A behavioural view of toxicity & moderation on MS

[davesaz]

Mafia bans are from listmods, not game mods right?
There could be discussions or warnings happening in the background that we aren't aware of.
Clear standards and/or clearly level treatment is good in general, no arguments there.

In my past experience as a site mod elsewhere, and a senior mod at that, mod actions were useful for two main purposes -- to put an immediate stop to an urgent spiraling situation, and to handle chronic and incorrigible offenders. Especially here, where having enough active players is literally the lifeblood of the site, overdoing it is a recipe for disaster. Underdoing it is also a recipe for disaster, if there is a perception that the results are arbitrary and/or toxicity drives people away. It's a balancing act and they have to be careful not to tip it too far, while at the same time exerting enough influence to keep things civil. Not to mention too heavy a thumb on the wheel and it affects the game in progress.

One thing we did on my old site was to have the site mod (not game mod) post in-thread warnings in an official capacity. That way not only the offender but everyone see immediately what's considered over the line and what isn't. I don't know if list mods have the bandwidth or tools to do that here, and it's tricky in a situation where they're also players in the game. Perhaps always have someone not in the game handle it, and just make sure the listmods never get into a situation where they're all in a single game. If I get the opportunity to make this a suggestion I will.