This discussion board is in crisis.

billy bob · Post by **billy bob** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 10:50 pm

This is what currently happens when someone joins the discussion board: While trying to find a Wonderland related discussion only finds Wonderland unrelated discussions and, if you're an adult, not want to become part of the current community because all that it produces is constant Wonderland unrelated discussions and, if you are a child, become part of the current community which is the source of the Wonderland unrelated discussions.

I think that the way to solve the problem is to completely remove the off-topic areas from the discussion 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.

It seemed fine 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 it seems to me that perhaps it should have never existed in the first place: the description for this discussion board is "A place to meet and discuss all things Wonderland!", yet there are forums with descriptions like "For discussion of non-Wonderland topics - please read rules!" and "Chat, Jokes, other discussions. Anything that is not related to Wonderland.".

DEEMAN223344 · Post by **DEEMAN223344** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 11:05 pm

You are being too paranoid. There is a ton of level exchange going on. The board is fulfilling its purpose and then some. There was more discussion years ago due to the MOFI renaissance of 2009, where it has more discussion than ever before! We're on discovery burnout! This is the perfect time for POTZ to slow down! It would be a waste for wonderful WA3 pics to go without discussion. The dramatic return of the updates will stir the pot again, and the topic will be reduced to spam and lies buried by a cascade of topics, especially when POTZ is released.

Sammy_P · Post by **Sammy_P** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 11:07 pm

DEEMAN223344 wrote:You are being too paranoid. There is a ton of level exchange going on. The board is fulfilling its purpose and then some. There was more discussion years ago due to the MOFI renaissance of 2009, where it has more discussion than ever before! We're on discovery burnout! This is the perfect time for POTZ to slow down! It would be a waste for wonderful WA3 pics to go without discussion. The dramatic return of the updates will stir the pot again, and the topic will be reduced to spam and lies buried by a cascade of topics, especially when POTZ is released.

I agree with everything you said.

(inb4possibleargument)

MyNameIsKooky · Post by **MyNameIsKooky** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 11:15 pm

I hope you realize that the WA Editor forum is actually quite active.

Also, the off-topic sections of discussion boards are often the most popular. It's normal.

billy bob · Post by **billy bob** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 11:45 pm

MyNameIsKooky wrote:I hope you realize that the WA Editor forum is actually quite active.

A minor percentage compared to the off-topic section. Instead the off-topic section should have a minor percentage compared to the rest of the forum.

MyNameIsKooky wrote:Also, the off-topic sections of discussion boards are often the most popular. It's normal.

That doesn't effect whether this forum is in crisis or not.

MyNameIsKooky · Post by **MyNameIsKooky** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 11:49 pm

So what exactly are you trying to accomplish here? Forcing people to play Wonderland again?

DEEMAN223344 · Post by **DEEMAN223344** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 11:53 pm

If that is the case, he's denying the results of his own poll.

Sammy_P · Post by **Sammy_P** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 11:54 pm

DEEMAN223344 wrote:If that is the case, he's denying the results of his own poll.

link for lazy people: http://pcpuzzle.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=23322

billy bob · Post by **billy bob** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 12:00 am

MyNameIsKooky wrote:So what exactly are you trying to accomplish here? Forcing people to play Wonderland again?

I made this topic to bring up an issue with this discussion board so that we could find a way to solve it.

DEEMAN223344 wrote:If that is the case, he's denying the results of his own poll.

The poll was to see if anyone played Wonderland anymore. I was curious because the majority of discussions are by far Wonderland unrelated.

DEEMAN223344 · Post by **DEEMAN223344** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 12:07 am

There IS no problem with the board. You're just being paranoid.

billy bob · Post by **billy bob** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 12:15 am

DEEMAN223344 wrote:There IS no problem with the board. You're just being paranoid.

This discussion board is a place to meet and discuss all things Wonderland, yet the majority of discussions are Wonderland unrelated.

Sammy_P · Post by **Sammy_P** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 12:23 am

billy bob wrote:
DEEMAN223344 wrote:There IS no problem with the board. You're just being paranoid.
This discussion board is a place to meet and discuss all things Wonderland, yet the majority of discussions are Wonderland unrelated.

The Off-Topic section is visited the most on other forums.

EDIT:

billy bob wrote:This discussion board is a place to meet and discuss all things Wonderland, yet the majority of discussions are Wonderland unrelated.

You're acting like barely anyone posts in the Wonderland-related topics now.

Qloof234 · Post by **Qloof234** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 12:33 am

Billy bob, I understand the reason you're worried, but as everyone else has said, this is completely normal for discussion boards. Part of the problem is that PoTZ's development is so quiet. There's nothing new to talk about, only custom levels.

Go to just about any other forum about game series where news is as lacking as it is here. The off-topic discussion sections are going to be most popular. Even when there is news, chances are the off-topic areas are going to have the most posts.

One of the other forums I used to chill on was like that, and game news was much more frequent. This is perfectly normal... "conduct", for lack of a better word, on forums.

Muzozavr · Post by **Muzozavr** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 8:17 am

The forums aren't dead... they're sleeping.

When POTZ arrives, they will awaken.

boywhoflies · Post by **boywhoflies** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 1:00 pm

In things to talk about:
Wonderland<Every other thing known to man put together

The later is what off topic is for. Don't worry. Besides, if we weren't intrested in Wonderland, how would we be in this topic? It's in General Wonderland Discussion.

Master Wonder Mage · Post by **Master Wonder Mage** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 8:49 pm

The custom level forums are still active, both for WA, and RTW. Solutions have been written for just about every level in the series. What exactly do you want?

billy bob · Post by **billy bob** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 6:37 pm

Qloof234 wrote:Billy bob, I understand the reason you're worried, but as everyone else has said, this is completely normal for discussion boards. Part of the problem is that PoTZ's development is so quiet. There's nothing new to talk about, only custom levels.

The series has so much quality and quantity that discussion should continue for many more years. And if you don't like Wonderland enough to still be participating in Wonderland related discussions at this time, then I'm not telling you that you have to be more interested in Wonderland, I'm telling you that you shouldn't ruin it for others by constantly creating Wonderland unrelated discussions. There are tons of other forums you can do that on, why do you have to do it here?

jdl · Post by **jdl** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 6:45 pm

billy bob wrote:There are tons of other forums you can do that on, why do you have to do it here?

Probably because there's an "Off-Topic Discussions" forum on this board.

billy bob · Post by **billy bob** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 7:15 pm

jdl wrote:
billy bob wrote:There are tons of other forums you can do that on, why do you have to do it here?
Probably because there's an "Off-Topic Discussions" forum on this board.

Exactly. The off-topic areas are the problem. They need to be completely removed from the board and it reverted to a Wonderland-only discussion area. Links could be provided to one or more alternative forums where users could meet and have their Wonderland unrelated discussions there.

LittleZbot · Post by **LittleZbot** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 7:32 pm

Already tried. Didn't work.

jdl · Post by **jdl** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 7:32 pm

billy bob wrote:
jdl wrote:
billy bob wrote:There are tons of other forums you can do that on, why do you have to do it here?
Probably because there's an "Off-Topic Discussions" forum on this board.
Exactly. The off-topic areas are the problem. They need to be completely removed from the board and it reverted to a Wonderland-only discussion area. Links could be provided to one or more alternative forums where users could meet and have their Wonderland unrelated discussions there.

The Off-Topic Forum is the only thing keeping users here. If it were gone, almost nobody would still be here, and if PoTZ comes out, they wouldn't know anything about it. And if users are using the Off-Topic, don't you think that they enjoy using it? I understand your concern for the board, but the reason that there hasn't been any talk of Wonderland for such a long time is because there's been a lack of a new game.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the board in the state that it's in right now. Please, stop worrying.

boywhoflies · Post by **boywhoflies** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 7:35 pm

Going to the off topic will not prevent us from using the Wonderland-related forums as well. Actualy, removing the off topic might have a negitive effect on the Wonderland forums as well;If some people only come for the off topic and check out the Wonderland-related forums while they are at it, we will lose them, too.

Qloof234 · Post by **Qloof234** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 8:28 pm

billy bob wrote:
Qloof234 wrote:Billy bob, I understand the reason you're worried, but as everyone else has said, this is completely normal for discussion boards. Part of the problem is that PoTZ's development is so quiet. There's nothing new to talk about, only custom levels.
The series has so much quality and quantity that discussion should continue for many more years. And if you don't like Wonderland enough to still be participating in Wonderland related discussions at this time, then I'm not telling you that you have to be more interested in Wonderland, I'm telling you that you shouldn't ruin it for others by constantly creating Wonderland unrelated discussions. There are tons of other forums you can do that on, why do you have to do it here?

Indeed, the Wonderland games are good. However, I don't see anyone else complaining that having an off-topic area is ruining it for them. It's really more of a segregation issue, actually - Get rid of the off-topic area, and chances are that you'll start seeing irrelevant topics in other areas.

This is the internet, everyone's anonymous. No matter where you use the same nickname, it's still not face-to-face. Breaking rules on the internet has less consequences than it does in real life.

billy bob wrote:
jdl wrote:
billy bob wrote:There are tons of other forums you can do that on, why do you have to do it here?
Probably because there's an "Off-Topic Discussions" forum on this board.
Exactly. The off-topic areas are the problem. They need to be completely removed from the board and it reverted to a Wonderland-only discussion area. Links could be provided to one or more alternative forums where users could meet and have their Wonderland unrelated discussions there.

The only reason there's a problem is because you think there's a problem and I'm not saying that to be rude. Like I said, any other discussion forum - including ones about far more active or well-known series or games - is going to encounter something similar (as in the off-topic area getting more posts). It's not a crisis, it's not a problem with the board's setup, that's just how it is.

For instance, let's say you decided to have a group meetup for fans of a particular series. There's a common interest between all of them, but even so, that doesn't mean the only thing they'll be talking about during the meetup is that series. They're going to be socializing.

It's the same thing here, only over the internet. Most people visit discussion boards to socialize or find friends that have similar interests. Axing the off-topic area includes by association cutting off a way to socialize. If you had your group meetup from before and said that only relevant discussion to that series was allowed, chances are that nobody would care.

DEEMAN223344 · Post by **DEEMAN223344** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 8:48 pm

Agreed. Lock please.

StinkerSquad01 · Post by **StinkerSquad01** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 9:25 pm

DEEMAN223344 wrote:Agreed. Lock please.

This isn't off-topic.

DEEMAN223344 · Post by **DEEMAN223344** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 10:12 pm

MS can lock it.

MyNameIsKooky · Post by **MyNameIsKooky** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 10:58 pm

jdl wrote:The Off-Topic Forum is the only thing keeping users here. If it were gone, almost nobody would still be here.

Now that's just not true. There are plenty of people who hang around in the Wonderland-related forums and seldom post in the off-topic, if ever. I agree that the off-topic is a necessity, but this forum could get along fine without it (although there would be off-topic topics scattered around, like others have said).

StinkerSquad01 · Post by **StinkerSquad01** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 11:32 pm

Yeah, the Wonderland Forums are doing just fine, we keep chugging along. No serious destruction/carnage.

[size=0]inb4lock[/size]

...Hm? Oh, nothing.

VirtLands · Post by **VirtLands** » Mon Jan 16, 2012 9:25 pm

The OFF-TOPic adds another dimension to the Wonderland FOrum,
gives people a chance to show who they are, show their
hobbies, creations,... , and allow these to inspire others.

Occasionally the OFF-TOPic is loosely connected to the W. Games, so
it's a + .

billy bob · Post by **billy bob** » Mon Jan 16, 2012 10:38 pm

I didn't realise that the decline in Wonderland related activity was because a new game hadn't been released for so long; for me the existing Wonderland series is of such quality and quantity that I thought that it could be discussed for decades.

I thought that the users that are currently creating Wonderland unrelated discussions were the less interested in Wonderland, and that they were repelling the more interested from engaging with the Wonderland forum altogether.

I now realize that people aren't as interested in Wonderland as I thought they were, and while it saddens me a little, I do appreciate that everyone enjoys Wonderland in different ways.

This discussion board is in crisis.

This discussion board is in crisis.

Re: This discussion board is in crisis.