# please do something to reign in the hate



## Joshua Randall (Apr 20, 2007)

I am absolutely sickened by the amount of hate being poured out in the various threads reacting to the _Dragon_ and _Dungeon_ magazine announcements, etc.

Scott Rouse is getting crapped on for no real reason, simply because he was the unlucky one whose name was on a quote in a press release.

People in general are frothing at the mouth (figuratively), and I might add, are violating EN World's rules, specifically this one:







> Keep it civil: Don't engage in personal attacks, name-calling, or blanket generalizations in your discussions. Say how you feel or what you think, but be careful about ascribing motives to the actions of others or telling others how they "should" think.




*I'd like to see Morrus (or someone) post an announcement that we need to remain civil even during this time of perceived crisis.* Especially if EN World wants to be taken seriously as a "voice of the fan" type of site.

Thanks for listening.

[sblock=some evidence]The OP manages to insult the entire WotC management team in his first post in this thread.

Post #33 in this thread is certianly not helpful, although it's not as insulting as the thread above.[/sblock]


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## Deset Gled (Apr 20, 2007)

Honestly, I think you might be blowing things out of proportion a bit here.  People are angry about the changes.  This is exactly the type of place they should be coming to voice that opinion.  If we want to be the "voice of the fan", we can't censor the fan.

Scott Rouse may be getting a brunt of the nastiness, but that's pretty much as it should be, IMO.  He's acting as the/a face of the company.  He's the manager that is responsible for people that work beneath him.  That's what he's paid to do.  If he can't stand the heat, he should have stayed out of the kitchen.

The first example you give is a post where someone took a significant amount of time to research their opinion, and shared it.  It might not be pleasant, but it's not untruthful in any way.  The second example you give is a bit over the top, and you can feel free to report it if you like.

If the General Board was completely filled with threads that were nothing but WotC bashing, I would agree with you.  But right now things seem to be limiting themselves to about four threads, and there are people voicing pro-WotC oppinions as well as negative ones.  If the threads take over General, I support combining them into one thread or sticky as has been done in the past with 4e stuff.

ENWorld is one of the most civil places on the internet, but it's still the internet.


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## Crothian (Apr 20, 2007)

Deset Gled said:
			
		

> ENWorld is one of the most civil places on the internet, but it's still the internet.




That's no excuse.  People can be angry and blame people and still be a lot more civil then they are being.  One does not need to be rude to rant and complain things.


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## JoeGKushner (Apr 20, 2007)

My own humble opinion is that yeah, the noise is a little too high even for a cynic like me.


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## Desdichado (Apr 20, 2007)

Eh, that's what makes the internet fun.  In a few days it'll blow over anyway.


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## Thornir Alekeg (Apr 20, 2007)

Deset Gled said:
			
		

> Honestly, I think you might be blowing things out of proportion a bit here.  People are angry about the changes.  This is exactly the type of place they should be coming to voice that opinion.  If we want to be the "voice of the fan", we can't censor the fan.



I disagree with you.  EN World is not the place for this.  EN World would be a more effective "voice of the fan" if everyone, including the angry fans, have a civil debate over this, without insults, innuendo and uninformed generalizations.  Those who can't control themselves or want to rant and rave should head over to Circvs Maximvs.


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## LightPhoenix (Apr 21, 2007)

I have to agree as well.  Anytime emotions in a thread are running hot, and people start spewing vitriol, the mods will step in.  Because it's towards WotC makes it no different than any other thread.


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## Nonlethal Force (Apr 21, 2007)

Well, to be honest with you I haven't spent much time in General for the last two days just because sorting through all the Dungeon/Dragon/I hate WotC/Greyhawk's future threads is too much to bother with.

I'm also not upset.  I simply don't go into threads where I have little interest.  Not that I've no interest in companies and profite, but I'm a bit ashamed to admit that I've never even seen a copy of Dungeon or Dragon IRL.  None of the store I go to preview gaming books caries Dungeon or Dragon.  again, not a complaint, just explaining why I'm not all that opinionated.

However, I will likeyl be stayng out of General for a few days until the sheer number of threads regarding this whole Dungeon/Dragon/Paizo/WotC/Grewhawk future thing dies down a bit.  As for the hate and vitol in the threads, I agree with people above in that the fact that this is the Internet does not give anyone an excuse to be unfair, unkind, or slam people who are just doing their job.  

But, I have full confidence in te mods here that they will handle it.  If memory serves me, at least one thread has already been closed.  [I do have a bad habit of reading threads that are closed just to see what people did wrong.  It's the same instinct as 'rubbernecking' when you drive by an accident.  I know I shouldn't, but I can't help myself!  ]  Back to the mods.  They're great here, and I'm sure they'll handle it - especially now that a post has been made in meta.


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## Dinkeldog (Apr 21, 2007)

The civility rules are not going to be modified even during times of crisis (perhaps most important during times of crisis).  

My best pieces of advice are not to assume that someone else is immature just because they hold a different opinion from years and not to ascribe motives to someone else because they disagree with you.

All in all, it's still "let's keep things civil" in general.  We are not interested in, "Teh troof!"  We are interested in people that can keep their heads in times of crisis.


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## FickleGM (Apr 22, 2007)

I agree that the rules should not be loosened, but instead should be tightened during times of high emotion.  If you're angry, either don't post or just say, "I'm angry about this."

Anything more gets lost, ignored or increases the tension level.


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## Deset Gled (Apr 23, 2007)

Thornir Alekeg said:
			
		

> I disagree with you.  EN World is not the place for this.




Y'know, after coming back and reading more of the General forum over the weekend, I tend to agree.  I'm all for having people voice their opinions, even if they are negative.  But some of the things going on just seem... excessive.


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## Joshua Randall (Apr 23, 2007)

_Edit: nevermind. I posted before I saw Morrus' sticky in the General Forum. Thanks._


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## Nifft (Apr 28, 2007)

I'd just like to be creatively snarky and posit that a fun Asmodeus-themed module might be named *To Reign in the Hate*; quite a different meaning that to rein in the hate. 

Cheers, -- N


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## Truth Seeker (Apr 29, 2007)

*Err...is too late to bring hell and damnation.*


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