Off-Topic Area: A suggestion/request
- Midnight Synergy
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Off-Topic Area: A suggestion/request
I’ve put this off for long enough.
While there are certainly ways in which the forums can work better for Wonderland related areas (e.g. better organized help/solutions, more options/features for the custom level areas), I do believe that these areas work reasonably well in their current state. They have their predictable highs and lows around and away from new game releases, but I don’t think they have any fundamental flaws.
The Off-Topic/Social area, however, is fundamentally broken. I know many of you agree, either because you have made the same point in the forum itself, or because you have long ago abandoned the site for purposes of social interaction.
In my opinion, Off-Topic is a haven for spammy posts, excessive silliness, time-wasting, and arguing. The overall quantity of the posts is huge (with some users racking up hundreds if not thousands of posts in little time) while the quality of the posts is extremely low.
The main problem is that I truly do not police (or even read) these forums. I know I should probably be cutting a lot of topics down, and warning or possible banning several users for their posting behaviour. But I have no interest in Wefight or reading hundreds of other silly posts each day and trying to keep up with who said what and at what point I should step in.
I was fine with having an off-topic section in the forum when it was in moderate use and truly meant to supplement social interaction that already existed in e.g. custom level discussions. But now, for some users, the off-topic areas seem to be the prime reason for visiting and participating in this community, and I’m simply not willing (nor able) to supervise such a beast.
I see, at this point, three options - two of which you won’t like.
1) Just accept the state of the forum as is and continue on without changes.
2) Completely remove the off-topic areas from the board and revert it to a Wonderland-only discussion area. Links could be provided to one or more alternative forums where users could meet for simple chat and silliness.
3) A system of moderation is implemented. This would, however, require
i) a set of willing and capable moderators
and
ii) even more importantly, a clear set of rules and guidelines as to what the purpose of the off-topic areas are, what reasonable conduct is, what sort of posts are encouraged and discouraged, and what type of disciplinary action should be taken.
My own inclination at this point is toward #2, the complete removal of off-topic areas. Yes, I know that this will mean the loss of several users. However, and I’m sorry to be blunt, if your primary reason for being here is e.g. Wefight, then maybe this is not the place to be?
So, I’m looking for suggestions and solid discussion if you want me to go with #3 instead (or #1, I suppose). I’m totally open to ideas, including splitting the forum into silly and non-silly section, assigning moderators to those sections, etc. However, for this type of system to even have a chance of working, I would like to see some consensus in how these sections should operate.
There is no need for a hurried response, take your time in thinking about what you would like to see if you were in charge of this area. Be inclusive (e.g. also to those types of users/posts that used to be made, but are no longer around given the changes in recent activity), be reasonable, be fair. If you as a whole can come up with a vision for what you’d like to see in this area, I’m willing to give it a chance. If this degenerates into a flame-war, you know where we’re headed.
Patrick
While there are certainly ways in which the forums can work better for Wonderland related areas (e.g. better organized help/solutions, more options/features for the custom level areas), I do believe that these areas work reasonably well in their current state. They have their predictable highs and lows around and away from new game releases, but I don’t think they have any fundamental flaws.
The Off-Topic/Social area, however, is fundamentally broken. I know many of you agree, either because you have made the same point in the forum itself, or because you have long ago abandoned the site for purposes of social interaction.
In my opinion, Off-Topic is a haven for spammy posts, excessive silliness, time-wasting, and arguing. The overall quantity of the posts is huge (with some users racking up hundreds if not thousands of posts in little time) while the quality of the posts is extremely low.
The main problem is that I truly do not police (or even read) these forums. I know I should probably be cutting a lot of topics down, and warning or possible banning several users for their posting behaviour. But I have no interest in Wefight or reading hundreds of other silly posts each day and trying to keep up with who said what and at what point I should step in.
I was fine with having an off-topic section in the forum when it was in moderate use and truly meant to supplement social interaction that already existed in e.g. custom level discussions. But now, for some users, the off-topic areas seem to be the prime reason for visiting and participating in this community, and I’m simply not willing (nor able) to supervise such a beast.
I see, at this point, three options - two of which you won’t like.
1) Just accept the state of the forum as is and continue on without changes.
2) Completely remove the off-topic areas from the board and revert it to a Wonderland-only discussion area. Links could be provided to one or more alternative forums where users could meet for simple chat and silliness.
3) A system of moderation is implemented. This would, however, require
i) a set of willing and capable moderators
and
ii) even more importantly, a clear set of rules and guidelines as to what the purpose of the off-topic areas are, what reasonable conduct is, what sort of posts are encouraged and discouraged, and what type of disciplinary action should be taken.
My own inclination at this point is toward #2, the complete removal of off-topic areas. Yes, I know that this will mean the loss of several users. However, and I’m sorry to be blunt, if your primary reason for being here is e.g. Wefight, then maybe this is not the place to be?
So, I’m looking for suggestions and solid discussion if you want me to go with #3 instead (or #1, I suppose). I’m totally open to ideas, including splitting the forum into silly and non-silly section, assigning moderators to those sections, etc. However, for this type of system to even have a chance of working, I would like to see some consensus in how these sections should operate.
There is no need for a hurried response, take your time in thinking about what you would like to see if you were in charge of this area. Be inclusive (e.g. also to those types of users/posts that used to be made, but are no longer around given the changes in recent activity), be reasonable, be fair. If you as a whole can come up with a vision for what you’d like to see in this area, I’m willing to give it a chance. If this degenerates into a flame-war, you know where we’re headed.
Patrick
- LittleZbot
- Rainbow MegaStar
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First Poster.
I like 3. I want a silly section, too, and more Moderators.
Those are my suggestions, but I am thinking of more...
I like 3. I want a silly section, too, and more Moderators.
Those are my suggestions, but I am thinking of more...
To Shorty, who was immortalized in an adventure.
To Marinus, who was my community older brother.
To Janet, who I will remember every time I wear a toque.
May these lost Wonderlanders find true adventure beyond us.
Discord: LittleZbot#3936
To Marinus, who was my community older brother.
To Janet, who I will remember every time I wear a toque.
May these lost Wonderlanders find true adventure beyond us.
Discord: LittleZbot#3936
- boywhoflies
- Rainbow Spirit Chaser
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My vote goes to 1.Other than that I agree with lil' z.
If it will calm down any randomness, one of the fourms on my site is devoted to randomness and spam(to use it up, not encourage it).
If it will calm down any randomness, one of the fourms on my site is devoted to randomness and spam(to use it up, not encourage it).
I vote 3. Removing the off-topic section would make people leave, and the main reason people hang around here is because they're waiting for the next Wonderland game to be released. That's the case with me at any rate.
The main issue is that too many people think off-topic is literally... well, off-topic. People think that they can post pretty much anything here, leading to spamming, albeit unintentionally. As a result, posts that aren't spam tend to get deleted by result.
The main issue is that too many people think off-topic is literally... well, off-topic. People think that they can post pretty much anything here, leading to spamming, albeit unintentionally. As a result, posts that aren't spam tend to get deleted by result.
- boywhoflies
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- jdl
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I vote for this, and #3. Splitting it up will avoid confusion.. but wouldn't it just be better to move all the forum games/silliness onto another forum (tyteen)? It would require database transferring, but I'm sure it would be fairly easy.Marinus wrote:4! Split the off-topic's in 2 parts: Off-topic and Silly.
And having moderators will surely bring down all the spamming and flaming that's been going on.
Even if this isn't going to be your decision, I know what you'll do will be best for everyone.
3. Definitely 3. Not 1; I think it is bad at the moment. If 2 gets picked it will be in the top 5 the worst days of my life (if not the worst (not an exaggeration)). I will barely have anything to do. So definitely, definitely 3. Perhaps we should get a poll in action.
Thanks Patrick for doing something about this!
Thanks Patrick for doing something about this!
- boywhoflies
- Rainbow Spirit Chaser
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Well, if you're voting for 1 instead of 3, then that means you like the off-topic forum filled with Spam, doesn't it?boywhoflies wrote:I don't think many people at all agree, but I like the off-topic just the way it is.
You aren't voting something different just for a debate, are you?boywhoflies wrote:For some reason I find debates more interesting than chatting.
(1850th post!)
BB, I agree with Flying Boy for the debate. However, you have a very good point about the spam. If there must be a moderator, it must be you! (because Kiki doesn't have time for it)
Edit: But please don't say each post how many posts you made.
Edit: But please don't say each post how many posts you made.
Last edited by Marinus on Thu Sep 09, 2010 12:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
This forum tends to be the only place I visit, since I'm in college and don't have excessive time to play games. I like to check in every once in a while and see how people are doing. That being said, I'm not crazy with the idea of doing away with this section of the forum, but honestly it doesn't affect me that much.
Anyway,
If #3 is implemented, I suggest QLoof234 or Muzozavr as moderators for the off-topic section. From what I've seen they seem the most mature and unbiased while others are arguing. I've seen both of them help solve disputes. They would also probably be good at purging spammy topics.
Anyway,
If #3 is implemented, I suggest QLoof234 or Muzozavr as moderators for the off-topic section. From what I've seen they seem the most mature and unbiased while others are arguing. I've seen both of them help solve disputes. They would also probably be good at purging spammy topics.
(✿ ◕ᗜ◕)━♫.*・。゚
Currently making synth music as treehann
I make 2d games too at: treehann.itch.io
My old sig-bar image broke but I'm still thanking Pauline and Janet forever for their art!
Currently making synth music as treehann
I make 2d games too at: treehann.itch.io
My old sig-bar image broke but I'm still thanking Pauline and Janet forever for their art!
- LittleZbot
- Rainbow MegaStar
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I honestly think I'd be a good moderator, but I understand if people disagree. What I don't disagree with is the fact that Q and Muz should be mods.
she/her | Sayori#2285
- MyNameIsKooky
- Rainbow Spirit Master
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I don't mean it to anyone in particular, I just think that as is right now, 1 isn't an optimal choice to take.billy bob wrote:I never said 1, if you are talking to me. Or are you talking to Boywhoflies?Qloof234 wrote:Honestly? 1 is a terrible idea. It'll leave the forum in its bad state.
@boywhoflies; I've got to say - I enjoy debates to an extent as well, but when things start raging on and ending up going nowhere in particular (e.g. the correction topic was a huge cycle of this for various reasons), it's going overboard.
TheoX wrote:If #3 is implemented, I suggest QLoof234 or Muzozavr as moderators for the off-topic section. From what I've seen they seem the most mature and unbiased while others are arguing. I've seen both of them help solve disputes. They would also probably be good at purging spammy topics.
I'm honored to be thought of like this, really. Thanks so much guys, your feelings mean a lot to me.MyNameIsKooky wrote:I agree with Muzo and Qloof being moderators.
I vote 2. i know this will make heaps of people leave, but most of them will be the spammy ones. Also, it would encourage people to play wonderland more so they can post in the other forums.
Generation 59: Community experiment. The first time you see this, take the generation # and add 1. Put in your signature.
- tails the fox
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- tyteen4a03
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5. Move the off-topic part elsewhere (aka outside this forum, 3.studIo or not)
Anyways I support 3, and 3.studIo rules is a good rule IMO to be the new set of rules.
If mods are around there should be mods all over the forum as well.
My suggestion:
General Wonderland - Muzozavr
Level Solutions - Marinus
RTW level - Liz
Custom content - popo
WA Editor general - Qloof
WA Editor adventure - Qloof
WA Custom content - Blast!10 (or what)
Meet and Greet+Off topic - Qloof, Blast!10, Muzozavr
Anyways I support 3, and 3.studIo rules is a good rule IMO to be the new set of rules.
If mods are around there should be mods all over the forum as well.
My suggestion:
General Wonderland - Muzozavr
Level Solutions - Marinus
RTW level - Liz
Custom content - popo
WA Editor general - Qloof
WA Editor adventure - Qloof
WA Custom content - Blast!10 (or what)
Meet and Greet+Off topic - Qloof, Blast!10, Muzozavr