations like this, no, that's silly. I'm saying that you have to understand that at some point, conflict of interests come into play, and they can get quite ugly. That some folks are going to get burned in ways that can't be explained and tweeted away in 150 characters. That under the jolly happy surface, there are some real asshats, masquerading as "adventure game fans" when at best they just moderate a forum, or just help run an event, and are about as "fan" as I am president of the USA.

In Scouts we had a saying "always do your best". Outside of individual game developers, it's hard to see where a modicum of doing ones best is being applied around here anymore. This isn't Scouts, but whatever it is, the similar mantra seems to be "always do next to nothing". Write a reply on a forum. Well, unless it's about asking why a charity payment is delayed, in which case don't write anything, (always do next to nothing) until it's too late. But this isn't the wider communities fault, because I know if they were given the opportunity, they would rise to the challenge of doing their best. But that challenge is lost on some of the people that run this place and therefore it never trickles down.

Some people don't know when they are actually a detriment to a project, or a community, or a thing. They don't know when to step down and let other, fresher ideas and talent take their place. And that's what this place sorely needs, from my perspective, as someone who saw it behind the scenes as much as on the surface for what, 18 years. The age of CJ is over but this place continues on in a bubble like it never ended. The problem is, my hobby and enthusiasm didn't die in 2011 or whenever CJ left - even if yours did. I didn't realize this place would just become a preservation project over a thriving community. I pushed for numerous things for 18 years, 18 fucking years, to the same tune of "no" and "not needed". Why WOULD I or anyone for that matter stick around in a community like that? There are other avenues for folks like me to travel to be able to find the flow that comes as part of the passion and enthusiasm. Granted, I think it may have dried up almost completely at this point lol but still ... gas trapped in a chamber is going to do whatever it can to escape that chamber.

You will not see a simple "Yes." from Snarky. There is always a following essay that bogs everything down. The other moderators when it comes to community issues are pretty clear cut. Andail is generally pro-community, he'll tend to agree in favour of ideas and innovations. LimpingFish is generally in the middle but usually also sides in favor. Snarky may be favourable occasionally, but it always comes with a "but", an essay and like your mother telling you to "think before you act!" to the point you think about it so much you just can't be bothered in the end! And then anything that might happen gets put to AGA who whilst neutral, clearly prefers the easy options, perhaps because he works 9-5 and has no energy after that, at which point it becomes clear he should hand the server and tech side over to people with time and enthusiasm.

I'm past the point of no return with this community, sorry. (Side note: Had many great years here, great experiences, don't get me wrong, through til about 2015 things were generally always good). But as time went on and as nothing ever happened (and other undesirable things happening indirectly but still with some connection) it seemed apparent that the "team" needed a major restructuring for this place to be interesting and effective, (to someone like myself) but that would never happen because people get proud in their positions and as I said - this place feeling like a preservation project nowadays and not a lot else. And as I discussed some people aren't able to make the inner criticisms of themselves to the point they can accept they might be hindering any kind of progress. And time and time again folks say "but a forum where I can say two words to Anas Abdin's latest background and talk about Winzip and WinRar is ALL I'm looking for!". Good for you, you are an NPC. NPC's like you don't build communities. You don't help others succeed. You don't contribute much critical thinking. You don't innovate. You latch onto the group think, you latch onto the baseline requirements of being a part of a community/hobby, you simply stagnate progress thinking your words are all that's ever needed.

Do you know why I decided to be a dick to Radiant? Because frankly, he's a dick to everyone else. He just hides that behind a shade of politeness. Do you not SEE the way he talks to Crimson Wizard? He just barks orders at him. And you LET him. You let him exclude any basic courtesies like "Excuse me" or "please" or "thank you". You let him just BARK at CW, on a regular basis. "This needs fixing." or "A player said this is broken, please fix it." ... these are NOT nice traits! Exceptionally so when it takes no more than an extra second to say "Hello CW" or "if you have a moment" or ANY BASIC FREAKING COURTESY. So whilst that's part the problem, the other part is that no-one else will call it out. Ooh lets not offend Radiant! Even though he barks at the guy creating the engine... No-one will say it like it is. But nowadays, I will. If you're shit in the way you talk to people online, I'll call that out, as you should rightly call it out when I do it. And as I said near the beginning, simply being polite doesn't mean you're not still a twat underneath. Anyone can be polite without much effort, but to be a decent human being? Clearly that's lost on some nowadays. Anyway, his rebuttal to that was to ban me from his Steam forum about 2 months later... testament to his fragile nature. But you know, he got me! I am devastated I can't read Heroine's Quest technical issues anymore, absolutely.

I think I'm done for now, but I can keep going if you want me to. You don't need to worry about me like I very much don't need to worry about you. I'll worry about the people who have shown a lick of being human like Amelié in the 18 years I resided here. But that's about it. I can do what I do perfectly fine with or without this community nowadays, much like this community can do without me in its current state of affairs.

It feels good to be able to talk about these things, rather than covering it up for the "best interests" of AGS or AdventureX. I had to step outside this community and AdventureX to be able to talk about these things freely. I don't want to see the demise of either, but I don't want to be tied to a burden of secrecy for "their" prosperity where my own (and other peoples perhaps) suffers in silence. No-one should stand for that, and none of you either. When people can't speak up, important details get missed or overlooked, and the next thing you know you've got a sad instance of suicide or (the less sad) instance of a meltdown like mine ;)

One final thing though, after I wrote in my post on AG "Dave I do not hate you" and he then tweeted about "hatred" toward him. I do not hate on people. I may be vocal and I may call you a hack or a fraud but if I hated you, I would do more than just reply on a forum thread, trust me. I may have strong opinions on Snarky having almost ownership status over this community, but again that isn't pure hatred. It is absolute dissatisfaction, yes, but you can call it hate when I rally people against you or tell you to literally f* off etc. I try not to be hateful about the Azure thing either, but that was an actual burn on my goals and reputation. I am far more hateful about that, than any of this, but even then, I'm not trying to go after Azure or anything like it. So if you want to call my forum reply as "hate" then that's okay, you can. Other people are clearly seeing it for what it really is, and for that matter, what it isn't. When was the last time you praised a company because you were dissatisfied with their service?

Dave Gilbert

Quote
One final thing though, after I wrote in my post on AG "Dave I do not hate you" and he then tweeted about "hatred" toward him. I do not hate on people.

Just to be clear, that was not about you.

Scavenger

There's a lot of /pol/ rhetoric in there, sjws, professional victims, white knights, and now, bizarrely, calling real people NPCs, which is something that they're doing now because they love dehumanizing people. Come on, dude, it's super transparent language.

QuoteThe constant and persistent incubation of thought and expression here unless it's about love for 2D games or Winzip/Winrar (and that's on a good week) is frankly sickening to me at this point.

Can you give a few examples? You keep bringing up how people are suppressing dissenting thought without actually, you know, being specific. What exactly are the thoughts being suppressed here?

Calin Leafshade

m0ds, I'm disappointed.

This is pure cookie-cutter stuff.

"I didn't get my deserved fame and glory because the evil SJWs took it away from me with their professional victim hood."

This is like bigotry fuel 101.

Dude, you *scammed* this community out of a couple of grand to make a game *years ago* that you didn't. How can you possibly expect to have any good will left?
And you expect people to believe that the charity money "took a little time" to get there. How long does it take to write a cheque my good fellow?

You're grasping at straws, pal.

Ben X

That's a really gross post in many different ways. Sad to see that you've gone full Notch.

Snarky

#35
Quote from: markymint on Wed 10/10/2018 13:27:17
Never Forget. Well it's funny you mention that, because the forum itself won't let you forget "Most Online Ever: 559 (15 Jan 2012, 02:01)". That was when the community cast a vote for a new community leader and I believe I won that or came very close with Crimson Wizard. And that didn't happen. The community didn't get what it voted for. I can only apologize for you most online ever for that, because I was ready and wanted to move this community into the fucking future, but the decision by the owners was that it should just stay stagnant for another 6+ years. And that's what ya got

There was no actual vote. There was a call to nominate possible candidates (and yes, you did receive the most nominations, 13 to Dave Gilbert's 12). We agreed that the four leading candidates should present their plans/vision for the community, and then we'd hold a runoff vote to pick the winner:

Quote from: m0ds on Sat 21/01/2012 19:08:01
Sure, I started writing a "charter" as it were for the future direction I have in mind and I'll finish it up for next week. Bici is thinking about it, btw.

AFAICR you never did finish that charter, and the whole thing petered out.

Quote from: markymint on Wed 10/10/2018 13:27:17At least I'm a dick you can see coming. Not like the folks here who are nice on the surface, but actually herald quite dickish qualities underneath.

If you're thinking of me, it might be the first time someone has ever accused me of not being sufficiently confrontational.

Quote from: markymint on Wed 10/10/2018 13:27:17You will not see a simple "Yes." from Snarky. There is always a following essay that bogs everything down. The other moderators when it comes to community issues are pretty clear cut. Andail is generally pro-community, he'll tend to agree in favour of ideas and innovations. LimpingFish is generally in the middle but usually also sides in favor. Snarky may be favourable occasionally, but it always comes with a "but", an essay and like your mother telling you to "think before you act!" to the point you think about it so much you just can't be bothered in the end!

You say a lot of heinous things about other people, but as for me, I think that's absolutely fair. Yeah, I'm a glass-half-empty kind of person, and I'll look for the flaws in any proposal. If you don't think that's useful, you are free to ignore me.

Quote from: markymint on Wed 10/10/2018 13:27:17I may have strong opinions on Snarky having almost ownership status over this community

I'm one guy with an opinion, just like you. (I don't use mod powers to get my way in debates.) If I'm able to convince others to see things my way, fine. Often I am not. That's hardly "ownership". And I am not the reason your various proposals for AGS over the years never gained traction.

(Edit: Fixed quote attributions.)

[delete}

"I don't use mod powers to get my way in debates."

Why was I blocked from any forum action like replying or articulating my own view here then?

Snarky

#37
Quote from: Amélie on Wed 10/10/2018 20:25:30
"I don't use mod powers to get my way in debates."

Why was I blocked from any forum action like replying or articulating my own view here then?

Because you asked to be blocked. Insisted on it, even.

[delete}

#38
No, I said to AGA to rather remove me than block me yesterday in the #ags irc. Also my question if you personally are a qualified mod was a question, not a "question".

Snarky

Oh, I thought you were talking about that time you were actually banned, on your own request.

The mod note I put on this thread was because it was starting to descend into personal abuse, which is against the forum rules. Greater-than-usual latitude is being given on that score precisely because the moderators want to avoid stifling any element of legitimate criticism.

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