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[CLARIFICATION] Constructive Criticism, Complaints, and Toxicity

Zodiac

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Constructive Criticism, Complaints and Toxicity.
Written by Zodiac for the uninformed.


Introduction
The RC:RP forums come to be a valuable asset to how the community serves its opinions and what direction does its staff team decide to push the server into. It's the central platform for discussion and feedback to both the server staff and players within, from all parties. However, there are rules to abide by, but not all rules are foolproof. This leads to unproductive discussions and ill-willed comments. Your words hold power on these forums because you trigger a chain reaction of opinions, that may be good or bad. Some people are not aware of that power and might just be brutally honest, coming off as arrogant. This thread serves to clarify the differences.




Constructive Criticism
Split these three definitions to give yourself a better understanding before reading this further:
  • Constructive(adj) having or intended to have a useful or beneficial purpose.
  • Criticism(n) the expression of disapproval of someone or something on the basis of perceived faults or mistakes.
  • Constructive CriticismThe process of offering valid and well-reasoned opinions about the work of others, usually involving both positive and negative comments, in a friendly manner rather than an oppositional one.

When a faction fails, when staff members are overlooking something or players are slacking off in quality; you give constructive criticism. CC is when there's room for improvement, when you have a theoretical or advisory solution to a problem, whether foreseen or present. This form of feedback helps the recipient actually analyze the mentioned problem and allows them to work on it. This is the most important form of communication between members of a community in development.

Examples

SCENARIO (A) — A new faction posted too much text in a screenshot that drastically affects the photos quality.
CORRECT RESPONSE: "Photos with too much text on it isn't quite appealing and tends to be an eye-sore. Perhaps try to minimize the text to only include the important details or use other angles to add more conversation."
INCORRECT RESPONSE: "lmao, screens are trash bro lol." // "seen better screens" // "Should put more standards n quality to your screens"

SCENARIO (B) — A player roleplaying a serial killer with a certain mental illness comes off pretty subpar and too stereotypical.
CORRECT RESPONSE: "This image of that mental illness is just a Hollywood portrayal and isn't realistic, check out this article by John Doe to educate yourself some more. Because people with this illness don't do A, B and C."
INCORRECT RESPONSE: "Oh look, another unrealistic killer." // "Dude, learn how to RP that, it's shit." // "Character development is crap."



( ! ) — If a thread has been spammed with the same criticism more than 3-ish times, it's not worth repeating unless you're adding something that hasn't been said. If say 10 people are saying the exact same thing, it'll only appear as an attack to the poster rather than a community feedback.


Constructive criticism is most commonly viewed on public forums rather than private mediums, but either is welcome.



Complaints
A complaint can be either of two things:
  • Forum ComplaintA formal request of action against a member/faction of the community on the Complaints Board.
  • Private ComplaintsA complaint directed to a player in private or the managing members of a faction, server staff, etc.

This varies by context and each party handles it differently. When it's a one-on-one issue, it's usually taken to admins, so this part is more for faction feedback. You can always go to a player and complain to them about their actions, and if both parties come to an agreement, that's wonderful, if not; how unfortunate.

To report regular players and server administration, please find the format used in these boards: Complaints Board
It is common sense to remain civil in these boards, regardless of disrespectful behavior as it can lead to your punishment as well.

However, factions have different approaches to handling their complaints; to each faction their own procedures. It is most wise to go directly to a faction leader or to a member of their HC with evidence in regards to John Doe's actions that misrepresents the faction. Please understand that one person does not account for all faction members. Keep an open mind, because those leaders only want to improve their factions and wipe out any bad members. If you come off as aggressive, it'll seem like a personal vendetta, giving you deaf ears.


Examples

SCENARIO (A) — A player hit you and drove off, you didn't like that so you PMed him.
CORRECT RESPONSE: "Hey man, I didn't like the fact that you didn't RP that; could we re-RP that?" <— If they refuse, feel free to post a forum complaint.
INCORRECT RESPONSE: "wtf u retard, come here and rp." // "Nice RP, see u on forums" // "Ur gonna come back to rerp or what?"

SCENARIO (B) — A police officer used brutal force against a 14 year old when he could've manhandled him.
CORRECT RESPONSE: "/do I'm 14 years old and small." <— Give the cops the chance to re-RP based on the information, they can miss it due to spam.
INCORRECT RESPONSE: Going on forums to trash talk that cop. // "All SP do is taze kids cause they can't RP."


SCENARIO (C) — A security guard in a faction is showcasing trollish behavior that misrepresents the faction. The faction has a reputation for being bad and trolly too.
CORRECT RESPONSE: Take it to the HC with proof and use constructive criticism to tell them what's wrong with it. <— If they fail to respond, take it to Faction Management (most preferably Faction Administration); as a last resort, take it to the Faction Complaints board.
INCORRECT RESPONSE: Further trash talking the faction on forums, ruining their image. // Using IC means to provoke them to make matters worse. // "All they do is troll, HC doesn't give a damn."



ADVISORY ABOUT FACTIONS AND HATEWAGONS
Your voices here are no different than national propaganda that affect public opinion. Give the factions many chances to develop themselves and deal with their affairs. By trash talking factions on public mediums, it may forever ruin their image, even if they do fix their issues. There are so many examples on forums where a mistake from +5 years ago will still stain the faction as if it's relevant to this present day. You may be responsible for never allowing a faction to have a second chance.




Toxicity
A very common adjective thrown around the community nowadays to describe someone who has bad influence and terrible attitude towards others. Common toxic behaviors are, but also not limited to:
  • Foul/Vulgar LanguageAlways using harsh language to bring your point across, even if it hurts a person.
  • BullyingMaking fun of a person and discriminating them for who they are (based on sex, ethnicity, appearance, gameplay, etc).
  • Manipulative/Guilt TrippingTrying to make people feel bad so they succumb to your will, common when you snitch someone for doing something wrong, not doing things their way, etc.
  • Cherry Picking Bad HistoryConstantly bringing up old history (usually negative) to shed bad light and cause flame wars between certain parties.
  • Invasion of PrivacyRevealing private and sensitive information about a member of the community, be it IRL material or confidential playe-related RC:RP affairs.
  • Promoting Bad BehaviorCheering on other players horrible attitude, leading to others being influenced by others.

Toxicity is a very broad word, but its meaning is rather clear. We're all human and sometimes we get aggressive, that's only natural. But, make it private and civilized, and if it goes far, report it to the server administration. Under no means are you to publicly bash out someone who presents such behavior, and you are not to replicate that same behavior in defense as it's not an excuse. Two wrongs don't make a right. The RC:RP staff has not taken toxicity lightly at all and have taken measures to permanently ban such members from our community.

A lot of players escape real life to come here, relax, be creative where they can. You never know what the person behind that screen is going through, so hold back any black tongue and try to be civil to one another. It's okay to disagree with another player, it's never okay to hate them over a game. If you hate them as a person, simply avoid them and report them if they provoke you. It'll be dealt with swiftly.




Closing Words
I tried to keep this thread rather short as I understand no one is a fan of long and lengthy walls of texts. Feel free to share this to whom you must, just at the end of the day, remember that you play a part in this community and if you want to help it, evaluating yourself could be the first step. Don't take anything personally, just work on it and see what can be done. At the end of the day, remember to have fun with others and yourself! :luvrcrp:

 
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