Moving Threads

DrStrangelove

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We're doing what we can to keep the integrity of our boards intact, and in doing so we have, and are going to be, moving threads to their relevant boards when necessary.

When creating a new thread double check the board's description to insure that you have the board you are looking for.

Happy Posting!
 

Barbas

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Oct 28, 2013
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I thought the GG threads were moved back to OT from R&P because OT was deemed to be the most relevant. Sticking it all in R&P may seem like the easiest option now, but it'll likely mean drowning out the other discussions in there. As somebody's mentioned already, R&P takes a lot of stick but it's a strong part of the community. I don't think offloading a controversy onto the R&P regulars whenever one comes around is going to do anything good for community relations.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.863234-Poll-Should-GamerGate-be-moved-to-its-own-forum

The thread above included a poll asking Escapists where they wanted the threads moved. A majority were in favour of moving GamerGate discussion to its own section of the site. The separate forum doesn't have to become a permanent feature. No controversy lasts forever and when this one is done, the forum can be removed. Alternatively, you can ask the community what they want the new forum to be renamed to and future events like GamerGate can be discussed in there.

I urge you to reconsider this action. You risk lowering the reputation of the forums and driving more community members away from posting in them at all.
 

JoJo

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Unfortunately I have to agree with Barbas, this is not the change anyone asked for. Gamergaters won't want their threads isolated to a quieter part of the site and R&P regulars won't want to be swamped by an influx of GG stuff. If you could reconsider making a temporary forum for GG and related controversies, I'm sure a lot of people would appreciate it.
 

Basement Cat

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Jul 26, 2012
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DrStrangelove said:
We're doing what we can to keep the integrity of our boards intact, and in doing so we have, and are going to be, moving threads to their relevant boards when necessary.
I concur with Barbas and JoJo.

There have been quite a few times that people on the upper forums complained about topics dominating OT (topics about sexism, especially) and they railed for the subjects to be "banished" to R&P. The thinking, more often than not, is that R&P is an unlikable place and the R&P threads don't show up on the "most active" window so people won't be "forced" to notice their existence.

What makes GG religious? Nada.

What about GG is political? Elections, wars, political parties raging at each other...GG involves none of this.

If you wish to isolate GG threads then put them where they belong--in the Gaming Discussion Forum. The original core of the matter centers on criticism of game journalism (I think--I've stayed out of the whole hullaballoo myself) and the Gaming Discussion Forum is the closest natural match for such a topic (from a certain point of view). Moreover the Gaming Discussion Forum moves so quickly that it's least likely to be swamped by numerous GG related threads.

EDIT: Or just keep isolating the discussion in Mega Threads. One or two Mega Threads. That's a cheap way out, granted, but the number of threads on GG IS somewhat annoying. -_-



DrStrangelove said:
Happy Posting!
Thank you. ^_^
 

Teoes

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Jun 1, 2010
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Apart from an arguably tenuous relation to politics, what was the reasoning behind moving the GG stuff to R&P? What makes that forum more relevant? How does this preserve integrity/how was integrity endangered before the shuffle?

I'm assuming the staff or those behind the decision were aware of the above-linked poll (this isn't certain, but I feel is at least a reasonable assumption) so I curious as to why the community's thoughts weren't taken into account - or, at least, were taken into account but not ultimately actioned.

Don't get me wrong: I'm sick to the back teeth of the whole stramash and will be a happier person when it's all over but I'm trying to understand the decision as made. I don't think it's the best thing that could've been done.
 

tippy2k2

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Teoes said:
Apart from an arguably tenuous relation to politics, what was the reasoning behind moving the GG stuff to R&P? What makes that forum more relevant? How does this preserve integrity/how was integrity endangered before the shuffle?
It is possible but it is highly unlikely.

I suppose a Mod may have brought the thread to their attention but in general, the staff does not really go into the forums so it is very unlikely that they have seen my thread. Hell, I even warned that in my thread because I didn't want people to be mad if the staff went a different direction...

Whoops :D

EDIT: My thread got squished! I have a sad now :,(

EDIT 2: Even though it's locked, the results might be something worth looking at if the court of public opinion would help make a decision

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.863234-Poll-Should-GamerGate-be-moved-to-its-own-forum?page=1
 

Itdoesthatsometimes

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I would just like to suggest the following modifications to the discussion parts of the forum, for consideration.

Video Games-Talk of video games
Other games-yes sports too
Other media-Books, Comic Books, Movies, T.V., Web Based Content-non game
Media Studies-Aspects relating to media in society
Escapist Community-User group announcements, Forum Fun (forum games)
Role Play-Forum role play
User Reviews-Reviews from the community
Religion and Politics-Debate on religious and political ideals and events
Advice Forum-Related to giving advice of any topic
Other News-Pertaining to news topics not otherwise covered

In hope that the modifications can be of use to the Escapist staff.
 

Randomosity

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I think the idea of having a specific section intended for controversies might not be a bad idea. There will always be new ones that show up so why not have somewhere consistent for them so they don't steam roll everything else, but they also can easily be found by those passionate about whatever subject they happen to be about. This would make the escapist equipped for the future when GG eventually runs its course and the next thing arrives.

Anyway, that is my two cents on the subject.
 

V da Mighty Taco

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Not The Bees said:
Just to be that little voice that no one likes... but maybe they had a good reason to move it to R&P. I trust DrStrangelove, and the rest of the community, I imagine that they will probably give us a good reason on Monday when they're back in the office. But they've gone above and beyond trying to watch all the GG threads that have popped up, including the huge thread that has been going on, and maybe we should give them the benefit of a doubt before we demand they give us a reason.

It's been 2 months, if they were going to do something nefarious, or just something mean or lazy, they would have done it sooner than now. So lets just wait and see.
I think what gets me about all of this is that they decided to do all of this right before the weekend hit and they went on break, with little explanation or warning that this was going to happen even to the mods. As conspiracy-theory as it sounds, it kinda seems like they deliberately did this just to avoid all the questions this would and has raised until several days after the fact. Even basic info like what is and isn't allowed in Off Topic now is a mystery to everyone - mods included - until the staff all comes back on Monday, which just leaves the entire site very confused about it all until then.

Captcha: "whoa there"
 

V da Mighty Taco

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Not The Bees said:
V da Mighty Taco said:
Not The Bees said:
Just to be that little voice that no one likes... but maybe they had a good reason to move it to R&P. I trust DrStrangelove, and the rest of the community, I imagine that they will probably give us a good reason on Monday when they're back in the office. But they've gone above and beyond trying to watch all the GG threads that have popped up, including the huge thread that has been going on, and maybe we should give them the benefit of a doubt before we demand they give us a reason.

It's been 2 months, if they were going to do something nefarious, or just something mean or lazy, they would have done it sooner than now. So lets just wait and see.
I think what gets me about all of this is that they decided to do all of this right before the weekend hit and they went on break, with little explanation or warning that this was going to happen even to the mods. As conspiracy-theory as it sounds, it kinda seems like they deliberately did this just to avoid all the questions this would and has raised until several days after the fact. Even basic info like what is and isn't allowed in Off Topic now is a mystery to everyone - mods included - until the staff all comes back on Monday, which just leaves the entire site very confused about it all until then.

Captcha: "whoa there"
I can almost see the conversation:

Person 1: "Look, it's almost time to leave and it's Friday just make a decision
Person 2: "FINE! Fine... just... I don't know, stick it... R&P?"
Person 3: "You think they're gonna ask why?"
Person 1: "Well... we can answer that on Monday, right?"
Person 3: "I guess..."
Person 2: "Exactly! Well, lets do that, because I have a date with my wife."
Person 1: "And it will make everyone happy, so no one will complain. A couple of questions maybe, but they can't complain that we actually listened, right?!"

Fade to black...
Okay, I definitely see your point. Still, I wish they would've put more effort into letting people know what's going on and giving people the info they need - especially the mods. The OP to this thread is pretty much their only statement on this, and that tells us all virtually nothing. Even the line "When creating a new thread double check the board's description to insure that you have the board you are looking for" doesn't really say anything, since none of the board's descriptions say anything about GG at all and thus doesn't really establish what discussions are allowed where.

The way this was all handled so far just seems really lazy at best, especially with how uninformed the mods are about the whole thing. At the very least, they should've been given a noticeable heads-up on all of this, considering that they're the ones who have to maintain the forums and get all the flak / questions for this in the staff's absence. Leaving them in the dark and disappearing for the weekend seems like a very poorly thought-out or simply careless plan.
 

AndrewEB

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Sleekit said:
i agree with all of the above.

a "Consumer Advocacy" forum or something would be a far better idea and i can't believe you went for the 3% "other" option in the poll and dropped all the GG threads on the R&P regulars.
The problem is that there is still a lot of debate if GamerGate can even be considered a consumer movement, so I don't think the topic would be allowed in a "Consumer Advocacy forum."
 

IceForce

Is this memes?
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Is the OP here meant to be intentionally vague? Because it really doesn't tell us anything much at all.
 

Jux

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Sep 2, 2012
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Well this is hilariously horrible. That's fine I guess, send R&P the threads ya'll don't want to deal with, I'll just start making more liberal use of the ignore button. Is there a limit to how many people I can have on ignore?
 

Jux

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TopazFusion said:
Jux said:
I'll just start making more liberal use of the ignore button. Is there a limit to how many people I can have on ignore?
No limit, no.

But the ignore function won't hide entire threads, so if a subforum is being dominated by threads about a topic you're not interested in, the ignore function won't help.
It's fine. Between that and reporting all the low content posts and personal insults, I'm sure this will become pretty managable fairly quickly.
 

Aris Khandr

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My main issue with this is that R&P was the only section that was specifically ignoring the whole thing. I think a few people tried to start topics about it, and we buried them. No meetings, no groups, we had cultivated a community in that section that was able to look at the "scandal" and say "This is stupid, we have better things to talk about". And yet, somehow, we got all of the threads dumped on us. This would be like dumping all of the threads about My Little Pony into a forum dedicated to Equestrian, just because both are sort of related to horses. People might be sick of seeing the threads everywhere else, but the culture in those threads is completely counter to the attitudes we have worked to cultivate in R&P. This leaves us feeling like our community is acceptable collateral damage for the rest of the forum.