Look at me, I’m a badass
I’ve noticed this sort of attitude being adopted more and more recently on IF and I have to say I’m getting pretty sick and tired of it.
People rebelling, thinking if they do the opposite of your word they’re somehow defying a higher being and causing chaos. Well, I hate to break it to the idiots ‘badasses’ but you’re neither clever, funny, witty, smart or even remotely ‘badass’. All you are is a pain in the arse that can be swept away with the click of a button. This button to be precise. 
It seems that people think that because of our position we’re actually more vulnerable to attacks than we used to be (as members - those of us who were members beforehand at least). Now this may be the case for some (Is it? Not sure, perhaps, wouldn’t know though I’d doubt it personally) but certainly not for me. Sure, if someone decides to act like an ass it’s not worth a suspension or something but the fact is this: piss me off or attack me and you’ll see the nastier side of me.
Yes, there is an even nastier side to me than most see. 
Rawr.
I should probably explain this all really. Where shall I begin…hmmm let’s see.
Firstly, I have encountered ‘morons’ (for want of a better, non-profane word) over the months who seem to think that they can get away with their idiosy without consequence. Boy, have they learned. I’m not sure what quite attracts people to ‘rebelling’ but for any who consider it: it’s not glorious, it’s not fun, it’s not even slightly amusing. And I mean for the rebel. It’s glorious for me when I click that button, take a sigh of relief and smile as yet another thorn is removed from the board. It’s fun for me to receive a response to the usual e-mail I send, protesting the suspension. It’s amusing for me to reply to it and explain that life’s a bitch and then you cross me. 
Now I’m not a badass or hardman myself, never claimed to be and never will but I’m not a walk over either - as so many assumed from my former openness. Those who thought I was have now learned their lesson or are currently learning it. Heh, and people say it’s no fun being a teacher. 
Mmm, yes, secondly I have noticed that there are those who are dealt a warning that think they can somehow shrug it off and continue in their war path. What’s that all about? If you get warned not to backseat moderate, don’t backseat moderate! Could it be any simpler? Why do people think they are exempt from the rules? What worries me is when they then attack because they have been suspended or whatever for repeating it. 
Typical e-mail convo with me and anyone I suspend:
Jay: I’m sorry, were you not already warned about your actions?
User: Yes.
Jay: And were you not also warned that if you repeated your actions you would receive a short suspension?
User: Yes.
Jay: And did you not repeat your actions?
User: Yes.
Jay: And did I not do as I said I would?
User: Yes.
Jay: So, what are you complaining about?
User: It’s not fair.
Jay: *sighs and adds e-mail to block list*
But then I should know by now that most of the people who are suspended are suspended because they’re idiots.
Thirdly and finally, graphics request. I wonder how many of you expected that? 
It has pretty much become my campaign; cleaning up GR and restoring order. Witht he aid of my trust companian Christina (
) I think we’ve done pretty damned well considering. Spam has been reduced, there is less rule breaking and generally people are paying more attention to the rules. However, we still face spam and foolish posting, and arguements from time to time but still, I think it’s improved somewhat from the way it used to be (and I hear it was even worse long before I was even a member o_O).
I’d say the biggest problem faced is the ego. Or at least, it is for me. Not my ego but the ego of either graphic requesters or graphic request designers. Usually it’s the former that’s the worst. I’m not sure why but some people take great offence when the rules are pointed out to them, is it truly an insult to be asked to fill in the guidelines that help to have your request done and remove the hinderence you put on yourself straight away by having posted without using them? Is it so hard to understand the red bold text that states no bumping within 24 hours? I mean, the 24 hour rule is carried throughout the entire forum, how on earth can anyone miss it? If only there was an option in the usergroup settings that had something along the lines of ‘Allow user to double post in a topic within [insert box where you put in the number] hours?’, no would be the obvious answer for members. As would 24 for the box. I’ve tried to be leniant by not doing what the rules say and closing the topic immediately, I’ve always figured you should let it slip once but I’m not so sure anymore. Seems we have two common types of people there: people who learn after having the rules enforced upon them and people who don’t. Apparantly people who learn when given a small, friendly warning bypass the forum.
And then there are the designers. Some (not all) sometimes take it upon themselves to have outbursts and point out the rules in a rude and uncalled for manner…and then say ‘fuck you, I’m not doing your design’ anyway. What the hell is with that? I’ve always enforced that people shouldn’t post unless they are going to do the graphics. This seems like not only backseat moderating but a complete violation against the rule of ‘if you’re not going to fill in the request DON’T POST’ which I think always technically existed but only recently was it made aware in the rules. Hmmm…perhaps it’s time such posts were punished, especially by repeat offenders. Another thing that bugs me is the way some new comers already have a swollen ego. I hate to break it to you buddy but the fact that you’re the graphics manager for the biggest IF graphics forum means zip on this forum {note: that is not aimed at any individual, anyone on the GR forum who just happens to be the Graphics Manager for the biggest IF graphics forum is pure coinkydink} and it’s time people learned that. I think the problem is that some people are used to being praised to the extent that if anyone dares to rub them up the wrong way, they’d have an entire forum turned on them. Sorry but fanclubs don’t exist on IFS (with exception to Seth’s and Lothy’s) and nor does your ability grant you the right to act like an arse. Some people just give the impression that their post is basically a complex way of saying ‘look - I can put filters and graphics and other neat stuff together so I’m a god’. 
Oh and something else that’s bugging me lately is the lack of knowledge shown with regards to copyright. What the hell? I’m sorry but nobody (designers and requesters) should be posting if they don’t understand what copyright is or how it is applied. If you don’t understand it, you can’t comment on it nor would you be aware when you are violating it - which some ignorant folk tend to do, usually the ones who jump into a topic and don’t bother about rules or checking where the images come from. It really annoys me that someone actually once said ‘I don’t care if it’s copyrighted, I’m not deleting my picture’. I don’t know why but I didn’t bother to punish that person. Really, in my mind, they should have been suspended for a few years…or banned. 1) They violated copyright laws, 2) they violated the TOS, 3) they broke the IFS rules and 4) they did all of this knowingly. What more ground would one need to stand on? Yet I didn’t…why Jay, why? Dumbass. 
I’m currently putting together a Copyright FAQ in the hopes of rectifying this problem…and hopefully getting people to spell it right. What’s with copywright? Is it the American spelling? I know something is copywritten but since when has copywright been a word? According to the dictionary it’s not.
Meh, none of this applies to everyone by the by, before people start thinking this is an insult to them. It’s a select few really, with exception to the graphic requesters in which case it seems to apply to most of the people who join simply for graphics.
Hmmmm anyway, methinks this has been a long enough rant. Wow, longer than normal that’s for sure! On a side note: I’m not bored anymore. 
I rant when i’m bored too
I know what you mean, they’re all idiots sometimes. And about the thing where they argue with you after taking action with something (like you suspended them) - I know what you mean too. I had it once, with a certain someone who got a certain topic closed by me and started having it out with me via PM - i’m sure you know who that is, I IMed you about it when that certain someone kept responding :r
I know what you mean about graphics requests and stuff too. The problem there is how great everyone reckons they are. They go round like they own the place, gladly backseat moderating, pointing out the guidelines if someone dares not follow them and egenerally just act like idiots with big egos. I bet they only fill requests there hoping that everyone will think they’re so great and love them. And because they think they’re so great, they think they have the divine right to, like you said, tell people they didn’t follow the guidelines then do sod all for them. That sort of thing is frowned upon everywhere else, so why should they think they can get away with it?
And about the spellings.. Copywright is an annoying one, dunno where that comes from, but another one that really bugs me is adds. Where does that come from? It’s ads as in advertising, not adds, ads.
Well this has to be almost the longest comment I ever made - a sort of mini-rant in itself
Comment by Matthew — June 11, 2005 @ 11:06 am
Yay mini-rant.
I should give your comment the ‘Longest Comment Ever Award’. 
Wow, it’s 11am, I should really go to bed. o_O Been on IF all night.
Edit: I’ve just thought of another thing that annoys me. Everytime someone gets impatient I tend to let them know that the designers have lives and are busy, why do so many people use this as an opprtunity to say ‘Yeah! You tell them Jay! :@ [insert bitching]’? I want to make this clear: I am not defending you guys, I am simply trying to prevent the person frm bumping. You complain about their whinging yet you do it yourselves, don’t be hypocrits.
Comment by Administrator — June 11, 2005 @ 11:19 am
Wow, I love your rants Jay, they just seem so correct, apart from one big error: You seem to have forgotten the ‘We love Rory’ club…
Your blog highlights some of the reasons why I don’t do Requests on IF, though I might start again… I’m bored…
Comment by Francis (101) — June 11, 2005 @ 1:31 pm
Jay you are a badass :p And some of you wonder why I was so tough on first time pm advertisers. Seems every mod has their quest. Phrank and Jeremy’s was programming, mine was pm’s, James had codes and you and christinia are off to clean graphics. And you’re nice responding to emails. Rarely do I get a protest, and when I do its quashed after email one. I think I’ve reversed one warn ever and that was because the person was polite and respectful and ignorant of the tos. Though really, we should make the register page have the TOS show in size 87 font. Then people can’t claim they didn’t at least see the rules right?
Comment by Yodaminch — June 11, 2005 @ 4:21 pm
Yeah, it annoys me when certain members start acting like they own the place and thinking they’re gods. Then when they get punished, they start going “It’s not fair!” when they know exactly what they did wrong, and they weren’t given a too harsh punishment either.
I rarely get troublemakers like that on my board or my friends’ ones, but I have had to deal with people like that at times, and they acted much the same as some of these ‘badasses’ that you find on IFS. They aren’t exactly making themselves look good, in fact, they’re doing quite the opposite; and as Jay said, most of the members that get suspended are complete idiots.
P.S: How do you add emoticons to your comments?
Comment by Candyguitar — June 11, 2005 @ 8:58 pm
Reckon ‘copywrite’ is definitely an Americanism, along with weird stuff like: ‘She had just GOTTEN OFF OF of the bus…’ As anybody with a grain of intelligence knows, ‘copywrite’ just doesn’t mean: ‘the write to copy’. All right? Alright? Allwrite?
Comment by Diane Rooney — June 11, 2005 @ 10:13 pm
Just use the usual emoticon symbols such as : P, : ),
, :’ (, 
, 
, etc (but no gaps). Currently I’m looking for a way to upload IF emotes since the default ones are boring but I’m not sure if blogsome let ya. 
Haha, yeah, that would be good.
Hmm, I always thought that was more of a cult. XD
Oh, I can be harsh when I want to.
I’m not into leniancy when it comes to older members who know the rules. New folk I’m fine with, let’s face it, you have to give them one break. Even I’ve broken the rules at least once (I remember Rory edited the title of the topic to Potato, twas the first time I found out about his potato fetish 
) so I’d be hypocrit not to give people a chance but when you tell someone not to backseat moderate and they do it in the topic beneath you right after saying sorry…ugh.
My responses are never nice though so I think any niceness associated with the fact I response is automatically negated. XD But then I’ve yet to receive an e-mail that wasn’t filled with profanity, general ranting and the feeling of the person has just had something crawl up his arse (possible concrete). Perhaps if people learned we were human and that if you want to get the punishment reduced or removed, bitching and moaning isn’t exactly the best way to go about it. I’m all for an open debate about it but as soon as I see the person is just whinging and basically swearing their ass off, I switch off and don’t even give reconsidering a second thought.
Thank god for good members though, they keep me sane and happy, along with the not so sane staffers.
Edit: Damned blockquote code, gur.
Comment by Administrator — June 12, 2005 @ 12:29 pm
Wonder which member complained about the graphics request forum :r
Thank you Jay I might start doing requests again I just hate when people post “Ok I will do this for you” What in h311 is the point in that. Expecially when in two minutes they post the actual graphic.
Comment by Das — June 12, 2005 @ 7:37 pm
*With clenched fists and grinding teeth, she starts shaking in anger.*
Um, yeaaaaah. I’m getting so sick of all this bumping that I’m just going to warn someone once and close the topic the next, and keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t bump in future topics. It seems to be doing some good. One guy has already apologized, which I’m glad to hear. Finally, someone willing to learn from their mistakes. I just hope it lasts. :/
Comment by Looners — June 13, 2005 @ 9:39 pm
Wow, I honestly didn’t know there were that many
Idiots‘badasses’ on IF, a lot seems to have changed since I’ve been suspened for teh IFdropouts, I guess I got a lot to read up on before I start givin good wholesome support again. Anyway I say increase the size of the rules on the request forums, then if they still cant see them, punish them, no more warnings, they seem to just make people more stupid. That’s what I would do if my forum was still up.Comment by VeritechPilot — June 27, 2005 @ 9:07 am