Site/Forum Updates, October 2009

With the Will > Portal | Forum | News | Media | Chat | Digital Starlight | File Island | Card Terminal | Almanac | Digipedia

[on:]

Time for a few small site/forum updates.


Since it's been suggested in the past, the staff is going to go ahead and ATTEMPT to be 'sweeter'.  Based on how people act, it's possible some rules may slightly be altered in the future.  POSSIBLY...

A few forum sections are going to be altered to make everything a bit easier to get around.  This will happen relatively soon, but feel free to toss suggestions into the hat.

I believe that mayyyyyy be it for now, but not 100% sure.  Feel free to toss in ideas, questions, suggestions, etc.

[Reply #1 on:]

Since it's been suggested in the past, the staff is going to go ahead and ATTEMPT to be 'sweeter'.

Sure i totally agree....wait...WHAT!? This is an outage, blasphemy, it's...it's...inhuman to my nature! This is...ah screw it.
As long as people don't take the piss too much i think i can do that.

[Reply #2 on:]

Since it's been suggested in the past, the staff is going to go ahead and ATTEMPT to be 'sweeter'.  Based on how people act, it's possible some rules may slightly be altered in the future.

...Ya know, if you just follow the rules and don't be a total jerk, the staff isn't mean... I don't really know if this is good. After all, most people who are snapped at once shape up, and if they don't, then more action is needed anyway... Well, we'll see if this causes a loss of discipline.

[Reply #3 on:]

I think being "sweeter" is a great idea! I do love this place, and I like how it is run, to a degree. I do like the strictness, but the extreme attitudes of the staff has always rubbed the wrong way a little. No, being a bit nicer isn't going to open the doors for people to walk all over anyone. A lot of people don't like it here because for a first or second offense, they are reprimanded harshly. I honestly think that it can sometimes drive away some newbies who might have held promise.

Because really, while there's no excuse for *not* reading the rules, we're all only human, and I feel that its only natural that sometimes a person might forget something, even if it is said in the rules. I have a terrible memory, personally, and I know that I've messed up a time or two regarding some rules. Does that make me a bad member? Not really. It makes me a normal person who simply forget something. In the past, I've been reprimanded rather harshly for what I felt were truly some minor offenses (and once for what was something that I probably deserved) and at those times, it left me feeling more stressed out than I needed to be, when I was regretful deep down that I messed up, and was still told that I had problems with the rules or that I needed straightening out. I know it's all in the past now, but I feel that it applies to the current situation as an example to back up my position.

That's just a long way of saying that I think if the staff do try and come off a bit less harsh sounding, as is suggested here, it would make the user base more happy in the long run, which would lead to a more enjoyable, complete stay here. It will nurture a more family or community based environment, and I feel that it will cause users to get along better with each other than before. I believe that it's all about fostering that sort of feeling between us. If we can see the staff as people that we can approach, and get help from, and receive guidance from, as opposed to seeing them strictly as staff and as complete authority figures, we'll grow closer together and form a tighter community.

Now obviously, if someone doesn't follow even the most basic of rules, such as not using chat speak, and breaks multiple rules again and again, that is an obvious problem, and completely deserves the full brunt of the strictness that this place can offer; however, I do believe there is a clear line that separates those who break the rules without regard to their merits, and those who have read the rules, want to have a fun stay, and have merely screwed up, be it due to forgetfulness, a senior moment, accidently skipping over the instance of the rule, or misinterpreting a rule.

And honestly, I feel like the staff has already been making efforts to appear more open and approachable, even before this announcement of attempt, so I don't think it's going to be hard to manage at all, nor do I think it will create a lack of discipline. Time will tell, obviously, but based on my personal experiences, I think this new way is truly going to be better and will benefit us all as a whole.

That said, I'm looking forward to the updates. I'm curious to see what will be switched around and such. Will there be site downtime whenever this happens?

[Reply #4 on:]

I don't know why, but that made me laugh.  Was there an incident that triggered this?  I think it's definitely possible to be just as strict on the rules without being mean about it, so hopefully this won't cause things to run amok.  Of course, once people start acting like jackasses, I say they deserve at best one clear warning and then a ban.

As for forum changes, the only suggestion I would have is maybe give Rules it's own forum up top.  Maybe (maybe) that would help make the whole "sweetness" thing less of an issue.  ...Maybe.

One quick question about the rules while I'm here.  I know they say not to shamelessly plug your own site, but what about other sites?  You know, the "Hey, guys, have you seen this awesome site" posts.  For some reason, I thought this was not allowed, but it doesn't appear to be in the rules anywhere.

[Reply #5 on:]

Since it's been suggested in the past, the staff is going to go ahead and ATTEMPT to be 'sweeter'.  Based on how people act, it's possible some rules may slightly be altered in the future.  POSSIBLY...

I like this change to a less harsh form of administrating, but I don't think you guys have to be "sweeter" necessarily. There's a difference between saying "We don't allow one-word replies here, as per the rules; please make more your posts more substantial" and "Warning you for one-word reply - you're off to a bad start already. Did you even read the rules, dumbass?". This (and, to some extent, even this) is an example of what I'd like to see more often. I think that we'd be able to uphold our standard of excellence, so to speak, without scaring or intimidating new members. And if they give us shit, well, either give 'em shit right back (like Lost does) or outright ban them without wasting any time.

Feel free to toss in ideas, questions, suggestions, etc.

Speaking of one-word replies, I still think that that rule should be amended. The idea of the rule, if I'm not mistaken, is to prevent useless replies that clutter up threads. But the thing is, there are times when one-word replies would actually add something substantial to the discussion. Sometimes, highly insightful (or incisive) posts can be made with only one word. The other part of this is that the one-word reply rule doesn't even fully cover "useless" replies ("I agree" or "I like pie" are both more than one word). I feel like the rule should be more in the spirit of Reddit's rule:

Please don't:

• Post content-free comments. "LOL" and "this sucks" do not add to the conversation."

Just some thoughts.

[Reply #6 on:]

Is there any trust in those words?

[Reply #7 on:]

Is there any trust in those words?

Only you can decide that. I've had words with a few people now, about my POV on this stuff and what i am willing to listen to or chance about how i work. I cannot promise that i can change everything i do, that would be a silly promise to make. It depends on what is done/broken and how. Each person is different.

[Reply #8 on:]

Speaking of that, I think the mods have been doing a good job. They are forceful but they have to be at times. I've seen worse. As in meaner and not very good.

[Reply #9 on:]

At this point, softening up is a good plan. Strict rules and tight groups can be a problem because even if you say you're welcoming it can be disconcerting for newcomers to try and elbow their way into a community that could potentially rip them apart and even get them banned on the first slip up.