The positives for me - I come here because there are a
lot of very smart people with very good ideas when it comes to D&D. I learn a lot about D&D here and people help me improve my own gaming abilities. I can quickly get advice on anything D&D related, and in great detail. I can also post for advice without someone making me feel like an idiot or like they are a better gamer than me because I had to ask for advice.
I also like coming here because a lot of other people ask for advice. Not only do I get to return the favor and share my advice, but most of the time I
still learn something from reading that persons thread. And sometimes people just start threads that are simply interesting to read (because it has to do with D&D).
The negatives for me - I'm actually kind of surprised to hear nothing but positives about the moderation. Maybe I'm just a minority, or nobody else dares to speak up, or maybe I'm the only one that thinks so...but I find the community here to be very intolerable towards different personalities, moderators included.
I don't mean to say people are jerks or anything, cause I don't think that. It just seems like if you don't fit a very specific personality when posting, then people misjudge you unfairly and make you out to be a troll or flamer. I know that this turns a lot of people away from Enworld...a lot of good people that are not actually trouble makers. People take things way too personally and are easily able to bait mods into taking their side. It's completely normal for a discussion to be heated when you feel passionate about the topic, it's impossible for it not to be when you are talking with someone that doesn't agree. But half the time I see someone accuse someone of being a troll or a moderator gives a warning like he's speaking to children, and I think, "Is that called for, really?" Lately I'm seeing people accuse others of throwing around "disguised insults" and being "undercover trolls"?
How far are people going to go to try and get Enworld full of nothing but posters that agree with everything you say?
I know my opinion doesn't matter and I'm ranting. And someone is going to think I'm being annoying. I know I can leave if I don't want to deal with it...and I have. But I just wanted to be honest and share a point of view from a beer drinking, blue collar, 'just hanging out with the guys' point of view. People are not always saying things to personally insult others...sometimes it's a personality trait and a way that people bond with people. It's a shame when I have to see a poster actually say, "Dude, I was just joking". I've seen people complain that they didn't know it was a joke cause no smiley faces were used. Then I've seen a person
use smiley faces and still get accused of being insulting (or trying to disguise an insult).
I've been on plenty of online communities and I've never seen people have to walk on egg shells like they do here. It makes it unwelcoming for a lot of good people, and those good people could be more community supporters helping Morrus out. But overall, the positives out weigh the negatives for me.
