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a suggestion for reorganizing the Community forums

Discussion in 'Communications' started by epic , May 5, 2006.

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  1. epic

    epic Ex Mod star 8 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 4, 1999
    sose we have general discussion topics and social groups in JCC, polls and games in Census.

    hows about we put general topics (discussion) and polls (information that garners (is that the right word?) discussion) in JCC and games (light hearted fun etc) with social threads (light hearted fun etc).

    this makes a lot of sense to me and if it makes a lot of sense to me it must have loads and loads of merit.

    now tell me why it's wrong!
     
  2. Son of the Suns

    Son of the Suns Administrator Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 6, 1999
    A parody in Comms? o_O

    But in case you actually are serious about this... I think the Community forums are perfect as is. No need to split them up any further.
     
  3. Dingo

    Dingo Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 23, 2001
    I say throw all the different topic types in a room, lock the door and let them kill each other. Whichever is left standing at the end is the one for the JCC.
     
  4. epic

    epic Ex Mod star 8 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 4, 1999
    no, i'm serious! largely.

    and SotS, the amt of forums remains the same: 2. there is no further splitting.
     
  5. Son of the Suns

    Son of the Suns Administrator Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 6, 1999
    There are actually 4 Community forums, but anyways...

    Social threads are doing well in JCC and games and polls are doing well in Census. I fail to see why the status quo needs to be changed.
     
  6. FatBurt

    FatBurt Sex Scarecrow Vanquisher star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 21, 2003
    I agree with Dingo on this matter
     
  7. Kimball_Kinnison

    Kimball_Kinnison Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 28, 2001
    Hey, you just described a typical Senate thread! :p

    Kimball Kinnison
     
  8. rhonderoo

    rhonderoo Former Head Admin star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 7, 2002
    ;)
     
  9. epic

    epic Ex Mod star 8 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 4, 1999
    this is all because

    in my logical head games and polls in the same forum make NO SENSE ARGHGHGHG

    and i hate that the front page of JCC is usually half full of social threads that are inane and space wasting if you are not a member of said social group. this is very similar to games in general, too. so threads whereby anyone can join in and chat or whatever get pushed down. and poll threads offer a simialr thing to a discussion thread -- the chance to discuss something, even discuss the results of the poll, which is also free for anyone to join.

    normal threads and polls are similar
    games and social threads are similar

    logically speaking, why wouldn't you put the two similar things in the same forum??? maybe i'm going insane but this makes sense to me! someone out there much share my (extremely valid) opinion!

    not that it's a big deal. i would probably post in more poll threads if they were in JCC, though.

    and yes sure it's always easy just to keep the status quo. doesn't make it the right way to go about things, though.
     
  10. KnightWriter

    KnightWriter Administrator Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 6, 2001
    epic, things have worked fine the way they are for a long, long time. if there were problems, it might be worth changing, but removing social threads from the JCC just isn't the way to go.
     
  11. rhonderoo

    rhonderoo Former Head Admin star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 7, 2002
    I can see what you're saying and agree with some of it. When you get three or four social threads on the first page of the JCC it gets a little annoying. That said, I don't know how we'd feasibly shuffle them as social threads are still social and random, unlike games.

    I do think we need to try to get more users in Census and maybe a highlight thread updated regularlary in JCC would help.
     
  12. DarthSapient

    DarthSapient Jedi Youngling star 10

    Registered:
    Jun 26, 2001
    At times years ago I had given serious thought to a forum for social threads after they had garnered a following/certain number of posts. It would have had to meet some sort of criteria. It would begin in the JCC and then moved, at the time back then it would have had to be restarted, and then given new life in a social thread forum.

    As time has gone on, I am totally convinced that social threads are a cornerstone and staple of the JCC. It's all about community and people. Though at times social threads may dominate the first page of the JCC, it's temporary. My preference is to keep the JCC as it is.
     
  13. KnightWriter

    KnightWriter Administrator Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 6, 2001
    When you get three or four social threads on the first page of the JCC it gets a little annoying.

    it does? i have to disagree with that.

    Edit: Much agreed, Sape.
     
  14. Dingo

    Dingo Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 23, 2001
    Really! That thought never crossed my mind. Amazing.



    Anyway, since epic is actually slightly serious, it's actually not a feasible suggestion unless we allow everyone access to polls for the JCC again. Census works because only VIPs and up can post threads, but I don't want to think of the mess if everyone were able to post polls in the JCC. Lit doesn't even allow them because of how much they get abused.
     
  15. rhonderoo

    rhonderoo Former Head Admin star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 7, 2002
    You can do certainly do that. As they say, to each his own. ;)


    Before people get paranoid, we're not changing the JCC. But we do take people's opinions and suggestions, and we will continue to.
     
  16. epic

    epic Ex Mod star 8 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 4, 1999
    by social threads i mean things like (taking a look at the first page of JCC right now):

    hayden christensen and ewan mcg fan clubs
    blue yoda society
    witches brewery
    3NS Cantina
    JEDI OUTCASTS
    Geriatric Ward
    Golden Age Cafe

    all these threads basically are small cliques: the antithesis of a 'community' (in the broad usage of the term) where everyone should be be able to associate with everyone else, through discussion or joking around (ie socially) or whatever, in a variety of different threads and topics. to me that is the cornerstone of the JCC, not everyone sectioning off into little groups.

    plus then you have all these rank the user above threads and whatnot and the first page is always filled up. i think it actually is a slight hinderance to people making new threads.

    i count around 15 threads on the front page, right now, that are either a social group or a +1 game (i'm not including like the football and baseball or even the conservative social thread as these are all based on a discussable topic that anyone can join). that's 30% of the front page! now if that 30% was replaced with poll topics and ensueng discussions (and socialising), wouldn't that be better for the 'Community'? wouldn't that be the cornerstone of the JCC?? i think so! and if i win the lottery and maybe buy the JC i will implement this change!

    now there's nothing necessarily wrong with social/clique threads and +1 game threads, but to me i just think they are a hinderance to people making new threads and thus to community.

    i know nothing will change but i'm just providing my rationale. [face_whistling]

    and wasting time until 5:30pm. [face_whistling]
     
  17. DarthSapient

    DarthSapient Jedi Youngling star 10

    Registered:
    Jun 26, 2001
    And we're not going to allow polls in the JCC, at least not those that can be created by anyone at anytime.
     
  18. epic

    epic Ex Mod star 8 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 4, 1999
    i don't see why they would be abused. and if they are, isn't this what mods are for?

    i know all this moot though. [face_whistling]

    that whistling smilie is probably the best we have.
     
  19. DarthSapient

    DarthSapient Jedi Youngling star 10

    Registered:
    Jun 26, 2001
    I don't see why they would be abused either. But they are one of the most abused features we have ever had maybe next to what the starts made users compelled to do.
     
  20. epic

    epic Ex Mod star 8 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 4, 1999
    i could only see abuse occuring through sheer novelty factor. i seriously doubt that if users could create their own poll, in a months time they would still be getting abused.

    but what is an example of someone abusing polls, anyway? surely any abuse would be covered under the TOS, be it parody polls, spam polls, basically anything that is already covered by the possible abuse of threads.

    polls =/= threads, if someone is abusing their ability, in whatever way, to post threads, they get punished for it. i'm not 100% certain what makes polls so different? although i wasn't around when this abuse occurred and i don't post in Census so forgive me for my ignorance.
     
  21. Son of the Suns

    Son of the Suns Administrator Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 6, 1999
    Regardless of whether they're abused or not, polls would not be able to survive in JCC. They'd drop off pretty quickly due to the fast paced nature of the forum. In Census, polls are easily accessible and most of them get a healthy response.

    And Census is not only a place for Community polls, it also covers Star Wars topics as well. What would happen to all those SW polls if this move occured? I doubt anyone would want the SW forums flooded with polls again.
     
  22. rhonderoo

    rhonderoo Former Head Admin star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 7, 2002
    I have been seeing a growing trend of this or that threads, and as a mod myself...if it continues, I'll be tempted to send some of them to Census, as it's a form of abuse to start a thread like that at the frequency that has been happening in the last few weeks. Some are too random for even the JCC and would do better in Census, so expect to see some of the more random this or that threads related food preferences, etc. pointed to Tracy for her input on maybe a poll in Census.
     
  23. Everton

    Everton Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Jul 18, 2003
    This is all far too complicated. Things are fine as they are.

    The JCC is sometimes chock full of one thing, and then other times chock full of another. Not a big deal.

    As for polls in the JCC absolutely no thank-you sir. There may be ways it might be okay, but they certainly don't outweigh the way (lol) it would be the most phenomenal pain in the ass.


    EDIT: re: this or that threads... does Census really want a whole batch of daft this or that nonsense?


    EDIT EDIT: Oh and also all this small cliques versus large open groups stuff. There will always be small cliques and so there's little to no point in going on about how they should be eradicated lest they rob us of the ability to speak to someone new altogether. It really is not very difficult to get involved in the majority of threads on the JCC if you really want to. Just post. Community is many things, not just the ideal 'everyone sitting round one large table and it has to be round so everyone can see everyone else'.

    There's very little that isn't a hinderance to something or other. When push comes to shove, if the will is there to exist in this utopia of socialising, then it will out and bear fruit.
     
  24. rhonderoo

    rhonderoo Former Head Admin star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 7, 2002
    EDIT: re: this or that threads... does Census really want a whole batch of daft this or that nonsense?

    Hush. I was trying to sneak that past Tracy. Now you've ruined it. :rolleyes:
     
  25. Everton

    Everton Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Jul 18, 2003
    I like Census because it's quite a structured environment.
     
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