This thread has much less to do with the 360 than with the 360 section, however I am putting it here so that it will reach the relevent people.

The 360 section is a mess. It's been a mess for a while, and all signs point to it getting worse. This is completely unacceptable. So, I would like to address several key points as to the state of the 360 section.

The Contraversy of Aquanox And Moderation

Let me be perfectly clear so that you have no doubt about this: I don't know of a single staff member who does not support Aquanox in general and the vast majority of his moderation decisions.

This section is primarily cleaned up by Aquanox, because he both spends the time here and has the motivation to clean it up properly. Aquanox however is not the only person moderating this section. As many of you may have noticed, I have been pretty active in this section as a moderator, assissting the clean up effort. I will continue to do so in the future, as will other members of the SMC and moderating staff.

Contrary to public perception however, this section is not treated with less concern than others, and this section is not here so that you can make life difficult for people who simply want to discuss their 360.

Similarly, this section is not here so that nothing but positive news or opinion can be posted. This section is here to foster honest discussion.

The Naysayer Pandemic

There is nothing wrong with having a negative opinion, or an opinion which runs contrary to the norm. There is a problem with confronting others about your opinion if you do not have a sound, rational, logical argument to support you.

There is a problem with telling someone else that there opinion matters less because this is a PS3 forum. There is a problem with telling someone else that they just need to suck it up, or that they are a moron for liking the games you despise.

I am not going to "crack down" on people who come here simply to disagree. I will however be forced to "crack down" on people who come here just to provoke reaction and provide nothing to the thread(s). A negative opinion, even a consistently negative opinion, can still add something to a thread or a subject. But a negative opinion which takes away from a thread or subject does not belong, and neither does a user who consistently perpetuates them.

The Anti-Naysayers

Bad news happens. That's the way it works: things aren't always rosy. You have to be able to accept that, in life as well as on these forums.

For months after the PS3 launched the PS3 section was inundated with negative news and negative threads, just as the 360 section is to some extent now. The PS3 section, I'm sorry to say, dealt with it however.

I think this incredibly sad because the majority of posters in the PS3 section are 12-16 year old kids who could care less about anything except for looking cool and voicing an opinion.

The posters in this section, the people who love their 360 and want to discuss it with others, need to be able to deal with bad news and the fact that other people will post them.

Jumping all over someone for posting up bad news, as in actual news, is unacceptable. I don't care if it's Ken Kutaragi himself posting the negative news, if it's actual news it is perfectly acceptable, and the users in this section should not completely flip out because of it.

The Future Of The Section

The 360 is going nowhere... it'll be around for a long time. If the Warantee Extension taught us anything it was that the 360 was going to be here for a while.

This section will remain as a place for people to discuss the 360 and the games for it. That does not mean, however, that the posting should continue as before. The section is swamped with hyperbole, both by those seeking to trash on the 360, and those seeking to defend it.

When something goes down in the PS3 section I get two or three reports before I'm even able to do anything about it.

When something happens in this section, people report it as often as they do not, and instead take it upon themselves to be the moderator and put someone in their place.

Consider this as me putting you in your place. You are not a mod, you are not an SMC. We don't want you trying to vanquish the sections trolls. We want you to tell us about it so that we can decide what to do.

Even when negative things were being posted, the PS3 section remained a positive force in this forum. The 360 section needs to remain a positive force in this forum as well.

If you have any discussion on the state of the section, please feel free to respond with it below, though I ask that you limit the amount you argue in this thread. Some people are going to hyperbole, as I said before. Trust me, I can spot it on my own without the help of anyone's reply.