The Future of WCO

**BEAR.** · #1 November 5th, 2020, 12:02 PM

Hello everyone! With 2020 nearing a close, I wanted to address some issues we've recently noticed alongside some other changes coming to the site.

BE KIND

A message from our Moderation Lead, Dipper:

We feel very honored to be able to say that Warrior Cats Online has been a leader in inclusivity for the past several years. Our community is a welcoming, safe space for everybody, and we strive to uphold these values by making the forums a positive place to roleplay and connect.

It is unfortunate that uncivil behavior on the forums has been repeated to the point of requiring a public address. Some may have noticed a loud minority perpetuating personal disputes through PMs or visitor messages, and we are taking an opportunity to remind those involved that it is not acceptable here. We do not tolerate bullying -- expect future instances of bad conduct to be grounds for suspension.

We are once again asking the community to please flag offending messages. The staff do have our eyes on forum content, but we can't be everywhere. We have 100+ active members browsing the site daily, which is massive in comparison to less than ten staff. You guys have always been a huge help in finding problematic messages and reporting them. When you report something, it's guaranteed to be reviewed by us. We look through every single report even if we cannot discuss disciplinary action with third parties.

As a reminder, do not attempt to handle guideline violations yourself. Report the message, and ignore the member if needed. Contacting someone who is breaking the guidelines is considered backseat moderation, which typically inflames the situation rather than resolving it.

With that aside, we are endlessly grateful to those who use the platform respectfully and responsibly. WCO stands out for its friendly atmosphere, and you all are the reason why. Your ongoing courtesy is not overshadowed or forgotten in the presence of poor behavior.

Every individual's experience on WCO is so important to us. If you are feeling unsafe or targeted in any way, please reach out so we can investigate.

(POSSIBLE) GUIDELINE TWEAKS

The staff try to be transparent about the direction of the community in the interest of gathering input and creating decisions based on feedback. We would like members to be aware that we have been discussing the possibility of loosening the profanity portion of the guidelines to allow a wider range of words beyond hell, damn, and ass.

Harsher language would be restricted to spoilers to ensure only those who want to view the content can do so, and using it against other members would still be in violation of the rules. Also, these changes would not alter our stance on prohibiting derogatory language or any kind of hate speech.

These conversations have been shelved for the moment, given the recent abuses of the messaging system that often contained profanity being weaponized against members. We are hopeful that we can revisit the idea soon.

DONATIONS

I'm happy to announce we've made a whopping $166 over our goal of $192, which means not only is WCO's expenses for this year are covered, but we almost have enough to fund WCO for the entirety next year.

This is the most we've made in donations since 2015, and I'm both honored and flattered to have a community so giving. Thank you to everyone who donated - we couldn't have reached this without you guys!

MONTHLY KUDOS

This has been a popular request, and we're happy to deliver. The majority of members wanted to reinstate Character of the Month, so it has returned with some changes for the foreseeable future. You can now nominate up to two characters, then vote on the nominees partway through the month to determine the winners.

Selected characters will be featured in a thread linked on the Navigation Bar. In addition, we will be adding a temporary link to the sidebar to promote visibility.

SITE FEEDBACK

We've added a Feedback link on the sidebar of the homepage to improve ease of use. The new form is designed to directly post to our staff channel on Discord, so nothing goes overlooked, and we have a readily-available record of all submissions to determine what's widely desired.

Member suggestions and feedback have been the guiding force behind enriching WCO, so we encourage everyone to send ideas in!

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On a final note, we have been overhauling the staff team and our operations. A new system will be continuing to roll out over the next few months, and we are optimistic that it will work significantly better than our previous methods. We have ambitious plans to expand on the site's events, member support, moderation quality, and overall experience, which we recognize may not be feasible without a few additional hands. We are looking to fill several positions and invite anyone interested to apply.

Join the WCO Team!