My Reaction to the New Policy

[Misterboy]

Our success is also attributed to eGO’s mission, which is to provide a place where gamers of all calibers, from all over the world, can meet for family friendly, respectful game play. eGO servers are branded “punk-free”. We often receive notes from players who only play in eGO servers, proclaiming appreciation for a place where families can game without being surrounded by the abusive stuff found on many other servers.

First of all, the main reason I (and I assume many others) joined eGO was because of our policy on swearing. The idea of servers that didn't allow that type of content was what attracted me to Edge Gamers and it is what made us so unique from other communities. I find it rather disappointing that years of proclaiming so highly that we keep our servers family friendly in order to allow gamers of all calibers to join our servers and have safe gameplay has been thrown out the window. Sure, we are still "punk-free", but that is no different than a lot of other gaming communities. Our community really stood out because the whole point was we didn't need unnecessary profanity in order to have a fun time on our servers.

Responding to matt98:

Matt brought up a great point about the younger members who joined because they were told we were a family friendly organization. I saw many responses to this by other members saying things like "It's 2016 guys" or "They hear it all the time". The point of our servers was to provide an environment for people who don't want to game around that type of content to enjoy gaming without having to worry about that stuff. Additionally, one of the solutions I heard was that they can just "turn off chat" (talking about Minecraft). That can be done for any server, which furthers my point that this makes eGO way less unique than it was before. Players who join our server shouldn't have to feel obligated to turn off chat if they don't like the profanity, especially if we advertise family-friendly servers where anyone can join and feel safe. I know the main point was about kids, but there could also be older players who join our servers for the same reason.

I have received praise by multiple players from different games that eGO supports for this very reason; that they could join our servers and not have to worry about profanity and so forth.

"Not all people need to necessarily agree with [our policy]"

Except for the fact that this isn't some sort of new aspect or minor change to eGO. This policy changes one of the major beliefs that went into the making of Edge Gamers. For us to advertise and enforce the no profanity rule for so long, only to turn around and destroy the aspect that set us the most apart from other communities and was the reason many of our members joined and enjoyed playing on our servers is, to be frank, unfair. I was honestly completely shocked at the amount of people who agreed with this decision. Every member who has joined in the last 10 years had to agree to that rule, and there was virtually no fuss about it. If they didn't like the rule, there was always other servers. Now, this seems to be flipped.

"If you have to warn somebody for swearing on our server because there are kids around and they don't follow it, they don't belong on our servers anyways."

This is completely missing the fact that the whole point we would admin someone swearing on our servers is because there may be kids/older players around who may not like the idea of swearing in a game server.

These were just my opinions on the matter. I hope this thread does not get closed because the idea behind making this was to see what other people think and I also hope that any debates/conversations this thread starts does not lead to the thread being closed.

 

[Legend]

The culture of our community will not change. Everyone will continue to communicate how they always have. With the modifications of some policies here and there it won't effect the culture we have built over ten years in business as the best gaming community around. You have to consider that previous to this change we didn't toss players out for every instance of profanity that ever occurred in game. Most times it was let slide without admin interaction. By no means did that ruin our family driven culture. A change to our global language policy will not turn our servers into a dark place... they will continue to be a professional environment welcoming to any gamer.

Thanks for your passionate thoughts Misterboy. I suggest speaking with your Division Leader if you'd like to expand on them further. I hear Mister36 is a great individual to talk to.

 

[Misterboy]

Most times it was let slide without admin interaction.

Well, according to how I've always been taught, at least in TF2, most profanity is to be treated as warn/kick/ban. Only recently have some words been let go when spoken through voice chat or sometimes even typed out. Of course it didn't ruin the family friendly culture, because people expected these instances to be admined and taken care of, which is what we promised. Additionally, never in the history of eGO (unless I am mistaken) has the no swearing rule been completely taken out. This is way more important than any other language-oriented policy change we've had so far.

...they will continue to be a professional environment welcoming to any gamer.

I'm sorry, but we can no longer say that with this change.

 

[Steelbilly]

F#&* ≠ Family

My daughter is allowed to game on eGO servers because the environment was morally in alignment with our family's core values. We were seeking community where the shifting winds of popular culture were not taken into consideration with what is declared as right and wrong and found it with eGO.

Thanks for your passionate thoughts Misterboy. I suggest speaking with your Division Leader if you'd like to expand on them further. I hear Mister36 is a great individual to talk to.

Respectfully, does this mean DLs have the authority to circumvent the clan-wide policy changes? Otherwise, it seems like MBs post is in the appropriate place.

Is there any chance this change in policy will be reversed?

Thank you,
- SB

 

[Misterboy]

I as well would like to see the points above addressed.

 

[FireHazard772]

First off, my apologies if any of this comes out rude, as it is not my intent.

What matt98 said in the meeting, as well as parts of what Misterboy and Steelbilly posted on this thread pretty much said it all, but just adding my thoughts on the matter:

One of the main reasons I joined eGO was also due to how it separated itself from other groups with the language rule, and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it was the main thing that caused eGO to be so popular.

Yes the times are changing and are different then 10 years ago, but does that truly mean everyone has to follow whatever the 'norm' is?
----

Another 'key' thing I want to bring up is from the eGO 'About Us' page, specifically the quoted bold/underlined parts Misterboy put in his post above:

I've also received or heard compliments from players on our servers, even players that still play to this day, because of how we separate ourselves from the other servers/groups out there.

I could agree with the idea of having the language rule being modified like how it was with Battlefield for future divisions, since, as someone mentioned during the meeting, the BF games have language built into them and are more adult-prone, but quite frankly changing it to affect all divisions, and not just the ones that are more adult-prone just doesn't seem like the right thing to do, especially due to what I mentioned above about the About Us page and the compliments from the players.

If this is truly the route that leadership believes is best for eGO, then I will change how I handle things accordingly, although I too wonder about the possibility of this change being reverted down the road if it doesn't go out too well, or perhaps given another modification..

Anyways, as mentioned, just my thoughts on the matter.

-Fire
___

EDIT: One question of clarification regarding this change: After seeing Arti's thread, does that mean we don't allow the F-word period, or just not excessively? I've heard mixed things about this both during the meeting and after

 

[He@d$hoT]

F#&* ≠ Family

My daughter is allowed to game on eGO servers because the environment was morally in alignment with our family's core values. We were seeking community where the shifting winds of popular culture were not taken into consideration with what is declared as right and wrong and found it with eGO.

Thank you,
- SB

I was only allowed to play DOD specifically because of the G-RATED gaming communities such as the Angry Old Farts. My dad also played DOD and he felt comfortable letting me play there. I can recall several other children of members playing DOD, whose parents let them play specifically because of the AOF rules. EGO isn't G-RATED but I would still say the rules were still family friendly and no doubt the reason why many members let their children play on the servers. It was the reason I clicked on EGO 24/7 Avalanche when I came back to DOD. And because I remember playing on the Flash server years ago and having a blast, and =(eGO)= Goomba always playing with us in the AOF servers.

Well, according to how I've always been taught, at least in TF2, most profanity is to be treated as warn/kick/ban. Only recently have some words been let go when spoken through voice chat or sometimes even typed out.

Same in DOD:S, one warning and then they were out.

 

[Spensky]

Not trying to sound rude whatsoever, but I bet if a strawpoll was put up or a poll by Dr. Havok was put up asking if people agree with the new language rule set forth, over 75% of eGO's members would say they don't like it.

 

[Misterboy]

Reposting this here because there still has been no response to Steelbilly's post and the other thread was closed without reply to my comment. Legend could at least take time to answer my first point.

If you would like to discuss this topic further you should get in tune with your Division Leader in TeamSpeak.

As Steelbilly asked in my thread (which has had no response at this time), do DL's have the authority to circumvent the clan-wide policy changes? If not, why are we being redirected to our Division Leaders? So they can repeat the same things we have been told? I have already heard from a ComMgr that he himself cannot do anything to change this, so I have voiced my opinion on these forums to catch the attention of the higher-ups who could do something about it, not to be told by those higher-ups to consult people who have no say in the matter anyways.

You have to remember we have built a culture of gamers over ten years...

Many of which joined because of our stance on profanity on our servers.

We will not be amending or changing the rule.

eGO has had the same language policy for 10 years now. Members of the community (or at least admins) should have been consulted about such a huge change before it was put into effect, especially if said change would not be open for any type of reconsideration after it was put in place. Not doing so was inconsiderate of the current player base.

 

[Misterboy]

Additionally, in response to Hammer:

Going around badgering every single member of leadership is only going to foster and create unnecessary drama.

Sorry, but implementing such a drastic change in policy so suddenly and without any discussion with the rest of the community only asks for people to "badger" the higher ups. This is not just some minor policy change. This removes one of the core aspects of eGO which allowed a lot of our members to want to join our community and play on our servers. You cannot expect a decision of this caliber to be made without any backlash.

 

[Legend]

should have been consulted

We have a world class leadership team in place to discuss policy and the direction of EGO. It is not the average member's responsibility to have to worry about those discussions. Members and Admins are here to relax, play games, and make sure that our Code of Conduct is being upheld in our game servers. Having fun is an important aspect as well. Can't forget that.

 

[TheUnknownShu]

I agree that the rule change is a big change however, I believe that the rule change will be better in the long run. I'm sure there will be revisions to the rule to provide a more family friendly environment, but the rule changes are still allowing the community to be mature and people can't spam out every swear they know because they can. I'm sure that the divisions are going to have a difficult time dealing with the change, for now it will look like a bad change or a not thought out change but I'm sure it will fix itself and everything will work just as smooth as when I joined.

 

[Misterboy]

We have a world class leadership team in place to discuss policy and the direction of EGO. It is not the average member's responsibility to have to worry about those discussions. Members and Admins are here to relax, play games, and make sure that our Code of Conduct is being upheld in our game servers.

Although I may not necessarily agree with that, I understand what you mean. I still would like a response to the other points myself and Steelbilly brought up.

 

[Legend]

I would like a response to the other points myself and Steelbilly brought up.

This rule like all the others are global to EGO. They will not be modified per division. We are one community striving for one mission - punk free gaming.

Again, if you would like further understanding of these rules, your divisional leadership are the ones to speak to. They have been present for the majority of the meetings both before, during, and after the implementation of these rules they can give their best effort to help everyone understand the direction we are moving in.

Hopefully I answered effectively and we are able to get back to gaming.

 

[Misterboy]

My final say on the matter then, is that in our attempts to become more popular and mainstream, we have abolished the one aspect that made eGO the most unique and what allowed certain players to be able to game safely on our servers. This decision screws over those who joined because they did not want to have to deal with profanity while gaming. I, along with many others, am extremely disappointed with our higher-ups for this decision.

I expected more people to be vocal about their opinions, because I know it wasn't only the people who replied to both mine and Rowe's thread who were not pleased with the policy change. Unfortunately, it seemed a waste of time and unfortunately I don't think it would have mattered anyways. I personally feel eGO's handling of major community-wide decisions without consulting the very players who are drastically affected by them is not the greatest system. However, the decision has been made, the announcement posts have been put up, and the rules are changed for good. I guess it was pointless even making a thread.

I do appreciate you getting around to answering my posts, Legend, and I thank you for that.

I am now alright with this thread being closed, if leadership wishes.

 

[Mister36]

MB, I appreciate the thoughts you have put into this thread, and the manner in which you are replying, since I know you feel strongly about this. As Legend, said, you (and anyone in TF2) are more than welcome to approach me regarding this change with any specific questions you have. Let me know anytime.

 

[Kortoga]

My sons will not be playing on servers where the F-bomb gets dropped in typed chat and it is OK to do so.

There is a difference between verbally blurting it out because you are raging, and spending the time to type it out.
But both can and should be controlled. I can certainly communicate without cursing, no matter how I was raised.

That's my standing parenting rule that will not be changing with the times.

 

[Ledzo]

I think it is still to the admin on the server to decide whether he's gonna w/k/b or not.

Don't think that the DL's will enforce these policies guys, you will.

 

[matt98]

To be fair in the meeting i said what needed to be said from my view. Uppers still decided to go with it. I don't agree with this as many have complained but no one is standing up and the few that did got shot down so hard not even letting us have a chance to say anything. Its really disappointing that we did this with out more of a census. To me its one thing if everyone agreed overall and it was implemented its another when it was decided by one section in what is advertised as a family gaming community. Those to me means No swearing, Respectful, Fun gaming experience for all ages. At least 2 for me personally are lost if im hearing constant swearing in a server ill leave. ( Yes i know were suppose to admin it part but the issue with that is most are not admining so if you happen to be on at the time the o ne admin who is its still the older way otherwise its like any other server now.)

 

[MacArther]

My sons will not be playing on servers where the F-bomb gets dropped in typed chat and it is OK to do so.

There is a difference between verbally blurting it out because you are raging, and spending the time to type it out.

That where I have contention as well. Its one thing to accidentally cue your mic while raging, or have voice activated mic. But typing it out means you actually spent the time away from playing to give "voice" to your thoughts.

I'm on the fence on this: I came from a COD clan that aside from hacking & glitching allowed everything else (they stopped existing around CoD4 Modern Warfare). So on that hand I have a tough skin for extreme language. On the other hand, I joined =(eGO)= because of the respectful and clean atmosphere.

All said and done though, I will leave the decision up to Leadership / Council.