Search KoopaTV!

Translate

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Meanie Miiverse Moderation *Update 7/3/13*

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Heavy-handed.

Well, I foreshadowed that I'd write about this topic back in KoopaTV's second-ever article. So I actually have examples now. Somehow, despite being moderated by Miiverse-Admin a total of six times now, I still haven't been banned/suspended yet. ...Perhaps I should stop being bad while the going is good, but then again, look at what I've been moderated for!

I thought this was pretty clever, but apparently somehow people are offended.


Rapala Pro Bass Fishing is notorious for having a community that is dead, with posts saying the game is terrible. The Popular Posts algorithm thus has posts listed with even one sole Yeah being deemed Popular. I wasn't insulting anyone's posts, I was insulting the feature!


This was deleted for "hate/bullying". They're right that I do hate that plumber.

Miiverse-Admin also messaged me declaring that warning Nintendo to not let Arzest touch Yoshi's New Island's level design, music, or plot gives away "strategic information" or is a "spoiler". Is it a spoiler to say the game will be terrible otherwise?

If you'd like, go ahead and read over the Miiverse Code of Conduct, available on the Internet here.
For those thinking that bashing the evil red-hatted bastard IS hate, read the actual Code of Conduct for that.
This includes any content that slanders, defames, or misrepresents another person, as well as any discriminatory, harassing, or abusive content.
Calling the mustachioed menace what he is isn't any of those! In fact, I think I'm being discriminated against for my beliefs! On that note, one of the things that makes Miiverse almost better than the previous official Nintendo NSider Forums is that there is no "character-bashing" rule, unlike on NSider. So you're supposed to be free to character-bash all you want. So what gives?!

When you get moderated, you get a notification on your Messages icon. This notification, at first glance, looks no different than any other Message that could be sent from any of your friends. But once you select that Message... BAM, IT'S FROM MIIVERSE-ADMIN. What does he have to say? He says your message was deleted for a certain Code of Conduct violation, and that you should reread the Code of Conduct. Further violations may result in your account being blocked. (Yeah I used the second-person during this paragraph to make me feel less bad about all the violations I've accumulated.) You then have the option, SOMETIMES, to appeal by selecting from a multiple-choice menu (what, you thought you could actually freely write to Miiverse-Admin?) that the offending content, is, in fact, NOT a violation. You can also state that you recognize it IS a violation. But say you appeal. Then a real person will look at it, I guess. I tried this for the second screenshot above and it's still deleted to this day because apparently it IS a violation. Keep in mind that accessing Miiverse through your Internet browser or smartphone currently does not allow you to even SEE these messages, so if you only access Miiverse through that (and thus hate handwritten posts), you may have gotten multiple warnings already and never have noticed until one day you're "hidden".

There is a whole giant section in the Code of Conduct dedicated to not exchanging information that allows you to have contact with someone from Miiverse outside of Miiverse.
Soliciting people to enter their Nintendo Network IDs on friend lists, publishing Nintendo 3DS or other friend codes in communities, soliciting people to make public their friend codes, using other methods besides friend requests to try and establish relationships in communities. (This does not include making public the community code of a community you created.) The posting of Nintendo 3DS or other systems' friend codes, usernames, or other unique IDs.
Unfortunately for my friend (only known as "Abbie"), she shared her 3DS friend code for Animal Crossing: New Leaf purposes, and got suspended for two weeks for it. Now, I met her on Miiverse and we did indeed share friend codes (originally so we could play Kid Icarus: Uprising together). What you do is conceal them in spoiler tags and delete them as soon as possible. Like, really fast. Miiverse-Admin, from what I can't tell, cannot give you an infraction if you delete an infringing post before Miiverse-Admin deletes it for you. And I'm sure Nintendo is WELL AWARE that you shared friend codes. What, you think they can't see deleted posts? Probably goes in some data warehouse somewhere. Unfortunately, she didn't delete the offending post fast enough as she was waiting for the other dude to write it in. With Miiverse-Admin fast on her tail, she got caught and blocked, mysteriously, like something the KGB would do. And then she disappeared. Thousands of people have probably met the same fate Abbie has.

Sometimes Miiverse-Admin strikes against high-profile people, like Wii U News (NNID folkloner). Wii U News is an amazing guy and you should Follow him right after you Follow me (at NNID PrinceOfKoopas). What he does is post interesting news that's Nintendo-related for the day (which is what Kamek should've been doing this whole time here on KoopaTV!) and then provides a source in a following comment. Sometimes his sources get deleted by moderation for advertising, or something. He's actually been BLOCKED a few times, to major uproar from the community. Like, his posts regularly are in the Popular Posts for any given community 'cause he posts wherever he chooses.

There are three tiers of people on Miiverse. Users that confess that they are 12 or under, official green-checkmark people that are recognized and from the industry, and everyone else. The first group is restricted in access to certain functions (like sending or receiving friend requests), the middle group has unlimited power (the reporting function is actually blocked out on their posts), and the third group is what you'd expect. However, privacy rules restrict the first and last groups all the same. Why not let consumers fully exploit products and obtain maximum value by utilizing every social feature available? If they're voluntarily giving out friend codes, what's the problem? Friend code adding is a MUTUAL activity! NSider had the very same issue... Oh, and if you try to discuss friend code sharing with someone 12 or under, that in of itself is a violation (as I myself learned — I didn't even LIKE the little twerp. He wanted to be MY friend).

One more thing. Miiverse moderates you if you have any personally identifiable information in your profile. For example, saying I was on NSider, a forum that no longer exists, as ANTIROCKETCLOUDY is bad because it not only pegs me in an age range, but gives me an identity outside Miiverse. In that case, your profile content is hidden by an administrator and you have to write up a new description, which is still hidden to everyone except you and Miiverse-Admin. Then Miiverse-Admin, if it approves, frees your description to the world.

Try your luck, though. Currently my profile says I work at KoopaTV and that I'm a journalist and author. We'll see where that leads me. Hopefully not to Miiverse Jail. I mean, TCGO (that's Trading Card Game Online, ran by TPCi or The Pokémon Company International) sure doesn't want me, so how long can I last with Miiverse? (Apparently I don't learn my lesson since I was banned for similar Yoshi's Island DS bashing.)

Nintendo does a decent-ish job banning people who actually deserve it, like sexual predators (and there are a lot of these people on Miiverse). However, it's basically a police state there. Perhaps even more than NSider was! ...Which could be a good thing, but people just need to stop being snitches already! And get some thicker skin!

UPDATE: Turns out Abbie being banned for only two weeks is only an assumption. ...We have no idea how long she's banned for. (She doesn't know either.)

UPDATE 2: It ended up being a month.

7 comments :

  1. Replies
    1. Click the links in the paragraph that talks about it.

      ...But basically I'm a bad boy and they're even more kid-focused than Miiverse. :p
      And it was much easier for them to moderate since it's smaller. Like, you could (and I did) read every single post on the forum.

      Delete
    2. I read the whole thing. I just didn't know what the link was for (Which isn't a very good comeback because I almost always click on links). I usually have stuff like 'Oh, and if you want here is dadadadada'

      Delete
  2. Replies
    1. ...
      Yeah, I don't want my hyperlinks to be obtrusive like that. They... flow in.

      Delete
  3. Mario is NOT a sadistic murderer.

    ReplyDelete

We embrace your comments.
Expect a reply between 1 minute to 24 hours from your comment. We advise you to receive an e-mail notification for when we do reply.
Also, see our Disclaimers.

Spamming is bad, so don't spam. Spam includes random advertisements and obviously being a robot. Our vendor may subject you to CAPTCHAs.

If you comment on an article that is older than 60 days, you will have to wait for a staffer to approve your comment. It will get approved and replied to, don't worry. Unless you're a spambot.