Hi !
This post was directed to the Staff BUT I want the forum to be aware of my propositions, so I'm making it public.
You might have seen that I've written to you already in this conversation. I had a few ideas, but my post was incomplete. Since then, I had other ideas and reflexions. So I scrapped the last message and integrated it into this post so you can really see the entire problems and solutions that I propose more clearly.
This might be the last time I will try to create a change or fight the problems I think are worth fighting for on this forum. I'm the only one to wish such a change, so without support in the community, I simply can't do anything.
I've seen a problem on this forum and because - frankly - I like to dramatize everything, I'm choosing to take it very seriously for the good of the fanbase as a whole and make it a challenge. But mainly, I'm doing that because I know the power of nuisance of a fanbase turned "bad".
I did my best to stop it, maybe went a little overboard sometimes, but it was not enough. So, when you will be reading this, I will most likely be on my way off from this forum. The wave of negativity created by the last chapter of Egghead was the last straw. While I can tank the worst human behaviors and rethorics.. I have a soft spot for One Piece and I refuse to watch this story be eternally trashed on by the majority of people of a space I'm participating in. So...
And yes, this will be a LONG read. But I do that in the hope that some of you might want, like me, to make this place cooler... So - if you are willing to listen with an open mind - buckle up:
1 - THE AMBIANT NEGATIVITY
The negativity in this forum is clear and in the recent months - especially with the development of Nika related plotlines in One Piece - the trashing of One Piece and its fans who enjoy the story just passed an alarming threashold. Positivity is now sometimes seen as a problem by some and laughed at in multiple threads.
If you don't believe me, I suggest you create a ratio of Positive, neutral and negative thread off the One Piece manga discussion section. Once done, be sure to read the post under the most constructive and positive threads. You should see a BIG prevalence of negativity all around.
While some sections are protected from that because of their nature, sections discussing stories and diverse general subjects will have this negative aura both in the titles of the threads and in the posts.
Yes. I can understand the disruptive project of this forum. But when disruptivity vanish to give the seat to general negativity or hatred, it's starts to become a problem. Especially when it leaks out in the general fanbase.
One Piece has problems, yes, a few ones, but not the ones spreaded by the majority of angry people here, same for its fans. I could explain in detail why but this is not the point of this message.
The point is that we are about to witness the end of one of the biggest and greatest story of many centuries (I say that without even being an overly dramatic fanboy, I'm speaking about objective narrative wonders here) and there are people who will do everything to stop others from enjoying it. Worst, this hatred is starting to transform into a way to attack other fans. Not only on this forum.
Negativity only creates more negativity, so we must find a way to counter it.
2 - THE TOXICITY
The toxicity of this forum is ALSO off the charts. Between simple toxic behaviors, insult or reactionnary rethorics, this forum remains one of the WORST place to feel safe.
And again, if you don't believe me, type the the word "R*tard" on the search bar and admire.
3 - THE MODERATION
First, I want to link this >>> THREAD <<< I just made about moderation and the importance of being able to label things if necessary.
As you can see in this thread, there is a lack of understanding of certain important subjects related to social issues. This creates a situation where the moderation can't apply the rules as they should.
I don't think that this a huge problem that can't be fixed easily so if you guys are willing to listen to what I have to say (and accept it), it will be fixed easily.
I believe that there are three reasons for those problems:
- First, with the arrival of internet and the proliferation of stories, people have come to think they can analyze storytelling better simply by watching or reading stories. While this can be true for some, this is a big bias for most. Analysing correctly a story goes far beyond just knowing a lot of stories or talking about pacing, character usage or narrative choices with other. It's a skill to master and a knowledge to create. Sadly, this bias can't really be fought unless strong analysis are not prioritized.
- Second, forums (like worstgen) where people are interacting, are constructed in such a way that negativity is encouraged in popular environment where opinion are clashing. Indeed, in a disruptive environment, the system of "likes" will usually benefit disruptive and negative posts. That, plus the lack of moderation for certain behavior creates more negativity.
- Third, said negativity creates an environment where the vision of the story is influenced by the vision of the group. In a negative space, chances are that the vision of stories will influence negatively the vision of individual users. This is the same effect that when you hear a sound but it will sound differently depending on what is written on the screen. The negativity of the forum and the toxic ambiance creates a MAJOR BIAS toward the apprehension of the story. And therefore each chapter from One Piece (mostly) are usually criticized heavily on Worstgen.. while this is not the case in other spaces.
At the end, there is a world where Worstgen will be only filled with negative threads, negative content and negative posts.
So to prevent that from happening, I suggest something quite radical.
The reasonning behind my proposition here comes from a leftist vision of the world. A vision where the environment influences behaviors and not the opposite. My purpose with this proposition will be to use this principle and instead of trying to push people to change, changing the environment so that people will naturally evolve with the environment.
I wish to transform this current system into a positive MOLD that will be shape to promote positivity instead of negativity. Do not be afraid by the word "MOLD" I do not intend to brainwash anyone or repress people who don't have other opinion ! I simply want to create the conditions for positivity to appear naturally because of the shape of the system.
You might not see it, but right now, the system is ALSO shaped like a mold, but a mold that promotes negativity. This forum is quite literally an echo chamber of negativity, especially when it comes to One Piece. So by shaping the mold differently, we will create a new type of forum.
If the work is done well, in a few years :
- You might start to see pop up longer threads
- You might start to see a decline of the continuous trashtalking, while some might be fun, too much really creates a vibe of negativity
- You might see start seeing people get more involved in the life of the forum
- You might see more interesting discussions
- You might see a decline of the toxicity
- You might see more happy people
And most of all...
- You might see a rise in the number of users : Less negativity > Better attractivity > More people
If I care, there is no reasons that other people couldn't be able to care at one point or another. It's just that my vision tends to be a bit dreamy at times and I see the potential of this place especially because you guys are allowing me to criticize the system, which is not something possible in every forum. The principle of the critic of the system is a very progressive aspect of this forum, BUT, those critics also need to be heard or there is no point.
Now, I will go more into details on the notion of change to make you understand how such a change is possible. For that, I will use a post that I have already made elsewhere about the science of groups and crowds.
Change usually comes from the outside. It's because the environment's evolution that we start to change, not because of something inside of us.
Let's take an example to understand why:
Put 100 person on a field of a stadium for 2 hours. You will give 4 people an earpiece and you will place a big speaker in the middle. We will try to make them dance together.
Now.. Before going further, I need to explain to you a few things about crowd and group psychology and the way informations or elements are shared among groups:
There are, in group behaviors like in epidemiology, two types of sharing (called contagion) of elements:
- The Simple contagion : For example, diseases or informations. It's a type of contagion where only one contact is enough to propagate the element
- The Complex contagion : It can be non familiar behavior or risky behavior that are hard to adopt. This is a contagion that will need a social reinforcement, in other word a certain % of individual in a group will have to adopt those elements or behavior to propagate it to others.
In 1978, a sociologist, Mark Granovetter, published a paper where he proposed a new concept to understand group behavior : The Threshold model for those complexe contagion. The threashold effect is the INDIVIDUAL threashold in % that people will have before they start to adopt a behavior or an element adopted by someone with a lower threashold.
For example, Activists or very motivated people (from the right or the left) will have a very low threashold % for certain things, they will directly adopt a belief or a behavior because they are completely convinced. On the other side, people who will be very conservative to adopt new belief systems or behavior will have a very high threashold % (the political side doesn't matter, it's just a question of our ability or refusal to adopt new elements. (said threashold can fluctuate in function of the subject or the behavior)
What we need to understand is that this Threashold effect create chain reaction effects after a certain point that we call "the critical mass".
But first : With our example, we can sort the 100 persons from the lower to the highest threashold.
Here is a screenshot representing the lower part of the graph:
It comes from this video. If you want you can watch it with subtitles I think you can make the translation work:
As you can see, among those 100 persons, there are 4 that have a threashold of 0%, they will adopt the behavior very easily. After that, you have one that has a threashold of acceptation of 4%. This means that to adopt the behavior, said person will need to see 4 people adopt the behavior first.
And by domino effect, the one with a threashold of 5% will adopt the behavior and so on.. until everyone else adopt the behavior. In our example here, it means that 4 people are needed to start the spreading. 4 is therefore the critical mass of the example.
But we also need to understand that critical masses and threashold are different from context to context. For ex, in a period of crisis, people are more sensible and therefore to spread information that could create conflict, the critical mass will be lower.
Another important thing to understand is that the more you have a group that is highly connected, the more the threashold for the members of said group will be lower. For example: You will be more encline to adopte a belief or a behavior if all your friend do it than if a group of stranger does it.
This is why revolution don't start because of influencal people, but because of the streets where people are highly organized and connected on peripheries. Revolutions are a peripherical phenomenon. (The Arab spring is a good ex of that). So it's very unlikely from a big personnality to spread beliefs if the audience doesn't have a very low threashold to adopt said belief in the first place.
Now, lets come back to our example : if, after serving some drnk and let people enjoy their time, you put music in the big speaker of the stadium and you ask to the four people with earpieces to go dance... chances are that you will create a group phenomenon where people will start to dance one after the other. Like this in this example where the critical mass was very low due to the relax context and where the threashold was only 1 guy :
NOW... HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO THE CONTEXT OF WORSTGEN AND MY PROPOSITION ?
Well, as I explained, we need to take into account the critical mass AND the threashold of the group (the users of Worstgen) to go further.
What is currently happening on worstgen right now : The environment, structure and moderation of the forum creates a situation where the threashold for negativity of new users for the acceptation of negativity will potentially fall very LOW.
What does it means for me ?
It means that it's practically impossible for me to change toxicity by myself. The threashold for the acceptation of more positive behaviors and the end of toxicity is so high (too much people are against it) . It would need a LOT of people (I don't know how many) with the same point of view to create a change. It also means that the critical mass for a positive change to happen here is TOO HIGH.
So .. What do I want to do ?
Well, my goal is simple : I want to LOWER the critical mass for the acceptation of positive behaviors on this forum.
In other words: I want to create a situation where the threashold for the acceptation of more positive behavior will be lowered and where less people will be needed to create a change !
But like I said : I CAN'T do that by myself. So I need to be more clever and use sociology and group behavior studies and try to BYPASS the threashold problem by attacking DIRECTLY the critical mass.
To attack the critical mass, I need to have an impact on the ENTIRE SYSTEM. Just like if I had an impact on the guy who is telling people to go dance in our example. This is why I'm trying to convince directly the staff to evolve on different subjects.
By changing the entire system, it will be possible to influence the critical mass and the acceptation for positivity.
It doesn't mean that this forum will become a paradise, but it will be a lot safer, more attractive and less problematic.
My proposition are divided in two categories :
- The moderation of the forum and the rules
- Structural changes
There are a few subjects that needs our attention here in my current knowledge:
A - Transphobia :
The moderation is far too tolerant on transphobia. In my thread on moderation linked before, I demonstrated how Transphobia was being accepted here. This should not happen on a forum with strict rules on discrimination. We can't know what is the state of people who read hate against their identity online, words can hurt and kill.
To fix that, I think there are a few things to do:
- Moderators must all be aware of the ENTIRE spectra of transphobia. For that, I have listed sources in the linked thread about about Moderation.
- The rules must be clarified and transphobia must be added, as today, this is the part of LGBTQI+ people that is the most attacked with interesex people
- I recommend that you link sources about transidentity in the rule OR in another section of the forum (I suggest you add a few sources about diverses social subject as well : Racism, Anti-semitism, Islamophobia etc., if you want I have a LOT of ressources for you in the LEFTIST LIBRARY)
- As a bonus, I would highly suggest that you recruit people from the trans community who wants to help to reduce the problem as a moderator
B - Racism / Antisemitism :
I don't have much to say on the subject beside the fact that some people here should be more careful when talking about sensible subjects. I know the moderation is not racist or antisemitic, I'm not dumb. But I saw some pretty shady rethorics that should not be normal.
Here, I simply recommand caution. Especially when someone is asking to watch over a racist or antisemitic post that should be moderated. Let's not go reply to them that "races are real", mw..okay ?
C - Ableism :
Some of you are aware of it, I suffer from a psychic pathology that prevent me from simply doing basic things. This means that I'm unable to work at the moment. After a while, I had to justify my big presence on this forum by explaining my situation. Since then, I'm the target of a large number of ableist and phychophobic remark about me and my privacy. I have a strong defense, so those comments never affected me, but some people don't have this chance.
I saw that you (the moderation) decided to step up against this behavior against me.. and I deeply thank you for that ! BUT this is only the symptom of a larger problem concerning ableism and psychophobia on this forum. As I proved in the thread, the number of phychophobic remarks and in general behavior is off the roof on the forum. People have been conditionned to think that it was okay to attack the mental or psychic health of others to make a point or to attack them, it's a global internet problem... BUT I don't think this should be a Worstgen problem.
As for what should be done about it:
- The moderation should tighten their grip on BOTH psychophobic remarks (Ex : "you are a r*tard") AND psychophobic behavior
- Psychophobia should be added on the list of discriminations and like Transphobia in the rules...
- Ressources should be shared for people to understand the importance of being careful about that
D - Negation of oppressions:
This part will be controversial but it's important. We are currently witnessing a genocide, War crimes and Crimes against humanity on multiple part of the globe. I think the staff should make a stand to support those who are currently under oppression and refuse to accept the rethoric that tries to negate those atrocities. The conclusion of the official international structure (like the ICJ or the UN) should be made clear ! So:
- I think the moderation should tighten their grip on posts that denies those atrocities as those negations participate in the invisibilization of those crimes (note that this should also applies to past genocide, I saw people deny the genocide on the american continent by explorers and europeeans)
- Ressources should be made available for people to DONATE to funds for people under oppressions. Let make this One Piece fanbase usefull to fight for people who suffer. Here is one link toward all the current funds for Gaza people (verified): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...Xrz1bB3MFk7BlzCwfugh4259Wh7U1s/htmlview?pli=1
- The rules must be modified to include this parameter and help people understand that we must not joke with the subject
E - Reactionnary, Anti migrant and Islamophobic rethorics:
This one will be controversial as well. Everyone has the right to think what they want about immigration or Islam or society, and we can discuss those topics without problem.. BUT there is a problem when people are painted under a criminal light and targeted for simply wanting to live:
- I think the moderation should tighten their grip on post who dehumanize migrants and criminalize systematically migrants as a group. While being a migrant is indeed a illegal status, being a migrant does not mean that you are a criminal. Migration is something people do to survive sometimes at the cost of their lives, researches are clear on the subject, there are NO reasons to consider them as criminals.
- Islamophobia and rethoric targeting muslims (or other religious person) should not be allowed. I'm not talking about criticizing Islam, but targeting specifically muslim as a group.
- Reactionnary rethoric should be watched over with care by the moderation. OBVIOUS False informations, science denials, complotist rethoric and fallacious allegation should not be left unchecked by the moderation especially when someone proves that said rethoric is false. I do not recommend the deletion of the message, but a not from the moderator is something that could prevent people from saying too much BS (and it goes the same way for my side)
- Rules should be adapted to let people understand that the forum is heading toward a more progressive way and not toward conservatism.
F - Sexism
Sexism is rampant on the forum. Rethoric targetting women or their agency is common. The same way, this forum - from the outside - really looks like a sausage fest. Women should be welcomed here more, they should not feel afraid to say that they are women. So, to change that:
- The moderation should be more strict on sexist rethorics. We can't accept people spreading nonsense about women.
- The oversexualization of women should be watched over. I'm not saying that it should be forbidden, simply controlled with care. I can't count how many time I clicked on a thread and I saw someone saying gross thing about the way they "would", or how much said woman has bigger boobs than the other or said character is simply just a "better female character" than others (comparing women for their womanhood is a basis of sexist rethoric)...
- Threads about the sexualization of women or the comparison between women (as women, not as character) should be restricted. After all, it wouldn't come to noone's mind to create a thread on who is the "best man" in a story, right ?
- Rules should be completed for this matter.
G - General toxicity:
General toxicity is just the norm here. I proved it many time and the problem (on this server) is that the moderation was lead to believe that this was a normal behavior for them to adopt as well. When ... it's not. Comments like "you can cry" when I'm trying to demonstrate in DETAILS and with scientific knowledge why there is a structural problem in the forum and how to fix it... are NOT normal. I'm sorry, but this should not happen, at least not from someone in power.
Of course, if you guys don't seek to change anything.. then there is no reasons why this should change as well.. but if you are willing to listen:
- Moderators need to be less toxic when replying to users.
- Toxicity as a whole (from users) but be less accepted at large (but I believe that it will naturally slow down if structural changes are made)
Obviously, all of this proposition need a LOT of work. So what I suggest is for you guys to recruit a BUNCH more of moderators for various subjects or threads. Also, while I'm saying that we must tighten the moderation on certain topics, moderators must not fall at the end of the opposite spectrum and become authoritative.
The strenght of this forum is that the moderation allows itself to be criticized, this must remain no matter what.
1 - I propose the creation of this new prefix to promote pertinent threads choosed by the moderation:
This prefix will be added to the one of the threads..
I don't know what are your constrains in term of creation of prefix. But I designed this one with a purpose. To create the impression of something important. I added "moderation choice" in capital to add to this "important" effect.
Each month, the moderation will choose two or three threads that will be pinned and have this prefix. Once the month is over, the threads will keep their prefix. I suggest to create a new section were you would put all those threads once the month is over.
This will create attractivity and a race to create more pertinent content. This will reduce useless threads and you will see longer and more thoughout threads. If you choose to prioritize positive or at least good threads, this will also help redevelopp positivity in the forum.
2 - I propose the creation of something (I don't know what exactly) to distinguish those whose thread will be chosen by the moderation
As you can see, this proposition comes in parallel with the previous one. It's important because it will let people know that said or said users made a very good thread. and will push people to create more positive thread
It could be a simple golden star appearing temporarily on the user's profil pic or a second banner specific to this title.
3 - I propose the creation of a dislike system on threads AND posts
A dislike system would create a pressure on people to act in a more positive way. Because while a majority might be negative, the consensus is that to be accepted in society, you need to be a good person. This means less negativity. Of course, it could allow negativity to spread, so you must be careful with that.
I believe that this will people who create good content to gain more attractivity and help balance positivity and negativity. So I think this is a necessity to bring back a form of balance.
Plus, imagine the scenario where a thread is heavily disliked but promoted by the moderation. It would send the message that negativity is not accepted on this forum and this would be a good thing.
4 - I propose to create a "Rant Room" as a sub forum in the "One Piece manga discussion" section to place the most negative threads
Banning threads or people is not the solution. But we can render the negativity LESS visible and contain it. Those threads will still appear in the "latest post bar" but will be simply less accessible.
This will have for effect to prioritize drastically the positive or at least the more pertinent threads.
This should be applied only on Threads with obvious negativity (things like "the strawhats are irrelevant" or, "X is trash" etc.), not threads that are simply formulating a legitimate critic or questionning different aspect of the manga with a concrete argumentation.
5 - I propose to create more positive emotes
Yes, you might have not noticed it, but the majority of the emotes are created to express a form of sarcastic opinions. Positivity is almost absent. So, creating more positive emote, while being something very small, could create better interactions.
6 - I propose the creation of an entire visible scientific section
I noticed that I often wanted to share scientific subjects, but I always lack the section to do so and I always needed to always create a thread for that. So I think a section would be a cool idea. A Science GENERAL section that would have that kind of tree:
SCIENCE general section
------> Natural sciences
------------> Natural sciences general chat
------------> Physic general Chat
------------> Chemistry general chat
------------> Mathematic general Chat
------------> Biology general chat
------------> Astrophysic general chat
------------Etc.
------------------
------------> ALL natural sciences threads
------> Human social sciences
------------> Human social science general chat
------------> History general chat
------------> Sociology general chat
------------> Political sciences general chat
------------> Linguistic general chat
------------> Archeology general chat
------------> Anthropology general chat
------------Etc.
------------
------------> All human social science threads
BTW.. I also hope that one day, you guys will think about opening political discussions outside of the hidden sensitive section.
7 - I propose the creation of an entire STORYTELLING section
Storytelling knowledge is fundamental to understand completely the story. And I think that the more people will understand storytelling, the more they will understand why One Piece is so good. So I propose the creation of a section dedicated to storytelling and discussions about the craft on all support.
I would make the tree like that:
STORYTELLING SECTION
------> General Storytelling chat
------> Important storytelling content (this would be ressources choosen by the users and the staff that would be reunited in one single place to help new comer catch up)
------------
------> ALL threads about storytelling
8 - I propose to create a way to highlight the most liked answers in threads
With colors or labels... This would help people see the most pertinent posts on threads. You could maybe create a way in which those pertinent posts would be visible directly when you open the thread with threadmarks for example
This would push people to create more pertinent post. If combined with the other proposition (not alone) this could help bring back more positivity.
9 - I propose an general change of the face and interface of the forum
While I keep on trying to change the way people think toward more positivity. I do NOT think that it is possible to really make a great change unless we change the entire system. Change must come from the outside to the inside and not the opposite. In other words, by changing the environment and the way we apply the rules, we will change the way people start to act.
BUT
I think that ALL OF THOSE CHANGES must happen at the SAME time. For example, you can't create a dislike button without creating first a way to promote qualitative threads, or people risk to dislike those qualitative threads. And the changes and restructurations of the forum must resonate to reach people outside of the forum !
So.. on top of all those changes.. I propose that you tweak a few things :
- The overall webdesign of the forum
- The colors
- The images
If I was a programmer, I would instantly propose my help for free.. but sadly I don't know anything about it.
The goal would be to make everyone understand that this is would be a new Era for Worstgen
You know me. Out of all of people of this forum, I might be the one who has the most hardcore desire to end negativity AND YET, I think that I must obey by my principles as I believe in second chances. So, to finish, I have a proposition to create an equilibrium:
10 - I propose to UNBAN EVERYONE who is not perma Ban
Indeed, Unban everyone from the FORUM and EVERY THREADS. Obviously, people who are not permaban. I propose this to show to everyone that this change is not a change to restrict people but a RADICAL change to create a better environment and a second chance for everyone !
Voilà !
This my proposition to help this forum to become more attractive and positive. You don't have to do everything, but I recommend that you do not create big structural change without creating ways to really promote positive posts first !
----------------
You guys can simply ignore all of this thread. Laugh at those propositions all you want. It does not matter for me.
But know this :
If I'm choosing to go.. it's because I now consider this forum as a place where we can't discuss and enjoy One Piece or any other topic with positivity. So I'm choosing to consider this place as potentially harmfull for some minorities and toxic for One Piece fans and I do not want to participate in that no more.
I hope you will consider this post.
Good day!
This post was directed to the Staff BUT I want the forum to be aware of my propositions, so I'm making it public.
You might have seen that I've written to you already in this conversation. I had a few ideas, but my post was incomplete. Since then, I had other ideas and reflexions. So I scrapped the last message and integrated it into this post so you can really see the entire problems and solutions that I propose more clearly.
This might be the last time I will try to create a change or fight the problems I think are worth fighting for on this forum. I'm the only one to wish such a change, so without support in the community, I simply can't do anything.
I've seen a problem on this forum and because - frankly - I like to dramatize everything, I'm choosing to take it very seriously for the good of the fanbase as a whole and make it a challenge. But mainly, I'm doing that because I know the power of nuisance of a fanbase turned "bad".
I did my best to stop it, maybe went a little overboard sometimes, but it was not enough. So, when you will be reading this, I will most likely be on my way off from this forum. The wave of negativity created by the last chapter of Egghead was the last straw. While I can tank the worst human behaviors and rethorics.. I have a soft spot for One Piece and I refuse to watch this story be eternally trashed on by the majority of people of a space I'm participating in. So...
This is my last stand.
And yes, this will be a LONG read. But I do that in the hope that some of you might want, like me, to make this place cooler... So - if you are willing to listen with an open mind - buckle up:
I - THE PROBLEMS
1 - THE AMBIANT NEGATIVITY
The negativity in this forum is clear and in the recent months - especially with the development of Nika related plotlines in One Piece - the trashing of One Piece and its fans who enjoy the story just passed an alarming threashold. Positivity is now sometimes seen as a problem by some and laughed at in multiple threads.
If you don't believe me, I suggest you create a ratio of Positive, neutral and negative thread off the One Piece manga discussion section. Once done, be sure to read the post under the most constructive and positive threads. You should see a BIG prevalence of negativity all around.
While some sections are protected from that because of their nature, sections discussing stories and diverse general subjects will have this negative aura both in the titles of the threads and in the posts.
Yes. I can understand the disruptive project of this forum. But when disruptivity vanish to give the seat to general negativity or hatred, it's starts to become a problem. Especially when it leaks out in the general fanbase.
One Piece has problems, yes, a few ones, but not the ones spreaded by the majority of angry people here, same for its fans. I could explain in detail why but this is not the point of this message.
The point is that we are about to witness the end of one of the biggest and greatest story of many centuries (I say that without even being an overly dramatic fanboy, I'm speaking about objective narrative wonders here) and there are people who will do everything to stop others from enjoying it. Worst, this hatred is starting to transform into a way to attack other fans. Not only on this forum.
Negativity only creates more negativity, so we must find a way to counter it.
2 - THE TOXICITY
The toxicity of this forum is ALSO off the charts. Between simple toxic behaviors, insult or reactionnary rethorics, this forum remains one of the WORST place to feel safe.
And again, if you don't believe me, type the the word "R*tard" on the search bar and admire.
3 - THE MODERATION
First, I want to link this >>> THREAD <<< I just made about moderation and the importance of being able to label things if necessary.
As you can see in this thread, there is a lack of understanding of certain important subjects related to social issues. This creates a situation where the moderation can't apply the rules as they should.
I don't think that this a huge problem that can't be fixed easily so if you guys are willing to listen to what I have to say (and accept it), it will be fixed easily.
II - BEHIND THE PROBLEMS
I believe that there are three reasons for those problems:
- First, with the arrival of internet and the proliferation of stories, people have come to think they can analyze storytelling better simply by watching or reading stories. While this can be true for some, this is a big bias for most. Analysing correctly a story goes far beyond just knowing a lot of stories or talking about pacing, character usage or narrative choices with other. It's a skill to master and a knowledge to create. Sadly, this bias can't really be fought unless strong analysis are not prioritized.
- Second, forums (like worstgen) where people are interacting, are constructed in such a way that negativity is encouraged in popular environment where opinion are clashing. Indeed, in a disruptive environment, the system of "likes" will usually benefit disruptive and negative posts. That, plus the lack of moderation for certain behavior creates more negativity.
- Third, said negativity creates an environment where the vision of the story is influenced by the vision of the group. In a negative space, chances are that the vision of stories will influence negatively the vision of individual users. This is the same effect that when you hear a sound but it will sound differently depending on what is written on the screen. The negativity of the forum and the toxic ambiance creates a MAJOR BIAS toward the apprehension of the story. And therefore each chapter from One Piece (mostly) are usually criticized heavily on Worstgen.. while this is not the case in other spaces.
At the end, there is a world where Worstgen will be only filled with negative threads, negative content and negative posts.
So to prevent that from happening, I suggest something quite radical.
III - THE GOAL:
Creating more attractivity for this forum and make it a more positive space.
IV - THE BASIC REASONNING BEHIND THE PROPOSITION:
The reasonning behind my proposition here comes from a leftist vision of the world. A vision where the environment influences behaviors and not the opposite. My purpose with this proposition will be to use this principle and instead of trying to push people to change, changing the environment so that people will naturally evolve with the environment.
I wish to transform this current system into a positive MOLD that will be shape to promote positivity instead of negativity. Do not be afraid by the word "MOLD" I do not intend to brainwash anyone or repress people who don't have other opinion ! I simply want to create the conditions for positivity to appear naturally because of the shape of the system.
You might not see it, but right now, the system is ALSO shaped like a mold, but a mold that promotes negativity. This forum is quite literally an echo chamber of negativity, especially when it comes to One Piece. So by shaping the mold differently, we will create a new type of forum.
If the work is done well, in a few years :
- You might start to see pop up longer threads
- You might start to see a decline of the continuous trashtalking, while some might be fun, too much really creates a vibe of negativity
- You might see start seeing people get more involved in the life of the forum
- You might see more interesting discussions
- You might see a decline of the toxicity
- You might see more happy people
And most of all...
- You might see a rise in the number of users : Less negativity > Better attractivity > More people
If I care, there is no reasons that other people couldn't be able to care at one point or another. It's just that my vision tends to be a bit dreamy at times and I see the potential of this place especially because you guys are allowing me to criticize the system, which is not something possible in every forum. The principle of the critic of the system is a very progressive aspect of this forum, BUT, those critics also need to be heard or there is no point.
V - THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE PROPOSITION:
Now, I will go more into details on the notion of change to make you understand how such a change is possible. For that, I will use a post that I have already made elsewhere about the science of groups and crowds.
Change usually comes from the outside. It's because the environment's evolution that we start to change, not because of something inside of us.
Let's take an example to understand why:
Put 100 person on a field of a stadium for 2 hours. You will give 4 people an earpiece and you will place a big speaker in the middle. We will try to make them dance together.
Now.. Before going further, I need to explain to you a few things about crowd and group psychology and the way informations or elements are shared among groups:
There are, in group behaviors like in epidemiology, two types of sharing (called contagion) of elements:
- The Simple contagion : For example, diseases or informations. It's a type of contagion where only one contact is enough to propagate the element
- The Complex contagion : It can be non familiar behavior or risky behavior that are hard to adopt. This is a contagion that will need a social reinforcement, in other word a certain % of individual in a group will have to adopt those elements or behavior to propagate it to others.
In 1978, a sociologist, Mark Granovetter, published a paper where he proposed a new concept to understand group behavior : The Threshold model for those complexe contagion. The threashold effect is the INDIVIDUAL threashold in % that people will have before they start to adopt a behavior or an element adopted by someone with a lower threashold.
For example, Activists or very motivated people (from the right or the left) will have a very low threashold % for certain things, they will directly adopt a belief or a behavior because they are completely convinced. On the other side, people who will be very conservative to adopt new belief systems or behavior will have a very high threashold % (the political side doesn't matter, it's just a question of our ability or refusal to adopt new elements. (said threashold can fluctuate in function of the subject or the behavior)
What we need to understand is that this Threashold effect create chain reaction effects after a certain point that we call "the critical mass".
But first : With our example, we can sort the 100 persons from the lower to the highest threashold.
Here is a screenshot representing the lower part of the graph:
It comes from this video. If you want you can watch it with subtitles I think you can make the translation work:
As you can see, among those 100 persons, there are 4 that have a threashold of 0%, they will adopt the behavior very easily. After that, you have one that has a threashold of acceptation of 4%. This means that to adopt the behavior, said person will need to see 4 people adopt the behavior first.
And by domino effect, the one with a threashold of 5% will adopt the behavior and so on.. until everyone else adopt the behavior. In our example here, it means that 4 people are needed to start the spreading. 4 is therefore the critical mass of the example.
But we also need to understand that critical masses and threashold are different from context to context. For ex, in a period of crisis, people are more sensible and therefore to spread information that could create conflict, the critical mass will be lower.
Another important thing to understand is that the more you have a group that is highly connected, the more the threashold for the members of said group will be lower. For example: You will be more encline to adopte a belief or a behavior if all your friend do it than if a group of stranger does it.
This is why revolution don't start because of influencal people, but because of the streets where people are highly organized and connected on peripheries. Revolutions are a peripherical phenomenon. (The Arab spring is a good ex of that). So it's very unlikely from a big personnality to spread beliefs if the audience doesn't have a very low threashold to adopt said belief in the first place.
Now, lets come back to our example : if, after serving some drnk and let people enjoy their time, you put music in the big speaker of the stadium and you ask to the four people with earpieces to go dance... chances are that you will create a group phenomenon where people will start to dance one after the other. Like this in this example where the critical mass was very low due to the relax context and where the threashold was only 1 guy :
NOW... HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO THE CONTEXT OF WORSTGEN AND MY PROPOSITION ?
Well, as I explained, we need to take into account the critical mass AND the threashold of the group (the users of Worstgen) to go further.
What is currently happening on worstgen right now : The environment, structure and moderation of the forum creates a situation where the threashold for negativity of new users for the acceptation of negativity will potentially fall very LOW.
What does it means for me ?
It means that it's practically impossible for me to change toxicity by myself. The threashold for the acceptation of more positive behaviors and the end of toxicity is so high (too much people are against it) . It would need a LOT of people (I don't know how many) with the same point of view to create a change. It also means that the critical mass for a positive change to happen here is TOO HIGH.
So .. What do I want to do ?
Well, my goal is simple : I want to LOWER the critical mass for the acceptation of positive behaviors on this forum.
In other words: I want to create a situation where the threashold for the acceptation of more positive behavior will be lowered and where less people will be needed to create a change !
But like I said : I CAN'T do that by myself. So I need to be more clever and use sociology and group behavior studies and try to BYPASS the threashold problem by attacking DIRECTLY the critical mass.
To attack the critical mass, I need to have an impact on the ENTIRE SYSTEM. Just like if I had an impact on the guy who is telling people to go dance in our example. This is why I'm trying to convince directly the staff to evolve on different subjects.
By changing the entire system, it will be possible to influence the critical mass and the acceptation for positivity.
It doesn't mean that this forum will become a paradise, but it will be a lot safer, more attractive and less problematic.
VI - THE PROPOSITIONS
My proposition are divided in two categories :
- The moderation of the forum and the rules
- Structural changes
1 - MODERATION - PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
There are a few subjects that needs our attention here in my current knowledge:
A - Transphobia :
The moderation is far too tolerant on transphobia. In my thread on moderation linked before, I demonstrated how Transphobia was being accepted here. This should not happen on a forum with strict rules on discrimination. We can't know what is the state of people who read hate against their identity online, words can hurt and kill.
To fix that, I think there are a few things to do:
- Moderators must all be aware of the ENTIRE spectra of transphobia. For that, I have listed sources in the linked thread about about Moderation.
- The rules must be clarified and transphobia must be added, as today, this is the part of LGBTQI+ people that is the most attacked with interesex people
- I recommend that you link sources about transidentity in the rule OR in another section of the forum (I suggest you add a few sources about diverses social subject as well : Racism, Anti-semitism, Islamophobia etc., if you want I have a LOT of ressources for you in the LEFTIST LIBRARY)
- As a bonus, I would highly suggest that you recruit people from the trans community who wants to help to reduce the problem as a moderator
B - Racism / Antisemitism :
I don't have much to say on the subject beside the fact that some people here should be more careful when talking about sensible subjects. I know the moderation is not racist or antisemitic, I'm not dumb. But I saw some pretty shady rethorics that should not be normal.
Here, I simply recommand caution. Especially when someone is asking to watch over a racist or antisemitic post that should be moderated. Let's not go reply to them that "races are real", mw..okay ?
C - Ableism :
Some of you are aware of it, I suffer from a psychic pathology that prevent me from simply doing basic things. This means that I'm unable to work at the moment. After a while, I had to justify my big presence on this forum by explaining my situation. Since then, I'm the target of a large number of ableist and phychophobic remark about me and my privacy. I have a strong defense, so those comments never affected me, but some people don't have this chance.
I saw that you (the moderation) decided to step up against this behavior against me.. and I deeply thank you for that ! BUT this is only the symptom of a larger problem concerning ableism and psychophobia on this forum. As I proved in the thread, the number of phychophobic remarks and in general behavior is off the roof on the forum. People have been conditionned to think that it was okay to attack the mental or psychic health of others to make a point or to attack them, it's a global internet problem... BUT I don't think this should be a Worstgen problem.
As for what should be done about it:
- The moderation should tighten their grip on BOTH psychophobic remarks (Ex : "you are a r*tard") AND psychophobic behavior
- Psychophobia should be added on the list of discriminations and like Transphobia in the rules...
- Ressources should be shared for people to understand the importance of being careful about that
D - Negation of oppressions:
This part will be controversial but it's important. We are currently witnessing a genocide, War crimes and Crimes against humanity on multiple part of the globe. I think the staff should make a stand to support those who are currently under oppression and refuse to accept the rethoric that tries to negate those atrocities. The conclusion of the official international structure (like the ICJ or the UN) should be made clear ! So:
- I think the moderation should tighten their grip on posts that denies those atrocities as those negations participate in the invisibilization of those crimes (note that this should also applies to past genocide, I saw people deny the genocide on the american continent by explorers and europeeans)
- Ressources should be made available for people to DONATE to funds for people under oppressions. Let make this One Piece fanbase usefull to fight for people who suffer. Here is one link toward all the current funds for Gaza people (verified): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...Xrz1bB3MFk7BlzCwfugh4259Wh7U1s/htmlview?pli=1
- The rules must be modified to include this parameter and help people understand that we must not joke with the subject
E - Reactionnary, Anti migrant and Islamophobic rethorics:
This one will be controversial as well. Everyone has the right to think what they want about immigration or Islam or society, and we can discuss those topics without problem.. BUT there is a problem when people are painted under a criminal light and targeted for simply wanting to live:
- I think the moderation should tighten their grip on post who dehumanize migrants and criminalize systematically migrants as a group. While being a migrant is indeed a illegal status, being a migrant does not mean that you are a criminal. Migration is something people do to survive sometimes at the cost of their lives, researches are clear on the subject, there are NO reasons to consider them as criminals.
- Islamophobia and rethoric targeting muslims (or other religious person) should not be allowed. I'm not talking about criticizing Islam, but targeting specifically muslim as a group.
- Reactionnary rethoric should be watched over with care by the moderation. OBVIOUS False informations, science denials, complotist rethoric and fallacious allegation should not be left unchecked by the moderation especially when someone proves that said rethoric is false. I do not recommend the deletion of the message, but a not from the moderator is something that could prevent people from saying too much BS (and it goes the same way for my side)
- Rules should be adapted to let people understand that the forum is heading toward a more progressive way and not toward conservatism.
F - Sexism
Sexism is rampant on the forum. Rethoric targetting women or their agency is common. The same way, this forum - from the outside - really looks like a sausage fest. Women should be welcomed here more, they should not feel afraid to say that they are women. So, to change that:
- The moderation should be more strict on sexist rethorics. We can't accept people spreading nonsense about women.
- The oversexualization of women should be watched over. I'm not saying that it should be forbidden, simply controlled with care. I can't count how many time I clicked on a thread and I saw someone saying gross thing about the way they "would", or how much said woman has bigger boobs than the other or said character is simply just a "better female character" than others (comparing women for their womanhood is a basis of sexist rethoric)...
- Threads about the sexualization of women or the comparison between women (as women, not as character) should be restricted. After all, it wouldn't come to noone's mind to create a thread on who is the "best man" in a story, right ?
- Rules should be completed for this matter.
G - General toxicity:
General toxicity is just the norm here. I proved it many time and the problem (on this server) is that the moderation was lead to believe that this was a normal behavior for them to adopt as well. When ... it's not. Comments like "you can cry" when I'm trying to demonstrate in DETAILS and with scientific knowledge why there is a structural problem in the forum and how to fix it... are NOT normal. I'm sorry, but this should not happen, at least not from someone in power.
Of course, if you guys don't seek to change anything.. then there is no reasons why this should change as well.. but if you are willing to listen:
- Moderators need to be less toxic when replying to users.
- Toxicity as a whole (from users) but be less accepted at large (but I believe that it will naturally slow down if structural changes are made)
Obviously, all of this proposition need a LOT of work. So what I suggest is for you guys to recruit a BUNCH more of moderators for various subjects or threads. Also, while I'm saying that we must tighten the moderation on certain topics, moderators must not fall at the end of the opposite spectrum and become authoritative.
The strenght of this forum is that the moderation allows itself to be criticized, this must remain no matter what.
2 - STRUCTURAL CHANGES:
1 - I propose the creation of this new prefix to promote pertinent threads choosed by the moderation:
This prefix will be added to the one of the threads..
I don't know what are your constrains in term of creation of prefix. But I designed this one with a purpose. To create the impression of something important. I added "moderation choice" in capital to add to this "important" effect.
Each month, the moderation will choose two or three threads that will be pinned and have this prefix. Once the month is over, the threads will keep their prefix. I suggest to create a new section were you would put all those threads once the month is over.
This will create attractivity and a race to create more pertinent content. This will reduce useless threads and you will see longer and more thoughout threads. If you choose to prioritize positive or at least good threads, this will also help redevelopp positivity in the forum.
2 - I propose the creation of something (I don't know what exactly) to distinguish those whose thread will be chosen by the moderation
As you can see, this proposition comes in parallel with the previous one. It's important because it will let people know that said or said users made a very good thread. and will push people to create more positive thread
It could be a simple golden star appearing temporarily on the user's profil pic or a second banner specific to this title.
3 - I propose the creation of a dislike system on threads AND posts
A dislike system would create a pressure on people to act in a more positive way. Because while a majority might be negative, the consensus is that to be accepted in society, you need to be a good person. This means less negativity. Of course, it could allow negativity to spread, so you must be careful with that.
I believe that this will people who create good content to gain more attractivity and help balance positivity and negativity. So I think this is a necessity to bring back a form of balance.
Plus, imagine the scenario where a thread is heavily disliked but promoted by the moderation. It would send the message that negativity is not accepted on this forum and this would be a good thing.
4 - I propose to create a "Rant Room" as a sub forum in the "One Piece manga discussion" section to place the most negative threads
Banning threads or people is not the solution. But we can render the negativity LESS visible and contain it. Those threads will still appear in the "latest post bar" but will be simply less accessible.
This will have for effect to prioritize drastically the positive or at least the more pertinent threads.
This should be applied only on Threads with obvious negativity (things like "the strawhats are irrelevant" or, "X is trash" etc.), not threads that are simply formulating a legitimate critic or questionning different aspect of the manga with a concrete argumentation.
5 - I propose to create more positive emotes
Yes, you might have not noticed it, but the majority of the emotes are created to express a form of sarcastic opinions. Positivity is almost absent. So, creating more positive emote, while being something very small, could create better interactions.
6 - I propose the creation of an entire visible scientific section
I noticed that I often wanted to share scientific subjects, but I always lack the section to do so and I always needed to always create a thread for that. So I think a section would be a cool idea. A Science GENERAL section that would have that kind of tree:
SCIENCE general section
------> Natural sciences
------------> Natural sciences general chat
------------> Physic general Chat
------------> Chemistry general chat
------------> Mathematic general Chat
------------> Biology general chat
------------> Astrophysic general chat
------------Etc.
------------------
------------> ALL natural sciences threads
------> Human social sciences
------------> Human social science general chat
------------> History general chat
------------> Sociology general chat
------------> Political sciences general chat
------------> Linguistic general chat
------------> Archeology general chat
------------> Anthropology general chat
------------Etc.
------------
------------> All human social science threads
BTW.. I also hope that one day, you guys will think about opening political discussions outside of the hidden sensitive section.
7 - I propose the creation of an entire STORYTELLING section
Storytelling knowledge is fundamental to understand completely the story. And I think that the more people will understand storytelling, the more they will understand why One Piece is so good. So I propose the creation of a section dedicated to storytelling and discussions about the craft on all support.
I would make the tree like that:
STORYTELLING SECTION
------> General Storytelling chat
------> Important storytelling content (this would be ressources choosen by the users and the staff that would be reunited in one single place to help new comer catch up)
------------
------> ALL threads about storytelling
8 - I propose to create a way to highlight the most liked answers in threads
With colors or labels... This would help people see the most pertinent posts on threads. You could maybe create a way in which those pertinent posts would be visible directly when you open the thread with threadmarks for example
This would push people to create more pertinent post. If combined with the other proposition (not alone) this could help bring back more positivity.
9 - I propose an general change of the face and interface of the forum
While I keep on trying to change the way people think toward more positivity. I do NOT think that it is possible to really make a great change unless we change the entire system. Change must come from the outside to the inside and not the opposite. In other words, by changing the environment and the way we apply the rules, we will change the way people start to act.
BUT
I think that ALL OF THOSE CHANGES must happen at the SAME time. For example, you can't create a dislike button without creating first a way to promote qualitative threads, or people risk to dislike those qualitative threads. And the changes and restructurations of the forum must resonate to reach people outside of the forum !
So.. on top of all those changes.. I propose that you tweak a few things :
- The overall webdesign of the forum
- The colors
- The images
If I was a programmer, I would instantly propose my help for free.. but sadly I don't know anything about it.
The goal would be to make everyone understand that this is would be a new Era for Worstgen
You know me. Out of all of people of this forum, I might be the one who has the most hardcore desire to end negativity AND YET, I think that I must obey by my principles as I believe in second chances. So, to finish, I have a proposition to create an equilibrium:
10 - I propose to UNBAN EVERYONE who is not perma Ban
Indeed, Unban everyone from the FORUM and EVERY THREADS. Obviously, people who are not permaban. I propose this to show to everyone that this change is not a change to restrict people but a RADICAL change to create a better environment and a second chance for everyone !
VII - CONCLUSION
Voilà !
This my proposition to help this forum to become more attractive and positive. You don't have to do everything, but I recommend that you do not create big structural change without creating ways to really promote positive posts first !
----------------
You guys can simply ignore all of this thread. Laugh at those propositions all you want. It does not matter for me.
But know this :
I hope you will consider this post.
Good day!
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