Whenever someone says the wrong thing or an opinion no one likes, someone say something against it and before you know it berates into arguing that derails the whole thread.

Then I get @ saying "They said this" or "they post that!" and I come onto a thread with over a hundred posts of arguing and drama.

Once users notice I'm on it's like "this should be locked" or whatever. Don't tell me what to do.

So yeah, it feels like I'm a janitor. Someone poops on someone else post, they throw poop back, everyone's flinging poop like rabid monkeys until someone pings me. When I show up I'm expected to ban the poopetrator and all I see is monkeys covered in $#!7. So I must lock up or delete the thread in order to clean it only for the poopetrator to poop somewhere else.

Meanwhile the community's being regarded more toxic because of all the drama and poop-flinging we have of late, I feel incompetent because while I am somewhat aware of those at fault it's hard to find the offending posts, especially if others retaliate with just as offending posts.

Heck, I remember someone started a thread aware of the drama we've been getting of late. An anti-drama thread. I'll spare the irony of how that thread turned out. (and honestly, I expect this thread to do just the same.)

So anyway, what's this thread about?

It's understandable if users regard discussion moderators and admins as community law enforcers, that it's our job to prevent drama, enforce the rules and make sure everything is peaceful.

But the thing is, we admins expect you users to do your part too! You can actively help prevent drama and it seems to be a forgotten art in the last few years. So, here's what you can do to help cut down and prevent drama on SNN!

==ACTUALLY READ THE GUIDELINES for heck sake!==

Discussion Mods expect all users to have read over and familiarize themselves with the rules.

You may find such rules as:

* Direct personal attacks, racial slurs, discrimination, threats, racism, and profanity are not tolerated in the SNN D.B. As a rule of thumb, if you do not have anything nice to say, then do not say it at all.

Or

* Be cautious when discussing controversial topics, do so in a polite and respectful manner. Do not berate others for their opinions. If you know you might state something that could cause controversy, then try to keep to yourself. This includes but is not limited to stating personal affiliations and beliefs. When things begin or do go out-of-control, it is expected that an administrator or moderator will request for all participants to drop the subject.

These rules aren't totalitarian, you are free to say and post what you want and have fair amount of freedoms and right to post as you please, it's just most drama begins from someone really having to say something regardless of the rules which usually starts trouble.

Also, keep in mind this rule:

* If an administrator or moderator warns you to stop doing something, then adhere to what they say at immediate notice.Do not disrespect or backtalk to an administrator or moderator as this may lead to further conflict and could potentially result in punishment (a kick or ban). If you feel that an administrator or moderator is unfairly warning you, then contact a different administrator about the situation.

This may sound like an unfair rule if what you're doing is not exactly breaking any other rules. But if whatever your posting is still causing most of the community to be upset, then admins will probably step in to ask you to cut it out.

For example if you make "shipping" threads or "simp" threads often and everyone is sick of them despite not doing anything wrong, the very-very least keep them to at least one thread a week. Give everyone else a break from them, they'll be less upset when they find them once a week or so.

=="Freedom of Speech" and "The Right to Remain Silent"==

Whenever you see cops arrest someone and they say "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say maybe held against you."

This isn't a legal demand or threat, it's a privilege!

On SNN Discussions, everyone is entitled to their own opinions.

(For example I still think AoSTH is the better Sonic cartoon for kids over Sonic Boom. That's just my opinion on the matter. I know not everyone will agree with me, it may lead to a fair debate but I don't expect such backlash over something as trivial as what cartoons I like.)

But sometimes opinions may not be well received as others.

I've noticed users post pictures of "shipping", "simping" and the like and I've noticed mixed results. Some users are OK with it, some mediocre responses... and there are those users who treat those posters like they got some mental sickness and before you know it it derails into drama.

I also notice users who post their opinions that may be regarded as straight up offensive. Such as remarks against LGBTQ+, race, religion etc.

How can we prevent this?

• Don't feed the troll, if someone called you or said something to you that's nasty, inform a mod or admin on it.

• If someone post something that's not against the guidelines at all, it would help to just be open minded about it than shaming the poster for posting cringe or whatever. If you don't like a particular thread, don't post on it or unfollow it.

• If you know you're going to say something that's likely going to cause backlash... just don't say it. Best ways to avoid drama is to avoid making drama. If you did post something that cause offense or upset, you can always apologize and remove the offending post.

• If you do want to post it but have fair doubt on what you're about to post may derail, read over the Guidelines, if your post does not breach any of the guidelines then it should be OK to post as long as you know it won't cause any backlash. You can always message a mod to ask them for second opinion.

• If you happen to be in a thread that is rapidly derailing into drama, pinging an admin or telling them about a thread with drama is the same as asking them to look for a needle in a haystack and more needles are just being piled onto the haystack Granted some mods and admins may take time to read it all but by the time they're caught up a hundred more upset posts maybe posted. The most immediate response we can do is lock the thread and issue ban to those we are aware have offended.

• The best thing to do is to get a direct link to the offending post, this can be done by clicking on the time/date of the post, then give that link to the mod or admin. That way, we know where it all begin, the responses after it and we can take more clear judgement on it.

==Let go of grievances.==

So someone post something to you that you find offensive. Maybe they posted something everyone doesn't like or they said something towards you that upsets you.

It's easy to just have at them with harsh remarks and insults.

But... is it really worth it? Someone said something you hate and you're going to express that hate? To me it seem to be the common cause of drama of late. Someone said something that's either offensive or misunderstood, then someone else calls them out on what they post, then they argue with them, others get involved and after 20-50 posts I'm @ in to sort it all out.

How can we prevent this?

It's sort of like a "don't feed the trolls" sort of situation as well as a "right to remain silent" thing. If someone pisses you off then either:

• Ignore them.

• Try to de-escalate or diffuse the situation.

• Maybe they said something in a way they didn't mean?

But if whatever reason you decide "Yes, I should put effort into hating this", keep in mind admins may regard it as harassment of users which we may ban you over.

==Discussion Mods and Admins are people too!==

SNN is not a licensed or official site associated with Sega or Sonic Team in any way, our "staff" are all regular Sonic fans like you and me. We're purely voluntarily which means we "want" to be here knowing full well it's neither paying or employment.

We the staff do not work for Sonic Team, we are not trained or hand-picked to serve as admins or mods, we're just regular Sonic fans. We're mods and admins because we we're trusted with these roles by this community and other admins and we can only do our best.

If I may be human for a moment... It would be nice if there was a way for me to be aware if other admins or mods are currently on. I'm not arrogant to say "I'm doing all the work here", more like "Is there anyone else on to help me with this?" While in my ten years it's not the first time SNN discussion board had months of drama every now and again but whenever I'm "pinged" I still feel over-my-head at times and I question what would other admins would do, or do they think I'm not doing enough or not being stern enough? Am IO doing this right? Stuff like that. Just because I've been doing this fir ten years doesn't mean I know everything.

If there was a box above ғᴇᴇᴅ ᴍᴏᴅᴇʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ or a box above ᴄᴀᴛᴇɢᴏʀʏ ᴀᴄᴛɪᴠɪᴛʏ that list users currently online users and mods I could more quickly ask for help that way or be reassured knowing they may already helping with issues.

But given I can't tell who is on, I can only guess other admins are around.

How can we help?

• Just remember that there are other admins besides me and to familiarize yourself with them.

• Mods and admin will resolve the issues as quick and efficiently as we can. We may be stern and swift with our rulings we're still just guys doing our jobs here.

==Conclusion==

Anyway. That's all I have to say on the matter.

I'll leave this thread open for discussion, though I have a gut feeling it will invite trouble. Please let me be wrong on the matter and keep it civil.