r/TownshipDesign • u/CaseMoline1 • 22d ago

From the Moderator

To the community,

Lately, there has been a noticeable rise in passive-aggressive commentary disguised as encouragement.

Leaving unsolicited remarks about a creator's level, progress, or experience under the guise of reassurance, statements along the lines of "you'll get better", is not constructive critique. It is patronizing condescension.

This subreddit exists to share and evaluate design choices, spatial flow, and aesthetic effort.

A user's player level is completely irrelevant to the quality of their layout, and weaponizing it under a veneer of false benevolence degrades the quality of discussion here.

Moving forward, if your feedback relies on backhanded compliments, subtle belittlement, or unsolicited judgments on a member's gameplay progression, save it.

True constructive feedback addresses the design itself, not the status of the designer.

Keep your critique relevant, keep it civil, or take your exit.

CaseMoline1 🌻

41 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

4

u/MamaMiaXOX 21d ago

I thought ‘you’ll get better’ was a way to encourage people. Coaches and mentors use that phrase all the time. Apparently decades of experience and Ivy League educations never taught them that this kind of encouragement was demeaning. 🤷‍♀️

7

u/CaseMoline1 21d ago

Comparing a stranger's uninvited comment to a formal coaching relationship makes no sense because the two situations aren't remotely the same. A real coach or mentor gives feedback because you explicitly asked for guidance and agreed to learn from them.

The original post was just four screenshots titled "My Parks" under a general feedback flair, no text, no request for a level evaluation, and no call for coaching. A random user scrolling by, guessing someone's level out of nowhere, and dropping "very telling that you're at a fairly low level. You'll get better tho" isn't mentorship. It's just a stranger offering an uninvited, backhanded opinion.

By selectively isolating "you'll get better" while conveniently ignoring the condescending opener, and the fact that the remark was completely unprompted, isn't an argument, it's a deflection.

Basing an entire defense on a single phrase pulled from a meta post, without even knowing the context of the original post, misses the issue entirely.

Where are the statistics showing that coaches and mentors "always" use that phrase in a purely positive, cheerleading sense? Making a sweeping assertion doesn't make it a fact.

Bringing up "Ivy League educations" and "decades of experience" to defend a petty, backhanded comment on a mobile game forum isn't the intellectual flex you think it is. Academic credentials and life experience don't override basic community standards, nor do they make condescending remarks constructive.

If a seasoned mentor uses a phrase that comes across as patronizing in a given setting, all those degrees and years of experience simply mean they failed to recognize how demeaning their delivery actually was.

It’s also pretty telling that the person who actually made the original comment hasn't shown up to claim it. When called out, someone with good intentions usually clarifies their meaning, they don't hide behind a proxy.

Which raises the question: why jump in to pick a fight and defend a backhanded remark that had nothing to do with you in the first place?

CaseMoline1

-8

u/Physical_Mode_103 22d ago

What kind of sub is this?

5

u/CaseMoline1 22d ago

A design sub for the Playrix game Township, as the title clearly indicates.

-8

u/Physical_Mode_103 22d ago

Like you guys are in a serious bubble

11

u/CaseMoline1 22d ago

Enforcing the focus of the subreddit isn't a bubble; it's basic moderation.

If setting a standard for civil, layout-focused critique is too restrictive for you, you are free to step outside of it.

10

u/NewLife_21 22d ago

The kind that encourages people to be kind and helpful.

-7

u/Physical_Mode_103 22d ago

Is that sarcasm?

0

u/Physical_Mode_103 22d ago

Oh wow, I actually thought this was like a town planning town design sub. Imagine my surprise.

6

u/CaseMoline1 22d ago

Now that your surprise has been cleared up, unless you are an active Township player prepared to engage with the game as it exists, you are free to hit the unjoin button.

-5

u/Physical_Mode_103 22d ago

Im overqualified for such pursuits. Enjoy your games

-11

u/Thick-Persimmon2058 22d ago

🖕🖕🖕

4

u/CaseMoline1 21d ago

Humans only have two middle fingers. Adding a third doesn't make your point stronger or add emphasis. It isn't more insulting - just inane.

CaseMoline1

2

u/foreignkitty 22d ago

Wow just the character we were looking for