User blog comment:Plaguenumber3/rules and tips towards making canon Mary sues/@comment-5112067-20150101055934/@comment-8395098-20150101084723

something along those lines.

there seem to be 3 stages i've noticed that these fit throwing newer users go through. i'll go from the last to the first, the last being the most standardized and first being the more diverse of the stages.

so

Numbah 3: the final stage, aka the "Fuck You, you're stiffling my grand writing." typically at this point it becomes merely the user vs the rules. At this point the user isn't going to conform simply for the sake of his own bloated and wounded ego. Only administrative action from a admin, or some off sight maturing is going to redeem the situation from the untainable fuckup it's become.

Numbah 2: The median or I'm just doing what GW encourages me to do stage. Generally this is the stage that as i've noticed it the truly bad feeling start to either emerge or build within a new user who is having problems with their page or mary sue. They seem to develop qualms with how we deny them the ability to write a "awesome" character, and generally don't see (which then develops into refusing to see) what is wrong with their page. In my oppinion this is where the site seems to be failing, we typically, from their perceptional standard, high horse in this stage (and we can't deny that we do it either), generally we will try to simply fix the problem and move on as by this stage in our own oppinion the issue has pressed on too long or a similar mind set is in place.

Generally this stage is why i think we need to decide on something to generally cover the more common points that might be confused, or at least allow us to more smoothly explain to them the basis of the issue without simply coming off as self rightoeus to the extent that the users should have any justification in having a grudge against the admins and rules. We keep using the rules hammer against the users and it keeps leading to the final stage where the user tries declairing war against the rules.

While its obvious personality comes into effect and that there are some idiots, whose desire to have a man who teams up with his Brony pals to reive the emperor and make everything sparkles and happyness is so mighty that we other menials of the universe should just bow to their mighty love rays of not hate. but it seems that just as many of these users could have been saved from falling in with such idiots if we simply had the tools or users who could approach the issue from another angle and show them the logical reason for why using unicorn farts to revive the emperor is a stupid idea.

Numbah one: the confused cluster fuck stage. generally this stage depends solely on the personality of the user, but for a good number of the new users recently (and probably for longer than i've been noticing) it's simply been a matter of them being confused about the rules. but that's why we shout the rules from the rooftops, and throw links to the rules up everywhere, for this stage we have as many resources, and then some, as we need to explain to the user what's wrong and possibly give them good pointers on simple ways to fix the issue either in their writing or in cannon.