Let me start by saying that I love you guys. Our community here at NL is part of what makes this place so great. The discussions here range from zomg!serious to crazy-silly-wtf, and it's possible to lose yourself in the forums for hours on end without getting bored. Hell, I've been here for years now, and it's been a blast the entire time. :3

That said, there's been a growing issue that needs addressing at the moment — the idea that, since this place is called 'Nintendo Life', we don't want users around who don't have anything nice to say about Nintendo. This is not true — nowhere in our Rules does it say that you must enjoy Nintendo products to post here. Nowhere does it say that you are required to poo-sandwich any negative statements about Nintendo and their policies. In no way do we require our users to be dyed-in-the-wool cut-your-teeth-on-an-NES true-meaning-of-'hardcore fanboy' Nintendo fans. This is a myth. Stop perpetuating it. Of course we'd be thrilled if everyone here love-love-LOVED everything Nintendo, but even we members of staff know that there are things Nintendo could stand to change or improve. Nobody's perfect, after all :3

What we do require from our users, however, is that discussions remain civil. That we all refrain from name-calling, insults, and berating other users for their personal choices just because we perhaps would not make those same choices ourselves. The Community Rules clearly state the following, guys:

When replying to a topic, don't; unless you have something meaningful to say or something that will contribute to the discussion.

Do not "flame" others. Blatantly offensive posts directed at others will not be tolerated. While we do allow members to debate and voice their own opinions, there will be a limit to how far a heated debate can go before it is closed by staff.

As I've explained in e-mail after e-mail, we welcome users from all over the internet here at Nintendo Life (and KINECTaku, and Push Square for that matter). Our community is one big melting pot of opinions, theories, life experiences; in no way do we expect everyone here to agree with each other, much less about what can be such an individualized experience as video gaming in general. You don't have to like what someone else is talking about, but please keep in mind that even though you disagree with them and what they're saying, that does not automatically make them a 'hater' or a 'troll'. No offense, but most of you don't even know the true meaning of the latter, and yet you fling that word around like the world is ending. It's not, I promise!

Too many threads have been derailed lately with users singling one another out with 'you're a troll, you don't like Nintendo, why are you here' bullcrap, and it's got to stop. Either refute the argument(s) or ignore them entirely and move the discussion back to the original topic at hand, but please, stop with the insults. I don't like having to resort to temporary bans to get my point across, but I will if I must. THIS IS YOUR WARNING, I advise you all to not take it lightly.
_{I don't care how long you've been here or how long we've been friends for; this is my job and regardless of how you perceive me, I take it quite seriously.}

If you honest-to-goodness think someone is blatantly trolling, that they've derailed the ever-loving hell out of a thread and are keeping you from talking about the original topic at hand, please feel free to report their comments and let the moderation team take care of the problem, if one exists. We can tell if someone is messing around or not, if you're making a mountain out of a molehill, or if we've got a real troublemaker on our hands — whatever the case may be, we'll handle it for you. That's what we're here for. :3

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, I will be leaving this thread open for now, but I'd appreciate it if we wouldn't start pointing fingers and/or naming names in public — keep things general and unspecific if possible. If you have a genuine concern about an individual user or users, please use the Contact Form to get in touch with us privately so that we can discuss things if necessary. Thank you in advance!

After you saying this because of that very minor incident that happened at the obscure wii games thread?

My popcorn is popping for the reactions

@Electricmastro: no offense, but don't kid yourself — it was the entire thread. after reading through the latter few pages, and considering the fact that that wasn't the only thread this sort of thing has been happening in lately, this honestly needed saying.

part of it has probably been the way i've been handling the issue... i've cleaned up quite a few threads lately and individually contacted people. the problem is that just cleaning up afterward isn't solving the problem, therefore i made it a full-blown announcement. :3

I will absolutely stop. I know for a fact that one (or more) of my posts prompted this in the (now locked) "What will come after Wii U?" thread. I will try to keep threads on topic and refrain from responding to people that are attempting to derail it. I love NintendoLife and a ban (temporary or permanent) would severely upset me.

"In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion."
Definition of the term troll. And now you know. And knowing is half the battle! G. I. Joe!!!

Well said, this has been a problem and it is becoming increasingly noticeable, that some people disagree with anothers opinion, and they have to start an argument about it. Hopefully the problem is solved so that the community does not break down. This is one of the best gaming communities I have ever had the fortune to come across, and we don't want to spoil it.

Haven't even read it yet, but thank you for this, TBD. I swear, it's like people don't want to have intelligent or interesting discussion sometimes.

Well said, thanks for this.
/me totally hugs the crap out of Dragon

THANK YOU!!!!
I get annoyed when people always tell someone something like 'why are you here if you hate Nintendo' or 'you're clearly a fanboy troll' whatever for the littlest reason.
_{Love you too, TBD}

@tbd: you had me at 'poo-sandwich'.

Yeah that Wii thread got way out of hand. I'm sorry for even trying to post my thoughts on there because that was just a mess. People need to respect other people's opinions and discuss thing in a civil manner. And IMO I don't believe we have any haters or trolls here at all, just people who happen to enjoy other consoles and games. Now we can all get back to being gentlemen (and women)

Well said TBD well said.

Thank you so much, TBD! Now I can say whatever I want about Nintendo without being called a troll!

/me hides in his bomb shelter with all of his catgirls
TBD means business

One thing what does TL;DR stand for?

I have to admit I've done my share off topic making on topics that don't belong here.
We all love you here TBD.
@SMEXIZELDAMAN Did somebody say cat girls?!

@Tasuki: Too Long; Didn't Read. It's a common response to walls of text on the internet, therefore sometimes you'll see people post a TL;DR footnote or something with a shortened version of whatever it was they were trying to say so everyone gets the gist, at least :3

Ah ok thanks.

yes thank you