General discussion forum Q

[Chaerophon]

I'm afraid that we must all too soon bid farewell to the intimate lounge that we know and love.

Bolty, et al, would it be at all possible to restrict posting access to the "lounge" forum (perhaps not the strategy forums, that may be a bit unfair) for a certain number of days after signing up in an effort to maintain some sanity and reduce the spam of the unitiated? A sort of forced period of "lurkage", at least for the lounge? I wouldn't want to unduly deter new lurkers from joining the fray, but the flood of "one stop shoppers" could make for a nasty atmosphere; particularly in the general discussion forum, I fear...

Just a thought - perhaps a tad bit of an elitist one at that.

[--Pete]

Hi,

I apparently have not made it into the beta. I may or may not eventually get WoW. If I do, I will want to learn the game for myself and not just follow blindly where others have gone before. WoW posts are already appearing in the Lounge. I fear that it is only too likely that a WoW post with a not obviously WoW title will appear, and that that post will have a spoiler right up front. That will, to some degree, ruin my enjoyment of the game.

So, if there is a way that does not take too much effort to either make the Lounge a separate sign up or to put in a delay, I too would appreciate it.

--Pete

[Wiccan]

I think i speak for all of us when i say:" Put a sock in it please."

Some of enjoy seeing new face, yes it can be a tad bothersome when the new guys make a topic and never post again...


But you asking for restrictions on there posting for limited time would not only draw people away, but also make the lounge less like family and more like a military train O.P.

Yes I can agree with you on some subjects that there should be something to give them time to learn on how to post, wait a minute there is!


Pete's idea on a separate sign up may be the best way to go concerning W.o.W.

[Kevin]

We have mods and admins that are very capable of handling issues that you and Pete have raised. The restrictions are a bad idea everywhere I have seen them implemented they cause way more problems than they solve. The whole reason for mods and admins is to deal with stuff like this and other issues. Sure we haven't really needed them to do much here in the past, but they certainly can rename topics and move them around and do anything else that needs to be done.

I do not like the idea at all, I don't see what it really helps.

[Chaerophon]

I think i speak for all of us when i say:" Put a sock in it please."

I won't presume to speak for others, but I speak for myself when I say, "up yours".

yes it can be a tad bothersome when the new guys make a topic and never post again...

Clearly you weren't around during the D2XP craze. It got ridiculous, and there wasn't much lurking going on, just a lot of 1337 dudes. It RUINED the intelligent atmosphere of the lounge, and for a time turned it into just another dii.net, with more flaming.

But you asking for restrictions on there posting for limited time would not only draw people away

No, it would draw idiots away. Those who realized what this forum was all about would stay, and those would be the people that mattered. It's not about hit count, it's about poster quality, both in terms of ability, and maturity.

[Chaerophon]

Ask the mods how well they were able to contain idiocy during the D2XP period of the lounge. I don't think that they enjoyed it. I'm not asking for a restriction on game-related forums, I'm saying that the Lounge doesn't need every idiot with 10 bucks a month, or whatever it is, posting useless crap. If they respect the people who already make the lounge what it is today, then they will be willing to wait to post general discussion. I'm not talking months, here, only a few days. A short message, something along the lines of: "Please, take some time to lurk for a few days before posting on the general discussion forum. It will take three days for your membership to be fully processed, but during that time, you will be fully able to post in the other lounge forums. Thanks for signing up!" Completely non-offensive, and probably quite helpful in deterring useless spam.

[Kevin]

I was here when the D2XP stuff was going on. I don't doubt the mods weren't happy about it, but that is their job, and they are capable of doing it. If they aren't able to handle they shouldn't be mods. I know mods and admins at other larger D2 sites that are full of idiots. Yeah, they don't like helping keep the signal to noise ratio down, but they do and they can (the forums at diablo2.com are kept quite well considering the quality of posters they have). As Bolty has said, the growth the Lounge will eventually need to have will have its pains, I don't think your method will really help as a pain reliever that much.

The forum rules and etiquette already say basically what you want anyway. A 3 day restriction on the Lounge is going to up the PM volume of the mods and admins with "Why can't I post!!!" questions. Any new game coverage is going to attract idiots, and the mod/admin staff just needs to be aware that they will have to be on guard for it, and you may need more to do the job. You will certainly want to try and find someone in Europe and another in Austrailia/NZ to be a mod as well so that you have good timezone coverage to keep down the late night idiocy as well (this is something else they did well at D2.com mods from the US, Australia, Sweden, and England; admins from US and Netherlands; so while that doesn't cover on the admins quite as well for major issues, they left the warning system in place so a mod can put 5 warnings on someone right now and stop posting rights for them until the ban can get slapped down)

The best way to deal with trolls and idiots is to have one post pointing out why thier thread is pointless so they have a chance to get feedback and learn, and then for everyone else to ignore that thread/post. The Lounge doesn't do that well because everyone seems to need to get in their little flame after someone else has already done it.

It isn't my decision to restrict it, but I still don't think that it is worth it or that it will really help that much. I understand your desire for it, but I still don't like it. As I recall with this version of the boards it is fairly simple to do it as well, but I might be thinking of other software I have worked with. If that is the decision I still have admin rights on a board that runs this software and will be more than glad to give info on how to place the restriction.

[Wiccan]

Also i been here before the d2xp craze started, my old name was Shadow Lurker, so before you start saying the use of idiocy please be aware that your" up yours" statement is a firecracker awaiting to be lighted, congratulations you started the fuse, now i offer you the water bucket to put out the fuse before something else blows up in your face.

Everyone knows my case and i don’t expect anything from anyone, hell i love the flames... i get before i am back up to par if i can relearn to make contextual sentences and for everyone to understand it then i am doing good, but EVERYONE is different i still dont understand the the new things going on at 1337 speech,makes me shudder when i hear "wug" when i play d2.
Yes i remember the trolls; i seem to remember bolty going crazy with it and so many others.

But i am also sorry, for i layed the fuse.....


i would like to aplogize to bolty for this little tiff and anyone that lost brain cells over are little childish statements

[Occhidiangela]

I had some fun flaming jackasses during the mad days when Bolty must have lost most of his hair.

I'd do it again, but since I am not going to be an insider in WoW, I will ignore it all and play it from the "newb" perspective, as I did Diablo I. I know my son will play, he is dying for it to come out and has in no uncertain terms told me how disappointed he is that I did not get into the Beta.

Ya can't always be a hero, and sometimes, ya just can't be one at all . . .

Occhi

[DeeBye]

I had some fun flaming jackasses during the mad days when Bolty must have lost most of his hair.

I'd do it again, but since I am not going to be an insider in WoW, I will ignore it all and play it from the "newb" perspective, as I did Diablo I.  I know my son will play, he is dying for it to come out and has in no uncertain terms told me how disappointed he is that I did not get into the Beta.

Ya can't always be a hero, and sometimes, ya just can't be one at all . . .

Occhi

I had fun reading those threads. It was like watching a car-wreck.

[Wiccan]

I know i left some flames in my wake to, sometimes its all good to lay a flame to some one arse!

[[wcip]Angel]

"The Lounge doesn't do that well because everyone seems to need to get in their little flame after someone else has already done it."

I can see the logic behind this:

"Concerning stupidity: Mods - moderate it. Everyone else - ignore it."

I'm not saying that I disagree with you, but I just want to voice my opinion.

As I've stated many times before, this place (The Lurkerlounge) is the best forum I've frequented (and I've been to many). I am skeptic of any changes, because I fear it may change the Lounge. I'm not saying that it *will* happen, but I fear it *might* if we start putting restraints on Occhidiangela, Pete and anyone else who might wish to explain why a certain post is unwelcomed here.

Additionally, they're a bloody fun read, in my opinion :)

I'm just worried, that's all, that if we leave these things unchecked, and it takes a while for the moderators to nuke it, new posters might see the "trend" and fall under the assumption that *this* (not this "this" but hypothetical "this") is the standard. In addition to setting in motion a Snowball of Stupidity® which will attract other winter-oriented people, it might scare off Loungers whose genuine potential might be that of a Lounger.

I guess we all want the same thing: An expanding ever-growing website with quality content by interesting people, the difference being that some put more faith into the admins than warranted. I'm not saying they're in any way incompetent; not at all, it's just that I know how difficult it can be moderating a forum 24/7. I may be wrong here but I suspect all the moderators to be based in the US. When we get morons from Europe or Asia who post during the mods' "off hours" (if they ever do sleep), I don't see how a post can get deleted till it's already done some damage.

Then again, I plan to write my dissertation on "Language on the Internet" in about 2 years time. I suppose a moron or two would be fruitful :)

edit: on the "3 day Lurker-only-resolution" I say: "Let people post from the get-go, but moderators: don't fret when established Loungers nuke their threads when you were temporarily unavailable, as they're only doing your job while you're indisposed.."

[Wiccan]

Occhi

I had fun reading those threads. It was like watching a car-wreck. [/quote]
Yes indeed it does seem like that dont it! :blink:

[Kevin]

Angel,Mar 24 2004, 05:04 AM] I guess we all want the same thing: An expanding ever-growing website with quality content by interesting people, the difference being that some put more faith into the admins than warranted. I'm not saying they're in any way incompetent; not at all, it's just that I know how difficult it can be moderating a forum 24/7. I may be wrong here but I suspect all the moderators to be based in the US. When we get morons from Europe or Asia who post during the mods' "off hours" (if they ever do sleep), I don't see how a post can get deleted till it's already done some damage.

I'm not really disagreeing with you. My other point was that if you have a board that covers a subject matter that is large enough to draw an international fan base, then you need an international mod/admin base as well. I do agree that the from what I know of the current mod staff, that they couldn't handle the job if we grew, because there would be idiots in other timezones that would post piles of stupidity that could just sit and steam.

Of course the Lounge is not the best board that I have been too. Unfortunately the best board I have been to is now essentially dead because there is no core focus for it for it anymore, and too many good members didn't stick around for just the company but it was a great place for the 2 years that it was highly active. This is the road the Lounge appears to be going down as well if it doesn't expand to incorporate something else new, and that is why I get worried about even a percieved barrier to entry.

[Crogon]

This is the road the Lounge appears to be going down as well if it doesn't expand to incorporate something else new, and that is why I get worried about even a percieved barrier to entry.

It's not just a perceived barrier. I just got flogged for trying to share some information. Out of the 10+ boards I posted this on, this is the only one I got attacked on. If all new members are treated in this fashion, there is little wonder why there are only 14 people on this board atm, and hundreds (if not thousands) on all of the others.

Some odd years ago this was one of my favorite boards to come to. I was shocked that even one of the Admin's was condescending after I went to lengths to explain myself and apologize. I'm really not sure if I will bother coming back here anymore. It's quite sad really considering that the lurker was a diablo staple for quite some time.

Peace out all.

[Obi2Kenobi]

You were hardly attacked. It was just because you spammed. This is all I will say about this.

Anyway, I'm not really sure how I feel about a timer on posting in the Lounge... about 55% for it.

/edit: anyway, not anyone....

[--Pete]

Hi,

I'm really not sure if I will bother coming back here anymore.

Unsure? Let me help you out. Which way did you come in?

Oh, and as to quantity over quality, no matter how big a pile of crap you have, all you have is crap.

--Pete

[DeeBye]

I just got flogged for trying to share some information.

Wrong. Your posts were nuked because you spammed them.

Spam. Cross posting in 3 forums. Thread locked.

-Bolty

Read the forum rules next time. Bolty's forums, Bolty's rules.

edit:

Some odd years ago this was one of my favorite boards to come to.

Does anyone remember this user-name (Crogon)? It's a new one for me. I'm waiting for the "'Crogon' is a new user-name and I've read every single post here since the dawn of time!" counter-post.

[Griselda]

If all new members are treated in this fashion, there is little wonder why there are only 14 people on this board atm, and hundreds (if not thousands) on all of the others.

I'd rather have one good poster than 100 lame ones, and I'm not trying to win a popularity contest. Crogon, you were corrected because you were wrong. You continued to argue, even after-

-your mistakes had been pointed out.
-your posts had been deleted.

You continue to argue, even now! If you can accept the fact that you should NOT have posted any of the threads you posted today (we've already got one, thank you very much), you are welcome to stay and participate. You will find that Lurkers are quite willing to forget past issues and welcome people who try to get to know the expectations and who can take constructive criticism. However, if you continue to quibble, the choice of whether to return won't be yours, it will be mine. I will ban you.

I've got a game to beta, now, so please excuse me.

-Griselda

[[wcip]Angel]

Come on, Crogon. You're just going to let Griselda get away with a remark like that?

*fuelling the fire*

(If he *does* come back, please hold back the ban for as long as possible, Griselda, as this is hugely entertaining :lol: .)