Ask the Moderators

[Madeleine]

If you can tell us the name of each thread we'll see if we can locate them. Were they all threads you started yourself?

[immhotep]

thats it i cant remember them, there was one about GW messing up on spoiler is know that, but there not in my thread history so i cant check! qasim posted in one i know that, ill check his post history....

[Col. Newman]

Col. Newman,

As you probably know, the mods do not discuss the moderation of individuals in public. I can dig up the specific PM that was reported to me if you really have a question about it.

Yeah I would appreciate that I would have just PMed you but I can't use PM because I am on restriction

Restriction is just so lovely I can't even change my sig or edit my profile. :rolleyes

[Colonel Sharp]

Could I make a request for two threads to be merged?

Roleplaying Section and Role-Playing: Rules, Regs, and Information to be renamed:

Role-playing: FAQs\Information\Signup


And put in the roleplaying section of course.
Thanks in advanced.

Yeah, er, about that, I think that was a good choice but I have a post on page 19 (The long one with all the info) that should be the first post of the topic, if there's anyway to do that it would be greatly appreciated

[DigiFluid]

I'd like to ask about one of the forum rules,

Respect Stargate actors and production crew members. This falls under the previous rule -- but it's important to remember that we owe the show's cast and crew at least as much respect as we owe our fellow fans. Criticizing creative decisions is fine; cutting down the people that make the show is not.
These people take time out of their day to read and participate here, and it's our job to make sure they aren't met with personal attacks because of their creative decisions -- or even drowned with questions and personal requests.

With regards to the actors, I'm driven to wonder why?

This is a discussion board for a weekly presented work of fiction. I think it goes without saying that one of the most integral and important elements of that presentation is the ability of the actor to present the role they have. Stiff, wooden, and otherwise poor deliveries massively detract from the show as a whole and indeed completely break the suspension of disbelief required to fully enjoy the show.

I'm having a little trouble understanding why it's fine and dandy to ruthlessly attack characters and episodes (which are an indirect, though no less harsh attack on the writers), but we aren't allowed to criticize acting ability.

Not trying to be an arse or anything, but it seems like the words "acting ability" fly a red flag for moderator deletion as soon as they're posted and I'm honestly baffled as to why. If one of, if not the largest Stargate community discussion boards online cannot be free to be discuss being unhappy with certain elements of the show, how are we supposed to express our discontent?

[Skydiver]

It's a fine line between

man, sam was just so off last night. Did you see her giggling while cameron was dying?

and

good grief, did you see amanda last night? what did she do? sleep walk? and how DARE the witch giggle while cameron was dying???? that woman is a disgrace and should be fired!!!

Criticizing the characters is one thing. Criticizing an actor's performance is one thing....bashing on the actor is something totally different.

Take joe for example. Do people discuss episodes that he writes? sure. do they tear them to shreds? oh yeah.

can they call joe a hack and moron and idiot??? No.

Are we able to catch each and every instance? We try, but with 11,000 members and thousands of posts a day, some do slip through. If you are reading a thread and think that there are personal insults in there towards a forum member or member of the cast/crew, then use the report post function and draw it to our attention.

If we agree, we will take action. If we don't, then we won't. We are trying to walk the fine line between keeping this a nice place to play and micromanaging the stuffins out of everyone.

[Seshat]

I'd like to ask about one of the forum rules,

Respect Stargate actors and production crew members.

With regards to the actors, I'm driven to wonder why?

This is a discussion board for a weekly presented work of fiction. I think it goes without saying that one of the most integral and important elements of that presentation is the ability of the actor to present the role they have. Stiff, wooden, and otherwise poor deliveries massively detract from the show as a whole and indeed completely break the suspension of disbelief required to fully enjoy the show.

I'm having a little trouble understanding why it's fine and dandy to ruthlessly attack characters and episodes (which are an indirect, though no less harsh attack on the writers), but we aren't allowed to criticize acting ability.

Not trying to be an arse or anything, but it seems like the words "acting ability" fly a red flag for moderator deletion as soon as they're posted and I'm honestly baffled as to why. If one of, if not the largest Stargate community discussion boards online cannot be free to be discuss being unhappy with certain elements of the show, how are we supposed to express our discontent?

I think I can address your question from a poster's point of view because this is one things I had an issue with when I started posting here 10 months ago.

Long, long ago I once made a comment about an actor that was completely misinterpreted by another poster as a slur, when all I was doing was expressing what I thought was a harmless opinion about the actor's performance in an ep. I learned very quickly that some posters' definition of "respect for an actor" was VERY different from my own, and adjusted my language accordingly so as not to offend in future. (Amusingly, the poster who was so miffed at the time and I have become good buddies! It shows you what a little diplomacy can do. )

It really is all about the "how" you do it. Since then I have quite often commented on what I saw as a lousy performance by an actor or actress (or a bad writer's script, or a director's poor work) around here, but I have managed to avoid being modded (thus far... ) and have only one red rep to my name (again, thus far... ), because I try to criticize tactfully. This is not a skill everyone around here has yet acquired, and some just plain choose to ignore.

So say whatever you want! Just try to say it nicely and folks will respect both you and your opinions more.

[LaCroix]

Can there be a "I'm Sorry" to the mods and owner section. Because I'd like to say sorry to Darren about my remark in one of the sub-forums.

[Skydiver]

And yes, there is also that actor's fans to consider.

If you're a fan of Sam, you're likely going to find a 'are you tired of super sam?' thead to be distasteful.

In the same vein, if you're a fan of daniel and someone describes his acting as 'chewing the scenery' that might offend you.

fans of vala have found criticism of her character to be offensive

One of the things needed to play here is a bit of a thick skin. I for one am a great fan of sam...and i personally don't care for the anti-sam threads...but folks can start them and play in them because that's thier opinion. And as long as they keep it about the character and within the forum rules, they can keep making them.

people should not take criticism of a character personally. it's not, usually, criticism of an actor. Nor is it meant to be a personal insult against every single fan of that character. It's just someone's opinion

Tolerance is a great thing

[sg-1fanintn]

I have thoroughly enjoyed my six months at Gateworld, and I've met some great people here. Plus, I've found some folks who share my OBSESSION with Stargate!!! Hubby enjoys the shows, but smiles indulgently at my stack of fanfic and way of seeing the world through "Stargate glasses."

I just want to thank site founders and mods for providing this environment for us. I've made a mistake or two along the way, and have been corrected politely and with an explanation for what I did wrong. Who can find fault with that? This is the best Stargate site around (and I looked through many before deciding this was the best place to hang out).

I don't have a question tonight (but Skydiver knows me well enough to know that I will eventually). I just wanted to say thanks for Gateworld, the time you all give, and for this new thread. I think it's a great idea!

[Jeffer]

If you can't find a certin thread or topic go to the thing that shows all of you posts and it will be in there

[TechnoWraith]

If you can't find a certin thread or topic go to the thing that shows all of you posts and it will be in there

You mean the New Posts button? Or are you talking about the Forum Index?

[Madeleine]

You mean the New Posts button? Or are you talking about the Forum Index?

Click on your own profile. Somewhere in there will be a little clickable sentence: "Show all threads started by TechnoWraith"

[Darren]

I'm having a little trouble understanding why it's fine and dandy to ruthlessly attack characters and episodes (which are an indirect, though no less harsh attack on the writers), but we aren't allowed to criticize acting ability.

Skydiver's answer is a good one. The distinction made in the rule should be between respect and criticism. One can certainly criticize an actor's performance or a writer's script in a tactful, respectful way. Those posts are more than welcome.

[CKO]

are we gonna get a Farscape section... or arent there enough of us who are fans to warrent one?!