Back up! Flame war ahead!!

If you are a guild leader, a community leader or you just started a server forum you probably already know that drama is as inevitable as being attacked by sand people on Tatooine.  It turns up when you’re least expecting it, just as everyone seems to be getting along and sucks up countless hours of game time. However, to the casual observer, some guilds and communities seem to sidestep it for the most part, while others are completely bogged down with infighting and general rage.

If your calm community waters are in danger of being disturbed or you just want to try and do some drama proofing for the future here are some tips that might come in handy!

Be clear in everything

Make sure your guild and forum rules are idiot proof (although obviously this depends on the size of the idiot). Don’t introduce rules retrospectively without clear discussion and explanations and make sure your rules give you recourse to kick people who cause problems later.

Have a ‘no abuse’ clause and stick to it.

One of the biggest problem causers in MMO communities is racist, sexist or homophobic abuse.  Once you let one person get away with it, things have a habit of snowballing as the trolls realise they can get away with being unpleasant and the people who feel they are the subject of abusive comments leave because of a lack of moderator intervention. If you’re a group administrator or an officer never ignore a complaint of abuse on your forum or between guild members in game.

Hair pulling is not to be encouraged.

Beware of fights from other forums spilling onto yours

Star Wars: The Old Republic has a massive community and there is a lot of overlap. People you know from the main forum may also post on their guild site, several community sites, official server group forums and unofficial server forums, so  chances are that new members will come through the door with old grudges still in hand. It’s worth waiting to see what happens rather than hovering over a new member with a history with the ban hammer.

Watch out for drama magnets. 

Fortunately they are usually easy to spot and can sometimes be weeded out at the application form stage. Avoid applicants who use the word ‘mature’ or seem overly pushy. If you run an open access community rather than a guild, you may have less choice in who you let in so keep an eye on new members and if you think problems are imminent check your forum regularly.

Make your fellow moderators aware of potentially volatile situations.

If you know two community members are currently circling each other like spitting cats, make sure that anyone with admin privileges knows what is going on. I’ve been in communities where forum admins were shamelessly manipulated by drama queen ‘friends’ because no one had filled them in on the back story.

 Be careful with cliques

These tend to form naturally and are mostly harmless, but some can turn nasty.  I’ve seen people make a minor complaint about the behaviour of one person only to be chased out of the forest by the rest of that person’s little group and before you know it the entire community is stepping carefully around one little core of mean girls or boys.

The wolves circle... Source: Samurai Jack

Watch out for sleeper trolls.

Normal trolls are nice and easy to identify and your forum can usually be de-trolled relatively easily but some are harder to spot. Look out for people who seem to casually start arguments and then walk away whistling nonchalantly.

Beware of ban retribution

Watch out for ‘what she said to our Sharon’ syndrome.  Sometimes booting one trouble maker can split an entire community, especially if they were popular as well as problematic. In cases like this a wise admin sits back long enough to give the soon to be kicked troll enough rope to hang themselves with. Problematic community members are a lot easier to kick once they have burned a few bridges and worn people’s patience thin.

Try and talk to people

Not every conflict has to end in a /gkick or ip ban. Sometimes new players don’t really understand the dynamics of your group and can seem rather dramatic in their attempts to fit in, sometimes people don’t realise they are upsetting others with their behaviour and some are just young and need to have their corners rubbed off a bit.  Often a moderator or officer stepping in and telling someone that they’re on thin ice will cause a marked improvement in behaviour. It’s all about making the behaviour you expect clear to all members of your community. It is good to warn people rather than just ban outright. You are also likely to get less of a backlash than if you give people a warning and talk about the problem.

Don’t be part of the problem!

Drama often rolls downhill and in a guild many problems come directly from the top. If your guild or community is having a rocky time of it make sure you are not unwittingly causing the problem by being an Evil Overlord.

How do you like your drama in the morning?

Do you relish a bit of drama  or do you try to avoid it at all costs? Share with us your tips for keeping the peace and some cautionary tales (no names please!).