Viewing Thread:
"Epidemic Warning"

I've not been here the longest time, but I've heard a lot of people talking about how forums have changed. How the quality of posts and posters has dropped, and how it seems to be spreading from forum to forum like some sort of disease.

So, what are the symptoms? How does this disease propagate itself?
Do the newbie's bring it in with them? Are certain ignorant individuals the prime carriers? And above all, how can we stop it?

I have a theory.

Among the symptoms is a certain amount of spamming. I think that this is just a side effect however, or one of the main causes. The forums are being choked. Choked by their own popularity.
What I'm referring to I can only describe as "legal spam threads".
For example the “movie chain” thread, and the “what music are you listening to right now?” thread in the Movies Forum.

PS2 Longest Thread
Word Association
Even the recent Puzzle Thread, which I have enjoyed immensely.

And why are they choking the forums? Well, because if you list the chat rooms, and try and pick out where the new posts are happening often you're not interested in the PS2 longest thread, or the word association thread.
Also these threads often dominate the post lists, remaining at the top and making it less obvious where people have been posting in other threads.
As a consequence after a while people no longer check those forums, the decent posters move elsewhere, and the forums collapse.

Like I said, choked by their own popularity.

So how could we stop this?
Well, I do think that it would be a shame to stop these threads. Perhaps the answer is to try and contain them. Maybe one solution would be to create a new forum for them. A "fast moving threads" forum. Containing these threads means that decent posts will be easier to pick out from all the other forums.

What do you think?
Could this be the cause of some forum's demise?
and could this be a potential solution?

I think that in the end, there are still quite a few quality posters around here who write some great stuff, but there has been a rise in the moron department, which is something we've always had. It's all about ignoring the crap and reading the better stuff.

Maybe some people have set their standards too high? After all, this is mostly a forum for gamers, mostly of whom aren't interested in subjects that go over their head. If you want highbrow serious discussion, then a gaming forum probably isn't the best place to look.

Goatboy wrote:
> Flanders wrote:
> ?!?
>
> ---
>
> He was saying I rule above all else.
> BAD CHURCHMAN!

Ho ho ho...

*shakes fist*

Curse you illegitimate half-brother

Goatboy wrote:
> My mum says I'm special.

Your Mum says I'm special to...no, I can't do it :p

locky1133 wrote:
> What has your leaving got to do with this topic?

I posted my response on the state the forums are in at the moment, which was the original topic -- "the quality of posts and posters has dropped".

I concurred that the quality, or lack thereof, has become astonishingly bad, and that I was looking for somewhere else to spend my time.

Then you come along with notions of notable "pressure" and world hunger. Who is off topic here?

locky1133 wrote:
>
> I merely wanted an official view on IBs possible future defection, and
> the GAD system.

Fair enough, although I don't see why a staffies opinion is any better than anyone else on the IB defection.

They could give an open and shut case of the process that goes into picking the GAD's though. I should think that is detailed elsewhere on the site though.

monkey_man wrote:
> Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, goatboy, if that is your real
> name.
--

My mum says I'm special.

Insane Bartender wrote:
> locky1133 wrote:
> I merely wanted an official view on IBs possible future defection,
> and
> the GAD system.
>
> What have the staff got to do with me leaving? And the GAD system has
> nothing to do with me leaving either.
>
> I think you're getting confused.

What has your leaving got to do with this topic?

locky1133 wrote:
> But why does he have to broadcast it in such a way? We are lucky so
> why complain.

In what sense are we collectively lucky?

Goatboy wrote:
> Flanders wrote:
> ?!?
>
> ---
>
> He was saying I rule above all else.
> BAD CHURCHMAN!

Meka Dragon, surely? :)