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Please, unless you're one of the above, please dont spam this thread with nonsense, I just want opinions from these guys on the following:
I’ve been reading through the posts concerning how the forums have fallen recently, pointless topics etc and spamming from newbies just to get their stats up.
RBS suggested it should it based on time, not word counts and that’s cool.
I would also like to suggest that you use Moderators for the forums.
One or two people per forum that are able to monitor and/or modify posts.
Be it deleting or simply closing a thread to prevent anymore posts on something considered futile.
Be the moderators Notable or regulars that are respected and counted with expertise in particular forum topics.
For example, Sonic and Bonus are tech wizards, Grix seems to know Nintendo etc etc and I know movies and music.
I’m not saying Moderators should take over from SR web staff, it would just remove some pressure from you guys to monitor and check each thread, regulars you can trust and spend most of their day in here (being at work with nothing else to do etc) and can make sure their “allocated forum” maintains some degree of interest.
No idea if it would work, but I’ve seen moderators on other forums and it seems to work pretty well there.
Just an idea
I’ve been reading through the posts concerning how the forums have fallen recently, pointless topics etc and spamming from newbies just to get their stats up.
RBS suggested it should it based on time, not word counts and that’s cool.
I would also like to suggest that you use Moderators for the forums.
One or two people per forum that are able to monitor and/or modify posts.
Be it deleting or simply closing a thread to prevent anymore posts on something considered futile.
Be the moderators Notable or regulars that are respected and counted with expertise in particular forum topics.
For example, Sonic and Bonus are tech wizards, Grix seems to know Nintendo etc etc and I know movies and music.
I’m not saying Moderators should take over from SR web staff, it would just remove some pressure from you guys to monitor and check each thread, regulars you can trust and spend most of their day in here (being at work with nothing else to do etc) and can make sure their “allocated forum” maintains some degree of interest.
No idea if it would work, but I’ve seen moderators on other forums and it seems to work pretty well there.
Just an idea
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Grix Thraves wrote:
Or perhaps, help can be called from the other forums. As you said, two
> mods to a forum, but those mods are allowed to moderate on other
> forums as well...
Good idea. This isn't to suggest that Mods "police" the forums, it's just a way of the users being able to assist and guide others, or take suggestions from others as to how to improve/maintain that particular forum.
Better than Ali and Tony having to check all the threads.
On another forum, there is a simple "report this thread to a moderator" button, that way you wouldn't need to be there constantly - You are made aware of a posting that someone has a problem with.
Again,this isn't a draconian method of checking everyone, just allows a peace of mind that there is someone you can go to if you feel a post is out of order, or you need to ask something without shouting "Oi Tony" all the time
Or perhaps, help can be called from the other forums. As you said, two
> mods to a forum, but those mods are allowed to moderate on other
> forums as well...
Good idea. This isn't to suggest that Mods "police" the forums, it's just a way of the users being able to assist and guide others, or take suggestions from others as to how to improve/maintain that particular forum.
Better than Ali and Tony having to check all the threads.
On another forum, there is a simple "report this thread to a moderator" button, that way you wouldn't need to be there constantly - You are made aware of a posting that someone has a problem with.
Again,this isn't a draconian method of checking everyone, just allows a peace of mind that there is someone you can go to if you feel a post is out of order, or you need to ask something without shouting "Oi Tony" all the time
I have yet to see anyone post worthwhile stuff all of the time, and the notables are some of the worst offenders!!
SonicRav wrote:
"I must say that self-moderation is no longer working."
Yeah... it's a damn shame too. Certain individuals will always post quality material all of the time. These are the ones that should be moderating others as well.
As Goatboy said, this isn't some sort of big brother thing, it's just trying to make the forums more enjoyable.
"I must say that self-moderation is no longer working."
Yeah... it's a damn shame too. Certain individuals will always post quality material all of the time. These are the ones that should be moderating others as well.
As Goatboy said, this isn't some sort of big brother thing, it's just trying to make the forums more enjoyable.
Goatboy wrote:
"But this is just an idea."
It's a good one though. The only thing I can see wrong with it, if there are people on here messing about, and there is only one moderator on at the time. This is why I said about the three mods...
Or perhaps, help can be called from the other forums. As you said, two mods to a forum, but those mods are allowed to moderate on other forums as well... so if help was needed on the Nintendo forum, and there was only one Nintendo mod on, then say a Sony mod could come and declare that a topic, or whatever, should be deleted.
Not sure if you've already said that though, it's hard to keep up at the moment.
"But this is just an idea."
It's a good one though. The only thing I can see wrong with it, if there are people on here messing about, and there is only one moderator on at the time. This is why I said about the three mods...
Or perhaps, help can be called from the other forums. As you said, two mods to a forum, but those mods are allowed to moderate on other forums as well... so if help was needed on the Nintendo forum, and there was only one Nintendo mod on, then say a Sony mod could come and declare that a topic, or whatever, should be deleted.
Not sure if you've already said that though, it's hard to keep up at the moment.
I cannot understand why people actually write rubbish... when it is clear that it is not going to win a game or be taken seriously. MAybe a newby could let me in on the secret?
Sonic
Sonic
It's more along the lines of making sure people dont just clog things up with utter @rse.
Of course topics are going to get repeated, I myself dont have a problem with that.
It's when you get moron replies from the same people over and over that dont help anything.
And immense threads about nothing, just being used for word count and trying to be amusing to your mates.
A moderator could just close the thread, remove it, warn people...or shut up and let it continue.
I think, if you were a moderator for a forum, you'd take a bit of pride in it, try to make sure people didnt use it for spam.
But this is just an idea.
Of course topics are going to get repeated, I myself dont have a problem with that.
It's when you get moron replies from the same people over and over that dont help anything.
And immense threads about nothing, just being used for word count and trying to be amusing to your mates.
A moderator could just close the thread, remove it, warn people...or shut up and let it continue.
I think, if you were a moderator for a forum, you'd take a bit of pride in it, try to make sure people didnt use it for spam.
But this is just an idea.
Armitage Shanks raises good point... however, in response I must say that self-moderation is no longer working. When I first joiined the site it did... we all posted interesting topics, and at times completely forgot about the idea of winning games.
Now we have people who come to the site for the soul purpose of win win win, and as a result they post a lot of rubbish
HOWEVER! the biggest proble is that there are very few things about the FOG to dicuss that we haven't done already... which means more console wars topics. Maybe once the GC and Xbox come out then things will get more interesting?
Sonic
Now we have people who come to the site for the soul purpose of win win win, and as a result they post a lot of rubbish
HOWEVER! the biggest proble is that there are very few things about the FOG to dicuss that we haven't done already... which means more console wars topics. Maybe once the GC and Xbox come out then things will get more interesting?
Sonic
Having just read a few of the topics about the state of the prime forums and how is best to run them, I thought I would add my perspective as a ‘Newbie’. I know Goatboy was looking for a response from the more experienced members of the group but here goes anyway.
I don’t really use ‘chat forums’ that often at all, but after a recommendation from a friend and having been a SR patron for about 10 years I thought I would give this a go. Obviously there are some people on this forum who have a great deal of knowledge and experience with software/hardware, whatever they happen to be interested in at the moment and this shows with the quality of the posting from these individuals.
The first problem that I think the SR forums have is that they are not as clearly defined as a specific game forum would be. One of the only other forums I use is the SI games site for the Championship Manager series, people on this forum are specifically interested in one game and therefore one track of discussion, albeit broken down into it’s composite parts. Though the SR site does this to some extent, there is grey area as to whether it is a chat forum or whether it is aimed more directly at the discussion of games etc. I KNOW there are the topic headings, but the discussion often wanders from the initial topic and can get into anything else imaginable, I think some newbies are misled by this apparent freedom and will then post material that is not considered relevant by regulars, notables and staff.
As is mentioned by a number of people, the SR site is clearly becoming more and more popular, particularly with young people, so I would agree that the use of moderators will become essential for the site to successfully carry out what it is intended for. It really can be the only way to control spamming, irrelevant posting and any other deviation from what the site rules have deemed acceptable. If not, then warnings can be issued to members who stray, the previously mentioned SI site have in my opinion an excellent way of doing this. They issue ‘Yellow Cards’ to members who break the rules. The yellow card is displayed when the member posts, along with a description of why they were ‘booked’ and when they were warned, these warnings have an expiry on them, if you transgress the rules again you are banned. This has a particular football theme to it, but I’m sure it could be modified to suit the SR site more appropriately. If these rules are made clear then nobody can have any complaints about being removed.
I also think removing the word count from the method of proceeding from newbie to regular should be done and had an idea about how that could be achieved. The star rating has been mentioned by others which is fine, maybe people should require a certain number of stars before ‘ascending’. Also mentioned has been to stop newbies posting on the FOG prime topics board, which gave me this idea:
If a newbie posts a topic in another area (FOG Chatter for example) that is considered by the moderator to be suitable as a prime topic then it could be moved onto the FOG prime topic board for relevant further discussion. This would encourage intelligent, well worded TOPIC postings by newbies, particularly if this counted towards their progression towards regular status. Of course this would be reliant on their being moderators for the forums. Stopping newbies from posting on the FOG prime topics board is pointless. The same person can become a regular and post within five or six days, then post tripe on the board they were unable to access only a few days ago. I’m sure they’ll have matured into sensible constructive posters by then…..
Moderating is going to be a time consuming effort by some people, I certainly wouldn’t have the time do something like that. I don’t have time as it is to post all that often, but that doesn’t mean I don’t look at the boards during the work day to see what’s being discussed. Perhaps if only a couple of boards were moderated for a trial period of a month or so? At least then you’d know if it was working or not.
While the amount of people using the site was less, self regulation is far easier to achieve. Now the amount of members is growing (anyone know how many?) I feel that moderators would be the only way to go and maintain the forums so that they can be enjoyed by ALL members, bearing in mind that those who don’t abide by the rules won’t be members for long.
This is just what I think of course and that’s the point of discussion, I won’t be bothered if people constructively criticise anything I post, or even joke about it. If people have a laugh and discuss gaming across all formats, surely the SR site is doing it’s job. That’s what I’m here for anyway.
Cheers.
I don’t really use ‘chat forums’ that often at all, but after a recommendation from a friend and having been a SR patron for about 10 years I thought I would give this a go. Obviously there are some people on this forum who have a great deal of knowledge and experience with software/hardware, whatever they happen to be interested in at the moment and this shows with the quality of the posting from these individuals.
The first problem that I think the SR forums have is that they are not as clearly defined as a specific game forum would be. One of the only other forums I use is the SI games site for the Championship Manager series, people on this forum are specifically interested in one game and therefore one track of discussion, albeit broken down into it’s composite parts. Though the SR site does this to some extent, there is grey area as to whether it is a chat forum or whether it is aimed more directly at the discussion of games etc. I KNOW there are the topic headings, but the discussion often wanders from the initial topic and can get into anything else imaginable, I think some newbies are misled by this apparent freedom and will then post material that is not considered relevant by regulars, notables and staff.
As is mentioned by a number of people, the SR site is clearly becoming more and more popular, particularly with young people, so I would agree that the use of moderators will become essential for the site to successfully carry out what it is intended for. It really can be the only way to control spamming, irrelevant posting and any other deviation from what the site rules have deemed acceptable. If not, then warnings can be issued to members who stray, the previously mentioned SI site have in my opinion an excellent way of doing this. They issue ‘Yellow Cards’ to members who break the rules. The yellow card is displayed when the member posts, along with a description of why they were ‘booked’ and when they were warned, these warnings have an expiry on them, if you transgress the rules again you are banned. This has a particular football theme to it, but I’m sure it could be modified to suit the SR site more appropriately. If these rules are made clear then nobody can have any complaints about being removed.
I also think removing the word count from the method of proceeding from newbie to regular should be done and had an idea about how that could be achieved. The star rating has been mentioned by others which is fine, maybe people should require a certain number of stars before ‘ascending’. Also mentioned has been to stop newbies posting on the FOG prime topics board, which gave me this idea:
If a newbie posts a topic in another area (FOG Chatter for example) that is considered by the moderator to be suitable as a prime topic then it could be moved onto the FOG prime topic board for relevant further discussion. This would encourage intelligent, well worded TOPIC postings by newbies, particularly if this counted towards their progression towards regular status. Of course this would be reliant on their being moderators for the forums. Stopping newbies from posting on the FOG prime topics board is pointless. The same person can become a regular and post within five or six days, then post tripe on the board they were unable to access only a few days ago. I’m sure they’ll have matured into sensible constructive posters by then…..
Moderating is going to be a time consuming effort by some people, I certainly wouldn’t have the time do something like that. I don’t have time as it is to post all that often, but that doesn’t mean I don’t look at the boards during the work day to see what’s being discussed. Perhaps if only a couple of boards were moderated for a trial period of a month or so? At least then you’d know if it was working or not.
While the amount of people using the site was less, self regulation is far easier to achieve. Now the amount of members is growing (anyone know how many?) I feel that moderators would be the only way to go and maintain the forums so that they can be enjoyed by ALL members, bearing in mind that those who don’t abide by the rules won’t be members for long.
This is just what I think of course and that’s the point of discussion, I won’t be bothered if people constructively criticise anything I post, or even joke about it. If people have a laugh and discuss gaming across all formats, surely the SR site is doing it’s job. That’s what I’m here for anyway.
Cheers.
No matter what changes are made, there will always be problems and what has to be decided is what will cause the least problems.
SonicRav wrote:
Also, I agree that mods
> might not be the best answer... but the problem is that while people
> are still posting rubbish, somethign ahs to be done.
We need to moderate ourselves and each other...
Once the newbies and 'Just Arrived today' people see how the board is, they'll stick to the pattern...
Even on moderated boards, there are always goping to be spammers.
The problem is that moderators on other boards are often people who setup the rooms...
Also most forums dont give away prizes... Which WILL leads to problems given some of the moderators choices...
Equally if the moderators are made from regs and Notables... then some idle chatter that may be tolerated from other regs and Notables, due to familiarity... may then not be found acceptable for newbies (or worse, other regs/notables)...
Also, I agree that mods
> might not be the best answer... but the problem is that while people
> are still posting rubbish, somethign ahs to be done.
We need to moderate ourselves and each other...
Once the newbies and 'Just Arrived today' people see how the board is, they'll stick to the pattern...
Even on moderated boards, there are always goping to be spammers.
The problem is that moderators on other boards are often people who setup the rooms...
Also most forums dont give away prizes... Which WILL leads to problems given some of the moderators choices...
Equally if the moderators are made from regs and Notables... then some idle chatter that may be tolerated from other regs and Notables, due to familiarity... may then not be found acceptable for newbies (or worse, other regs/notables)...
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