Bumping this bc it's ~that time of year again~ and I want some kind of answer/solution (preferably solution). Thankfully Tigress's extension has a lovely chat block feature which I will use extensively.

I'd also like to bring up actions that aren't active harmful but 1. against ToS and 2. extremely annoying and frequent.

Begging! Everyone's favorite. Pointless, annoying, and against the rules to boot. Especially during fest times, beggars clutter the chat and make it hard to carry a conversation.

To me, it looks like players have to bully problematic players out of chat just to stop these issues, and that damages the community badly. It isn't healthy for anyone to be bullied or for the rest of the players to feel like they have to do that just to stop the inappropriate conversations or the begging. Players also should not have to hide in the private chatrooms just to avoid these issues.

Myself and/or Faiona have been keeping an eye on Region Chat for the vast majority of the festival so far. We really do not remotely see the issues that are ambiguously being repeatedly referred to. There has been maybe a handful of times someone probably begs/advertises just a smidge too much... but that is about it and even then, just ignore the person when that happens or just let me know in a PM if it's too bothersome. These are incredibly minor infractions. So far, I have received 0 reports of Region Chat issues for this festival. I've had one question regarding a specific player, that's it.

I really do not see why there is so much constant drama asking for enhanced moderation of Region Chat. What exactly are you guys specifically wanting to be moderated? I just am not seeing what you guys are seeing and 9/10 complaints to me contain nothing specific at all. It's just ambiguous, "RC really needs moderation. It's getting out of control!" What is getting out of control? What needs moderation? Just because you may not personally like an individual player doesn't mean that they should be banished from Region Chat, and it really feels like this is the core issue at hand.

Sorry to comment something else. But sir, with all the respect. It's hard to ignore things when people spam. And when you block people you can still see their chats in RC. And as to reporting things, I kinda myself struggle to bring things up with you. Because I feel like you already have a lot on your plate. I'd rather you be able to work on the functionality and events or whatever else happens on this site. Then having to spend time having go go between two different parties to see what's gone on. I just feel it shouldn't have to be your job to deal with this type of stuff. You've got enough already; I just think maybe you find a few volunteer moderators who can watch chat for you. Give them the basic trainings or whatever it would take for them to watch over the chat.

I didn't want to post these SCs to protect the users privacy, but I have so many. I've edited out the usernames, but if you like I can provide the unedited ones. I've also categorized them, to help break down each inappropriate topic.

Some of these are unfortunately older, but are nevertheless instances where hypothetical mods should have stepped in and put the situation to rest, either by muting or acting as a figure of authority.

Others are simply indications the site as a whole may need a reminder of how to act in public chatrooms - which, to be honest, is the least I want coming from this problem. Just a friendly site-wide reminder of whats okay and whats not okay to talk about in region.

To start off strong: Animal abuse/gore

^ I dont think I need to explain why this isnt something to put in a public chat. Animal violence/death is a sensitive subject for most people. Some people - like myself - struggle with anxiety and panic disorders, which instances like this CAN AND HAVE TRIGGERED. (and yes, I have a medical diagnosis - this isnt something I pull for fun.)

Violence and the inciting/promotion/discussion of

These two are consecutive


^ I dont think I need to explain why discussing hitting someone with a frying pan (familial members at that) isnt something to tout about in a public chatroom.

^ This was completely unprompted and not a very good way to say you like to watch medical shows.

^ previous hey can we not talk about this were ignored.


^ encouragement/incitement includes simply talking comfortably about actions, in this case in a bragging light
(2 consecutive screenshots)


^ censor evading and encouragement of violence + a side of sexism


Mention of offsite illegal activity


Usage of slurs


Discussion of eating disorders
Consecutive screenshots (3)



^ immensely triggering to those currently suffering/recovering from EDs. We work hard to get rid of that mentality, and comments like this can set you back MONTHS or even YEARS of therapy and progress.

Explicit sexual discussion


I hope these speak for themselves as to why theyre inappropriate on a site with a minimum age requirement of THIRTEEN.

Misinformation/medical advice (not from professional)

Harmful misinformation (this is NOT a political statement, there is nothing political about HEALTH)


Begging/extortion
User in red is the same user throughout all screenshots. Its honestly impressive they havent been muted yet.




Extortion instance (2 screenshots)


(2 screenshots)





Instances of players speaking out/voicing annoyance at begging

(2 screenshots)



Players expressing discomfort at unsolicited trauma dumping -> met with a violent comment

I'm not going to respond on a case-by-case basis, as that would take an exorbitant amount of time.

It seems that some of these screenshots go back quite a bit in time. So just stating for the record, it's not like all of these instances occurred in the past week, or even month, or even couple months. I am fairly certain some of these instances were 6+ months ago.

Along that same note, some of these were already addressed. The players involved were either issued a warning or reprimanded for their actions.

Others, I do not think warrant a response. For example, the one referencing illegal activity is not remotely what the intention of that rule is. What that person said is not at all against the spirit of the rule and is not something we would moderate on.

For most of these, it was the first time I've ever seen or heard of the specific instances. I issued chat bans on the most egregious of the offenses.


For a lot of them, it seems much more, "I personally don't like this topic and therefore I don't want to see it." In general, yes, Region Chat is intended to be Sylestia-based content. When things do get out of hand, I am sure you have seen us say, "Please keep Region Chat topics related to Sylestia. Thank you." If an individual repeatedly derails RC to inappropriate topics, they receive a warning from us to stop. If they continue past the warning, they receive a suspension or ban from using RC. That is how it always has been and that is how it still is.

I can tell that you have taken a lot of screenshots of potential rule violations, however, as I said, I have not seen most of these. If you, or anyone else, thinks a player is out of line, just screenshot or copy/paste the message and send me a PM. I can take a look and take action in 60 seconds. It's very easy for me to review logs and ban someone if I have messages to reference. This has always been my policy and always been what I've stated.

I have added the following feature to Region Chat:

https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=101372&page=6#53


I hope that this can help to alleviate some of the issues being discussed here.