04-05-2003, 12:20 PM
Quote: Some of the latest stuff:
http://forums.rpgforums.net/showthread.p...did=164326
http://forums.rpgforums.net/showthread.p...did=165851
Wow. I never knew things were getting so bad!
For a period of time where I used to post at the dii.net amazon forum, it was actually a rather pleasurable experience:
- There was a rather good pool of regulars who actually knows what they're talking about (with regards to both common knowledge and the intricacies of odd variants).
- Flames were quickly suppressed and typical dumb questions got pointed to their respective places then ignored.
- Although links to other websites were frequently thrown all over the place (Zen's bow speed tables, ias calculator, some guides and discussions elsewhere etc), they were largely left there untouched, even after the period of heavy onslaught against offsite linkages in other forums.
- Errors in diabloii.net database and guides were pointed out (repeatedly) though no attempts seemed to be made to correct those.
- And generally no problems because there was simply NO official moderators for the amazon forum... and the one particular mod that drops by occasionally help out by stickying some stuff but would generally close one eye to all the offsite links that were there.
Sometimes I really wonder if there had been an inflexible mod (like the one in the two threads above) at the zon forum as well, I'd probably have been banned by now considering how many times I continued to link to offsite threads and guides after the onslaught was declared.
Just like to say that while much of the management and administration of the forums leave much to be desired, there are definitely at least 1-2 mods who are genuinely helpful and different from the rest and deserving of respect.
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The one main thing I don't like is the unwillingness of the ppl there in general to accept new info (or worse still info contradictory to what's on dii.net) or for gameplay, builds which defers greatly from the norm UNLESS such information is given by an already well-established name in the forums.
When I made my first post in the zon forum (incidentally slamming a guide for inaccuracies), I got almost totally toasted, barbequed and flamed for 3-4 pages over more than 2 days for bringing up the viability of a non-leech mageazon in hell. If not for boredom and the intervention of some regulars who managed to turn the flames into good discussion, I'd probably have left by then. Likewise, when I made my first post at the sin forum about how a ribcracker blade shield sin is actually viable in hell, I simply got called a n00b, idiot, don't be stupid etc by almost everyone there at that time.
Now, with a new "generation" of regulars at the forums who seem to take all the info and guides at dii.net to be the ultimate truth (which is hardly the case in several areas), the quality of the posts there just went spiraling downhill, especially when the ppl who used to correct such misinformation no longer do that as frequently as before.
As for offsite linkages as competitive, I see it in a completely different light. The site should of course seek to offer as much information or strategy as possible, but it's virtually impossible to gather ALL the information at one site. By having some quality offsite links occasionally, I think it would actually make it more worthwhile for ppl to frequent the site, since they would be able to get more information either from the site itself or from links off the site.
Denying such links would just be restricting the amount of information available to its users and chasing away good quality posters hardly help the situation. The less quality posters there is there, the more likely ppl would want to move to other places and as time passes, whatever knowledge is left there would just get diluted over time. I really wonder how much accurate information there would at dii.net if and when v1.10 comes out, especially if all those bans on other sites continue. IMO no sites can possibly deliver all the information all by itself.
Just some thoughts.