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Replies in Offsite Gaming Forum

Posted by CosmicGamer
CosmicGamer
member, 88 posts
Traveller RPG (Mongoose)
Mon 2 Mar 2015
at 18:04
  • msg #1

Replies in Offsite Gaming Forum

No replies are permitted in the "Offsite Gaming" Forum.

So I suggest getting rid of the reply option so that folks that don't know (like me the other day) can't do so.
ShadoPrism
member, 737 posts
OCGD-Obsessive-Compulsive
Gamer-Disorder
Mon 2 Mar 2015
at 20:17
  • msg #2

Re: Replies in Offsite Gaming Forum

Good idea - I made the same mistake (and really still don't understand Why it's not permitted).
Alexei Yaruk-Mundhenk
member, 1624 posts
Ad Majorem
Dea Gloriam
Mon 2 Mar 2015
at 20:43
  • msg #3

Re: Replies in Offsite Gaming Forum

Another +1 here, though you would also need to allow posts to still be updated with new info or repeal the Prohibition on re-advertising games (Maybe allow a fresh add once a year or something?)
Shannara
moderator, 3530 posts
Whatever you do,
DON'T PANIC!
Mon 2 Mar 2015
at 21:49

Re: Replies in Offsite Gaming Forum

Ads are already periodically deleted.
bigbadron
moderator, 14779 posts
He's big, he's bad,
but mostly he's Ron.
Tue 3 Mar 2015
at 03:42

Re: Replies in Offsite Gaming Forum

In reply to ShadoPrism (msg # 2):

Bumps and replies are not permitted basically because we are a gaming site, not a free advertising service for other sites.
Alexei Yaruk-Mundhenk
member, 1626 posts
Ad Majorem
Dea Gloriam
Tue 3 Mar 2015
at 16:37
  • msg #6

Re: Replies in Offsite Gaming Forum

Understood and agreed with, but I have seen too many people fall afoul of that rule for the current situation to be acceptable, we need to find a way to, for want to a better term: 'child proof' that forum so less people get mixed up and post when they are not supposed to: at least that's my 2ยข.
bigbadron
moderator, 14780 posts
He's big, he's bad,
but mostly he's Ron.
Tue 3 Mar 2015
at 16:50

Re: Replies in Offsite Gaming Forum

In reply to Alexei Yaruk-Mundhenk (msg # 6):

The forum gets maybe two or three posts a week (total, including all posts that comply with the rules and the ones that are moderated).  Having a post removed does not involve a forum ban or anything of that nature, you just get an automated message telling you that the post was deleted, and a moderator comment telling you why.  So, having been told the issue, you then know to use the contact information provided (something that might not be that obvious without the mod comment - after all, the author of the deleted post didn't think to do that in the first place).

Checking a couple of posts a week to make sure they don't break the forum rules is probably less work than changing the forum so that it is no longer the same standard code as just about everything else on the site.
This message was last edited by the user at 17:20, Tue 03 Mar 2015.
kouk
member, 544 posts
Wed 4 Mar 2015
at 00:06
  • msg #8

Re: Replies in Offsite Gaming Forum

I give it a +1.

It's true that a first offense doesn't cause any real problem, but it *feels* like a slap on the wrist for the user who is moderated. Speaking as someone that had a post moderated a time or two in the past, the explanations are not always clear.

I will fully grant "the message was against the forum rules" or "the message was moot" are true statements, but from a perception standpoint, it is almost the same as saying, "you broke the rules, go read the Help files about why." (All quotes paraphrased and misremembered.)

Again, a perfectly valid response, but that's a different message entirely from "the message was against the rules of the Offsite Gaming (etc.) forum; no responses are permitted to these threads."

At the same time I am not saying the moderators have to take more upon themselves than they do -- you all do a great job. I'm just trying to point out the issue from the other side.
bigbadron
moderator, 14783 posts
He's big, he's bad,
but mostly he's Ron.
Wed 4 Mar 2015
at 04:16

Re: Replies in Offsite Gaming Forum

In reply to kouk (msg # 8):

The issue you're pointing out doesn't really exist in the way that you suggest.

When a post is moderated, two comments are added to it.  The first is visible to everybody and says something like, "the message was edited because it was against the forum rules" or "the message was deleted because it was moot".

The second is only visible to the person who posted the message, and goes into more detail, such as "replies are not permitted in this forum, please use the contact information given above to address the OP directly with any questions, comments, or concerns" or "bumps are not permitted in this forum".

So a user looking at their deleted message would see something like:

This message was deleted because it was against the forum rules.
Bumps are not permitted in this forum.


The only time a user would be told to look at the rules would be in the case of a forum ban resulting from more serious breaches of the rules.  Something which doesn't happen in the case of a deleted reply in Offsite Gaming (unless that particular person has had a series of deleted replies, over an extended period of time, and have already had the rule about "no replies" explained to them on a number of occasions).
CosmicGamer
member, 89 posts
Traveller RPG (Mongoose)
Wed 4 Mar 2015
at 13:04
  • msg #10

Re: Replies in Offsite Gaming Forum

I didn't feel it was a huge issue being moderated, just shocked as it was very unexpected.

And perhaps that is the point.
bigbadron:
The forum gets maybe two or three posts a week (total, including all posts that comply with the rules and the ones that are moderated).
While there may not be a lot of posts, I took a look through them and found an abundant (as a percentage) amount of moderation of the original post and/or replies.

If nothing else, maybe their should be a change to the Notice line

Notice: Required Reading:  What this forum is for.

For one, the "What this forum is for." maybe should be dropped so that it just says "Required Reading".  Personally I saw that and figured "well, it's obvious what this forum is for so I don't need to read that."

Second, something to help draw ones eyes to it.  Color, bold, larger text?

Something Like: Notice: Required Reading
This message was last edited by the user at 13:08, Wed 04 Mar 2015.
CosmicGamer
member, 90 posts
Traveller RPG (Mongoose)
Wed 4 Mar 2015
at 15:53
  • msg #11

Re: Replies in Offsite Gaming Forum

From a discussion elsewhere of the heaven forum, I've noticed that it is customized.  For example you need to request access and there is no "post a new topic" at the top level and no reply ability within topics.

So it does appear there is the ability to set or program some customization.
bigbadron
moderator, 14785 posts
He's big, he's bad,
but mostly he's Ron.
Wed 4 Mar 2015
at 16:03

Re: Replies in Offsite Gaming Forum

Yes, customisation is possible, such as the bump calming in W-P and W-GMs.  I never disputed that it's possible, only whether or not the Offsite Gaming forum sees enough activity (and enough rules breaches) to warrant that customisation.

Both W-P and W-GMs are high volume forums, which also saw a lot of breaches of the rules.
Utsukushi
member, 1344 posts
I should really stay out
of this, I know...but...
Wed 4 Mar 2015
at 20:34
  • msg #13

Re: Replies in Offsite Gaming Forum

It does, though, seem perfectly harmless to take out the ability to post replies in a forum where they're not ever allowed.  I'm happy to leave it to you mods to decide if it's such a small burden on your time as to be unnecessary from that perspective, but just replies here sound to me like it's... not so much, "confused enough people", as it is, "confusing enough to people," to warrant Jase's consideration of whether or not it's worth his time to tweak.

'Course, the source of my statistics is totally just this thread.  I don't think I've ever looked at Offsite Gaming.  I mean... I found RPoL!  Where else would I want to go? bewildered shrug
cruinne
moderator, 6610 posts
what DO you do with
a drunken sailor?
Wed 4 Mar 2015
at 21:02

Re: Replies in Offsite Gaming Forum

In reply to CosmicGamer (msg # 11):

Note that Heaven isn't customized at all: it's a regular game in the RPoL Forums category.  The reason that users need to request access is because it's like a normal game (this is also why there is no "post a new topic" link for non-members and non-GMs of Heaven).


Back on the thread topic: I really don't see that there's enough traffic in Offsite Gaming to warrant asking jase to specifically code up special rules for it (that is, a whole new kind of forum).  It doesn't mean he won't do it some day, but there are many, many other things people are requesting and that he's working on in those few hours he gets to spend doing it.

When this is combined with the fact that there's zero punishment for making a mistake, the priority of having a specially coded forum for it goes down even further.  Even if you "feel" punished by being politely asked to read the rules you should've read before posting anyway.  (We just can't control how you feel about that, though I'd say that if having a post moderated really affects you that much, it's a good idea to read forum rules at least once before posting in a forum.)
This message was last edited by the user at 21:07, Wed 04 Mar 2015.
jase
admin, 3417 posts
Cogito, ergo procuro.
Carpe stultus!
Fri 6 Mar 2015
at 04:36

Re: Replies in Offsite Gaming Forum

In the next version OG will be locked.  Case closed!
cruinne
moderator, 6611 posts
what DO you do with
a drunken sailor?
Fri 6 Mar 2015
at 18:02

Re: Replies in Offsite Gaming Forum

I knew it!  Soon as I said, "not worth it", he'd do it.

I um, secretly wanted it locked.  So yeah.  There.
jase
admin, 3418 posts
Cogito, ergo procuro.
Carpe stultus!
Sat 7 Mar 2015
at 03:04

Re: Replies in Offsite Gaming Forum

In reply to cruinne (msg # 16):

I did it in a dodgy and really clunky way (if gameid = 645).  Definitely not worth doing it any other way (i.e. properly like bump calming).  Not sure if that makes you feel better!
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