Discussion: Tactics spam & angry comments

@Stam I didn’t say anything about results. I was just suggesting a simple overview so users who aren’t familiar with the style can decide whether this shape would suit them.

The reason for the screenshots is that without them we can’t justify the statements people make. Otherwise, we’d have users claiming their teams scored 200 goals with no data to support it. Then the comment section will be full with comment this is fake and so on...

@Justice

I agree, we’re doing this for fun. I just don’t think uploading four screenshots is too much work for anyone.

In addition to my previous comment, I might also suggest that if we are holding content creators accountable, we also need to be accountable for our own comments.

I've witnessed one particular creator (we all know who) who, in my opinion, deserved criticism for a lack of accountability for some aspects of the content provided here on a regular basis. However, I think we can all admit that some of the comments were quite nasty. This is not how we should behave as a community. It is perfectly acceptable to be critical of someone's work but there is a difference between being critical and being unnecessarily cruel or abusive.

If we're moderating content, the comments should also be considered to be part of the content. We're a community - that's how it should work. Whether you post a tactic, a skin, a graphic pack, a forum post, or a comment, they all need to be done so respectfully.

I would suggest a traffic light system for comments/feedback:

Green = constructive/reasonable criticism. This is the type of criticism we want. Help the creator grow. Comments like 'I'm finding my team get exposed on the counter' or 'We're not creating many chances in the box', or 'Could you show us how this tactic works for a weaker team?'. Nothing wrong with this comments as they give the creator something to think about. Give these people a thumbs up.

Yellow = unconstructive criticism. Comments like 'this is crap', but no reason provided. It isn't preferable but it is going to happen. It is a worldwide community and there are considerations to be had for the likes of language barriers, or other barriers, preventing people from providing constructive feedback. However, if we notice a trend, ask the commentor what they mean by their comment.

Red = unacceptable / abusive criticism. Don't target individuals needlessly. Don't be prejudiced towards a certain person's work. No hateful comments or abusive language. It isn't helpful, it can be hurtful, it damages the morale of a community, it puts other potential content creators off the idea of posting their content. These comments should be moderated and the commentor warned in line with the site rules.

I'll go back to being a silent observer but I hope the above is considered.

@Justice I agree you have made a good point.

The only thing I would add is that before people went over the line with their comments, they had been asking him questions that he never addressed. He almost never respond to comments under his posts, and he even wrote under some of them that he doesn’t read them.

When people, including myself, try to reach out to him through more official channels, like sending him a message, he only replies a month later—and that’s usually because he has been asked to do so.

You also mentioned that we are a community. Unfortunately, lately this and other similar websites feel more like platforms where content creators simply post their content and then forget about it until it’s time to post again.

This can be clearly seen in the comments in the forum section. Only a few take the time to address people’s questions, even though I would assume that, as content creators who play this game so often, they would know the answers to most of them.

Only now caught up but great to see some of the ideas put forward for change on here and people getting involved to help.

2026-02-21 09:02#309700 luk4sh31 : @Justice I agree you have made a good point.

The only thing I would add is that before people went over the line with their comments, they had been asking him questions that he never addressed. He almost never respond to comments under his posts, and he even wrote under some of them that he doesn’t read them. (1)

When people, including myself, try to reach out to him through more official channels, like sending him a message, he only replies a month later—and that’s usually because he has been asked to do so.

You also mentioned that we are a community. Unfortunately, lately this and other similar websites feel more like platforms where content creators simply post their content and then forget about it until it’s time to post again. (2)

This can be clearly seen in the comments in the forum section. Only a few take the time to address people’s questions, even though I would assume that, as content creators who play this game so often, they would know the answers to most of them.

1. Him not replying is and never will be an excuse for some of the vile hate that was spouted on here on a regular basis. You can argue all you want but that is a hill I will die on. It was disgusting and was allowed to happen for far too long.

2. From a creator standpoint, I don't think you understand quite how many DMs we have to go through a day just on Patreon alone. That's before we even look at the comments on fansites or social media. Sometimes it takes up half my day helping people with varying queries and issues. It's exhausting and people need to remember that we are also humans who have lives too. The amount of 14 hour days and lack of days off that creators put in is lost on a lot of users on sites like these.

That said, I'm not blind to the fact that I'm lucky to do what I do as a job.

The majorIty of my reply is based on the part in bold. I don't speak for Josh and how Josh chooses to reply is his business.

I agree that some of the comments have gone too far.

For me, as someone who has been visiting this site for about 20 years, it’s not the same anymore. It used to feel like a real community, but I don’t see that here now. This is what I meant when I said that some of the questions asked on the forum have not been addressed by those who actually have the knowledge to help.

This is one of them:

This page exists since 2016 and is also linked in the main navigation under tactics:
https://www.fmscout.com/a-how-to-share-your-football-manager-tactic-on-fmscout.html

About what used to be and what it is now. Traditional forums gradually lost the majority of people who used to post back in the day. Mainly because everyone transitioned to social media (facebook, twitter, reddit) for their discussion needs, but also because some of them simply moved on as life happened (job, family). For comparison, our facebook group is extremely active (~50 posts/day) and counts nearly 220k members.

Also I get the impression that a lot of people assume there's a team running this place. There are some moderators who patrol the live chat, but that's it. Everything else is on one person. From producing articles to validating submissions, and from posting on socials to making thumbs for the YT channel, and from answering support inquiries to moderating spam... I could go on.

I've spent a lot of time dealing with drama in the comment section and I'm someone who seriously appreciates peace of mind. I deleted dozens of offensive comments and messaged whoever posted them. Some of them kept posting but switched to being just critical, then new ones emerged. And yet I've been accused of defending and protecting, as well as not doing a good job moderating comments. That is all time I'd rather spend babysitting my kids instead.

There are certain periods during the year when I need a break. The point is I can't be here all the time to monitor and moderate. But I try to do my best with the time I have.

I think I need to clarify what I meant.

First of all, I did visit that page today while I was writing the guide.

The reason I shared that post is because it was viewed by around 2,000 people, yet no one decided to leave a comment or refer to that page.

I understand how the website works and that you are the one who keeps everything running. That’s why I offered to help with tactics.

I haven’t been actively involved in the community for years, as I also have my personal life and understand that time is limited. I wasn’t a content creator before — more of an observer who gathered knowledge.

I didn’t know how to upload tactics until last year, and you recently explained the process to me when I was supposed to help with it. So I decided that maybe it’s time to update that information, as my knowledge has grown as well.

I don’t believe it should be only your responsibility to answer every post on the forum. I believe that everyone who signs up becomes part of the community. If there is a question and you, I, or anyone else knows the answer, should feel responsible for responding.

That’s what I’m doing now — giving back when I can.

I personally agree with what Justice said, I always said that since when 3 months ago I started commenting about Josh to stop hating and insults, even if I did not know anything about this issue because no matter what, insulting and personal hate and cyberbullism are a serious crime nowadays. Critics, especially as Justice said, constructive critics (e.g. why did you put Messi as DLF instead of F9? it's wrong) are always welcome and of course the creator should explain his choices (in my case when I created Pep's tikitaka Barcelona with Messi F9 in FM 24 I used the dlf because F9 role did not do what I wanted and I explained it to all those who asked me)
Unconstructive critics as Justice said, still need some motivation, just say it's a bad tactic it does not work without saying why is not the most correct way, but it's even not so bad, But insults, no, they are not allowed.
I agree also with Mr Tini (by the way, thanks for your great Skin) point n.1 and even if it's not my case luckily, with point n. 2 too, I don't use facebook instagram, X and any other social network, never been a fan of them and so I always avoided all of that but I fully understand how overwhelmed a creator can feel by all those messages everyday
I always preferred forums like this one to social networks because here you can take the time to read carefully what other people write and then answer, in social networks it's all too fast and may I say, shallow.
Unfortunately as @Stam said, most people transitioned to social medias and leave forums and it's a pity