Let me preface my responses to specific posts by making a general statement that I am sad to see that Steve has chosen to not participate at the RPF due to a single negative interaction. With that being said, it is certainly his choice to participate or not and while I can't honestly say I respect the decision he has made or how he acted on the way out, those choices were his to make. His contributions to the community will be missed.
This sort of thing has happened a lot on this board over the years.
The really good guys get pushed out by the jerks. This community isn't large enough to replace the loss(not easily).
There are reasons some of us are not comfortable posting our stuff here.
This is an example of one of them.
Welcome to the internet. You post this as if this issue is something specific to this site when it most certainly is not. Open and often brutal criticism due to the anonymity the internet provides has been a cornerstone since its advent... which is interesting because it seems that at the same time that the internet has allowed more people to be more rude, we have also seen a thinning of people's skin due to the changes in the social climate of our world to the point that no one thinks they should ever be criticized in any way for any thing. So you have people who have been empowered to speak more openly without thinking while others are more sensitive to that kind of speech than ever. Again, let's not pretend this is an RPF issue. It is an issue everywhere and those who decide to allow one person to cause them to take their ball and go home in a huff are as much at fault as the antagonizers.
He is done with it. I don't think the staff can fix this one. He has been through the same thing on other boards.
This sort of thing goes on all of the time, there is nothing the staff can do about it. It's like controlling bullies in a playground, no matter what you do. Bullies are still going to bully.
Thank you for correcting your previous statement. However, I disagree with your belief that there is nothing the staff can do about bullies. There is most definitely something the staff can do but
ONLY if we are notified that something is going on. The first off-color comments in trooper's thread were made on the 11th. The first time one of those comments were reported was very late on the 14th. As we have stated time and again, we do not "patrol" the site. We do not LOOK for problems. The site gets over 1,800 new posts each day... it is physically impossible to read every one. We have a very clear reporting system and when an issue is reported, we deal with it as quickly as possible. We don't acquiesce to every demand made by a reporter, but we do look at every issue. As we have also stated time and again, we have no desire to change anyone or to be their parent. A bully IS still going to be a bully, but if they are a bully here for very long and we are alerted to it, they won't be welcome here and will have to do their bullying elsewhere.
Besides when you try to stand up for yourself, the mods will come down on you too. So it's just not worth it, there is no way to win. So better not to play.
As Michael has correctly stated already, this is utterly untrue. You most certainly CAN stand up for yourself, but if instead of standing up, you choose to stoop to the level of a troublemaker and break the rules of the site, yup, you are going to get smacked. The issue is that most people want to fight fire with fire and that is not the appropriate response. There are plenty of instances where a mature member has put a bully or a troublemaker in their place without resorting to immature actions to get their point across. If you can't do so, there is always the report button.
There are projects out there you guys will never see. All because some troll thought he was cool.
I have no doubt this is true, but again, this comes down to a matter of those who can't take a certain amount of heat needing to stay out of the kitchen, off facebook, off forums, and off any other platform that might allow anyone to interact with them in any way that they don't have complete control over. Don't mistake my comments as being directed specifically at Steve. This would apply to anyone who is too afraid to post in a public place due to the fear of a heckler or someone not simply pouring out praise and adulation. In the real world, not everything is roses and we all need to grow just a bit of a thicker hide and be willing to defend what we have done... not hide in a cave for fear of someone saying they don't like some aspect of something we created. And we don't need to look and wish for a police state to protect us from every evil. Do you REALLY want the staff to become more involved in the day to day interactions of the site just so your feelings can be protected? Just what freedoms would you be willing to throw away for that level of protection and invasion?
Hopefully the troll gets a boot in the @ss or this site is going to lose more folks posting stuff due to not wanting trolls around. If he doesn't' get banned everyone should just put him on their ignore list and do no business with him.
Oneye has resigned his membership to the RPF, so everyone can lay down their pitchforks and torches.
Daddy from Naboo, I can only say you don't know the whole story. It's not my place to say anything more.
Given your comments, I would argue that it is YOU who don't know the whole story given some of the comments you have made, especially pertaining to the site and the staff.
Yes, bullies are shown the door around here. But at what cost?
What about the damage they caused while playing their games? Other message boards have been successfully sued for allowing this behavior to go unchecked. Especially when it effects the mark's ability to make a living.
Have site's been successfully sued over similar issues? Yes. Have many? No. Considering the nature of this issue, when things were brought to the staff's attention and our speed at handling the issue once we were alerted, anyone would have an uphill battle ahead of them if they chose to attempt to pursue a lawsuit and would likely find themselves in more trouble than they might think given the disdain certain states now have against wasting the court's time with frivolous legal issues. In regard to effecting someone ability to make a living, it would be VERY difficult for someone to show that less than a dozen comments made on a tiny forum within a tiny site on the internet that was visible for less an 4 days (and less than 24 hours from when it was reported) has dramatically affected their ability to make a living selling unlicensed prop replicas.
On a final note, I would caution anyone from making any more statements regarding any legal action as we have a very low tolerance for any kind of talk that might be construed as threatening or encouraging others to threaten this community of fans.
There is one other thing to consider, and it's impossible to gauge. How this sort of thing effects the membership. How many others see this going on and say, forget participating if that is going to happen.
It would certainly be difficult to put a figure next to this, but considering the overall size and activity of modeling forums here on the site, I would say the effects will be minimal at best. People who already have a chip on their shoulder or a bone to pick will use this situation as an opportunity to shore up the preconceived notions they already hold. Most everyone else? They will just carry on as normal, regretting, as do I, that Steve is no longer among us. As I said in my opening sentences, it is indeed a loss to the community if Steve chooses not to participate here, but it is just as much a loss for him as it is to us as he will have lost at least one soapbox from which he was able to show off his wares and services to an eager audience. The same would be true of any other builder.
