Make vgc great again

[Deleted member 303433]

Hello! I love the video games chat community. I met some cool people on video games chat. wouldn't be writing this if I didn't care about video games chat. Video games chat isn't without its downsides. I brainstormed what the ideal video games chat would look like and here is what I come up with:

1) Administration:
a)Set expectations for mods to moderate at least an hour every other day. Frequently being inactive 2+ days without illness, family emergency or anything that is unexpected and urgent should be unacceptable.
b)Admin should be a mentor to mods encouraging continuous learning and the development of a growth mindset. Admins kind of act as a sensei to mods. A good admin guides, supports and empowers mods to help them do a good job at fulfilling their responsibilities.
c)Admin develops an informal course for trainee mods including training on cyber bullying/ online harassment, conflict resolution, crisis management, mental health, active listening, diversity in online spaces and other relevant topics.
d) Make trainee mods pass a scenario based quiz to make sure they understand the rules and guidelines and demonstrate they can handle a wide range of situations effectively before their first day modding
e) Make mods clock in and out and consider hiring staff active at particular parts of the day and night.

2) Community/ user engagement
a) Address the toxicity in chat and make turning video games chat into a friendly, welcoming and fun chat a priority
b) Embrace nerd culture by finding ways to incorporate video games, anime, tabletop rpg, manga and tcg.
c) Encourage more chatting about video games by encouraging mods to ask gaming related questions
d) Have themed weeks related to video games, movies, cartoons,etc. Example theme weeks including jrpg week, superhero week and anime/manga week.
e) Host competitions offering gold as a reward. An idea for a a contest is a video game fan art competition,
f) Consider having an official video games chat Minecraft server. Give more opportunities for the chat to game together.
g) Utilize off site software to have events like Dungeons & Dragons night and chess tournaments.

3) Why these changes are important?
a) By having active and responsible mods the chat will be safer and more welcoming
b) Admin mentoring the mods will make sure mods have the skills and knowledge needed to do a good job at their role
c) Training mods on important subjects such as customer service, conflict resolution and internet safety will create a safer and more welcoming chat room.
d) Addressing the toxicity is crucial to creating a friendly chat room.
e) Finding ways to incorporate nerd culture into video games chat can draw in gamers from other chat avenue rooms
f) Contests and themed weeks will boost user engagement and build a sense of community
g) Using off site software to host tournaments or game nights gives more opportunities for users to game together
h) Mods clocking in/out is important data for the admin and can be used to help the admin hire mods during times there are often no mods active.

3) Limitations
a) Some of these ideas have successfully been implemented elsewhere and had good results.
b) Ensuring active moderation is challenging and even more so when mods have busy schedules. A large mod team might be needed to achieve this goal.
c) Creating a mod training program can cost time. A lot of care goes into making sure mods are properly trained. It won't cost money however. ****** classroom can host the mod training for example.
d) The software in chat or forums don't currently allow quizzes to be made. ****** form or something similar will have to be used.
e) Addressing in chat toxicity is a big task. It can involve setting clear rules, consistently enforcing them and removing problematic users.
f) Hosting a Minecraft server involves ongoing moderation, server costs and maintenance. The cost might not be justified if there aren't enough users interested.
g) Hosting contests / themed weeks involves careful planning including determining the criteria, judging process and prizes.
h) The owners aren't easy to work with. They are likely gonna shut down many of these ideas down and that is okay.
i) Even though the owners main priority is having users in the chat no matter how toxic and boosting user engagement/ satisfaction isn't something they put enough care into change won't happen if we don't explore an idealized version of video games.
j) Some of these ideas won't work for video games chat or are gonna need some adjustment to suit the needs of video games chat. If just 1 thing is implemented from this list then this thread would be successful.

If video games chat don't have gaming/ anime events there is very little justifying it stay open. Video games chat is a breeding ground for never ending drama between men 25+ who constantly try owning each other and proving how they are the best. There is little chatting about shared interests. Sexual chat and accusations of users being predators overshadow any chat about video games and anime. Gamers/ weebs join this chat find there is nothing of value, leave and go to Discord servers instead. The absence of nerd culture in a video games chat begs the question what is the actual purpose of the room?

Now I am handing the microphone to other video games chat users.....

• What changes do YOU wanna see?​
• What can the admin and mods DO better?​
• What are ideas about BOOSTING user engagement?​
• How do you feel about the rulebook? What rules would YOU change?​

Lastly, let's give the mods/ admin a chance to speak...

• What steps are being taken to address toxicity in video games chat?​
• How do you currently encourage chit chat of nerdy topics?​
• Have you considered hosting contests/ themed weeks?​
• What concerns do have about these ideas and suggestions?​

@Chatmaster
@Argamaethos
@Reiko
@RwbyCastle
@Izaya
@Miss Mushroom
@jeez

 

[jeez]

As far as im aware our approach to toxicity in chat is reactive rather than proactive so its more so trying to mitigate it due to the userbase being as you said 25+ men drama hounding or being inappropriate.

I like to think I manage to tame that sometimes when i’m on and encourage healthy conversations about gaming or other appropriate topics.

As far as hosting a minecraft server or off site games? I think thats a lot of hassle and probably not worth it to do in an official capacity, especially as theres many unofficial groups that do play together. I can assure you theres a few users I do not wanna interact with off of chat.

DnD might be more possible though, a side room with a dice rolling plugin? Im iffy on introducing an RP room cuz well…you know how RPing on chatrooms tends to go….

as far as your other ideas i think theyre good natured, but maybe a bit unfeasible; the themed weeks I’m personally not a fan of just cuz I think its tacky.

Theres definitely a community on vgc that talks about videogames and is quite healthy about it, shout out our best user banjobro, but gaming culture on a whole does attract many problematic individuals and I think thats just the boulder us staff will eternally be pushing up this mountain. Trying to keep chat appropriate and on topic.

 

[Snacker]

OWNED!!!!

 

[Miss Mushroom]

I do not think it's appropriate to answer your first question. Specific examples of what we do to limit toxicity in the chat would involve us pointing out specific users as problems. That is not something you should really make public as someone can take it personally (as they should). Even to address specific types of behavior would lead to an outcry as someone may feel they are being attacked when they are not. Our current chat community has a mixture of clashing personality types which often leads to unecessary drama. I really believe that people should utilize the ignore function as opposed to continuously bickering with each other. In addition, users should offer each other constructive criticism as opposed to destructive criticism to limit harrassment. Wrong +wrong does not equal right. In the words of Elsa, let it go people. Let it go.
People are often very passionate about their gaming preferences. I think it is also important to note that a lot of people that participate in multiplayer videogames enjoy trolling. For example; I was playing COD once and I suck at the game. The other random members of my team trolled me about how badly I sucked. I muted them so I couldn't hear them and then they messaged me over PSN to tell me how much I suck. This type of behavior is not acceptable at all, but is something that you frequently encounter across the gaming community.
We do not all have the same interests or have in depth knowledge regarding games. Conversation should be inclusive and not restrictive. Not all conversations need to be centered around gaming. There are a plethora of other topics that can be explored that are appropriate to be spoken about in this chat as well.
I would like to limit any sort of competitions or contests as I believe it would increase the toxicity of the room. Many users would use a win or a loss as ammunition against another user. I already see this on a daily basis over VGC gold and other silly things. A healthy competitive mindset is encouraged, but cannot be a promised.
I just wish the people in this room would show a little more respect towards each other. Let go of your grudges and move forward. The only person that allows that kind of negativity to remain in your life is you. Mad? Log off and don't project. Need let out you negative thoughts? PM instead of posting in main chat to someone you trust.

 

[Reiko]

I'm gonna keep my answer as short as possible. Mods go through trial periods before being made official. We are asked to be here at least 2 hours a day when able to be. Obviously real life can make that difficult. Like jeez said there are some people I would not like to interact with outside of chat in say a minecraft server and I am sure others can agree to have the same thought. I wish that wasn't the case but sadly I can only see a public server turning just as toxic as the chat already is. I don't think it should be limited to video game topics like mushroom stated but I do think it is something that should be encouraged and a topic we should be accepting of and not bicker and argue over others preferences. Ultimately everyone needs to use the ignore feature, let it go, move on and if it's an issue that requires mod involvement let us handle it so that we can maintain a peaceful flow of conversation in chat without everyone ganging up on a user for an incident that occurred. Report ignore and chat topic dont instigate it further even AFTER a mod has already addressed and handled the situation. We do what we can with the limited tools available and the rules we also have to follow as mods.

Chat Is what you make it its a community effort and this goes for all of chat avenue. If you (not the op) want it to be better act better. ✌🏻

 

[DontCostYaNuffin]

I'm gonna keep my answer as short as possible. Mods go through trial periods before being made official. We are asked to be here at least 2 hours a day when able to be. Obviously real life can make that difficult. Like jeez said there are some people I would not like to interact with outside of chat in say a minecraft server and I am sure others can agree to have the same thought. I wish that wasn't the case but sadly I can only see a public server turning just as toxic as the chat already is. I don't think it should be limited to video game topics like mushroom stated but I do think it is something that should be encouraged and a topic we should be accepting of and not bicker and argue over others preferences. Ultimately everyone needs to use the ignore feature, let it go, move on and if it's an issue that requires mod involvement let us handle it so that we can maintain a peaceful flow of conversation in chat without everyone ganging up on a user for an incident that occurred. Report ignore and chat topic dont instigate it further even AFTER a mod has already addressed and handled the situation. We do what we can with the limited tools available and the rules we also have to follow as mods.

Chat Is what you make it its a community effort and this goes for all of chat avenue. If you (not the op) want it to be better act better. ✌🏻

Thank you for your concise comment.

 

[Deleted member 303433]

I get your concern about toxicity arising from contests. To mitigate these issues we can implement rules and guidelines for competitive events in chat. It is common to use losing as a way to attack someone. It isn't guaranteed all participants in a contest are gonna be nice. Encouraging fair play and good sportsmanship can make the chat a healthier place.

Actively modding the chat and quickly dealing with toxic and rude behavior can contribute to making the chat more welcoming and friendly. Non competitive activities like themed weeks can let the users celebrate their interests and have fun. Balancing between preventing toxicity and promoting healthy competition involves an involved userbase, clear rules and active/consistent moderation.

To be clear this isn't a push to get video games chat strictly for video game, anime, comics and other geeky topics chat. It is an attempt to make video games and nerd culture in general a bigger thing in video games chat. Think of it as a way to shift the focus away from drama and into something fun. Nerds from other chat avenue rooms might wanna join if they see video games, anime, comics and other nerdy stuff is a big thing on here. Catering to nerd culture to make video games chat just a bit more on topic while letting anyone join and chat about anything isn't restrictive or exclusionary. It is a video games chat. Users should expect a big emphasis on gaming.

Video games chat should be about finding nerdy and like minded people and how do we do that? Doing more to celebrate nerd culture. It isn't gate keeping or excluding people if a big part of chat life on video games chat is nerdy topics. It doesn't have to be the only things users can chat about.

Video games chat should have a clear intended audience, gamers. A trial period for mods is great but making sure mods have the essential skills is also important. 2 hours a day is challenging when life gets in the way but there is no moderator consistently active 2 hours a day.

I understand the moderators do what they can with limited tools available. This isn't a thread demeaning the moderators. I understand the moderators do their best. I recognize that all moderators make mistakes and that is okay. I believe that moderators would do more if they were allowed to. I don't put any how vgc is managed on to the moderators. Even though moderators cannot speak in the open about this I can see they are also frustrated with the upper management. Moderators don't have say in what the rules are. Moderators don't make the guidelines that tell them what evidence to gather, when to warn, when to kick and for how long.

The admin is also not to blame for this situation. Admins constantly have to plea for rules to be changed and more often than not the owners shut their ideas down. Admins need approval from the owners before making any changes to the rulebook or how moderators are to handle situations. Admins often find their concerns aren't being addressed by the owners. Admins have to put up with poor communication from the owners. Admins have rules and guidelines too. The people who are responsible for the poor management are the owners. Video games chat would be great if the admins weren't prevented from banning so many problematic users because they have VIP. Admins need proof of a vip user engaging in bad behavior using the system logs, user submitted screenshots are invalid evidence. Everyone even the admins and mods know the owners are likely to side with the rulebreakers.

I fully understand that everything that is allowed is being done. I don't think that the problematic VIPs are staying because of favoritism or negligence on the admin/mods part. I know the admin and mods want problematic users gone but if the owners reject a ban request they are screwed their only options are tolerating the user and just kicking them again and again for the same behavior.

The owners just suck. This is entirely the fault of the userbase/ mods/admin on video games chat caring more than the owners ever will.

 

[Miss Mushroom]

I like this person.

 

[Reiko]

I get your concern about toxicity arising from contests. To mitigate these issues we can implement rules and guidelines for competitive events in chat. It is common to use losing as a way to attack someone. It isn't guaranteed all participants in a contest are gonna be nice. Encouraging fair play and good sportsmanship can make the chat a healthier place.

Actively modding the chat and quickly dealing with toxic and rude behavior can contribute to making the chat more welcoming and friendly. Non competitive activities like themed weeks can let the users celebrate their interests and have fun. Balancing between preventing toxicity and promoting healthy competition involves an involved userbase, clear rules and active/consistent moderation.

To be clear this isn't a push to get video games chat strictly for video game, anime, comics and other geeky topics chat. It is an attempt to make video games and nerd culture in general a bigger thing in video games chat. Think of it as a way to shift the focus away from drama and into something fun. Nerds from other chat avenue rooms might wanna join if they see video games, anime, comics and other nerdy stuff is a big thing on here. Catering to nerd culture to make video games chat just a bit more on topic while letting anyone join and chat about anything isn't restrictive or exclusionary. It is a video games chat. Users should expect a big emphasis on gaming.

Video games chat should be about finding nerdy and like minded people and how do we do that? Doing more to celebrate nerd culture. It isn't gate keeping or excluding people if a big part of chat life on video games chat is nerdy topics. It doesn't have to be the only things users can chat about.

Video games chat should have a clear intended audience, gamers. A trial period for mods is great but making sure mods have the essential skills is also important. 2 hours a day is challenging when life gets in the way but there is no moderator consistently active 2 hours a day.

I understand the moderators do what they can with limited tools available. This isn't a thread demeaning the moderators. I understand the moderators do their best. I recognize that all moderators make mistakes and that is okay. I believe that moderators would do more if they were allowed to. I don't put any how vgc is managed on to the moderators. Even though moderators cannot speak in the open about this I can see they are also frustrated with the upper management. Moderators don't have say in what the rules are. Moderators don't make the guidelines that tell them what evidence to gather, when to warn, when to kick and for how long.

The admin is also not to blame for this situation. Admins constantly have to plea for rules to be changed and more often than not the owners shut their ideas down. Admins need approval from the owners before making any changes to the rulebook or how moderators are to handle situations. Admins often find their concerns aren't being addressed by the owners. Admins have to put up with poor communication from the owners. Admins have rules and guidelines too. The people who are responsible for the poor management are the owners. Video games chat would be great if the admins weren't prevented from banning so many problematic users because they have VIP. Admins need proof of a vip user engaging in bad behavior using the system logs, user submitted screenshots are invalid evidence. Everyone even the admins and mods know the owners are likely to side with the rulebreakers.

I fully understand that everything that is allowed is being done. I don't think that the problematic VIPs are staying because of favoritism or negligence on the admin/mods part. I know the admin and mods want problematic users gone but if the owners reject a ban request they are screwed their only options are tolerating the user and just kicking them again and again for the same behavior.

The owners just suck. This is entirely the fault of the userbase/ mods/admin on video games chat caring more than the owners ever will.

I agree with this completely and like you I hope change follows suit if this thread even if it's just a step forward it's still a step in the right direction

 

[babydolla]

imagine wat u guys could accomplish if u had this much passion in real life for something

 

[TheDifference]

imagine wat u guys could accomplish if u had this much passion in real life for something

Imagine how less annoying you’d be if you didn’t make comments like this 😒

 

[babydolla]

Imagine how less annoying you’d be if you didn’t make comments like this 😒

 

[Deleted member 303433]

@babydolla and @TheDifference This thread is strictly for talking about video games chat. Don't insult others and post things not related to this topic. I don't think either of you use video games chat. You are welcome to give suggestions related to video games chat.

 

[.Princessa]

I like this person.

I like you too.

 

[Deleted member 303433]

Banning problematic VIP users in video games chat may not be a perfect solution cause of the ease of bypassing bans. But, it is important to recognize that allowing the admin to ban problematic VIP users without the owner's approval is necessary cause VIP users make up most of the active users in video games chat.

While I believe in giving second chances, I don't think individuals who display bigotry should be permanently banned, unless they are involved in illegal activities like selling child pornography or engaging in depraved behavior. Different offenses should be met with varying levels of punishment based on their severity.

It is ethically questionable for the owner to excuse bad behavior just because the offender is a paying member. This practice is highly unpopular and everyone should be held to the same standards. It is inexcusable the owner stops the admin from using their own judgment to ban VIP users who have repeatedly been kicked for the same behavior.

Of course there should always be valid evidence of an offence before banning. If something cannot be verified by the system logs it is faulty evidence. On video games chat predator accusations are tossed around shockingly too much. Of course many of this accusations are unproven. Of course when dealing with something serious like a potential predatory user the admin should not rely on hearsay or screenshots but instead reports and logs.

 

[Miss Mushroom]

imagine wat u guys could accomplish if u had this much passion in real life for something

you should see how clean my bathroom is rn. js.

 

[Blueee]

Banning problematic VIP users in video games chat may not be a perfect solution cause of the ease of bypassing bans. But, it is important to recognize that allowing the admin to ban problematic VIP users without the owner's approval is necessary cause VIP users make up most of the active users in video games chat.

While I believe in giving second chances, I don't think individuals who display bigotry should be permanently banned, unless they are involved in illegal activities like selling child pornography or engaging in depraved behavior. Different offenses should be met with varying levels of punishment based on their severity.

It is ethically questionable for the owner to excuse bad behavior just because the offender is a paying member. This practice is highly unpopular and everyone should be held to the same standards. It is inexcusable the owner stops the admin from using their own judgment to ban VIP users who have repeatedly been kicked for the same behavior.

Of course there should always be valid evidence of an offence before banning. If something cannot be verified by the system logs it is faulty evidence. On video games chat predator accusations are tossed around shockingly too much. Of course many of this accusations are unproven. Of course when dealing with something serious like a potential predatory user the admin should not rely on hearsay or screenshots but instead reports and logs.

The owner won't allow that, all vip ban requests must go to chatmaster. Also modding is a voluntary job, real life takes precedence. We can't all be here 24/7.

 

[Deleted member 303433]

@Blueee I understand moderating is voluntary. I aren't expecting moderators to be online 24/7. That would create an unhealthy work environment and is unrealistic. Real life duties come first. I understand moderators need to have fun or take a mental health day sometimes too. With careful planning moderators won't be overworked. Scheduling mods is an overlooked yet crucial part of maintaining a smooth running chat. On video games chat, we can afford less active moderators. Sometimes it is just 5 users talking about video games and it is actually chill and other times it is filled with long lasting drama. Of course everything on chat would be cooler if we all used the block button. Making use of the block button is a good way to stop drama. The average user on video games chat is too immature to block. And even when someone blocks a user they will change their username to provoke that user. Yes, the owner won't allow that and everyone who cares about this site should be vocal against the poor upper management. Right now vip ban requests go to the owner and it shouldn't be that way especially in an almost all VIP chat.

 

[brightie]

Banning problematic VIP users in video games chat may not be a perfect solution cause of the ease of bypassing bans. But, it is important to recognize that allowing the admin to ban problematic VIP users without the owner's approval is necessary cause VIP users make up most of the active users in video games chat.

While I believe in giving second chances, I don't think individuals who display bigotry should be permanently banned, unless they are involved in illegal activities like selling child pornography or engaging in depraved behavior. Different offenses should be met with varying levels of punishment based on their severity.

It is ethically questionable for the owner to excuse bad behavior just because the offender is a paying member. This practice is highly unpopular and everyone should be held to the same standards. It is inexcusable the owner stops the admin from using their own judgment to ban VIP users who have repeatedly been kicked for the same behavior.

Of course there should always be valid evidence of an offence before banning. If something cannot be verified by the system logs it is faulty evidence. On video games chat predator accusations are tossed around shockingly too much. Of course many of this accusations are unproven. Of course when dealing with something serious like a potential predatory user the admin should not rely on hearsay or screenshots but instead reports and logs.

Accusing someone works just fine on this site.
It solves the most important issue of competition or someone else being more charismatic or handsome.
Accuse people like that of being a pedophile and he will be banned.
To do that all you have to do is to have your "chat gang"
Then is easy... tit for tat....some pressure upon some admin with a lack of integrity and the "chat gang" can get rid of any member.

And that is how certain people were banned all over the chat rooms and from the site.

Sad but true, site gangs are a reality... you can even be a mod and if the gang hates you they can remove you - pushing with constant pressure.

After that I'm not convinced that anything that you mentioned will work out... tho your words/ ideas are wise and logical.

 

[Blueee]

@Blueee I understand moderating is voluntary. I aren't expecting moderators to be online 24/7. That would create an unhealthy work environment and is unrealistic. Real life duties come first. I understand moderators need to have fun or take a mental health day sometimes too. With careful planning moderators won't be overworked. Scheduling mods is an overlooked yet crucial part of maintaining a smooth running chat. On video games chat, we can afford less active moderators. Sometimes it is just 5 users talking about video games and it is actually chill and other times it is filled with long lasting drama. Of course everything on chat would be cooler if we all used the block button. Making use of the block button is a good way to stop drama. The average user on video games chat is too immature to block. And even when someone blocks a user they will change their username to provoke that user. Yes, the owner won't allow that and everyone who cares about this site should be vocal against the poor upper management. Right now vip ban requests go to the owner and it shouldn't be that way especially in an almost all VIP chat.

I get what your saying of course, unfortunately, I don't think the vip ban situation will change, no matter who says what. It's the owners site and the owners rules 🤷🏼‍♀️. As for modding, it would be nice to have the rooms covered at all times, but again, as much as the admins and mods try to cover the rooms throughout the entire day, it isn't always possible. We all do the best we can. But understand your comments of course. We all strive to do the best for the rooms we can.