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Will discussion of certain games be banned on Neogaf from here on out?

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Izayoi

Banned
Horrific, life-like violence = okay.

Sexual content = big no-no.

A microcosm of western society as a whole.
 

nynt9

Member
My opinion is if a game has merits beyond any pornographic stuff on the surface, then a thread should be made if people are interested in discussing said merits. If it's a straight-up porn game like Rapelay or Battle Raper or whatever, is there really much to discuss?

On the other hand, this is a tough question because people find merits beyond author intent and all that. I would say go with the consensus on certain things, but even that might be unfair to the minority.

I guess a safe bet is to allow OTs of games that have at least been rated by the ESRB. Anything beyond that should be a case by case thing.

The game has a jrpg system, the "punishment" thing is not the focus.

If the game is already rated by ESRB what was the problem?

I think ESRB rating is a pretty decent benchmark.

I probably shouldn't respond, but here goes anyway.

There are certain contexts where violence is appropriate or acceptable, such as self-defence, defence of the weak and innocent or defence of your country etc. Games tend to be based around these kinds of conflicts, rather than existing for the pleasure of actually getting to murder people.

There is no context in which the molestation of children is necessary for anything. The only point to it is sexual gratification of a pedophilic urge, and basically... fuck that.

What about games like Manhunt?
 

Timedog

good credit (by proxy)
I hope discussion and high resolution pictures of my upcoming hit game "Dildo Simulator 2014: Over 9.000 Edition" is allowed on NeoGAF.
 
i think if these games got such a bad reaction that most of the userbase (say, 90%+) was basically negative about them, you could outright ban discussing them. if anything, people would probably not even want to talk about it. kind of like jack thompson some years ago. no one would support him in his "violent games make people violent" thing or whatever

the thing is, there seems to be a significant number of posters who either are against the ban, or who might even want to talk about the game. while the users don't make the rules and don't run the forum, to me, this is a bad and dangerous precedent because of that

imagine, for example, most of the mods are pro minority in these threads against white male protagonists. will anyone defending white male protagonists get banned? or will all future threads be locked because, say, the majority of the posters don't defend the same positions most of the mods do? what about people against gay marriage in the ot?

this, to me, seems to be a case "we don't like what the community likes, so no one is gonna like anything". i can see why a game about sex with minors is banned, but the problem here is more about what this could lead to rather than the ban itself. i mean, the mods can technically ban the discussion of whatever they want, but that's a pretty slippery slope
 

Seik

Banned
Joking about murder, torture, and other things such as that being reprehensible, and that if we're going to be banning discussion of reprehensible things here, we should deal with that as well?

Not really, no.

Murders and violence are in movies, games, everything in this damn world. There's other games/movies for people that don't want this content in their product. There's ratings and stuff for this and it's controlled.

Underage semi-porn content should fucking not even be distributed, point, end of the damn line.

GOD, ARE WE REALLY ARGUING ABOUT THIS GUYS?!
 

milkham

Member
I've never heard of this game before now but I agree with the others that think its weird to ban discussion of a game that so "bad" somehow it's getting an ESRB rating and being released at retail.
 

Sakura

Member
Now that the medium has become more popular with the mainstream (arguably primarily due to games like F/SN and ML,) these sorts of games have mostly faded away as VN developers who actually want to tell a story make "clean" games while VN developers who just want to make fap material keep doing what they've always been doing.

This is not true at all. The vast majority of visual novels that come out are still eroge. You get a few all ages story focused VNs here and there (for example Steins Gate and Rewrite) but that is about it.

Murders and violence are in movies, games, everything in this damn world. There's other games/movies for people that don't want this content in their product. There's ratings and stuff for this and it's controlled.

Underage semi-porn content should fucking not even be distributed, point, end of the damn line.

GOD, ARE WE REALLY ARGUING ABOUT THIS GUYS?!
There are also other games and stuff for people who don't want content like Criminal Girls... And the game is also going to be rated and controlled like any other game.
I don't understand your argument.
 
The game has a jrpg system, the "punishment" thing is not the focus.

If the game is already rated by ESRB what was the problem?

the discussion will be focused on that aspect for the lulz it becomes harder to keep the bad out when the lines are blurred like this

like I said before this game is not honest about what it is
 

graywolf323

Member
Ya'll are hilarious. I was not a good mod because I argued with everyone and couldn't keep my opinions to myself, and frequently derailed topics. But my actual -moderation- was fine. You guys don't know what goes on behind the scenes, I was extremely resolute in following most of the rules of moderation - cataloging bans, banning only for specific infractions of TOS, not banning people part of arguments with me unless they flung insults. I feel like I have to defend myself because you guys only see one side of the picture, and don't actually know who is handing down bans or locking threads when people get it.

I was not abusing my actual moderation powers until I edited my post. My problem as a mod came from my big mouth. It's hilarious that you even think I'm the poster child for this - we had a mod who literally let her boyfriend secretly use and ban people from the account, ban anyone in discussions about feminism. I'm not even the fourth most abusive mod we've ever had.

well now I want a book about NeoGAF's behind the scenes power struggles :p
 

Watch Da Birdie

I buy cakes for myself on my birthday it's not weird lots of people do it I bet
Another point is that most acceptable "violent games" usually have the player fighting against foes that are aggressive against them, or at least are capable of fighting back...there's still some sense of "fairness" in the acts committed. I'm sure most people here would be disgusted if there was a game where you went around killing defenseless kids and would want that discussion banned as well.

These games though don't have that...you're not on equal footing, you're literally taking advantage of a little girl (even if she's A.I.) for your own sexual gratification. And I don't think for a second there's anyone who plays these games who does so with a clean mind focused only on gameplay.
 

unbias

Member
Were you around during Amir0x's reign of terror? The decisions of a single mod are not always best for the forum.

I feel as if you are going to call someone out like this, you should show examples of his "reign of terror", I dunno, call me crazy.

This board is getting bigger, people are going to have more disagreements with mods(rightfully and wrongfully). NBA type practices, where you are not allowed to talk publicly about the mods without a fine or suspension can be worrisome, but honestly is just comes with the territory. Again, I think the only real problem with the closing of the topic is they didnt specify the terms it broke or added a new one to coincide with the change. And even that isnt technically a problem, since it is a private forum. As long as Evilore is fine, then meh.
 

jay

Member
Ya'll are hilarious. I was not a good mod because I argued with everyone and couldn't keep my opinions to myself, and frequently derailed topics. But my actual -moderation- was fine. You guys don't know what goes on behind the scenes, I was extremely resolute in following most of the rules of moderation - cataloging bans, banning only for specific infractions of TOS, not banning people part of arguments with me unless they flung insults. I feel like I have to defend myself because you guys only see one side of the picture, and don't actually know who is handing down bans or locking threads when people get it.

I was not abusing my actual moderation powers until I edited my post. My problem as a mod came from my big mouth. It's hilarious that you even think I'm the poster child for this - we had a mod who literally let her boyfriend secretly use and ban people from the account, ban anyone in discussions about feminism. I'm not even the fourth most abusive mod we've ever had.

Your insistence on getting shoulder deep into every debate did lead to you banning people, though. You banned me for condescendingly saying you don't know what Nintendo will do about some topic. It was a debate I had explicitly with you and not even other posters. You used to fucking spit fire then ban people who stepped over the line responding to you. Entrapment!
 

Krejlooc

Banned
That's not abusing my power as a mod though; debating as a mod is allowed, so is arguing. It's just it derailed threads and I would KEEP replying over and over again, and sometimes I'd get so stubborn and say things so crassly that people would start to get offended. I wasn't "abusing" my moderation, I just wasn't a good fit for being a mod because I am way too opinionated and stubborn. But my 'decisions' as a mod were not actually breaking any rules, until the editing fiasco (which I totally deserved to be demodded for; and I deserved to have left moderation earlier because I had discussed my opinionated attitude with Evilore like 30x and should have realized I couldn't keep it contained). I followed the TOS for bans pretty explicitly. There were a few exceptions, every mod occasionally bans someone where other mods say 'well maybe we should be a bit more lenient here or there', but my problem was different.

That you feared me is something I can take responsibility for, but I did not ban people for getting into debates for me. On one or two occasions I would even message other mods to watch the discussions in case someone needed a ban because I didn't want to judge a ban in a conversation I was apart of.

I'm extremely highly opinionated and I know you can be as well, so I think I understand your points. I'll often consider my own behavior "mostly" acceptable with just a few dips into unacceptable areas. My analytic nature means I parse all my actions separately of each other. Often, I think my tone comes off way, way harsher than I intend. I've been routinely accused of "being angry" during a discussion when really I just feel like I'm being passionate. Text is messy like that.

The point of my post is I don't think many people think like we think. I don't think it's normal to separate out the actions of a person under one hat from the actions of a person under another hat. You were forcefully argumentative as a moderator, hence most people think you were a bad moderator. Myself, I understand your view point. I myself would make that distinction. I just don't think our thought process aligns with the majority of people.

Which is to say, I don't think you'll gain ground in this conversation. You can at least take solace in the fact that, as someone who thinks quite like you do, I understood you point.
 

Amir0x

Banned
Good to hear from the source. I hope you didn't take my post from earlier personally because it was just based on things I heard, as I said, I wasn't there during these times.

You're a nice guy, as far as I know, so far. :p

It's cool. I admit I am just a little frustrated as being painted as public enemy ex-mod number one... we've had some pretty abusive mods in the past :p

It's really my hang-up to fear authority in some way, but that doesn't change the tone of those threads.

Oh yeah, I don't want to take it away from you. I was NOT a good fit for mod. I was a bad mod, because a mod has to be able to curate discussions and lead people to good places. Stumpokapow is a great mod; Opiate is a great mod. Me, I wanted to jump into every battle and argue with every person, and my newfound status as a mod just gave me even more attention for my opinions, and since I love sharing my opinions... it was a bad fit. I should have been more self-aware about it earlier and removed myself from being a mod years before I ever edited that damned post. My pride sometimes gets the best of me :(
 

Dinjooh

Member
That's not abusing my power as a mod though; debating as a mod is allowed, so is arguing. It's just it derailed threads and I would KEEP replying over and over again, and sometimes I'd get so stubborn and say things so crassly that people would start to get offended. I wasn't "abusing" my moderation, I just wasn't a good fit for being a mod because I am way too opinionated and stubborn. But my 'decisions' as a mod were not actually breaking any rules, until the editing fiasco (which I totally deserved to be demodded for; and I deserved to have left moderation earlier because I had discussed my opinionated attitude with Evilore like 30x and should have realized I couldn't keep it contained). I followed the TOS for bans pretty explicitly. There were a few exceptions, every mod occasionally bans someone where other mods say 'well maybe we should be a bit more lenient here or there', but my problem was different.

That you feared me is something I can take responsibility for, but I did not ban people for getting into debates for me. On one or two occasions I would even message other mods to watch the discussions in case someone needed a ban because I didn't want to judge a ban in a conversation I was apart of.

...Editing fiasco?
 

bishoptl

Banstick Emeritus
what if they're actually 1000 year old demons
Well that's obviously alright, then.

Listen - if you want to have a chit chat about your game where visibly underage kids are sexually "punished" in various ways, that fine. But it won't be here.

If that bugs you, so be it. If you want to argue that "if 'X' isn't allowed, what about 'Y'?" Go ahead.

I don't care. This isn't the place for you.
 

Brakke

Banned
How is anyone supposed to know what is or isn't allowed if decisions are made in an opaque manner seemingly based on personal distaste alone rather than clearly listed rules?

You will know because the thread will be locked. A thread being locked doesn't harm you at all. If people got banned for it that be something else.
 
Well, sure, if GAF were an entity for people to discuss any video game as deemed acceptable by the ESRB. But it's a private forum and an anything-goes mentality will eventually meet things that reflect poorly on it by virtue of that discussion.

Criminal Girls just happens to be that thing.
I'm just trying to come up with something that would be "a" system that would have set, pre-determined rules to fall back on in the inevitable cries of censorship in any thread that ever gets locked ever. It certainly wouldn't even have to be absolute--Other things could be case-by-case or discussion-by-discussion.

Generally speaking I'd say moderate the posters, not the threads. From how I've understood it the #1 rule here is "don't be a dick". That can be enforced regardless of the topic of discussion. If people want to troll or harass people about controversial subjects they do so at their own risk.

The worst result here will be if/when (well, it sorta has already) things turn to "violence = cool, sex = evil". Following an ESRB/whatever okay-for-retail standard would set the initial tone.
Listen - if you want to have a chit chat about your game where visibly underage kids are sexually "punished" in various ways, that fine. But it won't be here.
And thus it is settled; case-by-case, rights reserved by mods, contact a mod if concerned about the content of something, etc? So the norm.
 

erpg

GAF parliamentarian
I'm actually glad that moderation is starting to put their foot down on these creepy, borderline porno games. I find them unsettling and it is a little disappointing that it's becoming such a huge part of the Vita output from Japan.

There's fan service, and then there's Criminal Girls. That's a gulf we don't need to breach.
 

nynt9

Member
Murders and violence are in movies, games, everything in this damn world. There's other games/movies for people that don't want this content in their product. There's ratings and stuff for this and it's controlled.

Underage semi-porn content should fucking not even be distributed, point, end of the damn line.

GOD, ARE WE REALLY ARGUING ABOUT THIS GUYS?!

A good example given to me by a friend about the grayness of the discussion of this topic. Considering this is about drawings of supposedly underage characters.

Let's say I draw a stick figure with no features, with a speech bubble declaring that the character is underage and naked. Then start adding detail. At what point is the image unacceptable?
 

Griss

Member
Sure, this is definitely true.



But, there are many games which do not fit into those categories, which do feature murder, torture, etc. "for the pleasure of it," and yet discussion of them is allowed here.

You're probably right, and I'd find those games very distasteful, but
a) I can't actually think of any games like that right now. Manhunt? And
b) Evilore's house, his rules. If he's okay with the killin' and nots wit the kiddie touchin', then I'm going to respect that whether I agree on the first or second points or any at all.

A lot of the most popular and best-selling ones, like GTA, aren't though. Those games are about glorifying the criminal lifestyle for the most part.

Even a game about criminals has context. Who they are, why they're doing what they do, it never boils down to killing for pleasure. I've played GTA. The game does have context, even if as a player you can bend the system to just run over innocents all day if you want.
 

Abriael

Banned
It's essentialy a porn game and these are the characters:
CriminalGirls_PSP_Visuel_001.jpg


I mean, c'mon.

Only, it's not a porn game at all. There definitely are BDSM undertones, but porn is another thing, "essentially" or otherwise. There isn't even a glimpse on any of the character's sexual bits for instance.

I suspect most around here don't have a very clear idea of what this game entails and what it doesn't.

Not that I particularly care, as this is a privately owned and moderated forum, so if the mods decide to ban Call of Duty they can. Simple as that. But hyperbole and misrepresentation surely don't help the discussion.
 
Well that's obviously alright, then.

Listen - if you want to have a chit chat about your game where visibly underage kids are sexually "punished" in various ways, that fine. But it won't be here.

If that bugs you, so be it. If you want to argue that "if 'X' isn't allowed, what about 'Y'?" Go ahead.

I don't care. This isn't the place for you.

But molesting children is only a subgame.
 

Tagyhag

Member
Censorship isn't good but as a private forum it can have any rules and must be followed by those who wish to stay.
 
This is a private forum. There is no expectation of free speech.
This needs to be quoted 100×
Neogaf has never been a democracy, you seriously can't be blind to all the proof to that end.

Why would a mod want to stay anonymous for closing thread sometimes and not others?
Mods are Human too, If you have the opportunity to make a judgment on something without being tied to all the responsibilities of standing by that judgment, wouldn't you?
 
I haven't been here for as long as some of you guys have, but I'm concerned with the idea of not discussing some video games here just because someone doesn't approve of them. I'm not okay with some sort of "morality measuring stick" that dictates where this line in the sand is, and if discussion about these kind of games is to take place, I'm not okay with implied or outright accusations of pedophilia for people who might enjoy their content.

The last two threads were a mess.
 

Settin

Member
It's cool. I admit I am just a little frustrated as being painted as public enemy ex-mod number one... we've had some pretty abusive mods in the past :p



Oh yeah, I don't want to take it away from you. I was NOT a good fit for mod. I was a bad mod, because a mod has to be able to curate discussions and lead people to good places. Stumpokapow is a great mod; Opiate is a great mod. Me, I wanted to jump into every battle and argue with every person, and my newfound status as a mod just gave me even more attention for my opinions, and since I love sharing my opinions... it was a bad fit. I should have been more self-aware about it earlier and removed myself from being a mod years before I ever edited that damned post. My pride sometimes gets the best of me :(
I know that feel, bro. It's so easy to get aggressive or defensive on the internets.
 

Timedog

good credit (by proxy)
That's not abusing my power as a mod though; debating as a mod is allowed, so is arguing. It's just it derailed threads and I would KEEP replying over and over again, and sometimes I'd get so stubborn and say things so crassly that people would start to get offended. I wasn't "abusing" my moderation, I just wasn't a good fit for being a mod because I am way too opinionated and stubborn. But my 'decisions' as a mod were not actually breaking any rules, until the editing fiasco (which I totally deserved to be demodded for; and I deserved to have left moderation earlier because I had discussed my opinionated attitude with Evilore like 30x and should have realized I couldn't keep it contained). I followed the TOS for bans pretty explicitly. There were a few exceptions, every mod occasionally bans someone where other mods say 'well maybe we should be a bit more lenient here or there', but my problem was different.

That you feared me is something I can take responsibility for, but I did not ban people for getting into debates for me. On one or two occasions I would even message other mods to watch the discussions in case someone needed a ban because I didn't want to judge a ban in a conversation I was apart of.

The Crushed ban was one of the worst I've seen. After that you kind of went off the deep end and I stopped liking your moderations/contributions to threads. I like you again now though :)
 

Seik

Banned
There are also other games and stuff for people who don't want content like Criminal Girls... And the game is also going to be rated and controlled like any other game.
I don't understand your argument.

And that makes it alright?

And the same is true for sexual content in games.

Errr, ok....ok.

I'll try to stay polite, but guys:

There's sexual content, ok.

There's sexual content involving FUCKING UNDERAGE GIRLS.

I mean, am I crazy to think that this conversation, the one we're having right now, is fucking wrong?!?! I know there's other games like that, too. My argument holds, there's no place for that freaking deviant stuff nowhere.
 
I'm just trying to come up with something that would be "a" system that would have set, pre-determined rules to fall back on in the inevitable cries of censorship in any thread that ever gets locked ever. It certainly wouldn't even have to be absolute--Other things could be case-by-case or discussion-by-discussion.

Generally speaking I'd say moderate the posters, not the threads. From how I've understood it the #1 rule here is "don't be a dick". That can be enforced regardless of the topic of discussion. If people want to troll or harass people about controversial subjects they do so at their own risk.

The worst result here will be if/when (well, it sorta has already) things turn to "violence = cool, sex = evil". Following an ESRB/whatever okay-for-retail standard would set the initial tone.

Hm, well

To put it this way

If you offered me a game where I had to discipline children in prison by beating them violently or hitting them with a board with a nail in it or flaying their skin, I would also find that disgusting and would welcome a ban on any discussion relating to it. So I don't think this is a violence/sex thing.
 

s_mirage

Member
Do you know how ESRB ratings are handed out? They're not exactly thorough.

So if the judgments of the appropriate authorities are irrelevant it simply comes down to "I know it when I see it" and personal distaste, right?

Gaf can ban anything it wants but given that the visual novel threads also contain discussion of games with (legitimately) explicit contents, IMHO it would be much healthier for the community if it was explicitly clarified what game related discussion is verboten.
 
I haven't been here for as long as some of you guys have, but I'm concerned with the idea of not discussing some video games here just because someone doesn't approve of them. I'm not okay with some sort of "morality measuring stick" that dictates where this line in the sand is, and if discussion about these kind of games is to take place, I'm not okay with implied or outright accusations of pedophilia for people who might enjoy their content.

The last two threads were a mess.

Sexualized corporal punishment of little girls.

I think I just broke my yardstick on this one guys.
 

Crayons

Banned
Well that's obviously alright, then.

Listen - if you want to have a chit chat about your game where visibly underage kids are sexually "punished" in various ways, that fine. But it won't be here.

If that bugs you, so be it. If you want to argue that "if 'X' isn't allowed, what about 'Y'?" Go ahead.

I don't care. This isn't the place for you.

That wasn't a serious post.

Never the less, that was ice cold. This is the first game to have its' discussion banned, so I don't see anything wrong with this thread nor my questions. I don't even want to play/purchase Criminal Girls. It's not my type of game. It's a matter of concept. What crosses the line and what doesn't?
 

Griss

Member
A good example given to me by a friend about the grayness of the discussion of this topic. Considering this is about drawings of supposedly underage characters.

Let's say I draw a stick figure with no features, with a speech bubble declaring that the character is underage and naked. Then start adding detail. At what point is the image unacceptable?

For the purposes of this conversation the answer is whenever Evillore and the mods say so. The criminality or otherwise of artistic depictions of child abuse is irrelevant here. All that matters is whether the people who run the site want discussions about that stuff on the site and you'd have to be being obtuse not to understand why they don't.
 

terrisus

Member
b) Evilore's house, his rules. If he's okay with the killin' and nots wit the kiddie touchin', then I'm going to respect that whether I agree on the first or second points or any at all.

Certainly that's true, of course.
Especially given Bish's post above as well.

To be clear, I'm not really arguing in favor of discussion and posting about these games necessarily.
More just an academic discussion about the fact that discussion of all sorts of other reprehensible things are discussed here.

Not in a "Well, those are allowed, so why not this!," but moreso "If this is an issue, then those really should be as well..."
 

AniHawk

Member
Seriously get the fuck out of here with this shit, are you fucking kidding me? Are you kidding me?

as bewildered as you are, there are people even more upset that this game is being ever-so-slightly toned down for the western release. now that is what i really can't understand.
 

ponpo

( ≖‿≖)
Well that's obviously alright, then.

Listen - if you want to have a chit chat about your game where visibly underage kids are sexually "punished" in various ways, that fine. But it won't be here.

If that bugs you, so be it. If you want to argue that "if 'X' isn't allowed, what about 'Y'?" Go ahead.

I don't care. This isn't the place for you.

Just for clarification, is it the sexualizing of seemingly underage anime girls or the sexual punishment specifically? If it's the punishment then that's clear but I'm sure you're aware of how many titles are coming out that seem to be featuring lewd anime girls that look underage, so is talk about those titles also a no or is it the punishment that's the issue?

Mods are Human too, If you have the opportunity to make a judgment on something without being tied to all the responsibilities of standing by that judgment, wouldn't you?

Every mod post would be anonymous by this logic.
 

Tohsaka

Member
Even a game about criminals has context. Who they are, why they're doing what they do, it never boils down to killing for pleasure. I've played GTA. The game does have context, even if as a player you can bend the system to just run over innocents all day if you want.

Trevor in GTA V doesn't really have much context for what he does; he's a psycho who does horrible things without much, if any reason all the time. I'm not badmouthing the game or anything, I enjoyed playing it myself. Just saying that while there is some justification in there, for the most part there isn't. They are usually called open world/sanbox games for a reason.
 

Sakura

Member
Errr, ok....ok.

I'll try to stay polite, but guys:

There's sexual content, ok.

There's sexual content involving FUCKING UNDERAGE GIRLS.

I mean, am I crazy to think that this conversation, the one we're having right now, is fucking wrong?!?! I know there's other games like that, too. My argument holds, there's no place for that freaking deviant stuff nowhere.

Er, I'm fairly certain you don't have sex with any girls in the game good sir.
 
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