Export thread

Who are we and who do we want to be?

Limit: 500

#1

Dave

Dave

Note: This thread will follow a set list of rules that are different than other threads we have. Specifically, it will not be allowed to range off-topic and WILL stay civil. Any post I or the mods deem to be either off topic or uncivil will be removed - and this is up to our discretion as to which posts meet these criteria.

I've written and rewritten this post quite a few times both in the past and then today, but I'm finding it hard to articulate exactly what it is that I'm feeling. The whole Yoshi thread really brought it back for me, though, so I'm following through with it this time.

Who are we? What is Halforums? I know the history as well as anyone, but we lack a defining sense of self that most places have. I've tried several things to spice things up but nothing seems to have really taken hold. So I'm forced to make some hard choices and make some tough decisions.

Are forums as a whole dying like Gas thinks? Have we become the dinosaur thanks to short-term memory and social media? I think the answer to that is yes if we're speaking about a general forum like ours. Do I personally feel that Facebook and such are better for this sort of interaction? Hell no! I think forums have a value in continued discussion you don't get on Facebook. The issue with Facebook is that the control for content is based on the person on whose account the posts were made and dissenting opinions are rebuffed and removed, keeping only same-thinking people around. Forums allows for all viewpoints and either you stick by what you say, back it up, or you edit/delete it yourself - but you can't touch the posting of anyone else. Forums have value in my book.

But then, what value do we bring? Lately it seems that this place has become mean spirited. Well, maybe not entirely mean-spirited, but at least it feels more negative. And that's driving people away. I'm not going to start naming names, but there's a reason why some of these people have moved on. One name I will bring up in Calleja. Here's a guy who was with us from the old days and just got sick of the place. We tend to find a target and beat on it until it dies or runs away. To be here you need an unusually thick skin. And that's a problem.

Let's look at the whole Yoshimickster thing. Here's a guy who comes in, obviously knew us from lurking and did his damnedest to post things that were popular and brought conversation to the board. What happened? He got attacked. Attacked for a couple posts with less than perfect grammar, attacked for the amount of posts he made. Were the attacks something like, "You're a fucking idiot - stop posting!"? Nope. They were more offhanded than that. But stuff like that adds up. Do I get tired of the old jokes? Sometimes. But I'm almost impossible to offend if I know you're not being serious. Not everyone is like that. Some people, like Yoshi, decided he didn't have to put up with it! Let me say that again. He didn't have to put up with it. So he's not. And I don't blame him.

So what do we do? What can we do to put a stop to the dickish, passive aggressive bullshit that is driving people away and poisoning the place? (If you simply say, "Ban X!" your post will be removed.) I'm seriously thinking of stepping down and letting someone else see what they can do. No, the boards would not go away, but I am obviously not doing what I need to do to keep the place going on a long-term basis. Do I need to find a Joe Keating who will come in and lay down the ban hammer? Do I need to do board purges like they did? What do I need to do? Would my stepping down as Admin help? Do we need to find something like a specific game or topic and make the boards about that so that we have a direction instead of all just standing around shouting expletives into the wind?

This thread will stay on topic and will NOT call anyone out on their behaviors.

Now it's your turn. You can vent at what you see as the current atmosphere. But what I'm really looking for are solutions. Help me figure out what to do. I've tried and feel like I've failed.


#2

BananaHands

BananaHands

Are we sure Yosh left because of attacks?

EDIT: I'm really just asking because I don't want this to turn into a huge thing if it he had just gone on vacation or something.


#3

Dave

Dave

I've never been told specifically, but it's been pointed out from people that spoke with him that it had a hand in it.


#4

Gared

Gared

I'd like to pose a question about the entire concept of this question. Do we need to try to be something specific? Is that something that we have to aspire to? I don't have direct access to our post stats and membership count, so I don't know how many people we're really losing and if the reason that we're losing a majority of those members is because of personal attacks or just because people are moving on with their lives or working jobs where they can't post at work and then when they get home they're exhausted or don't feel they have anything to say. I can only speak for myself when I say that my job leaves me plenty of time and opportunity to post all day long while at work, which is where I tend to put in all of my forum time. I pretty much never even read the forums from home, unless I'm watching a specific thread, let alone post to them.

Are we losing so many members that we're in danger of disappearing into thin air, or is the main concern that some of the old guard and a lot of potential new posters are going away? I know we've recently lost Yoshi and Charlie, and that we've been bleeding some of the die-hard old-guard members over a longer period of time; and I don't see any harm in trying to be a more inviting place to visit and chat, but I don't know that we need to change who we are as a board (even if we can't really define who we are now), or target some specific audience in order to add people to the flock.


#5

BananaHands

BananaHands

Maybe there could be more content added by some forumites?

I don't know. I got a new camera and a lighting kit coming in. I could film some short funny videos me and my friend Tim have been writing and post it on here?


#6

strawman

strawman

The community is largely self regulating, and it's decided to reject people. It's old-fashioned shunning in the digital age.

It's not like people are following Charlie, Yoshi, and others around and commenting on every thing they post, but when they do run across their posts they can't help but deride them for no apparent reason.

We don't want to adopt a "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" policy, because shunning is effective for those truly cancerous-to-the-community people that show up once in awhile.

But I admit that I sat by and watched people attack yoshi and charlie without turning the tables around and saying, "Hey, we don't want you to go that far. lighten up."

We are allowing this to happen - whether we are ok with it or not is up to us as a community.

I don't think moderation is the answer because it's very, very subjective, and it would either hit one of the extremes or oscillate back and forth between super strict and super loose, and would simply cause more problems than it helps.

We have to decide how we react to new members, and how we react to existing members who may not be as welcoming as they ought to be.


#7

LittleKagsin

LittleKagsin

Dave, I like you and I really do like how the forum runs in general. I honestly don't want you to step down as admin.

I feel like a lesser known member, but from what I see, a lot of where...things go awry is in how something is posted. It's hard to tell if someone is merely teasing you in a friendly way, or is outright attacking you. And I'm not really sure how anyone would police that. I think part of what needs to happen is policing yourself. You can be honest in how you feel, but you don't need to jump on someone's back until they break.

I want to say that maybe shooting off a message to those that the admins' feel have crossed a line would help, but, I'm not sure it really would.

Gosh, I wish I knew how to say what I'm thinking...

Sarcasm outweighs affection when it comes to the forums, which isn't always a terrible thing, but it's hard to feel welcome or important when that snarkiness hits you full force. I'm a full supporter of having people not be quiet about any genuine kind things that they have to say about another poster. Anytime someone does something remotely stupid or silly, everyone jumps on that. But when someone does something good or something exciting is happening for another member, it can fly under the radar.

I know I'll try to be better and let people know that I appreciate them.

All in all, I adore the forums and I love the people here. I don't go a day without checking this page and I enjoy it. I wish I had more...better advice.


#8



Soliloquy

Here's how I see it:

Every community has some purpose that they gather around. If there's nothing to gather around, and nothing to draw people back, a community will neither grow nor maintain its numbers. Everyone will eventually go their separate ways a la Hell in The Great Divorce, but without the constant influx of lost souls.

Most forums are attached to some sort of content (comic, humor stories, videos, etc.), but I don't see that working for Halforums because Halforums was a forum first. Any content that we add to it seems like content being made for the sake of Halforums, which is difficult for people to justify keeping up with. If the content came first and Halforums grew as an extension of that content, it'd be a different story -- but trying to grow content from a forum would be like trying to grow roots from a severed tree trunk.

Cue Allen who is Quiet
There are forums that exist and maintain themselves without said content, but they usually revolve around some sort of idea or cause, such as a certain religion, or atheism, or the destruction of America, or pastry baking. We don't have that. We have a general idea that we're geeks, but there's already a place for that -- it's called the internet.

So what we need to do:

We need to ask ourselves: why do we come to Halforums? What subjects or ideas or causes or discussion topics bring us here?

After that, we need to figure out which one of these reasons is the most common among us, and we need to revamp the board to focus primarily on that, and that alone. Are we a political discussion board? A beacon of coexistence and idea-sharing? A Scott Kurtz hate club? A group of cosplay enthusiasts? A media discussion group? A fine-tune-your-ability-to-be-a-passive-aggressive-asshole community? Any of these will work. But it needs to be specific and focused.

Once we figure that out, We need to make that topic our main forum. All the other forums still exist, but they need to exist for the side benefit of all the people who gather around that one primary subject. Once we get that set up, the hot threads on the main topic need to be displayed prominently on the front page as stories. Links to comment on these stories should lead to the forum.

Then--we need to promote ourselves. Twitter, Facebook, ads, spam, SEO manipulation, whatever we want to and are willing to do, we do it. With any luck, this will grow a community of similarly-interested folks. Getting these people here will make the snarkiness that drives people away seem less egregious, since there are so many other people who might take the snark-recipients' side.

So, everyone, what subjects bring you to Halforums?


#9



makare

I don’t like having a whole central purpose idea, because not everyone is going to agree on what that should be.

The main problem with the forum is so many people seem to confuse cruelty with humor. Requesting that people have a thick skin to be on the forum is really just a symptom of that problem. Why do they need a thick skin? Why is it so hard or unacceptable just to not be a dick to people? Why not just leave people alone OR use the ignore function? The fact that the ignore function is derided is also a symptom of a forum problem. That problem being, people who don’t just feel they have a right to an opinion but feel they have the right to torture other people with that opinion. It doesn’t matter so much when it is a political or something opinion, but often that opinion is about the other person. Why should anyone have to put up with that?

The forum also doesn’t take the time to get to know people before giving them the usual treatment. Not everyone finds the same things funny. If you are cornered by certain people on the forum and you don’t find what they do funny, you run the risk of not only being attacked by them, but also being ridiculed by the rest of the forum for “not having a sense of humor” or “can’t you take a joke”. I am not sure why on the forum it is different, but I was always of the opinion that jokes are meant to be funny. I don’t even know what to call jokes that hurt someone except maybe mean spirited. Is that what we want to be known as, mean spirited? That isn’t going to make people stay.

I wish I had solutions to these problems but by this time the people who act this way are not going to change. Public opinion and occasional action by mods doesn’t seem to affect them. If they aren’t willing to act decently there isn’t any way to make them do it.

There are so many people on the forum I like. I really enjoy their humor and their comments. There are people in other areas of the internet I have thought about bringing here, but I feel that I’d have to give them a really long list of things to do, not to do, and to watch for that it doesn’t seem worth it. I don’t know how to get people to stay when I would be to worried to recommend the place to anyone else.

I know when you write something like this you are supposed to have a solution but I don’t have one. Sorry.


#10

Tress

Tress

I'm just going to be direct.

A few months ago I cut back the amount of time I spent here. There are a select group of members that are obnoxious assholes. They think they're being clever, they think they're awesome, but they're just a pack of dicks. I won't name names because that's not the point. The point is that some very mean-spirited people have a de facto free pass to shit all over other members of this board. Even though most of the venom wasn't directed my way, it was just tiresome seeing the same old bullshit.

I have no hope that this will change. I don't see the community doing anything to improve itself. It seems to be content to simply whittle itself away. And that's fine, really. Majority rules, and if the majority wants to go into self-destruct mode, so be it. Just don't act surprised when it happens. New people are treated like shit when they arrive. Old members who aren't part of the clique are mocked and sometimes bullied all the time. Until that changes, nothing about this forum will improve.

Now I can't wait to see the obligatory "we're just kidding around, don't be so sensitive" bullshit responses.


#11



Soliloquy

I agree with you about on pretty much all points, makare, but the thing is... we're not going to change people. No matter how many inspiring posts or heartfelt messages you send, people will remain who they are with very few exceptions. And if the people here is the only thing that draws people to the community... well, exactly what's been happening here is exactly what's going to happen.

Two things can fix this: 1) Having enough people here that have your back against people who disagree/oppose you, or 2) Having something besides the people that draws you here. Doing 2) successfully will cause 1) to happen.

Plus, I'm guessing the same people will be here if the site has a specific focus, so the reason most of us are drawn to the site (the people) won't go away.


#12

BananaHands

BananaHands

I'll say one thing...

There aren't going to be any new members if they look at the forums and see all these threads about how HalForums is imploding.


#13



makare

maybe they will come on and say "I can save you!" then everyone will come out of their caves, call them white knights, and throw rocks at them until they go away.


#14

Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

I come here for nerd culture and discussion. New game coming out? I know there will be a thread on it. New sci-fi series? Thread. I like having a place to discuss things that interest me, and this place isn't so big that everything is lost in the noise.

If anything, I think more things to celebrate nerd culture would bring in more like minded posters. As well as a better front page. Who here even looks at the front page? Having comics on it wasn't a bad idea, but it didn't work.

News on the front page would be better. Maybe a blurb about whatever hot topic is going on, with links to the various user blogs about said subject, which are woefully underused. A blueprint to allow new users to quickly find discussions that interest them, and join in.

Of course, if it were me, I'd have even less moderation about posting, but I'm weird and thrive in a hostile, lawless environment.


#15

Gared

Gared

We have a front page? I have the first page of General bookmarked and set as the home page for my browser.


#16

Krisken

Krisken

Lets be honest with ourselves here, we aren't changing no matter how many times we do this self evaluation thing. I don't have the energy anymore to push for a more civil forum and fight back against the attacks that follow and I have no expectations of anything really sticking because IT NEVER DOES.

Dave, I love ya buddy, but you're the mom the kids go to when dad says 'no'. You've undermined your mods in the past and all the old guard knows it. Whatever you do will probably be interesting for a little bit but it probably won't affect me all that much. I still wouldn't tell my friends to come here and I'd wager if we were truly honest with one another most of us wouldn't.


#17



makare

I go right to the forum when I come on here. I don't know what is on the front page.


#18

Gared

Gared

I don't remember Dave undermining any mods. Not saying it didn't happen - there've been plenty of times I've taken breaks from the forums and it may have happened during one of those times, or it could have happened yesterday and I just didn't notice it. I don't think Dave stepping down is the answer. I don't think bringing someone in to swing the ban hammer is the answer - you're likely to drive away more people than you bring in, and very likely to drive away more than just the people who you've banned. I'd love to see more people, with more diverse opinions and more (meaning a higher quantity) interesting topics, but there are whole subforums that I don't currently find interesting enough to even read the posts in them, let alone contribute, so I couldn't really name any specific types of topics that I'd like to see discussed more - I mean, generally if there's a topic I want to discuss and it's not already being discussed, I just post a thread, you know?


#19

GasBandit

GasBandit

I think I should clarify that when I said that general internet forums are a dying medium, I didn't mean that they will cease to exist. Even IRC, a long "dead" internet medium, still has its adherents. There are only two states for any entity - growing, or dying. This forum is not growing. But does it really need to?

This forum is just the physical structure for a community of posters for whom their social interactions superceded the original purpose of the forum on which they met. That's why Kurtz shut off the lights - the PvP forums weren't about PVP any more, they were just us... cybersquatting in his back yard. When he chucked us out, Dave made a place for us. That was the day we dropped all pretense. That was the day we just became about us.

That definition is inherently limited. It's extremely difficult (though not impossible) to add more people to "us" - it has been done, but mostly through word of mouth to close friends/family of existing posters. We are the SOS brigade with no Haruhi. A club with no purpose other than seeking the entertainment that congregating brings us.

I say this forum is dying in the sense that we're all "dying," one day at a time. That's not tragic, that's life. That is inevitable. That is, dare I say, how it should be. Yes, people will get alienated or bored and wander off, yes the forum will "whittle" itself down over time. All things end. When the ride comes to a complete stop, all you're left with is memories.

I disagree that this place has been more acrimonious lately. I remember many times when it was much worse. I can think of people I'm pretty sure I had a hand in "driving off" going back years, starting with someone I think named "ShadowyDreamer" or some such way back on the PvP forums.

I'll say it. I didn't like Yoshi. Even more than I don't like most people. Every time I saw him posting, my thought was "aw jeez, it's THAT guy again." He rubbed me the wrong way in the same way that l33tn00b (another formerly active user we lost) did - too overeager, too manic, just trying too hard. I wasn't actively mean to him (though I wasn't any nicer to him than I am to the rest of you jerkoffs either), but it didn't matter. He probably ended up feeling like he didn't belong here. Because maybe he actually didn't.

See, that's the thing. Not everybody meshes well with everybody. We can't expect every new person who comes along to stay for the long haul. Not even most of them, I'd say. They can't all be a good fit.

What I HAVE noticed lately is an increase in cynical snark. People who think they're oh-too-fucking clever to do anything other than post a contemptuous, biting, sarcastic, flippant single sentence of disapproval. I'm not *edit* going to name names because Dave specifically wants me not too, but I'm sure people know who I mean. People joke (to varying degrees) about how "Fade doesn't like anything" but at least Fade tries to have a conversation about it other than trying to smother topics like a wet blanket. I know I'm a neverending cauldron of grouchy disapproval, but I like to think the way I do things invites a comeback. There's a difference between posting one's disagreement or dislike, and posting a thinly veiled "STFU and GTFO." I tried not to cross that line, though I probably did from time to time. I know I did by helping to perpetuate the "STFU Charlie" forum meme, but that was intentional.

Anyway I'm getting off track. What I'm trying to get across here, is that just because the forum isn't growing doesn't mean we should be upset about it, doing desperate soul-searching to try to figure out how we can get strangers to like us.

Dave, you say you feel like you failed. What were you trying to do? Make a forum that lasted forever and grew into the next 4chan? That would have been doomed from the start, a fool's errand.

What you really set out to do, I think, was make a forum to enable those who you knew from the old boards to continue to interact with each other. And in that I think you succeeded and surpassed all reasonable expectations.


#20

Dave

Dave

When I said no names I mean it. You can talk about certain posters as you did with Fade, but everything else was not acceptable.


#21



Soliloquy

Krisken said:
Lets be honest with ourselves here, we aren't changing no matter how many times we do this self evaluation thing. I don't have the energy anymore to push for a more civil forum and fight back against the attacks that follow and I have no expectations of anything really sticking because IT NEVER DOES.

Dave, I love ya buddy, but you're the mom the kids go to when dad says 'no'. You've undermined your mods in the past and all the old guard knows it. Whatever you do will probably be interesting for a little bit but it probably won't affect me all that much. I still wouldn't tell my friends to come here and I'd wager if we were truly honest with one another most of us wouldn't.
Click to expand...
I agree that the people aren't going to change, so I'd say the focus of this thread needs to stay away from focusing on how people ought to change. It should focus on how the site should change so as to draw more people.


#22

Gared

Gared

I like the suggestion of changing the front page to reflect more who we are, what we're about, maybe have a ticker that displays some of the more active topics. I checked the current front page just now and it's got a webcomic that hasn't been updated in months, links to other comics, the option to log out, an RSS feed option and a horrible, horrible taupe background. If I happened across the site while just surfing around, I wouldn't have the slightest idea of what the forums were about, other than I'd assume they might be about webcomics of some sort.


#23

GasBandit

GasBandit

Dave said:
When I said no names I mean it. You can talk about certain posters as you did with Fade, but everything else was not acceptable.
Click to expand...
Alright, I edited out the other names I named. Though the elephant in the room doesn't go away if you pretend it isn't there.


#24

GasBandit

GasBandit

Gared said:
I like the suggestion of changing the front page to reflect more who we are, what we're about, maybe have a ticker that displays some of the more active topics. I checked the current front page just now and it's got a webcomic that hasn't been updated in months, links to other comics, the option to log out, an RSS feed option and a horrible, horrible taupe background. If I happened across the site while just surfing around, I wouldn't have the slightest idea of what the forums were about, other than I'd assume they might be about webcomics of some sort.
Click to expand...
Maybe that'd help. "Halforums - where nerds go on the internet to be mean to each other."


#25

Fun Size

Fun Size

I think 4chan has that copyrighted already.


#26

Cat

Cat

Gared said:
I'd like to pose a question about the entire concept of this question. Do we need to try to be something specific? Is that something that we have to aspire to? I don't have direct access to our post stats and membership count, so I don't know how many people we're really losing and if the reason that we're losing a majority of those members is because of personal attacks or just because people are moving on with their lives or working jobs where they can't post at work and then when they get home they're exhausted or don't feel they have anything to say. I can only speak for myself when I say that my job leaves me plenty of time and opportunity to post all day long while at work, which is where I tend to put in all of my forum time. I pretty much never even read the forums from home, unless I'm watching a specific thread, let alone post to them.

Are we losing so many members that we're in danger of disappearing into thin air, or is the main concern that some of the old guard and a lot of potential new posters are going away? I know we've recently lost Yoshi and Charlie, and that we've been bleeding some of the die-hard old-guard members over a longer period of time; and I don't see any harm in trying to be a more inviting place to visit and chat, but I don't know that we need to change who we are as a board (even if we can't really define who we are now), or target some specific audience in order to add people to the flock.
Click to expand...
There are a lot of offtopic forums so it would help if the forum had some sort of identity to draw new members.


#27

BananaHands

BananaHands

Cosplay and Pop-Culture? Hell, I'll dress up like Nathan Drake more if it helps.


#28

David

David

I agree with a lot of Soliloquy's points, particularly that people aren't going to change. The members of this forum and the forum itself has an established personality that simply isn't a lot of people's cup of tea. There's no way that can change short of deciding what attitude we'd want the forum to portray and banning or censoring anyone who goes too far against that, or setting up a messy set of rules and protocols for dealing with new members.

We are a very loose community with no particular rallying point, but I'd argue that may be what compels me to keep coming back here rather than another forum. On many webcomics forums I've lurked, topics tend to die out if they're not about that particular webcomic. Here everybody has opinions on any number of wide-ranging topics and it keeps the place more interesting. If I recall correctly, this community's wide-rangedness contributed to Kurtz's decision to nuke the halfpixel forums; he complained in his blog post about threads not being PVP-centric. Forums like what he wanted tend to get boring for me.

So I feel the best thing we can do is get an influx of new members by acting as a hub for a wide range of topics. We could offer ourselves as a free forum service for any website that wants to outsource us for their communities instead of having to bother maintaining and moderating a forum themselves. We could redesign the front page as more of a newgrounds-esque portal to allow more members to contribute more content, maybe with an ad monetization system to reward good content that attracts lots of pageviews. This may cause some community-splintering with people sticking themselves exclusively into some subforums of a particular topic, but I think this would be healthier than our current state.


#29



Soliloquy

BananaHands said:
Cosplay and Pop-Culture? Hell, I'll dress up like Nathan Drake more if it helps.
Click to expand...
We do draw a lot of cosplay lurkers... but would everyone here be willing to be a part of a cosplay forum?

David said:
So I feel the best thing we can do is get an influx of new members by acting as a hub for a wide range of topics. We could offer ourselves as a free forum service for any website that wants to outsource us for their communities instead of having to bother maintaining and moderating a forum themselves.
Click to expand...
We've tried that before with webcomics, and the general responses were either "No, we don't need a forum," or "No thanks, you guys are kind of jerks."

So while that's not necessarily a bad idea, I'd say we'd need to build ourselves up as larger a community first before we'd be able to get any takers.

We could redesign the front page as more of a newgrounds-esque portal to allow more members to contribute more content, maybe with an ad monetization system to reward good content that attracts lots of pageviews. This may cause some community-splintering with people sticking themselves exclusively into some sub-forums of a particular topic, but I think this would be healthier than our current state.
Click to expand...
That might be effective, but we'll need regularly-updated stuff on the front page that's not user-generated as well, just to make sure it doesn't stay stagnant for months on end.


#30

Gared

Gared

I've got to agree a lot with the crispy and delicious penguin. If this place were just about PvP, or just about cosplay, or just about politics, or just about video games, or just about any one thing really, I'd've left long ago and not come back. As it is though, I like talking about PvP, I don't really care one way or another about cosplay, I like to talk politics, I like hearing about what's going on in Wisconsin with Supreme Leader Walker, I like the information that I can glean from the various threads in the tech talk forum, and I really enjoyed my little discussion the other day with PatrThom about Pinochle. I don't come here for any one thing or for any one person, I come here because there are a lot of people whose opinions I value about a lot of topics. I posted that thread about needing to figure out how to come up with $7k in a short amount of time because I knew someone would chime in and I was looking forward to seeing what a few specific people could contribute. So far, only one of those people has failed to post in that thread, and he's a little busy right now so it's understandable. Hell, I even like reading the rant threads, because when people are having really bad days, I like to be able to give a word of encouragement now and then.


#31

BananaHands

BananaHands

I don't know. We're all sorts of things. Turn the front page around so it's "Cosplayer of the week!" "Artist of the week!" "Webcomic of the week!"

Shit like that. We have enough artists, webcomics and cosplayers that post on this forum.


#32

Gared

Gared

We do have that, and there's almost always at least one art contest going on, and at least one person doing a "I'm going to produce art every day this month" thread. But I'd make that a starting point, and expand from there. If we just go with that, then again we're only drawing part of our potential audience.


#33

BananaHands

BananaHands

Frankly, I don't care what this forum stands for. I like the people here. Do what you wish, I'm jumping out of this thread before people get really mad at eachother.

Banana Hands... OUT.


#34



Soliloquy

Gared said:
I've got to agree a lot with the crispy and delicious penguin. If this place were just about PvP, or just about cosplay, or just about politics, or just about video games, or just about any one thing really, I'd've left long ago and not come back. As it is though, I like talking about PvP, I don't really care one way or another about cosplay, I like to talk politics, I like hearing about what's going on in Wisconsin with Supreme Leader Walker, I like the information that I can glean from the various threads in the tech talk forum, and I really enjoyed my little discussion the other day with PatrThom about Pinochle. I don't come here for any one thing or for any one person, I come here because there are a lot of people whose opinions I value about a lot of topics. I posted that thread about needing to figure out how to come up with $7k in a short amount of time because I knew someone would chime in and I was looking forward to seeing what a few specific people could contribute. So far, only one of those people has failed to post in that thread, and he's a little busy right now so it's understandable. Hell, I even like reading the rant threads, because when people are having really bad days, I like to be able to give a word of encouragement now and then.
Click to expand...
Do you think these kinds of posts and topics would go away if we decided on a primary focus for the forum? I'm a bad example (I'm not as involved as everyone else) but I know that if this became a site for, say, My Little Pony Friendship is Magic (a show I've never seen an episode of), I'd still stick around and post what I always had in the same forums I've always posted in, barely changing anything about my posting habits. I think all the other posters would do the same thing since people who made up the community they love are still here.

I might be wrong, though. My personality is considered abnormal among most of my friends. So I guess there's another question that needs to be asked:

Halforumites: if we chose a specific subject to focus the forum around that most of us (but not necessarily you) agree on, would you still stick around and post on the same topics you always have?


#35



makare

It would depend on the theme. I would not stay if it were a MLP friendship is magic forum.


#36



Soliloquy

makare said:
It would depend on the theme. I would not stay if it were a MLP friendship is magic forum.
Click to expand...
All right, let's go with BananaHands' idea: Pop Culture and Cosplay. How does that sound?


#37



makare

Isn't that pretty much what is now?

How does this theme thing work?


#38

MindDetective

MindDetective

If new people come, the feeling of the forum will likely change, because new people will bring new personalities. Some, not all, of the regulars here will find that kind of newness uncomfortable. So what do people want? A vibrant (and unpredictable) community, or a comfortable place to hang their hat? There may be some happy medium, but attaining it probably requires some precision in community management that is unrealistic. If people mostly want to fling the doors open and draw in new faces, you need a "product" to catch their attention, probably in the form of some kind of (community generated?) artistic content. It could be webcomics, webisodes, a podcast, serialized fiction, or something else altogether.

So, which is it? If it we become a content provider, who will step up to provide it?


#39

LittleSin

LittleSin

I don't like the idea of becoming just a cosplay forum.

I like just...coming to shoot the shit, you know? If we can rounf up comics or arts peices or articles that would be cool. I just like coming here to hang out.


#40

Gared

Gared

I think the idea of focusing on any one theme is a bad idea. Even if it does bring in new membership, and even if people who are currently members and don't like or don't care about that specific theme stick around for a while, you run the risk of eventually alienating those members as the population becomes more and more heavily weighted toward whatever the theme is and those members eventually start to feel that nothing they contribute matters because it has nothing to do with the theme.


#41

Null

Null

We, as a forum, don't need to be about any one thing. That's one of our characteristics. For every poster that more or less lives in the Gaming forum, there are those who never visit. Some focus on art, others forget we even have an art forum. People discuss sports and politics, MMOs, TV and movies. But we are not about any one of those things, and I think trying to focus is a mistake. We have some excellent artists and cosplayers, but we don't have to be an art or cosplay forum to appreciate what we have. Perhaps general conversation forums are not what they used to be - and that's fine by me. This is a weird-ass little community that is self-selected.

edit: ninja'd by Gared


#42

LittleSin

LittleSin

Perhaps we can have some sort of ticker on the front page for figmentPez to update us on game sales. :p


#43

Gared

Gared

LittleSin said:
Perhaps we can have some sort of ticker on the front page for figmentPez to update us on game sales. :p
Click to expand...
I gotta say, that is one damn useful thread. I just wish I had more discretionary income to throw at some of those sales.


#44

Espy

Espy

I think the closest thing we get to a "theme" is "Halforums: Kind of about pop culture but kind of not". Because really thats probably about as close as we are gonna get. I like the idea of beefing up the cosplay thing, I mean, it's a draw for folks but I'm with those who have said that we, as a community need to work on being welcoming.

Gas maybe you didn't like whoever. Maybe other people didn't. Whatever. Thats fine. We can still be reasonably polite. That doesn't mean hippie hugs people, just not being a giant dick to someone who just walked in the door. Now, that in NO WAY means that if some crazy person comes here and starts acting like a nut job that we have to put up with it or that people can't be sarcastic or joke around/pick on their friends. Those are all parts of life.
We are a group of nerdy/geeky people who overall enjoy our little community and the things we discuss. This is good.

It's also a good thing to grow a bit, new blood is a good thing. That means NOT being jerks to new people and maybe cutting back on the behavior that folks have brought up in this thread.

Maybe if we think a bit before we get aggressive with someone or we consider how our "joke" will be taken by the person with 1 post we can cut back on that acidic feeling that goes around from time to time. Again: Not hippie hugs, just not being giant dicks. To me thats healthy and a little more grown up that just bashing someone every time they post for whatever reason.


#45

GasBandit

GasBandit

Espy said:
Gas maybe you didn't like whoever. Maybe other people didn't. Whatever. Thats fine. We can still be reasonably polite. That doesn't mean hippie hugs people, just not being a giant dick to someone who just walked in the door. Now, that in NO WAY means that if some crazy person comes here and starts acting like a nut job that we have to put up with it or that people can't be sarcastic or joke around/pick on their friends. Those are all parts of life.
Click to expand...
I was nothing but civil to him, and had conversations with him multiple times. That said, it wouldn't surprise me if he felt the same "you know, I just don't connect with them" feeling.


#46

Espy

Espy

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you were mean to him, just making the point that if a few folks didn't care for the a member they don't have to drive them off.
In fact lets use you as the example. You didn't like a new person and you didn't act like a giant dick to them.

Everyone be like gas.:Leyla:


#47

MindDetective

MindDetective

Another idea might be a blog-zine, for reporting nerdery around the intertubes. This group is remarkably tuned into many aspects of our society (even around the world) including politics and pop culture and it shows in just how quickly that news percolates to the forums. A little polish and some links to sources and you have a Halzine that is basically just formalizing what we're doing here anyway.


#48

GasBandit

GasBandit

MindDetective said:
Another idea might be a blog-zine, for reporting nerdery around the intertubes. This group is remarkably tuned into many aspects of our society (even around the world) including politics and pop culture and it shows in just how quickly that news percolates to the forums. A little polish and some links to sources and you have a Halzine that is basically just formalizing what we're doing here anyway.
Click to expand...
That's an idea. We already have threads for things like funny pictures or nifty articles... we could just turn that into submitted content that goes on the front page, kinda like a cheezburger affiliated site.


#49

Gared

Gared

I dunno, that seems like a lot of work to go to above and beyond the initial act of making the threads and then posting in them. If there were some add-on out there, or maybe if someone wanted to write a news aggregator script for the front page, so that people didn't have to double up their work manually, that could be cool. I'd offer to throw something like that together, but I wouldn't know the first place to start.


#50

GasBandit

GasBandit

Gared said:
I dunno, that seems like a lot of work to go to above and beyond the initial act of making the threads and then posting in them. If there were some add-on out there, or maybe if someone wanted to write a news aggregator script for the front page, so that people didn't have to double up their work manually, that could be cool. I'd offer to throw something like that together, but I wouldn't know the first place to start.
Click to expand...
Seems to me that's almost something we could make a feature request of to xenforo. A checkmark box or button to "submit this post for front page consideration."


#51

MindDetective

MindDetective

I think posts can be placed onto the front page. They just might need to be a little less casual than we usually do. Dave could speak more to the mechanics of it.


#52

LittleSin

LittleSin

I just want to get my comic back on track. :( This gallery show ends this weekend...so I should have time again!

HOORAY!

Edit: Not that anyone cares/reads it. :p


#53

Shakey

Shakey

I don't think we really need more moderation. We're all adults, I think if anything a pm from a mod asking someone to back off a bit would be all we need. Sometimes a mod posting in the thread just fans the flames more. What would help the most is when someone does get upset about another users comment about them, we don't just turn to "lol u mad?" and keep poking them or telling them to grow up. We don't have to hold each others hands and pretend to like each other. Just try to recognize when people are genuinely hurt and back down a little. It goes both ways though. A lot of times the person who's offended jumps right to personal attacks, and that shouldn't be glossed over just because they weren't the one to start it.

As far as content goes, no idea.


#54



Soliloquy

I like this aggregate/put posts on front page idea-- have some sort of system set up where you submit a topic for consideration, and if the original post is high-quality enough, it gets put there. Maybe have some sort of caveat saying that putting a post up for front page consideration gives admins the right to edit the original post for grammar/spelling/quality control issues.

This way, we get to keep being dicks, and yet be dicks with a purpose!

Halforums: Dicks with a purpose.


#55

Gusto

Gusto

I agree with Gas and Null, which I don't think has ever happened.

Are mods allowed to voice opinions in here? Cuz Lordy I got me some and I'm having a hard time putting my thoughts into text just now.


#56

Tress

Tress

Gusto said:
Are mods allowed to voice opinions in here? Cuz Lordy I got me some and I'm having a hard time putting my thoughts into text just now.
Click to expand...
I think you should. You guys are some of the key members of the community, and I think your opinions would be important for that reason alone.


#57

Dave

Dave

I want to hear from everyone.


#58

Espy

Espy

Gusto said:
I agree with Gas and Null, which I don't think has ever happened.

Are mods allowed to voice opinions in here? Cuz Lordy I got me some and I'm having a hard time putting my thoughts into text just now.
Click to expand...
I sure hope so or I'm about to get fired. :Leyla:


#59

Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

I come here because of you guys. I've been around this group since 2005, I believe. I come to read news on pop culture, I come to read the opinions of the people here on it, I come to take a seat in the bleachers at the arguments, I come to see the funny pictures and memes, I come to joke around about stuff, I come to join in on the teasing, because A LOT of the time, it IS innocent teasing.

That's how I am with my IRL friends, my family, my wife. I tease to show affection. That's how my dad has always been and it's something I inherited from him. It's how I am and it's not going to change. The only people I've been outwardly hostile too since we left Image were Mav and Charlie. Even the stuff I said to makare was just teasing, though I admit I went too far at times and we had a PM conversation to mend things over.

I do think some people are too harsh and others are too sensitive. I've seen people be hostile without provocation and I've seen people get very upset over nothing. Who's in the wrong?


#60

Espy

Espy

Quotemander Prime said:
I do think some people are too harsh and others are too sensitive. I've seen people be hostile without provocation and I've seen people get very upset over nothing. Who's in the wrong?
Click to expand...
Thats really the thing, no one, people are being people. All of us have put our foot in our mouth at one point or the other, we've all said something dumb or hurtful and sometimes it's been on purpose while other times it's been innocently done.
People who can't handle people being people will not survive here or Facebook or myspace or anywhere on the web or in real life. We can't worry about those people.

Here's what we can do: People can cut back on hostile things. I know, I know, people are just "joking around" not "being a giant dick" but it doesn't make a difference when it's just perceived as being a jerk to a new person. Lets think about that a little. That doesn't mean don't have fun or not get in arguments or not being sarcastic or not posting a face palm pic, it just means be an adult and think a bit before you post.


#61

AshburnerX

AshburnerX

1.) We don't need a theme beyond the front page. Most people are going to first see the site from there, not the forums.

2.) There IS a toxic atmosphere, where certain individuals are able to get away with murder because they are ether close friends with the mods and Dave or get the pass based entirely on them being here a long time. This needs to stop: No one can or will stand up to them without knowing the guys and gals in charge will back them up if it's bad enough. Not saying we need to start banning people, but suspensions should be popping up more often.


#62

Jay

Jay

As per the OP's request, I won't name names, nor go into great dramatic details but we've ALL in the wrong here, including myself.

What can be changed? Personally, I'd like better moderation regarding thread hijacking, that's what irritates me the most. As already stated countless times before it's hard enough to deal with the countless spam threads we got here but when interesting threads get hijacked off course by those same exact people I get a bit snippy myself and I know for a fact I'm not the only one. I'm not asking people to be whipped with bamboo sticks by the mods though at times that thought may release some frustration after watching a thread you posted an epic post not get the attention it deserves because someone posted some HERP DERP and got the attention of others who will post more HERP DERP to ultimately HERP DERP the thread to oblivion.

A recent positive thread about posting who you feel are your favorable posters was hijacked in this way.

Anyways, we can go on and on about who does what, how I feel about so and so..... but we're all humans, we're never going to get along with one another, personalities clash, everyone has different priorities and interests and everyone reacts to things/"jokes" differently..... none of this will achieve results.

You want results, I get it and respect you now more than ever after taking this strong first step that I've been hoping to see for awhile. If a primary cause is wanted, I wouldn't go towards personal interest or hobbies. We're simply too diverse for that. Some people like cosplay (I do certainly like looking at it), some people like games, others like politics.... everyone likes different things so pushing for a primary interest isn't going to work. Just like pushing for comics....

What about simply about what we are at some level or another? Nerds, Geeks, Dweebs, Goober... etc. Personally? Make the forum more geared towards accommodating this type of person with a variety of interests with maybe the main page have some sort of RedFlagDeal idea where awesome tech nerd stuff can be shown off the front page (even if we don't sell it but direct people to awesome deals?) and how certain tech news is awesome with some nerd coverage. We could have certain posters get some primetime off the main website with a news segment on it where it links to specific threads in the forums, such as an update to the cosplay sections or game deals of the day, sweet deal at so and so for light saber umbrellas etc.... the possibilities are definitely there.

As for the passive aggressiveness on the forums, it's always been there. It's just.... bolder now. As far some new posters.... sometimes they.... try to hard... you know? I'm too jaded to give them the time of day. Some others may react to them with hostility. Some other posters integrate better with us... why? Simply because they may not be trying too hard.

Yeah... we're terrible people.


#63

Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

I don't know anyone who people won't report. I don't think anyone here has immunity.


#64

Espy

Espy

AshburnerX said:
1.) We don't need a theme beyond the front page. Most people are going to first see the site from there, not the forums.

2.) There IS a toxic atmosphere, where certain individuals are able to get away with murder because they are ether close friends with the mods and Dave or get the pass based entirely on them being here a long time. This needs to stop: No one can or will stand up to them without knowing the guys and gals in charge will back them up if it's bad enough. Not saying we need to start banning people, but suspensions should be popping up more often.
Click to expand...
I would take some issues with this. We've given out many warnings, people have gotten temp-bans, etc. Believe me, you guys don't even see half of what we do/have done.
However, we do look pretty strongly for obvious breaking of the official rules. People giving each other shit or making a snarky comment doesn't break our rules. It's just part of life. I'm not saying it's a good thing but people are going to be people no matter where you go and the "you need a thick skin" argument has some merit here. Thats not an excuse for people being assholes to someone mind you.


#65

Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

I know how to fix everything. Either we make emoticons mandatory or we all speak like the elcor from Mass Effect, stating the nature of the comment before the comment's contents.

As for front page content: posts from the Game Deals thread, cosplay thread, webcomic appreciation thread, and any content generated by the people here.


#66



Soliloquy

How often do people report, anyway? I haven't reported anyone since I came back. Because maybe that's a simple problem of people not taking the time to report people?

Or maybe it's the problem of the behind-the-scenes stuff being TOO behind the scenes, so people don't see web justice at work and assume that everyone is getting away with everything?


#67

Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

Soliloquy said:
How often do people report, anyway? I haven't reported anyone since I came back.
Click to expand...
You've been saying people behave badly here, but you don't report it? There's a quote about good men doing nothing you might've heard.


#68

Jay

Jay

Or perhaps we're exaggerating the whole thing?


#69

Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

Jay said:
Or perhaps we're exaggerating the whole thing?
Click to expand...
I agree, but IF a person has a problem with another person's behavior, the Report button is at the bottom of every post.

When someone's been temp-banned, it appears above their avatar. We don't need it to be announced as News above the main forum page.


#70

DarkAudit

DarkAudit

Quotemander Prime said:
I don't know anyone who people won't report. I don't think anyone here has immunity.
Click to expand...
People will report, and report, and report. And that will be the end of that. Because short of murdering babies, everyone knows the banhammer doesn't exist if you're an old timer. "Been here forever" should not give people carte blanche to shit all over everyone else.

OTOH, at least 3/4 of the time when a thread gets particularly snippy, it's the same two or three posters telling the other group of two or three posters that they aren't liked, and vice versa. The end result is me putting another thread on the list of those not worth my time anymore, which is why I don't post as much as I used to.


#71

Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

DarkAudit said:
People will report, and report, and report. And that will be the end of that. Because short of murdering babies, everyone knows the banhammer doesn't exist if you're an old timer. "Been here forever" should not give people carte blanche to shit all over everyone else.

OTOH, at least 3/4 of the time when a thread gets particularly snippy, it's the same two or three posters telling the other group of two or three posters that they aren't liked, and vice versa. The end result is me putting another thread on the list of those not worth my time anymore, which is why I don't post as much as I used to.
Click to expand...
Do you report?


#72

Hylian

Hylian

I come here for the nerdy discussions and for better or worse I enjoy you all. Now I am not saying that certain people don't get on my nerve but it has never been enough to keep me away. Although I do agree we need some fresh blood and we need to get them to stay and one way is to not attack the new people so harshly or at least try to be more considerate of them but at the same time I don't think we should shield our personalities completely or else we would change so much that we would not be he same place that we love and stick around for.


#73

Espy

Espy

To clarify on reports: Some months we get LOTS of reports. Some months we get very few. Sometimes we get reports about things that are totally legit and obvious rule breaking, sometimes we get really weird reports or reports about someone making a very obvious joke. I'm not saying we deal with them perfectly but we do our best. Reports come from a wide variety of folks too and not always whom you might suspect.
As for ban hammering.... yeah, we don't really do that it's true, although it's not always because we don't want to. It's usually a very heavily discussed thing amongst all the mods/admins. We don't take that stuff lightly.


#74

DarkAudit

DarkAudit

Quotemander Prime said:
Do you report?
Click to expand...
Read Espy's reply. Says it all, really. Why bother?


#75

Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

DarkAudit said:
Read Espy's reply. Says it all, really. Why bother?
Click to expand...
Espy's post was that sometimes they get real report-worthy stuff and sometimes they don't. And that they aren't ban-happy, they take it seriously.

By reporting nothing, you are not alerting them to what you have a problem with. Complaining with doing nothing.


#76

Espy

Espy

DarkAudit said:
Read Espy's reply. Says it all, really. Why bother?
Click to expand...
Yes. Clearly what I said.



Quotemander Prime said:
Espy's post was that sometimes they get real report-worthy stuff and sometimes they don't. And that they aren't ban-happy, they take it seriously.
Click to expand...
Although this is a little better translation if I had to chose.




#77

Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

On the one hand, I think temp-banning is a good way to send a message without permanent damage.

On the other hand, too much of it can discourage even the old hat from coming back if they feel they're not allowed to speak.


#78

DarkAudit

DarkAudit

Quotemander Prime said:
Espy's post was that sometimes they get real report-worthy stuff and sometimes they don't. And that they aren't ban-happy, they take it seriously.

By reporting nothing, you are not alerting them to what you have a problem with. Complaining with doing nothing.
Click to expand...
I guess I wasn't clear. It's common knowledge if you've been here long enough, sanctions will be nothing more than a brief finger wagging. Or at least that is the perception. It's easier for me to just ignore certain threads because of that.


#79

Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

I'd post more insight, but right now I gotta take my Halforums frustrations out by shooting fellow members in a computer game.


#80

DarkAudit

DarkAudit

Let me add... I get far more smiles out of this place than frowns. Especially since I stopped stumbling into GB's politics thread. :D


#81

bhamv3

bhamv3

I recall, back when HF was first getting started and we were discussing the rules we should set, we came to a general consensus that a good guideline would be "don't be a dick."

I like this guideline, and I think it's not too much to ask. Some members of the board take pride in how big a dick they can be. I would prefer some effort was made to rein in such behavior.


#82



makare

I report when I feel it is warranted, but I do have to admit I don't feel it has ever done any good.


#83

Piotyr

Piotyr

The "problem" with this forum, as much as any forum, is that tone is practically impossible to convey in text. What can seem like an obvious joke to 90% of the population can be taken the wrong way by one person, and it creates a shitstorm that swallows an entire thread for days. Even something as simple as telling people to calm down and not take things so seriously is an affront to people who would rather take everyone seriously as a showing of token respect. Different expectations of forum culture end up clashing, and people say a lot of stupid things that they don't really mean just as a sense of one-up-man-ship or some sense of self-enjoyment.

As for what the forum should be about? More than anything, now, it's about the people that are already here. If new posters like "us", they're more apt to stick around. If not, they won't. The down side to that is that many around here pounce on new people almost immediately and give them the third degree about anything they think about until they find a weakness or two, and look to exploit it for fun or what they consider harmless ribbing that most regulars have become accustomed to. Unfortunately, new folks can often find that abrasive or overwhelming, and they go elsewhere or stop coming here all together.

So what's the solution? Maybe we could agree to back off the newbies for a while. Maybe we could make a policy that new folks should spend more time lurking and less time posting until they get the feel of the place, similar to how PA's Social Entropy forums work. Maybe Gas is right, and the next generation of online persona is no longer interested in forums at all, and they've adapted to texting and newer social media to communicate with the public at large. That doesn't mean that this place doesn't have a purpose for the rest of us in the forum generation that have been here and continue to be here for the people here.

By us, for us. That's the point. If that's not good enough, then maybe this isn't the place for you. And that's ok, because the rest of us are still here, and you can find us here if you like.


#84

ElJuski

ElJuski

I think everyone's taking this all way to seriously, and there is way too much panic set to 11. But I'm also pretty sure that everyone is dancing around just flat out saying what a huge prick I am, too. So it goes. But you know what would be so much better? If people that had some sort of issue with me, or whoever, about really being a dick, instead of dicking around on the internet because I'm not stuck in a classroom with sixty different gang-bangers all day, would be to just send me a line. Because, and speaking from what I assume is the "toxic" portion of the forum, I think I've gotten like, one, from somebody who sent me a private message. And we took care of it from there. Not saying it ended well :p but saying that, yeah, that was the better way to go about it, instead of herpderping that bullshit.

So, I say, if you have a problem with somebody, report it, PM them, talk it out. I think if more people took up arms and bitched at me full force through a PM they'd probably see either an apology, an argument, or a slight understanding that there's no ill will at all.

I think that might be the greatest disconnect here, and perhaps even a potential solution: the SERIOUS and PERSONAL gets mixed in with the HEY JUST MESSING AROUND on this forum. Obviously my message is usually off-key, but I think more people are being actually personally vicious at me, and I've just got smiles the whole time. What would happen if your cordoned off a section of Halforums beyond General that was for the serious shit? Or vice-versa, had a sectioned off place where the kiddie gloves are off?

Well, either way, you guys will make your decisions, or the forum will continue to organically change as the users and the content of the users see fit. You're not going to please everyone 100% of the time, so whatever you do, just stick to your guns. You'll lose new users and old guard either way. Do what makes the majority happy, and stick with it. Otherwise this place comes off as desperate for every little extra bit it can snag onto.


#85

MindDetective

MindDetective

ElJuski said:
I think everyone's taking this all way to seriously, and there is way too much panic set to 11.
Click to expand...
This is little ironic, since I think the "tone" of panic cannot be effectively conveyed through text, so open to some interpretation.


#86

ElJuski

ElJuski

MindDetective said:
This is little ironic, since I think the "tone" of panic cannot be effectively conveyed through text, so open to some interpretation.
Click to expand...
Well, yeah. But I interpret "panic" more to, there's a three-page discussion where it's implied that Halforums is like, self-destructing.

EDIT: I also don't think there is any exploitation of new users. There is ribbing, and making of fun, and some sort of internet initiation, but I don't think these guys are getting gutted and crucified. There are way, way worse places on the internet.


#87

MindDetective

MindDetective

Eh, I don't even really think we're imploding, personally. Plenty of people have talked about something more like entropy, which isn't all that panic-worthy. The ones claiming this place is toxic or hostile are probably overstating it, but I don't see them being the majority.


#88

ElJuski

ElJuski

True. Can't argue with that. Either way, I think my post still stands.

EDIT: God, I take one weekend off from drinking and end up sitting around discussing internet forum usage and protocol.


#89

bhamv3

bhamv3

ElJuski said:
I think everyone's taking this all way to seriously, and there is way too much panic set to 11. But I'm also pretty sure that everyone is dancing around just flat out saying what a huge prick I am, too. So it goes. But you know what would be so much better? If people that had some sort of issue with me, or whoever, about really being a dick, instead of dicking around on the internet because I'm not stuck in a classroom with sixty different gang-bangers all day, would be to just send me a line. Because, and speaking from what I assume is the "toxic" portion of the forum, I think I've gotten like, one, from somebody who sent me a private message. And we took care of it from there. Not saying it ended well :p but saying that, yeah, that was the better way to go about it, instead of herpderping that bullshit.

So, I say, if you have a problem with somebody, report it, PM them, talk it out. I think if more people took up arms and bitched at me full force through a PM they'd probably see either an apology, an argument, or a slight understanding that there's no ill will at all.
Click to expand...
I do not direct this at you personally, Juski, I'm saying it in a general sense.

There is a third option, beyond "contacting the offending party" and "herpderping around", and that's to simply stop visiting the forum. If new (or old, for that matter) forumites find what they read here to not be to their tastes, what do you think they're more likely to do? PM the people offending them? Or close their browser and forget our URL?

So, I would personally prefer if people didn't act like dicks. Even if a person believes that other people have a way of responding to your dickery, be it through PMs or notifying a mod, that shouldn't give this person free reign to be a dick.

I would also like to note that I don't believe the solution is heavier moderation. Dickery can be highly subjective and dependent on context, which would make moderation very difficult. This is up to the forum populace, to self-regulate and to make it clear that dickish behavior is something to avoid.


#90

ElJuski

ElJuski

And I know this will go on deaf ears, but seriously, when did people start taking everything so personally on here? I'm more than likely the one that's lost the true insight to the forum and these people, but as far as my posting is concerned, I've never done it with anything but out of fun and interest (or you know, actually stimulating conversation, yikes, I'm admitting that actually happens here).

In fact, in my honest opinion, I feel there is much more of a constant whiplash against my posts. Can't hardly get a word out sometimes without the pitchforks coming out, because I made a joke. So yeah, perspective had by all, but I also think the people getting offended need to step back and consider what's actually going on.

Also, I added my signature for posterity. And I am committed to following through with it for any of you dorks that happen to stumble into the DC metro area.


#91

Krisken

Krisken

ElJuski said:
In fact, in my honest opinion, I feel there is much more of a constant whiplash against my posts. Can't hardly get a word out sometimes without the pitchforks coming out, because I made a joke. So yeah, perspective had by all, but I also think the people getting offended need to step back and consider what's actually going on.
Click to expand...
I can safely and honestly say that I didn't have you in mind with my post, Juski. I think you've been pretty upfront that you aren't being serious with what you say most of the time.


#92

ElJuski

ElJuski

And for the record, I don't want (for once) to make this about me. But I think I speak on behalf of a handful of posters that basically do the same thing I do. But it's also good to know that I'm also not some horrible hell-beast. Unless you're the group of people that still think I am :p

But really, for those of you guys that have issues with me, PM me about it. Let's hash it out. We'll either call each other names or come to an understanding! Sure beats getting emotional with animated gifs.


#93

bhamv3

bhamv3

ElJuski said:
And I know this will go on deaf ears, but seriously, when did people start taking everything so personally on here? I'm more than likely the one that's lost the true insight to the forum and these people, but as far as my posting is concerned, I've never done it with anything but out of fun and interest (or you know, actually stimulating conversation, yikes, I'm admitting that actually happens here).

In fact, in my honest opinion, I feel there is much more of a constant whiplash against my posts. Can't hardly get a word out sometimes without the pitchforks coming out, because I made a joke. So yeah, perspective had by all, but I also think the people getting offended need to step back and consider what's actually going on.

Also, I added my signature for posterity. And I am committed to following through with it for any of you dorks that happen to stumble into the DC metro area.
Click to expand...
Again, not directing this at you personally, Juski.

Old forumites may know people are just kidding around, but newer users may not. As noted already, tone and intention can be hard to express in text form, especially if someone posts a short quip. Something they think is witty, but someone else might not, if they don't know the reference or the background or the quirks of that particular poster. And even older posters may, one day, decide their sense of humor isn't a good match for this place, and decide to stop visiting.

This isn't an issue of being thin skinned, either. This isn't weeding out the weak, or culling the herd. People, as a general rule, don't enjoy what they perceive to be incivility, and so they take the path of least resistance, which is to leave. You don't have to be thin skinned to decide to not do something you don't enjoy.

Let me use myself as an example. I like to act like a pervert, though I make it a point never to hit on other forumites. Let's say someone posts a picture of a cartoon character in a swimsuit, and I immediately post a long list of things I'd like to do to that particular cartoon character. Forumites who know my antics might just shake their head and go, "There's that Bhamv again," but a new poster might read my post and find it creepy, and decide this isn't the forum for them.

So, basically, it goes back to what I said earlier. We should try to self-regulate, show some restraint, and try to imagine what others would see when they read what we post.


#94

Gusto

Gusto

For the record, we get tons of reports. Maybe a tenth of them are actionable, and most of them are for spam.


#95

Shakey

Shakey

ElJuski said:
In fact, in my honest opinion, I feel there is much more of a constant whiplash against my posts. Can't hardly get a word out sometimes without the pitchforks coming out, because I made a joke. So yeah, perspective had by all, but I also think the people getting offended need to step back and consider what's actually going on.
Click to expand...
I agree, and it happens with a lot of posters. It didn't matter what Charlie posted, he'd always get railed on by someone. If someone bothers you that much, you can always ignore them.


#96

ElJuski

ElJuski

bhamv3 said:
Again, not directing this at you personally, Juski.

Old forumites may know people are just kidding around, but newer users may not. As noted already, tone and intention can be hard to express in text form, especially if someone posts a short quip. Something they think is witty, but someone else might not, if they don't know the reference or the background or the quirks of that particular poster. And even older posters may, one day, decide their sense of humor isn't a good match for this place, and decide to stop visiting.

This isn't an issue of being thin skinned, either. This isn't weeding out the weak, or culling the herd. People, as a general rule, don't enjoy what they perceive to be incivility, and so they take the path of least resistance, which is to leave. You don't have to be thin skinned to decide to not do something you don't enjoy.

Let me use myself as an example. I like to act like a pervert, though I make it a point never to hit on other forumites. Let's say someone posts a picture of a cartoon character in a swimsuit, and I immediately post a long list of things I'd like to do to that particular cartoon character. Forumites who know my antics might just shake their head and go, "There's that Bhamv again," but a new poster might read my post and find it creepy, and decide this isn't the forum for them.

So, basically, it goes back to what I said earlier. We should try to self-regulate, show some restraint, and try to imagine what others would see when they read what we post.
Click to expand...
First of all, you don't have to say you're directing things at me personally. I know.

Why is it okay then, though, for someone to all be "perving" and "joning" isn't? What's to say that people aren't seeing all these half-naked cartoon women and saying this site isn't for them, versus people making jokes at one another?

But seriously, sure, what this forum probably actually needs is a "How I'm Going to Be a Better Poster" thread. Which I'll go ahead and make right now.


#97

ElJuski

ElJuski

Shakey said:
I agree, and it happens with a lot of posters. It didn't matter what Charlie posted, he'd always get railed on by someone. If someone bothers you that much, you can always ignore them.
Click to expand...
You know why I have Charlie's back all of the time? Because he can't even say something half the time without the forum bagging on him harsh. Way more harsh than what I've seen happen to new users.


#98

Gusto

Gusto

I agree with that completely. Charlie can't even express an opinion on something without three people reporting him for trolling.


#99

ElJuski

ElJuski

I wanted to do an experiment where I basically took a Charlie post, set up an alt, let the alt say it, and see if the alt would get run out of town like Charlie always gets.


#100

Piotyr

Piotyr

I'm going to stick with "tone is impossible to convey in text and someone is undoubtedly going to take it in the worst way possible and run with it if they can".


#101

MindDetective

MindDetective

ElJuski said:
You know why I have Charlie's back all of the time? Because he can't even say something half the time without the forum bagging on him harsh. Way more harsh than what I've seen happen to new users.
Click to expand...
I agree, but I think he played a little too coy a lot of the time. Charlie has a tendency to make big claims but then not really discuss them. Around here it is like teasing the dogs with a treat and only pretending to throw it. Stil, he didn't really earn some of the harsh words he was given.


#102

ElJuski

ElJuski

I'm not saying the guy doesn't have really...individual opinions, or a way with words, or that he's completely innocent. I'm just saying that's why I got his back.


#103

bhamv3

bhamv3

ElJuski said:
Why is it okay then, though, for someone to all be "perving" and "joning" isn't? What's to say that people aren't seeing all these half-naked cartoon women and saying this site isn't for them, versus people making jokes at one another?
Click to expand...
It's not okay. That's the point I was making. My behavior would be simply dismissed by an experienced forumite who knows my antics, but could easily drive off a new poster.

Which is also why I've toned it down recently.


#104

Frank

Frank

ElJuski said:
But seriously, sure, what this forum probably actually needs is a "How I'm Going to Be a Better Poster" thread. Which I'll go ahead and make right now.
Click to expand...
Why you gotta lie?


#105

phil

phil

I think Gas hit the nail on the head on page one.

I think there could be a few things to maybe help extend the life span of the forums. Content, as most have stated, is lacking. None of the comics update anymore, which is too bad because I liked some of them. Forum content seems to be lacking these days as well. Aside from the game of thrones or the goblins threads, I don't really care much about any of them because those are the only ones where it seems like we're actually having a discussion.

Personally, I don't think things have gotten "too mean" or anything. The only mentality that I think needs to change is the bullshit about how the ignore list is for cowards or whatever. If you have that much of a problem with someone, just put them on ignore if even for a little bit. Only once so far has it even been apparent to me that I was missing out on something someone on my list had said. It just looks like they haven't posted in a while, and you don't even actually notice it.


#106

checkeredhat

checkeredhat

I guess I'll toss my two cents in. Sorry my thoughts are kind of disjointed. I feel like what I have to say would just be echoing what a few others have said already, and so I'm just kind of running through this point by point in my head.

I honestly didn't realize the forum was having any real sort of problem. It just didn't really occur to me, honestly. I come here because it's an already established community I can come to and participate in, and discuss pop culture and life with the same group of nerds I've been interacting with for years.
So it didn't really register that we're not getting as many new users as would be ideal. I just don't think about this place in those terms.

As far as what we can do to keep more members, you guys are probably right that we could tone down our antics and reign in our insults, because as you say, people unfamiliar with our ways may not get that these are jokes, not meant to be taken seriously. But honestly? I feel like you'll keep more users, but it'll be a bland, dull, place to be. Those antics and that attitude are what draw me here, and if we all have to start censoring ourselves to the point that we can't crack jokes at eachother, I know I'm not the only one here who wouldn't stick around. There's nothing wrong with a community like that, a sort Suburban yuppy paradise but for the internet. Those are out there. But look who's here, and look at the community we have; we turned it into this because this is how we like it. If we didn't, we'd leave.


Like I said, it's an established community, and I don't know about you guys, but for me my friendships, and even my family, are built solidly around what to the outsider may seem like meanspirited jokes. This to me is the best kind of relationship to have with someone.

I don't think I have reported a single person here, ever. Someone would have to make a legitimately racist, sexist, threatening or otherwise hateful post that I couldn't immediately tell was a joke. And if that is happening and the group that you guys are calling "acidic" or "venomous" or whatever synonym you're using are all being serious with everything they say, well then I guess I'm blissfully ignorant, cause I just laugh at it.

In the end, I think I can boil it down to:
If we wanted to be something different than what we are now, we would be already.


#107

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

What happened to my post?!


#108

checkeredhat

checkeredhat

Shegokigo said:
What happened to my post?!
Click to expand...
If I had to guess?
Dave said:
Note: This thread will follow a set list of rules that are different than other threads we have. Specifically, it will not be allowed to range off-topic and WILL stay civil. Any post I or the mods deem to be either off topic or uncivil will be removed - and this is up to our discretion as to which posts meet these criteria.
Click to expand...


#109

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

It was on topic and civil. :okay:


#110



makare

I've enjoyed the forum more in the last few months than I ever had. On one hand I give credit to the ignore function, seriously guys it's awesome, and on the other it has just seemed a lot mellower lately.


#111

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

Is there ever a moment makare doesn't talk about the ignore function? I'm just curious because it suits her so well.


#112

Chippy

Chippy

checkeredhat said:
If I had to guess?
Click to expand...
Legit thought that was a good post to showcase that's just how the forums is, and always had been, though.


#113

North_Ranger

North_Ranger

Personally? I come here for interesting nerd news, media discussions and a smidgen of games. I sometimes check the Arts, but I rarely visit Politics or Tech. And the times when I feel like not coming here... those usually come as a result of the feeling that people are just out there looking for fights instead of discussions, or just generally looking for reasons to be dicks to each other.

I do like some ideas suggested here, like linking forum posts to the main page to highlight what we're about. Nowadays I just go to the main page for the 0.6 seconds it takes to click the Forums link. A casual internet user isn't going to do that, because let's be honest, the front page is pretty damn bland at the moment.

Feeling a little tired still, will post more when I'm more lucid.


#114

Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

I am aiming this at El Juski solely because others refuse to aim their posts at El Juski: Get out. You're ruining this place. You cad.

On the subject of Charlie, the reactions to his posts came as they did because he wrote them to cause reactions. If another person had posted them, people likely would've talked to them about it, however, Charlie's shtick is well-known around here, so people don't try. When someone (Shego) finally did try, he decided to leave. Someone finally said "I'll give you a chance again and listen" and he had no idea what to do with that. Maybe he was tired, as he said. Or maybe his "views" really were just trolling and there was no discussion to be had.


#115

tegid

tegid

I'd like to make a syntheses of all the ideas I've liked from this thread, but I'm sick and it would come out as a mess. So let me just tell you all the two main ideas I've had since I read Dave's original post half an hour ago.

Yes, I feel some people have been to hard on new users like Yoshi, who had their redeeming qualities, although I'm not sure that was central to his leaving, since as the quality of his posting increased, so did the not-so-gentle ribbing decrease. Anyway, we could indeed tone down the dickery around newbies, let it just be an unofficial, rarely enforced rule of 'be a bit more gentle or put a disclaimer saying it's a joke or that you don't mean ill'. BUT I'm starting to agree with the people saying that the people who run away maybe aren't a good fit for this forum.

Why is it such a big deal that one or two people are run away? I don't like it either, it is unpleasant, but regarding the survival of the forum this is only a problem because these one or two people are like, half of the new people we get. The real, long term solution to this is not stronger modding (which would kill the community even faster), or a half assed rule (which would definitely help but not solve), it is finding a way to draw more people in.

I know you have tried different things, and they have not worked for some reason or another. This has to be something easy to maintain, and shouldn't depend on the people generating the content. Putting newsposts directly from the forum in the front page (automatically?), or featured artist/blogger of the week are really good ideas (some have been tried in the past, why did they not work?). Also, wasn't zappit drawing a new comic that was front page material? I don't know if he said it sarcastically, but revisiting the webcomic idea with tweeks (less webcomics, rotating if needed, not a rigid schedule for the artists?) would also be good. If there are less webcomics it could be combined with the others.

Let me add an afterthought: I don't really see the forums being a lot less unpleasant than when I stopped lurking about a year ago (I came back a few weeks ago). It IS more passive agressive, as opposed to the more open agressiveness I've seen in the past. So I don't think this is really a problem. I don't thing the forum population shrinking in number is such a big problem either...


tl;dr: being nicer to newbies would be really good but the solution to the stagnant population is not that but drawing more new people in.

PS.: Ah, and Dave, I don't think you resigning would solve anything at all.


#116

ElJuski

ElJuski

Quotemander Prime said:
I am aiming this at El Juski solely because others refuse to aim their posts at El Juski: Get out. You're ruining this place. You cad.

On the subject of Charlie, the reactions to his posts came as they did because he wrote them to cause reactions. If another person had posted them, people likely would've talked to them about it, however, Charlie's shtick is well-known around here, so people don't try. When someone (Shego) finally did try, he decided to leave. Someone finally said "I'll give you a chance again and listen" and he had no idea what to do with that. Maybe he was tired, as he said. Or maybe his "views" really were just trolling and there was no discussion to be had.
Click to expand...
I mean, who knows. All I know is that I saw a unique, if controversial poster, that eventually was just shut down time and time again. It takes all sorts of different strokes, and I don't think the forum would be the same without the bite of different opinions. And if Charlie's views were really just boring trolling, he wouldn't have some of the most popular / busiest threads when he made posts. We're all adults here; you could all just have easily let his threads die, and ignore the guy.

Also I am not a cad -___-.


#117

ElJuski

ElJuski

Frank said:
Why you gotta lie?
Click to expand...
OH EFF I FELL ASLEEP, hold on.


#118

Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

Charlie didn't have a ton of threads to "let die"; much of the time he was coming into other threads. At least that I saw; I'm not in the Politics forum a ton. Much of what I saw was his disruption in the other forums.

I'm not saying there aren't real people with the extremist views Charlie posted; I just don't believe he was one of them. I think if one of those people were here, posting those views, they'd be willing to discuss them, not just dropping troll-bombs into other threads, and then feigning innocence. That's I think what pissed some people off--you say he wasn't innocent (agreed!), but I'd say he pretended he was and played up the "poor little me" mentality even when someone disagreed with him without attacking him.

And to go back to the thread where he left for the 20th time, because I love it so, I don't think it's coincidence that he left when someone asked him to explain his point of view. Shego could've made fun of him. She could've gone bashing him. I'm sure she would've relished in doing so. Instead, she asked him to explain, so we could understand. And he ran off when that happened.

I won't say Charlie's presence had no perks. He certainly livened up the place, but it was often in regard to getting after him, not conversing with him, because he did not really converse the views he pretended to have. I think if someone who had those views came here and wanted to discuss them, that would be a contributing member of the forum, even if no one agreed with them. Charlie's shtick was not to discuss or to start discussion. He even said it himself before, that he posted things to piss people off. I'm sure in that post he was saying it to get people talking, but I think the pissing people off was the true joy for him.


#119

Krisken

Krisken

tegid said:
PS.: Ah, and Dave, I don't think you resigning would solve anything at all.
Click to expand...
I'd like to agree with this specifically.


#120

North_Ranger

North_Ranger

Krisken, the sentiment is seconded.


#121



SeraRelm

I'm still waiting for Yoshi to get back from whatever he's doing and be all
"
".

This is far, far less douchy and dickish than other places. I like to think of Halforums as a nicer forum without being all MLP. Yes, there are some people like *BALEETED* who make the place less pleasant, but if anything, I value them just as much. If we didn't have that diversity, we'd be a giant circle jerk... like the "*BALEETED* and *BALEETED* judge your pop culture" thread.

On a side note, if we have to be about something, I suggest "Live Chess."


#122

Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

I liked Charlie. He was fun to talk movies with, and when he wasn't actively putting his foot in his mouth, he was actually a pretty nice guy to chat with.

But he was a forum masochist. He could not present his views, real or not, in a way that didn't sound like a "flame me now" bugle. Everything he posted was made to be as vitriolic as possible, and the rest of the forum reacted in kind. Eventually you just have to step away from that sort of train wreck.

Or join in for the lulz, and wait for another movie discussion.


#123

bhamv3

bhamv3

North_Ranger said:
Krisken, the sentiment is seconded.
Click to expand...
Thirded. Or second seconded, which would make it fourthed.

Dave, I can't think of anyone who'd be better for us. You've been a mature and intelligent forumite since your days as Edrondol, and I don't believe a change in this regard will be in any way beneficial.


#124

ElJuski

ElJuski

hey that pop culture thread was awesome, whoever it was.


#125

Sparhawk

Sparhawk

I've been here, well a long time, and I've seen the change. It's not as civil as it used to be, and part of that is because some of the old regulars have departed. I don't know the reasons that they left, but I can guess that it was the caustic atmosphere that existed for several months. It's started moving back the other way, it's not as bad as it had become, but at the same time, it might be too little too late.

I think that Yoshi is the one that brought it to light in the last month though, new user, trying hard, but not being an ass about anything overall. Basically run off because he did a poor job of expressing himself in a thread.

I haven't used it, I have pretty thick skin about stuff, but the ignore function could really help some people that irritate the crap out of you. I also don't post in many threads because by the time my work schedule allows (or family stuff) it's all settled and somebody tromping in after it's died down doesn't really add to the conversation.

I guess that's all I have to add, for now, off to do something else.


#126

fade

fade

If you're looking for content for the main page, why not embrace the seinfeldian nothingness of this place and make the front page of this place a little bit of the melange this place is? Refresh, you get cosplay, refresh, you get art, or game sales. That IS the theme of this place. We are the forum about nothing (cue random bass notes). I like the chaos. It's why I come here. It's WHY the threads go off topic. Complaining about that is like complaining that the sky has too much air in it. I'd go so far as to say that thread derailing isn't only the norm of this place, it's kind of its raison d'etre. It's happened since Image, and as gasbandit pointed out. But is it really chaos? Outside of internet forums, they just call it "conversation". That never stays on theme. That never stays on topic. Something comes up, and people go with that. Sometimes 2-3 people break off into mini conversations. It's real life, and I like it.


#127



makare

What I find interesting is we really treat the forum as a chatroom but an actual forum chatroom never seems to last. I'm not sure why that is.


#128

North_Ranger

North_Ranger

makare said:
What I find interesting is we really treat the forum as a chatroom but an actual forum chatroom never seems to last. I'm not sure why that is.
Click to expand...
Because we have the attention span of a rhesus monkey on caffeine and can't sit still long enough to wait for the other person to answer? :D

Nah, just kidding, just kidding... I actually enjoy the slower exchange of opinions of the forum over a chat room. You have time to read the articles, find some of your own, contemplate on your answers, formulate a decently legible answer... a lot of factors that speak in favour of forum posts over chat rooms.

Not to mention the fact that by the time you people are starting to get up and post, I'm already preparing to hit the hay. Gorram time zones...


#129

GasBandit

GasBandit

Because the chatroom doesn't show up on the "watched threads" or "what's new" pages.


#130

ElJuski

ElJuski

and speaking of which, is there a way to just ignore certain threads on that What's New page? Because that'd probably make me not go into a thread to dick around in it.


#131

Allen who is Quiet

Allen who is Quiet

People already campaigned for that and then nothing happened.


#132

MindDetective

MindDetective

Yup. :-\


#133

North_Ranger

North_Ranger

ElJuski said:
and speaking of which, is there a way to just ignore certain threads on that What's New page? Because that'd probably make me not go into a thread to dick around in it.
Click to expand...
Umm... Have you considered not clicking that thread?


#134

MindDetective

MindDetective

I do not click those threads, but I would rather certain threads didn't litter the What's New feed. It is a preference for making browsing the forum easier.


#135

Tress

Tress

ElJuski said:
and speaking of which, is there a way to just ignore certain threads on that What's New page? Because that'd probably make me not go into a thread to dick around in it.
Click to expand...
Yeah. It's a relatively new feature called "self-restraint." You should give it a try. :p


#136



SeraRelm

It's the responsibility of the boards to control people's actions. Stop being so silly, guys.


#137

MindDetective

MindDetective

It would just be nice to have the option to filter posts in general.


#138

Jay

Jay

I'd suck a dick for that option... so many useless spam threads on these boards.


#139

GasBandit

GasBandit

Jay said:
I'd suck a dick for that option... so many useless spam threads on these boards.
Click to expand...
I think that's exactly what you said in the thread that asked for that feature... which this thread is rapidly becoming... the same requests, with the same rebuttals.


#140

Krisken

Krisken

I'm convinced. If it is available, you should have that feature. I'm all for people self policing themselves and staying out of threads they know they'll be butt-faces in.


#141

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

North_Ranger said:
Umm... Have you considered not clicking that thread?
Click to expand...
Have you ever considered that hitting "New Post" and having 4 spam threads constantly having come up, and constantly having to click the "mark all forums read" just to remove them is a pain?

I responded the same way when certain people were crying about "Ignore Person" thread. "Can't you just, not read the post?" and I was met with rebuking left and right.


#142

Dave

Dave

If it were possible I would have it. But right now we can't.


#143

ElJuski

ElJuski

Ohhh I just shouldn't click it OHHHHHHH it's all so simple now

Dave said:
If it were possible I would have it. But right now we can't.
Click to expand...
Gotcha. It would be nice, though!


#144

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

Yeah, we established that before Dave. I was just responding to those who still didn't "get it".

Btw Dave, how's that WoW theme coming? :troll:


#145

Krisken

Krisken

Shegokigo said:
Have you ever considered that hitting "New Post" and having 4 spam threads constantly having come up, and constantly having to click the "mark all forums read" just to remove them is a pain?

I responded the same way when certain people were crying about "Ignore Person" thread. "Can't you just, not read the post?" and I was met with rebuking left and right.
Click to expand...
You really don't see the difference, do you?


#146

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

There is no difference. You don't want to deal with posts you deem annoying, I don't want to deal with threads I deem annoying. Both of us could just skip over the post/thread and just keep doing it the hard way, but both of us want an easier way to deal with it. It's not like when you put someone on ignore, they suddenly don't exist and noone talks to them. All you're doing is preventing yourself from seeing one person's part of a larger conversation. Same with ignore thread, it's not like ignoring it means it doesn't exist and all I'm doing is preventing myself from seeing one threads part of a larger forum.

Wait, there is a difference: You got your option. I'm still waiting on mine.


#147

SpecialKO

SpecialKO

Late to this party, but the topic came up earlier in this thread for a "promote to front page" function (if it exists in xenforo), and I like this idea very much.

What I like about HF is that when I want to not look for pop-culture stuff and just "see what's out there", I can come here and there's a solid chance that people will be talking about it.

I'm also in the "there are far far worse places on the Internet" camp. I agree that we could be less confrontational with new folk, but to describe this place as "caustic" is a tad bizarre to me.

Are you guys worried about growing this place or keeping the new blood who do actually show up? They're complimentary, certainly, but they're not the same thing.

I mean, maybe all that's needed is incentive. My suggestions is that we turn Nick's Prom Night into an ARG.


#148

Krisken

Krisken

A thread doesn't passive aggressively attack you. Generally. This is how it is different, I think.

As I already said, if it could be done, I'd support it for you guys. I just don't see how you can equate the two as the same.


#149

SpecialKO

SpecialKO

"Halforums: Where the Pedantry is Free, but the Dicks take Halbucks"


#150



makare

Does that mean the hoes take halbucks?


#151

SpecialKO

SpecialKO

"Halforums: Pedantry is not only free, it's Mandatory (and our Dicks AND our Hoes take Halbucks)"


#152

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

Krisken said:
A thread doesn't passive aggressively attack you. I just don't see how you can equate the two as the same.
Click to expand...
Because you're not being "attacked". They're text words on a screen. It takes a really thin skin to let words from a complete stranger you've never met really get to you.


#153

Krisken

Krisken

Shegokigo said:
Because you're not being "attacked". They're text words on a screen. It takes a really thin skin to let words from a complete stranger you've never met really get to you.
Click to expand...
Again, an attack.


#154



makare

Jay... you never pay up front...


newb


#155

ElJuski

ElJuski

Is it really that awful to say it would be nice not see a bunch of threads I don't want to participate in on the What's New tab? IS IT REALLY THAT WRONG


#156

Krisken

Krisken

ElJuski said:
Is it really that awful to say it would be nice not see a bunch of threads I don't want to participate in on the What's New tab? IS IT REALLY THAT WRONG
Click to expand...
No, that's not awful. I totally get that justification and desire. I just don't think it's the same as wanting to ignore particular posters is all.


#157

SpecialKO

SpecialKO

makare said:
Jay... you never pay up front...


newb
Click to expand...
"Halforums: STFU and Get Off My Ass with that Shit, I Want to Hate Mass Effect 3" ;)


#158



makare

You know what's nice...
boobs


#159

SpecialKO

SpecialKO

Maybe we should be leveraging the NSFW forum?

*runs*


#160

Gusto

Gusto

ElJuski said:
Is it really that awful to say it would be nice not see a bunch of threads I don't want to participate in on the What's New tab? IS IT REALLY THAT WRONG
Click to expand...


#161

Jay

Jay

Shegokigo , I have to agree on Krisken on this one. People tend to react very differently from one another in certain situations, yes it is easy to belittle it, it really is but respectfully it is what it is and we should be considerate regarding that.

I do think we are losing focus on what is the point of this thread however. This debate is old and has been beaten soundly to a pulp. It's been acknowledged many a time but nothing can happen because that option simply doesn't exist right now. It it was, I'm sure it'll be incorporated into the forums but alas the forum maker is having lawsuit issues and development has slowed down the last few months. It's nothing to be afraid of as they should normally win the lawsuit but this change could have been seen recently if they weren't too busy dealing with that problem. All I do hope is Dave keep pushing for that change sooner rather than later.... but once again, I repeat, this is not the cause of whatever this thread was started for.

I think Dave can provide us with more clarifications as many opinions have been given over the last few days, I'm sure it would help one way or another.

And I'm sorry makare :)


#162

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

You're right and wrong. I react differently than having to deal with spam threads than others. They react differently to posters they can't deal with. It's the same to me.


#163

Dave

Dave

There is a way to have threads promoted to the front page, but that takes an addon that we currently don't have...and it's one that has known issues with the arcade. But, I've talked with Ame and Zappit, who are currently working on a front page redesign and we're planning a conversation on Tuesday about it to see what our options are.


#164

Krisken

Krisken

Shegokigo said:
You're right and wrong. I react differently than having to deal with spam threads than others. They react differently to posters they can't deal with. It's the same to me.
Click to expand...
Well if it helps I'm not going to say you have a 'thin thread skin' and tell you to get over it. I'd like to improve your forum experience and give you the option to do so if I could.


#165

Dave

Dave

Oh, and one last thing...there IS a way to prevent BOARDS from showing up in What's New, just not individual threads. I have two ideas about this but they both have varying degrees of suck and they would apply to everyone and not just those who don't want to see them.


#166

Jay

Jay

Oh! Can you kindly elaborate on that?


#167

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

Krisken said:
Well if it helps I'm not going to say you have a 'thin thread skin' and tell you to get over it. I'd like to improve your forum experience and give you the option to do so if I could.
Click to expand...
See, if I cared about what someone thought of me online, that'd bother me but it doesn't. Has nothing to do with "not being able to handle it" in the case of threads, it's just simply annoying having to press extra buttons over and over to not see the thread. Your solution for your problem is push one button once.


#168

ElJuski

ElJuski

I mean, don't cock up the forums for the option. Shit is fine how it is. It just would be a nice little trinket to top on to everything.


#169

Krisken

Krisken

Shegokigo said:
See, if I cared about what someone thought of me online, that'd bother me but it doesn't. Has nothing to do with "not being able to handle it" in the case of threads, it's just simply annoying having to press extra buttons over and over to not see the thread. Your solution for your problem is push one button once.
Click to expand...
Ok, have fun with that.


#170

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

What does that even mean? If you didn't have a valid counter point, why bother posting at all other to incite a response like this?

This is exactly the shit Dave is talking about. You and others act like it's us "trolls" who openly attack others except we actually use points and counter points to get our ideas across when it's people like you and others who purposely incite comments by being snide and off-handed for no reason but to drag the feeling and conversation through the dirt. I don't deny that some of us "trolls" can be crude when we do it, but I guarantee that Jay/Mathias/Myself have given more constructive criticism than you self-back patters and "group in a corner whisperers".


#171

tegid

tegid

Shegokigo said:
See, if I cared about what someone thought of me online, that'd bother me but it doesn't. Has nothing to do with "not being able to handle it" in the case of threads, it's just simply annoying having to press extra buttons over and over to not see the thread. Your solution for your problem is push one button once.
Click to expand...
If you don't care, why are you pushing the point so much? He already told you he'd agree with implementing ignorethread if it were available goddamit.


#172

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

They're very separate points, obviously.


#173

Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

I am totally going over to a corner to whisper about you guys.

But there will be no one to hear.


#174

Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

Shegokigo said:
They're very separate points, obviously.
Click to expand...
The way I'm seeing it is that Krisken wanted to have the last word. He's not an idiot and he's not going to feign innocence like Charlie. He didn't really intend for Shego to have fun with that. He didn't want her to have any fun at all.


#175

Tress

Tress



#176

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

Shit's hilarious till you hear about the badmouthing of forum members that goes on in the IRC.


#177

Tress

Tress

Oh snap! What's the good gossip there? Anything juicy?


#178

Krisken

Krisken

I do, however, apologize for allowing myself to go into something which is off topic. Sorry Dave, I will try to keep from doing so in this thread in the future.


#179

Dave

Dave

Jay said:
Oh! Can you kindly elaborate on that?
Click to expand...
The two ways to do this would be to either:

  1. Set up a sub-board for forum games. Make this sub not show up in What's New. Problem with this is that it would be largely unused. We'd put some forum games into it and then nobody would go there because even those interested wouldn't be able to know when there's an update.
  2. Change the What's New so that it doesn't see the prefix [Thread Game]. But it has the same thing as above.
Now, I'm thinking there may be another answer to this that I didn't think of until writing this very post. It's ugly but it would work.
  • Create a sub board called Thread Games.
  • Add this: http://xenforo.com/community/resources/join-user-group-by-waindigo.225/
  • Make it so that only those who join the User Group could see the Thread Games. This would prevent the sub board from showing up for those who did not join the group. It's what I was thinking of doing with the NSFW board. Google spiders can't join the group so they wouldn't see it.
Only issue with that way of doing it would be that new people and guests would not be able to see the forum games threads.


#180

Jay

Jay

Hold on, I've reached master "Troll" level now? I'm being compared to the likes of Shegokigo and Mathias? Wow, I used to be a forum fluffer like Quotemander Prime but I took a Chaz to the knee. Now look at me, a top 3 villain, one of the four horsemen, le mechant cuisinier francais.

I'm still hoping Dave's got some time to elaborate on those options. I'd be pretty excited to hear.

Also, I know why this thread was created as these issues have affected more people than simply Yoshi. It's unfortunate because I really liked the other poster and hope they do come back. Sadly, some people are thin skinned but we need to be kind and apologetic when we cross the line. Sometimes simply chatting on the forums isn't enough to know a whole lot about them, when I chat with people on Vent, they are pretty surprised that I'm not.... well... what they think I am.

Communication is important, another suggestion maybe more Vent nights would be cool. "Late Night at Halforums!" Those were fun.


#181

CrimsonSoul

CrimsonSoul

Since I came from the old PvP Forums onto Halforums I see us a group of friends and that may be the way some of the other posters see us too and as such are hostile to the new posters because they aren't "old school" Hell they are even hostile to me and I think that is mainly because I don't post very often in the forums (or because I'm a perv, one or the other). I'm not saying that we need a Golden Rule, Rule, but the members need to follow a Golden Rule at least for the newer members.
When it comes to content, it seems that yeah we make webcomics, etc and people get excited about them (at least I liked them) but then after a few days everyone stops updating everything and then the home page is static again and doesn't change for another few months.


#182

Vrii

Vrii

Wasn't there something about staying on topic and not calling specific people out?


#183

Jay

Jay

Dave said:
Create a sub board called Thread Games.
  • Add this: http://xenforo.com/community/resources/join-user-group-by-waindigo.225/
  • Make it so that only those who join the User Group could see the Thread Games. This would prevent the sub board from showing up for those who did not join the group. It's what I was thinking of doing with the NSFW board. Google spiders can't join the group so they wouldn't see it.
Only issue with that way of doing it would be that new people and guests would not be able to see the forum games threads.
Click to expand...
This is a great idea Dave!!!! However, what about doing the reverse of this?

What about a group can request to join this group and not have to see "Forum Games".

I think that would be more practical.... and the work load for staff should be small, only need to edit posts to have that prefix and a way for us to report it to be changed in case it's forgotten? Create a "Request to join group" and voila?


*prepares to get down on his knees to do his duty....*


#184

BananaHands

BananaHands

Life was so much simpler when we all hated one poster instead of all hating each other.


#185

Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

I like the option of having a Thread Games subboard. Any Thread Games would get moved there by a mod if created elsewhere.

Like Krisken, I am doing this as a kind soul with nothing to gain from it. Not because I just ignore those threads, but because I don't even use the What's New thing.


#186

Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

BananaHands said:
Life was so much simpler when we all hated one poster instead of all hating each other.
Click to expand...
Wow... Charlie really was the troll we needed?

Or are you talking about someone else? You should name some names and call some people out.


#187



SeraRelm

I've never hated any poster





more than you.


#188



SeraRelm

Wait, are you saying Charlie was our Meg?


#189

Tress

Tress

Dave said:
Only issue with that way of doing it would be that new people and guests would not be able to see the forum games threads.
Click to expand...
What if you left up a banner that pointed out those threads exist for people to join? A bot wouldn't be smart enough to recognize it, but new users would. Of course I say this without having the slightest clue about the technical side of this forum.


#190

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

Jay said:
Hold on, I've reached master "Troll" level now? I'm being compared to the likes of Shegokigo and Mathias? Wow, I used to be a forum fluffer like Quotemander Prime but I took a Chaz to the knee. Now look at me, a top 3 villain, one of the four horsemen, le mechant cuisinier francais.
Click to expand...
I might have been a bit hasty, as you're easily not as "hateful" or "spiteful" when you respond to threads like the "My husband pays more attention to his car than me" thread, but you are a bit more brutish when giving advice. However, that's the key point. You give positive advice, albeit sometimes wrapped in a bit of gruff.


#191



SeraRelm

I gotta say, I'm on the "if you don't want to see it, don't look at it" side of the fence with this. It's not hurting anyone to have it there and you can ignore it if you don't like it. I also don't venture into some of the other sub-forums much at all. Is it really that bad with spam?


#192



makare

Quotemander Prime said:
I am totally going over to a corner to whisper about you guys.

But there will be no one to hear.
Click to expand...

"whispering"? is that what the kids are calling it these days?


#193

Jay

Jay

Shegokigo said:
I might have been a bit hasty, as you're easily not as "hateful" or "spiteful" when you respond to threads like the "My husband pays more attention to his car than me" thread, but you are a bit more brutish when giving advice. However, that's the key point. You give positive advice, albeit sometimes wrapped in a bit of gruff.
Click to expand...
That was amongst my best works. I may... have scared that poster away though.

For that I'm sorry.... but.... she deserved it.


#194

Dave

Dave

Vrii said:
Wasn't there something about staying on topic and not calling specific people out?
Click to expand...
There was. Unfortunately after a bit of time I stepped out for a bit and lived my life. I could go back through and delete those posts, but none of them have been particularly mean spirited.


#195

Sparhawk

Sparhawk

SeraRelm said:
I gotta say, I'm on the "if you don't want to see it, don't look at it" side of the fence with this. It's not hurting anyone to have it there and you can ignore it if you don't like it. I also don't venture into some of the other sub-forums much at all. Is it really that bad with spam?
Click to expand...
I'm completely with you on this Sera, I look at "What's New" and don't click on most of it. I will read some threads and never leave a post because there is nothing I can add and/or something I don't want to get involved in. I can't say I've seen much in the way of "spam" threads, but I usually just use the email "So-and-so responded in this thread" emails and go straight to what I'm watching. I have never felt a compulsion to post in every stinking thread on the board... here. I kinda did every few months when the old Image PvP thread was still there but not there.


#196



makare

The only time I was concerned at all with the existence of a thread was the not so funny pic thread. And that was only because for some reason when I opened up all the threads I wanted to look at it, it would come with it (I was inadvertently clicking on it.)It was scarring me for life...

Seeing as how my clicking fingers have gotten their act together and I am not clicking on it like a monkey, I am perfectly fine with the existence of all threads.


#197

Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

Dave said:
There was. Unfortunately after a bit of time I stepped out for a bit and lived my life. I could go back through and delete those posts, but none of them have been particularly mean spirited.
Click to expand...
Someone's cracking their knuckles at reading this.


#198

Null

Null

makare said:
Jay... you never pay up front...


newb
Click to expand...
Because he prefers it around back? HEYOO!


#199

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

Dave said:
There was. Unfortunately after a bit of time I stepped out for a bit and lived my life. I could go back through and delete those posts, but none of them have been particularly mean spirited.
Click to expand...
That's because I'm biting the bridle.

Seriously, there's so much to say to some very deserving individuals and for the betterment of the forums I bite my tongue.... alot.


#200

Dave

Dave

Okay, I've made the following changes.

  • I added that mod.
  • Made the "NSFW Viewer" and "Thread Games" user groups.
  • Made a Thread Games sub forum.
  • Made the Thread Games forum only viewable by those who are a member of the "Thread Games" user group.
  • Made the NSFW forum only viewable to those who are a member of the "NSFW Viewer" user group.
  • Made the Thread Games group ON by default but you can opt out.
  • Made the NSFW Viewer group OFF by default but you can opt in.
By the way, if you do not see the subs then the threads therein do not show on your "What's New". So if you opt out of the Thread Games sub, the threads there won't bother you. Everyone wins.
Changes I will be making:
  • Moving Thread Games threads into the correct subforum and am thinking about turning off HB accrual in this sub. Haven't decided yet.
  • Will be merging ALL threads in the "Introduce Yourself" subforum into one thread and moving that thread to general using the title "Introduce Yourself". Then blowing away the Introduce Yourself sub.
Am I missing anything?


#201



SeraRelm

Dignity?


#202

Dave

Dave

Been married 19 years. I gave that up a long time ago.


#203

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

Dave said:
Am I missing anything?
Click to expand...
WoW theme? ;)


#204

Jay

Jay

Thank you Dave. You're a gentleman and a scholar.

Shall I proceed on getting on my knees?


#205

Cat

Cat

Porn club and hidden forum games? Best update ever.


#206

CrimsonSoul

CrimsonSoul

Now.. just wondering... if one were so inclined, how would one join the porn group?


#207

Chad Sexington

Chad Sexington

CrimsonSoul said:
Now.. just wondering... if one were so inclined, how would one join the porn group?
Click to expand...
I definitely don't know what happens if you go to Preferences and Join User Groups at the bottom left-hand side.


#208

CrimsonSoul

CrimsonSoul

Chad Sexington said:
I definitely don't know what happens if you go to Preferences and Join User Groups at the bottom left-hand side.
Click to expand...
I think out of anyone YOU would know, Chad :troll:


#209

Chad Sexington

Chad Sexington

It's for RESEARCH!


#210

Jay

Jay

So... you check mark to be able to see forum games? What if it's set by default so that people can simply opt out instead?


#211

Dave

Dave

It is set to checked by default. You just uncheck it.


#212

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

Mine was defaulted as unchecked for both.


#213

Dave

Dave

Weird. I thought I had it so that you automatically joined. I ran a cron job and everything.


#214

Sparhawk

Sparhawk

Unchecked on both also.


#215

Cat

Cat

Shegokigo said:
Mine was defaulted as unchecked for both.
Click to expand...
:werd: maybe it's different for new members.


#216

Jay

Jay

Same, I just wanted to make sure no one would be inconvenienced by this. Minimum Drama.


#217

Dave

Dave

Dang. Looks like it didn't do it for everyone.


#218

Dave

Dave

Damn it. I may have to find a way to inject the group into the SQL. I hate that.

edit: Any SQL gurus here?


#219



SeraRelm

I would like a Star Wars theme, preferably Empire? Perhaps a Zombie theme to match the ranch?


#220

Dave

Dave

:trolol:


#221

Null

Null

Unchecked for me also.


#222

jwhouk

jwhouk

"Halforums: 4chan for those who are scared ####-less of 4chan."


#223

HowDroll

HowDroll

jwhouk said:
"Halforums: 4chan for those who can't go on 4chan at work because they will get fired"
Click to expand...
FTFY


#224

Jay

Jay

Is it normal to still see new posts from the game threads forum with what;s new when you don't have a check mark in the game threads group?


#225

Dave

Dave

Is it not allowing you to opt out?


#226

Dave

Dave

Damn it! I thought I had it fixed! I'll have to work on it tonight as I'm about to leave work.


#227

Dave

Dave

Seems I borked up some permissions. Zappit and Wahad were unable to connect and God knows who else.

And the solution I had for auto checking for new people? Won't work. If I try that it would add everyone when the cron job ran every 70 minutes or so. Crap.


#228

PatrThom

PatrThom

Been putting off responding because I knew it would take a while and I never had enough time to sit in front of the computer the required amount of time, but I know it'll never be good enough to make me happy, so I'm jumpin' in now. Dave, you asked for feedback, and the deal is that you get what you ask for, whether you want it or not. Also, whether *I* want it or not. I didn't know there was Forum-Wide Drama going on until this thread popped up, but I aim to say my piece.

Point 1: Dave, you resigning would be dumb. Don't resign. You haven't failed, you're just fretful. A long time ago, I seem to remember that you promised your method of rule would be mostly hands-off, because you felt that NOT ruling the boards with an iron fist would allow us to be more like ourselves, a thing you admitted you actually preferred. Guess what? You were right. Freedom means free, and even though one or another of our posters may have an occasional Westboro Baptist Church moment, the board itself is healthier for giving everyone else the ability to return fire and atomic drop that [joker] like he/she deserves. It's a board of the people, by the people, and for the people, and I'm pretty sure the people like having you in your current position. If they didn't, they would not have reformed around you these many years ago.

Point 2: As has been said before, we are a club. A family. A clique. A long time ago, we were more fluid as people drifted in and out. Over time, the state of the forum has solidified* into the group we have now. We have become more like a shear thinning fluid, where it takes more than a little pressure to loosen us up before we become receptive to new members, new ideas, or even new forum rules. The Yoshimickster situation is a good example. I'm in the "Gee I miss him" camp on this one. He showed up, took our jibes and ribbing and kept right on posting. In short, he wanted to join our club, we hazed him, and he was forcing it down and coming along just fine. And then something inexplicable happened, and now he's gone. I'll tell you right now, part of the reason I miss him is because he proved he could hang. Have you seen his post count? He doled out far more comments than he received. It's obvious (to me) that he was really workin' to be accepted, and from what I could see, he was definitely earning it.

Now it's no secret that we (the forumites in general) like each other (Just ask North Ranger). We're a tight group. Who wouldn't want to be part of such a tight group? I'll tell you who...someone who sees the initial hostility not as an obstacle to overcome (a test of worthiness, so to speak), but as genuine. Most of the time, what happens is that the new guy survives until another (bunch of) new guy(s) comes along, at which point the old new guy gets made The Offer: Join with us against this newest bunch of candidates and you will be respected (One of us! One of us!). Lately, what has been happening is that the influx has slowed enough to where the new guys get discouraged and leave before they either get to gang up on newer newbies or before they are discovered to have some sort of valuable talent/connection that earns them The Offer. I know Gas said everything is either expanding or contracting, but that's just not true. The forum is just evolving internally somehow, it's not dying quite yet. That may change in the future, but that is not where we are right now. Most of our new users ride some sort of discovery wave where we seem to get a blob of new people every now and again, and some of them stick.

Point 3: Passive aggression and other sarcasm are normal. Like two brothers who punch each other in the shoulder on long car trips, we are a community of intelligent and/or opinionated people who will still wrestle with each other, call each other names, and put thumbtacks on each other's chairs. This is how the pecking order is established. Why do we need a pecking order? Because we are a pack/herd and there will be jockeying to see where everyone falls in relation to everyone else. See my point 2 as regards how that jockeying has slowed/gelled as the discussions have toned down. When we get too comfortable with each other, or when the control rods get inserted too forcefully, the reaction slows way down, possibly to the point where it can no longer sustain itself. I get that we can stoke the forum with new blood, but we can also keep it hot and melt-y by allowing us to at least go back and forward among ourselves enough to keep flowing. We will never be nice to everyone. We should never try, either. It would be fatal.

Point 4: We have no clearly-defined point. We are not a branded department store, but neither do we try to cater to everything all at once. We are a mall with a buffet as one of our flagship anchors. We do not cater to a specific demographic, nor any particular designer. We exist merely as a place to allow the current whimsy to take root, bear fruit, and reseed. I will often come here and roll my eyes at a thread because I think to myself, "I just saw that same exact thread over at Reddit," but the reason I don't make a huge stink about it is because this forum is not a clone of Reddit, just like it isn't a clone of Fark, Digg, or even Yahoo! News. Instead, it's more like a huge Internet water cooler where reasonably like-minded individuals go to hang out to shoot the [interesting tidbits] among ourselves. We all work at the same job (Life!). Some of us work in crappier departments than others (again, e.g. North Ranger sorry buddy), but that water cooler is where we come to unload, commiserate, fence, argue, make weekend plans...whatever. Trying to force all that water cooler discussion to center around some specific theme is probably not going to work. If anything, I would propose that one of the front page features should be the top 10 hottest (publicly visible) threads trending in the last 24hrs, with the possibility of adding other categories (newest 5 threads created, top 5 all week, top 5 all month, etc). This would at least play up the forum's whimsy, and it would keep people checking back to see what keeps getting pushed to the front page.

Point 5: I like this place. A lot. I am active on exactly 3 forums on the Internet, this forum accounts for > 85% of my online social activity, and I don't see anything wrong with that at all. I only check my FaceBook approximately once every 3-4 weeks because it's all just a bunch of people reposting memes and discussing their relationship (or lack of one) in 2 sentence bites, and I'm actually related to many of those folks. I want to continue to come back here for a very long time to come, and I feel confident in saying that it would take some pretty significant effort to dislodge me by this point. I come here because I don't have to deal with all of that [treacle] and a discussion here instead can (and often does) go on for page after page of point/counterpoint/dodge/thrust/parry/spin with plenty of well-reasoned and thought-provoking content. Yes, there are dicks. Dicks everywhere. But y'know what? The world is full of dicks, so I suppose I should not be surprised to find some here. There are some dicks where I work, too. I don't agree with everything my coworkers say, and some of them have issue with some of the teeth-grindingly annoying things I take offense to as well. In spite of this, we consistently show up as being one of the highest-performing outfits in our region (on points, not in total number of first-place finishes) and occasionally place in top 10 in the company in one thing or another. Know why? It's because our leadership prefers to guide, not rule. They'll rule if they have to, but guidance is always better for morale. We usually manage to work it out among ourselves, and the huge variety in opinion, education, and attitude means we are really good at covering all the bases. I could go on here about The Best Way To Run A Business, but no doubt many of you are already involved with some facet of running a business, so I don't feel I need to go into that. I just don't want to have to fire you guys because y'all went and did something stupid that got in the way of your job...which is to be my entertainment and my refuge when I'm feeling bored and/or down.

And now too much time has gone by and not enough is left before I have to get back up and go to work, so I'ma leave anything else I feel like saying until later. Aren't you lucky.

Peace.

--Patrick
*See what I did there?


#229

Krisken

Krisken

PatrThom, I only have one thing to ask-

Are you JCM's alt?


#230



makare

My friends and family don't really do the whole cruel joke, jab but I love you anyway thing. We are just nice to each other. I guess I just don't have the experience that makes that kind of thing on here seem normal.


#231

Frank

Frank

I was raised on loving torture. My mother was the master of it.


#232

Chad Sexington

Chad Sexington

80% of my familial communication is via sarcasm. 10% through a nonsense language everyone but my brother speaks, which is hilarious. 5% facial expressions indicating emotions no one will admit on any meaningful level. 5% on those emotions unhealthily boiling over.


#233



makare

what this forum needs are hugs . . .


#234

PatrThom

PatrThom

Krisken said:
PatrThom, I only have one thing to ask-Are you JCM's alt?
Click to expand...
How will you know if I am answering you truthfully, Mr. My-Avatar-Is-The-Guy-Who-Says-That-Everybody-Lies?

--Patrick


#235

Cajungal

Cajungal

I keep coming back to one thing, and maybe it's not actually helpful at all... but it's buzzing around in my brain, and I ought to get it out of there:

I can't remember exactly, but I don't think HP had an Introduce Yourself section at all. I remember just posting one afternoon and blending in fairly easily just by posting a little bit more every day. It's a lot easier to get a feel for the place (IMO) if you just jump in with both feet into discussion than of you start a thread that's just "Hi, I'm from ______ and I like ________ and I came here because _________."

If you stay, people will find all that our more organically. Maybe it's people making threads strictly about being new that draw too much attention to these people who are still developing Hal-calluses. I dunno.


#236



makare

I like the Hal-callus concept


#237

Krisken

Krisken

PatrThom said:
How will you know if I am answering you truthfully, Mr. My-Avatar-Is-The-Guy-Who-Says-That-Everybody-Lies?

--Patrick
Click to expand...

Touche.


#238

ElJuski

ElJuski

makare said:
My friends and family don't really do the whole cruel joke, jab but I love you anyway thing. We are just nice to each other. I guess I just don't have the experience that makes that kind of thing on here seem normal.
Click to expand...
But does that mean that the rest of us have to stop if we understand that? Look, I understand toning down, but I'm never going to be the "AWWW POOR BOOBOO" and HUGS guy.


#239



Jax (Guest)

Dave, are the user groups active? If so, maybe make a seperate sticky for it, so everybody knows about it?

I have a slow day at work, so I went here and just happened to see this thread and read all (or at least most) of the currently 7 pages, but I probably would've stopped reading after the first two pages during my 'regular' Halforum time. Or even better, I hadn't even noticed the thread until now (I guess that'll teach me to ignore the [Important] prefix..)


#240

Jake

Jake

How about posting more cat pictures. That's always a winner.


#241

Espy

Espy

Cajungal said:
I keep coming back to one thing, and maybe it's not actually helpful at all... but it's buzzing around in my brain, and I ought to get it out of there:

I can't remember exactly, but I don't think HP had an Introduce Yourself section at all. I remember just posting one afternoon and blending in fairly easily just by posting a little bit more every day. It's a lot easier to get a feel for the place (IMO) if you just jump in with both feet into discussion than of you start a thread that's just "Hi, I'm from ______ and I like ________ and I came here because _________."

If you stay, people will find all that our more organically. Maybe it's people making threads strictly about being new that draw too much attention to these people who are still developing Hal-calluses. I dunno.
Click to expand...
I actually think there is some real wisdom here.

Pay attention to this gal folks. She is going places.


#242

Fun Size

Fun Size

Jake said:
How about posting more cat pictures. That's always a winner.
Click to expand...
I don't know where you come from or just who the Hell you think you are, but so help me Bob if you come in here denigrating cat pictures on the internet, I will hunt you down like a zombie catching a whiff of Stephen Hawking with a busted spoke.

Just kidding. Good to see you back, Jake.


#243

Cajungal

Cajungal

I gots moxie, I tells ya!


#244



makare

ElJuski said:
But does that mean that the rest of us have to stop if we understand that? Look, I understand toning down, but I'm never going to be the "AWWW POOR BOOBOO" and HUGS guy.
Click to expand...

Yeah I am not really like that either. However I will never find cruel jokes funny. Degrading other people for amusement isn't a joke anyway. It is just mean.

I get sick of seeing "it's a joke" used as "yeah I meant what I said but if I say 'it's a joke' I don't have to take responsibility for it"

So basically I am all for people toning it down. Way the hell down.


#245

GasBandit

GasBandit

Ha!


#246

Jake

Jake

Fun Size said:
Good to see you back, Jake.
Click to expand...
Consider this a probationary reevaluation. Impress me...


#247

GasBandit

GasBandit

Jake said:
Consider this a probationary reevaluation. Impress me...
Click to expand...


#248



SeraRelm

Yet still you do.


#249

GasBandit

GasBandit

SeraRelm said:
Yet still you do.
Click to expand...
But I don't HAVE to.


#250



SeraRelm

Your motivation doesn't concern me, merely your results.:)


#251

Allen who is Quiet

Allen who is Quiet

PatrThom said:
Instead, it's more like a huge Internet water cooler where reasonably like-minded individuals go to hang out to shoot the [interesting tidbits] among ourselves.
Click to expand...
>=O

SIMILES?!



#252



SeraRelm

You flip tables like Juskrill drops bass!



Also, I think we have a pretty good idea of what's going on, where it's going, and where we want it to go.


#253

PatrThom

PatrThom

Allen who is Quiet said:
>=O
Click to expand...
Allen who is Quiet said:
SIMILES?!
Click to expand...
Heh. I was going to say "flip a table together" instead of "shoot the [tidbits]" but I wasn't sure you would get your cue to jump on it.

I guess I needn't have worried.

--Patrick


#254

ScytheRexx

ScytheRexx

Wish I had something to say to this, but I can't seem to find the words I want.

I will just get some stuff out quickly. I like this place because it has a lot of unique, varied people. You have the nice guys, you have the dicks, you have the geeks, you have the "bros", and you have the Charlies. Yes, sometimes a poster can annoy you, sometimes it gets to a point you spend a day arguing some point with them over and over. In the end though, it kept life interesting.

I don't post enough to really get into all the drama. I do have my own drama, for instance my marking as the "Blizzard Fanboy" because I can be White Knight them a lot on some topics, but I just let it go, wash off me. I take much more crap from people on the phone at work, and I sure don't mind a discussion as long as people make sense, even when I find it counter to my own views.

Really, I don't think this place needs a theme or a focus, nor do I think over-moderation is the answer. What may need to happen is for every guy that kind of decides to act like a dick, maybe more of us that like to be civil need to speak up more in defense. I know I can be pretty bad about chiming in when drama is concerned, often leaving the person I agree with cornered and alone. That is something I should work on.


#255

KCWM

KCWM

A lot has been said already, but I'll add my two cents anyway:

I pulled back my involvement some time ago because of what I perceived as overwhelming negativity. I didn't experience any specifically towards me that I can remember, but it was more of the mood of this place. I started lurking and posted from time to time, sometimes a little more than others, but I didn't miss this place.

I think Makare has a point when they said that people made really harsh comments towards another member and then backed off with the whole, "LOL JK" attitude...not being held accountable for what they said by hastily labeling it as a joke. That's simply not cool, and not what I come to this place to read.

I've been around as long as many of the old guard have. I've seen the growth, stagnation, growth again cycle of this place. There are personalities here that I really like and like reading what they have to say. I can come here for pop culture related stuff I don't get from the other boards I visit, and I find myself agreeing with a lot of the opinions or appreciating the dissenting opinion.

I'm all for this forum having freedoms that other forums don't, but I do think that the accountability for posts needs to be enforced more. If we are a self-policing forum, I haven't seen enough of that in the past. Believe me, I'm thick skinned and often couldn't care less what some random poster says to me, but that doesn't meant that everyone is and this has to be taken into consideration. At the same time, I don't think that the rules and/or expectations for this place can be modeled on the thinnest-skinned of our posters.

Do I have an answer? No. That being said, I definitely think it'd be a mistake for you, Dave, to step down as admin. You are the reason we even have a home. It's a home that I'm trying more to visit and take part in, but it's not exactly a place I'd suggest my friends visit and join...at least not right now. Hopefully, that will change.


#256



Amebix

Something like a music sub forum could draw new people in, it's a somewhat under discussed subject outside of a few threads.


#257

Charlie Don't Surf

Charlie Don't Surf

is this thread about me


#258

Jay

Jay

Nope.

ckCUk.jpg


#259

LittleSin

LittleSin

Jay!

I laughed.


#260

Charlie Don't Surf

Charlie Don't Surf

well you know what they say

you are what you eat


#261

Cat

Cat

Is cunt still taken out by the filter?


#262

Cat

Cat

Why yes it is


#263

Frank

Frank

Cat said:
Is smelly lady part still taken out by the filter?
Click to expand...
Yet I can call you a dick munching cock gobbling dick headed cock faced dick assed mother cockdick.


#264

Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

Fuck censorship


#265

fade

fade

Frank said:
Yet I can call you a dick munching cock gobbling dick headed cock faced dick assed mother cockdick.
Click to expand...
That's just what my mommy called me when she tucked me in at night.


#266

Cat

Cat

Frank said:
Yet I can call you a dick munching cock gobbling dick headed cock faced dick assed mother cockdick.
Click to expand...
I can outdebate anyone as long as I can call my opponent a cocksucker.


#267

Charlie Don't Surf

Charlie Don't Surf

Cat said:
I can outdebate anyone as long as I can call my opponent a cocksucker.
Click to expand...
ah yes, the fine Deadwood School of Debate


#268

Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

Charlie Don't Surf said:
is this thread about me
Click to expand...



It hasn't been the same without you, so we're all "want Charlie". But I'm pretty sure everyone will turn on you again when the trollery resumes.


#269



makare

that makes hf sound like an abusive mother....


#270

Null

Null

makare said:
that makes hf sound like an abusive mother....
Click to expand...
I thought we were Kurtz' abused stepchildren.


#271

Adam

Adam

Null said:
I thought we were Kurtz' abused stepchildren.
Click to expand...
Redheaded step-children!


#272

checkeredhat

checkeredhat

Adam said:
Redheaded step-children!
Click to expand...
6a00e54ee7b64288330133f2ac8e97970b-500wi.jpg


(I know, he was adopted, he's not a step child. Still. That's what I thought I of)


#273



SeraRelm

The soulless.


#274

Gusto

Gusto

The Daywalkers.


#275

Adam

Adam

And people wonder why I started shaving my head so short. To hide my gingerness!


#276

Krisken

Krisken

Adam said:
And people wonder why I started shaving my head so short. To hide my gingerness!
Click to expand...
But don't you lose your ginger-powers when you do?


#277



makare

Null said:
I thought we were Kurtz' abused stepchildren.
Click to expand...

The abused become the abusers. *Sniff* Stop the circle of violence!


#278



▍▍▍▍▍▍

makare said:
The abused become the abusers. *Sniff* Stop the circle of violence!
Click to expand...


#279

fade

fade

kanye.jpg


#280

David

David

I'm just calling him/her "Blocky."


#281

Krisken

Krisken

David said:
I'm just calling him/her "Blocky."
Click to expand...
I call the big one Bitey.


#282



▍▍▍▍▍▍



#283

ElJuski

ElJuski

pretty sure it's Crone.


#284

Officer_Charon

Officer_Charon

That would be my guesstimate, aye.

*waves*


#285

Null

Null

That's the assumption I've been operating under.


#286



▍▍▍▍▍▍




#287

Null

Null

Wrong? Well, that's a shame.


#288

fade

fade

Crone? Flowery centered text doesn't seem like her thing.


#289

DarkAudit

DarkAudit

Troll is troll.


#290

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

After the recent blow-up I had a few weeks ago and the subsequent drama, I actually logged off, deleted the bookmark and intended on not coming back. Of course, I'd lurk once in a blue moon and I suddenly had nowhere to discuss nerdy things like I did before. I'll be honest, I'm not even sure if I want to come back, but seeing this thread, I had to throw in my two cents.

This place is amazing, welcoming, and a supportive community. Most times. I really have nothing against anyone and don't hold a grudge against anyone. That said, there are some here that create a volatile, unwelcoming, bullying environment sometimes. It's not that they're bad people, but their behaviour sometimes gives the forum as a whole a bad name because of their overbearing presence. It's a couple of things: 1) They don't let up when it's clear someone's getting upset and it's usually then that they start to take things way too far. 2) When they attack, they go for the emotional jugular, with scathing, hurtful remarks. 3) Several of these people tend to gang up on the target. 4) They constantly defend themselves with, "LOL. You need thicker skin" when maybe they should reconsider what it is they're saying. It's similar to Charlie in a lot of ways. Charlie I honestly have little issue with, but he frames the things he says in such a way that it's almost impossible not to expect a reaction. The same is applied to this group. They may see it as joking or jabbing or whatever, but to the receivers of those words, they're hurtful. It's not a matter of having a thicker skin, it's a matter of backing off when the person is upset and not adding gas to the fire (actual gas, not the Bandit variety).

And yes, I'll fully admit that there are times that I overreact and flip out (such as the incident that convinced me to leave in the first place; similar to other incidents). In my defence, I say two things:
1) I have depression and been fighting it for nearly two decades now. Most times...most times...I can handle the badgering or the bullying comments and joke back. But it's when I'm down in the dumps that those hurtful words can trigger an emotional reaction. And because I honestly have very little in the way of social activity this past year, I have very few places to unleash some of that inner anger. Even without the depression, I fully admit that I'm a sensitive guy, sometimes overly sensitive. And when I do lash out, it's best to just let it go and let me cool off. Believe me, when I do cool off, you can fully expect - and rightfully deserve - an apology.
2) I was relentlessly bullied in Middle School. Not only at school, but on the school bus rides to and from school, at home (many of the bullies live in my neighbourhood) and around town in general. The way they treated me there reminds me far too much of the way some people treat others on here, so of course, it's going to be a trigger for me. I don't appreciate bullying tactics, which can include verbal jabs and personal attacks.

Honestly, I don't know what to suggest. The people who this post is aimed at won't change. And as I said, I honestly don't think anyone on here is a bad person. It's just the teenager-like behaviour that some have when they lash out at others that gives this place a bad name.

I'm still on the fence about bothering to return at all, truth be told. I try to treat everyone with respect (try being the operative word; I took many a jab at Charlie, for example, and there was the whole kerfuffle with Mathias) and expect the same in return, that's all. I don't openly try to attack someone or put them down because lord knows I've been there enough times myself. And again, I just expect the same in return, that's all. And most times on this forum, I get that respect. But I shouldn't have to keep returning here only to be bullied like I was in Middle School by people who should be adults.


#291



SeraRelm

Not to attack you, or defend others, but saying they're acting like teenagers and in the next couple of sentences, tell us you react like a teenager... I'm not sure what ground you're trying to stand on here.

Again, not jumping on you or defending the actions of others. I'm just pointing something out that doesn't hold up and I doubt you intended it as such.


#292

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Sorry, I didn't. And I don't mean to say that they act like teenagers all the time. It's just when they throw the hurtful barbs. And I didn't say I act like a teenager; I said that those kind of remarks remind me of incredibly hurtful times for me; times which quite honestly factor in largely to the depression and low self-esteem I have today.

Though I fully admit that my own reactions aren't exactly mature sometimes, either.


#293

Cajungal

Cajungal

I really do wonder sometimes--bouncing off of some of what Nick's saying--how many people behave in real life how they behave here. What I mean is, when someone is visibly upset, needling and nagging them about getting thicker skin. Even when I know that my intentions weren't unkind, I can't help but back off when someone is really upset or offended. Are people afraid that this makes them weak? Nothing can really be gained by going any further. To me, the best thing to do is to say, "I didn't mean to upset you," and drop it. That way, if you don't like apologizing when you don't feel you're in the wrong, you're at least offering up some kind of message of goodwill.

I agree that sometimes people have overreacted and just needed to learn more about a person's humor. Sometimes it truly is a question of whether or not someone can take the tone of this place. However, there are better ways to communicate that than people have used. "Come on, toughen up!" Have you ever responded positively to this when you felt angry? Do you enjoy having people nag you about your personality flaws when you feel wronged? And the sheer volume of those "get thicker skin" posts is shocking sometimes. Do people really believe that the super-unique way that they're criticizing someone is going to make them do a complete 180? We all know how well that works. Chances are, if you stop doing whatever was rubbing that person the wrong way, they'll realize faster that they overreacted. Hell, they might even apologize to you. It isn't weak or coddling. It's decency, and people need to learn the difference.

There's a fine line, I guess. Sometimes something really does need to be said; sometimes everyone needs to shut up, go do something constructive with their time and cool off. It's a judgment call. There is a happy medium between being an annoying Care Bear-person and the type of person who says callous things and somehow feels qualified to judge a person they only know through an internet forum. We have no clue what people here really go through. What's more important 95% of the time-- Saying the annoying thing that we think is somehow important or giving a fellow human being a break?

Bah, anyway... I don't always feel this way. There have also been times when I also want to post Oh my GOD, why are you here?! Get over it, you giant baby.

I'll reiterate one thing: New people, I recommend that you ease yourself in by just starting to post in everyday threads as if you've always been here. It's a smoother transition.

Anyway... sorry for the wall of text.


#294



SeraRelm

Ah, you said it was a trigger for you, which implied you reacted in a similar manner to how you used to, ergo like a teenager. It was just a poor choice of words, I guess. As for self esteem, I think only you should have a say in that.

Regardless, I agree that some people won't change, and while I think that's unfortunate sometimes, I would rather find the varying degrees of personalities here than not.


#295

Chad Sexington

Chad Sexington

Cajungal I knew I liked you for a reason.


#296

Cajungal

Cajungal

Chad Sexington said:
Cajungal I knew I liked you for a reason.
Click to expand...
I like you too. ^_^ And if you need another pen pal, PM me!


#297



SeraRelm

Personal Message Sending is the best!


#298

Cajungal

Cajungal

SeraRelm said:
Personal Message Sending is the best!
Click to expand...
We're actually fighting about steak as we speak.


#299

Krisken

Krisken

Cajungal said:
We're actually fighting about steak as we speak.
Click to expand...
I'd argue there are at least 4 other instances of that same conversation in PM as we speak.


#300

Officer_Charon

Officer_Charon

Halforums' Quantum Steak Theory: Someone at any given point on the forums is WRONG about how they like their steak prepared.


#301

Cajungal

Cajungal

Yes. The ones who are afraid of a little blood dripping off their fork and into their baked potato. (Is this where I say "come at me bro?")


#302



SeraRelm

Not a big fan of steak.


#303

Officer_Charon

Officer_Charon

Cajungal said:
Yes. The ones who are afraid of a little blood dripping off their fork and into their baked potato. (Is this where I say "come at me bro?")
Click to expand...
Seej, unto ye, via this aetheric medium called "The Internet," do I render a strike of my knuckles upon thine, and with a cry of "Respect!" do I supply this honor.


#304

Cajungal

Cajungal

Officer_Charon said:
Seej, unto ye, via this aetheric medium called "The Internet," do I render a strike of my knuckles upon thine, and with a cry of "Respect!" do I supply this honor.
Click to expand...
G'ah. Man. I just... You're delightful. :)


#305



SeraRelm

SeraRelm said:
Personal Message Sending is the best!
Click to expand...
Cajungal said:
Yes. The ones who are afraid of a little blood dripping...
Click to expand...


#306

Cajungal

Cajungal

Oh, leemee alone with your gifs. I'm sorry I talked about steak.


#307

Sparhawk

Sparhawk

Cajungal said:
Oh, leemee alone with your gifs. I'm sorry I talked about steak.
Click to expand...
It's okay Cajungal, some people just don't understand what they are missing.


#308

Officer_Charon

Officer_Charon

Steak-jack?


#309

Cajungal

Cajungal

Yeah... I didn't mean to. :( Bad moderator!... not that I've done anything helpful here since I got my new job.


#310



SeraRelm

SeraRelm said:
Personal Message Sending is the best!
Click to expand...
Cajungal said:
Yes. The ones who are afraid of a little blood dripping off their fork and into their baked potato. (Is this where I say "come at me bro?")
Click to expand...


#311

Cajungal

Cajungal

Ohhhhhhhhhh.

Heehee. That's good.


#312

Sparhawk

Sparhawk

I think it's more of a reaction to the serious posts and everyone digesting them.

Yeah, I made a pun, not on porpoise.


#313

PatrThom

PatrThom

Cajungal said:
I really do wonder sometimes--bouncing off of some of what Nick's saying--how many people behave in real life how they behave here.
Click to expand...
I do. I'm pretty much exactly who you would meet if you met me in person. I like it that way.

Less lies to maintain, for one.

--Patrick


#314

DarkAudit

DarkAudit

Officer_Charon said:
Halforums' Quantum Steak Theory: Someone at any given point on the forums is WRONG about how they like their steak prepared.
Click to expand...
That would imply that there are no Real Men on Halforums, because to a Real Man, ALL steak recipes are good.


#315



makare

I am the same in person and on here, for better or worse. I am often amused by people who say stuff like "yeah and then people talk to me somewhere else and im nowhere near as big an asshole as they thought i was." Why not just stop being an asshole on hf? what is it about hf that makes that kind of thing ok? Ah well I don't know.


Also I had steak today that was so fantastically rare that cow deserves cow heaven.


#316

ElJuski

ElJuski

I WONDER WHO SHE'S REFERRING TO


#317



▍▍▍▍▍▍

ElJuski said:
I WONDER WHO SHE'S REFERRING TO
Click to expand...


#318



▍▍▍▍▍▍

DarkAudit said:
Troll is troll.
Click to expand...


#319

Chippy

Chippy

ThatNickGuy said:
That said, there are some here that create a volatile, unwelcoming, bullying environment sometimes.
Click to expand...


#320



▍▍▍▍▍▍



#321

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Chippy said:
Click to expand...


#322



▍▍▍▍▍▍



#323



makare

ElJuski said:
I WONDER WHO SHE'S REFERRING TO
Click to expand...
clearly, it is you.

always you.


#324

Zappit

Zappit

I know I missed most of this conversation, but here's a thought that has been realistically kicked around, and could be possible.

The plan is to get comics back up, led by me and Sin, if she wants in. The collective plan seemed to fall apart.

Dave suggested a blog, and I like that. Let's face it - we're ALL over the place, running the full gamut of geekdom. (Might be a great name for something). Let's own that, and discuss/review/snark all things geek, with a rotating cast of writers. We're not short of opinions, and we could conceivably keep a blog like that running indefinitely, and actually create something legitimate.

Now obviously, giving a select few free-posting rights could lead to some wildness, and that would be counterproductive to the project. What we would need is an editorial board, and to have our writers focus on their particular interests/areas of expertise. This gives better control, a safety-net for Dave for potential shitstorms, and an sense of organization. I was a part of something like this with the blog Way of the Geek, and it was a pretty organized and productive group. We do this thing up right, we could get sponsors, which could help fund this place at no cost to Dave.


#325

Tress

Tress

Zappit said:
Dave suggested a blog, and I like that. Let's face it - we're ALL over the place, running the full gamut of geekdom. (Might be a great name for something). Let's own that, and discuss/review/snark all things geek, with a rotating cast of writers. We're not short of opinions, and we could conceivably keep a blog like that running indefinitely, and actually create something legitimate.
Click to expand...
We're going to need an editor and a copy editor who know what they're doing, and we're going to need writers to actually listen to those people. We're going to need some way to loosely tie things together. We're going to need someone to do an excellent job on web design and layout. But it's all possible, and I think it's the best option.


#326

BananaHands

BananaHands

I could help with video additions to blogs.


#327

Zappit

Zappit

Tress said:
We're going to need an editor and a copy editor who know what they're doing, and we're going to need writers to actually listen to those people. We're going to need some way to loosely tie things together. We're going to need someone to do an excellent job on web design and layout. But it's all possible, and I think it's the best option.
Click to expand...
Dave, Ames, and I were talking about setting up the front page for this. If we do go in this direction, we need to carefully consider who would be a writer - a good reputation, the ability to write clearly and deliver interesting ideas or jokes, and a personality that hasn't been, how should I say this - volatile and immature. A diplomatic nature and the ability to turn the other cheek is an absolute necessity. In other words - we need adults.


#328

ElJuski

ElJuski

As always, I'm ever down for writing.


#329



SeraRelm

But you're volatile and immature.:p


#330

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

ThatNickGuy said:
Wall_of_Text
Click to expand...
You know what I don't get about you ThatNickGuy or anyonelse who's left over being "bullied"? That you've had at least 3x the supportive people, being nice, kind, helpful, and generally "good" to you. People who've talked to you on a personal level, helped with personal things (like books or relationships). Yet you and others are "ready to leave the forum and delete their bookmarks" or "not sure if I want to post anymore".

It boggles the mind how a vocal minority will affect you much stronger than the large, perhaps less vocal majority.


#331

checkeredhat

checkeredhat

ThatNickGuy said:
After the recent blow-up I had a few weeks ago and the subsequent drama, I actually logged off, deleted the bookmark and intended on not coming back.
Click to expand...
Don't you dare.


#332

LittleSin

LittleSin

checkeredhat said:
Don't you dare.
Click to expand...
That's basically what I said. I was very upset.


#333

Bumble the Boy Wonder

Bumble the Boy Wonder

ElJuski said:
As always, I'm ever down for writing.
Click to expand...
If you post stuff like from your LITTOS page, that would be fantastic.


#334

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Shegokigo said:
You know what I don't get about you ThatNickGuy or anyonelse who's left over being "bullied"? That you've had at least 3x the supportive people, being nice, kind, helpful, and generally "good" to you. People who've talked to you on a personal level, helped with personal things (like books or relationships). Yet you and others are "ready to leave the forum and delete their bookmarks" or "not sure if I want to post anymore".

It boggles the mind how a vocal minority will affect you much stronger than the large, perhaps less vocal majority.
Click to expand...
I'd say even 5x. But those people that make me consider leaving make it worse.

To put it in real-world terms, I wouldn't avoid, say, work or school if there were people bullying me there. At least there, I could do something about it. If it's outright bullying, then I have the right and privilege to report them or at the very least threaten with bodily harm. (I've been told that I can be one scary angry dude.) Plus, having the support network in person is entirely different from an internet connection. Believe me when I say I appreciate the support that people have given me on here, but even they'd be the first to admit that it's not the same as having someone in person to vent to or support you.

In this case, it's not just that people seemingly act entirely different from how they would act in the situation in person (as CG questioned), but that I feel entirely powerless to do anything about it. Because as I said, they're not just bullying, but unrelenting and unbashful about it. Which really, brings me back to Cajun's comment about whether they'd act the same in person because I highly doubt they would.


#335



▍▍▍▍▍▍

Shegokigo said:
It boggles the mind how a vocal minority will affect you much stronger than the large, perhaps less vocal majority.
Click to expand...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negativity_bias


#336

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

▍▍▍▍▍▍ said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negativity_bias
Click to expand...
Which for me translates into "depression."


#337



▍▍▍▍▍▍

ThatNickGuy said:
Which for me translates into "depression."
Click to expand...
http://www.bostoncbt.com/aboutcbt


#338

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

ThatNickGuy said:
Which for me translates into "depression."
Click to expand...
Depression has nothing to do with ignoring all the people that support you to listen to 2-3 people that "bully" you. That's "selective hearing".

As for "bullies being different in person" I doubt that highly. I don't think for a second that our "bashers" here act any differently in person.


#339

Jay

Jay

The hell is with this troll account staff team?


#340



▍▍▍▍▍▍

Jay said:
The hell is with this troll account staff team?
Click to expand...


#341

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

Shegokigo said:
Depression has nothing to do with ignoring all the people that support you to listen to 2-3 people that "bully" you. That's "selective hearing".

As for "bullies being different in person" I doubt that highly. I don't think for a second that our "bashers" here act any differently in person.
Click to expand...
You going to start with that again figmentPez ?

ThatNickGuy said:
but even they'd be the first to admit that it's not the same as having someone in person to vent to or support you.
Click to expand...
You're right, it's also not the same as people "bullying" you over the internet.


#342



▍▍▍▍▍▍

Shegokigo said:
Depression has nothing to do with ignoring all the people that support you to listen to 2-3 people that "bully" you. That's "selective hearing".

As for "bullies being different in person" I doubt that highly. I don't think for a second that our "bashers" here act any differently in person.
Click to expand...
Shegokigo said:
You going to start with that again figmentPez?
Click to expand...


#343

PatrThom

PatrThom

20876.strip.gif


--Patrick Scott Adams

Also, IBL.


#344

BananaHands

BananaHands

Jay said:
The hell is with this troll account staff team?
Click to expand...
http://www.clayloomis.com/Sounds/simpsongs1/simsg669b.wav


#345



▍▍▍▍▍▍

BananaHands said:
http://www.clayloomis.com/Sounds/simpsongs1/simsg669b.wav
Click to expand...


#346

bhamv3

bhamv3

I recall someone saying once, "If someone smiles at you while punching you, are you likely to remember the smile or the punch?"

By extension, if five people are smiling at you while one guy is punching you, are you likely to remember the smiles or the punch?

I'm not surprised Nick's found some of his experiences here hard to bear. Seems like human nature to remember the negative stuff more clearly.


#347

Krisken

Krisken

Usually I can shrug it off by remembering a line from a Helmet song-
"I'd rather be insulted by you than someone I respect". Tends to get me far on the internet.


#348

Chippy

Chippy

bhamv3 said:
I recall someone saying once, "If someone smiles at you while punching you, are you likely to remember the smile or the punch?"

By extension, if five people are smiling at you while one guy is punching you, are you likely to remember the smiles or the punch?

I'm not surprised Nick's found some of his experiences here hard to bear. Seems like human nature to remember the negative stuff more clearly.
Click to expand...
Yes a semi-mean thing on the internet is the equivalent to be being punched in the face.


#349

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Shegokigo said:
Depression has nothing to do with ignoring all the people that support you to listen to 2-3 people that "bully" you. That's "selective hearing".
Click to expand...
Nope. Because when I'm depressed, I push everyone away (even in-person supports like my mother) and wallow in my own self pity, focusing only on the negatives. Fun fact: that's depression.

Anyway, can we please not have this argument? I shouldn't have to constantly explain my mental disorder. That's the whole thing about a mental disorder: a lot of times, IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.

So right now, I'm telling you to please drop it.


#350

bhamv3

bhamv3

Chippy said:
Yes a semi-mean thing on the internet is the equivalent to be being punched in the face.
Click to expand...
You have managed to either miss my point completely, or deliberately ignored it.


#351

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Chippy doesn't work with metaphors.


#352

Bones

Bones

people are assholes on the internet, I have experienced insults and alike from people who claim they are being oppressed by bullies(I don't mean specifically on here.). Personally I don't give any of you any heed, since honestly this is the internet, the barbs and insults thrown are effectively negligible since I only have to watch you scream in to the wind.
The only thing I would ever take serious are real threats on the safety and welfare of my family or myself. Other than that the stuff the "bullies" have to say just really doesn't matter to me.


#353

Chippy

Chippy

bhamv3 said:
You have managed to either miss my point completely, or deliberately ignored it.
Click to expand...


#354

Chippy

Chippy

Making fun of Charlie for literally just posting: "Charlie, right? LOL"

Saying the guy with depression might be a bit too sensitive: "No. Not LOL. We are a loving community."


#355

Bones

Bones

chippy, man, you are like the lorax of assholes, since assholes have no mouths in which to speak. :3


#356

checkeredhat

checkeredhat

As I said before, I like the snarkiness of the forum, that to me is honestly a perfectly healthy way for friends to communicate with one another, that being said, if someone expresses that they are uncomfortable with your jokes at their expense, if you are given notification that you are in fact bothering them, you lay off. To me it's that simple.


#357

PatrThom

PatrThom

ThatNickGuy said:
I shouldn't have to constantly explain my mental disorder. That's the whole thing about a mental disorder: a lot of times, IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.
Click to expand...
Is this the hand thing again? It's the hand thing, isn't it.

--Patrick


#358

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Wow, that's a great comic. Thanks PatrThom.


#359

Chippy

Chippy

Bones said:
chippy, man, you are like the lorax of assholes, since assholes have no mouths in which to speak. :3
Click to expand...


#360



SeraRelm

bhamv3 said:
You have managed to either miss my point completely, or deliberately ignored it.
Click to expand...
ThatNickGuy said:
Chippy doesn't work with metaphors.
Click to expand...
While not supporting being a complete douche to someone, I have to agree with Chippy that it's a poor metaphor.

Being the target of physical violence vs a small visual memory? Come on. How about "Are you more likely to recall getting head or getting punched in the face?" or "Are you more likely to remember a frown than a smile?" Those a far better examples.


#361

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Chippy said:
Making fun of Charlie for literally just posting: "Charlie, right? LOL"

Saying the guy with depression might be a bit too sensitive: "No. Not LOL. We are a loving community."
Click to expand...
Hold on, are you comparing me to Charlie "Nearly every comment I make is dropping with trollism" Don't Smurf?


#362

Bones

Bones

checkeredhat said:
As I said before, I like the snarkiness of the forum, that to me is honestly a perfectly healthy way for friends to communicate with one another, that being said, if someone expresses that they are uncomfortable with your jokes at their expense, if you are given notification that you are in fact bothering them, you lay off. To me it's that simple.
Click to expand...
well we cant expect people who are clinically depressed to find this type of environment conducive to their ongoing treatment and recovery, personally I think its madness to stay if you are depressed, this is not the place to be if you are in any negative state of mind. but thats just my two cents.


#363



▍▍▍▍▍▍

Chippy said:
Making fun of Charlie for literally just posting: "Charlie, right? LOL"

Saying the guy with depression might be a bit too sensitive: "No. Not LOL. We are a loving community."
Click to expand...


#364

bhamv3

bhamv3

SeraRelm said:
While not supporting being a complete douche to someone, I have to agree with Chippy that it's a poor metaphor.

Being the target of physical violence vs a small visual memory? Come on. How about "Are you more likely to recall getting head or getting punched in the face?" or "Are you more likely to remember a frown than a smile?" Those a far better examples.
Click to expand...
Okay. Are you more likely to remember getting head than being punched in the face?


#365

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Sounds like my prom night.


#366

Chippy

Chippy

ThatNickGuy said:
Hold on, are you comparing me to Charlie "Nearly every comment I make is dropping with trollism" Don't Smurf?
Click to expand...
It's more of a look on the whole forum's attitude than a comparison. And Charlie posts non-trolling shit sometimes and still deals with it. Or when he's not even around.


#367

PatrThom

PatrThom

ThatNickGuy said:
Sounds like my prom night.
Click to expand...
Heyo!

--Patrick


#368



▍▍▍▍▍▍

bhamv3 said:
Okay. Are you more likely to remember getting head than being punched in the face?
Click to expand...


#369

Bones

Bones

Chippy said:
Click to expand...
man you never fail to make me roll, I needed that...you have brightened up my day of study for gruesome finals, I thank you! as always a gentleman and a scholar.


#370



SeraRelm

ThatNickGuy said:
Sounds like my prom night.
Click to expand...
Because the most memorable moment involved your junk and your hand?:awesome:

bhamv3 said:
Okay. Are you more likely to remember getting head than being punched in the face?
Click to expand...
Depends on how good/bad it was. I've been the recipient of both.


#371

bhamv3

bhamv3

SeraRelm said:
Depends on how good/bad it was. I've been the recipient of both.
Click to expand...
I'll have to take your word for it, cause only one of the two ever happens to me. :(


#372

Krisken

Krisken

bhamv3 said:
I'll have to take your word for it, cause only one of the two ever happens to me. :(
Click to expand...
Who hit you?


#373

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

I've never seen someone so sad to receive so much head.

Wait, hang on...


#374



SeraRelm

I'm more likely to recall a less common event because those are the ones that stand out. Like finding one black some in a drawer full of white socks, it's more noticeable. On the other hand, I'm not going to throw out the whole drawer because of finding one different sock.


Fucking sock racists.


#375



▍▍▍▍▍▍

bhamv3 said:
Okay. Are you more likely to remember getting head than being punched in the face?
Click to expand...
SeraRelm said:
Depends on how good/bad it was. I've been the recipient of both.
Click to expand...


#376

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

All right, look. Here's exactly what it's like to have depression. Word for word:



#377

figmentPez

figmentPez

SeraRelm said:
I'm more likely to recall a less common event because those are the ones that stand out. Like finding one black some in a drawer full of white socks, it's more noticeable. On the other hand, I'm not going to throw out the whole drawer because of finding one different sock.
Click to expand...
A black sock is different, but it's not a bad thing. A muddy sock is uncommon as well, but if one ends up in a drawer full of clean socks, it messes up everything it touches. Not that I think that's a very apt analogy, but I do think that harsh words have an impact, bad attitudes tend to spread, and I don't think it's a good thing to just sit by and let people be jerks. If it's a consistent thing, walking away is a perfectly valid reaction.


#378

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

Whether the "disorder" makes "sense" seems a weak argument when you can admit it and say you realize it.

Isn't there a program where "admitting" is part of the process?

I know you're depressed ThatNickGuy , I've been around through all your ups and downs. I've told you time and again how much you're liked around here and how the vast majority of the forum has always backed and supported you.

If you're still, despite everything you've heard, seen, and heard me tell you, going to talk about "my sabatical from HF" or "I'm not sure I'm going to stay" because 1-2 people "bully" you (which by the way, I can't even recall a single time past "Grow a thicker skin kid" has been thrown your way) then you're going to be miserable and alone for a very long time.

It's one thing to "push people away" accidentally, it's a whole other beast to know you're doing it, acknowledge you're doing it and say "well that's just the disorder I got". I'm already ready for the "dislike button" to light up a candle, but when other people talk about their depression, I don't care. When you do it? It bothers the shit out of me because I KNOW you have a supportive group and next to NOONE actually bothering you.


#379



SeraRelm

Maybe, but you can always remove that sock from your drawer (ignore function). :p


#380

Bones

Bones

ThatNickGuy said:
All right, look. Here's exactly what it's like to have depression. Word for word:

Click to expand...
so being depressed is like being fucking crazy? because that didnt seem to explain anything to me.


#381



SeraRelm

▍▍▍▍▍▍ said:
Click to expand...
Far as I'm aware it's called head cuz you/they put their head down there.


#382

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Pretty sure that's the joke, Bones.


#383

figmentPez

figmentPez

SeraRelm said:
Maybe, but you can always remove that sock from your drawer (ignore function). :p
Click to expand...
Assuming it doesn't get other socks dirty first. That's how it feels when multiple people start saying bad things about you, and then others start siding with them.


#384

Krisken

Krisken

Ok, now I watched it. The only thing that made sense to me was the last line.


#385

Bones

Bones

ThatNickGuy said:
Pretty sure that's the joke, Bones.
Click to expand...
oh ok, thought you were still being serious, you need to let us know when it is funny tng time, and serious I am getting bullied and dont want to be here tng time. Because I thought we were still in the middle of you being a depressed victim of bullying and you were trying to show us in all seriousness what goes through your mind. thanks for clearing it up for me!:D


#386

Adam

Adam

Krisken said:
Usually I can shrug it off by remembering a line from a Helmet song-
"I'd rather be insulted by you than someone I respect". Tends to get me far on the internet.
Click to expand...
Well Mrs Krisken, I think that I will keep that quote with me for the rest of my life. Fantastic.


#387



makare

I am enjoying the sock metaphors here. Reminds me of the Wayside School books...


#388

Krisken

Krisken

Adam said:
Well Mrs Krisken, I think that I will keep that quote with me for the rest of my life. Fantastic.
Click to expand...
That goes for you, too, Posehn.


#389

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Shegokigo said:
Whether the "disorder" makes "sense" seems a weak argument when you can admit it and say you realize it.

Isn't there a program where "admitting" is part of the process?

I know you're depressed ThatNickGuy , I've been around through all your ups and downs. I've told you time and again how much you're liked around here and how the vast majority of the forum has always backed and supported you.

If you're still, despite everything you've heard, seen, and heard me tell you, going to talk about "my sabatical from HF" or "I'm not sure I'm going to stay" because 1-2 people "bully" you (which by the way, I can't even recall a single time past "Grow a thicker skin kid" has been thrown your way) then you're going to be miserable and alone for a very long time.

It's one thing to "push people away" accidentally, it's a whole other beast to know you're doing it, acknowledge you're doing it and say "well that's just the disorder I got". I'm already ready for the "dislike button" to light up a candle, but when other people talk about their depression, I don't care. When you do it? It bothers the shit out of me because I KNOW you have a supportive group and next to NOONE actually bothering you.
Click to expand...
First of all, thank you so very much for not dropping this as I asked.

Second, believe me, I have been told numerous times to grow a thicker skin or something similar to it. Whether you've seen it is irrelevant; it's been said. Some public, some private.

Third, I never said I push people away accidentally. I do it completely purposely...while I'm depressed. And I mean deep depression to the point of saying "Screw it, I'm going back to bed" rather than deal with the world. It's not rational. There's no rationale behind it. Because again, it's a flipping mental disease. If I could explain or understand the rationale behind it, I wouldn't likely be depressed as often. It's something I'm still trying not to do but I can't help it sometimes. And frankly speaking, this past year has not been easy for me because I've had little to no in-person support network while living here in Maine.


#390



SeraRelm

Can't get 'em dirty if you got rid of it already.


#391

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

ThatNickGuy , you get upset at my reply, when you can't even see how much I was complimenting you.

That's your "choice".


#392

Adam

Adam

Krisken said:
That goes for you, too, Posehn.
Click to expand...
*clears throat and begins reading from a cue card* I'd rather be insulted by you than someone I respect.

*heh*

But no seriously, I love that quote.


#393

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Maybe it's because I'm tired and maybe it's because I'm currently recovering from a bout with depression this past weekend, but I didn't really see compliments there. Criticizing, yes, but not compliments.

Anyway, I'm hitting the sack. Still have final projects to finish for this term.


#394

Krisken

Krisken

Adam said:
*clears throat and begins reading from a cue card* I'd rather be insulted by you than someone I respect.

*heh*

But no seriously, I love that quote.
Click to expand...
As do I, sir, as do I.

Wait a sec, when did your name get shortened?


#395

Adam

Adam

That poor sack. Never saw it coming :(


#396

Adam

Adam

Krisken said:
As do I, sir, as do I.

Wait a sec, when did your name get shortened?
Click to expand...
Using real names is hip and trendy, like Jay, Mathias, Airwolf etc. I wanted on that bus.


#397

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

Adam said:
That poor sack. Never saw it coming :(
Click to expand...


#398



SeraRelm

Adam said:
That poor sack. Never saw it coming :(
Click to expand...
I'm sure if you asked Nick nice enough...

And it may be more memorable than a punch in the face!


#399

bhamv3

bhamv3

So, what's the sack more likely to remember, Nick hitting it, or being punched in the face?


#400

figmentPez

figmentPez

makare said:
I am enjoying the sock metaphors here. Reminds me of the Wayside School books...
Click to expand...
I was going more for these:
760148.jpg


#401

figmentPez

figmentPez

SeraRelm said:
Can't get 'em dirty if you got rid of it already.
Click to expand...
Blocking people on the forum stops me from seeing them. It doesn't stop other people from seeing them, and if those other people then listen and agree, then it still affects me.


#402

Chippy

Chippy

figmentPez said:
Blocking people on the forum stops me from seeing them. It doesn't stop other people from seeing them, and if those other people then listen and agree, then it still affects me.
Click to expand...


#403



makare

figmentPez said:
I was going more for these:
View attachment 5950
Click to expand...
I loved that series!


#404



SeraRelm

figmentPez said:
Blocking people on the forum stops me from seeing them. It doesn't stop other people from seeing them, and if those other people then listen and agree, then it still affects me.
Click to expand...
Wait, so people aren't allowed to agree with each other if you don't also agree with it? I can't believe you actually feel that way. Would you like to restate this differently?


#405

figmentPez

figmentPez

SeraRelm said:
Wait, so people aren't allowed to agree with each other if you don't also agree with it? I can't believe you actually feel that way. Would you like to restate this differently?
Click to expand...
Sorry, if someone lies about me, and others believe it, then that affects me.


#406



SeraRelm

Ok BH, now you can start posting puppies.


#407

Bumble the Boy Wonder

Bumble the Boy Wonder

SeraRelm said:
Ok BH, now you can start posting puppies.
Click to expand...
I think we all need to adopt a shtick


#408



makare

I think he means more like the times when people start tag teaming certain people based on the initial actions of one person. You might have the other person on ignore and not have to see what they write but the volatile nature of their posts can still have a generally bad effect.


#409

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

Oh shit, you mean the ignore feature doesn't let you see part of a conversation you might be interested in? Damn, well maybe there should be an option to click the post and read it while still hiding all the other posts by that person.

:problemo:


#410

Krisken

Krisken

Blood in the water.


#411

Bumble the Boy Wonder

Bumble the Boy Wonder

I thought I'd add some constructive input to the idea regarding blogs.

Ballllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllsss.


#412

checkeredhat

checkeredhat

Krisken said:
Blood in the water.
Click to expand...


#413

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

Not just blood in the water....

It's a BLOOD OCEAN:


#414



SeraRelm

"There's blood on his face! My god! There's blood everywhere!"


#415

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

SeraRelm said:
"There's blood on his face! My god! There's blood everywhere!"
Click to expand...
I sang that a few times over the course of the weekend. To some odd glances.

Also the few times I heard the word cannibal, I whispered "Shia Labaouf".


#416

Frank

Frank

makare said:
I think he means more like the times when people start tag teaming certain people based on the initial actions of one person. You might have the other person on ignore and not have to see what they write but the volatile nature of their posts can still have a generally bad effect.
Click to expand...
I believe that's a price you pay for the ignore feature.


#417



SeraRelm

Got it stuck in everyone's head at work.


#418

Krisken

Krisken

Frank said:
I believe that's a price you pay for the ignore feature.
Click to expand...
Small price, imo.


#419



makare

Frank said:
I believe that's a price you pay for the ignore feature.
Click to expand...
What?

The point is that you can ignore someone, which is awesome, but they can still lead their assholes friends against you. It isn't like seeing what someone says and defending yourself does anything around here. Then you hear that you are white knighting, have no sense of humor, or need a thicker skin.

It isn't the price you pay for using the ignore function. it is the price you pay for being on the forum.


#420

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

Frank said:
I believe that's a price you pay for the ignore feature.
Click to expand...
But Frankiiiiiiiiieeeeeee, I want to eat my cake tooooooooo! :cry:


#421

Frank

Frank

makare said:
What?

The point is that you can ignore someone, which is awesome, but they can still lead their assholes friends against you. It isn't like seeing what someone says and defending yourself does anything around here. Then you hear that you are white knighting, have no sense of humor, or need a thicker skin.

It isn't the price you pay for using the ignore function. it is the price you pay for being on the forum.
Click to expand...
I don't even know what you're arguing.


#422



SeraRelm

If you love it so much, why don't you Marie it!

Way to ninja my reply spot, Frank.


#423



makare

The ignore function is awesome there is very little downside to it.

I am saying that as great as it is to be able to ignore someone, and it is, those people still affect the rest of the forum. They are like a disease that eventually makes everything crap. The crap disease. I love being able to enjoy the forum without seeing them but they are still out there making it crap.


#424

Frank

Frank

Well, that is your opinion.


#425



makare

yes I am just glad you finally understand what it is.


#426

bhamv3

bhamv3

Bumble the Boy Wonder said:
I think we all need to adopt a shtick
Click to expand...
Well I've got a shtick.
:unibrow:


#427

figmentPez

figmentPez

Frank said:
I believe that's a price you pay for the ignore feature.
Click to expand...
Missing the point. While the ignore feature does allow me to ignore a poster who makes me upset, it doesn't do anything to stop a poster from making the forum a worse place in general. Saying "just ignore the jerks" is okay if it's just two posters who irritate each other, but blinders don't help if there's a deeper problem.


#428



SeraRelm

Some of those people have been around a long time. That isn't an excuse for douchiness, just pointing out that the "disease" isn't really spreading that much.


#429



makare

This thread really exists in order to deal with that type of problem. The awareness of it and the willingness to do anything about it comes and goes.

Maybe it is more like herpes... we only do anything when the outbreak gets bad enough. (is there a not so bad herpes outbreak.. I dunno anything about it personally >.>)


#430



▍▍▍▍▍▍

SeraRelm said:
If you love it so much, why don't you Marie it!
Click to expand...

Did you think I'd forget the previous page?
-NR


#431



makare

I dont know what the gif is but i hope it is of marie antoinette...


#432

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

SeraRelm said:
Some of those people have been around a long time. That isn't an excuse for douchiness, just pointing out that the "disease" isn't really spreading that much.
Click to expand...
But we're killing the forum Sera! It's disappearing! It's going to be a shit hole full of shit lords! Just ask Chippy !


#433

Null

Null

Sock racism, forum herpes, and the ignore button: Tonight on Halforums.


#434

Chippy

Chippy

dude so many shit lords.

like everywhere


#435



makare

I am not a sock racist. Some of my best friends are socks.


#436

Frank

Frank

figmentPez said:
Missing the point. While the ignore feature does allow me to ignore a poster who makes me upset, it doesn't do anything to stop a poster from making the forum a worse place in general. Saying "just ignore the jerks" is okay if it's just two posters who irritate each other, but blinders don't help if there's a deeper problem.
Click to expand...
You can't have a forum tailor itself to you, especially one so old.

Edit - I'll expand. While you and Makare think this place has people that shouldn't be here and make it worse. I'd imagine you'd find as many or more that disagree.


#437



SeraRelm

I do feel like this is being over exaggerated, by the way. Describing someone as a disease because of some jerk posts or mannerisms? Wanting (or seeming to) excise the opinions of others for disagreeing with yours? That doesn't seem like a better forum.

Its a place to exchange ideas and viewpoints regardless of what we agree or disagree on and I wouldn't want to block out any of it.



Except for Juski. That dude wubs too much.


#438

Shegokigo

Shegokigo



#439



makare

Well, I can't speak for anyone else but what I am talking about is not about agreeing or disagreeing. It is about open hostility towards others coupled with a disregard for others' feelings and lack of responsibility for actions.

If you can't effectively disagree with what someone says without attacking who they are then there is a problem. It is a problem there is too much of around here.


#440

bhamv3

bhamv3

Shegokigo said:
Click to expand...
I now have Gee, Officer Krupke from West Wide Story stuck in my head.


#441

Frank

Frank

I've earned another X, the newest forum meme.


#442

figmentPez

figmentPez

Frank said:
You can't have a forum tailor itself to you, especially one so old.

Edit - I'll expand. While you and Makare think this place has people that shouldn't be here and make it worse. I'd imagine you'd find as many or more that disagree.
Click to expand...
It's not the people, it's the behavior. It's an attitude that ebbs and flows on here, and it only recedes when people get fed up with it and start calling people on acting like assholes.


#443



SeraRelm

Ergo my comment on describing someone(s) as a disease. That's a personal attack and lends little credence to your stance.

I expect better of you, makare !


#444

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

Frank said:
I've earned another X, the newest forum meme.
Click to expand...
I evened that shit right out.


#445

Null

Null

I know I'm an asshole sometimes. I hope that most of the time I'm not, but I can't say that it's so. If people choose to ignore me because it makes their forum experience less stressful, or if they can't fucking stand me, that's cool. They should have that option.


#446



SeraRelm

Side note, I'd expect the people you say are acting like assholes might feel the same way about you. I can't speak for them, of course, but I'd not be surprised by this.


#447



makare

Eh, it's pretty vague for a personal attack. Like Pez said the people I am describing are ones who act a certain way so it is really the behavior that is the problem. Unfortunately through a text based medium all we really get is the behavior.


#448

Frank

Frank

Shegokigo said:
I evened that shit right out.
Click to expand...
S'cool. The X is basically meaningless after the other night.

I like you Barcode.


#449



▍▍▍▍▍▍

Null said:
I know I'm an asshole sometimes. I hope that most of the time I'm not, but I can't say that it's so. If people choose to ignore me because it makes their forum experience less stressful, or if they can't fucking stand me, that's cool. They should have that option.
Click to expand...

Nnnnope.
-NR


#450



makare

every anime girl has a crotch weasel under her skirt.


#451

Null

Null

makare said:
every anime girl has a crotch weasel under her skirt.
Click to expand...
As opposed to Emerys, who has a Doomweasel under her skirt.


#452



makare

Maybe she'll let us pet it...


#453



▍▍▍▍▍▍

makare said:
Maybe she'll let us pet it...
Click to expand...

Move along, folks...
-NR


#454

bhamv3

bhamv3

I really gotta stop checking this thread while here at work, all these big anime girls pics are earning me some odd looks.


#455



SeraRelm

Why?


#456

Bumble the Boy Wonder

Bumble the Boy Wonder

They're wondering why he isn't on his usual tentacle porn sites.


#457



makare

Yeah I miss my image block when I am at work.


#458



SeraRelm

Oh, it's not "too far" enough.


#459



makare

I don't log in at work so it doesn't block anything.


#460



SeraRelm

makare said:
I don't log in at work so it doesn't block anything.
Click to expand...
wouldn't that count as blocking 100% of the boards? :p


#461



makare

maybe?


#462



▍▍▍▍▍▍

SeraRelm said:
Oh, it's not "too far" enough.
Click to expand...

Nothing to see here.


#463

Null

Null



#464

Null

Null



#465

DarkAudit

DarkAudit

mr_thehun said:
What you actually saw them? I figured you had 75% of the forum blocked by now.
Click to expand...
I stopped bothering with the ignore function when I found it broke the boards. Threads started by an ignored person would never appear, no matter who else posted in that thread. Easier to just scroll past the crap or never click on the threads that have become nothing but crap.


#466

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

Nope. Didn't you hear? We're a disease.


#467



▍▍▍▍▍▍

bhamv3 said:
I really gotta stop checking this thread while here at work, all these big anime girls pics are earning me some odd looks.
Click to expand...

Nope, nothing at all.
-NR


#468

Null

Null

Halforums: Get The Fever!


#469

Officer_Charon

Officer_Charon

Halforums: Kawaii Desu~!


#470



▍▍▍▍▍▍

Officer_Charon said:
Halforums: Kawaii Desu~!
Click to expand...

We are watching you.
-NR


#471



makare

null must be destroyed.


#472

Officer_Charon

Officer_Charon



#473

Null

Null

I'm too adorable to destroy.



#474



makare

well played.


#475



▍▍▍▍▍▍

Officer_Charon said:
Click to expand...

Wait, what?
-NR


#476

Null

Null

I need to find an anime to words translator.


#477

Frank

Frank

Null said:
I need to find an anime to words translator.
Click to expand...



#478

North_Ranger

North_Ranger

Ahem. Let's focus on the topic, shall we?

Don't make me go cyborg Viking on your asses.


#479

Krisken

Krisken

This thread


#480

Bones

Bones

quick someone get the sauna-pants auto-cannon its our only defense against the ranger!


#481

fade

fade

No one here really bothers me. Well, except for that one time recently, which surprisingly came from like the least offensive poster on the boards.

There seems to be one GLARING omission in some of the arguments here: just because something doesn't bother you, doesn't mean it doesn't bother someone else. I can't believe I have to say that. What you find "semi-mean" seems to be incredibly mean to enough people here to make a thread or ten about it. Yeah, it could be as offensive or more offensive than a punch in the face. It really depends on which one the receiver finds more offensive, not the giver.


#482

LittleSin

LittleSin

stevefry.jpg


You have a right to be offended. I have a right to offend.

I don't use that right often, mind you, however I like having the option.

People should be more conscious of others feelings but it's not going to stop them from voicing their feelings on the topic or just being a jerk to see what will happen.
I'm not saying we all have to have thick skins...I'm just saying its something you have rethink. "Is this worth getting mad about? Who is this person to me?" In the admittedly few times someone has been 'mean' to me that has been my mantra.


#483

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

I still can't stop laughing at "being a disease".

I'm a very anonymous voice over the internet, but I'm "ruining forums" filled with hundreds of people. It's mind boggling.


#484

Frank

Frank

Yeah, changing everything to meerkats makes MUCH more sense. The fuck?


#485

LittleSin

LittleSin

I'd like to take this time to note that I would marry Stephen Fry.

If he wasn't gay.

And 30 years older than me.

What I'm trying to say is I should fuck Kyle Kallgren.


#486

LittleSin

LittleSin

mr_thehun said:
My god the things that come out of your fingertips, I hope you are this awesome in real life.
Click to expand...
You can always dream.


#487

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

mr_thehun said:
My god the things that come out of your fingertips
Click to expand...
...sounds like my prom night? :Leyla:


#488

jwhouk

jwhouk

Now, see, THAT'S funny.


#489

fade

fade

That Fry quote is all well and good to some degree. I mean, one does have the right to be an asshole, and even to hypocritically whine about the people who call them an asshole (i.e. are offended). The problems that people are complaining about here, though, aren't offense, they're direct personal attacks.


#490

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy



#491

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

So to recap (including from the chat):

-@mr_thehun was involved in my prom night.
-It wasn't me, but Gusto because I'm his alt and the prom night was so horrifying that he created an alternate personality just to cope.


#492

Adam

Adam

LittleSin said:
I'd like to take this time to note that I would marry Stephen Fry.

If he wasn't gay.

And 30 years older than me.
Click to expand...
He's GAY!?!

Sweet, I am so in there.


#493



SeraRelm

LittleSin said:
I'd like to take this time to note that I would marry Stephen Fry.

If he wasn't gay.

And 30 years older than me.

What I'm trying to say is I should fuck Kyle Kallgren.
Click to expand...
Only if he's your dad and it's within 6 hours.


#494

PatrThom

PatrThom

(Arrives in time for the meerkat invasion)
Aww, c'mon. I can't stay awake on this forum 24hrs/day. I'm missing out on all the pathos!

--Patrick


#495



▍▍▍▍▍▍



PatrThom said:
(Arrives in time for the meerkat invasion)
Aww, c'mon. I can't stay awake on this forum 24hrs/day. I'm missing out on all the pathos!

--Patrick
Click to expand...


#496

fade

fade



#497

PatrThom

PatrThom

Screen Shot 2012-05-07 at 10.30.00 AM.png

If you are a) genuinely concerned about the mod's feelings, and b) serious about sharing, then there is always the "Start Conversation" button. Everybody wins. :cool:

--Patrick


#498

Shegokigo

Shegokigo

Shegokigo said:
Depression has nothing to do with ignoring all the people that support you to listen to 2-3 people that "bully" you. That's "selective hearing".

As for "bullies being different in person" I doubt that highly. I don't think for a second that our "bashers" here act any differently in person.
Click to expand...
People ( Tress Charlie Don't Surf figmentPez ) disagreeing with the fact that Nick has more supporters than attackers? That's pretty low.


#499



▍▍▍▍▍▍

PatrThom said:
View attachment 5956
If you are a) genuinely concerned about the mod's feelings, and b) serious about sharing, then there is always the "Start Conversation" button. Everybody wins. :cool:

--Patrick
Click to expand...


#500

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Shegokigo said:
People ( Tress Charlie Don't Surf figmentPez ) disagreeing with the fact that Nick has more supporters than attackers? That's pretty low.
Click to expand...
Pretty sure they're referring more to the "Depression has nothing to do with ignoring all the people that support you to listen to 2-3 people that "bully" you." comment.


Top