I've been discussing things with a few people, and some pretty radical changes have actually come up, most of which are interesting and could actually work. I'm making my own thread for this, because I really want these ideas to get out and heard, and not buried under Linkman's thread.
[SIZE="4"]The Video Game Section[/SIZE]
It's a well known fact the gaming section of video game chat needs some help. Dire help. We can see pretty clearly that how Jesse has things set up aren't working. We know theres a lot of boards, mostly so Jesse can get hits on the site. This isn't working anymore, Jesse. Most of the game boards get just a few posts per day, and you can see the count isn't very impressive at all anymore. Here's what we should do to remedy this..
Merge the game boards...
I'm not talking about every game system together.. Like, Make a Nintendo board that deals with SNES, NES, GC, GB, N64, etc.
Think about it...
There's a high probability the game sections will increase in activity and spring new life to the place. Why? Well.. Lets say someone goes into this "Nintendo" board to post something about the Gamecube, they do this and then see a post about an old N64 game they have, so they want to add their input on that. Same thing would go for the Sony and Microsoft and Sega boards as well.
Another benefit is to new people.. looking at the stats of the board, instead of a whole lot of boards with a small post amount, we've got main boards with a significantly high post count. This looks more appealing to people who might instead just cast it off as a dead board. Also more appealing to Jesse who lives by the numbers.
It would also be beneficial and put our mods to good use. A lot of them really don't have anything to do and some just do a poor job, as I mentioned in Linkman's thread. Putting the boards together means a better modding system for the increased mods. It would then give us a chance to remove useless mods who don't do anything aka the virtual boy mods.
I really think this could work, and breathe some new life into the gaming section.
[SIZE="4"]The Weblogs[/SIZE]
As for the weblogs.. Lately they have been quite controversial. They really aren't working either, and mostly they are taking up space with non-activity. And then there's the really active ones.. Well here's what I think is a good idea to do with these.
It does involve removing the weblogs entirely. That would mean getting rid of EVERY thread in every blog and deleting all the blogs. (Including the original campfire thread which is hidden in my blog and only supermods can see:D) I do have an idea for a replacement though, something that could work a lot better and be more effective.
A journal system.
Sound stupid? Read on unbeliever.
Similar to how the member images thread in off topic is a subforum.. We make a subforum in off topic called "Journals." And in this forum, each member is allowed ONE thread to discuss whatever they want. Anyone is allowed to participate, and the dead weight ones that are never updated fall to the bottom and are out of sight, unless someone wants to revive it. And yes, I'm sure a few would end up like the campfire threads did.. but that would be the point. They go how they go. Innapropriate material would still be.. well.. not allowed and up to the jurisdiction of the mods, mostly pictures or links or whatnot.
I quite like this idea, and once again feel it could lead to more discussion and revival of the boards.
ALSO MERGE OFF TOPIC, COMMUNITY, AND POLLS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD
What do you all think? Discuss..
I agree! :cool:
Agreed with every point made.
Merging the game boards is a great way to get more people to join and/or post - There'll always be zero-posters and people who don't even register, but there's nothing absolute we can do about that.
As for the journal idea, I'm all for that too - I'm sure there're going to be a few people who don't like it (this is aimed at you, DA advocates) but do you need blogs? Go found an invisionfree or something if you're that desparate - Hell, I remember when the DA proboard or whatever it was was flourishing ****loads alongside the VGC version. Reopen that, I guess.
Merging polls, OT and comm. is a good idea because nobody has any ****ing clue where to put anything. Community was only ever conceived because people who made happy birthday threads and **** were automatically sent to the wacko blog or the blogs, and now the community board is the obvious place for that to happen.
A few more points that netman didn't mention: The introduction board. Bring it back, and put it at the very top where it used to be so people don't have to think to themselves about where to introduce themselves when they arrive. In fact, give it a redirect to the intro board as soon as they've created their account. Also, delete the test board/make it invisible/move it to the bottom. The first would be ideal but either of the other two are acceptable substitutes.
Giving a little subdescription to BHSC like "Do NOT ask for help on games here!" would be pretty nice, too, I suppose.
Addendum...funny word.
1st part: Agree
Why? Like you said, the numbers are rather unimpressive. And it makes a lot of sense on all aspects of things.
2nd part: Disagree
I don't have a problem with the current system. They provide a good scapegoat though, that's for **** sure. There are many dead blogs however, which wouldn't be hard to get rid of(if we didn't have such a lazy admin :P). As for the journal system, seems like it would be messy. What if I want to do a bunch of different things at once? Or discuss more then one topic at the same time? Thus the magic of blogs, multiple topics. :cool:
As I mentioned to you, I rather like the blogs separate. But I do think that merging some of the video game boards is an excellent idea.
As for Community/Off-Topic/Polls: Yeah, they should be merged, as well as appointed new mods.
Having an introduction board (as Klarth so loves:)) is also a wise idea. More organized, and members actually know where they're supposed to introduce themselves.
Agreed for the most part.
Agreed with all but merging anything in CB with anything OT-related. I see a lot of differences in personal discussions and general discussions.
But then the question of which board to post/put threads in continues on. I remember you and I had a discussion about this where I pointed out a few examples of threads that could go either way.
Wouldn't it be easier to have everything in one board? I think it would make the mods jobs more easier. Posting as well, there'd be no question about which board to put the thread in. Threads would have the ability to go off topic.. more.
For example lets say someone posts "Hey VGC members help me with this!".. its an off topic post.. but yet its asking members for help. Off Topic relating to the Community. theres a million examples, and in the end its all just discussion in the end.
Merge them and rename the board "General Discussion" or something. It would make all our lives a lot easier.
Even better. Easier to merge with journalistic threads.
Oh and also no thread dumping.
I assume it would be busier with both boards merged together. So this.. if a thread is made that is useless, it can be left and will eventually fall off the page, no harm done. Or if its VERY useless it can be deleted.
No birthday archive threads? I personally like the idea of cleaner boards where good threads aren't pushed down too far so quickly. :/
Forgot about birthday archives :cool:
and the idea is that yeah, if its busier the good threads should stay.. up above the others being bumped while the not so busy threads drop down. Almost every thread has the potential to be a good thread if its given a chance
Once again Cody, your ideas are superior to mine. :(
First off, I like the idea of merging all the system forums into company forums. There's not much else to say that netman hasn't already said. The gaming board mod situation would definitely be improved. For example: Nintendo could be modded by Speedfreak and coromoro, Sony could be modded by Angelwing and Fate, etc..
The whole deleting all the Blogs and making a Journal sub-forum is a great idea also. Like I said in my thread, blogs are no longer blogs, most are more like.....online peer groups. I don't think it becoming too messy is any problem either. There wont be any need for a mod. The concept is simple, you get one thread and you can do basically whatever you want in it.
The fact that Ant disagrees with this idea isn't a surprise. Anytime something jeopardizes the existance of Darkness Advance, he flips out.
Community Board, Polls, and Off Topic merged into one forum. Do it! All the Polls forum is, ever was, and ever will be, is a collection of things no one cares to know. With the Journal forum idea, the Community Board would have no reason to exist. Everything else can be covered in one big Off Topic forum.
Lastly, bring back the Introduction Board, even if the Community Board stays. Make D.J Cat the mod, and be done with it.
[quote=Linkman]Lastly, bring back the Introduction Board, even if the Community Board stays. Make D.J Cat the mod, and be done with it.
I think you'll find that someone already mods it.
http://vgchat.com/forumdisplay.php?f=12
.... why D.J. Cat?
This is the most retarded topic I've seen in months.
I'm sorry you disagree so much as to have to belittle mentally challenged persons :(
I agree with everything.
Another idea for the game boards ~ Make specific forums for POPULAR games. I'm sure if series like Halo got their own board, activity would increase. (Note: All current series boards are Nintendo exclusive, except for Sonic/Mega Man which are multiplatform) And, if the popularity dies and it becomes a dead board, it could be deleted. But, if the right series were chosen, that wouldn't happen.
I don't know about that. I never check game-specific areas, and I'm pretty sure a lot of other people don't, either.
I was going to bring the game series up.. but I forgot I just remember now.
I was going to say we should get rid of them, because they do barely have any activity, not enough to continue having them.
I dunno, I've always hated game forums where there's three solid boards: Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. I think it's nice to have variety. Although they don't attract as much posts, people like to post in them. I hate the idea of off-topic boards outnumbering game boards on a site called VGChat >_>
That's where General Gaming comes in.
Instead of a a Journals board where they have there own thread. They can make there own page at
http://www.vgchat.com/userpage.php?do=edit
If others want to reply, they can use the shout box!!
Ack!!! Banning da Judge option has been deleted from da poll. :(
Userpages aren't the same. Journal threads would be a lot better.
Yeah, way better.
I don't like the journal idea much. One long thread coulld turn out to be a pain to manage. The problem I have with the blogs is that they become a worse version of a spam board, in that they only seem too personal. kind of like only members of that little group can participate. It doesn't seem too welcoming for new members.
Other than that, I agree with the points made.
Missus Iris: CB is totally different from OT, and merging them would just be a huge mess.
Sentient God: That's why I think we should keep them separated.
Missus Iris: And polls are basically about the community, so I don't know wtf they'd be doing in OT
Sentient God: If Polls was gone, then we'd be able to make that decision easily, yes?
Missus Iris: I think Polls should be a CB sub-forum. :-\
Sentient God: I think that might be a good idea.
Sentient God: Much more organized than separated.
Sentient God: Easier to manage, too.
Missus Iris: It's not doing any harm separated, but in CB, i'll definitely get rid of the confusion
Sentient God: Yeah, easier to manage.
Missus Iris: I'm trying to propose web log categoies, and new rules for managing weblogs
Missus Iris: So they'll look neater, and they won't just be crappy blogs tha basically allow anything.
Missus Iris: Maybe 1 spam blog, watched by a super-mod
Sentient God: Kind of eliminates the whole "blog" idea. I think the journals idea is a good one. One thread per person.
Missus Iris: And I'll try to meet netman half-way with a journal category
Missus Iris: Uh, we have user pages.
Sentient God: Yeah, but they're not the same.
Sentient God: Kind of boring. I don't know why Jesse added that.
Missus Iris: If we want to really go into journal-like detail, User Pages are acceptable.
Sentient God: Nobody will go to read them, you see.
Sentient God: We need to do something easily accessible.
Missus Iris: That's their problem. :-X
Sentient God: We're mods, not nazis.
Missus Iris: Hardly any of the blogs are trated as journals per se
Missus Iris: treated*
Sentient God: I know.
Sentient God: we can change that with new rules.
Missus Iris: So they could just be open discussions with specific mods
Missus Iris: I was thinking something to keep DA in check, would to be to de-mod the moderators, but not delete the blog, if they take poor care of it.
Missus Iris: For any blog, of course, but especially DA
Sentient God: Or make DA the new version of Spam and make the leader of DA the moderator.
Missus Iris: Eh, I don't think they'd want that.
Missus Iris: They treat DA moe formally, and they probably couldn't handle any new member just spamming in there.
Missus Iris: I thik a separate blog for that would be necessary.
Missus Iris: DA could fall under the journal category, maybe?
Missus Iris: All of the crappy blogs with no stable topic can just be turned into journals or deleted.
Sentient God: I think it could fit under Journal category, but the journals are supposed to be for one person...
Missus Iris: One thread per person sounds awfully dull, and I can't see it catching on.
Missus Iris: People have LiveJournals and MySpaces
Sentient God: If OT and CB are combined, then that's fine.
Missus Iris: And the people who don't wouldn't keep a journal just for VGC's sake
Sentient God: See, people like Judge don't care about either LJ or MS.
Sentient God: They like to be the center of attention in the most traffic possible.
Missus Iris: How often do they make threads explaining how their day was, though? :-\
Missus Iris: They just make crap posts
Sentient God: Not about their day or anything
Sentient God: Just something dumb like "today I encountered a bird and it made me say ORLY"
Sentient God: Their crap is confined, see.
Missus Iris: Ahaha, sure it is.
Sentient God: One thread for all those owls? Sounds like a deal!
Missus Iris: Then what about general discussion? They make more of that than anything.
Missus Iris: And not CB-worthy discussion, but they'll still post it
Sentient God: General discussion is "did you see Dick Cheney do that"
Missus Iris: Also, unless you mean CB becoming an OT sub-forum, WTF?
Sentient God: CB stuff is "hey guys i have 3000 posts"
Missus Iris: isn't that what we're trying to confine into blogs?
Missus Iris: Besides OT is current events, and why would you want to mix that up with VGC community ****?
Sentient God: But the CB is going away, remember?
Sentient God: Everything else is personal.
Missus Iris: Well, punishing the members by making the mod's jobs harder doesn't make much sense.
Sentient God: It's just going to be OT, pictures, and journals.
Missus Iris: :-\
Missus Iris: That's retarded.
Sentient God: I'd move non-journal personal stuff to the journal area.
Sentient God: I think the Journal thing might be a little general.
Sentient God: Or too constricted, I mean.
Missus Iris: Not if it's one thread per-person
Missus Iris: :-X
Sentient God: Basically, we need a CB.
Missus Iris: Exactly
Sentient God: CB should be left alone.
Missus Iris: So combining it with OT would be helpful becuse...?
Sentient God: Journals should be fun extras that substitute as blogs.
Sentient God: I change my mind, yeah?
Missus Iris: Ah.
Sentient God: So, CB, OT, Pictures, and Journals.
Missus Iris: Sounds good, but unless people treat their journals like they do thier blogs, which would be against any types of rules we're trying to enforce, they're not going to catch on.
Missus Iris: Also, I can imagine many thread going up to 10 or so pages in under a month. :-\
Sentient God: We'll make them catch on. Hmm. Maybe we should just delete crap blogs then.
Missus Iris: I agree.
Sentient God: We should post this conversation or something.
Missus Iris: That's what I'm trying to propose
Missus Iris: merge blogs, delete a lot
Sentient God: Saves a lot of typing, too.
Sentient God: Even blogs need moderation, though.
Missus Iris: And make the journal-blogs a category for web logs.
Sentient God: Just because they are blogs doesn't mean they have to be so full of ****.
Missus Iris: Well yeah, the journals are personally maintained, unless the mods do a bad job.
Sentient God: Yes.
Missus Iris: http://www.vgchat.com/showthread.php?t=11118
Missus Iris: That's basically what I think OT is for
Missus Iris: Not including the posts after, however.
Sentient God: This is true, but sometimes it can't be avoided. :/
Missus Iris: Well, I'm not suggesting that the mods are not lenient whatsoever
Missus Iris: I guess it depends on their judgement of what can be accpetable and what serves as a threat of derailing
Sentient God: But our current mod setup is so uncaring!
Sentient God: That's it, I'm posting this convo.
Sentient God: Good, yes?
Missus Iris: MAYBE WE SHOULD SUP-ER DOOPER MOD YOU! :-D
Missus Iris: GO ahead
Cross-posted and very true. I think it gives a little more insight.
You whore, I knew you'd keep in the super-mod part. :-*
If anything, she should be demoded.
If mods are having trouble discerning whether or not a thread is community board material, or off-topic, they shouldn't be modding at all, and new mods should be appointed. If polls, OT and Community are merged, it also wouldn't be a terrible thing. Either of the two, although I personally like having the Community board separate. In that case, off-topic and polls should just be merged.
Weblogs should be left the way they are. These journal and one thread to one member ideas are terrible.
And that is what we discussed. Way to be on top of things. :rolleyes:
ok, to be perfectly honest, I really don't care either way. it won't effect me much.
I just find that a change would be interesting. Still, I think that netman's ideas are pretty good and I'd enjoy seeing them be put into action.
The problem isn't where stuff should go, it's what's being posted. We're trying to limit blogs and make sure their crap isn't leaked into the main boards, which is the current case. Also, our OT staff is just fine, thanks. ;)
Polls has no business in OT. After all, you're asking the COMMUNITY, so what good will that do in OT when CB is so better fitted? If anything, Polls should be a CB sub-forum.
omgz catfight
[QUOTE=Iris]Don't be such a bull-headed wacko Angelwing.
I'm not the *****. :)
[quote]The problem isn't where stuff should go, it's what's being posted.
Actually, where topics should go, and what's being posted are both issues. You mod some of the boards, I'm sure you notice, right? ;)
[quote]We're trying to limit blogs and make sure their crap isn't leaked into the main boards, which is the current case.
Deleting some of the blogs and merging the rest is not going to prevent that.
[quote]Also, our OT staff is just fine, thanks. ;)
That's your opinion. :)
[quote=Fate]Sentient God: Just something dumb like "today I encountered a bird and it made me say ORLY"
Holy crap that had me laughing.
I'll add more to this later!
[quote=Angelwing]I'm not the *****. :)
AHAHAHA, you're cute
[quote]Actually, where topics should go, and what's being posted are both issues. You mod some of the boards, I'm sure you notice, right? ;)
If that's a personal attack, then ph4il, since I actually DO know what's going on, being a part of the OT staff. Get with the program, hun. We resolved that "OMG OT OR CB?" crap years ago.
[quote]Deleting some of the blogs and merging the rest is not going to prevent that.
Good thing I didn't suggest that, then, because you sure shot that one down! I think a maintained spam board will do a decent job diverting spam.
[quote]That's your opinion. :)
At least I'm not a bystander. :cookie2:
Congratulations Jesse
like always you ruined this
though the general public did deserve to know, he could have made a thread after the results were finalized, that way there'd be no room for arguing. just complaining. and complaining can be handled.
I think there are far better and far more subtle ways to improve VGC than have been suggested. People are just seeing a solution and not really looking at the good and bad of it. And yeah, it's a solution, but there are holes and weaknesses as well as good points.
If you want to keep the poo out of a community board, then deleting the blogs is counterproductive. As it is, they're currently just another board in which you can go off topic and chat like it's AIM.
Therefore, if you 1. announce a mod crackdown in the community board, and 2. give Darkness Advanced special attributes (hidden from super mods, password protected, etc.) it'll make it ultra special and neat, and therefore push factors from the CB (making it a lot cleaner) and pull factors from Darkness Advanced (can get away with anything, secret hangout) would make it a lot more interesting and therefore it would give people incentive and reason to keep their stuff out of the community board.
Journals are just going to -encourage- AIM posting, they'd -encourage- people to make off topic shifts. It's not the ideal, without a doubt.
In my experience it is difficult to judge fairly with threads that go off topic, and this is much of the reason why the CB is like it is. Therefore introducing guidelines (not rules by which everyone is to mod, closer to "serving suggestions" say) such as deleting "tl;dr," "Quoted for truth," and especially "I didn't read this thread, but..." and maybe some slightly more rounded off topic thread instigators (For a crude example, four posts or more that are totally off topic merits a new thread, if people complain delete the new threads along with the posts or something) will make decisions a lot easier - it'll mean that if you don't know what to do then a certain method is encouraged instead of just leaving it. Therefore the smart posts that people are complaining about there not being a lot of will stay, and the combination of push and pull factors from CB to DA will not outright solve the problem but it would be steps in the direction that don't result in people crying. A push in the right direction for the mods, and a push in the way of "get out of the Community Board" for the people who are basically spamming it up.
It just doesn't make sense to be so loud about it when everyone knows that VGC does everything to extremes - and everything generally consists of complaining.
Wow, that was amazing. Although, heh, it's not like it would have to be hidden away from super-mods(DA) The more the better! But seriously, I couldn't have said it better(obviously). Bravo. I agree with everything this man has just said.