Forum Clarification on Positive/Helpful Criticism

Hi Royallers,

This announcement concerns two things:

1. A clarification on what types of data that Staff will not publish

We will not answer requests for public reports regarding the following:

• The working hours of individual Staff members
• The precise contributions of individual Staff members

We wish to maintain a safe atmosphere for our volunteering Staff members, and to provide the feeling of security necessary to work in peace to the best of their abilities. We also don't wish to disclose any more information than necessary that may benefit unlawful users. The vast majority of work by Staff operates in capacities that are far beyond what is publicly viewable and quantifiably measurable by the broader community. As it currently stands, all Staff members make active contributions to the growth of this server in their own ways. We ultimately consider such requests for public reports to be an inappropriate form of targeting individual Staff members, and as such, will not answer them.

2. A clearer stance on what types of comments aimed at Staff will not be tolerated

We believe that it is possible to scrutinize and criticize the actions of Staff and the direction of this server without resorting to personal attacks, which severely negatively impact our work as a whole. Moving forward, we will not tolerate any types of personal insults, demeaning comments, or derogatory criticisms against any individual Staff member. We want to emphasize that we always welcome criticism with open arms, as we all share the goal of trying to improve our game and our community. We are happy to take your ideas and opinions into consideration for future changes to the game, and over the years we have made increasing efforts to actively incorporate your ideas and opinions into our work. However, we do ask that any criticism directed towards Staff be made in good-faith rather than be used as means to lodge thinly-veiled attacks or insults towards individual Staff members.

On that note, please keep our Forum Rules & Regulations in mind. We generally apply various rules (including Breach of Forum Etiquette, Discourteous Behavior, and Antisocial Behavior) ranging from 5 ~ 40 warning points when moderating player discussions throughout the forums. The rules we apply may consist of:

• Excessively rude, offensive, hurtful or otherwise negative comments in a thread
• Inciting or provoking other players with negative content in the nature of beginning a destructive argument (flame wars)
• Deliberate and continued harassment, bullying or otherwise targeting of a player with unwanted comments

This is not meant to silence your ideas and opinions, but we will take a more definitive stance on these rules moving forward. The forum rules that we enforce to prevent personal attacks and flame wars against players generally will now apply to all players equally--including Staff members.

We want to encourage players to engage in positive discussion to help improve our work, rather than rely on measures to prohibit detrimental comments that actively hinder our work. To that end, please remember that Staff members are players just like you. We came to the server to play the game we love, and it is out of this love for this project and this community that we have chosen to volunteer our skills and time to contribute to its longevity--without any sort of compensation. We understand that rifts currently exist between some members of the community and Staff, and we want to provide any opportunity available for players to work with us in mending such rifts. At the same time, we also want to make sure that everyone on Staff feels welcomed and appreciated for contributing what they can. In case of shortages, we will look to expand Staff rather than impose harsher demands on our members whom we value and already deem to be doing a fantastic job.

Thank you all for your time and consideration. Happy Mapling!

 

Hi Royallers,

We’re bumping this thread as a reminder of the importance of maintaining respectful and constructive discussions on the forums. Some recent interactions have highlighted the need to reiterate our stance on avoiding personal attacks and demeaning comments toward staff or other players.

Additionally, for transparency, this announcement has been updated to remove the paragraph referencing the forum 'Areas' function, as it no longer exists.

When providing feedback, we encourage everyone to take a moment to reflect on whether it is constructive, productive, and respectful. Consider how your message might be perceived and ensure it avoids personal attacks, whether explicit or implied. Thoughtful, good-faith feedback allows us to work together toward meaningful improvements for the server and community.

Staff are just a group of players like yourself who dedicate their extra free time to maintaining a healthy server. None of us are professionally trained or compensated for community management roles—we’re simply passionate about the mushroom game and want to see it thrive.

Thank you for helping us maintain a positive and collaborative environment.

Happy Mapling!