GateWorld's Vision Statement .Suggestions welcome

[prion]

Quote:
Originally Posted by WraithWatcher
I'd also just like to point out the meaning of the word Censorship to the members as stated on Wikipedia

Censorship is the suppression of speech or deletion of communicative material

doesn't apply to a private owned forum.

Actually, censorship can be anywhere: ": to examine in order to suppress or delete anything considered objectionable <censor the news> ; also : to suppress or delete as objectionable <censor out indecent passages>" It doesn't state if the forum is privately run, a state-run forum, etc. etc.

But yes, this is a fan-run forum. It is not run by MGM (which let virtually anything be posted when they did have boards). If the mods put a decree down that nobody could post in orange text anymore, they can do that.

but the very fact that this is a board devoted to discussing a tv series means, well, nobody will be devastated if a post is deleted. however, when it comes to deleting, common sense should be applied.

[ciel]

maybe it's simply people leave because the franchise suffers from star trek malaise and is dying slowly?

[Skydiver]

this is what Darren has said

GateWorld exists as a place for fans all over the world to enhance their enjoyment of the Stargate franchise by sharing it with others. Our vision for this forum is that it will be a positive place for the enjoyment of Stargate and science fiction, a place to communicate and build friendships, and a home that is open to challenging discussions. While we affirm everyone's right to critique things they do not like, we request that such comments be made with tact and respect for others. Our forum may be large, but it is our home, and we want to spend our time talking about the things we enjoy about our favorite shows.

I do know that some here have immersed themselves in hostility so deeply that they just can't wrap their heads around having to behave. It's kinda like working for a company where there's no time clock, where the boss always works from home, where you can come and go as you wish and putting in your 40 hours is more on the honor system, where no one is holding you or everyone accountable for thier performance and behavior.

Then that boss retires, and you get another one, and they are in the office all day, every day, they implement time clocks and perfomance evaluations and all of a sudden you're accountable for your actions.

Some will accept the change, others will welcome it and still others will turn in thier notice and find somewhere else to work.

What you do is up to you. And we know that some will not accept the changes and will be happier elsewhere. We'll miss you and good luck.

But a lot of what i'm seeing here is a good chunk of the problem with this fandom as a whole....a sense of entitlement. It's here therefor it must exist solely the way i want it and it WILL be how i want it to be or i'm going to express my opinion until it is.

This forum does not exist to cater to any one fan or any one group. It exists how darren wants it to. And he doesn't like the way things have been, so he wants them to change.

We welcome peoples inputs on things we may not be seeing, points of view that we may be missing, 'trouble spots' or wordings that could be tweaked. However, i'm sorry, but changes will be made. And the hostility will be dealt with and those that remain will learn to get along with each other as well as 40,000 strangers can get along.


We're willing to work with those that are willing to work with us.

[ShadowMaat]

...I lost my temper & said some harsh things but that was because the mods refuse to acknowledge that there is apprehension re this new vision & forced me to get angry...

So it isn't YOUR fault you lost your temper and posted in anger, it's the other person's fault? In this case the mods? Umm... Sorry, but no, that doesn't really work for me.

If someone says something that frustrates you or severely pisses you off, STEP AWAY FROM THE KEYBOARD. I think part of the point the mods are trying to make is that if more people did this then there wouldn't be so many problems. But no, someone sees a "disagreeable" opinion, beats his her head against the wall for a while, gets pissed off when the other party fails to capitulate and say "OMG you're totally right!" and fires off a nasty comment which then gets him/her in trouble and causes even MORE anger and outrage. And if the mods don't get to it in time, chances are that the other person could get into the fight, too, and/or whoever else happens to be in the thread at the time.

People need to stop taking things so personally and yeah, I need to learn that lesson, too.

People also need to stop expecting everyone to agree with them.

As for the whole "antis are gonna get crushed under the heels of the pros" I think the mods have said "this isn't going to happen" so many times that there's probably a macro for it.

The Pro's all for this Vision are refusing to accept our annoyance & continue to force their vision upon us, the Anti's (Those against the vision) are not being listened to which is exactly what I can see happening in all discussion threads where you guys are dictating that the Anti's MUST post

I don't think it's a case of the pros refusing to accept the antis annoyance as much as the pros not being able to do much to reassure the antis when the antis themselves refuse to be reassured. I think that after nearly fifty pages of panic, outrage, paranoia, cynicism and strife that EVERYONE is abundantly clear on the concerns surrounding this new Vision.

If we can't get along in this thread (Discussion thread) because the Pros refuse to acknowledge the Anti's views then how the heck are we supposed to get along in a General discussion area where we are supposed to limit our Anti posts to because you guys refuse to give us our own space?

And have you acknowledged the pros viewpoint on this? Or is that not necessary as long as everyone accepts the anti viewpoint? This is, I think, the biggest issue of all: one side refusing to tolerate any other sides in a discussion. One side feeling that their side is the most important, the most valid, the most "right."

Do I have concerns about the new Vision? Hell yeah. But I'm choosing to see the GOOD in this, which is that all the nasty, vindictive little trolls who've been lording it over everyone and claiming immunity for years will now be strung up by their tonsils and forced to stop vomiting their hatred and spite onto all those who dare oppose them. Regardless of which "side" they're on. Pros are just as likely to be snipped as antis and frankly I'm inclined to think they're MORE likely to get snipped, but that could just be my own biased perspective.

The point is that the "antis" are being heard, but don't expect the mods (or anyone else) to grovel at your feet and change everything just to make YOU (generally speaking) happy.

[Reiko]

For me the show lost it when they never dealt with how the characters would go through the loss of thier friends. The new faces that replaced them. The time needed for the fans to go though the loss as well. Most people who are attached to a character do indeed grieve once that character is gone. It has to be dealt with in a realistic manner.

What bothered me was instead of having the cast go through the emotions associated with trauma and death they just jumped over x amount of time. Like is as done off screen which robs the viewer of their time to come terms with the changes.

If the removal of these two characters were handled much more smoothly (or if it was the actor's choice to leave instead of getting replaced 'cos their not hawt enough or stunt casting or whatnot) and that grieving processes were handled in character I doubt the apparent polarization on the boards would be as heavy as they are/were.

Oh, right -- I'm blaming the PTW again. It needs to be realised though that their descisions do influence whether hostility waxes or wanes on the board. (As a fansite.)

[Jackie]

If the removal of these two characters were handled much more smoothly (or if it was the actor's choice to leave instead of getting replaced 'cos their not hawt enough or stunt casting or whatnot) and that grieving processes were handled in character I doubt the apparent polarization on the boards would be as heavy as they are/were.

Oh, right -- I'm blaming the PTW again. It needs to be realised though that their descisions do influence whether hostility waxes or wanes on the board. (As a fansite.)

Very much so...it polarized the fandom. The human mind is very complex. When something "shocking" happens one must find a reasonable explanation. It's human nature to find a reason for something. In the case where the 2 characters are "killed" or worse "Written out" of a series those fans attached to the characters need to find a reason for that to happen. When no suitable reason is found then there will be bloody murder.

Usually that reason is addressed in the storyline. And addressing the shock is in the storyline. Death of a character can be a great tool to really bind a fan or reader to another character by having your surviving character goes through the same emotions that your fan does. When both those avenues are stripped out from beneath that fan and the fan is left wonder wtf happened, then the opportunity to have your fan bond with the new character is greatly diminished.

If the removed characters were well bonded with other fans (such as wier had - my guess would be a 50/50 - fan base) those 50 percent wouldn't care about wier being written out nearly as much as the 50 percent that were her fans.

I think that why GW became so polar. Half the fan base was 'robbed" of the opportunity to grieve for their character and have in doing so robbed the the bonding with the replacement character while the other half of the fan base didn't require that grieving and binding due to it not being their fav character that written off.

Imagine the out roar if it was Rodney that was killed. Replaced with Sam and no one ever mentioned Rodney except a few times during the show. There would be protest in the streets.

By not allowing the fans to grieve for weir and bond with Keller the show not only split the fandom but robbed it's long time fans of basic human needs.

[Briangate78]

I think the major problem with this is that you have people from all over the globe and it is more diversified. People have different views and different ways of life. What someone finds funny someone may find offensive and tasteless. I think shows like Stargate have brought the fandoms of different countries together. GW is this central place or meeting place, and well, a lot of heads are going to be bunked.

[ShadowMaat]

I think season 6 of SG-1 set the tone for all the ills of fandom. I'm not saying it was solely to blame, but I think it was the pebble that started the avalanche. Or maybe boulder. And then season 7 introduced another big change. And season 9 an even bigger one. Lots of shocks, lots of changes, lots of turmoil in fandom. SGA was probably doomed from the start in terms of fans reacting to any changes made.

After so much time (and so many shocks) fandom as a whole has really honed its hostility and its knee-jerk reactions (for or against) to change. I personally doubt that this new "Vision" will do any good, but if it can curb SOME of the nastiness then hooray for change.

[amconway]

I think the major problem with this is that you have people from all over the globe and it is more diversified. People have different views and different ways of life. What someone finds funny someone may find offensive and tasteless. I think shows like Stargate have brought the fandoms of different countries together. GW is this central place or meeting place, and well, a lot of heads are going to be bunked.

This may be part of it, certainly. Few fandoms are so global. Um, bunked? What's that?

[Briangate78]

This may be part of it, certainly. Few fandoms are so global. Um, bunked? What's that?

That means many opinions are going to collide and people are going to get into heated debates and arguements, and will lead into personal attacks. You know bunking heads?

[Rac80]

Yep I think TPTW is the power that was

Linda and I both hate McIcky (as I call it) for differening reasons, I like Keller and she hates her, BUT we can post on the same threads without coming to blows! (maybe cause we both complain about mckay?)

Very much so...it polarized the fandom. The human mind is very complex. When something "shocking" happens one must find a reasonable explanation. It's human nature to find a reason for something. In the case where the 2 characters are "killed" or worse "Written out" of a series those fans attached to the characters need to find a reason for that to happen. When no suitable reason is found then there will be bloody murder.

Usually that reason is addressed in the storyline. And addressing the shock is in the storyline. Death of a character can be a great tool to really bind a fan or reader to another character by having your surviving character goes through the same emotions that your fan does. When both those avenues are stripped out from beneath that fan and the fan is left wonder wtf happened, then the opportunity to have your fan bond with the new character is greatly diminished.

If the removed characters were well bonded with other fans (such as wier had - my guess would be a 50/50 - fan base) those 50 percent wouldn't care about wier being written out nearly as much as the 50 percent that were her fans.

I think that why GW became so polar. Half the fan base was 'robbed" of the opportunity to grieve for their character and have in doing so robbed the the bonding with the replacement character while the other half of the fan base didn't require that grieving and binding due to it not being their fav character that written off.

Imagine the out roar if it was Rodney that was killed. Replaced with Sam and no one ever mentioned Rodney except a few times during the show. There would be protest in the streets.
By not allowing the fans to grieve for weir and bond with Keller the show not only split the fandom but robbed it's long time fans of basic human needs.

Dancing in the streets around here. that is my least favorite character....well I admit I hate the guy!

I will say this sounds like a good positive move.

[amconway]

That means many opinions are going to collide and people are going to get into heated debates and arguements, and will lead more personal attacks. You know bunking heads?

I figured that was the jist - That's 'bonking heads' to your northern neighbors. : ) Thanks for clarifying (I illustrated your point nicely, though, didn't I?)

[Briangate78]

I figured that was the jist - That's 'bonking heads' to your northern neighbors. : ) Thanks for clarifying (I illustrated your point nicely, though, didn't I?)

Yes you did.

[Skydiver]

And, if they are willing to be open minded and 'accepting', a LOT of people will get a broader outlook on life. They'll learn bits and pieces about other cultures and other ways to see things. They'll gain insight into a military POV from those that watch the show that way, or they'll get insight into how a female thinks and learn what she finds objective might be something they personally think is funny, or that a guy is more disturbed by this plot twist than a woman is, etc.

If a person is willing to learn and accept others instead of bludgeoning them about the head forcing this stranger to conform into what that person deems as 'right', a whole world can be opened.

If you love a character and others don't, don't see it as a challenge and someone to 'convert'... learn what they see and accept it, even if you don't agree with it.

This can be a wonderful place to make friendships and connections, and if people (in general) would stop being hostile and trying to 'win' all the time, they'd see it.

Those that are afraid that they'll lose their sanctuaries, find another one. Find a common point that isn't hostile towards another that you can ralley around. Instead of spending your days bashing another pairing, or lamenting the existence of something you don't like, find something that you like instead and spend your time on that.

All the posts in the world aren't going to make your disliked item vanish. As Darren pointed out in his first post, if you're posting here, expressing your dislike quite passionately, hoping that tptb will read your post and change the show to suit you, you've been wasting your breath. Because too many have taken a dislike and turned it into a vendetta, and wrapped it with nastiness and vitrole and tptb have simply stopped reading.

If you, the general you, want to express your likes/dislikes and have a hope of tptb reading it, then you, the general you, need to alter your posting style and express those opinions - be they liking what's being done or disliking what's being done - in a respectful manner.

[amconway]

Dancing in the streets around here. that is my least favorite character....well I admit I hate the guy!

Wow! I just had a weird memory thing, when you remember something from your childhood that you haven't thought of for a really, really long time. My brother and I weren't allowed to say that we hated anyone or tell them to shut up. That was WAY worse than swearing. Swearing got a raised eyebrow, unless it was really a bad one, but saying 'shut up' or 'I hate you' got you sent to your room for a long time... We weren't allowed to hate anything, actually. We could dislike it greatly, though. I still dislike broccoli.