But I have to ask... you more or less shared the sentiment of "If you don't like ASD then get off the forums."
That's a bit disconcerting. Back when I used to frequent the site, he used to maliciously attack anyone new or someone he deemed unworthy. I guess my question is: how is this site supposed to grow if new members are chased away?
I think you misunderstand what I said. No small wonder though, since this isn't the most straightforward subject and I could have been clearer. Lets put it like this. Back when you were active, we didn't have much moderation. For along time we didn't actually have any, making it law of the jungle around here. If you can't deal with someone and there is no one around with the power to stop him, then it is a case of "Deal with it or get off the forums". And more generally, for every person being a dick on a forum, someone else is being nice. If you give someone's opinion more weight than it deserves just because he's being rude, then you should reconsider your options. this is true anywhere you go on the net, not just here. If you take everyone personally, you're going to get a lot of bruises.
The situation here is different nowadays. There's moderation now that ensures that people don't go too far. But what we see as too far and what you do may be two different things. Even though this isn't the jungle any more, it isn't a playground either. The SCDB doesn't do heavy moderation, because we expect our members to be able to take criticism. We're on the lookout for newcomers getting tussled up too badly (I guess Nuclear is a good example) but we're not really in the business of running the tightest of ships. A lot of creativity gets lost when rules are enforced to the bone. If you feel someone treats you too harshly, you can always complain to us. But we're not enforcers of any certain standard. We just see to it that things move more smoothly than they may once have moved.
For examples of moderation, there's a feedback thread around here somewhere. Might make an interesting read.
