After seeing a thread about how one player managed to cut down on his swearing IRL and out of game after playing with us for a while, I thought for a little while, especially back to things I've said to people who question the rules on eGO servers.
Since I play at ungodly hours of the night or at random, sometimes earlier-than-usual times of the day, I end up being the only admin on what ever server I play on more often than not. This means I have to field a lot of questions about the clan, and explain the reasons for rules (while reminding the occasional violator of their existence, of course). People aren't satisfied with "that's just the way the rules are," so I have to explain WHY. Whether or not I'm conveying the full reasoning behind the rules as the council decided them in the first place, I hope I manage to do a good job, and I thought I'd share some of my thoughts as to why the rules exist in the first place.
The number one question I recieve is "Why?" This is in response to the many "Please watch your language." or "Keep language civil and respectful on eGO servers, thanks!" posts I have to make to keep things going smoothly. If you say it's because it's a family server, and that kids play, you'll often get "Well, what about all the violence?" or "Their parents shouldn't let them play if they don't want them to hear." While I don't believe exposure to video game violence (or swear words) at an early age causes any developmental problems if the child is otherwise raised right, I do see their point.
However, I still manage to respond to this question in a way that seems to satisfy most people. The no-swearing rule seems to be a sort of catch-all. It's easier to define swearing than it is to define disrespect, and if you tell people they can't swear, they find it hard to be disrespectful. They also find it hard to trash-talk, at least in the way that actually makes most people feel bad. I've noticed eGO members still manage to do a little smack-talking, but after learning to keep their language in check, this talk ends up being much more playful and comedic, rather than insulting and degrading. In addition, it keeps players focused on playing, and not talking. The players who normally have nothing good to say can't find a way to phrase it without swearing, so they don't even bother. People who would otherwise be spending their time trying to string together as many obscenities as possible in a sentence end up thinking in normal, human language.
The rules against political or obscene names, avatars, and chatter are the second biggest disputes I end up seeing. "Why CAN'T I have this name/avatar?" Aside from the obvious reduction in typing, arguing, and general ill will between people who may see a name or avatar they disagree with, I've found people with such things end up being griefers, or at the least very disagreeable to play with. Constantly trash-talking, walking the edge of the language rules (or jumping headfirst over them), and generally being a nuisance, some players just aren't fun to be around. Oftentimes, I've seen such a player just leave the server and play elsewhere as soon as they're spoken to about changing a name or avatar. While this decreases server population, it ends up saving a lot of trouble. It's also a way of letting people know that admins are there, watching, and a way of making sure people know the rules about what will and will not be tolerated--we won't just "let it go."
When players won't even try to adhere to even the simplest of rules, it's obvious that they won't be very fun to play with. I've seen annoying players suddenly turn a new leaf when they decide to actually try following the rules; they often "clean up well." Once their mouths (or fingers) aren't busy conveying their distaste for everything, or trying to find the most (un)creative way of insulting another player's mother, they end up learning to convey useful information, communicating with their team and making everything run smoother.
In short, what some see as "too many" rules and admins, in this case, are so much better than too little of either. Have you TRIED playing on some servers? The levels of whining, trash-talking, and cheating are horrible. People spend more time standing in spawn typing than they do shooting.
I apologize for the length of this "essay" I've written here (I didn't realize how long it was), though I still haven't conveyed quite as much as I wished, but I'll leave that to the rest of you. What positive effects have you seen from all the rules? Did I miss out on other important reasons for the rules I mentioned? Do I have it all wrong? =P
Since I play at ungodly hours of the night or at random, sometimes earlier-than-usual times of the day, I end up being the only admin on what ever server I play on more often than not. This means I have to field a lot of questions about the clan, and explain the reasons for rules (while reminding the occasional violator of their existence, of course). People aren't satisfied with "that's just the way the rules are," so I have to explain WHY. Whether or not I'm conveying the full reasoning behind the rules as the council decided them in the first place, I hope I manage to do a good job, and I thought I'd share some of my thoughts as to why the rules exist in the first place.
The number one question I recieve is "Why?" This is in response to the many "Please watch your language." or "Keep language civil and respectful on eGO servers, thanks!" posts I have to make to keep things going smoothly. If you say it's because it's a family server, and that kids play, you'll often get "Well, what about all the violence?" or "Their parents shouldn't let them play if they don't want them to hear." While I don't believe exposure to video game violence (or swear words) at an early age causes any developmental problems if the child is otherwise raised right, I do see their point.
However, I still manage to respond to this question in a way that seems to satisfy most people. The no-swearing rule seems to be a sort of catch-all. It's easier to define swearing than it is to define disrespect, and if you tell people they can't swear, they find it hard to be disrespectful. They also find it hard to trash-talk, at least in the way that actually makes most people feel bad. I've noticed eGO members still manage to do a little smack-talking, but after learning to keep their language in check, this talk ends up being much more playful and comedic, rather than insulting and degrading. In addition, it keeps players focused on playing, and not talking. The players who normally have nothing good to say can't find a way to phrase it without swearing, so they don't even bother. People who would otherwise be spending their time trying to string together as many obscenities as possible in a sentence end up thinking in normal, human language.
The rules against political or obscene names, avatars, and chatter are the second biggest disputes I end up seeing. "Why CAN'T I have this name/avatar?" Aside from the obvious reduction in typing, arguing, and general ill will between people who may see a name or avatar they disagree with, I've found people with such things end up being griefers, or at the least very disagreeable to play with. Constantly trash-talking, walking the edge of the language rules (or jumping headfirst over them), and generally being a nuisance, some players just aren't fun to be around. Oftentimes, I've seen such a player just leave the server and play elsewhere as soon as they're spoken to about changing a name or avatar. While this decreases server population, it ends up saving a lot of trouble. It's also a way of letting people know that admins are there, watching, and a way of making sure people know the rules about what will and will not be tolerated--we won't just "let it go."
When players won't even try to adhere to even the simplest of rules, it's obvious that they won't be very fun to play with. I've seen annoying players suddenly turn a new leaf when they decide to actually try following the rules; they often "clean up well." Once their mouths (or fingers) aren't busy conveying their distaste for everything, or trying to find the most (un)creative way of insulting another player's mother, they end up learning to convey useful information, communicating with their team and making everything run smoother.
In short, what some see as "too many" rules and admins, in this case, are so much better than too little of either. Have you TRIED playing on some servers? The levels of whining, trash-talking, and cheating are horrible. People spend more time standing in spawn typing than they do shooting.
I apologize for the length of this "essay" I've written here (I didn't realize how long it was), though I still haven't conveyed quite as much as I wished, but I'll leave that to the rest of you. What positive effects have you seen from all the rules? Did I miss out on other important reasons for the rules I mentioned? Do I have it all wrong? =P
good good!
