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| Sunday, January 24th, 2010 |
| Issue: 12 |
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Editor: Mika |
| COLUMN KO Feature: Lost by Knock Out |
Mika |
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Written in cooperation with Aldarion
The new reset promised less intervention from the staff and would demand more action from the players themselves. No more mutes or bans, players were to kill those who annoyed them. Another, seemingly related, change was the removal of the Kick Out (KO) feature. Without an explanation for the disappearance of the feature, it was assumed it was done to provide players with another reason to kill. While it can be reasoned that it may have this desired effect, there is in fact another side to the absence of the feature that is less convenient, and not to mention a call for the feature its return.
When players began to question the reasons for removing the feature, it was said that the reason was extreme abuse during the previous round, combined with the idea of killing the annoying players. Whereas the abuse is indeed a valid argument, it is also a matter of perspective. Being kicked out of a topic unfairly may even provide a reason to kill the topic creator and bring the killing that BSF2000 was hoping for. Kick me out of a topic without a reason? Fine, but it will cost you your life. Granted, it may be frustrating to be kicked out for making a valid point, but personally I would take the risk of being kicked out for granted if it would mean I could use the KO to keep my topic clean, and judging by the calls I have seen on the forums, I think quite a few players feel the same way.
The removal of the KO feature caused annoyance from many a player as they were now unable to keep their topic clean when players decided to disturb a topic. Instead of being able to take care of a matter as spamming or topic hijacking themselves, they now depend on a staff member to take care of the violation for them by muting the offender. While KO can be applied almost instantly, players will have to wait for staff to act, or maybe even to login. Bearing in mind the promise of less staff intervention, the availability of a feature to moderate your own topic would be very welcome, as it removes the added responsibility of the staff to take care of matters for the players and would require less interference.
Some people, mostly forum whores, are afraid that this feature might return. Being kicked out of a topic while trying to annoy someone is a defeat. Apart from the feature being abused from time to time, it seems reasonable to assume that removing it will not lead to the situation the staff unquestionably hoped for. This feature was introduced to kick out annoying people who advertised, spammed and made completely unrelated (and sometimes rude) comments. From that perspective removing the feature doesnt make any sense at all. People are not going to kill attention whores if they cannot kick them out, as killing them would fulfil the victims target: attention.
To conclude, there is reason to keep this feature out of the game, but there is even more reason to get it back in again. Returning it would mean that at least someone has authority on the forums now that staff is less active there. This feature is one that would perfectly suit the new policy as well as possible shootings for being kicked out for no reason or whatsoever. It allows players to manage their own topics and thus reduces the need for staff intervention. And you would have to be careful on who you kick out, it may cost you your life if you kick out the wrong one and make them mad.
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