Is criticism illegal on these discussion boards?

Constructive criticism is, or should, always be welcome. A large part of the value of these forums is that "trainzers" can propose, discuss. support and even shoot down ideas. That should never be a problem but the way it is done can sometimes be a problem.

Unfortunately, some posters take criticism to the extremes of personal abuse and insults. They have an issue with something and feel the need to vent their anger at a particular person or organisation (e.g. N3V).

Sometimes a thread can start off with a question, a suggestion or an idea but end up in a shouting match between posters where personal abuse, not reasoned argument, becomes the weapon of choice. Some people take their hobby more seriously than life itself.
 
If you mean your pointless removed attempt at starting another Anti Trainz thread and the inappropriate wording, it's hardly a surprise it's been deleted.
 
There is a way to do it and that is to raised an issue or a concern.

The other thing to do is use "I find" rather than "you have", it softens things.

Cheerio John
 
Simple answer, yes. Based on what i've seen here, any negative comments whatsoever, regardless of what's said, are not allowed by any means.

That's a negative comment but it won't be censored or deleted because it does not insult or abuse. nor is it intended (if I am reading your mind correctly) to deliberately offend. There are countless threads in these forums that contain criticisms of N3V, the DLS, the DLC, TANE, NEXT, etc, etc, and they are still in the forums and unlocked.

There is a big difference between constructive criticism ("This could have been so much better if they had ..."), even negative constructive criticism ("I hate that feature because ...") and some of the abusive and insulting criticisms that have appeared, from time to time.
 
"Legality" doesn't really come into it when posting on an Internet forum - you can't go to the Chair for voicing an opinion. However you might get sued for libel or slander, if something you posted was untrue or caused damages to another party. My experience generally with this board is a fair amount of latitude providing the criticism is fair and constructive. That's not to say problems didn't arise - the infamous period last year prior to the forum "holiday" when one member who considered himself close to N3V appeared to be abusing that position in his responses to comments about TANE and seemed to be getting away with it. That caused a great deal of anger amongst other members and led to the creation of at least one new Trainz forum away from N3V.

It's also the case there are a few individuals who (trying to avoid the fanbois label) in their over-arching enthusiasm for the product find it hard to accept others may have some valid criticism and react accordingly. That's when things go downhill and requires swift and effective moderation. On the other hand, if all you're doing is posting negative or abrasive comments (as the OP has a tendency to do) that is likely to wear thin on a board hosted by the developer and frequented largely by those who enjoy the product. A forum is primarily meant to be a place to discuss and learn, not a personal "whinge" blog. If the OP feels so negatively then perhaps he should start his own website or blog where he can express those views without any perceived restriction. Or if he really loathes the product that much, treat like any other £35 game that didn't deliver on expectations and move on to something else. :)
 
Hi Everybody.
There is a way to do it and that is to raised an issue or a concern.

The other thing to do is use "I find" rather than "you have", it softens things.

Cheerio John

In my humble opinion, John is 100% Correct in his above posting. It should always be that a forum member addresses the argument presented by another poster rather than addressing personally the poster themselves. In the foregoing to state "with every respect to your above posting" and then address the argument they make usually avoids any personal annoyance.

To put the above in another context, to state " with every respect to your views expressed in your above posting" and then discuss the reason why you disagree with the other persons views, demonstrates personal respect for the fellow poster but disagreement with their views.

Diplomacy is always the bases of good debate. Always address the views expressed rather than the person expressing them.
Bill
 
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Hi Everybody.


In my humble opinion, John is 100% Correct in his above posting. It should always be that a forum member addresses the argument presented by another poster rather than addressing personally the poster themselves. In the foregoing to state "with every respect to your above posting" and then address the argument they make usually avoids any personal annoyance.

To put the above in another context, to state " with every respect to your views expressed in your above posting" and then discuss the reason why you disagree with the other persons views, demonstrates personal respect for the fellow poster but disagreement with their views.

Diplomacy is always the bases of good debate. Always address the views expressed rather than the person expressing them.
Bill

A good summary as always, Bill.

Diplomacy and tact, no matter how much one disagrees or agrees with an issue, can go a long way in keeping the environment civil. As I've always said, treat others the way you expect to be treated yourself.

In part the problem, is some people hide under their username and avatar. With this they feel emboldened as though they have taken on a new persona which is not their norm, and they abuse everyone around them. The few that have come and gone around here, I won't name names as we generally know who they are, have been dealt with pretty swiftly.
 
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I wouldn't recommend putting people on your ignore list as you will then be missing out on some of the funniest posts around here. I would recommend watching the film 'Idiocracy' though as it shows where this Forum and the rest of mankind is heading...

Paul
 
Hi John,
Criticism is an important aspect to our hobby when it is used constructively. The majority of said posts being removed are not constructive in any way, and do nothing more than incite fights. These people have taken criticisms of others to an entirely new level. It has never been okay to direct negative criticisms towards a particular person on this forum. I'm not sure exactly where you got the idea that it was, but it never has been.

Constructive criticism is okay, because usually it's not personal, unless your a number of people who use this as a tacit to attack you at a different angle.

As mentioned above, there have been plenty of threads of the criticisms of TANE and etc. still on the forums, and are actually quite constructive if you read them. They aren't saying "Tony Hilliam sucks because he made TANE and it doesn't work." or "I hate TANE and N3V. They took my money and fed me a crappy program in return. I say let's sue N3V!" These kind of threads 95% of the time are made by trolls looking for a way to make the community worse off than it already is. If you see them, your best course of action is to report the threads and let the mods fix these so that they don't get to far out of control.

I agree with paulhobbs, some of the funniest post around town come from these people, and the responses they get. It's only when it begins to turn nasty that I report things.

Be proactive, and contribute constructively towards the game, ask questions here on the forums, drop by and answer one when you can, and of course, report that nasty post that do nothing but cause fights, something the community doesn't need more of.
 
Unfortunately there are adults physically but who have never properly grown up mentally or in sense. Maybe get nowhere in routine life due to huffy attitudes so a forum on the net gives them a chance to air nonsense knowing they will not see anyone!
 
You gotta play the ball not the man... Pretty sure that's a rule in most sporting football codes.
attack their argument and their reasoning, not their person.

And yes, of course I'm guilty of all of the above :D
 
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