Feedback Goonstation Admin Team

[Carton]

(to my knowledge) there's an impression that we're not allowed to talk about administration decisions anywhere, or risk getting banned ourselves. You're a lovely person. Everyone is on edge.
...

I really do worry about being banned without warning for complaining- outside of official spaces, even, which I can understand you don't want it in official ones- and I think that's indicative of the problem Screaming has brought up.

Nobody's been banned for speaking about administration decisions though, I'm confused why this keeps coming up.

I think there's always going to be some perception that those who disagree with authority risk consequences, but in this case on top of that there seems a bit of cause-effect disconnect in public perception of events, because the people who are loudest in their dissent against the admins are often the same people who can't or won't abide by the standards set by the administration, and people can't tell if they're being punished for their dissent or for other misbehavior.

Are they speaking out against the admins because they got banned or are they getting banned because they're speaking out against the admins? I trust that nobody has been banned just for speaking out against the admins, but for players with less trust in the administration, it gets murkier.

It's especially difficult since sometimes misbehavior is tied together with disagreement with the admins. You shouldn't, and from what I've seen won't be banned for publicly disagreeing with the admins, but you should absolutely be banned for being actively hostile and offensive to admins and players who disagree with you, which I believe is what happens on occasion. And of course, that can be viewed as that person being punished for their disagreement, alongside/instead of the hostility.

And of course, this can especially be exacerbated when the individuals involved are those you percieve as friends, as we tend to want to believe our friends are in the right unless we have proof they aren't, and nothing is made public to prove that they aren't.

I'm not arguing for or against any changes, or criticizing anyone with this to be clear, I'm just sharing my theory on where those perceptions come from.