suggestions

I mean... this is how people are supposed to be able to talk to each other.

I'm sorry, but if clanmates can't even freely talk to each other about other players and the game itself... or even absolutely nothing at all... then what's the blooming point in this game and the idea of clans at all?

Someone's feelings would be hurt by what other's mighta said in a clan forum? It's an easy solution... stay outta that clan!

For the love of God, I've largely stayed away from the public forums because it's been made very clear that I'm basically not allowed to post anything I'd find remotely interesting. If people aren't allowed to feel free to talk to their friends in a clan forum? What the crap would we be doing?

Please don't go down such a ridiculous road.

FWIW, I most definitely said Osh was cheating in Mount Wario s clan forum.

It was obvious and I didn't think twice about it. Said I would be surprised if he made it through the month. Very much thought it mattered and clans should be planning on a month where he wasn't there to win. So... that was against the CoC and I shouldn't have strategized with clanmates? Can't talk to friends at all in this game? I'm sorry, but how would any of that make any sense?

Another suggestion: maybe... just don't eavesdrop on other people's private conversations? Yeah?

Just... all sounds like a good idea to me. But... what do I know, I guess?

Or.... just get rid of the private clan forums entirely if they don't have a purpose any longer and are just going to be viewed the same as the public main forum. At least that would be more honest.

Heck, get rid of bmails as well, I guess.

I have to agree to an extent here that clan forums aren't public knowledge and shouldn't be treated as such.

I understand blind moderation by a bot that would trigger a review if certain topics are brought up (I don't think racist or homophobic slurs should be tolerated), however, discussion of other players being deleted in clan forums simply due to them being a banned player is venturing into an area where we shouldn't be okay with.

Now, obviously I'm not privy to the actual discussion, so I don't know the language. That said if Ender is snooping into clan forums without reason just to be nosey, I think that does bring a huge concern and issue to light.

It's pretty simple: apparently, "private" messages in game are now being held to the same standards as the public forum. Any kinda moderation that would apply here in the public forum supposedly applies to any "private" communications you may have. Don't ask me how that makes any sense or how any previous statements about "keeping it off the public forums" would be any kinda consistent.

But, yes, I think all of that is completely bonkers.

As silly as the suggestion may even seem: I simply suggest the game goes back to recognizing some form of privacy and allowances for different forms of communication, rather than treating non-public communications the same as public ones.

You wanna put a security camera in your store? Cool. You wanna put a security out front? A little less cool, but I get it. We can be recorded on public streets and that's the society we live in. Alright. I get it.

Can we not have "security" cameras in our toilets?

Someone's feelings would be hurt by what other's mighta said in a clan forum? It's an easy solution... stay outta that clan!

100%

(I don't think racist or homophobic slurs should be tolerated)

Agreed.

Other than stuff like that, however, it's my belief that clan forums should be treated as basically being private. Not my game, not my rules, but threatening disciplinary action against someone simply because they made accusations in their own clan forum is going too far.

I don't really understand what the issue is. Anything short of Ed personally messaging you, what authority would somebody have over you for what you say in a clan forum? You mentioned Mount Wario and if that's where somebody took issue with your words, you said the solution yourself.

It's an easy solution... stay outta that clan!

Being free from the rules of the public forum doesn't mean it's not subject to the clan owners rules (if they have any). I can only assume your problem is that the owner told you to knock it off, or some random said they didn't like it in which case, who cares?

I don't feel free to discuss any actual mod actions that have taken place.

I'm just offering what I said myself in the Mount Wario clan forums as something that, apparently, would have "broken the rules" based on how the game is currently stating how the rules work.

Yes, I believe basically everyone doesn't want to believe that's how anything works. Apparently, we would all be wrong.

I sincerely believe the community would not support this if this was made clear and this was better-known.

There, apparently, is no "private."

I'm not fond of the level of moderation either, but I haven't seen any evidence of game rules (opposed to a clan leaders rules) being enforced outside of public domain. I've expressed my distaste of the increasing moderation we've had in recent years before though so I won't yap on.

Basically, a clanmate accused another player of cheating in our clan forum. A "spy" apparently reported it to Ender, who actually went through and read our clan forum. He told this clanmate that the accusation, along with some other comments they had made about the game itself, are against the CoC. Again, this was on our own clan forum.

I've said all sorts of terrible and crude things about other player's, when talking to friends in "private" settings. Crazy to think I could now be banned for venting to friends and am supposed to live in some fear that any of my "private" conversations could be used against me by someone eavesdropping on my communications.

Just absolutely insane stuff.

Bring back the leader threads in the clan forum. Band aid fix, but it helps. I think having bots in "enemy" clans is something that goes back even to bots2, but I don't remember a situation like this where discussion that was intended to be internal was not only leaked out, but shared with a Mod/Admin to take action.

Kinda makes me miss IRC, with everyone having their own channels and an easier ability to control who's allowed etc.

Going the route of Discord might work, I'm sure there's a few clans that have Discord servers for their clan, and while I'd like a Discord for the whole of bots4, I'm not sure that people would create a clan channel within the bots4 discord if/when it shows up, given that now there's risk if things that you intended to be private being spread outside of the intended group.

Nos's post earlier in the thread kind of nails all the main points tbh, so at this point I'm just ranting and saying a bunch of nothing.

I genuinely understand the concerns being raised in this thread, so I want to be transparent about the game's policy regarding private channels like clan forums and bmails. I'll state this plainly: I do not proactively read or monitor private clan forums or bmail exchanges. It's not my role to "eavesdrop" on your private conversations, and I have no interest in doing so.

The Code of Conduct applies to all official game platforms because my primary responsibility as the steward of this community is to ensure it's not used to harass players or undermine the game's integrity. I understand that the line between a private space and a moderated space can feel blurry, but action is only ever taken in private channels when a specific, severe violation of the CoC is reported to me directly by another player with evidence.

So this isn't about policing banter or strategic discussions - it's about having a necessary tool to act on credible reports of:

• Severe harassment or real-life threats.
• Organized cheating or rule-breaking.
• Circumvention of a forum mute to continue public-style attacks or accusations in a semi-private space.

This is standard moderation practice for any community. Just as you can report a player for a harassing bmail or username, you can report severe rule-breaking in a clan forum. I then investigate that specific report. I am not, and will not be, reading your clan forums for fun.

To keep this post as a clear policy statement and to prevent it from devolving into a debate about specific past incidents, I'm locking this thread. As a reminder, the CoC also states that publicly debating specific moderation actions isn't permitted. However, if you have good-faith questions about the CoC itself or how it's applied generally, my bmail is always open.

*click*