[Cosmic Tortoise]

Before writing this, I spent some time browsing the list of migration, exit, and other like-titled threads where players have grown disgusted or disappointed in TTT for its community and lack of civility.  As addressed in EpicGuy's thread, this has even spilled into the forums ( I have no wish to go onto discord to see what kind of monster lives there ).  Baiting, racism, antisemitism, and basic hatred for players based on impatience and unresolved daddy issues.

Over the past month this has increased by 300% if not more.  Usernames that are blatant rules violations go without conflict, as well as Text Accessory used to flaunt the username rule and avoid saying it in chat.  Verbal abuse is rarely monitored by online staff or Donor leveled individuals.  Screaming like a banshee or singing a love song 4 keys out of keys while they strangle their cat.

From the day I joined the server, there has been advertisements during map load for Staff.  New staff join eventually into the mix, promotions such as Ace and Gabe to full moderators; but there has been an equal or greater decrease in staff hours or activity.  Some I've seen demoted lately due to their conduct or of their own free will.  Lycan I've seen fluctuate between staff levels, as of recently Mr. Doug was demoted to Donor+, and Foxka stepped down from being pressured to undo actions which may or may not have been overreacted upon.

With the short staff appearance, the toxicity levels from players have risen greatly.  The server used to suffer from RDM when staff were offline and that was the only problem we faced for a couple hours (maps) and it was all resolved when someone got on.  Now, whether staff are online or offline, player abuse, teasing, and bullying occurs without resolve.  The more severe offenses such as moderator disrespect and blaring racism are taken care of, but other areas of abuse are ignored and let to continue.   TTT has become quite the hostile place to play in that under advice from a moderator I've had to begin muting players voices, leaving any callouts on mic, whether on me or others, to be unheard and result in RDM or other happenings in the game.  If they ever live check I'd not here it because I'm trying to be civil and mute their hatred from my household having to hear them.

My nature of gameplay might be different, but I prefer to play the game as it was designed; deduce who is your enemy if innocent and eliminate through proof, or as traitor, STEALTHILY eliminate the innocents.  This isn't Team Fortress 2, Halo, or PUBG.  You shouldn't be expected to shotgun down people in plain sight only to die to the guy you didn't see behind you when a traitor, you are supposed to do so without suspicion so the small team of players you have can take on the force 3 times your size.  If you die early because you made a mistake, you don't take it out on your team for it, you move on.

A game taking longer than you like while your dead isn't reason to become an ass either.  Not everyone was RDM'd by a 1 round player that gets banned like you, nor blown up by the jihad at 10 seconds into the game.  If you are impatient, a game with a timer isn't for you.  Go to minecraft or jelly rancher, even youtube.  It isn't your job to troll and harass other players just because you're dead or bored.

6. Do Not Flame Or Troll Players

Flaming, harassing, trolling, or targeting other players is prohibited. Offensive language (racism, sexism, etc) is NOT allowed in any form.


(copied from TTT rules page)

[jimbo]

My nature of gameplay might be different, but I prefer to play the game as it was designed; deduce who is your enemy if innocent and eliminate through proof, or as traitor, STEALTHILY eliminate the innocents.  This isn't Team Fortress 2, Halo, or PUBG.  You shouldn't be expected to shotgun down people in plain sight only to die to the guy you didn't see behind you when a traitor, you are supposed to do so without suspicion so the small team of players you have can take on the force 3 times your size.  If you die early because you made a mistake, you don't take it out on your team for it, you move on.

The person that really complains about play styles and I dislike is K-ChaoticGamer and if someone is taking as T some time Chaotic will say "someone took a piece from guru's book" and that's pretty insulting and I don't like it when I start killing people and certain people automatically call me out for using the famas like what????

[EpicGuy]

Thank you for your feedback and for your concerns, Guru. Racism and trolling has no room on our server. If you see something and nothing is being done about it, screenshot the problem (if it can be seen via screenshot) and I, or someone else, will deal with the situation accordingly.

On a different note, I'm not trying to attack you and I do understand baiting the Innocents into killing themselves, but you can't not do anything for 11 minutes and not be expected to have people be upset at you.

[Foxka]

Thank you for your feedback and for your concerns, Guru. Racism and trolling has no room on our server. If you see something and nothing is being done about it, screenshot the problem (if it can be seen via screenshot) and I, or someone else, will deal with the situation accordingly.

On a different note, I'm not trying to attack you and I do understand baiting the Innocents into killing themselves, but you can't not do anything for 11 minutes and not be expected to have people be upset at you.

I'm gonna say this because i've noticed it from people who have been driven out of the community

Harassment is made to be like some huge taboo according to the server/community rules, but when it happens usually nothing is done about it. For example, someone could be getting flamed by another player for several days before even a mod will say "hey, stop it!". But the worst part is after that, it calms down for a little but then the trolling starts back up just like it was before, and nothing gets done about it. I am not calling to my situation, since i was practically making myself a target, but others. I can count on my fingers how many time someone has been banned for harassment in the past year. It's abysmal, and if you guys want to keep acting like this is a place to have fun without the worry of being called slurs then I think there should be some kind of effort to make that happen.


I know it doesn't mean much coming from me, but I still think it's important to speak my mind.

[Dolphin]

A game taking longer than you like while your dead isn't reason to become an ass either.  Not everyone was RDM'd by a 1 round player that gets banned like you, nor blown up by the jihad at 10 seconds into the game.  If you are impatient, a game with a timer isn't for you.  Go to minecraft or jelly rancher, even youtube.  It isn't your job to troll and harass other players just because you're dead or bored.

For impatient players I have the perfect remedy. Just listen to this forever and you will be at peace. 

[jimbo]

I agree

[Summer]

I'm gonna type this half sober so forgive my grammar and spelling, and this isn't to flame Guru, or start an argument. I completely agree with this thread. This is just what I've witnessed:

Harassment and trolling are fun, up until a point and its also dependent on the player you are talking to. I'll use myself as a prime example on this.

I dont mind trolling or harassment, you can call me anything you want and I'll shoot it right back, but once it starts taking into my gameplay and I'm singled out as a player and it starts becoming a mix of targeting and trolling, then I start to get upset. I used to troll players in voice and text just for fun, and everyone knew that because that's the person I am. And I'll use ExiledShadows in this since he's banned now, I was targeted and harassed by him, made a report on it, and nothing happened. Its not a big deal anymore, but as Foxka said, nothing is done on those rules. All it takes is the person saying "oh it was all a haha, a joke, a kidding" and its like nothing happened nowadays. I'm not saying that its the biggest issue on the server because its not. Everyone trolls everyone, but they all, generally speaking about regulars on the server, know when its too far and what players get offended easier than others. The racism part, it depends on the person. Lycan I know really can handle small jokes, and I used to pick on him for it whenever I saw him and it was all in good fun, but when you start getting personal... that's another thing. I don't remember harassing anyone about their skins color, nor should anyone ever. Its just a game, and everyone has their own reason to play the game.. but in the end its just to have fun.

Rounds taking too long are a thing of the game. Guru knows we call him out on it, but when I did, it was mainly as a joke. It became a meme to say "oh such player is actually Guru in disguise" at some point and time when I played. It's a part of the game, the timer is there for a reason. Just embrace the community in dead chat and have fun. That's what its all about isnt it?

Staff has always been an issue, not by personnel or abusers, but just because of some staff not being as experienced as others. Staffing is a tough job, I dont know this because I was never staff, but as a donor, when staff isnt on you can kick people for breaking the rules as a form of punishment and then make ban request. It isn't easy and everyone has their own lives to live. We don't all no-life the game, some of us have school. Some others have jobs, and then some even have full blown lives.



I like the server, and even though I dont play it anymore, for multiple reasons not involving the server, I want it to still thrive and grow. I still wanna see the fun I saw back when I first started, and the jokes/trolling I came to know and love from people. I will miss the people that left, and I hate to see everyone step down from staff, but always remember that its a growing community, and people will fill those spots.

[Painguin]

I've only been around for a short while, maybe a little over a week or two by this point, and from what I can tell there isn't a lot of harassment or trolling, one of the reasons why I have begun to play consistently. In no way do I mean to insult or demean guru by what I say below.

The ridicule guru receives I believe isn't taken to any amount of extreme except in very rare circumstances, and one of those happened to occur earlier this morning. Guru proceeded to delay as he always does, and four people decided to enact their own form of justice since there were no admins on. There's a report he just posted, to which here's the link : https://www.dinklebergsgmod.com/site/Thr...ty-Players

I observed this event taking place, as I was on. If my memory serves me correctly he died approximately four times, to different people of the group he reported. They were suggesting that guru be rdmed, but mostly did the deed themselves. This leads into the moderator banning the four for a week. Excessive considering the standard listed punishment in the MOTD for such an occurrence is a slay or 1day+ ban.

From what I can tell from my limited time playing, and observing 20+ guru t rounds. He waits doing nothing and the round lasts 8-11+ minutes. Most of his rounds I've observed end with him at 0 or 1 kill, very rarely 2-3. And the very rarely occurred maybe 3 or 4 times. As far as I've been aware, guru has never been punished for delaying the round, and delaying the round over and over leads to some becoming upset and ridiculing him, or comparing another delayer to "taking a leaf out of guru's book". Neither of those count as harassment until they're taken to the extreme, which hasn't occurred if but more than the times he's been rdmed.

[La Flama Blanca]

I think a big problem with the harassment is some staff members may not know the extent of it. I usually won’t come on for more than three consecutive days. Some player might be getting harassed by another player every single day for a week. I come on, see it, and gag them. I’m simply doing be first punishment according to the rules. I didn’t see or read a report by another staff member that noticed bullying before. I think this is something us staff members should note more often in our staff discord. If I notice some particularly nasty and mean behavior, then I’ll be sure to note it down in the future in our staff discord where hopefully some of our other active staff members will notice it. Hopefully we can all start doing this a little more and try to improve things.

Guru, thanks for making posts like this. It’s important that our regular players hold us accountable and let us know when the server environment is upsetting.

May I suggest that you apply for a staff position, Guru? I think you might be a good addition and could offer some helpful ideas to improve the TTT server, and perhaps the community in general.

- Nicky

[EpicGuy]

There's a line between taking the piss out of someone and harassment. What I may think is someone taking the piss out of someone, the victim may feel that they were harassed. If you feel that you're being harassed, report it. If nothing is being done about it, keep reporting it. Tell us if something is wrong. If nothing is being done, tell me, and I'll make sure something is done. If you find that what we did was unsatisfactory, keep telling us. I refuse to be the thought police, and I refuse to be a mind reader. But every player is guaranteed the right to a fun environment where they feel welcome.

Foxka, thank you for your post. I think you and I both know that harassment has no place in our server. If you felt like the harassment would stop then pick up again, why didn't you tell anybody (unless you did and I missed it. [That's probably more likely])? I'm sure if you told us, we could have ended any problems on the server. I wasn't aware of any recent harassment.

Summer, thanks for your post. I won't lie. Your abuse thread against Exiled fell through the cracks. We spent our time talking about ReThink's behavior in that thread, rather than the reason why the thread was made in the first place. I'd like to personally apologize for that. I do agree with you in that each person's tolerance to harassment is different. I'll use Guru as the example because he made this thread. If Guru finds someone's, say text hat, offensive, he should let us know, because we're not Guru. What I may not find offensive, someone else might. If you feel that something has encroached your line of comfort, let a staff member know.

Painguin, thanks for posting. While I won't comment on your opinion of Guru's play style, I will thank you for posting the link to the ban request Guru made. This is a great example of what to do when you feel harassed. Make a post, gather evidence, and most importantly, bring it to our attention.

Nicky, thanks for posting. I agree that we as staff should be more committed to letting each other know what is going on. It's not hard to write down a player's name, Steam ID, and what they did, so we can let the other staff members know who the potential problem players are before things get out of hand. I think we should start doing this immediately.

Again, I'd like to thank each person for posting on this thread. I'd like to thank Guru again for posting this thread and shining a light on a problem that has slowly manifested itself. I will leave you with this thread made by former Admin, Drew, that still is applicable more than a year later: https://www.dinklebergsgmod.com/site/Thr...g-Harassed

Thanks