Staff moderation of Mafia games

[charlou]

I've posted the following in our mod forum:

I'd like to suggest we keep moderation of Mafia games out of the games threads and in a separate thread to keep game disruption to a minimum level. I'd also like to suggest we assign one or two staff members who are familiar with mafia game play to moderate that forum exclusively.

Your thoughts and ideas are welcome.

[oblivion]

Having mods who are familiar with mafia is a good idea.

[veteran of forum wars]

Also not being guideline nazis is a good idea. People can't post in the game thread if they get voted out, so leave it to the players to do just that.

[charlou]

Having mods who are familiar with mafia is a good idea.

The main issue there is the mods who are familiar usually want to participate in the games as players, not staff.

[charlou]

Also not being guideline nazis is a good idea. People can't post in the game thread if they get voted out, so leave it to the players to do just that.

Guideline breaches, particularly abuse of other members, won't be tolerated in games.

[veteran of forum wars]

Please rename this forum into Friendly Mafia Games tia

[FBM]

Also not being guideline nazis is a good idea. People can't post in the game thread if they get voted out, so leave it to the players to do just that.

I was thinking something along those lines, but not exactly. If a group of name-calling types become the majority, then there would just be a hellbending, no-holds-barred thread. I think we have to keep moderation in the thread to a bare minimum, but if a couple of people like today, we have to be able to protect the rights of the minority who may be too intimidated to speak up.

Also, if you invite others from other forums, please be sure that they know and are willing to abide to the 'Play Nice' policy at Ratz. I'd be very, very happy if the players could keep people like the two today under control with no staff intervention necessary.

[charlou]

The following quote is from the mafia 4 game thread (this post):

If you still want me to GM, the game thread should be off limits to everyone that is not playing.

If GMs want that much control of game threads, they should familiarise themselves with the forum guidelines and keep the players in line. If you can't manage it, the games will be moderated by ratz staff.

[oblivion]

Having mods who are familiar with mafia is a good idea.

The main issue there is the mods who are familiar usually want to participate in the games as players, not staff.

Why would the distinction be necessary? As long as players don't say anything in a report that would be game breaking it shouldn't matter. And if a mod has any question about whether moving a post would be bad for the game, they could ask the GM.

I hope all players realize that they need to use discretion if they hit the report button in a game thread...

[veteran of forum wars]

Why would the distinction be necessary? As long as players don't say anything in a report that would be game breaking it shouldn't matter.

reports count as private communication, players shouldn't be allowed to report anything until they are dead.

they don't have to reveal game breaking info to manipulate the game in their favor.

having mods who read the report wifom themselves into predicting if a certain player would report a certain post if he was a certain alignment is enough damage to gameplay...

[sifaka]

[charlou]

Why would the distinction be necessary? As long as players don't say anything in a report that would be game breaking it shouldn't matter.

reports count as private communication, players shouldn't be allowed to report anything until they are dead.

Town players are not allowed to engage in game related PMs with each other during the game, but that's as far as the mafia no private communication rule extends. You cannot veto other private communication.

Just for interest sake, it would be good to learn from all the players whether or not they want completely unmoderated games where the players themselves deal with unwanted behaviour as part of the gameplay.

[irretating]

For me the answer is a resounding no.

[Pappa]

Why not have opt-in no holds barred mafia games (decided upon when they are started). The op would make it clear insults would be considered part of the game, in the same way we do with the "Insult TPAM" threads. I expect the staff would still step in if they felt a member was misusing the thread to actually harass another forum member.

Thoughts?

[FBM]

Why not have opt-in no holds barred mafia games (decided upon when they are started). The op would make it clear insults would be considered part of the game, in the same way we do with the "Insult TPAM" threads. I expect the staff would still step in if they felt a member was misusing the thread to actually harass another forum member.

Thoughts?

Sounds good to me. I think there should be a disclaimer in the OP so that people passing by wouldn't get the impression that the whole forum was like that, tho.