How can we make this place more fun?


Wally

I am a banana!
Joined
Jan 31, 2006
Messages
3,213
Age
37
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Hello all,

I have just realised something and may have hurt members in the process. I am sorry about that.

I don't want to be the bad guy here anymore so I would like to know how we can make this place more fun for everyone instead of having targeted ideas which do not work for most people.. I feel that people should be able to have a voice on how this place ticks instead of it being a completely internal thing.

Please feel free to throw your suggestions this way, i'll do my best to read every one of them. 

There's no bad idea to make this place fun, just remember to keep it family friendly aye?




 
 
Would it be practical to separate the off-topic section in such a way, that it wouldn't show up on latest posts listings and such? It could function as anything-not-against-the-rules-goes type of arena that would be only moderated if reported about. It could house all the zany and spammy but harmless threads where people just want to socialize. Separating it in as many ways as possible, while keeping it under the same login, would mean it wouldn't harm anyone if there was some pointless or spammy stuff in there. Havin it be moderated only on report would mean it wouldn't increase mods' work load as much as the current one does.

A good analogue would be like the #openpandora irc channel, but in forum form.
 
I guess it depends on what can be done with the forum software. I think getting rid of post counts may be good or at least having it so that all of the "forum game" style posts do not contribute to them.

I agree with OT not being moderated unless reported. It should not be a free for all and the forum rules should generally apply but a further disclaimer could be placed there that it will no be moderated as rigorously.

Also I feel even in topical threads we should be a little liberal with letting ideas and discussions flow. Obviously if there is a tangential shift then a reminder about the topic, thread split may be appropriate.

Just some thoughts that sprung to mind.
 
I like both of your analogies... :)   

I agree we should moderate Off-Topic less.

Perhaps it could be renamed "The Bar" or "The Lounge" so people get what they're diving into?
 
I like both of your analogies... :)   

I agree we should moderate Off-Topic less.

Perhaps it could be renamed "The Bar" or "The Lounge" so people get what they're diving into?

That is a nice idea!
 
Hmm again I don't see the need for such "drastic" rework. Keeping new post out of the "new content" view seems reasonable to not clutter it up for those, that just want to know whats going on in the Pandora/Pyra world. Other then that keep everything as it is (including rules and moderation). Maybe Wally could be a little more forgiving if things go too far off topic for his taste (but I don't mean "laissez fair"), but thats just about it.
 
Hmm again I don't see the need for such "drastic" rework. Keeping new post out of the "new content" view seems reasonable to not clutter it up for those, that just want to know whats going on in the Pandora/Pyra world. Other then that keep everything as it is (including rules and moderation). Maybe Wally could be a little more forgiving if things go too far off topic for his taste (but I don't mean "laissez fair"), but thats just about it.

I'd hope that part was optional.  I'd find it quite annoying to have to check in two separate places for new content.

-Neelix
 
Maybe a shoutbox at the bottom of the main site of the forum would be nice...
 
I like the idea of a lax off topic thats isolated off. One forum im part of has a members only area... which is just how it sounds. Isolated, only members can access it, people cant view it if public. 

Whilst this seem to may be a drastic motion it would allow the user base a place to hang out without potentially affecting the main forum.

And if any crap spews over into the main forum like figthing or immature stuff the mods could easily fix that..
 
As I said elsewhere, EAB's forum has two "new content" links - one for the main (Amiga) forum and one for posts in the off-topic area. That would probably make it much more fun for me at least - if I'm looking for Pandora or new software news then I'm not going to have to wade through two pages of self-absorbed new-age bollocks before I find it.

And if I am in the mood for the hippy shit then I have a link to go to for that too.

D.
 
 
Would it be practical to separate the off-topic section in such a way, that it wouldn't show up on latest posts listings and such?

I used to have my new content page filtered by forum not to show off-topic stuff.  But that feature hasn't survived the transition to IPB 4.0 - not sure if it'll be back for 4.1.
 
Maybe a shoutbox at the bottom of the main site of the forum would be nice...

That could be dangerous...
 
Why?
Unfiltered messages at live speeds, I can see it as a disaster waiting to happen.
How long before we're spammed with swearing or a very large verbal debate that spews F bombs everywhere.
But its the same as regular forum posts. One can swear here too, with the difference it is archived. If we use a shoutbox which only saves and shows the last 20 messages (with scrolling) then I see no big problem there. Or lets say no bigger problem than in regular posts. We could also add a banning function to the box or a min post number of 100 , but this would be extra coding work.

Of course if nobody wants this feature I dont want to push it.
 
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