ToxicHolyGrenade

Unremarkable User
To start off, micspamming, and irresponsible music playing, can be a downright nuisance, and I get that, but in the grand scheme of things, I must address something that does bother me about this whole rule.

Gagging bans are very problematic, because not only it betrays everything that a democratic society stands for as a value (which is called freedom of speech), but it takes away the person's voice, especially if they are to say something that is important to address. I will also go as far as to say, it will also get in the way of doing something good in opposing toxic individuals in a gaming server, and taking a stand against them. This is also part of why this gagging is a negative thing.

Where both the text to voice chatting policies should've been involved with, is against general bigotry, cyberbullying, threats, and lies, which are the common lines not to cross of having freedom of speech.

As for playing music through voice chat, it is a big mistake of disallowing it, because not everyone is against it. Again, where it should've been a concern, is against drill and grime music, as well as songs that promote bigotry and malignant actions, nothing more.

Besides, what makes these policies semi-redundant within the range of obnoxious micspamming and music, is that Valve already has a muting feature built into their multiplayer games, which partly defeats the purpose with the sort of policies I am criticizing. What I am calling for, is for the micspamming and music policies to be reformed and repurposed into what I am parroting, so there is a much better balance within the prism of text and voice chatting.
 
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Rare picture of a micspammer looking for "toxic individuals in a gaming server" to "take a stand against them"

2oq95i.jpg
 
Sorry guys, but this is a serious matter. I get that there are people who abuse the voice/text chatting systems, and I condemn them, but there are also those who play music and use voice chat responsibly. As I said, Valve's muting system in the main menu during gameplay already exists.
 
it betrays everything that a democratic society stands for as a value
we're not a government entity, so that point is moot
it will also get in the way of doing something good in opposing toxic individuals in a gaming server, and taking a stand against them.
you do realize you're arguing both sides, since you've also arguing against gagging said toxic individuals
Valve already has a muting feature built into their multiplayer games
which is easily bypassed, IIRC. I think the player being muted simply has to disconnect briefly in order to vanish from everyone's mutelists
 
This isn't a very serious matter ROFL
Also we have been through this so many times already you can look back in the suggestions and find a lot of these allow micspamming posts
 
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Micspam normally consists of poor quality music racism or the memes of woody and andy having sex(pedo ) the rules was brought in as people think its funny to mic spam russian national anthem at super high level to be "funny" and the stuff i mentioned before, thus It was introduced as no one wants to hear what you think is music, we all have spotify now days or youtube which can be loaded into our browers in game or smart speakers and servers like trade or Zombie escape server have people directing the team to win, no room for music.

You also need to pay a licence fee to the record labels to stream or distribute music to others over the internet which 99.9999% do not have and therefore deprive the artists royalties for their hardwork(would you like to work for free for us all ?).

As for Freedom of speach its only valid in the USA and it only relates to goverment no where in it does it cite the right to stream music and distrupt others and i doubt you get away with it in a limited public forum or a private/business which most internet service providers/ tf2 community would fall under.

You can get a shoutcast server, Spotify for discord or steam to others on discord or teamspeak that care to hear some twatty meme songs or what ever people consider music now days, 95% do not, TF2 VOICE CHAT is for VOICE chat not to aid copyright infrigngement by some idiot with or without good taste in music.

Furthermore you agree to our rules by using skial servers as is the right of privately owned/businesses to set policies and deny services, and the early years when we had no such rule it was a big issue having 4-6 20 people just spamming music trying to fight each to be the most annoying.

-10 on this idea
 
They're the same thing:

"Freedom of speech is the right for an individual or community to express any opinions without censorship or restraint and without fear of retaliation or legal sanction. Despite its name, freedom of speech is not specifically limited to verbal communication—rather, it also includes other forms of expression, such as written communication, social media posts (facebook, TikTok, YouTube), the arts (photography, stage plays, musical performances, painting, dance), personal actions (political protests, flag burning), and so on. To reflect this broader definition, freedom of speech is often referred to as freedom of expression."
 
we're not a government entity, so that point is moot

you do realize you're arguing both sides, since you've also arguing against gagging said toxic individuals

which is easily bypassed, IIRC. I think the player being muted simply has to disconnect briefly in order to vanish from everyone's mutelists

Okay, that was my bad, LOL, the mute feature does get bypassed, and I didn't foresee that. However, whether it can be bypassed or not, gagging bans is still something that I don't blame most people being uneasy about. Where gagging should've been involved, again, is bigotry of any kind, bullying, anthems of authoritarian regimes, threats, and spreading lies.

Same almost applies with those who play specific drill and grime music, to even those who play music through voice chat without any self-regulation.

I am also not saying that this is server community is a government entity, that goes without saying. But as a correction, freedom of speech is more than just a value, it is a philosophical and social value that us mortals hold sacred. It goes beyond political standpoints.

Arguing both sides or not, toxic individuals must be held accountable by all means necessary, but at the same time, we need to strike a balance of when gagging should be plausible, such as the four taboos when it comes to freedom of speech I mentioned before.
 
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we're not a government entity, so that point is moot

you do realize you're arguing both sides, since you've also arguing against gagging said toxic individuals

which is easily bypassed, IIRC. I think the player being muted simply has to disconnect briefly in order to vanish from everyone's mutelists

This isn't a very serious matter ROFL
Also we have been through this so many times already you can look back in the suggestions and find a lot of these allow micspamming posts

To give some more clarity though, I am not saying there should be a free for all when it comes to using text and voice chatting, and I do see the problems that micspamming can bring. But playing humourous audio, playing music on occasion, is NOT the definition of micspamming, this is simply being an entertainer within a gaming server to lighten up the mood of others. I know it sounds silly, but this is what it is actually like from what I tend to observe in game servers within my life time. In order to micspam, is to play annoying, irritating sounds and over the top voices that would cause much of a ruckus in the game servers. So I do believe there should be some control. But at the same time, there needs to be a responsibility and balancing factor involved when it comes to gagging.
 
Micspam normally consists of poor quality music racism or the memes of woody and andy having sex(pedo ) the rules was brought in as people think its funny to mic spam russian national anthem at super high level to be "funny" and the stuff i mentioned before, thus It was introduced as no one wants to hear what you think is music, we all have spotify now days or youtube which can be loaded into our browers in game or smart speakers and servers like trade or Zombie escape server have people directing the team to win, no room for music.

You also need to pay a licence fee to the record labels to stream or distribute music to others over the internet which 99.9999% do not have and therefore deprive the artists royalties for their hardwork(would you like to work for free for us all ?).

As for Freedom of speach its only valid in the USA and it only relates to goverment no where in it does it cite the right to stream music and distrupt others and i doubt you get away with it in a limited public forum or a private/business which most internet service providers/ tf2 community would fall under.

You can get a shoutcast server, Spotify for discord or steam to others on discord or teamspeak that care to hear some twatty meme songs or what ever people consider music now days, 95% do not, TF2 VOICE CHAT is for VOICE chat not to aid copyright infrigngement by some idiot with or without good taste in music.

Furthermore you agree to our rules by using skial servers as is the right of privately owned/businesses to set policies and deny services, and the early years when we had no such rule it was a big issue having 4-6 20 people just spamming music trying to fight each to be the most annoying.

-10 on this idea

On the first paragraph, this is why I mentioned that there is a responsibility factor involved, hence I said there mustn't be a free for all when it comes to using voice and text chatting features. Otherwise there will definitely be lingering bigotry, bullying, threats, authoritarian anthems, and lies. This is where gagging should've been created upon, instead, it was created for the purpose to ruin the fun for everyone else using voice chatting for entertainment purposes, despite the understandable intentions on the surface. I'm sorry, but from what I can see, this approach is collective punishment to everyone who simply wants to be funny, full stop. That's how I see it.

Also, the analogy to pay fees to play music through the mic is a false one, and not once have I heard anywhere, are people forced to play music through voice chat over the years. There is no comparison between playing music through microphones versus paying for a music service. It doesn't work that way, and it is disingenuous to think otherwise.

As I said to another user, freedom of speech goes far beyond the boundaries of politics or a nation, it is a philosophical and social value that us beings hold dear. Plain and simple.

I am not saying I oppose every single policy you people print out, but just because policies have a place, does not mean they are beyond criticism, and besides, policies can be good or bad. This is also part and parcel to why questioning policies is legitimate, as both rules and laws are not pure, and can be corrupted and warped by mortal nature. It is not an opinion/viewpoint, but it's the truth.
 
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exhibit a, One of the many "songs" played when we had no rules in place and got more complaints about it then people liking it, you cant cater for what everyone thinks is "good music" such as lets say the beetles to tayloor swift or some one hitting a car engine with a spannker and saying "what" over and over for 3 minutes. Its simpler to outright ban the streaming of music then arguing about what you think is the top 1 song from where you are and in some other place its at 40000 in the record list.

Here is the video (BEWARE ITS EAR RAPE so turn down sound) and i must of silenced about 120 people playing this last year
 
exhibit a, One of the many "songs" played when we had no rules in place and got more complaints about it then people liking it, you cant cater for what everyone thinks is "good music" such as lets say the beetles to tayloor swift or some one hitting a car engine with a spannker and saying "what" over and over for 3 minutes. Its simpler to outright ban the streaming of music then arguing about what you think is the top 1 song from where you are and in some other place its at 40000 in the record list.

Here is the video (BEWARE ITS EAR RAPE so turn down sound) and i must of silenced about 120 people playing this last year

Let me tell you somethin', if users are to get their shorts in a twist over music playing through voice chat, they should mute me through Valve's muting feature, it's that simple. Nobody is judging them, and if they are to make a huge deal out of it, that's all on them, as well as regarding the Skial staff. If it is grime or drill music, or God forbid an authoritarian anthem, that would be a different matter and I do believe these people should be punished, but that is not what this is based on.

And just because there are easy decisions, does not automatically make them right. It's not rocket science, it's common sense.

The whole point of rules, in a similar fashion to laws, is to have a safeguarded, if not always civil, environment. Within the prism of fun environments like game servers, how on Earth is banning playing music through voice chat, safeguarded? What makes it worse, is that it is collective punishment to those who just want to simply be funny and entertain people in a server, end of story. And collective punishment is wrong.