These kind of threads piss me off. Sure, I'm not really a frequent visitor, I barely even go to the server anymore, but every time I see people going to these "Your View" threads, I can't help but feel that they are being fooled into thinking that anyone even cares about their "view" on anything. The removal of status updates had barely any benefit (judging by the quick look I had through this thread).
You claim that this is merely a test to see if it helps with anything. The problem described with status updates was that it, and I quote, "acts as a negative influence on the forums and thus the community and server as a whole". Are you sure THAT was the root of the problem? Surely we can blame the machine rather than the people who thought it would be a great idea to be assholes, right? It almost feels like the forum rules are non-exsistant. Basing your actions on this idea alone only shows the lack of discipline within the administration of the server and the forums. Dish out the punishments for spreading filth and drama, show that you'll have no tolerance for those who wish to break rules or incite others to do it for them. Right now, all you did was close off a small section of the forums, which people used mainly to advertise things (RP, sales, competitions, etc.). This has done absolutely nothing to stop "derogatory, rule breaking and inflammatory threads and replies" from popping up elsewhere. Do you think they won't show up, now that the status updates are restricted to administration only? Fat chance. How long could a test like this take anyway? A whole month or two? What for? This is something that would only need MAXIMUM a week to get all the information needed to see if the change was worth the trouble.
The other problem, apparently, is that people want to gain forum reputation points by purposefully breaking rules. Have you ever considered the idea of, oh I don't know, punishing them? Any other forum you go to forbids such bullshit and is considered "post hunting". It's nothing more than slightly less obvious spam, it doesn't need elaborate schemes to put an end to it you know.
Now ofcourse I read that reply that Alan made a while ago, after which a thread lock followed. You claim to be disappointed by the fact that people made "inflammatory, hateful, spiteful, childish". This is quite a claim, really. Who has the authority to decide which posts are just like that: inflammatory, hateful or childish? Is there some kind of an ethics commission in here that can determine which posts fall under those categories? You can't claim that something is hateful or inflammatory just because it looks like it. Some people express themselves in ways that may "offend" people without ever understanding it themselves. Considering that the administration team consists of a mix of under-age and adult people who have a high probability of never leaving their homes for extended periods of time, it's very unlikely that any of you have the authority to decide what exactly is a bad post. I am not saying that I know better in this case. No, I wouldn't even dare to suggest such an idea. What I'm suggesting, however, is a little more tolerance to the ways people talk. Not everyone is able to sound like he is as chill as Arctic ice.
But wait a minute, assuming that you have some kind of a guidebook to discovering genuinely bad posts, can we even trust your authority on this question? Administration appears to purposefully SKIP posts that it deems "bad". Why? Are you afraid of letters? People are writing to you so that you would read what they have to say, and yet you completely ignore their opinion just because it "wasn't appropiate"? Because of your personal beliefs, the people's opinion is now (and I quote) "useless wastes of space"? Who the **** are you to judge who's opinion is what?
You're a nobody, just like me.
Hey, don't take my word for it, though! Surely you know better! After all, you do have "a predetermined idea of where to go next", right? Surely you know how to make things right? After all, I really wouldn't know better than the administration team on how to properly take care of a forum full of people who want to have a good time with their friends and like-minded people. Really, I do believe that you have everything under control. Honest. You actually told GM's, FM's and Admins that they must punish people for their rulebreaking, something which SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE A LONG TIME AGO. Ofcourse, I do not say that everyone's a lazy ****. I have heard of hard-working GM's and FM's who do a great job here, and it's a great thing to hear. However, you must realize that the only reason others have been slacking off is because, as a leader, you haven't worked hard enough.
I still remember the good times I had in this server and this community. I'm not here to incite war. I just want to help you get better, and the only way to do it is to be honest. Others know much more as to what the hell is going on in here nowadays, they could help you, the Administration Team, to become something to talk about in a good light and not to trash-talk in secret.
Take my word, and everyone else's, with a grain of salt. Take every word that there is, look at it, read it, understand it and evolve. You should never throw any of it away, for if you only see good, you'll never become good yourself.