Rules Update January 2020

[Valzed]

I should stress that this rule is really only meant for extreme cases and the majority of people won't have to worry about it. Negativity itself is allowed on the forum and it's not our intention to make TBT some sort of super optimistic utopia where everyone has a forced smile on their face. But there's also a point where negativity and pessimism can go too far. For example, if the same user visits multiple threads and is constantly very negative about the topics, doesn't participate in the discussions without reaffirming their overwhelming negative feelings, and constantly steers the discussions back to their own personal opinions, it creates a toxic environment on the forum that we'd like to avoid. A similar rule has already existed in the Discord rules.

Welcome to The Bell Tree Forum! Even though we're totally not a forced optimistic utopia, naturally pessimistic people who are more likely to have a negative view of the world and whose posts will most likely have a negative slant will be considered extreme cases who create toxic environments. However if you can manage to contain your negativity to one and only one single post in one and only one single thread per day you will be tolerated... er... we mean welcomed. Also the 20 people who insist on flaming you, the naturally pessimistic interloper, about your negative opinion will not only be tolerated but will be lauded for pointing out your negativity to you and the Staff so you can be dealt with (e.g. singled out in a thread although not actually named and scolded by Staff before being banned) as swiftly as possible.

 

[Zura]

snip

I think you just met your negativity limit for today. You gotta wait till tomorrow before you can be negative again

 

[matt]

Thanks Jeremy for updating these rules.

 

[seliph]

leave it to a rule about not bringing negativity to the forum to be met with tons of negativity.

Welcome to The Bell Tree Forum! Even though we're totally not a forced optimistic utopia, naturally pessimistic people who are more likely to have a negative view of the world and whose posts will most likely have a negative slant will be considered extreme cases who create toxic environments. However if you can manage to contain your negativity to one and only one single post in one and only one single thread per day you will be tolerated... er... we mean welcomed. Also the 20 people who insist on flaming you, the naturally pessimistic interloper, about your negative opinion will not only be tolerated but will be lauded for pointing out your negativity to you and the Staff so you can be dealt with (e.g. singled out in a thread although not actually named and scolded by Staff before being banned) as swiftly as possible.

i don't mean to pry (and this applies to everyone here not just yourself) but if your outlook on life is highly pessimistic and you have a hard time being positive in the majority of situations, you should really seek mental help if possible because that's definitely a personal issue and it isn't a healthy way to live.

someone correct me if i'm wrong here but my interpretation of the rule is that it applies to when people post constant negativity with little to no actual reasoning. for example making several posts saying "x sucks!" "x is bad/unfair!" without giving reasons as to why and shutting down the people trying to help. in this case it's very understandable to not be tolerated because all you're doing is putting something down and creating a negative environment.

 

[xSuperMario64x]

someone correct me if i'm wrong here but my interpretation of the rule is that it applies to when people post constant negativity with little to no actual reasoning. for example making several posts saying "x sucks!" "x is bad/unfair!" without giving reasons as to why and shutting down the people trying to help. in this case it's very understandable to not be tolerated because all you're doing is putting something down and creating a negative environment.

This is what I was trying to get at. I'm horrible at using my words lol (thanks ADHD brain)

 

[Zura]

If your outlook on life is highly pessimistic and you have a hard time being positive in the majority of situations, you should really seek mental help if possible because that's definitely a personal issue and it isn't a healthy way to live.

Dam, I knew I needed mental help! Anyways, I think most of the posts here about that rule have been jokes. Mine definitely have been so please don't take them seriously...

- - - Post Merge - - -

This is what I was trying to get at. I'm horrible at using my words lol (thanks ADHD brain)

I feel ya

 

[Alienfish]

Dam, I knew I needed mental help! Anyways, I think most of the posts here about that rule have been jokes. Mine definitely have been so please don't take them seriously...

Yeah I'm not constant negative either(if it might seem I apologize, I'm a bit cynic by nature) I just wanted to apply to that I think some people get attacked for not agreeing to the general opinion, and of course you shouldn't flame others regardless of their stance about eg. Sw/Sh or whatever but I think some things need to be open to constructive criticism which I hope the case will be as well :3

I do agree posting just "I love x" or "I hate x" in such discussion is definitely not being nice in any way either. Even positive needs good arguments in my opinion and not just because that's the accepted opinion or what might be the case

 

[cornimer]

someone correct me if i'm wrong here but my interpretation of the rule is that it applies to when people post constant negativity with little to no actual reasoning. for example making several posts saying "x sucks!" "x is bad/unfair!" without giving reasons as to why and shutting down the people trying to help. in this case it's very understandable to not be tolerated because all you're doing is putting something down and creating a negative environment.

Yeah this is how I interpreted the rule! I don't think it is meant to single out people who are naturally more pessimistic or are going through something, only people who complain CONSTANTLY about the same thing.

For example, if Tad was excluded from New Horizons and I went into 15 New Horizons threads and said "this is the worst game ever! I hate New Horizons! How could they do this I can't believe I wasted my money on this game!" I would probably get a warning.

 

[Alienfish]

Yeah this is how I interpreted the rule! I don't think it is meant to single out people who are naturally more pessimistic, only people who complain CONSTANTLY about the same thing

Yeah, makes more sense. :3 As long as the rule is treated as such it's a good one.

 

[Zura]

It's a staple rule that should exist in every form of media. Heck, I even have that rule in my own discord

 

[seliph]

Dam, I knew I needed mental help!

i don't get the joke

Yeah this is how I interpreted the rule! I don't think it is meant to single out people who are naturally more pessimistic or are going through something, only people who complain CONSTANTLY about the same thing.

For example, if Tad was excluded from New Horizons and I went into 15 New Horizons threads and said "this is the worst game ever! I hate New Horizons! How could they do this I can't believe I wasted my money on this game!" I would probably get a warning.

tbf though you would be absolutely correct

 

[Dinosaurz]

Can we still use sarcasm lol

 

[xSuperMario64x]

It's a staple rule that should exist in every form of media. Heck, I even have that rule in my own discord

Yeah I've been the head of a group chat for almost three years now and Ice always been against people being incessantly pessimistic and rude. I've had to boot quite a few people because of this.

 

[Zura]

i don't get the joke

No joke there people on TBT have proven that I'm too negative and you suggested mental help.

- - - Post Merge - - -

Can we still use sarcasm lol

Unless you want to be burned at the stake Just make sure to put in a huge font size "this is sarcasm".

 

[Valzed]

leave it to a rule about not bringing negativity to the forum to be met with tons of negativity.



i don't mean to pry (and this applies to everyone here not just yourself) but if your outlook on life is highly pessimistic and you have a hard time being positive in the majority of situations, you should really seek mental help if possible because that's definitely a personal issue and it isn't a healthy way to live.

someone correct me if i'm wrong here but my interpretation of the rule is that it applies to when people post constant negativity with little to no actual reasoning. for example making several posts saying "x sucks!" "x is bad/unfair!" without giving reasons as to why and shutting down the people trying to help. in this case it's very understandable to not be tolerated because all you're doing is putting something down and creating a negative environment.

Being naturally pessimistic does not automatically mean you are "highly" pessimistic. Seeing a glass as half empty instead of half full is a naturally pessimistic point of view but I doubt you would suggest someone seek mental help for saying that. I myself lean more to a pessimistic point of view. As of today I have yet to meet anyone who has told me I seem "highly" pessimistic. Also naturally pessimistic people sometimes have difficulty expressing themselves properly through the written word. Even if they are in a more optimistic mood their posts may not reflect it. Instead of saying "This game looks great!" they may say "This game doesn't suck as bad as I thought it would." The second sentence clearly does not sound as optimistic as the first yet the pessimistic person is actually trying their best to put their optimism for the game into words. Normal optimism is not a mental health issue and neither is normal pessimism. People who are overly optimistic may be diagnosed as manic while people who overly pessimistic may be diagnosed as depressed. If a person is either manic or depressed then I would agree that they should consider seeking professional help.

There have been many, many, many instances on this forum of someone making a post similar to my example above - "This game doesn't suck as bad as I thought it would." - who have had their opinion attacked because it does not match the general tone of "This game is great!" that the thread may have. Anyone - naturally optimistic or naturally pessimistic - would feel defensive if 3,4,5 or more people were flaming them for not thinking the game is great. If a naturally optimistic person tries to defend their opinion they may be able to put a positive vibe into their posts. They may say something along the lines of "Don't get me wrong - I'm totally stoked for this game it's just when I first heard about it I didn't think I would like it." When a naturally pessimistic person tries to defend their opinion they are probably not going to be able to manage to put a positive spin into their reply. Whatever they say will most likely still sound negative even if they are trying their best to explain they feel optimistic. The flaming will continue and the pessimistic person will be blamed for the "toxic" turn the thread took.

 

[Oblivia]

Okay, I'm just going to step in before this turns into something more than it needs to!

Yes, it's okay to be more pessimistic or cynical by nature. It would never be our goal nor our place to try and dictate someone's overall personality or outlook. However, there's a big difference between saying something like:

"I'm not really feeling x and think it'd be a huge bummer if x was done with game x. In fact it may dissuade me from buying the game at all."

and:

"I can not BELIEVE they did this with game x! What a crock of ****! This has ruined my entire year and I hate everything I've heard about game x now. What a bunch of idiots the devs must be and they can all go die for all I care."

The second example there is bound to strike a few nerves with people, and rightfully so. There's always a way to state that you're unhappy with something without being negative to the point where it makes others feel uncomfortable, and that's essentially what we want to avoid. If and when multiple members come to us with concerns about the general tone of a series of posts and they're all coming from the same source, that's when we feel we have to step in as we do strive to make sure TBT is a fun and pleasant place for everyone.

As Jeremy said, this isn't something most members will ever have to worry about. If and when we feel as though someone is taking things a bit too far, we would absolutely contact that person prior to taking any official action and let them know so they can have a chance to do things differently.

 

[seliph]

Being naturally pessimistic does not automatically mean you are "highly" pessimistic. Seeing a glass as half empty instead of half full is a naturally pessimistic point of view but I doubt you would suggest someone seek mental help for saying that. I myself lean more to a pessimistic point of view. As of today I have yet to meet anyone who has told me I seem "highly" pessimistic. Also naturally pessimistic people sometimes have difficulty expressing themselves properly through the written word. Even if they are in a more optimistic mood their posts may not reflect it. Instead of saying "This game looks great!" they may say "This game doesn't suck as bad as I thought it would." The second sentence clearly does not sound as optimistic as the first yet the pessimistic person is actually trying their best to put their optimism for the game into words. Normal optimism is not a mental health issue and neither is normal pessimism. People who are overly optimistic may be diagnosed as manic while people who overly pessimistic may be diagnosed as depressed. If a person is either manic or depressed then I would agree that they should consider seeking professional help.

There have been many, many, many instances on this forum of someone making a post similar to my example above - "This game doesn't suck as bad as I thought it would." - who have had their opinion attacked because it does not match the general tone of "This game is great!" that the thread may have. Anyone - naturally optimistic or naturally pessimistic - would feel defensive if 3,4,5 or more people were flaming them for not thinking the game is great. If a naturally optimistic person tries to defend their opinion they may be able to put a positive vibe into their posts. They may say something along the lines of "Don't get me wrong - I'm totally stoked for this game it's just when I first heard about it I didn't think I would like it." When a naturally pessimistic person tries to defend their opinion they are probably not going to be able to manage to put a positive spin into their reply. Whatever they say will most likely still sound negative even if they are trying their best to explain they feel optimistic. The flaming will continue and the pessimistic person will be blamed for the "toxic" turn the thread took.

the "if" in front of my statement was a crucial part of it. i barely know you and was making a very broad statement about anyone who could be reading, not only you personally. sorry if that wasn't clear.

i also specified that i wasn't necessarily talking about you personally because from my own observations, i've noticed in a lot of the instances i'm assuming this rule is referring to the user does have some sort of issue and definitely does need some sort of outlet. that being said not only is being overly negative not a healthy one, but the forums are not and probably shouldn't be used as one in that sense.

fjsdklflk sry oblivia i take like 7 years to proofread my posts

 

[Zura]

Thanks for the clarification Obliva!

 

[Oblivia]

fjsdklflk sry oblivia i take like 7 years to proofread my posts

Me too man, me too. You're fine!

 

[Alolan_Apples]

I wonder how this new rule applies to political discussions. Also, does this apply to blogs too?

Recently, I made a post in the General Discussion linking to one of my older blog entries and had a few points I didn’t add there, but should’ve added. I don’t know if that would be in violation of the new rule.