GameBanshee Forums

This submitted when I was halfway through for some reason--then when I was editing it signed me out. Don't know why, don't care, but since it went up before the solution was in I feel like I should add something. Definitely not an apology since I ddin't submit but was signed out, both for no apparent reason, but something.

Last summer I quit this site, instead going to game specific ones, because something about it drove me nuts, though I couldn't quite put my finger on it. The site was extremely useful, but at the same time I'd get annoyed pretty quickly after entering. This didn't happen anywhere else (I mean NOWHERE) so rather than try to adapt to accommodate one, I chose to remove the problem. But like most people, things just come to me, such as realizing what bothered me about the site and how to take care of the problem--when all I was doing was trying to figure out how squeeze in a trip across town to the only store that sells my deodorant.

The problem is simple:
1--People are criticized for not using the search function. Ripped on, put down and insulted. By, among others, mods.
2--People are criticized for reviving old threads. Again ripped on, put down and insulted. Again by, among others, mods. Often the same people and mods.

Performing searches and reviving old threads goes hand-in-hand. If the first is done, the second WILL happen, and anyone with over 10,000 posts, fistfuls of which are the above sort of criticisms, should have figured this out before me, and tried to create a solution that works rather than insulting, ridiculing, etc. which has shown to be effective only in sending people to other boards.

How about, if for no other reason to protect the ability of those who need internet anonymity to be jerks, putting a termination date on thread activity? Three months, six months, 2 years, whatever you choose, if a thread doesn't have any activity for a certain time period it becomes locked. Nobody will be able to revive old threads again, and nobody will be able to complain about it. It will also keep threads more focused, reducing the number of bad results in searches. I doubt I'm the only one who has gotten buried under useless returns, generated by discussion getting off-topic, something less common in new threads.

I'm sorry to heard that you find these things as a problem.

Basically, we encourage new members to use search function just because there is lots of questions asked regularely, and the space isn't free and would fill up very quick.

Secondly, members are encouraged to reviving threads only if they have something usefull to give to the discussion. Of course, what is the point of reviving old thread if your post doesn't give anything new to it?

The matter, which probably is the biggest problem if I understood right your post, is that you have a problem in a game. If you ask it in new thread, you get directed to use search function. If you do that and revive old thread your ask directed to not to do that. Hopefully some mods could give the exact answer, but as far as I know if your problem doesn't get solved by older threads, then you are allowed to post new thread to ask your question. It's good to mention that you have tried to search solutions from older posts to avoid the comment of why not using search function.

Hopefully you decide to stay here, as this place isn't so unfriendly as you may think

sdwillie wrote:<snip>
The problem is simple:
1--People are criticized for not using the search function. Ripped on, put down and insulted. By, among others, mods.
2--People are criticized for reviving old threads. Again ripped on, put down and insulted. Again by, among others, mods. Often the same people and mods.
<snip>

Ad 1)
Using the search function is common ordinary etiquette when using forums.
That goes hand in hand with practically any moderated forum and that is why it is a common etiquette as well. This goes along the same line as looking over the names of the various subsections of the forum to find the most suitable location for posting; and posting with respect towards others; posting relevant; and remembering not everybody is native english speakers.
Those are common ordinary etiquette and simply a sign of respect toward other people.

Ad 2) Necro-posting or "empty" bumps are unnecessary because threads exists in the database, and because they very rarely get purged. Thus the need to bump topics to keep them active is not something which is ... well inconsequential. If people used the search (which many do, thankfully), a bump is in effect useless.
This means that people get criticized for reviving old threads *if* they do not add anything to the thread as it is useless tactic.
People do not get criticized for reviewing old threads if they add anything of relevance to them.

Performing searches and reviving old threads goes hand-in-hand. If the first is done, the second WILL happen

Not necessarily. Often if a person searches, he'll find (multiple) answers to his questions. If the poster can add something to the thread then fine, if not - then it is off topic and thus spam.
Another reason for why people are encouraged to search is that everybody who answers questions here does so on a voluntary basis and does so because they want to. However few have the desire to answer the same question over and over and over again, and thus finally questions might simply stop getting answers.
There is ultimately no excuse for not searching a forum - people do it constantly on for instance Google or similar. And thus it is not unreasonable to expect them to do the same when they enter a forum. And that goes for many forums on the web and is not something unique to GameBanshee, on the contrary.

, and anyone with over 10,000 posts, fistfuls of which are the above sort of criticisms, should have figured this out before me, and tried to create a solution that works rather than insulting, ridiculing, etc. which has shown to be effective only in sending people to other boards.

Postcount is irrelevant for most at this place as it provides no perks or benefits. It is irrelevant because we discourage spam and off-topic posting at most of the subsections at this forum (save a couple of off-topic forums) and thus the only thing which counts for anything here is the content of the posts you make and the help you provide to others.
What we do have here, and care about, are forum rules, primarily introduced by the site owner/administrator and enforced by us moderators; which ensure that we're relative free of internet trolls and flamers which plague many other forums, official gaming forums as well.
And most anybody can ask questions without the fear of ridicule by others. And if people do feel ridiculed, they are more then welcome (in fact encouraged) to report the incident to either the moderators, Super Moderators or Buck himself if they do not feel they can take it up with anybody else.

How about, if for no other reason to protect the ability of those who need internet anonymity to be jerks, putting a termination date on thread activity? Three months, six months, 2 years, whatever you choose, if a thread doesn't have any activity for a certain time period it becomes locked. Nobody will be able to revive old threads again, and nobody will be able to complain about it. It will also keep threads more focused, reducing the number of bad results in searches. I doubt I'm the only one who has gotten buried under useless returns, generated by discussion getting off-topic, something less common in new threads.

Ultimately this is up to Buck, but I see no reason for this - as long as posts made in respective threads are relevant to the topic at hand.

I'm sorry you apparently have had bad experiences at GameBanshee, but such is the way of life. Nobody enjoys everyplace the same and equally. I've visited many forums where I was not "comfortable" for one reason or the other, and thus I moved on. I hope current experience will be better for you, but naturally - I can't guarantee that you get what you want from this place.

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GameBanshee Moderator
GameBanshee - Make Your Gaming Scream
Forum rules

I'm sorry to hear you feel that way, sdwillie. Our forum software currently does not offer a feature to automatically close threads, though it has been suggested to the developers several times in the past. If they ever add the option to the software, I will most likely make use of it.

A lot of time is spent keeping this forum running smoothly on a daily basis, and our moderators are only human. After seeing the same question get posted every single day or two-year-old posts constantly being revived, they're bound to get frustrated. A vast majority of internet forums possess a search feature, and every single one of them (including this one) recommend using it before asking a question. It's not meant to be rude - it's simply to keep the forum from being overrun with duplicate posts. Moderators won't typically mind if an older post gets revived as long as you have something useful to contribute to it. A valid contribution shouldn't draw any attention.

Neither of these issues shouldn't result in someone getting "ripped on" or "insulted", though. If you feel that a moderator is out of line, please drop me a PM with a link to the thread and I'll take a look at it personally.