Renault on 16/5/2012 at 03:38
You guys are a bit defensive, I guess I'm not doing a good job of making my point.
What I'm trying to say is something like this - to most of the people who come here, the whole "Facebook vs. TTLG" thing isn't even an issue. Most users who come here probably aren't even aware of the debate itself, or this "divide' the Stitch referenced in his most recent post. The stop by and do their gaming stuff and then move on.
Maybe I'm just putting too much stock into points made and things said by certain people in this thread, but it's pretty doubtful that some social networking group is ever going to replace the gaming forums here. Could it replace CommChat, a strictly social forum? Yeah, and it probably will some day.
Muzman on 16/5/2012 at 05:33
It seems like you've talked yourself around to what this conversation is actually about there, mostly.
There was never much more to it than how to keep the community component of TTLG alive. These things only exist because someone's gaming forum was so lively that the users became familiar enough to warrant one. At all times that was never more than a fraction of the entire user base.
Scots Taffer on 16/5/2012 at 07:32
Brethren, I'm not the type to hold a grudge (really, I'm not) but I have good recall for patterns of behaviour.
Quote Posted by Brethren
I think the reality is the old school Commchatters are disappearing one by one, and so that's somehow viewed as this place going to hell (it might be an improvement).
Quote Posted by Brethren (few posts later)
Jeez, lighten up man, this is all about gaming.
Very similar to your stroll into this thread with a throwaway "delete CommChat, who cares about it" line, stroll out and return with a "oh hang on guys calm down this is all about games".
That you dislike CommChat, or maybe just the regular posters, is clear, but please be relatively aware that you (and people like Avalon) are quite clearly stuck back in 2009 as it relates to CommChat vs ANYBODY.
And just to prove that I'm capable of self-awareness, if I was true to the same behaviour patterns as in 2009 I'd already be posting "lol" and .gifs as replies.
Muz is right, a Community Chat area just shows that at one stage this place could be about games AND people shooting the shit, not some weird exclusivity of either one.
Briareos H on 16/5/2012 at 08:42
Now I don't even know what this thread is about
scumble on 16/5/2012 at 10:49
It would be pleasant if threads like this didn't emerge in the first place. It really doesn't matter which forum is more "important". People come to TTLG for different reasons, and the sensible long term members still about have pointed that out. It just so happens that the Thief Games have attracted a certain strain of discerning gamer leading to a relatively interesting non-gaming forum at times. It would be more fun these days if certain people were still around and hadn't managed to have silly rows or move on for one reason or another.
Without Community Chat TTLG in general would have a bit less colour, because when the temporary interest in games passes there is a constant to the community that exists as long as the members are still alive (as well as the actual server hosting the site).
I still miss the vibe of several years ago mind you.
Muzman on 18/5/2012 at 09:52
Yes to all of that (and to added forum scumble in general)
...sooo, where were we?
Compressing the forums?
Seems like a good start. The admins will probably baulk, a bit at least, because it's a big job potentially. It'd be good if there was some way to crowdsource it or something (or bunchsource or whatever).
scumble on 18/5/2012 at 13:21
At the moment spam control is the main thing going on - the extra hands on task so far have mopped up things so quickly I haven't actually needed to do anything yet...
I personally can't see any reason to faff about with the forums - some of them may be a bit dead but it would probably be confusing to lump all the Bethesda fora together, say.
Stitch on 18/5/2012 at 15:02
Here's where we are, as I see it:
First, we need admins who care and are excited to prune and shape TTLG for future growth. Not to knock current admins for what they may or may not be doing behind the scenes, but MsLedd's recent optimization is the first sign I've seen in awhile that this place hasn't been essentially abandoned by the brass. I understand that people move on, real life takes over, etc. but if this place is to thrive it needs active admins, both on a technical level (i.e. keeping the servers purring) and a moderation level (i.e. keeping discourse reasonably civil).
The technical stuff is pretty straightforward and obvious (at least in regard to defining what TTLG needs, not in regard to the actual labor-intensive and yet mostly invisible amount of work needed to achieve it). The moderation stuff is a little more tricky--I'd love active moderation that allows snark and slapping around that is all in good fun, but puts the hammer down fast on threadshitting and activity that discourages participation. I recognize this can be a fine line, but I do think some enforcement is needed to actually make TTLG a place that is reasonably inviting.
Once we have the admins in place, I'd personally like to see abandoned subforums properly abandoned and less popular forums merged, a la ZylonBane's suggestions.
And then, as a final admin-level activity, I'd personally love to see megathreads banished from TTLG. Lock the existing ones, close down the creation of new ones, watch discussion on TTLG instantly bloom when it's suddenly possible to easily find topics of conversation and contribute to them.
Once all of the above has been done, I think a renewed amount of posting will follow. I certainly know I'd be more inclined to participate, for whatever that's worth.
Kolya on 18/5/2012 at 15:24
Agree with all points.
BrokenArts on 18/5/2012 at 15:44
@ Stitch, agreed 100%. Right now, there is no Admin appointed. Someday yes, someone will take the helm. Who ever it is, I hope they'll do a great job with care, I'm sure they will. Mara did a bang up job sprucing things up around here. We all want to see that continue. We do.
The new moderators are working together. The spam is being dealt with quickly. Its a step in the right direction. I'm all for banter, a bit snarky, have fun a sense of civility. But we all know somethings have to be changed. There will be smack downs, some people won't like it, but tough. But not to the point to stifle. Nooo. We want the forum to be a better inviting place, we're for that. We've already had to enforce this morning, I'd like to see some pruning too. Give it time. Change is needed, its coming. Mega threads tend to be a pain in the arse, if you can't keep up, forgetaboutit. I don't have that time to delve in and read 15 pages, or more. Lately, there have been some decent threads, lets keep it going.
We want what you want. Suggestions welcome. We are here to help. We want TTLG to be better than ever.
