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[Sam_Protagonist]

As many of you have already noticed there have been some unusual levels of moderation activity lately, and subsequent to the recent change in moderation policy there are some additional issues with the moderation system at present that we're working to resolve.

To begin this overview of how moderation works and what you can do to avoid your level being blocked here's how the system is designed to operate :

When a "Good Grief" report is filed through the game the level in question, its comments and associated screenshots are placed into a queue to be checked over by the moderation teams at SCE. These teams are located around the world and the moderation queue is checked around the clock to ensure that levels which should be removed from visibility are dealt with as quickly as possible. It is a common misconception that issuing a Good Grief report automatically blocks a level from being viewed, and this is not the case. The only time a level becomes unavailable is when it has been blocked by a moderator.

The tool used to check levels provides moderators with an exploded view of the level and all the parts used to make it up, including screenshots that were sent with the moderation report. This tool is designed to differentiate between how the level was when it was loaded and what happened during play - so if an antisocial user were to play an inappropriate sticker in your level before reporting it the sticker would show up, but would be associated with the player who placed it, not the level creator.

The same is true of comments and screenshots posted at the beginning of the level - these are associated with whoever placed them, not the original creator.

In the event that a level is moderated the creator will receive a message stating that the level has been blocked, preventing it from being seen by other users - at no point is a level removed from the servers, even if it has been moderated. In the event that the moderated level gives away prizes that can be reused by other creators, or the level itself is copiable, all of the levels using the original content are automatically moderated. This is the area that catches most unsuspecting creators out, and the message received following automatic moderation states that it is due to an item used in the level design rather than the level itself.

It's a straightforward system, and in almost all cases works exactly as intended catching only the levels that should be removed from the game, however as with everything else human error does occur and there have been a couple of incidents in the past of this having happened which have since been cleaned up.

At present, however, some outstanding levels which have been moderated are being investigated again as there are inconsistencies that have shown up in the past couple of weeks. This doesn't mean that if your level has been moderated lately it'll definitely return, neither does it means that there was definitely an issue of some kind, this is purely part of the ongoing process to ensure that the system is working as intended.

That said, if you've had a level moderated since the start of December and you honestly believe it was mistakenly blocked please PM me here with your PSN ID and the title of the level, and it'll be added to the list of levels being double checked.

We're working on making the moderation system more transparent so that the concerns that have been raised lately can be addressed, and in the coming weeks there will be more on this subject, starting with some guidelines on what "grey area" content would warrant a level being moderated; as the game has to be suitable for users aged 7 and above there are limits on how scarey or violent the level can be, and it may be that some acts of moderation have occurred out of levels straying over this line.

I realise that the lack of clarity in this area doesn't help, but improvements are coming.

[Sam_Protagonist]

[Reserving post for followup]

[Tommy012345]

Good to know.

Also, this should be Stickied.

[bbonds_007]

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Sam_Protagonist wrote:

In the event that the moderated level gives away prizes that can be reused by other creators, or the level itself is copiable, all of the levels using the original content are automatically moderated. This is the area that catches most unsuspecting creators out, and the message received following automatic moderation states that it is due to an item used in the level design rather than the level itself.

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Is it possible that a modified copied level can get the origional moderated, as I bet that is what happened to me. If it is true the levels never get deleted, it should be pretty easy for you guys to just play the level in question to see it shouldnt have been moderated.

[LittleBigPodcast]

Thanks Sam!

Glad all of this is clearing up! (see, it's not the end of the world!)

[Marioface5]

Unless I'm misunderstanding something, this means that if someone uses any object given away in a level that gets moderated, that person's level with the object also gets moderated? So if someone gives away something completely in the rules and I use it in my level, and then the level gets moderated, my level also gets moderated for no good reason?

If I'm correct in what I'm saying, then using community objects could be a horrible idea. Think of a potential chain reaction. For instance, someone uses logic they got in a level to make another level that gives away some amazing prizes that people love. Those people use those prizes in their levels. Let's say 20 levels are made with the prize. But then, the level that gave away the logic is moderated. As a result, the level with the amazing prizes is moderated. And because of that, 20 more levels are taken down. That means 21 more levels are taken down than needed to be.  

[kingpsyz]

I think SCE has a responsibility to make it clear why a level is being moderated, specifically. If a mod finds something worth removal and ban, then they should also take a screen shot of each offense and send it to the modded creator so it can be addressed directly.

From what I have seen in the past with those posting here, this has not been the case and makes a moderation system useless.

I still think caving to the new PEGI rules is a mistake and only opens them up to further regulation based off the strictest regulations. What if China decides all political statements or situations are illegal in video games? Does that mean every level with a war theme, or something involving restrictive governments would be modded?

I think it's a slippery slope and the idea of rating online levels and giving parents a level lock and password option might be more suitable. It's not perfect, but it puts the power directly in the parents hands as well as allowing for more freedom.

I'm not saying we should have full blown M rated levels in LBP, but maybe a high level cap of the equivilent to a T rating at worst. Or make it more specific, ratings for scary situations, war, explosions, simulated cartoon violence, etc.

I do appreciate that SCE recognizes the flaws and are working to iron them out.

Message Edited by kingpsyz on 01-13-2010 09:50 AM

[Sam_Protagonist]

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bbonds_007 wrote:

Is it possible that a modified copied level can get the origional moderated, as I bet that is what happened to me. If it is true the levels never get deleted, it should be pretty easy for you guys to just play the level in question to see it shouldnt have been moderated.

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I understand what you're saying, but no - the process doesn't flow back up the chain, only subsequent duplications are affected. As we've discussed previously by PM, yours is one of the levels we're investigating as it shouldn't have been caught in this process.

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Marioface5 wrote:

... this means that if someone uses any object given away in a level that gets moderated, that person's level with the object also gets moderated? So if someone gives away something completely in the rules and I use it in my level, and then the level gets moderated, my level also gets moderated for no good reason?

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That's accurate, yes. In those cases however you'll receive a moderation message indicating that it is a community object causing the moderation. It isn't ideal by any stretch of the imagination, but is how the system currently works. Part of the improvement we're looking for in the moderation system is improvement of the speed at which the team can assess reported levels, as at present the amount of time required to vet individual objects in a level is prohibitive, but we're optimistic that the level of granularity required to prevent this kind of thing from happening can be achieved.

[Marioface5]

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kingpsyz wrote:

I think SCE has a responsibility to make it clear why a level is being moderated, specifically. If a mod finds something worth removal and ban, then they should also take a screen shot of each offense and send it to the modded creator so it can be addressed directly.

From what I have seen in the past with those posting here, this has not been the case and makes a moderation system useless.

I still think caving to the new PEGI rules is a mistake and only opens them up to further regulation based off the strictest regulations. What if China decides all political statements or situations are illegal in video games? Does that mean every level with a war theme, or something involving restrictive governments would be modded?

I think it's a slippery slope and the idea of rating online levels and giving parents a level lock and password option might be more suitable. It's not perfect, but it puts the power directly in the parents hands as well as allowing for more freedom.

I'm not saying we should have full blown M rated levels in LBP, but maybe a high level cap of the equivilent to a T rating at worst. Or make it more specific, ratings for scary situations, war, explosions, simulated cartoon violence, etc.

I do appreciate that SCE recognizes the flaws and are working to iron them out.

Message Edited by kingpsyz on 01-13-2010 09:50 AM

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 MM doesn't have a choice about that. It's what they legally have to do. 

[kingpsyz]

It's what they legally have to do FOR THAT REGION OF THE WORLD.

I think if it's going to snowball they should consider different servers for those countries and regions where online content is not rated (in an understanding that parents should be controlling online interactions of their young children) and one where it is rated.

If I lived in a PEGI region, I would be petitioning for a saner system where parents took some responsibility for online useage and kept online unrated as it's impossible to have an instant censsored online experience.

This is where a rating system for levels done by the creator using similar discriptions used on TV and gaming packages (within reason of course), if someone falsifies a rating they should have the level modded or worse. Allow parents to decide if they want their young children allowed to play online or not, and then give them further controls allowing for what types of levels they can access.