Every now and then, I like to comment on a post and add a little humor. This isn't unusual; lots of users do that every day. That being said, I've gotten two warnings in the past year for role-playing, and I'm confused by why they were labeled as such. I had read the rules regarding role-play prior to both of these instances, and up until my first warning, I never had any problems. My comments were never longer than two lines, they were never in response to another user, and I always felt like my sense of humor in them were easy for most people to pick up. I've tried reaching out to a few members of the staff, but no one has really been able to fully explain why my comments broke the rules. Some haven't even bothered to respond.

Here's what the Code of Conduct says:

I understand why there's an effort to stop role-playing, but it's ridiculous seeing some of the comments that are being lumped together with this. If someone makes a short one or two line comment that's clearly meant to add humor to the post and not initiate a conversation with other people, why is that an issue? Does everyone need to completely abstain from using quotation marks in their comments and speak in third person?

Personally, I think role-play needs to be redefined. I feel like it's being taken to an extreme, and there needs to be more of an effort from staff to understand what comments fall under "acceptable forms of role-play" like the CoC claims. If not that, then at least update the CoC and provide examples for what qualifies as an exception and wouldn't require action from a higher-up. That way users would have a reference to look at when making comments.

Role play is not always with other commenters. In fact, it's usually pretending to interact with the characters in a picture or, in the case of the one link in your neutral, as the characters, in an inappropriate manner.

clawstripe said:
Role play is not always with other commenters. In fact, it's usually pretending to interact with the characters in a picture or, in the case of the one link in your neutral, as the characters, in an inappropriate manner.

How is it inappropriate though? The comment you're referring to was two lines, didn't cause a disruption, was supposed to be humorous (even if humor is subjective), and of course, was not in response to another user. According to the CoC, the comment would qualify as an acceptable form of role-play.

There's a difference between a person who's fantasizing about certain characters and imagining them saying things that would turn them on, and a person who adds quotes to characters in a post in an attempt to add humor to the situation.

The only cases I've seen a ticket be given that I didn't agree with, was when users posted comments saying things like.

"You're gonna need a bigger boat"

or

"Good shooting kid, but don't get cocky!"

Times like that, they got hit with "don't roleplay in the comments" and it seemed more like someone didn't like that user then the comment. But that's rare and few, and happened a good while back now.

waskom_frost said:
The only cases I've seen a ticket be given that I didn't agree with, was when users posted comments saying things like.

"You're gonna need a bigger boat"

or

"Good shooting kid, but don't get cocky!"

Times like that, they got hit with "don't roleplay in the comments" and it seemed more like someone didn't like that user then the comment. But that's rare and few, and happened a good while back now.

I see similar scenarios about every other month. It's not that frequent, but it happens enough.

Regardless, even if the quote isn't directly taken from a movie, TV show, or video game, someone still needs to explain what qualifies as an exception to the rules. As of now, anyone can give you a ticket for making a comment that adds extra dialogue to a character. After that, it all comes down to whoever handles the ticket. Some would let a comment slide, others might not. Doesn't seem like there's a general agreement on what's "acceptable role-play".

cosmicmewtwo said:
Every now and then, I like to comment on a post and add a little humor. This isn't unusual; lots of users do that every day. That being said, I've gotten two warnings in the past year for role-playing, and I'm confused by why they were labeled as such. I had read the rules regarding role-play prior to both of these instances, and up until my first warning, I never had any problems. My comments were never longer than two lines, they were never in response to another user, and I always felt like my sense of humor in them were easy for most people to pick up. I've tried reaching out to a few members of the staff, but no one has really been able to fully explain why my comments broke the rules. Some haven't even bothered to respond.

Here's what the Code of Conduct says:

Role-play

This category includes:

Initiating or partaking in explicit role-play of any type
Impersonating fictional/nonfictional characters or people
Initiating or partaking in role-play with characters in the related thread/post

This is intended to prevent a culture that is inherently self-destructive and takes away from the website. There are acceptable forms of role-play, typically that which reinforces a point, creates humor, or otherwise does not cause a disruption. Even in this setting, however, role-play must be just a single one or two-line comment, and cannot be made in response to another role-player.

I understand why there's an effort to stop role-playing, but it's ridiculous seeing some of the comments that are being lumped together with this. If someone makes a short one or two line comment that's clearly meant to add humor to the post and not initiate a conversation with other people, why is that an issue? Does everyone need to completely abstain from using quotation marks in their comments and speak in third person?

Personally, I think role-play needs to be redefined. I feel like it's being taken to an extreme, and there needs to be more of an effort from staff to understand what comments fall under "acceptable forms of role-play" like the CoC claims. If not that, then at least update the CoC and provide examples for what qualifies as an exception and wouldn't require action from a higher-up. That way users would have a reference to look at when making comments.

I support you bringing things like this up. We should.

And this is why this is so important: you could write an 800 volume scientific work on the intricacies of the uneven application of rules on this site. The mods try to tell themselves that tickets are handed out and rules are applied fairly, but a lot of the time, it’s probably because deep down they didn’t like your particular joke, or your particular fetish, or your particular art style, while they let others who technically committed the same offense off the hook with absolutely no trouble. Some of these in-charge furries act like kings of their own demain because someone gave them “authoritah.” Everyone’s real cool and proper on their own booru site. But keep in mind, it is just a booru site run by a bunch of horny furries. Dumb stuff like this is bound to happen.

Just don’t let it get you down bro. Keep at it. You’re standing up for yourself which is genuinely fantastic. Don’t lose that. But you’re not alone.

cosmicmewtwo said:
How is it inappropriate though? The comment you're referring to was two lines, didn't cause a disruption, was supposed to be humorous (even if humor is subjective), and of course, was not in response to another user. According to the CoC, the comment would qualify as an acceptable form of role-play.

There's a difference between a person who's fantasizing about certain characters and imagining them saying things that would turn them on, and a person who adds quotes to characters in a post in an attempt to add humor to the situation.

Your comment in question wasn't funny. Making quotes for characters in pictures is honestly cringy as all hell and most of the time creepy.

pyke said:
Your comment in question wasn't funny. Making quotes for characters in pictures is honestly cringy as all hell and most of the time creepy.

*snap*

"This is going to my cringe compilation."

pyke said:
Your comment in question wasn't funny. Making quotes for characters in pictures is honestly cringy as all hell and most of the time creepy.

pyke said:
Your comment in question wasn't funny. Making quotes for characters in pictures is honestly cringy as all hell and most of the time creepy.

For starters, comedy is subjective. What you find to be unfunny, someone else might find funny. Judging whether or not a comment should stay based on whether or not you deem it funny is a pretty poor way go about this.

As for the comment itself, I know there's at least a few people who found it to be funny, otherwise it wouldn't have gotten a handful of upvotes.

cosmicmewtwo said:
As for the comment itself, I know there's at least a few people who found it to be funny, otherwise it wouldn't have gotten a handful of upvotes.

Just because a comment is funny doesn't mean it's going to stay if it's role play or creepy. If you disagree with a moderator's decision, you can always DMail them and politely make your case.

clawstripe said:
Just because a comment is funny doesn't mean it's going to stay if it's role play or creepy. If you disagree with a moderator's decision, you can always DMail them and politely make your case.

Saying a comment is creepy is also subjective. Stating that it's role-play is objective, but according to the CoC, it should've been considered as an acceptable form of role-play. At this point, all I want is an explanation on why my comment broke the rules. So far, all I've gotten is, "Your comment was role-play," and, "Your comment was unfunny/creepy". The former doesn't answer my question, and the latter isn't very helpful for future reference. I can't predict how each individual person will respond to a comment I make, which is why there needs to be a better basis for what's considered acceptable role-play.

As for contacting someone, I DM'd the mod who made the decision, and they redirected me to another person. I tried contacting said person a few times within a month's time, but they never responded. Went back to ask the first mod and asked if there was another person I could speak to, and now they won't respond to me either. Tried being polite and non-confrontational in all of my messages, so I don't know how else to take that other than me being ignored. Sent all of these messages well over a month ago; giving them more time to respond isn't the issue anymore.

cosmicmewtwo said:
Saying a comment is creepy is also subjective.

No, it's not.

• Don't talk to characters
• Don't ascribe dialogue to characters
• Don't say that you want to be in the place of the characters
• Don't say what you want to do to a character

That should cover most of the cases, I think.

bitwolfy said:
No, it's not.

• Don't talk to characters
• Don't ascribe dialogue to characters
• Don't say that you want to be in the place of the characters
• Don't say what you want to do to a character

That should cover most of the cases, I think.

In this particular case, only the second applies to my comment, and that by itself without any of the other rules doesn't seem like a good way to measure what's creepy and what's not. Like someone already mentioned, direct quotes or references to popular quotes rarely come across as creepy. Not sure why anyone would feel uncomfortable if someone typed, "Can't let you touch that, Star Fox!" in a post featuring Wolf O'Donnell, unless they didn't understand the reference. There's also quotes that are blatantly made to add humor to a post; quotes that are completely insincere.

Regardless, I'm more intrested in hearing what qualifies as "acceptable forms of role-play". I'm already well aware of what the rules state, which is why I'd really like a mod to explain the exceptions and possibly provide examples. I'm hoping I'll get a more objective answer other than, "Your comment needs to be funny/not be creepy." Otherwise, just about any comment that gives a character dialogue could be given a ticket. After that, it all comes down to hoping the person who handles the ticket thinks your comment was funny.

cosmicmewtwo said:
In this particular case, only the second applies to my comment, and that by itself without any of the other rules doesn't seem like a good way to measure what's creepy and what's not. Like someone already mentioned, direct quotes or references to popular quotes rarely come across as creepy. Not sure why anyone would feel uncomfortable if someone typed, "Can't let you touch that, Star Fox!" in a post featuring Wolf O'Donnell, unless they didn't understand the reference. There's also quotes that are blatantly made to add humor to a post; quotes that are completely insincere.

... are you suggesting that in order to be creepy, the comment had to follow all of the points that I listed? For real?
No, you are not supposed to do any of those. Especially not within sexual context.

cosmicmewtwo said:
Regardless, I'm more intrested in hearing what qualifies as "acceptable forms of role-play". I'm already well aware of what the rules state, which is why I'd really like a mod to explain the exceptions and possibly provide examples. I'm hoping I'll get a more objective answer other than, "Your comment needs to be funny/not be creepy." Otherwise, just about any comment that gives a character dialogue could be given a ticket. After that, it all comes down to hoping the person who handles the ticket thinks your comment was funny.

It all comes down to not making creepy comments. Not even if it's supposed to be funny too.
Besides, I've looked through your comments. You are not nearly as funny as you think you are.

bitwolfy said:It all comes down to not making creepy comments. Not even if it's supposed to be funny too.
Besides, I've looked through your comments. You are not nearly as funny as you think you are.

Like I've said before, "creepy" and "funny" are both subjective terms. I've made plenty of comments with direct quotes, most of which didn't receive tickets or cause a disruption because I'm assuming no one had an issue with them. Telling me to limit comments that would qualify as role-play to only two lines and not have them be in response to another user are specific guidelines that I can follow every time. Telling me to not be creepy is something I can try to follow as best as I can, but I can't predict how people will respond to each comment. Not that it really matters though I suppose; my comment was given a ticket for being role-play, not for being creepy.

Also, not sure why you felt the need to be snarky at the end. Never claimed to be a comedian, let alone say that I considered myself to be a funny person.

cosmicmewtwo said:
As for contacting someone, I DM'd the mod who made the decision, and they redirected me to another person. I tried contacting said person a few times within a month's time, but they never responded. Went back to ask the first mod and asked if there was another person I could speak to, and now they won't respond to me either. Tried being polite and non-confrontational in all of my messages, so I don't know how else to take that other than me being ignored. Sent all of these messages well over a month ago; giving them more time to respond isn't the issue anymore.

How did you get unrestricted uploads at Member rank without significant connections to the admin team, anyway?

cosmicmewtwo said:
I've made plenty of comments with direct quotes, most of which didn't receive tickets or cause a disruption because I'm assuming no one had an issue with them.

I keep saying this is a problem; people assume the rules are looser than they are because so many reportable comments aren't reported, especially on low-traffic posts that might not even get another pageview until after the reportable time-window has closed.

magnuseffect said:
How did you get unrestricted uploads at Member rank without significant connections to the admin team, anyway?

No idea. Not really sure why my rank wasn't changed when I was given that permission. Never really bothered me though, so I never asked.

magnuseffect said:I keep saying this is a problem; people assume the rules are looser than they are because so many reportable comments aren't reported, especially on low-traffic posts that might not even get another pageview until after the reportable time-window has closed.

If those comments somehow broke the rules too, then I'm even more lost than I already am. If no one can elaborate on what the CoC meant when it said that some forms of role-play are acceptable, then it should probably be removed altogether. It's not fair to the people who read the CoC and tried to follow it but are still told that their posts broke the rules regarding role-play.