Why TGA is a happy place and is going to stay that way. NEEDED A BUMP AGAIN

[Lousy Beatnik]

39 minutes ago, blueshirtman said:

But wouldn't this just be ingored by a non destruction players? what do they care if not their faction is bad or good, specially if is a rare opponent. On the other hand, if you use strong language they have to engange you otherwise they come up as week and make your arguments right, by sole fact of not responding.

Huh? Not everyone falls into the "my army or nothing" attitude. Some people care about the whole game, not just whatever they are playing.

(Also, that isn't how "strong" language works, or how arguments are won)

[HorticulusTGA]

@Ben @Gaz Taylor @RuneBrush and to all of you on TGA : 

A BIG THANK YOU ! It really is the best experience on the hobby Internet right now (maybe with the old Chaos Dwarf online a looong time ago). I came here from Lady Atia and Bob's War of Sigmar blog, which is also a nice place, but really currently nothing beats TGA in terms of Internet achievement. 

So once again thank you, and keep up the great work. I hope I'll be able to contribute more in the future !

GLORY TO NAGASH, errrmmm GLORY TO ARCHAON uh well no ; GLORY TO SIGMAR !

 

[AGPO]

@HorticulusTGA what was your name on Chaos Dwarfs Online? Glad to hear you have fond memories of the place, I was one of the early staffers back in the day.

[Orsino]

6 hours ago, RuneBrush said:

For me personally the biggest thing that I love about Age of Sigmar is that it gives me a huge amount of escapism.  I know that if I'm having a rubbishy day or just want to get away from the real world, that I need only pick up a paintbrush, battletome, arrange a game or jump on the forums - and for a short period of time I can be taken away into a fantastical world of Orruks, Dragons and such like.  And why I stick with Games Workshop is simple - they keep delivering me new content that allows me to maintain the same level of escapism - I mean seriously what's not to love about that*!

* My wallet does make fairly frequent gasping noises though

 

6 hours ago, MrZakalwe said:

Thing is the negativity isn't really all that deserved these days- I understood it in the early days of AoS because GW screwed up a great many things (squatting of one of the most popular armies in the game - High Elves - destruction of others + the weird balkanisation of factions that made half the model lines that were left... less than ideal) but aside from the rampant Stormcast overpopulation they haven't really done anything major wrong in a long time and have got a whole load of stuff right. 

Summoning might be a bit rubbish in 2.0 but we don't know as we don't know the details and everything else is sounding pretty great so probably sensible to wait and see.

What's actually  got people so riled recently? Thought generally AoS was in the best state it has ever been at the moment. Why the recent outbursts?

Under the OP's new rule your praise for AoS, although undoubtedly sincerely meant,  becomes meaningless. Because you couldn't say otherwise if you wanted to. And by asking "why are people upset about this?" or "what's not to love?" aren't you essentially asking people to get themselves banned? It becomes unfair to invite people to offer their opinion when you know they're not allowed to.

I can certainly sympathise with being tired of the constant complaining, I find it annoying  myself, but I accepted it because I thought this was a discussion forum and part of discussion is being prepared to hear opinions you don't like.

[AlphaKennyThing]

17 hours ago, blueshirtman said:

yeah, I technicly go to therapy to learn what polite means, but there are so many rules, and they change all the time, they are different at school, different when you talk to different people, or when it is in a group. someone can make a joke, and everything thinks it is funny, and if you say the same thing you change school. I sometimes think it would be easier if people just said what they want, probablly not better though.

I think, Blueshirtman, that as we're all here to be pals and chat Warhammer, that the fact you're letting people know that interpretation of negativeness is something you struggle with, that you'll be given the benefit of the doubt by the moderators. Hard for someone to describe sunshine if you live in perpetual darkness, to use a metaphor.

Certainly if I was a moderator, after reading your posts about struggling with certain aspects of social interaction I'd know henceforth you're not a troll, and as such you'd get the benefit of the doubt from this callsign at the very least!

Carry on as you are mate, if you say something particularly mental I'll PM you an alternative way of saying the same thing, and you can edit your post if you so choose. Every day is a school day, and all that good stuff!

[RuneBrush]

2 minutes ago, Orsino said:

Under the OP's new rule your praise for AoS, although undoubtedly sincerely meant,  becomes meaningless. Because you couldn't say otherwise if you wanted to. And by asking "why are people upset about this?" or "what's not to love?" aren't you essentially asking people to get themselves banned? It becomes unfair to invite people to offer their opinion when you know they're not allowed to.

I can certainly sympathise with being tired of the constant complaining, I find it annoying  myself, but I accepted it because I thought this was a discussion forum and part of discussion is being prepared to hear opinions you don't like.

Not at all, because there's a way of complaining and stating your opinion.  Your post is what I'd class as a great example of clearly stating your opinion and what is allowed encouraged!  You've used quotes and explained everything in a calm and perfectly rational manner.  The words you've used haven't made me angry, upset me, or made me want to be angry back to you   To use another (absolutely random this time) example, I like brussel sprouts (controversial I know), I'd not have an issue somebody telling me they didn't like them themselves but would take exception to being told I was a freak for liking them.

I think it's also worth pointing out that you've highlighted something really critical too - this is a discussion forum which means that it's between multiple people.    Everybody is perfectly entitled to their opinion, but if your opinion differs to somebody else's then what we don't want to see here is a huge argument arise because that's no longer a discussion.

One thing that's always worth bearing in mind is that it's actually really difficult to convey meaning in the written word.  You can't make something sound like a joke or humorous (and humour is very subjective too), and just as importantly I don't know how something I've written is being reacted to - I can't see your face, so how do I know you've taken it as I meant it.  Somebody may well be reading this and angry about the fact I like sprouts - whilst somebody else might find it funny

[Sleboda]

18 hours ago, blueshirtman said:

 think I will limit myself to reading posts then, and asking questions about rules etc. I don't get the whole don't being a ****** part,

It probably will be a bit of a struggle for some to self-assess. As we've seen in the recent thread on the phrase "toy soldiers" negative perception, or the lack thereof, can actually be a culturally influenced thing.

Some folks might make a post with genuinely no idea they are crossing Ben's line. He seems like a decent person, though, so I suspect there won't be automatic bans for these innocent slips.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I would think you could keep posting and let responses be your guide as to whether you're being a detriment to TGA.

[Sleboda]

11 hours ago, MacDuff said:

It's just "do unto others". I don't think it's hard or scary.

Actually, that's a very good example of the issue with cultural difference.

There are two Golden Rules. Eastern and Western.

Western is as you say: do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

By this, if I want people to give me straight, blunt criticism with no punches pulled (what i would have them do unto me), then I'm encouraged to do that to others.  I am following the Golden Rule (a thing generally considered to be The Right Way to Live) when I offer straight, blunt criticism to someone else. I have some friends from various parts of the world who are this way all the time. They are good, loving people, but they would not be welcome here.

 

The Eastern Golden Rule is much better: Do nothing to others that you would not have them do to you.

It puts the other person first. It's far, far less self-oriented. If I don't want others to be critical of me, then I won't be critical of them.

Both are wonderful guiding principles, but you will know one or the other depending on where in the world you grew up.

Fingers crossed, the moderation of comments will still take into account cultural diversity.

[Orsino]

1 hour ago, RuneBrush said:

Not at all, because there's a way of complaining and stating your opinion.  Your post is what I'd class as a great example of clearly stating your opinion and what is allowed encouraged!  You've used quotes and explained everything in a calm and perfectly rational manner.  The words you've used haven't made me angry, upset me, or made me want to be angry back to you   To use another (absolutely random this time) example, I like brussel sprouts (controversial I know), I'd not have an issue somebody telling me they didn't like them themselves but would take exception to being told I was a freak for liking them.

I think it's also worth pointing out that you've highlighted something really critical too - this is a discussion forum which means that it's between multiple people.    Everybody is perfectly entitled to their opinion, but if your opinion differs to somebody else's then what we don't want to see here is a huge argument arise because that's no longer a discussion.

One thing that's always worth bearing in mind is that it's actually really difficult to convey meaning in the written word.  You can't make something sound like a joke or humorous (and humour is very subjective too), and just as importantly I don't know how something I've written is being reacted to - I can't see your face, so how do I know you've taken it as I meant it.  Somebody may well be reading this and angry about the fact I like sprouts - whilst somebody else might find it funny

Your interpretation seems to be that complaining is fine as long as it's courteous and that's a principle I'm sure most people can get behind but it isn't what Ben said in his OP. He was quite explicit: he wants rainbows and unicorns, he wants to only read positive opinions about AoS that make him happy.

Now it's his forum so in a sense that's fair enough, but I'm uncomfortable because the discussion forum I thought I'd joined which seemed to be some sort of community turns out to be one  person's personal pep rally. Ben says "this is my happy place and I'm the boss" and he doesn't want to read things that displease him, and that's his prerogative, but it's not the basis for a healthy community.

But perhaps we should stop this discussion here as Gaz Taylor seems to have suggested that discussion of what behaviours are prohibited is in itself a prohibited behaviour. Oh dear, it's all gone a bit Kafkaesque hasn't it?

[Lemondish]

Hello everyone. New member here! Would like to point out that this is a very nice message.

I was active in another forum community for 40k and wanted to get a sense of AoS from the posters there. However, every topic seemed to be filled with negativity and hostility towards the game system and the changes previewed on WarCom. All that negativity turned me off, and since I had 4 other friends that were going to jump in if we all did, I felt like I had a lot of pressure to ensure I didn't encourage us to invest our time and energy into something everybody on the aforementioned forum seemed to hate with a passion. I imagined there had to be a reason...

So, naturally, I asked if the game and world was really as hopeless and miserable as everyone was making it out, or if I was only seeing one side. To their credit, a few posters chime in - but it wasn't very clear if they were providing testimonials about the game system since many suggested major changes to the rules by house ruling things instead of playing the game as is. AoS 2.0 is the best time for new players I felt, and what I've seen looks amazing and fun, but the temperature in that forum was cold to these changes - this had me worried.  Sure, I could play a few games to get an idea of the rules (we did) and if we would enjoy it (we did), but we all felt that was an insufficient gauge for a game that requires a lot of investment in time and money. I had hoped that the resident authorities on the forum would be able to provide the insight I lacked.  Or so I thought.

To me, all the previews were great. The roaming spells sounds wonderfully brilliant, summoning sounds fun, the models are by far the best of GW, and the world seems rich with story. There must really, really be a major issue with the rules if these folks didn't enjoy any of these previews at all...

Turns out the issue may just be the community. Its tone. How it discusses things. I am glad to find one that shares what they love about this game rather than constantly complaining about why they hate it. 

[tokek]

5 hours ago, Ungface said:

This is currently the best place on the web to be able to openly discuss the pros and cons of AoS without it generally devolving into mess. The idea that this is now going to change because you want to remove opinions you dont like only spells doom imo.

 

Id also add that you are running a place of discussion open to the public. Youre going to get all manner of people coming here and behaving in whatever way. The idea that you can just say "I dont want to deal with this!" is a bit naive, considering what you are running. Dont open it to the public if you dont want to have to moderate.

If anybody is genuinely uncomfortable with the rules of this forum the appropriate thing to do would be to go create one of their own that fits their vision of online discussion and where they set the house rules. That is what @Ben did and we are grateful for his efforts.

 

[amysrevenge]

If anyone is newer and worried, don't be.  @Ben isn't out to change the forum to something it hasn't been - he's calling out for a return to form, not a change in form.  Don't let complacency and leaked-in attitudes from elsewhere online adjust the tone here downward, that's all.

[blueshirtman]

5 hours ago, AGPO said:

I think @michu gave a perfect response to the second part of your comment. If one person is being aggressive in an argument and the other is remaining calm, it's normally not the latter who looks weak

all my expiriance from school tells me otherwise. The outspoken kids can do what ever the hell they want, and if you are made fun on by kids, then after some time teachers make fun of you took. And considering this happened to me in two different countries, am assuming this is cross cultural.

Quote

 

Some people care about the whole game, not just whatever they are playing.

(Also, that isn't how "strong" language works, or how arguments are won)

 

Not saying this is false, but I have yet to see such a person. And as the arguments go. I have seen arguments won in two ways. Either someone beats the other one up, or he has a higher social standign and/or a lot of friends and wins by default.

Quote

Carry on as you are mate, if you say something particularly mental I'll PM you an alternative way of saying the same thing, and you can edit your post if you so choose. Every day is a school day, and all that good stuff!

Thank you, I would be welcome. I don't really want to get banned. We already had to move twice because of me, and as it takes a long time for me to get used to a place, getting kicked out aint fun.
 

Quote

The Eastern Golden Rule is much better: Do nothing to others that you would not have them do to you.

 

Or don't get caught. If your not caught everything is free game to do. Cheating for example, is bad. You should not cheat. But if you can cheat and not get caught, it would be considered foolish not to do. No one would say it in public, but everyone is thinking it. I think it also has to do with stuff like rules and laws, be it social or not, being just technical guidlines. For example if you are important, they do affect you, but everyone who interacts with you, but is on a lower level has to. So if a politician steals he is a sneaky fox, people hate him of course, but on the inside everyone would want to be like him, while if the same thing is done by mr Kowalsky who works at the factory, he is the lowest of the low.

[Brightstar]

Yep!  This is one of the best communities I've seen online since the old last alliance forum - a LOTR forum.  What I always loved about TLA was it focused more on painting, modeling, terrain, and game play/tactics.  It was a community designed to help each other, not duke it out over the validity of some rule.   

I have been watching this community for a long time before deciding to join it.  I have had a great experience since I've joined.  

[Sleboda]

42 minutes ago, blueshirtman said:

You should not cheat. But if you can cheat and not get caught, it would be considered foolish not to do. 

There are no words to describe how ... unfortunate and depressing a thought that is.

There are many good reasons to not cheat even if you can't be caught. Many. Basic human decency, morality, and an ability to sleep at night are just a few.

[Soulsmith]

Keep on going strong, TGA and mod team.

[Lemondish]

3 hours ago, blueshirtman said:

Or don't get caught. If your not caught everything is free game to do. Cheating for example, is bad. You should not cheat. But if you can cheat and not get caught, it would be considered foolish not to do. No one would say it in public, but everyone is thinking it. I think it also has to do with stuff like rules and laws, be it social or not, being just technical guidlines. For example if you are important, they do affect you, but everyone who interacts with you, but is on a lower level has to. So if a politician steals he is a sneaky fox, people hate him of course, but on the inside everyone would want to be like him, while if the same thing is done by mr Kowalsky who works at the factory, he is the lowest of the low.

While you might be able to cite circumstances in which your perspective is borne out in reality, that doesn't mean that things can't or shouldn't be better. Don't get caught in the mentality that things are as they are and can't be changed.

I hope, for your sake, you decide to make a change in how you view things. Dare to dream bigger. 

[ShadowSwordmaster]

I love this place and the community that supports it.

ONLY THR FAITHFUL! 

[LLV]

10 hours ago, AGPO said:

@HorticulusTGA what was your name on Chaos Dwarfs Online? Glad to hear you have fond memories of the place, I was one of the early staffers back in the day.

Chaos dwarfs online! I remember that place. In another life they called me exquisite evil, (internet) famous for being the first to make dawi zharr from  crappy skull pass dwarfs!

[Killax]

12 hours ago, Orsino said:

Your interpretation seems to be that complaining is fine as long as it's courteous and that's a principle I'm sure most people can get behind but it isn't what Ben said in his OP. He was quite explicit: he wants rainbows and unicorns, he wants to only read positive opinions about AoS that make him happy.

Now it's his forum so in a sense that's fair enough, but I'm uncomfortable because the discussion forum I thought I'd joined which seemed to be some sort of community turns out to be one  person's personal pep rally. Ben says "this is my happy place and I'm the boss" and he doesn't want to read things that displease him, and that's his prerogative, but it's not the basis for a healthy community.

But perhaps we should stop this discussion here as Gaz Taylor seems to have suggested that discussion of what behaviours are prohibited is in itself a prohibited behaviour. Oh dear, it's all gone a bit Kafkaesque hasn't it?

Perhaps, but as I recall correctly it's the third time in roughly 2 years that something akin to this post has been made. So as before, this will be repeated and Ben will recieve at least another two dozen of reports... Not because I demand it to be the case, but because all these 'stress reliefs on forums' come at the same time new content is revealed.

- First generation of a post like this was when we recieved the new errata patron while GH2016 was still in effect. What we saw is that certain armies where just tier 1 and a lot was extras. There was no real in between because a lot of factions didn't have a clear/propper Allegiance ability. 
- Second generation of a post like this was when we recieved GH2017. What we saw is massive changes that ultimately brought the game to a closer balance. As is I'd say we work with a Tier 1,2 and 3 system, with Tier 3 armies currently being in the mayority but still largely made up by GA Destruction. GA Death was part of this too up until Legions of Nagash. (All these sub-topics of newer Battletomes caused similar stress relives in smaller forms, you wouldn't believe some of the random posts made upon Maggotkin and Legions release in their sub-topics).
- Now the third generation of a post like this comes from the 2nd edition of Age of Sigmar  

So what do I think Ben's post applies for?
Just to act as a reminder that more of the same will come but the focus of these forums isn't to be a stress relieve outlet but instead to have some patience and judge the complete content instead of parts of it. 

I don't for a minute thing there is a political underlying theme to this post. I do think that due  hanging with Games Workshop some of Games Workshop's market policy's rubbed off on him  With this I mean I have yet to see any critical note on GW's product and design comming from the admin/mod team. Logical also because a lot of them have direct information comming to them from GW, so if you are part of that inner circle I'd likely not be 'hating' on it either.

In general though as described above there are different visions and believes as to why someone posts the way they do. The only constant is that when a lot of change is going to occur it's initially met with stress and dislikes because it means the game some like and love right now will not be the same in a few months. 

Change is often met with resistance that leads to a form of stress, big or small. 

[Gaz Taylor]

40 minutes ago, Killax said:

I don't for a minute thing there is a political underlying theme to this post. I do think that due  hanging with Games Workshop some of Games Workshop's market policy's rubbed off on him  With this I mean I have yet to see any critical note on GW's product and design comming from the admin/mod team. Logical also because a lot of them have direct information comming to them from GW, so if you are part of that inner circle I'd likely not be 'hating' on it either.

Just would like to point out that none of the mod team apart from Ben is part of the Faithful (play testers). I have no insider knowledge and I know as much as you guys. 

Am I critical about GW products? When there is something I don’t like, I will say it. For example I’m not a fan of most of the resent dice sets they have done. I can’t speak for the others but for me, I think what you are getting confused about is not liking something and being very vocal about not liking something. For example, I’m not a fan of historical games but I don’t go around loudly/vocally telling everybody. If it comes up in conversation I will mention it but not like how some people post on the internet. Personally GW have been doing an amazing job over the last few years and there is little I can think about to fault them. My wallet cries every time there is a teaser because the stuff they are doing is great. There’s a reason why I’m part of this community and it’s because I love Warhammer and all the cool stuff GW do. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be on this forum or painting and playing their games. 

As for this post by Ben, it’s just to remind you all that he started this forum because he loves Warhammer and I would guess majority of you are here because you do. Also, all the recent pokes about behaviour is because we just want you all to be nice to each other and make this a nice place to visit. For example, when I go into a GW store, I’m expected to behave a certain way and I don’t need a set of rules for that. If I went into one of the stores and started swearing or saying how rubbish GW products are, I would be expected to be asked to not say those things or leave. ?

[blueshirtman]

10 hours ago, Lemondish said:

While you might be able to cite circumstances in which your perspective is borne out in reality, that doesn't mean that things can't or shouldn't be better. Don't get caught in the mentality that things are as they are and can't be changed.

It is has less to with my personal expiriance, of which I don't have much, and more with how things work in eastern countries. We have story for kids, where a teacher asks a boy.,what is bad and what is good. Bad is when someone steals his cows, and good is when he steals cows. It is rather common in eastern countries to think that way. Sometimes to point where it is considered rude to not cheat. Cheating is not considered moral or immoral, only "unlawful" and this means that it is bad only, when the law catchs you. And it is not like it is just Poland that is like that, Russia, China or other far eastern countries are the same. And actually trying to act different, like lets say not taking bribes, which by the way aren't even called that, they are called presents, bribes are something totaly different from stuff you take from saying you will do something, can get you in to real trouble. Or stuff like saleries in public office being put on a level, aka low one, because everyone assumes you are going to use your position to learn extra. For example almost all teachers in my school give private lessons. Woe to the one who does not take them, specially if it is a pre state exam class. A teacher if he gets angry enough will just fail you, and no one is going to help you. Other teachers are doing the same, so aren't interested in an investigation. other parents don't want their kids to be failed too, because can be vengful if you take on one of their own etc. Motor way police stoping people go, and not giving people tickets is so common it even made it to comedy, where a policeman that stops a truck with christmas stuff doesn't have money to buy anything that "falls off" the truck, so he stops 2 cars and tickets them to get the money to get the stuff. It is common daily stuff.

[Gaz Taylor]

7 minutes ago, blueshirtman said:

It is has less to with my personal expiriance, of which I don't have much, and more with how things work in eastern countries.

That's not how it works here. Just use common sense and be nice to people, don't swear, and generally don't rant about anything you dislike (remember - we want constructive criticism. That is okay but ranting is not). If you struggle or in doubt, ask a mod.

[Durant]

 

52 minutes ago, blueshirtman said:

It is has less to with my personal expiriance, of which I don't have much, and more with how things work in eastern countries. We have story for kids, where a teacher asks a boy.,what is bad and what is good. Bad is when someone steals his cows, and good is when he steals cows. It is rather common in eastern countries to think that way. Sometimes to point where it is considered rude to not cheat. Cheating is not considered moral or immoral, only "unlawful" and this means that it is bad only, when the law catchs you. And it is not like it is just Poland that is like that, Russia, China or other far eastern countries are the same. And actually trying to act different, like lets say not taking bribes, which by the way aren't even called that, they are called presents, bribes are something totaly different from stuff you take from saying you will do something, can get you in to real trouble. Or stuff like saleries in public office being put on a level, aka low one, because everyone assumes you are going to use your position to learn extra. For example almost all teachers in my school give private lessons. Woe to the one who does not take them, specially if it is a pre state exam class. A teacher if he gets angry enough will just fail you, and no one is going to help you. Other teachers are doing the same, so aren't interested in an investigation. other parents don't want their kids to be failed too, because can be vengful if you take on one of their own etc. Motor way police stoping people go, and not giving people tickets is so common it even made it to comedy, where a policeman that stops a truck with christmas stuff doesn't have money to buy anything that "falls off" the truck, so he stops 2 cars and tickets them to get the money to get the stuff. It is common daily stuff.

I assume ,like me you are Polish, (many many sugestions in your post), and if yes then I can't agree with you, things in this world are not that bad, things are not that bad in our contry as well. They are not only good, much must be made better and it is the people who are the problem.
That is egz why Ben made that post (I think) to stop this negativity and bad weather thinking. There  are a lot of places that you can write how AoS is bad or the new edition (Border Princes would be my choise for doing that), and you can do it there. I join TGA coz I was fedup with negativiti and people saying why everything GW do is bad and they will be out of the market next month. I wanted a place were I can talk positive, and show my work, and fun I have. Do i like everything GW dose NO! but I love most of it.  I am sure it will be OK to say I do not like the models, just say it once and do not call on people who have diferent opinion.

And for all off you wishing to visit Poland or any eastern country, do not be scared, I would bet that no Police man will stop you coz he is in need of money (for christmas or anything ). We are a normal European country, with some problems, and a history of civilian disobedience, but a safe place to live and visit even if you do not bribe people.

[Chris Tomlin]

Hey!

As someone who has been on TGA from the very beginning, as well as partaking in plenty of Warhammer forum action over the years (TWF, Druchii.net and many others under the username Xizor), I can honestly say that TGA is the best online community for discussing Warhammer I have ever been a part of (perhaps Druchii.net in it's heyday was up there).

I have had so much fun on this forum discussing a wide range of topics and have especially enjoyed tracking my progress with the Ironjawz over the last couple of years. The best part for me isn't about what I'm posting, but the interactions I get with all you other nerds!

Even when I've felt down on AoS in the past (which is completely ok btw guys!), coming to TGA has been like a bit of a safe haven and I've usually been able find some inspiration or something to reinvigorate my passion for the game here. It really is great...not to mention the fact it helps me through my working day!  

Of late though, things have been a little different. I've seen many topics that seem to ressemble toxic reddit threads as opposed to something I'd expect to see on my beloved TGA. It's interesting (and actually reassuring) that many of you are replying to say that you don't see this. I say reassuring as it means that myself, @Gaz Taylor, @RuneBrush and @Ben are doing a good job moderating these comments so that indeed, you don't see them. But I still do!

Here on TGA our moderation style is mostly one of removing problematic posts. This is usually done by hiding them. That means you guys don't have to see them, but they are still live on the forum. So, for example, when I sift through that second edition topic, I see countless posts in lilac (the hidden ones) that clog up that thread. It's painful to read and not just limited to that thread.

So yeh, it's good we are able to mostly keep these kinds of messes cleaned up in a timely fashion, but don't for one second think it isn't happening. Behaviours of users is changing and it's 100% for the worse. I wholeheartedly endorse Ben's post and am completely beside him with his ethos and vision for TGA. I would really appreciate people just taking a step back and realising that this forum is not an entitlement. Whilst everyone is welcome and indeed encouraged to be an active member of the community here, you need to be adhering to the rules.

Some of the posts in this very topic show some worrying attitudes towards how people think it is ok to behave on a friendly online forum. Unfortunately you cannot compare it to real life and how you interact with your friends etc. It's simply not the same thing. Conversely, I also think there's other people who go too far the other way and treat people in such a way they would not dream of doing so "IRL". Just be nice eh?

Anyway, I'm rabbling. I am (perhaps foolishly!) optimistic that the majority of you get this and will take it the right way. I'd absolutely love to spend more time on TGA posting rather than moderating once again!

Much love,
Chris x