View Full Version : Forum Policing!
So, I have to say, while I am guilty of this, it needs to throttle down a bit, IMO.
People make errors all the time, it's the way of life.
However, posts have generally gotten to be this format.
OP asks a question/makes a topic.
• Poster A: Replies to topic, answers it, then corrects the errors the OP makes.
• Poster B: Does the same thing as Poster A.
• Poster C: Does the same thing as Poster C.
• Poster D: He might be the one that actually provides a genuine response with lack of criticism!
What does this lead to? It leads unfriendliness on the forums. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's embarrassing to be corrected on public forums, where your posts are viewed by all. When it's turned on you, it doesn't feel too great.
So what I'm saying is, unless it's a big infringement on the TOS, does it really matter if somebody put a thread in the wrong section, or doesn't have the best grammar in the world but is obviously trying? I realize this is a lot like Zheotare's thread, but I feel like a lot need to be reminded of this.
I, myself, tried to stop doing this, but it still irks me when people have good ideas, but the first thing somebody does is criticize the structure of the post or the thread itself--not the content of the post/thread. If you are truly just trying to point out a mistake and don't want anyone to think otherwise, you can always PM the OP/Poster of the mistake, instead of calling him out on it publicly.
Also, regarding grammar. I'm pretty big on grammar myself, but as long as the OP/Poster is making an effort, why bother correcting him? Now a days, for the most part, MOST of the posts here are semi grammatical or simple and short, which doesn't really require grammatical punctuation to clarify thoughts.
People say the forums is a great community, but has anybody ever thought that it seems like a good community to those who are inside the "circle". What about those who are on the outside? How do I know this? Try making an alternative forums account and posting on that. You feel a bit alienated if you don't follow everything the general forum community wants.
Suggestions? Insight? Post below!
Nourish
11-27-2011, 02:56 PM
What does OP mean (lol)? I know it means the person who started the thread but what do the initials mean?
Onaraasider
11-27-2011, 02:56 PM
i totally agree, i never really play "forum police" just on certain occasions, but many ppl play forum police with to many threads,question already asked, flaming, etc. we should slow it down like apollo said and get to know each other more.
What does OP mean (lol)? I know it means the person who started the thread but what do the initials mean?
It means original poster. :)
I have seen this before on other people forums and I never really thought about it that way! Thx for the notice! I don't think I have done this but if I have then I'm sry guys!!! I look up to you Apollo thx for all you've done on the forums!
DanielRH
11-27-2011, 03:14 PM
A+ Totally agree. It has to stop.
I have to agree that if the message is easily understood, even if there isn't correct grammar or spelling, then let sleeping dogs lie because don't sleeping doggies look cute anyway? ;)
Lowlyspy
11-27-2011, 03:14 PM
Hehe I cant deny sometimes being a member of the forum police *weewoo!*
I say let the people post what they want to post (within ToS restrictions of course), so wat if there is one more thread on the same subject, its not like theres a limit to how many threads can be made in one day.
Whirlzap
11-27-2011, 03:18 PM
• Poster C: Does the same thing as Poster B.
RANGE YOU ARE BAD AT USING GRAMMAR BECAUSE YOU MISPELLED SO MANY THINGS WRONG
RARARA...blah blah blah.
AND I ALSO WANT TO CORRECT YOU ON EVERYTHING YOU POST. BLAH BLAH BLAH......
Whirlzap
11-27-2011, 03:19 PM
Oh BTW, the above was an example of what not to do.
For those who didn't get the joke-.-
RANGE YOU ARE BAD AT USING GRAMMAR BECAUSE YOU MISPELLED SO MANY THINGS WRONG
RARARA...blah blah blah.
AND I ALSO WANT TO CORRECT YOU ON EVERYTHING YOU POST. BLAH BLAH BLAH......
LOL! So you caught one of my many purposely implemented errors! xD They are booby traps, whirlz! :)
Whirlzap
11-27-2011, 03:26 PM
0.0 So the policeman's been up to his tricks.
0.0 So the policeman's been up to his tricks.
You are due in court at 12:00 AM Nov. 25th.
Oh wait, looks like you already missed the court date. Does this mean I get to keep your bail of 5 million gold coins? xD
Whirlzap
11-27-2011, 03:30 PM
My crime was robbing a time machine from a multi-billionaire company.
Do you know what this means, Mister?
Moogerfooger
11-27-2011, 03:30 PM
Pet peeve - someone taking the trouble to point out someone posted something in Gen Discussion instead of Off-Topic, for example. Unless it is blatantly off like putting a FS thread in the PvP section, who really cares?
My crime was robbing a time machine from a multi-billionaire company.
Do you know what this means, Mister?
Wait, wut? It now says that you made it to the court date and you were deemed not guilty!? HOW!?
KingFu
11-27-2011, 03:33 PM
This should be under the websites and forums discussion.
Hehe
I can't stop, I have a problem >:d. But I agree, I personally am very guilty of it. I tend to do it a lot actually lol. Soz :x
This should be under the websites and forums discussion.
Hehe
I can't stop, I have a problem >:d. But I agree, I personally am very guilty of it. I tend to do it a lot actually lol. Soz :x
Booby trap #1! I can't believe somebody didn't point it out on the first post. LOL!
But bro, I know what you mean. I was guilty of it too, probably still am, but if you post under a different account every now and then, you may come across one of your older posts like I did and realized, "WOW, I'm a snob!".
NOTE: I am NOT calling you a snob! Just myself. :D
Skeletonlord
11-27-2011, 03:36 PM
I agree. There should be a group on the forums that Samhayne sets up and if he thinks that you would be great at keeping the forums clean he would invite you. Apollo would definately join!
I agree. There should be a group on the forums that Samhayne sets up and if he thinks that you would be great at keeping the forums clean he would invite you. Apollo would definately join!
No no no no. That's the moderators' jobs! I would not want that role, thank you very much! :D I wouldn't like being the bad cop who had to monitor the forums. It's a tough role to play! :) However, thank you for that compliment. :)
Whirlzap
11-27-2011, 03:37 PM
So basically you're gonna look back to this thread in 2012 and feel like a snob?
So basically you're gonna look back to this thread in 2012 and feel like a snob?
Ouch! Possibly, maybe, we'll see. :P
FluffNStuff
11-27-2011, 03:40 PM
I personally rank the grammar police between forum beggars and automated spam bots in the list of most annoying posters, so yeah, I agree.
WoundedEagle
11-27-2011, 03:41 PM
Poster C puts the same thing as Poster C? Lol :)
Skeletonlord
11-27-2011, 03:44 PM
@Apollo ok I just thought that would be a good role for you......
Whirlzap
11-27-2011, 03:50 PM
I agree. There should be a group on the forums that Samhayne sets up and if he thinks that you would be great at keeping the forums clean he would invite you. Apollo would definately join!
MODERATOR APOLLO REP: over9TRILLION.
-Achievements:
-Grammar Drill Seargent
-Greek God
-Taunt Abuser
Something like that?
Skeletonlord
11-27-2011, 03:53 PM
Where am I supposed to be looking on this pic?
Whirlzap
11-27-2011, 03:55 PM
Wrong pic.
Too lazy to edit in the names so I'll just post.
DJMdivine
11-27-2011, 03:56 PM
I try to sway towards the old saying "If you have something bad to say then don't say anything at all" kinda thing, but lately the forums have been getting out of hand. No, I don't go around correcting peoples mistakes in grammer cause I never really cared at all as long as I could read it. Yes, I do believe there needs to be a group, but in my own personal opinion the groups have alreay been made as GoA's should be looking out for Pocket Legends as-well as Star Guards look out for Star Legends threads in terms of mistakes from incoming new players (Not grammatical mistakes...). And it took me a while from the beggining to build up enough "encouragement" to even come and post on the forums cause I always thought I would somewhat be "rejected" by the community.
The way I see it is we all need to tone down a bit and accept these players, but at the same time try and show them the ropes.
Artemis
11-27-2011, 03:57 PM
RANGE YOU ARE BAD AT USING GRAMMAR BECAUSE YOU MISPELLED SO MANY THINGS WRONG
RARARA...blah blah blah.
AND I ALSO WANT TO CORRECT YOU ON EVERYTHING YOU POST. BLAH BLAH BLAH......
Damn! I was going to do that lol
WhoIsThis
11-28-2011, 04:14 PM
Generally, I think that for longer posts, grammar should be enforceable. Short posts that are barely one sentence are easy to read. Long posts that have poor grammar and sentence structure are a pain to read and perhaps the user should be "flagged" (ex: given a warning as to edit the post in say 24h - at which point if they do not it will be deleted).
Of course, the quality of what is said is as important and there is no simple way to enforce it.
StompArtist
11-28-2011, 04:24 PM
• Poster C: Does the same thing as Poster C.
Forum Police Alert! :P And yes I entirely agree with you that the policing is way over the top.
SuperNas
11-28-2011, 04:41 PM
Yay! Hopefully the top forum police read this thread cuz this can really help the community.
Gaunab
11-28-2011, 05:04 PM
...Now a days, for the most part, MOST of the posts here are semi grammatical or simple and short, which doesn't really require grammatical punctuation to clarify thoughts...
...is one word! :) Did i spot the last one? ;)
Jk, great post! I just hope that many people will read this.
Unfourtunately, post like this aren't very likely to be stickied, eventhough it would be very helpful in this case, so everyone would stumble across it sooner or later and read it, since it contains thoughts that will always be useful to everybody using the forums...
...is one word! :) Did i spot the last one? ;)
Jk, great post! I just hope that many people will read this.
Unfourtunately, post like this aren't very likely to be stickied, eventhough it would be very helpful in this case, so everyone would stumble across it sooner or later and read it, since it contains thoughts that will always be useful to everybody using the forums...
There are a few more in there. The reason I haven't edited it is because I want them to be caught over and over. Hehe :)
Pakax
11-28-2011, 07:45 PM
Poster C puts the same thing as Poster C? Lol :)
Spotted that but didnt dare :-))))
Spotted that but didnt dare :-))))
I put them in on purpose to be punny. Lol :) There are a few more in there, find them if you can! :)
Aikiebo
11-29-2011, 06:58 PM
What does OP mean (lol)? I know it means the person who started the thread but what do the initials mean?
It can mean "original poster" or "original post" depending on the context.
What does this lead to? It leads unfriendliness on the forums. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's embarrassing to be corrected on public forums, where your posts are viewed by all. When it's turned on you, it doesn't feel too great.
I realize this is a lot like Zheotare's thread, but I feel like a lot need to be reminded of this.
you can always PM the OP/Poster of the mistake, instead of calling him out on it publicly.
MOST of the posts here are semi grammatical or simple and short, which doesn't really require grammatical punctuation to clarify thoughts.
People say the forums is a great community, but has anybody ever thought that it seems like a good community to those who are inside the "circle". What about those who are on the outside? How do I know this? Try making an alternative forums account and posting on that. You feel a bit alienated if you don't follow everything the general forum community wants.
Suggestions? Insight? Post below!
Wow! Another great thread, Apollo. I agree with everything you are saying.
I'd like to say, that to some extent things in regards to a handful of people monitoring and policing the forums has gotten better since Zheotare's thread. But, a few people are still doing it too much. But, I think we should say thank you for at least trying. No problem is going to be fixed overnight. And I think there has been some great progress. But, as you and others have said, we still need to work on it.
One problem is that the rules are in fact important. Just because we are saying - STOP - please stop the agressive "policing", doesn't mean that running around hapazardly ignoring important stuff is what we want either. To some extent, the question of "when" to point out a problem is important.
But, the biggest problem, imo, is "how" to point out if someone is having a hard time with one of the rules.
If you take a good look at the forum rules, you will see that they exist not to hinder conversation but to enable it. The rules exist so that there will be a:
Friendly
Supportive
Fun
Informative
Enviroment for EVERYONE. Everyone's ideas are sought after and needed. Not just a few who seem to comprise almost a "forum elite" or inner circle.
In order to grow the game, we need the forums to be a place people can come to with out the FEAR or being flamed, ridiculed, called out, put down or anything like that at all.
Two examples: If you at school, everyday, you sit and have lunch with your buddies. But everyday, all they do is run down a list of every mistake you made that day. First in algebra, then band, then gym, then chemisty. Every day they jump at the chance to point out your mistakes and make you feel like, well, not good. Acting as if they were better then you. When in fact they were students just like you.
It wouldn't take you long to realize that these people were more annoying than fun.
You'd stop eating with them.
Or, the same thing, but at work. If everyday, 3 or 4 people in your office hounded you with every little thing that they think you are doing wrong. (They of course may be wrong, but they don't even consider that, lol). All they ever did was stand up and shout out so the whole office could hear all your little mistakes. These people aren't superviors or anything, just co-workers like you. But, they always acting like know-it-alls.
It wouldn't take you long to realize these people were more annoying than informative or interesting.
You would dread going to work and would try to find another job.
On the forum there is only 4 or 5 people who do this CONSTANTLY. They relentlessly jump on even the most minor imperfections.
Then there are quite a few others who, unfortuneately, because of the tone and mood set by these few, monitor and police threads not nearly as much. But because such a poor example is set, it is copied.
They are hurting the game. They are hurting the forum.
I imagine that they think they are doing the forum and the game a favor. In other words, I think that most have only the best of intentions.
But when they relentlessly (and many times rudely) police people they are the ones that are breaking actual forum rules and certainly trashing the spirit of the forum rules.
They think they helping, but they are not.
No body wants to come some place where they are going to be treated like crap.
People are not interested in coming here to be policed. We want to come here to learn about the game. We want come to spend some time actually cracking up cause of some funny thing someone said.
The best thing to do is to treat people like they were friends. Some people may have a hard time doing that because they have stated how they do not like (of have some other negative biast) against newer members.
It is hard to treat someone like a friend if you secretly dislike them, lol.
But, if we can't be friendly to people, then we have to at least remember at all times, is that people are coming to the forums to talk with friends and PEERS not to be policed or looked down on by those that think they are superior.
If you don't want to be a friend, well, that's up to you. But, on this forum, we are all peers.
nomad187
11-29-2011, 08:05 PM
So what I'm saying is, unless it's a big infringement on the TOS, does it really matter if somebody put a thread in the wrong section, or doesn't have the best grammar in the world, but is obviously trying? I realize this is a lot like Zheotare's thread, but I feel like a lot of people need to be reminded of this.
How about these 2??
Aikiebo
11-30-2011, 01:25 PM
So what I'm saying is, unless it's a big infringement on the TOS, does it really matter if somebody put a thread in the wrong section, or doesn't have the best grammar in the world, but is obviously trying? I realize this is a lot like Zheotare's thread, but I feel like a lot of people need to be reminded of this.
How about these 2??
Hey, nomad187! Glad to see your post. I'm sure it is clear, but, I'm not sure what 2 you mean. You mean Apollo and Zheotare or the two threads?
Samhayne
11-30-2011, 01:36 PM
If you see someone who's posting junk posts or obviously padding their post count, you can make use of the Report Post button found in the lower left of the post to let our Moderation Team know about the issue. The button looks like this:
http://www.spacetimestudios.com/images/buttons/report-40b.png
Our Moderation Team is here to do the moderating. Please let us know about a post you think is a problem, rather than posting a reply and falling into the camp of being the "Forum Police"
Thanks!
• Poster B: Does the same thing as Poster A.
• Poster C: Does the same thing as Poster C.
I think you meant "Does the same thing as Poster B"
EDIT: BTW, I was just kidding. I totally agree with you.
nomad187
11-30-2011, 05:21 PM
There are a few more in there. The reason I haven't edited it is because I want them to be caught over and over. Hehe :)
Hey, nomad187! Glad to see your post. I'm sure it is clear, but, I'm not sure what 2 you mean. You mean Apollo and Zheotare or the two threads?
Apollo stated there were multiple mistakes in his OP. He said ge left it unedited for people to find over and over. No one has pointed out the two I found. One, the missing comma. Two, he left out the words I put in bold.
Sorry I wasn't clear in,my post. I thought bolding it would let people know what I meant.
BTW... Who is Zheotare?? I've seen him, and some thread mentioned in multiple posts, but never see him post anything.