Poll: Let's Make The Escapist Better

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

I have to agree with the OP for all of his points. Congrats on getting to the 1000 mark and I hope that people read your thread instead of trying to defend their behavior. This site really does need to take a chill pill from time to time but its still better than most communities out there.

-USE THE SEARCH BAR. This also mostly applies to new users. Before you make a thread, search the forums to see if it's been done already. If you have something ground-breaking that you just have to add to the discussion, put it in the older thread instead of making your own. Otherwise, just move on, the forum gods have not smiled upon you this day.

Pro tip - if the thread is more than a few months old, START A NEW GODDAMNED THREAD. Necromancy is far more annoying than all the repeat threads in the world. Do you have any idea how irritating it is to be quoted over something you said 6 or more months ago?

I'm with Alph Steppin on this one. That and the Search Bar isn't too reliable anyway. If its older than three months, feel free to start a new one.


*dives back into the world of Forum games and RP*

 

[Phlakes]

I'm sure almost none of you have actually read them.

I highlighted a particular point above that seemed to sum up your attitude.

Almost nobody on the internet reads rules. That part actually had nothing to do with this specific community.

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

Ehh some people could be a little nicer.

I disagree immensely with this.

If everyone was always playing the nice game on here, this place would be boring as hell. Its good to see some down-to-earth common sense/someone actually speaking their mind on here every once in a while.

I'm not calling for the abandonment of common sense and reason, only a decrease in the growing numbers of downright disrespectful posts I've seen. No one appreciates a triumph of common sense over political correctness than I, but that doesn't mean I like jerks.

 

[Mr.Pandah]

Ehh some people could be a little nicer.

I disagree immensely with this.

If everyone was always playing the nice game on here, this place would be boring as hell. Its good to see some down-to-earth common sense/someone actually speaking their mind on here every once in a while.

I'm not calling for the abandonment of common sense and reason, only a decrease in the growing numbers of downright disrespectful posts I've seen. No one appreciates a triumph of common sense over political correctness than I, but that doesn't mean I like jerks.

Yes, but there is a certain yin-yang combination that has to be maintained. A balance, if you will. Theres a quote that I vaguely remember, and it goes a little something like this.

You'll never remember the hundred people who held the door open for you/were nice to you in some way, shape, or form, but you'll always remember that one douchebag who stepped on your toes.

There are plenty of nice people on here already, we just take them for granted. Plus they're hardly anywhere as interesting.

 

[Urgh76]

I see all of your points however I have yet to see where they actually take place in the forums. Maybe I just get lucky? :/

 

[agnosticOCD]

I can see your points, but I think there's supposed to be a threshold. There are just some times when being a douche (for emphasis, not flaming) is necessary to give people a much-needed reality check. I do hope that being frank about points and opinions and facts isn't considered as douche-baggery.

 

[Mr.Petey]

Ehh some people could be a little nicer.

I disagree immensely with this.

If everyone was always playing the nice game on here, this place would be boring as hell. Its good to see some down-to-earth common sense/someone actually speaking their mind on here every once in a while.

I'm not calling for the abandonment of common sense and reason, only a decrease in the growing numbers of downright disrespectful posts I've seen. No one appreciates a triumph of common sense over political correctness than I, but that doesn't mean I like jerks.

I have to agree with Jumbo. The posts I've seen getting the user reprimanded are usually very just where some person has momentarily lost a sense of respect and decency with their to-hell-with-it-because-they-can attitude which I don't care for.
Opinions that go against the grain backup up with valid reasoning is one thing but all out verbal assault to demean another person (internet or not) is pointless, offensive and it wont so much get you nowhere as it puts you two steps back and makes them look childish.

But on topic, so far the Escapist mods do a very good job of keeping idiots in line and knuckle rapped. Originally I felt they were a little tough before I joined but I've abided by the rules as best I can and I thank them for their excellent service.
For instance, I recall some obsese-related threads a while back that was soon put under lock and key because it had the tendency to be full of derogatory and nasty backbiting comments that only incited hate and despising over actual philosophical debate

 

[kouriichi]

Good concept.
But just so you know,
i wont ever change myself for my wife! xD

As nice as it would be, its just an idea. In several hours it will be forgotten.
But kudos to you for trying.

 

[Souplex]

As the 'Pist that all 'Pists aspire to emulate, I'm way ahead of you.

 

[agnosticOCD]

Good concept.
But just so you know,
i wont ever change myself for my wife! xD

As nice as it would be, its just an idea. In several hours it will be forgotten.
But kudos to you for trying.

Ah, the cold truth revealed. Getting people to grow up is going to take more than just a guideline, that's for sure.

 

[drisky]

I been here long enough to here some one say that the escapist is progressively getting worse all the time (this being like the 7th), and I don't see it, the moderators do a good job keeping things clean. Theres always been way to many teenage know-it-alls, but i can deal with that.

 

[Charli]

As well intended as this is. I already think this is one of the nicer forums on the internet. As well as one of the best Gamer News Sites.
I don't feel any particular need to improve upon it, little things here and there make it more interesting.

 

[agnosticOCD]

I'm sure almost none of you have actually read them.

I highlighted a particular point above that seemed to sum up your attitude.

Almost nobody on the internet reads rules. That part actually had nothing to do with this specific community.

I guess I was confused. Maybe it was the "..almost none of you" part that made me think you were making a community-pointed statement, in a post directed at this community. Silly me.

Regardless, coming across in an authoritarian, overbearing, condescending, patronizing and over-generalizing way may get people to not take your post too seriously. Something to think about.

See? This is exactly why we need a lack of politics. lol
These are obvious acts of common sense, which for some reason a quite a number of people lack.
Whether or not these are read, that doesn't exactly mean that they'll be followed.
No offense, but it's rather vain to be making such a list in the first place...
Though I do understand that it's with good intentions.

 

[Verex]

Personally, this is the best community I've ever joined. We don't run into problems very often on this forum and if we do they're dealt with pretty quickly. Thanks for the reminder though.

 

[Fire Daemon]

Over the (almost) year I've been here, I've honestly seen the community get worse with every day.

Hardly. The quality of the Escapist Magazine's Forum* has been fairly constant for the past year now, and any problem you're having with the Escapist is probably something on your end. People grow tired of forums overtime and eventually they can't stop noticing it's flaws, which sounds like what your about to go through.

I find that the Escapist had it's biggest problems during late 2008 to late 2009, in 2010 they actually started to get serious in terms of moderation. I think in early 2008 there was like 2 mods, maybe more if the staff got involved, but I think that was rare. Into 2009 there was a massive population increase and the small number of mods weren't able to control the forums very well, and there were serious problems. Nearly everyday a thread like this would be made and people ended up publicly leaving in disgust.

Since then the forums have gotten much better, they aren't perfect and probably not as good as when I first joined, but there has certainly been a massive improvement over the past year.

Now we have even more kids who were brought here through ZP, more people who don't care about the quality of the forums and make about ten threads a day, each with one sentence in the OP, and generally just more hate.

I find this funny because chances are you're one of those ZP kids to someone else, as that person was to another, as that person was to me in my younger and stupider day and as I surely was to someone who joined before ZP. Nearly everyone who's been here for awhile joined up because of Zero Punctuation, and I have a slight feeling that now less people are joining up for ZP nowadays. I think that Moviebob is reeling in the kiddies, because at this point pretty much every gamer knows who Yahtzee is and would have joined the forums sometime in the past if they wanted to.

You bring up some good points, but they're points that have been brought up 1000 times in the past. They didn't start a revolution then and they wont start one now, sorry.

*Edit.

 

[Phlakes]

As nice as it would be, its just an idea. In several hours it will be forgotten.
But kudos to you for trying.

Well, I still go by this-

and even if only one person improves themself in one of these ways, I've still made a difference

And from the looks of it, I've already done a bit better. Assuming people actually follow up.

 

[Mr.Pandah]

Over the (almost) year I've been here, I've honestly seen the community get worse with every day.

Hardly. The quality of the Escapist Magazine's Forum* has been fairly constant for the past year now, and any problem you're having with the Escapist is probably something on your end. People grow tired of forums overtime and eventually they can't stop noticing it's flaws, which sounds like what your about to go through.

I find that the Escapist had it's biggest problems during late 2008 to late 2009, in 2010 they actually started to get serious in terms of moderation. I think in early 2008 there was like 2 mods, maybe more if the staff got involved, but I think that was rare. Into 2009 there was a massive population increase and the small number of mods weren't able to control the forums very well, and there were serious problems. Nearly everyday a thread like this would be made and people ended up publicly leaving in disgust.

Since then the forums have gotten much better, they aren't perfect and probably not as good as when I first joined, but there has certainly been a massive improvement over the past year.

Now we have even more kids who were brought here through ZP, more people who don't care about the quality of the forums and make about ten threads a day, each with one sentence in the OP, and generally just more hate.

I find this funny because chances are you're one of those ZP kids to someone else, as that person was to another, as that person was to me in my younger and stupider day and as I surely was to someone who joined before ZP. Nearly everyone who's been here for awhile joined up because of Zero Punctuation, and I have a slight feeling that now less people are joining up for ZP nowadays. I think that Moviebob is reeling in the kiddies, because at this point pretty much every gamer knows who Yahtzee is and would have joined the forums sometime in the past if they wanted to.

You bring up some good points, but they're points that have been brought up 1000 times in the past. They didn't start a revolution then and they wont start one now, sorry.

*Edit.

Pretty much gonna go along with this as well.

I'd like to point out that I was roaming around these forums since March of 2008 and I thought it was fantastic back then, rose-tinted glasses and all. Then I hit a point where I thought it started to suck, because nothing really interested me on this site anymore. Now I've been back for a good part of 2010 and mostly 2011 as well. It's been far from the shitbox that a lot of people make it out to be

To be completely honest too, the "ten threads" that noobies make are actually usually more entertaining then some of the stuff that I see on here.

 

[Glerken]

snip

What he said.
I started lurking these forums around the end of October of 2008, and joined up near the end of December.

And I was certainly brought here through Zero Punctuation, I don't see why the OP feels that's a bad thing.

 

[Jaime_Wolf]

I really think there's some serious slippery slope, nostalgic golden years thing going on here. The forums just haven't declined substantially in quality. They've changed somewhat perhaps, but I don't find myself enjoying them any less than a year ago.

Moreover, these are all guidelines that are pretty obvious for the most part. The more concrete tips, especially near the bottom, are useful, but I really think that people know that they shouldn't constantly go around acting like dicks (I think it's find to do so from time to time). Telling them not to do so just comes off as self-righteous, like you think they somehow need you to show up and inform them of blindingly obvious standards of behaviour. I'm sure that's not what you intended, but it's the way this and a lot of similar threads tend to end up souding.

But by and large, I think this is more a matter of perception than one of an actual precipitous drop in quality. That and the growth of the forums, which is always going to lead to some change.

And a nitpick: There's some pretty good evidence that "could of" and "would of" are not just mistaken spellings of "could have" and "would have". Some dialects seem to have actually adopted "of" as a sort of auxiliary verb, in which case it makes sense for them to write it that way, even if it doesn't conform to your own dialect.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

I haven't seen the community go downhill, myself. Same here as it ever was.