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Oryan77
Sergeant
955 Posts
    
 | | 06/14/2006 2:11 PM |
| I apologize for the long rant and I by no means am trying to start trouble. I've been visiting this site for a year & this is just something that has always kept me from really wanting to be socially active here. I saw this happen again today & I felt like expressing myself.
I've been a member of numerous forums over the past 15 years going back to the old BBS days. I have never been a member of a forum where the mods take it upon themselves to decide when the community should be done discussing a topic as much as they do here on maxminis.com.
Of course you can do whatever you want on your website, but this practice really makes it hard for me to want to be very social with the community here. I understand upholding the posting guidlines and enforcing them, but it's not very courteous to visitors in your home when you are telling them when to stop talking when no rules have been broken.
I also feel it's rude to guests when you discipline them by locking a thread before anyone has even broken a rule. I understand not wanting to deal with a flamewar, but taking action before anything has happened makes me feel like people don't respect us as mature adults. There is no "benefit of the doubt" here. You automatically assume we're incapable of being mature as a whole because there "might" be a couple bad apples in the basket. This is ironic too, because you do more work assuming you need to take action than you might if you wait to see if action needs to be taken.
I have also never been a part of an online community where I see people chant "lock it, lock it" as much as they do here when no rules have been broken. Someone might start a thread with a question and the second post is going to be, "well mods, go ahead and lock this thread". All of this behavior makes the regulars & mods seem like elitists; as if they know how to conduct themselves better than the rest of us. You might know what happens when similiar threads pop up, but I find it more rude trying to get a thread locked before anything happened than if someone eventually trolls in the thread.
I can tell you, if you were a guest in my home, I would never tell you when to stop discussing a topic because I want you to feel comfortable. When people are done talking, the topic will die on it's own. If it gets heated, that's part of being a community & being friends who love the same thing...minis! If someone breaks the rules, by all means, take action...that's why forums have mods.
Anyway, it's not a big deal really. I just wanted to say something. I hope the 2nd post won't be someone saying "lock it" [:p] | |
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RobWreck
Warrior
295 Posts
| | 06/14/2006 2:23 PM |
| Ugh, a complainer. Hey Mods, Lock this thread, will ya? [)]
Seriously though, what threads have they locked recently? I mean, I know there's been a couple of diametrically opposed political conversations on the boards here, but even those have remained civil. What did they shut down that I missed?
Thanks,
Rob | |
Champion of Aspect of Pelor
If the Founding Fathers of our country were conservatives, we'd still be colonies of England... | |
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Oryan77
Sergeant
955 Posts
| | 06/14/2006 2:40 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by RobWreck
Ugh, a complainer. Hey Mods, Lock this thread, will ya? [)]
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! [:0]
quote:
Seriously though, what threads have they locked recently? I mean, I know there's been a couple of diametrically opposed political conversations on the boards here, but even those have remained civil. What did they shut down that I missed?
It may not happen as often as I think, but you know how something that bothers you does happen, it seems like it's frequent [:p]
It was just a thread over on the general discussion forum. I found the topic pretty interesting & then *bang*. It may have died from there anyway...but for all I know some brilliant guy might have added to the thread and changed my life if it didn't get locked.
I've enjoyed checking the forums before just to read a particular thread only to see it get locked for no reason. Maybe it's the internets way of saying I need to get back to work.
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| *censored*
glumag
Warlord
5968 Posts
| | 06/14/2006 2:59 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Oryan77
I have also never been a part of an online community where I see people chant "lock it, lock it" as much as they do here when no rules have been broken. Someone might start a thread with a question and the second post is going to be, "well mods, go ahead and lock this thread". All of this behavior makes the regulars & mods seem like elitists
I hope you don't mean ALL regulars [:D]quote:
Anyway, it's not a big deal really. I just wanted to say something. I hope the 2nd post won't be someone saying "lock it" [:p]
I hear ya loud and clear and I would agree with you, but this site has remained successful because of the elitist behavior for the most part. It is one of the calmest and most reasonable places where you can speak your mind and discuss, for the most part, without anything blowing out of proportion; you might piss off a few people, buy hey, that's bound to happen and if they cannot realize this is an online forum where things are supposed to be discussed, then well, they are retarded.
But I will agree, and it seems to me that the mods, on occasion, seem to cater to the overly sensitive ones; but it is done with the intentions of keeping this site friendly, so I can live with that.
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nyjastul69
Commander
2711 Posts
Rhode Island
| | 06/14/2006 3:12 PM |
| Would you like some cheese with that whine? [)]
Seriously though, looking back I only see 3 threads locked this month, about 9 pages. Although I sometimes think they're a little quick on the trigger. I don't mind the locks due to the topic wandering too far off topic. The locks that are most annoying to me are the ones that try and pre-emptively prevent a flamewar. |
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In the constellation of
Cygnus, there lurks a
mysterious, invisible
force:
Rush | |
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Oryan77
Sergeant
955 Posts
| | 06/14/2006 3:55 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by glumag
I hope you don't mean ALL regulars [:D]
Of course not, the regulars who offer me good trades can act however they want [:D]
quote:
Originally posted by nyjastul69
Would you like some cheese with that whine? [)]
And kill the buzz I've got going? Would you mind if I just fill up my glass again instead? I'm not finished whining yet [:p]
I'm all for keeping a forum civil. It keeps me less stressed and leaves more hair on my head. But I also don't care to have people holding my hand during a discussion. I'm a big boy and if I am tired of hearing what people have to say, I can walk away (stop reading or posting). There's no need for bouncers coming over & flipping over the table telling us, "This conversation is over, get out". I also don't need to hear the sidekick off to the side who's jumping up and down saying, "Kick em out George, yeah yeah, kick em out before someone says something bad".
You're right though, it's probably not happening a lot. But it does happen, and it's displeasing when it does.
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| The Great
Choco Monster
Ghendar
Warlord
12319 Posts
The G Spot
| | 06/14/2006 4:10 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Oryan77
I'm all for keeping a forum civil. It keeps me less stressed and leaves more hair on my head. But I also don't care to have people holding my hand during a discussion. I'm a big boy and if I am tired of hearing what people have to say, I can walk away (stop reading or posting). There's no need for bouncers coming over & flipping over the table telling us, "This conversation is over, get out".
I agree, but that type of moderation is what makes Maxminis the great place that it is. It's actually gotten better. At one time, threads would be locked because they "appeared" to be heading toward a flame war.
Sometimes they were locked for no apparent reason at all. Again, t's gotten better.
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WotC - making me wish more and more every day for a return to the TSR days. :(
I fought the snark and the snark won. I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!
Some of my favorite Maxminis quotes
I actually love to be swallowed. - Posted By gss_000 on 09/04/2007 2:32 PM
Could somebody explain Snatch to me? I understand the basics, but not how to enter/use it. - Posted by orcmonk220
G's the man. - Posted By greyhaze on 11/11/2008 8:58 AM
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Avatar of the Irrelevant
Diomedes
Commander
3173 Posts
| | 06/14/2006 4:25 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Oryan77
I'm all for keeping a forum civil. It keeps me less stressed and leaves more hair on my head. But I also don't care to have people holding my hand during a discussion. I'm a big boy and if I am tired of hearing what people have to say, I can walk away (stop reading or posting). There's no need for bouncers coming over & flipping over the table telling us, "This conversation is over, get out". I also don't need to hear the sidekick off to the side who's jumping up and down saying, "Kick em out George, yeah yeah, kick em out before someone says something bad".
Well if you're having a specific issue with a thread or a moderator, it's best to e-mail that moderator or Merric directly. As the thread you mention was in the general forums, the mod for that forum is Merric so e-mailing him directly is perhaps the best way to go. In fact, if you're looking to actually see a change in the website, that's pretty much the only way to go. This thread can be fun to talk in, but it won't really change much. Bring your complaints to Merric and talk about them, I'm sure he'd be interested in sharing a discussion about maxminis moderation (at least, I've always known him to give a good reply to such e-mails).
-Diomedes
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Bert the Troll
Commander
3964 Posts
Adelaide
| | 06/14/2006 8:24 PM |
| | The chants of 'lock lock lock' annoy me too, but then I realise most of those just want the extra post count more than it being locked :p | |
"Mutton yesterday, mutton today, and blimey, if it don't look like mutton again tomorrer." Bert the Troll - The Hobbit
Semi-Secret sig business: "In the age of the internet attaching a famous name to your personal opinion to give more weight to it is a very valid strategy." - Benjamin Franklin
Champion of Epic Lolth, Orcus, & Demogorgon and bring us Asmodeus! | |
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maijstral
Underboss
2105 Posts
| | 06/14/2006 10:00 PM |
| wander over to the survivor sucks forums, I hang out on the amazing race forum and sometimes the survivor forums,but they have one for most reality shows.
anyway the average poster over there makes the most over the top troller here seem calm and reasoned, the mods seem to encourage flamewars and you see 4 or 5 locked threads a page so I can live with the rules of civility and the occational locked thread here even if its locked from overzealous intrepretation of the rules. | | | |
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Zenako
Commander
3468 Posts
| | 06/15/2006 11:36 AM |
| Depending on the Forum any of the mods can lock given threads. I know that whenever I do so, I try to give a coherent reason in the post where I lock it. Truth be known, we probably get more requests to lock threads or delete them than most people would expect. Most of the time we let things ride, or post a warning in the thread to keep things civil or something to that effect.
As was mentioned, if you find something getting locked where it appears without basis, email a mod for the forum, or one of the Admins and we will look into it. We also see on occasion the posted tongue in cheek chant about thread lockage by some posters whenever a thread veers even slightly off topic or raises some potentially controversial issues. More often than not, those requests are ignored, with the exception that more attention is paid to the oringinator of the thread if they request a status change.
Also the amount of latitude given varies from forum to forum slightly, with Off-Topic being given the longest leash by far. | |
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Set Status: in a nutshell = all of all
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| The Great
Choco Monster
Ghendar
Warlord
12319 Posts
The G Spot
| | 06/15/2006 12:07 PM |
| Okay, I've heard enough, this thread is far too "on topic" to be in an off topic forum. LOCK IT!
[:p] | |
WotC - making me wish more and more every day for a return to the TSR days. :(
I fought the snark and the snark won. I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!
Some of my favorite Maxminis quotes
I actually love to be swallowed. - Posted By gss_000 on 09/04/2007 2:32 PM
Could somebody explain Snatch to me? I understand the basics, but not how to enter/use it. - Posted by orcmonk220
G's the man. - Posted By greyhaze on 11/11/2008 8:58 AM
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PatEllis15
Commander
4463 Posts
| | 06/15/2006 12:14 PM |
| I'd ask the Mods to NOT change their policy. Being civil is what makes this site different from the WotC boards, (the only other site of note to discuss DDM, hordelings doesn't ahve the crittical mass).
I'd rather the conversation get locked then flamewars break out everywhere.
STILL: even in the most recent case (Qualifiers: Lessons learned over in skirmish), Fenris stated "Anyway I think this thread has passed the point of useful conversation. There's a lot more that could be said on the various topics in question, but I think there's too much bickering going on for it to be well-received in this particular thread. " and Doubtofbudda locked the thread and stated: "I agree. If you want to discuss subtopics from this thread further, feel free to start a new thread or three."
So, we nip the bickering, and finger pointing, and move back towards discussion, encouraged, not discouraged by the moderator.
That is what good moderation is all about.
Pat E
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"Games evolve. Otherwise we'd still be pushing rocks around the dirt. What do you think the cavemen said when some dude showed up with sticks?" - Chairman7w | |
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Vrecknidj
Warlord
10425 Posts
United States
| | 06/15/2006 2:04 PM |
| I think that the ratio of locked to not-locked threads here is wonderful. First, it appears to me to be a very rare event that a thread gets locked (given the jillions of unlocked threads). Second, threads do get locked, and when they do, they get locked for a reason.
Most importantly though, in my opinion, if there's something in a thread that's of interest to a user, and that thread gets locked, there's nothing stopping this person from opening up a new thread and even linking to the old one for reference. Only in the most egregious of circumstances would this new thread get quickly locked as well.
Dave | |
Knowledge Arcana editor issues 5-9, Phoenix Lore Magazine editor, assistant editor for Rite Publishing;
My Trade Thread and My Reference Thread; Winner of WBC IV, IX and XIII; Rule #0: bshugg is always right! | |
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kgradert13
Sergeant
909 Posts
| | 06/15/2006 5:14 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by PatEllis15
I'd ask the Mods to NOT change their policy. Being civil is what makes this site different from the WotC boards, (the only other site of note to discuss DDM, hordelings doesn't ahve the crittical mass).
I keep seeing people bash the WoTC boards. Do any of the people doing so actually visit them?
I see less bickering there then here on the vast majority of days. The mods there do lock topics and delete posts as well, but it seems like it is a more rare occurance. The mods there do allow you to complain freely about WotC as well. | |
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zenthrus
Warlord
5082 Posts
SLC, UT
| | 06/15/2006 5:23 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by kgradert13
I keep seeing people bash the WoTC boards. Do any of the people doing so actually visit them?
I see less bickering there then here on the vast majority of days.
Part of the reason for that is:
1) WotC boards just underwent an overhaul so less people were posting
2) A large chunk of WotC posters have migrated here
Right around the time that War Drums released, the WotC boards were an incessant litany of whining/flaming/WotC hate. That's why I started posting here.
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Oryan77
Sergeant
955 Posts
| | 06/15/2006 6:08 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Zenako
Truth be known, we probably get more requests to lock threads or delete them than most people would expect.
That would make sense. Maybe it's more about overly sensitive posters convincing mods to lock threads than it is the mods trying to babysit us by deciding on their own when a conversation is finished. I know I've been on the targeting side of sensitive posters playing the victim here and making me look like a shmuck. I can see those same people nagging the mods to lock a thread for any ol' reason.
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PatEllis15
Commander
4463 Posts
| | 06/15/2006 8:40 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by kgradert13
quote:
Originally posted by PatEllis15
I'd ask the Mods to NOT change their policy. Being civil is what makes this site different from the WotC boards, (the only other site of note to discuss DDM, hordelings doesn't ahve the crittical mass).
I keep seeing people bash the WoTC boards. Do any of the people doing so actually visit them?
I see less bickering there then here on the vast majority of days. The mods there do lock topics and delete posts as well, but it seems like it is a more rare occurance. The mods there do allow you to complain freely about WotC as well.
I go every other day at the least... It's a combination of the derogotory statements, signal:noise (mostly noise), and attitude that keep me away. I go to keep up with what Guy is posting, but I have a hard time doing much more than that.
Pat E | |
"Games evolve. Otherwise we'd still be pushing rocks around the dirt. What do you think the cavemen said when some dude showed up with sticks?" - Chairman7w | |
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kgradert13
Sergeant
909 Posts
| | 06/16/2006 12:44 AM |
| I've used them since July of last year and just haven't had that impression of the majority of posters there.
In fact the one person that really got under people's skin including some rule person, posts here now anyway.
Maybe it just doesn't bother me like it does others. | |
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Bert the Troll
Commander
3964 Posts
Adelaide
| | 06/16/2006 1:06 AM |
| quote:
Originally posted by kgradert13
I've used them since July of last year and just haven't had that impression of the majority of posters there.
In fact the one person that really got under people's skin including some rule person, posts here now anyway.
Maybe it just doesn't bother me like it does others.
I think I`m the same.
At times it annoys me, but hey thats public forums for you & not limited tp WoTC or Maxminis. | |
"Mutton yesterday, mutton today, and blimey, if it don't look like mutton again tomorrer." Bert the Troll - The Hobbit
Semi-Secret sig business: "In the age of the internet attaching a famous name to your personal opinion to give more weight to it is a very valid strategy." - Benjamin Franklin
Champion of Epic Lolth, Orcus, & Demogorgon and bring us Asmodeus! | |
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Zenako
Commander
3468 Posts
| | 06/16/2006 8:16 AM |
| IT probaby also depends to some degree of the various forums on the WotC site that you frequent most. I had quite a few posts there a few years back, but almost exclusively in a few forums (OA was one), but I do recall that the "signal to noise" ratio was pretty high when I went to peruse some other forums on the site. Accurate or not, the general impression one gets is that the general age demographics are quite different. My guess is that the active body of posters here is probably about 10 years older than on the WotC site, which can make a huge difference in the tone of posts. Part of that is driven by economics. It is hard for someone without income to afford a hobby like this, so most of us have full time jobs. I know that when I was younger, there is no way I could have gotten into this part of the hobby in any way close to where I am today. That aspect alone can account for a huge part of the site differences.
It probably also accounts for some of the interest from the WotC people as well, since they get insights into two differing demographic pools of potential customers. | |
Built the addition for this addiction, now on to the "gaming table" project....
http://www.maxminis.com/hw_list.asp?user=Zenako last updated 29 May 2006
Set Status: in a nutshell = all of all
In Process trades0), (Sig last updated 05/29/06) 300 plus Completed Trades -
If I seem scarce at times...blame DDO - Sarlona | |
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