# The GameFAQs mods/admins are insanely corrupt and play favorites



## Shinigami Kiba (Aug 8, 2016)

So guys, I've been posting this on several forums as I want to spread the word around of how unjust and messed up GameFAQs is since it's one of the biggest gaming forums on the internet.

http://i.imgur.com/QxowO2L.png
http://i.imgur.com/j7a1mxr.png
http://i.imgur.com/GWaXuSd.png
http://i.imgur.com/HqoOifd.png
^ the admin's response that I should have marked those posts? 
I marked them, nobody modded them, and I marked them just to prove a point not because I believe those posts deserve to be deleted, I don't.


GameFAQs moderators are corrupt and play favorites, I've known that for years, I used to have a ton of proof in the past but figured I have more valuable things in my life than to hold onto JPEGs of petty bulls***, petty drunk with fake power nerds have done.
A bit of a backstory. I live in Europe, Macedonia, until a few years back obtaining original games here was next to impossible so I'd openly defend and talk about piracy, not ways to pirate mind you and talk about the positive influence it had on my country and society, how thanks to piracy we were never behind on entertainment and technology and such. This didn't sit well with the pampered and for the most part brainwashed western, mostly American posters of GameFAQs and even if I didn't talk about pirating I'd get modded for merely MENTIONING something vaguely related to piracy or some such.

I recently made a somewhat childish topic topic on NGG about what games to buy from some of the money I got for my 33rd birthday. I mentioned that I'd have to resort to buying some repro cartridges of a few insanely expensive SNES games that never released outside Japan, this was modded for illegal activities despite me mentioning that I planned on buying these repros at some point was a very small part of my post.
All while, in another topic a discussion for SNES and users openly admitting to buying repros goes unmodded even tho I marked it.

This is why i despise nerdy people, shame that I'm often mistaken for the same type of filth over the internet
I'm making this topic to prove just how corrupt the staff at one of the biggest video game forums is

It gets worse, last year I was modded for talking about unofficial SNES to NES ports

Although I don't have image proof of this, I found my old post on it over at ETI/LL

Last year I was modded for making an interesting topic about SNES to NES homebrew ports, again as illegal activities

Here's how my topic read:



> As a kid I had a perfectly functional Aladdin on the NES that was the exact same game as the SNES one except the music wouldn't work right, it was a fully playable game and I completed it many times.
> 
> Here's a video of it:
> 
> ...




Even though these games have been discussed before, my topic was deleted.

So I sent the moderators this:


> These are homebrew games/fan games and not rom hacks, not to mention I've personally seen topics discussing ROM hacks and recommending more difficult Mario ROM Hacks or showing videos of speed runs go un-modded.
> 
> Showing a video of a homebrew game, regardless of what platform it came out for is by no means illegal and neither is discussing it.
> Just the other week I was posting about Sonic Fan Games for PC, not ROM Hacks but games made with Sonic Worlds a Sonic engine built with Multimedia Fusion. These games use the genesis sprites and such and plenty of people have discussed them including myself freely.
> ...




A mod responded with this, EXCEPT these games have been openly discussed before



> I could care less what reason people marked a message for. It will only get moderated if it breaks a rule so the 'why' doesn't matter.
> 
> When it comes to this post, it does violate our illegal activities policies as we do not allow any discussion of illegally created or distributed ROM hacks or patches. These games are not legal unless it was released by the copyright holders, which since they are fan hacks/homebrew games that is clearly not the case here.


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## jDSX (Aug 9, 2016)

And yet these "illegal activities" are okay on iOS and android boards to talk about...

Gfaqs is a dictatorship I only use them for game walkthroughs


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## DinohScene (Aug 9, 2016)

To bad those sites are run by reviewers that only look at the popularity of games.


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## GalladeGuy (Aug 9, 2016)

It's spelled "GBAtemp".


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## evandixon (Aug 9, 2016)

I heard about this years ago, but I'm a little surprised it's still the case now.

I usually stick around forums with _sane_ moderators, like here.


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## VinsCool (Aug 9, 2016)

GalladeGuy said:


> It's spelled "GBAtemp".


Mods are pretty loose regarding what people post here mostly. Tell me one time they abused power, I'm curious.


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## GalladeGuy (Aug 9, 2016)

VinsCool said:


> Mods are pretty loose regarding what people post here mostly. Tell me one time they abused power, I'm curious.


It's just a prank bro! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


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## Kioku_Dreams (Aug 9, 2016)

Who uses GameFAQs anymore? Seriously?


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## astrangeone (Aug 10, 2016)

I used to be a big reviewer and FAQ writer on their site, and one time I was modded for speaking about piracy - it was about the difference between HARD rom-hacks and unfair rom-hacks and was suspended for a week.  Keep in mind that I didn't do anything else/first infraction, and the mods just pounded me into the dirt.


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## Feeling it! (Aug 11, 2016)

VinsCool said:


> Mods are pretty loose regarding what people post here mostly. Tell me one time they abused power, I'm curious.


It is more or less when they DIDN'T abuse their powers. XD


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## Xanthe (Aug 11, 2016)

GalladeGuy said:


> It's spelled "GBAtemp".


Thank you. Someone needed to say that


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## Chary (Aug 11, 2016)

Luckily, you have GBAtemp, which has lovely staff, so you don't have to waste time on other lame forums.


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## Sonic Angel Knight (Aug 11, 2016)

Chary said:


> Luckily, you have GBAtemp, which has lovely staff, so you don't have to waste time on other lame forums.


Shameless self plug. DAT CLICK BAIT


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## VinsCool (Aug 11, 2016)

So when did GBAtemp mods abuse their power? I'm really curious.


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## Sonic Angel Knight (Aug 11, 2016)

VinsCool said:


> So when did GBAtemp mods abuse their power? I'm really curious.


Oh, i dunno......

CLICK ME AND FIND OUT


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## InsaneNutter (Aug 11, 2016)

What you need to keep in mind is GameFAQs is owned by a large corporation in America, Americans like to sue each other for anything and everything. They have to be seen to actively discourage people from doing anything but been on the straight and narrow.

Theirs no point in posting about stuff like that on "official forums", by that i mean forums that are run by a business / corporation. It's like going on the Sony forum and posting a jailbreak tutorial... it's just not going to end well.

It's really not worth even been bothered about this, i can think of many independent forums run by people from home, in there own free time, which would happily permit discussions on grey area activities.


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## Sonic Angel Knight (Aug 12, 2016)

InsaneNutter said:


> What you need to keep in mind is GameFAQs is owned by a large corporation in America, *Americans like to sue each other for anything and everything*.


That is offensive on so many levels.


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## Armadillo (Aug 12, 2016)

Illegal activites on Gamefaqs is basically just used for anything that's against the rules, but doesn't fit under the other catagories they have, rather than actually being illegal stuff.

I don't find the actual rules too terrible there. As above, there are plenty of forums where you can talk about rom hacking etc freely.

The main problem with the site is 100% the moderation team. It has and always will have awful moderation and inconsistent enforcement of the rules. Nothing will ever be done, because the mods simply hide behind "didn't get marked" when they can't be bothered/are playing favourites. Same with the awful mods, nothing will be done, as there is no where to take problems. If a mod is abusing stuff, other mods will see it and deal with it internally apparently. The mods can't even consistently enforce the rules, but are supposed to be trusted to police themselves.

Also the only real comeback users have is the contest system, which in theory should be fine, but 9/10, no matter how well reasoned your argument, the mods will just ignore it, not address any of it and just give you some nonsense answer.

The walkthroughs and game specific boards are still good though. Still the quickest place to ask for help on a specific game, especially older ones and the walkthroughs are far better than trying to find a video guide that doesn't have some bellend screaming over it on youtube.


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## TotalInsanity4 (Aug 12, 2016)

Sonic Angel Knight said:


> That is offensive on so many levels.


You say that like it isn't true


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## Sonic Angel Knight (Aug 12, 2016)

TotalInsanity4 said:


> You say that like it isn't true


True or not, is not the point, is offensive. Because of the generalizaiton of the the term instead of specifiying who is like that. If it was a opinion, is fine, but is a generalization which falls into sterotyping.

"Americans Like to sue each other" Is not the same as "I think Americans like to sue each other" Or "There are some Americans that like to sue each other."

I know i am not one of these people even though i am American, and i know you aren't like that either. Because there is a majority of the percentage of people who do or would be that way, doesn't mean we are grouped together when we are innoncent enough. 

I can't believe i turned this into a grammar lessons. I feel unpurified.


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## InsaneNutter (Aug 12, 2016)

Sonic Angel Knight said:


> True or not, is not the point, is offensive. Because of the generalizaiton of the the term instead of specifiying who is like that. If it was a opinion, is fine, but is a generalization which falls into sterotyping.
> 
> "Americans Like to sue each other" Is not the same as "I think Americans like to sue each other" Or "There are some Americans that like to sue each other."
> 
> ...



Sorry if that was seen as offensive, that was not my intention at all. I could have worded it better. Obviously i don't think all people are like that. It does seem to be a big thing over there however, just like in the UK we have a massive problem with people aspiring to be on benefits, or having kids to get benefits. Obviously not all people are like that, however it's not like i don't know the country i live in doesn't have problems.

At work we sell we run en eCommerce website that sell's repair parts, now that we sell to America and are also on Ebay / Amazon America we have had change our insurance policies "in case we get sued" was the reason... that has almost happened too.


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## Shinigami Kiba (Aug 13, 2016)

Armadillo said:


> Illegal activites on Gamefaqs is basically just used for anything that's against the rules, but doesn't fit under the other catagories they have, rather than actually being illegal stuff.
> 
> I don't find the actual rules too terrible there. As above, there are plenty of forums where you can talk about rom hacking etc freely.
> 
> ...



True, I've been on GameFAQs since 2000 when I got my Dreamcast

I remember when CJayC himself talked about modding a Saturn, even mentioning such a thing now will get you modded if you are me or someone they've been modding for "illegal" activities for a long time
Funny thing is those posts about that guy openly admitting to buying repros are still up, despite being marked by me multiple times, at least they were up last time i checked


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## Swiftloke (Aug 14, 2016)

Sonic Angel Knight said:


> Oh, i dunno......
> 
> CLICK ME AND FIND OUT


OK. I don't understand. How is that an abuse of power?


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## mgman (Aug 14, 2016)

Stay away from the GameFAQs message boards. I agree with the other user here that the moderators are the biggest problem of that shit-hole, or the only problem.  Every aspect of power abuse you can think of, it happens there. Stopped using the boards years back, but I had been there long time and have witnessed and experienced a lot of stupid shit at their hands. Blatant inconsistency in enforcing rules, enabling cyber-bullying by users they are friends with and even punishing the victims, ignoring most flagged messages if said messages come from much older users.

I got modded for censor-bypassing by writing ****. I tried contesting it because that isn't censor bypassing, he says it is, telling me to re-read the ToU and closes the appeal. Made a thread at the mod help forums about it and also why my post is gone but not another user's in the same thread with the exact same thing, ****. A different mod tells me they mostly look at flagged messages... and that it is NOT censor bypassing. When I cite the first mod and ask why then mine was deleted, the thread was deleted and I got a 3 point infraction for "trolling". I escalate it to a site support ticket about this mess and it's shut down as well, threatening to ban me if I keep bringing up the subject where I was "clearly wrong". I shit you not, this happened; and was the last straw for me. Lot of other irrational flags before this, too.

Some things I've seen happen:
-A video game reviewer for a web site got his thread about a game removed because the mods didn't believe his job position and thought he was pirating. He provided proof and, of course, they didn't care. They apparently did/do the same thing to other reviewers who get early copies. I'm trying to find his blog post.

-There was an MGS thread where EVERYONE crapped on the TC and nothing happened. Another guy intervenes on OP's behalf and tries answering the question; HE gets sanctioned.


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## SomecallmeBerto (Aug 16, 2016)

Ahhh good old GameFAQS I remember using that site a lot with GameWinners(cookie for who remembers). I used to go there all the time but then slowly pricks from every corner of the world came and you can rarely get a straight answer anymore. The only cool places left are the retro gaming boreds and those tend to be dead.


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## mgman (Aug 16, 2016)

SomecallmeBerto said:


> Ahhh good old GameFAQS I remember using that site a lot with GameWinners(cookie for who remembers). I used to go there all the time but then slowly pricks from every corner of the world came and you can rarely get a straight answer anymore. The only cool places left are the retro gaming boreds and those tend to be dead.



I remember GameWinners  Not sure if they have/had a forum, but I mainly used that place for the patch codes. I think that was one of a few places that were plagued by fake cheats due to the lack of submission moderation.


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## Shinigami Kiba (Aug 20, 2016)

The mod staff is openly harassing me there and nobody does anything to stop it.
Remember those video clips of those SNES to NES homebrew ports I got modded over? Now somebody else posted them in a topic, I marked their post and it's still up.

I JUST now got modded for illegal activities over this:

*White Wolf Kiba posted...*


> Wii U emulation improves while N64 emulation is still utter trash and can't do basic graphical things making me unable to record gameplay of games I OWN, legally, in cartridge form



In a topic by a different user that asks the following:


> *What is the deal with emulation? This s*** is getting scary as hell now.*
> 
> luigi33 2 hours ago#1
> Wii U emulation has improved in the short amount of time that it existed at a rate far faster than PCSX2 or Dolphin.
> ...



I've been openly harassed by the moderator staff there for years now and I want to bring this to light but nobody cares


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## Blood Fetish (Aug 20, 2016)

You strike me as the type of person to scream about how corrupt a cop is for pulling you over when a lot of other people are speeding too. Grow up.


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## vayanui8 (Aug 20, 2016)

Gamefaqs sucks but at least it isn't neofag


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## BORTZ (Aug 20, 2016)

Sonic Angel Knight said:


> Oh, i dunno......
> 
> CLICK ME AND FIND OUT


lol
Chary isn't even a moderator.


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## Sonic Angel Knight (Aug 20, 2016)

Bortz said:


> lol
> Chary isn't even a moderator.


Moderator? Maybe, i wouldn't know. What i do know is her name is colored differently than mine, which mean she has more privlages than i do. Which is a fact, and that she has used click bait matrial. 

For all i know there is others who can appear just as common as me but may secretly be able to access stuff like moderators can. 

Looks can be deceiving, Contributor could be anything, not just news, how would i know? I'm not one of them, so consipracy theroist is here.


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## BORTZ (Aug 20, 2016)

Sonic Angel Knight said:


> Moderator? Maybe, i wouldn't know. What i do know is her name is colored differently than mine, which mean she has more privlages than i do. Which is a fact, and that she has used click bait matrial.
> 
> For all i know there is others who can appear just as common as me but may secretly be able to access stuff like moderators can.
> 
> Looks can be deceiving, Contributor could be anything, not just news, how would i know? I'm not one of them, so consipracy theroist is here.


No its all pretty clearly laid out for anyone to see here.


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## Sonic Angel Knight (Aug 20, 2016)

Bortz said:


> No its all pretty clearly laid out for anyone to see here.


There is a podcast of this site? O_O
Why don't you people tell me these things.


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## Jay1983 (Jul 4, 2019)

There is now an auto moderation system that suspends u if u mark trolling posts.


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## Viri (Jul 4, 2019)

My ex used to write guides for gamefaqs, she jumped off that sinking ship ages ago. Yea, the mods are corrupt, but I think the biggest shit hole forum in gaming is easily Resetera. You get banned for disagreeing there, lol. I don't get why people even join that forum, when posting is like walking on egg shells.


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## Megadriver94 (Jul 5, 2019)

jDSX said:


> And yet these "illegal activities" are okay on iOS and android boards to talk about...
> 
> Gfaqs is a dictatorship I only use them for game walkthroughs


Still not as bad as Resetera and Neogaf.


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## Viri (Jul 5, 2019)

Megadriver94 said:


> Still not as bad as Resetera and Neogaf.


I don't get why game devs even pay attention to those forums. They pretty much bitch about everything. On their forum, it would be easier to have a list of things that won't get you banned, since they seem to ban people over everything.

I wouldn't pay attention to/care able Reeesetera/Neogaf, if game devs didn't seem to think they speak for a lot of gamers.


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## GalladeGuy (Jul 5, 2019)

This thread is almost 3 years old now.


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## Megadriver94 (Jul 6, 2019)

The night is young. There's still 4chan, 8chan, 76chan, this place, Atariage, Lemon64, and Lemonamiga.com


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## cots (Jul 6, 2019)

Gamefaqs was an overall good site until they sold it. I remember when it launched with a small collection of guides it had no permission to use sourced from gaming dialup modem BBS that used to exist before the Internet became popular. I'll still use the site for FAQs. That's about it though.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



GalladeGuy said:


> This thread is almost 3 years old now.



Oops! Didn't mean to bump an old post!!!


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## Lumstar (Jul 6, 2019)

Troll infestation is wound into the very fabric of the site. I'm pretty sure there's no longer even a written rule against banned users simply creating new accounts.

Users get modded for all manner of questionable reasons. In turn moderators themselves can be removed from staff at any time (according to the application form), and are severely restricted by NDA from speaking out.


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## Ryccardo (Jul 6, 2019)

Lumstar said:


> I'm pretty sure there's no longer even a written rule against banned users simply creating new accounts.


It never was on the books, iirc (I mainly was there 2004-2009) but yes, Kill on Sight (which was only applied to the most egregious cases) stopped being a thing according to Wikifaqs earlier in this decade 

I do agree that it mostly went downhill after Ceejus and Zhuge Liang quit and CNet sold out to CBS, but how much of that is due to the new staff and how much due to people who care moving to competitors...

But just gimme direct txt downloads back and cut down on the javashit (it's one of the worse websites to multitab on I know about) and it will immediately get back some redeeming value


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## Stwert (Jul 7, 2019)

Forums live and die by two things as far as I’m concerned. 1: The users of the forum and the camaraderie between them. 2: The moderators, who unfortunately, In many cases, seem to be pre-pubescent cockwombles on a power trip.

Thankfully here at GBAtemp, we have good people in both of those categories. Sure there’s the occasional idiot joining the forums just to be annoying, but you’ll get that anywhere.

By and large GBAtemp is the community it always intended to be, right from it’s inception, which is why I’ve been here for about 15 years (sadly can’t access my original account) and why I spend so much time here.


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## Lumstar (Jul 14, 2019)

Ryccardo said:


> It never was on the books, iirc (I mainly was there 2004-2009) but yes, Kill on Sight (which was only applied to the most egregious cases) stopped being a thing according to Wikifaqs earlier in this decade
> 
> I do agree that it mostly went downhill after Ceejus and Zhuge Liang quit and CNet sold out to CBS, but how much of that is due to the new staff and how much due to people who care moving to competitors...
> 
> But just gimme direct txt downloads back and cut down on the javashit (it's one of the worse websites to multitab on I know about) and it will immediately get back some redeeming value



You have to consider that, whatever the reason, the state of the site is what the admins want.
Obviously they selected the moderaters, and are aware of their actions.


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## Ryccardo (Jul 15, 2019)

Lumstar said:


> You have to consider that, whatever the reason, the state of the site is what the admins want.


What they want, or what their bosses want?


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## Lumstar (Jul 15, 2019)

Ryccardo said:


> What they want, or what their bosses want?



The plot thickens. I'm pretty sure regular staff know nothing about what goes on at CBS.


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