I'm taking my mod hat off and responding personally here. My opinions are my own and do not reflect in any way those of other mods or the team in general. I will take a day or so to consider just stepping down from the mod team, and they may make the decision for me after reading this post. I know the preference is that I let it go and let it pass, and I usually do, but once in a while shit needs to be said.
Trying to help out here too often turns into a shit storm. Congratulations, we're an internet comment section in board game form. In a community built of people from all over the world and the spectra of age, politics, etc., it is a miracle that broad agreement happens even as often as it does. As a mod and a frequent tournament director, I have been endlessly amazed by the constant stream of unexpected issues that can arise, turning easy enjoyment into complicated, tense messes. Some here seem to want to legislate every conceivable minor permutation. "Section 54.6756m of Rule 974f clearly states that when Player X scratches his ass, Regulation 65345 shall be invoked, requiring a response according to Ordinance XVII of the Second Book of Important Statutes, Page 874, Column 3, wink wink nudge nudge say no more..."
Is that what you want? No matter how minutely precise an operating manual might get, ***there will always be issues that come down to a judgement call, and there will always be someone whose sensibilities are offended***
I've got two things to address, and then I’ll get off my soapbox:
First, the incident in question. Easter Sunday, I was at my in-laws' house with my extended family, between brunch and watching the toddlers run around looking for eggs. I opened my browser on my phone, vDip was already open and I saw a mod forum post alert. Being a mod, I habitually check when I see that, in case there is something time-sensitive. I read the extend request. (Uh oh, the wife's calling me outside.) I opened the game link and saw 2 hours remaining before the turn. (Whole family is calling me now, what are you doing, come outside the kids are waiting.) I saw a large number of red exclamation points when I scrolled down the page. (Dude, what are you doing, everyone is waiting for you.) I made a judgement call, extending the game by 24 hours. I rejoined my family and enjoyed the rest of the holiday with them. When I next had time to engage with vDip, I went to the game I had extended, read the inevitable bellyaching, and posted my explanation and apology for not explaining sooner.
How often does this happen? Is it really a problem? I mean, big picture, head out of your ass, step back take a deep breath. Is this really a problem? YCHTT, you keep going on about communication -- in the game, in the mod forum, here in this thread. I made a judgement call. I erred in not immediately posting an explanation in-game, and I COMMUNICATED that, in-game, with an explanation and an apology. Let me now communicate to you that I apologize that my communication was not actual acceptable communication, but instead some form of non-communicative anti-communication communication.
youtube.com/watch?v=KniUNdVZvH4
I understand that we as players want to know the rules, want to be able to reliably predict what will happen in and with the games that we dedicate so much time to. And this brings me to my second point. This mod team does its level best to provide a platform upon which you enjoy (or don’t as the case may be) playing a game, in abundant variation, with people from all over the world. FOR FREE. This is not a government, it’s not the police department, it’s not a bureaucracy, it’s not your parents. There are a handful of people who volunteer their time, largely as a means of giving back and contributing to this awesome FREE online community. We can’t legislate every possible scenario. We most definitely cannot please everyone. Occasionally something like this Apocalyptic Extension happens. That will not change, because there will always be new situations and humans are here trying to make the right decisions about them.
It’s absolutely acceptable to question a mystery extension. But this has gone well over the line of reasonability. It was explained. It’s unfortunate that this existential catastrophe is still upsetting some, but fortunately this is not a detention center – all are free to seek better conditions on other Diplomacy websites. I used to play regularly on the Spanish Diplomacy site, until it simply vanished one day, permanently and without warning. It was an eye-opening event that made me really appreciate what vDiplomacy consistently provides, and I will appreciate that until the day it no longer does. In the meantime, I’m profoundly grateful for the site, the community, the staggering array of variants, the mod team that volunteers – usually without complaint – to keep it functioning and ever-improving, and the players who are rational enough to accept that it may not always be perfect, but it’s pretty damned good.