note: This is The Column, a part of Apolyton where primarily Markos and Dan write whatever we want :). Well, not just the two of us. The Column is open to everyone. If you feel like writing submit your article to civ2@apolyton.net

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#51 GAMING: THE VIOLENCE SCAPEGOAT When one person kills another, keep the gaming industry out of the inquest, argues DanQ. #52 PLOT OR NOT? David Emery searches for the plot in strategy games, which he alleges may be in vain. COLUMN ARCHIVE

As many of you know, the Apolyton off-topic forums has recently been the setting of a lot of discontent and uncivility, resulting in the banning of a number of people. I spend a great deal of time away from my computer, and away from ACS and all the other places that I visit often on the internet. And when I come back, I always check out the forums to see what the news is, and what cool discussions are taking place. But at the beginning of my three week school holidays for june/july, I was shocked to discover that a frequent poster on ACS (I will not disclose his name, but it should be common knowledge among a lot of you anyway), was banned. It turned out that he was banned because of comments he had made on certain touchy subjects, invoking the wrath of DanQ. Basically, the banning resulted in a revolt by many discontented Apolytoners, and soon people began shouting stuff like "end the apolyton police state" and "DanQ and MarkG are Fascists" and so on. I didn't necessarily agree with the decision, but not knowing all the details of the incident, I didn't start screaming "fascist" or "viva la revolution", because that isn't the right way to go about protesting.

Right ways of Protesting are:

a.. A letter to the webmaster, or person in charge of the forum, announcing your disagreement with the decision. DO NOT USE OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE OR MAKE THREATS. DO NOT BE OFFENSIVE, BECAUSE IT WILL CERTAINLY NOT HELP YOUR CASE. Keep the letter civil, and be sure to back up your case, because "John Doe is my mate, so he should be unbanned" is a baseless argument, and will undoubtedly not change the mind of the recipient.

b.. An online petition is a better idea, because it won't fill the webmaster/moderator/admin's inbox on his email server, which most likely gets enough mail each day already (I'm sure DanQ and MarkG will agree). If it is on the forums, put it in the off-topic forum, as it will most likely not be welcomed in the SMAC Multiplayer section :-) Or it could be on an entirely different site altogether, and could use a poll system ( that only allows you to vote once, of course).

c.. An open letter on the off-topic forum to the webmaster/moderator/admin is also an option. It would allow other people to have their say in the matter, and maybe start a little friendly debating (no flaming, of course).

Things NOT to do are:

a.. Make offensive and vulgar comments about the webmaster/moderator/admin, as it will get you nowhere. b.. Flame and bitch about the decision. Consider the peaceful and civil options above, because obscenities and tantrums will get you nowhere! c.. Go to other sites and bitch about it either, because I'm sure that the people on the other sites have better things to do than listen to your frustrated gibberish.

And remember, ALWAYS read the rules and regulations thoroughly, because "I didn't know" and "What're rules and regulations?" aren't excuses that're going to get you ANYWHERE if you get in trouble, and it is also a sure way of making sure you never get into trouble in the first place. And always use common sense, if you know that doing a certain thing is wrong, but is not covered in the rules and regulations, don't do it, it's that simple.

And hopefully, after reading this and the rules and regulations, and abiding by them, we can stop all this stupidity and uncivility, and get back to some good and proper posting. (Note: I don't know about the other forums on ACS, but I am mainly referring to the business that has been taking place in the off-topic forum). Maybe now that there is a moderator, things should quiet down. I know that most people do abide by the rules, and are sensible posters. But there are some people who are making a lot of unnecessary and unwelcome noise on the forums.

The opinions expressed on this page do not necessarily reflect those of Apolyton CS or GameStats. They are just the personal opinions of the writer.