/v/gaming is my favorite community on Voat. I've spent more of my time here with more great people than anywhere else online or offline. I've been a member of the community for a year now, and in that time I've always done my best to respect the community, enforce rules fairly, push for more straightforward rules and regularly bring those rules up with the community for revision. I've been an active mod, flairing the majority of posts you've seen in the past year, often the first mod available when someone has an issue or reports spam. Most of the bans in the ban log are mine, and most of the post removals in the modlog are mine. I've always cited a reason for every action, and been quick to reverse an action the few times I've made a mistake.

That's what brings me to today. Rule 3 (harassment) has always had the support of the /v/gaming community. It's definition has been tightened to require bullying that is both targeted AND sustained. This definition has remained unchanged the past few times the rules have been up for review, and as I'm writing this I'm replacing the previous sticky which was a review of rule 3 specifically, up since yesterday. That said, rules are only a proxy for the community's will, and they're imperfect. Sticking with an unpopular rule despite community outcry shows disrespect for that community at the highest level.

For that reason, I'm setting aside any stubbornness or pride and reversing any and all of my subverse bans that include only harassment as a cause. I'd like to take that a step further, but because /v/gaming's rules are owned by the community, I need to ask you first: may I have your permission to suspend rule 3 indefinitely and remove it from the list of /v/gaming's rules? Rule 3 also includes doxxing and brigading, which should both already be covered by the site-wide terms of service.

I'm still reading through my inbox, but I promise that each and every comment will receive a reply. I apologize for the delay, but I'm just waking up in Alaska this morning.

Finally, I'd like to personally thank the /v/gaming community for being a place for everyone and the best place on the web to talk video games. The past year has been relatively drama-free, and more a testament to your hard work and level-headedness than mine.

As always, let me know if there's anything I can help with, and happy gaming!

Edit: also, what do you think of a site-wide user block button? No one likes hecklers, especially when they follow you around. The downside of handling that a subverse level is that everyone's definition of harassment is different. So why not put user blocking tools in the hands of each individual? Then they can make that decision on their own, in a way that doesn't affect others. I know a block button has been on the to-do list for Voat for a while, but I've made a request in /v/IdeasForVoat just as a reminder of why this functionality would benefit the community: https://voat.co/v/ideasforvoat/comments/1211887

Edit 2: in light of the overwhelming feedback we've received, the anti-harassment rule (and the superfluous doxxing/brigading section of the same rule) has been removed.

I appreciate everyone who took the time to weigh in on this change, and encourage everyone in the community to make their voice heard whenever we bring any and all of these rules forward for review.