Recently, there have been concerns over the quality of posts being made on the Discussions boards, and this post is intended to address those concerns and to hopefully explain why things are how they are, and why moderators act as they do.
What the boards are for
While the guidelines we have on the wiki are very liberal on what we view as relevant, first and foremost, the boards are intended to be for discussions between users. They are not intended to be some kind of social media, but to generate interesting discussions between users. All posts made on the boards should be relevant and constructive; any off-topic conversations should be had on the Discord server.
Keeping things on topic
The rule on off topic conversations also applies to replies to a post, something that has become more and more of an issue recently; you should ensure that your replies are related to the topic of the post, and do not drift into something unrelated. On occasions where this happens, a moderator will normally leave a message asking for it to get back on topic. This applies to everyone involved in the discussion, and does not mean you should continue the conversation by saying "... one last thing ..." or "... but I just wanted to say ...". If the request is made, it should be followed there and then. Moderators prefer the discussion to continue if possible, but if this happens several times despite requests otherwise, the thread will likely be locked.
Keeping things constructive
Now, it is easy to say that posts should be constructive, but whether something is or is not constructive is not always clear, and different people may view a specific post in different ways. When a member of the moderation team looks at a post, this is how we will consider whether something is constructive:
the post is on topic/relevant
the post presents something that will generate interesting discussion among users
the post is more than just a title
the post encourages debate among users
Generally, posts that do not follow these guidelines will be locked with a reply stating why. Only in severe and clear cases will a post be deleted.
Additionally, posts that simply ask for users to choose an option, or consist of just a picture or meme, should be unique and non-repetitive. We have a list of frequently asked questions which is updated by the moderators whenever a type of post that is Avatar related but otherwise vague or does not generate much discussion becomes popular on the boards. If your post is locked for this reason, don't be mad. Check the FAQ post and try again with something new.
What to do when you have a problem
There are several ways to highlight issues that you may find on the boards. Firstly, if you think a post breaks one of the guidelines or is otherwise inappropriate, you can report it to the moderation team by clicking "Report post" and someone can address it. You can also get the attention of a particular moderator by typing @ followed by their name. If you have a wider concern, perhaps over another user, you can make a post in the Admin noticeboard category, and someone will respond and/or take action.
Finally, you are always welcome to message an administrator or moderator directly on their wall; a link to my wall is included below, and anyone is welcome to message me there with any issues they may have.
Let me end by saying that the intention is always for users to have fun and enjoy interacting with other members of the community. Any action we make or notices like these we post are always done with this intention in mind.
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