Author Topic: Forum Rule DISCUSSION THREAD  (Read 5928 times)

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Offline SkyFire

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Forum Rule DISCUSSION THREAD
« on: July 29, 2013, 07:33:10 am »
Okay, I have a problem and I'm not sure if this is a suggestion or not. A new policy was adapted on the RP board.

It's been noticed by staff that members are bumping RP threads simply to get other members to notice them and/or making very brief "comment posts" such as simple periods, emoticons, symbols, etc.  These types of posts will be interpreted as spam and may be removed by staff.

Quote
Please avoid making posts solely for the purpose of bumping an RP thread (posts like "Where is everybody?" "Can we continue?" etc...).  If you are that concerned with whether people forgot about your RP, PM them instead.  It would be very much appreciated. :)

See here: http://forums.furtopia.org/furry-role-playing/game-masters-read-before-starting-a-new-game!/msg897414/#msg897414

Examples of such posts are:

Posts 869 and 870
http://forums.furtopia.org/furry-role-playing/hyper-canine-team-dynamiskylou/msg936812/#msg936812

Posts 35 and 36
http://forums.furtopia.org/furry-role-playing/brenda-the-tot-%28babyfur-rp%28first-one!%29%29/msg876381/#msg876381

(Aaand its still your post.  :P )

(.,.)

I would have liked to have known about this before it was put into effect. I suggest that before a rule is finalized, if its a menial one this that no doubt stemmed from the fact that those "spam" posts get old after awhile of reading them, and staff has to read all of them, it is placed as a poll on the area it affects, that way members can see it before they have to conform to it and make their opinions and such known.
Basically, maybe you could put rules up to a vote before implementing them? Of course rules that must be made NOW are exempt.
« Last Edit: August 07, 2013, 09:40:23 am by SkyFire »
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Offline Weisseman

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Re: Forum Rule Change Preview/Poll
« Reply #1 on: July 29, 2013, 10:22:07 am »
No rule has changed, this is just clarifying that they are considered spam under the current rules.

In the long run, rules changes go through a lot of discussion between staff. If we included the whole user base as well it would take too long and get too complex. A lot of care is taken when new rules are made or existing ones are changed so that it makes sense and is beneficial to the overall quality of the board it affects or site as a whole.
« Last Edit: July 29, 2013, 10:27:32 am by Weisseman »
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Offline redyoshi49q

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Re: Forum Rule Change Preview/Poll
« Reply #2 on: July 29, 2013, 06:50:11 pm »
If you want to stay informed on forum rule changes, keep an eye on this thread.  Any time the main forum rules are changed, a post will be made in that thread describing the change.  This includes notable changes that are nevertheless completely cosmetic (for example, when the Table of Contents was added to the rules) as well as changes that modify (whether to a minor or significant extent) the effect of rules.  For the RP section specifically, the RP subforum rules also apply, and changes in those rules are outlined in a new post in the containing thread.

If you click the "Notify" link at the top right or the top left of the linked pages and have have your profile set to do this (I believe this feature is enabled by default), you should get an email any time a post is made to those threads.  You may also find the feature to be useful for RP threads.  If you want to test the Notify feature to make sure it works for you, you can use the test lab as a sandbox.


Also, I had a little bit of a brainstorm, and tested a hypothesis as I was drafting this post.  It turns out my hypothesis was correct.

Those of you who frequent the RP section might find this link to be of interest.  In fact, you will almost certainly want to bookmark it.  It links to a page that will show you a list of unread topics in the RP section that you have previously posted in.  The link utilizes features of the forum software that are somewhat obscure and, as a consequence, not directly accessible through the board's default interface.  Namely, the link combines the elements of the unread replies list and topic listings by board (my thanks to Alsek and Loc for making me aware of those features).

Hopefully, this will make it easier to not lose track of the RPs you're active in on account of activity in other RP threads, which in turn should reduce the warrant for bump posts.  You can also PM fellow RPers if you're concerned that they may have started to neglect an RP, and as stated before, enabling notification on RP posts can help as well.


The thing about bump posts, though, is that when everyone uses them a lot, a tragedy of the commons issue results.  Bump posts dilute the recent posts list (making that list less useful to both RPers and non-RPers) without providing a contribution to the RP.  They also make it harder for participants in the RP to review the RP's history; doing so requires sorting through the irrelevant bump posts in order to read the relevant IC and OOC posts.  Last but not least, they make it so that the threads that are most frequently at the top of the RP board are the ones that are bumped the most rather than the ones that are the most active.  This in turn encourages those who wouldn't otherwise bump threads to do so; if they were to abstain, their thread would be more likely to be missed on account of being pushed down by bumped threads.  These factors together mean that bumping threads can result in a detrimental positive feedback loop if left unchecked, making things less convenient for everyone.
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Offline SkyFire

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Re: Forum Rule DISCUSSION THREAD
« Reply #3 on: August 07, 2013, 09:43:09 am »
What I've really been after is a thread where we(members) can tell you about our problems with a rule. Such as the no bump posts rule which, while preventing the tragedy of the commons, will elemininate the most celebrated RP thread of all time and three others. There won't be a commons to have a tragedy.
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Offline Loc

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Re: Forum Rule DISCUSSION THREAD
« Reply #4 on: August 07, 2013, 09:50:33 am »
My personal opinion:

You could PM the other participants in a thread to ask them if they can respond rather than bumping. Bumping just pushes down other people's threads, such as those roleplayers who are not online as much as others, and will eliminate them. It isn't fair on them. If people are very keen in continuing a roleplay, they will participate whether it is bumped or not, or they can opt to recieve a notification when a thread they are active in gets a reply. There are ways to achieve the same results without spamming the forum.
« Last Edit: August 07, 2013, 10:06:00 am by Loc »

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Offline SkyFire

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Re: Forum Rule DISCUSSION THREAD
« Reply #5 on: August 07, 2013, 10:03:34 am »
My personal opinion:

You could PM the other participants in a thread to ask them if they can respond rather than bumping. Bumping just pushes down other people's threads, such as those roleplayers who are not online as much as others, and will eliminate them. It isn't fair on them. If people are very keen in continuing a roleplay, they will participate whether it is bumped or not, or they can opt to recieve a notification when a thread they are active in gets a reply. There are ways to achieve the same results without spamming the forum.

Because it is your opinion I cannot challenge it. I will point out a few things, however.
#1. Members don't stop posting in threads because they don't want them anymore, they stop posting because they don't notice the new post signal.
#2. Getting your own thread bumped down to another page is the norm. I've taken it upon myself to start bringing them back.
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Offline Loc

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Re: Forum Rule DISCUSSION THREAD
« Reply #6 on: August 07, 2013, 10:05:42 am »

Hence why I said they can get notifications, or PMs can be sent. The forums have always had a clearly stated rule that spamming is not allowed (rule 4). If replies of "bump" and "." were posted in other boards, I personally doubt they would not be tolerated.

I understand how frustrating it can be to see a thread you are interested and invested in disappear. I've been on several active forums before this one, and it happened a lot to me. But just because a thread leaves the front page does not mean it's dead. If the other people are interested in continuing it, they will. Bumping them and spamming the forum is not the answer.
« Last Edit: August 07, 2013, 10:32:00 am by Loc »

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Offline Mylo

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Re: Forum Rule DISCUSSION THREAD
« Reply #7 on: August 07, 2013, 10:21:35 am »
Plus, the thread will always be listed under Recent Unread Topics if it is unread.

Seriously, there is no reason to bump the RP threads here.

Offline Kobuk

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Re: Forum Rule DISCUSSION THREAD
« Reply #8 on: August 07, 2013, 10:33:01 am »
I am going to add in another piece of "advice" to this thread. It is for both Gamemasters and players. ;)

For the last few weeks, I have seen a "slight" increase in members making the following type comments in RP threads:

"Where is *******? I wish he'd get here and post!"

"Would somebody please hurry up and post!"

"Let's get this RP started already!"


.........etc., etc., etc.  :P

While I understand members would like an RP to keep flowing and continuing, you have to understand that people can't be on the forums/computer all the time 24/7/365. Real life has to come first. This includes, but is not limited to the following: school, job, college, friends, family, Computer problems, etc.

If a member and the character that person is playing isn't available for whatever reason, then all you can really do is wait for that person to get back and/or put the RP on hold/hiatus, or the Gamemaster may continue the RP "around" the absence of the member/character provided that the Gamemaster and the absent member can reach an agreement on how the member's character can be controlled during the member's absence.

Real life comes first, folks. Please don't "rush" members into playing the RP threads. ;)

Offline SkyFire

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Re: Forum Rule DISCUSSION THREAD
« Reply #9 on: August 07, 2013, 11:00:28 am »
Well, everything so far has been off topic except for part of the first two posts. Now, down to what I was actually suggesting. Where does a member go if he has a complaint against a rule?
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Offline Loc

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Re: Forum Rule DISCUSSION THREAD
« Reply #10 on: August 07, 2013, 11:06:54 am »
I imagine contacting a staff member to make any complaints known would be the best course of action.

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Offline SkyFire

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Re: Forum Rule DISCUSSION THREAD
« Reply #11 on: August 07, 2013, 11:19:54 am »
Hmm..... Thank you for the information





Nice completely off topic debate, by the way. I find it very funny that all this was mostly off topic, LOL, it just puts a comedy spin on things. :D
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