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Is GAF too strict?

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Kraftwerk

Member
*gulp....prays to Bishoptl*

I will start off by saying that: GAF is my second home. It is such a great place to talk, relax and just do whatever. In my humble opinion, it is one of the best places on the web for open-minded people to get together.

Now...


I do wander around other forums and websites, and whenever GAF comes up and someone disses it, the one universal gripe that comes up is that : it is too strict.

Do you agree with this? From the long waiting-list to get in, to the taboo subjects that is not taboo on nearly all other forums.

I honestly don't believe so. This helps control the population and maintains the sanity.

On the other hand. some people like the guy I know on Gamespot hate gaf, since he has been waiting for 7 months to get in. But whatever, I waited a few months too.

What do you think? Is GAf sometimes too strict? Is your freedom of speech being trampled upon via the banhammer?
 
D

Deleted member 81567

Unconfirmed Member
No, but the "cunt" rule is stupid.
 
Yup, the board isn't fun anymore now users can't self moderate. Posting standards are directly inferred and absolved from the moderators (for better and worse) and it has slowly ruined the board into becoming a mine field of traps and actually hurting neutral discussion.

Remember when people actually read the source instead of what the OP just said? I do. Remember when people could be called out for being shit posters? Not just bigots
 

Esch

Banned
I hear the same but then i ask them to explain the reasoning behind it being too strict and the answer is always something fucking terrible and stupid.

I do think the recent word bans are in bad spirit, but this forum is still the bees knees generally
 

PK Gaming

Member
No, i'd say the strictness is just right.

The zero tolerance on hate ,racism, discrimination, general bullshit etc is pretty fucking awesome. Besides, a ban is more or less the equivalent of an infraction on gaf (2 weeks isn't that long).
 

Sydle

Member
No, feels right. The mods do a great job of enforcing the right things.

EDIT: I forgot about the waiting list, lol.
 

FStop7

Banned
I think it's gotten a lot less strict since I first started reading it in 2008.

That said I've seen some (less than 10) bans I would say were anywhere from 'questionable' to 'pretty fucked up' but I'm not gonna harp on that because it will only end in bad things.
 
No, that's why I come here instead of other forums. Also, it's not a visual nightmare.
First post. I generally like it as is. They are pretty good with language too, so I really see no problems. I would rather have it just a little on the strict side than way too open.
 

Amory

Member
I'm always surprised at how long it takes people's accounts to be approved. I think I was good to go in like a week. Lucky, I guess.
 

Data West

coaches in the WNBA
I think it's a little weird that you can get banned for using words that people use on television all the time.
 
First post nails it.

No, because a higher quality of discussion is a good part of why GAF is so good. "Strictness" and being a semi-closed community keeps trolls and anyone else who doesn't contribute positively in check.
 
No, i'd say the strictness is just right.

The zero tolerance on hate,racism,discrimination, general debauchery etc is pretty @#!*% awesome.

This right here, this is what makes GAF > any other forum. Rules are clear-cut dry, someone makes an offense they get banned, no drama is made. Unlike a bunch of other forums when someone is banned there's this whole outcry which sometimes lasts weeks.

Plus the site is nice and clean, not an eye-sore at all.
 
D

Deleted member 8095

Unconfirmed Member
It's a little weird about what can and cannot be mocked.
 

DoomGyver

Member
I have no complaints. If you're a lurker and have been waiting months, be patient. It always takes that long. (Unless of course you're very lucky and register the night before a new wave of fresh meat.)
 

KillGore

Member
Eh, sometimes I feel it is, other times I don't

Sometimes I think it is nice because we won't have stupid people in here but then I see a thread full of them and just notice that they tend to not go in threads that can get them banned (for example, all the Playstation All Stars hate). So the stupid people are here, just hiding in fear.
 

Kacho

Gold Member
The majority of GAF mods seem like good people. I think the rules are fair and people are allowed to have fun and engage with one another within reason. Not too lax and not too strict. Just right.
 

flippedb

Banned
At times I do feel paranoid posting some things. But I believe strict rules are what keeps GAF from becoming GameFAQs forums or something similar.
 
I think the rules just need to be more consistent and obvious. I got banned for posting an image but someone else posted the same image a few months later and isn't reprimanded at all. It makes it difficult to gauge what is considered posting "inappropriate" items when one day that item isn't okay and the next it's fine and all it takes is crossing a mod on a bad day to get banned with no way to appeal.
 

The Technomancer

card-carrying scientician
Nope, I like GAF as it is. I don't think I've ever seen someone get banned for being stupid, but GAF has a very low tolerance for actual attacks, which is just how I like it. The people who complain about it being too strict usually have comments like "I just called one dude a fag for insulting Sony" or something like that.
 

Captain Pants

Killed by a goddamned Dredgeling
Speaking as a moderator on Gamespot, absolutely not. This place is pretty damn free in the sense that you can swear as much as you like, and the only real risks are saying ignorant/offensive things. This is probably the best run forum I've seen in terms of quality control. Asshats don't survive, and mostly everyone else seems to have a good time.
 

Zeke

Member
I think its a bit too strict I think Gaf was fine when I first got here but now its like you really need to watch what you say lest you catch a ban. Theres been several times where I type a response and think for a second or two and just say fuck it because I can never tell of someone is going to have some stupid knee jerk reaction or feel oh so offended that I end up getting banned over something completely stupid. It feels like more and more there restrictions on what you can say/post. Hell I feel more comfortable posting in the NFL thread then I do in most of the threads in OT and forget about posting on gaming side. It feels like more people get banned a lot more often then what I used to see.
 

Big-E

Member
Ya. It is hard to put into words but I do find myself tending to hold my tongue more for fear of getting banned as there seems to be some inconsistencies now. The c word thing was the most glaring example of this as some people were banned for calling people outside of gaf the word.
 

wenis

Registered for GAF on September 11, 2001.
the fact that we aren't allowed to have a marijuana thread is laughable. I miss being able to share bud pics or new bong pics or posting random shit that was super fucking hilarious or that it was such a small and nice community it was like a whole other nice area of GAF where people got along, we kept arguments to two sentences and then accepted that we don't agree sometimes and lastly, all the weed.

I miss that.

ibftcBXjJI4ggN.gif
 

StuBurns

Banned
No, you don't even have to follow the rules as long as you do it in a respectable and contextual way.

You can't openly attack other posters, but basically, any of the other rules are up for being broken as and when it's fitting.
 

IceCold

Member
I think it is sometimes. In a lot of threads, you just know that a lot of people aren't posting their opinions because they don't want to get baited or banned. So you end up with a lot of circle jerking and a false sense of the overall value system of the forum.
 

DY_nasty

NeoGAF's official "was this shooting justified" consultant
I kinda wish mods would be more direct in their approaches to certain things instead of letting issues boil over then swooping in after the fact

but no. not too strict at all. i like this forum
 
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