Small suggestions not worth their own thread

Purple Hermit

Again, there ARE downsides present with liking and upvoting systems, and they offer no value in terms of improving discussions or continuing a conversation. Even if it doesn't bump up posts, Facebook posts and comments are frequently generated solely for the sake of generating likes, and reddit has similar problems (although it functions as an aggregation site, so that's kinda just how it has to work, but reposting and other things aren't done to flood the site more than it is just to generate karma). If you see that a poster is frequently making points, then share it on their user page and/or friend them, but there's no real reason to implement a thumbs up system.

That said, I'm only a section mod here, so I'm only making the case from the way I see things. I'm not an admin, so your suggestions may be considered. Whether they will be implemented is up to the discretion of the high priests.

–- Update From New Post Merge ---

@Wagomu:

'Likes' are a metal reward

Surprised you're against an idea that makes the forum more metal

Rebecca

I'm not talking in terms of Facebook likes or Reddit likes…
I'll try to be a little more specific, if it helps my cause.
Here's the idea:
When you see a post, you have the option to give it a "thumbs up" or "high five" or whatever. However, there is no indication of who else or how many other people did the same...it's just between you and the person who posted it.
IF these "hight fives" are logged, it would be mostly for the sake of the high-fiver, not the high-fivee. (Does that make sense?)
Again I bring up mlpforums. On this site, you can see on someone's profile page the TOTAL amount of "brohoofs" a user got, but it's not organized into specific posts or anything. I've never seem this system be used narcissistically. I don't think I've even heard it mentioned by my fellow forumgoers!
It's just something nice that's there as a sort of nod to the poster. Like, "I have no comments regarding this, but I agree with/support you". It's also a good way to get feedback on stuff like "is this a good idea", "is this well written", "do you agree with me", etc, without causing clutter in the discussion. This thread itself could definitely make use of it.

The fact that there isn't a "like" counter on each post helps, I think. It makes it hard for people to compete.

I really hope you consider implementing something like this. A lot of people want it, so I think we should at least try it out. If it generates mostly bad, we get rid of it. If it generates mostly good, we'll be thankful--and either way, we'll quit bothering you about it.
Why not give it a go?

Nami

like button~> circlejerkery

Purple Hermit

Yeah, and it's not just the publicness that is a problem more than the psychological benefit. Even if others don't know the result, the psychological reward is still a big thing that encourages the same type of posting that comes with likes or reward. The internet is a place where everything is made up and the points shouldn't matter, but in a lot of places beyond Facebook and Reddit, it still becomes a system which encourages posting popular opinions for the sake of posting rather than engendering discussion.

Rebecca

You don't have faith that we'll use it well? Heh heh.

I guess if psychology is your angle, we can look on the other side of this coin. Someone can have a really great idea, but won't get it noticed because nobody wants/has the time to type up a congratulations that's above the character minimun. Suddenly they think their idea is worthless and never end up expanding on it or putting it to use. I'd say that's just as psychologically destructive as its opposite. Also, just as (un)likely. Alternately, someone gets praise for their good points and keeps up the debate/discussion with gusto. Yeah, "likes" can be misused, but it can be used admirably, too.
It all comes down to whether or not you trust us with this.

But honestly, I don't think point grabbers will be a problem here. I don't think narcissism can be raised significantly due to a "thumbs up" system on a forum for a manga.

Regarding "popular opinion" posts, well…I think they can be avoided. This is a forum after all--if you want to start a thread, you need a reason. Plus, unlike on Facebook, moderators can shut you down if your post is pointless. If that's not discouraging point grabbers, I don't know what is. :D
But really, I don't think people will be posting popular opinions on this kind of site.

I could be wrong though. :/ I just think its worth a shot.

Purple Hermit

@Rebecca:

I guess if psychology is your angle, we can look on the other side of this coin. Someone can have a really great idea, but won't get it noticed because nobody wants/has the time to type up a congratulations that's above the character minimun. Suddenly they think their idea is worthless and never end up expanding on it or putting it to use. I'd say that's just as psychologically destructive as its opposite. Also, just as (un)likely.

And there… isn't really a problem with this? Like I mean I'm an egoist at heart, but you shouldn't be posting with this idea that you'll be acknowledged with open arms and a congratulations. You should be posting because you feel you have something to contribute. The thing we definitely don't want to see is people contributing just because they need some sort of extrinsic reward out of it.

Only you make the worth of your own posting (and can stop forest fires).

Rebecca

@Purple:

And there… isn't really a problem with this? Like I mean I'm an egoist at heart, but you shouldn't be posting with this idea that you'll be acknowledged with open arms and a congratulations. You should be posting because you feel you have something to contribute. The thing we definitely don't want to see is people contributing just because they need some sort of extrinsic reward out of it.

Only you make the worth of your own posting (and can stop forest fires).

Oops, sorry, I wasn't clear enough–that was the scenario where there ISN'T a "like" system. As in, person has good idea-->Idea not recognized due to other users' lack of time/energy-->Idea dies due to lack or moral support.
As opposed to:
Person has good idea-->people "like" idea--> idea is developed further.

I realize these arguments are sort of silly--both of our arguments. Having or not having this feature makes little real impact on the minds/egos of members, honestly. It's just a nice thing to have, and we're all used to it on other sites. I'm sure people would appreciate it.

Purple Hermit

@Rebecca:

Oops, sorry, I wasn't clear enough–that was the scenario where there ISN'T a "like" system. As in, person has good idea-->Idea not recognized due to other users' lack of time/energy-->Idea dies due to lack or moral support.
As opposed to:
Person has good idea-->people "like" idea--> idea is developed further.

No, I understood your scenario. It still doesn't change my point one bit. You want to post an idea? Great! But you shouldn't need a lack of support to deter you. If people want to support it, they'll add on. If not, then that's that. You like a poster? Then take the opportunity to friend them under your profile or leave a note on their user page.

I realize these arguments are sort of silly–both of our arguments. Having or not having this feature makes little real impact on the minds/egos of members, honestly. It's just a nice thing to have, and we're all used to it on other sites. I'm sure people would appreciate it.

It's honestly not a silly argument to say that there is a psychological, extrinsic incentive. These things happen. People are people. This is the internet. Reddit and Facebook are the obvious and easiest examples, but the point system isn't the item of interest but what the points (or thumbs up) incentivize, which is the psych effect and immediate sense of gratification just because you posted an opinion that was popular.

Wagomu

There are plenty of different communities around the internet that use 'like' systems. They're becoming more and more common around the internet, so think of this forum as a breath of fresh air from that. For whatever reasons, though, we do not support karma-based systems and the forums have run fine without one so it is unlikely to change, regardless of discussion here.

Just keep in mind that the change those systems create is a lot bigger than it might appear on the surface. We're willing to take suggestions, but what you're asking us to do is implement a subtle but extensive change in user experience to the website. If we were ever to budge on this, it would require a lot of internal discussion and care before acting. I don't think it will get to that point, though.

Rebecca

That's unfortunate. I understand that it's not easy to implement, but I still hope you'll consider it. Perhaps a poll would be of use.

Rebecca

How about instead of blocking new members from making new threads, there's a bot detector in the application process? Like the whole "type these words in the box" or "select the right answer"?
I'm kind of surprised by how long I've been unable to post. Heh heh. ^^'

Purple Hermit

We have a captcha system of some sort set up recently that seems to be catching a majority of the bots so far.

Bot algorithms frequently update with quick turnaround, however, so unfortunately the systems don't catch everything. If you are an active member for long enough, you should be able to post threads soon enough. Please understand.

Rebecca

I understand. :) I'm glad to see you're all doing everything you can! I'm just so anxious to post. Ha ha.

!

Rebecca

(I'd make a thread for this, but I can't)

How about a roleplay section and a character database for OCs and canons.
I think thats better than a thousand-page thread full of OCs/original devil fruit.

Hasumi_Emi

@Rebecca:

(I'd make a thread for this, but I can't)

How about a roleplay section and a character database for OCs and canons.
I think thats better than a thousand-page thread full of OCs/original devil fruit.

While I likely wouldn't use it myself, I wouldn't mind seeing an RP section. Kind of surprised there isn't one already. But, what would the database be like if we had something more than just the thread? Would it be like a Wikia, or something else?

Rebecca

@Hasumi_Emi:

While I likely wouldn't use it myself, I wouldn't mind seeing an RP section. Kind of surprised there isn't one already. But, what would the database be like if we had something more than just the thread? Would it be like a Wikia, or something else?

Not quite like a wikia. Something like a list of links to organized profiles on the site. Each OC bio would include things like name, backstory, personality, appearance, and extras.
It would look like this, ideally: http://mlpforums.com/page/roleplay-characters
Mlpforums has two seperate chatacter databases that I quite like. One where anyone can post characters, and one for more advanced roleplays where your character has to be approved.

Check out their roleplays section, too. It's pretty well-organized, I think.

–- Update From New Post Merge ---

Here's the entire roleplay section: http://mlpforums.com/forum/21-roleplay-world/?utm_source=website&utm_medium=navbar&utm_campaign=ux
And here's some more info: http://mlpforums.com/topic/6531-the-roleplay-world-system/

Wagomu

We are not adding a RP section to the forum. There is not enough interest from the membership to sustain it. Even if there was, there is definitely not enough interest from the staff to maintain it. The forums have changed a little over decade+ they've been around, but we've mostly settled into our niche, which is largely straight-up discussion and commentary. We have a creativity forum, which breaks the mold a little, but even that isn't too heavily-populated.

For the record, the suggestions you've been making have been pretty big changes that require either lots of work, big changes in forum personality, or both. Those aren't the sorts of things that we take up lightly or at all. We are not MLP forums and we are not going to be in the foreseeable future. Not every forum is the same and they really don't need to be. Think of us as having a distinct culture, molded by our own specific geopolitical landscape. Violent changes in that structure do more harm than good. Please understand.

Rebecca

@Wagomu:

We are not adding a RP section to the forum. There is not enough interest from the membership to sustain it. Even if there was, there is definitely not enough interest from the staff to maintain it. The forums have changed a little over decade+ they've been around, but we've mostly settled into our niche, which is largely straight-up discussion and commentary. We have a creativity forum, which breaks the mold a little, but even that isn't too heavily-populated.

For the record, the suggestions you've been making have been pretty big changes that require either lots of work, big changes in forum personality, or both. Those aren't the sorts of things that we take up lightly or at all. We are not MLP forums and we are not going to be in the foreseeable future. Not every forum is the same and they really don't need to be. Think of us as having a distinct culture, molded by our own specific geopolitical landscape. Violent changes in that structure do more harm than good. Please understand.

Of course, I understand. :) These certainly are BIG changes. Just throwing ideas out there, to see if anything generates interest (and more user activity by extension). I certainly don't expect this forum to become anything like mlpforums, seeing the large difference in user interests (and amount of members).

Although I'm surprised that there's little user interest in RP.

Nami

I find it kind of funny. You've registered this month. For what exactly? So you can bring up tons of suggestions how to change the forum to your liking? As you showed us, there seem to be lots of forums that actually have what you want, so maybe it would be better to go there to enjoy all the things you want here?
If you don't want to become the laughing stock of this forum, you might want to take two steps back and just enjoy the forum as it is right now. Just a friendly suggestion.

Wagomu

Now we're open to suggestions, hence this entire subforum, but you can probably get a good idea of the kinds of things we listen to by poking around here and finding out what we've responded to. Most big change around these forums comes from above, since us staff are the ones that get to deal with implementation, maintenance and fallout.

Also, it's great that you're enthusiastic about these forums, Rebecca, but we are more likely to seriously consider to your suggestions if you don't keep coming up with new ones every day. APForums has been around for over a decade now and we have a pretty lively and strong community, so there's plenty to enjoy about the forum as is. Go out and experience it and, if after a while it turns out that you are really dissatisfied with the status quo, then you can come back here and more meaningfully suggest something.

In the mean time, please enjoy this goat:

Rebecca

@Nami:

I find it kind of funny. You've registered this month. For what exactly? So you can bring up tons of suggestions how to change the forum to your liking? As you showed us, there seem to be lots of forums that actually have what you want, so maybe it would be better to go there to enjoy all the things you want here?
If you don't want to become the laughing stock of this forum, you might want to take two steps back and just enjoy the forum as it is right now. Just a friendly suggestion.

Yes, yes, I know, I messed up. There's no need to be rude. And Exaggerate. I believe I only mentioned 1 other forum? I dont want to fight about it though. I goofed.
To be honest, I entered this forum expecting something else, and being unable to post anything myself, I dove into the one thing I'm good at–giving unwanted suggestions. I apologize once more. But I'd appreciate a little less aggression.

Jabberwok

What if the notifications dropdown saved the past, say, five quotes or messages instead of clearing all of them immediately? I find that if I've been quoted in multiple threads it's a bit irritating to backtrack through profile settings to find the other quotes I haven't seen yet. Just a small thing that would streamline the process and save a few clicks.

Nami

And I actually wrote it in the nicest way possible for me…

dirt monkey AL

@Rebecca:

Yes, yes, I know, I messed up. There's no need to be rude. And Exaggerate. I believe I only mentioned 1 other forum? I dont want to fight about it though. I goofed.
To be honest, I entered this forum expecting something else, and being unable to post anything myself, I dove into the one thing I'm good at–giving unwanted suggestions. I apologize once more. But I'd appreciate a little less aggression.

what exaggeration was there?

Ordinary

@Wagomu:

Those aren't the sorts of things that we take up lightly or at all. We are not MLP forums and we are not going to be in the foreseeable future.

Oh no, April Fools incoming!

Rebecca

@Nami:

And I actually wrote it in the nicest way possible for me…

^^' Yeah, it's pretty hard to be polite on internetland. Still important though, to avoid big fights. u_u' I'd just like this to be ended peacefully.
I know I'm done making suggestions. :) Heh heh.

Vectorkov

I enjoy the "classic" feel of this forum. Please don't change it too much. :wub:

Riquelme

Can you create a feature similar to book marker where a member can mark the thread and page he/she was on in that thread for example i stop reading the chapter thread at 25 leave and on my return the thread is now 35 pages but i can't remember because i stop reading for a week and i constantly delete my history so i have to search until i can remember where i left off, some times even reading post i have already read. I think it would be good if a feature exist for that so as i log in to AP there is a message/notification or reminder letting me know exactly the last thing i was reading and can just pick up where i left off. I don't know if others have the same problem as me but i read all the pages of the chapter thread week after week about 99% of the time and this is a problem i face regularly, sometimes the discussion pick up speed and when i return i can't remember.

Purple Hermit

When you look at threads, you should see a double downward arrow icon in a circle next to any thread that has been updated since you've last seen it which takes you to the first unread post

Darth

Would it be possible for notification of quotes from members on ignore list to not show up? If only for a peace of mind?

brennen.exe

Possible, but a bit of legwork would be required. If someone wants to volunteer to work on that code then feel free to PM me.

Darth

Alas, not talented enough on that side of things, but I would be interested to see it implemented. I wonder if it would lower down the level of fighting on the boards. Maybe a little bit?

sabinis

@Darth:

Alas, not talented enough on that side of things, but I would be interested to see it implemented. I wonder if it would lower down the level of fighting on the boards. Maybe a little bit?

Level of fighting doesnt depend on seeing if person you blocked quoted you or not Darth.

Opening thread dedicated purely to criticism of One Piece chapters and arcs would lower down level of fighting in One Piece board for sure as I suggested you before. I think number of people would agree that taking some of discussion concentrated on criticism(not all of course) to a thread for it would help if you are after that. Completely ignoring people not agreeing with you and being shut off from even seeing them quoting you is only for yourself.

I am almost sure that all blocked by you people(most likely I am on that list as well) were encountered during discussion in One Piece section of forum. Doing same thing, expecting different results will only enlarge list of blocked people in my opinion so please reconsider new thread rather than changing settings of forum itself.

You can also list all people you blocked in signature - asking not to be replied until changes are made. But this way and by creating new thread no need for changing forum code would be needed.

Darth

@sabinis:

I am almost sure that all blocked by you people(most likely I am on that list as well) were encountered during discussion in One Piece section of forum. Doing same thing, expecting different results will only enlarge list of blocked people in my opinion so please reconsider new thread rather than changing settings of forum itself.

You can also list all people you blocked in signature - asking not to be replied until changes are made. But this way and by creating new thread no need for changing forum code would be needed.

That wouldn't help, since, for example, I have explicitly told you are blocked and yet, you are still talking.

And actually, not agreeing with me is not the way you get on my block list. Being annoying about it is. You will also get there on a basis of merit, as in, if you go specificaly after me, instead of providing counter-points to my critisism.

Creating a self-established Ghetto for my thougths is not something I'm especially keen on either.

Also, this is off-topic, we will not talk about in this thread or any other, shut it.

CrazyMerlyn

I read on some thread that Tapatalk shows you the number of posts made by a user.
I am unable to find any such thing on the site.
It would be great if the PC version of the site offers a similar feature as well.

Robby

We don't display post counts here. There's absolutely no benefit to it.

RobZilla

@Robby:

We don't display post counts here. There's absolutely no benefit to it.

Makes for a great my post count is bigger than yours contest.

Razh

I wouldn't mind seeing it in my profile information, out of curiosity. Just to know exactly how much time I had spent here in the past year.

Don Quichotte De Flamingo

Believe me, for some of us it`s better not to know.:happy:

Robby

There are ways to check if you REALLY care.
Play around in here for a bit, see if you can figure it out.
http://forums.arlongpark.net/memberlist.php?do=search

There's about 50 people above the 5,000 mark, and only about 20 over 10,000. I've by faaaaar outposted everyone.

The second highest is at Buhaan at 19,000. There's a couple in the 16,000-17,000 range including Cosmic Debris, Kitsune and Hiroy. Then a couple more in the 14-15 range. I'm… at 30,000+. Its pretty ridiculous actually.

Though Monkey King is in the top 20, thats without counting for his old accounts. (Jerk Disease was about 6000, and Zephos was about 3000, so between those he's probably in the top 3.)

Don Quichotte De Flamingo

Some others might be Ivotas and Local-chan(he had also more than 1 account) in the 10000-range i would guess.
But some threads in the general OP section and other stuff were deleted over the years, so some might vary a bit.

maxterdexter

Wow, I'm in the top 30 with 9552, ehm 9553 with this one.

Cabbage

Is there a small sub forum to talk sports I know there was one for media video games etc.

Galaxy 9000

@Cabbage:

Is there a small sub forum to talk sports I know there was one for media video games etc.

The general discussion forum has threads for all of the main sports.

http://forums.arlongpark.net/forumdisplay.php?f=17

Cabbage

@Galaxy:

The general discussion forum has threads for all of the main sports.

http://forums.arlongpark.net/forumdisplay.php?f=17

Thanks kind sir…

Namiorbust

I don't know if this was ever brought up before, but is it possible to have sub threads. I feel that certain threads are way too general, and it's hard to follow the thread because the flow of the discussion is always changing. The general haki thread is the best example of this. My suggestion is close the general haki thread, and then create a new thread be general haki v2.0. In the first post a mod would create links to several sub threads for the user to choose from. There can be a sub thread for each type of haki and maybe another sub thread for haki pertaining to the SH's.

Robby

Things get crowded and clustered quick when you start doing that. Yes, more active threads may move quickly, but they'll usually cycle around. We actually merge threads together when topics are similar enough, because there's no point in having say, 14 Sonic the Hedgehog threads when the general discussion of any new game or series is going to involve the same people, roughly the same content and reactions, and talk of anything new will only last for a couple days.

Splintering those discussions further just breaks the topics, and makes it harder to find thoughts and individual posts.

And no one wants there to be multiple threads dedicated to Next Nakama, for instance. Eww.

If there's a subset discussion of a topic that so predominantly takes over a topic and can obviously hold its own weight, it can sometimes get its own thread though.

Namiorbust

Thanks for the info Robby.

Game And Guy

Is it possible to have the stuff in the image below appear at the bottom of the page as well? I know there's a "Top" link at the bottom of each page, but it's still much more convenient to have the links at the bottom as well anyways.

Game And Guy

Oh. The ability to edit thread names. Like, why can't users rename threads when almost every other forum has it, I don't know.