Warrior General Games

It's more or less simple. Keep it PG-13. Scantily clad is OK but no exposed breasts which includes wet T-shirt like. If it's close we'll just use our own judgement. No bare bottoms (nude), obviously no frontal nudity. That's the nudity policy. Bikini should be fine as long as it doesn't violate these.

We also limit sexually suggestive images so we have said no two people kissing or performing any other act that could be construed by a reasonable person as overtly (the key word here) sexual. Yes, some images of kissing are innocuous but others are not and so it was easier for us to just say no more of these than to try and split hairs every single time. It's not like everyone is just dying to have an avatar with two people kissing to where it is going to drive business away.

Anything that is a masked version of sexual conduct, like someone squirting lotion on a woman's face is also not allowed and we use our discretion when a case comes up.

This is a football MMO RPG. It's not the place to disseminate soft-core porn images. I know people do sometimes in private forums to an extent and we only crack down if this shades into more hardcore images, but for your avatar, which everyone sees in the public forums, we are a little more strict, and not, I think, unreasonable.

And I will add, yes some people get away with it for a time because there are thousands of user avatars and many thousands of player avatars and we don't see them all. Just because you have had that avatar for a year doesn't mean it is acceptable. It just means that no mod has seen it or no one has reported it.

And BTW some of us view GLB at work, around the wife, around kids even if kids are not on. I don't want to be sitting in my living room with my kids running around or my wife next to me and all of the sudden there are nude or sexually suggestive pictures on my computer because someone thought it would be awesome to make this his avatar. With the wife it is distasteful, with the kids in the room that is actually illegal. At least in Florida having pornographic (in any way) images or videos on in the presence of children is considered a form of sexual abuse.

Originally posted by Robbnva
well that's an easy fix...

True. Personally, though, I keep forum avatars off since I stick around in forums quite a bit while at work. I do like seeing player/team avatars, though, and don't like the idea of having to turn them off because some people take things too far. Its not just kids Bort and Company are thinking about when it comes to avatar issues.

Originally posted by ATLFan
The reality is that with a new game in the works Bort and DD have very little time or interest in GLB, it would be far better for both of them if we all went away and this game died. Many of the agents here are simply using recycled FP, so the revenue stream is starting to dry up... It's not worth their time since there's minimal profit available from GLB.

The only thing that is keeping things alive here are the forums, so the quickest way to kill this game is to allow mods to get their epeen stiff by coming down on any minor infraction in the forums. They've ruined most of the league forums, and are now moving on to the general forums, FFA and TT.

This game will be dead in 12-18 months, not because WE'VE tired of the game, but because Bort has.

There is no doubt Bort has shifted development efforts. To what, we're not sure. It wouldn't, however, be beneficial if current users "went away". Current users do have recycled flex and that can be spent on the "new game". If the "new game" is something even mildly entertaining the recycled retirement flex will be the "sample" that will lead to additional purchases.

Also, Catch stated that the company is still profitable and, iirc, there are 10+ employees. That means the game is still bringing in decent revenue. The thing to remember is that people are vocalizing that they aren't buying flex. I suspect more people are keeping their mouth shut when they buy and others, quite frankly, are possibly buying but then saying they aren't.

Originally posted by tpaterniti
And BTW some of us view GLB at work, around the wife, around kids even if kids are not on. I don't want to be sitting in my living room with my kids running around or my wife next to me and all of the sudden there are nude or sexually suggestive pictures on my computer because someone thought it would be awesome to make this his avatar. With the wife it is distasteful, with the kids in the room that is actually illegal.
Good lord. No, it isn't illegal in the slightest. Moreover, no one is advocating for "nude" avatars and I find it extraordinarily hard to believe that your kid or wife will be horrifically damaged and/or offended by a 75x75 image. The world doesn't revolve around you to the point where we must all modify our behavior to suit your preference. If racy avatars are that much of a problem for you then you can always turn them off.


Originally posted by tpaterniti
This is a football MMO RPG.
So why is GLB treated as if it's middle school where everything has to be sanitized and we're all unruly children who have to be monitored and controlled?

Originally posted by Robbnva
I didn't realize it was Dub who was reporting them.

I don't. The moron that stated that is an paranoid, obsessed stalker who blames me for everything from flash floods to 9/11.

Originally posted by jdbolick

So why is GLB treated as if it's middle school where everything has to be sanitized and we're all unruly children who have to be monitored and controlled?

It is illegal. I am a teacher and we have to go through an extensive training on sexual abuse because teachers are mandatory reporters in Florida, which means that if we suspect physical or sexual abuse we must report it or we face prosecution for not doing so. Having porn or pornographic images visible in the presence of children is absolutely considered a form of sexual abuse. Now if this happened and it was reported the child would not necessarily be taken from his parent because in all likelihood the parent did not realize what he was doing, but if it continued after he was warned then that could be a possibility.

And it has nothing to do with my preferences. I actually DO have avatars turned off because I sometimes read the forums at school during my breaks. We are a company and we have an image we are trying to create and uphold. You may disagree with what that might be, and in fact I may disagree, but that is irrelevant. The head of the company has said, this is what we want it to be and that is what it is, and we enforce the policy he has set forth. It's pretty standard really.

Originally posted by tpaterniti
It is illegal. I am a teacher and we have to go through an extensive training on sexual abuse because teachers are mandatory reporters in Florida, which means that if we suspect physical or sexual abuse we must report it or we face prosecution for not doing so. Having porn or pornographic images visible in the presence of children is absolutely considered a form of sexual abuse. Now if this happened and it was reported the child would not necessarily be taken from his parent because in all likelihood the parent did not realize what he was doing, but if it continued after he was warned then that could be a possibility.
Before you embarrass yourself any further, please contemplate the difference between "porn" and "sexually suggestive avatars."

Originally posted by tpaterniti
The head of the company has said, this is what we want it to be and that is what it is
I'm aware that Bort wants GLB to be a nanny-state where anything naughty is unacceptable and no one can have any fun that isn't strictly related to dots. My question is what that has to do with being "a football MMO RPG."

I am quite sure I am not embarrassing myself. I told you what our policy is above. I am not sure what you consider sexually suggestive. If it is within the limits I set above (no R-rated nudity, no sexually suggestive behavior) then it is fine. If there is R-rated nudity, then that would qualify as at least soft core porn. If there is sexually suggestive behavior then if it is something like kissing, no obviously that is not porn, but as a matter of policy we have decided that we do not want such things in our avatars.

And bort is pretty much the most anti-nanny state type exec you will find. But this isn't 4chan. It's a football MMO RPG. The point is that you are here to play a football game. If you want to look at naked pictures of women, there is a place for that, and it's only a click away, but it's not here.

We The People want an end to smut in the forums.

Originally posted by jdbolick

Before you embarrass yourself any further, please contemplate the difference between "porn" and "sexually suggestive avatars."

While I agree with you, there is a difference, I personally wouldn't want to leave it open to the interpretation of the legal system which, in general, takes a guilty until proven innocent stance towards claims of child sexual abuse. It is far-fetched to think that someone would report a sexually suggestive avatar as porn, but not outside the realm of possibility.

Inafterlock...

Originally posted by jdbolick

It doesn't matter what it's reported as. Good lord, do they hire anyone with a fully functioning brain to be a Bugs mod?

So you're telling me that your current position wouldn't be compromised in any way if allegations of child sexual abuse became associated with your name?

Again, I agree that its far-fetched that an avatar would lead to a claim of child sexual abuse, just making an overall general observation.

Also, I'll remember the "it doesn't matter what its reported as" the next time a bug ticket comes in and someone objects to the opinions/findings of the team.

Originally posted by tpaterniti
It is illegal. I am a teacher and we have to go through an extensive training on sexual abuse because teachers are mandatory reporters in Florida, which means that if we suspect physical or sexual abuse we must report it or we face prosecution for not doing so. Having porn or pornographic images visible in the presence of children is absolutely considered a form of sexual abuse. Now if this happened and it was reported the child would not necessarily be taken from his parent because in all likelihood the parent did not realize what he was doing, but if it continued after he was warned then that could be a possibility.
To elaborate on this, public libraries across the country have the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue (at least until it gets stolen). That contains bare bottoms as well as breasts only covered by bodypaint. Not only is that obviously not illegal (please facepalm yourself for even suggesting otherwise), but it's also not harming children. The notion that GLB even has children playing this game is pretty far-fetched, but the idea of business being hurt by a 75x75 image is absurd.

Go ahead and make any last remarks before I lock this up if you want.

Originally posted by AirMcMVP
While I agree with you, there is a difference, I personally wouldn't want to leave it open to the interpretation of the legal system which, in general, takes a guilty until proven innocent stance towards claims of child sexual abuse. It is far-fetched to think that someone would report a sexually suggestive avatar as porn, but not outside the realm of possibility.
It doesn't matter what it's reported as. Good lord, do they hire anyone with a fully functioning brain to be a Bugs mod?

Thread locked by moderator.