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Roxas
09-17-2015, 12:11 AM
I am making a one thread only return to evaluate the forums and their progression (or lack thereof).

It seems that nobody from the original pokecheats forums has returned. When I saw the merge, it looked like SS had just taken another website's name. I have now figured out the problem with the forums. They are synonymous with social networks. The website lacks a central topic that most forums do. Often, these forums with a focus gain the most active members, with new registration every day.

Just take a look at Kanzenshuu, a popular website database (like pokecheats) and its forums.

http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/

As you can see, the website sticks to one topic: Dragon Ball. All of its forums contain topics on Dragon Ball, or concern the website itself. Notice the lack of a chatbox. They rather have an IRC channel, where all unrelated topics can be discussed.

Basically, everyone on Kanzenshuu can discuss their common interests without the risk of relationships, all because of political topics, a problem present on your forums.

Next, notice the statistics at the bottom. 7418 registered members. Take note, that all members must be manually evaluated by website Administrators before they can fully access their account.

http://www.kanzenshuu.com/about/

There are 4 staff members for both the website AND the forums, adding new content to the WEBSITE consistently (something I have yet to see with the pokecheats website). It is recommended that Pokecheats moves its staff down to a low number, preferably under 10 registered users. It is also needed to evaluate these potential staff members.

Lastly, look at their rules.

http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum-rules/

These are strict rules, and they do take effect on their forums. Pokecheats obviously is not strict with its rules, which is a problem, because bias is allowed to run amok.

I hope you heed my advice. These forums need more organization.

Oh, one more thing: Kanzenshuu itself is a merged website.

P.S. I have been occasionally checking up, I'm still in exile. This is just friendly advice.


From your beloved independent,

-Rohas

sonriopoby123
09-17-2015, 12:16 AM
i am posting this so that people who decide to post snarky comments get shut down. thanks for the advice, person who doesnt use the forums!

Pokemon73
09-17-2015, 12:19 AM
thx but I'm not huge on DB, so no

Starry
09-17-2015, 12:33 AM
First off, way to be a jerk of our "lack of progression." Are you a little salty that one of the only replies to you leaving was that you were being a little unfair to the people who were trying to be opening about you, but you kept pushing them off?

The problem with the forums is that they aren't supposed to be just the forums. There is an article system/homebase that is being updated.

The idea of just restricting it all to one topic seems very stupid, to be honest. Even still, the biggest thread that has almost 100 pages is a Pokemon related one, not to mention all of the other Pokemon news that our mods, Scept, and other users have been actively posting. Making up for the lack of other topic threads with an IRC is just a bad idea and entirely strays away from both Pokecheats and SS history, as BOTH sites had things such as General Discussion, Video Games General, etc.

The idea of having all accounts be checked by mods/admins is also a terrible idea. It makes it look like one of those snooty clubs that you'll see in High School shows or whatever that only take the best members. The way we have it currently makes it a much more welcoming and open community. We don't need to be as uptight as that other place. It'll also put a lot of work onto mods/admins, and you want to LOWER the staff number?

Also, I find it a bit funny that you criticized SS.net for not welcoming you, but now you want to have a rejection system for new users?

I could write more, but meh.

TL;DR: The main draw of the site is still coming soon. We don't need to focus on one topic when that topic is already focused upon in threads already. Having a rejection system looks very rude, and lowering the staff amount so that there are less people to go through all that work is even worse.

Roxas
09-17-2015, 12:37 AM
In DnD we call it being Lawful Neutral. :)

SuperSceptile
09-17-2015, 12:39 AM
i am posting this so that people who decide to post snarky comments get shut down. thanks for the advice, person who doesnt use the forums!

DAMN!


Anyways, the entire point of this forum is that it's a place to socialize. Forcing it to be a certain topic kind of ruins the point. The forums are still pokemon based, we just have other topics we can talk about. Being restrictive helps nobody. I get what you're saying, but if we were as restrictive as that forum, most members would probably leave lol. Sure, we might get new ones, but the people who have supported this place for years will leave. I'd rather get no new members than restrict ourselves like that. Besides, you don't even come here anymore, so it doesn't really matter does it?

Roxas
09-17-2015, 12:45 AM
First off, way to be a jerk of our "lack of progression." Are you a little salty that one of the only replies to you leaving was that you were being a little unfair to the people who were trying to be opening about you, but you kept pushing them off?

The problem with the forums is that they aren't supposed to be just the forums. There is an article system/homebase that is being updated.

The idea of just restricting it all to one topic seems very stupid, to be honest. Even still, the biggest thread that has almost 100 pages is a Pokemon related one, not to mention all of the other Pokemon news that our mods, Scept, and other users have been actively posting. Making up for the lack of other topic threads with an IRC is just a bad idea and entirely strays away from both Pokecheats and SS history, as BOTH sites had things such as General Discussion, Video Games General, etc.

The idea of having all accounts be checked by mods/admins is also a terrible idea. It makes it look like one of those snooty clubs that you'll see in High School shows or whatever that only take the best members. The way we have it currently makes it a much more welcoming and open community. We don't need to be as uptight as that other place. It'll also put a lot of work onto mods/admins, and you want to LOWER the staff number?

Also, I find it a bit funny that you criticized SS.net for not welcoming you, but now you want to have a rejection system for new users?

I could write more, but meh.

TL;DR: The main draw of the site is still coming soon. We don't need to focus on one topic when that topic is already focused upon in threads already. Having a rejection system looks very rude, and lowering the staff amount so that there are less people to go through all that work is even worse.

Not necessarily a system if rejection, rather a system that is used to ensure that bots are kept out. I don't intend to reopen old wounds or enrage anybody. This is a small suggestion for anybody that wishes to take it. I rather meant to be friendly with it, while keeping a bit of realism. Have a fantastic day.

Dabottle
09-17-2015, 12:49 AM
This is clearly just a thinly-veiled attempt to be elitist and advertise your new forum.

We're all having fun here. It's great. Everybody's enjoying themselves. There were never going to be lots of new people because the PokéCheats forums were already dead. Goodbye.

Starry
09-17-2015, 12:51 AM
Except all bots are already taken out within a few minutes-a day, and the worst they've done so far is just end up posting on someone's visitor messages. That site's system makes it just more complicated than it needs to be.

Even if I gave you that one, my other points still remain.

Roxas
09-17-2015, 12:53 AM
Except all bots are already taken out within a few minutes-a day, and the worst they've done so far is just end up posting on someone's visitor messages. That site's system makes it just more complicated than it needs to be.

Even if I gave you that one, my other points still remain.

Ehh, not really an advertising sort. I just thought this was a good example, but hey, not everyone agrees right? And that's cool. I sincerely wish you all the best.

marissachu
09-17-2015, 01:04 AM
I appreciate the idea behind this thread but am opting to shut it down because literally nothing productive can come out of people who actually enjoy their time here fighting with someone who doesn't. I realize there are many problems and things to be improved on, but this thread itself isn't going to get us anywhere.

However, I will briefly respond to some of the comments because that's what I do.

1) It's important to remember the importance of moving to PokeCheats beyond just drawing old members from PokeCheats. Honestly, if one had looked at the site prior to the merger, it would be immediately evident that there was not a large active community to draw in. However, be moving we gain access to an already established site, consolidate the things Garth has to keep track of, move away from the outdated SuperSkarmory image, and revitalize the forums by getting a fresh start. Things have slowed down somewhat from the initial boom but this can be attributed to school starting up and many basic get-to-know-you threads being created already. The community as a whole IS more active than prior to the move, however.

2) Sticking to one topic obviously works for some places, but one of the nice thing about PokeCheats (and formerly SS.net) is that the community itself consists of people with a variety of interests. Many people on the internet don't JUST like Pokemon or JUST like anime and are able to discuss their varied interests and lives in a fairly safe environment with like-minded peeps. I believe that this is invaluable to the people who do appreciate it, though it obviously may not appeal to everyone (which nothing REALLY can).

3) I actually do go through and look at all new users just to verify if they're bots whenever possible. I'd say I ban about 50% of new membership, but this is not represented in the numbers. One of the unfortunate things about the merger is that there are TONS of inactive accounts that existed prior to the merger that would be near impossible to go through manually. It would be possible to create some sort of program that would go through and eliminate all users fitting certain criteria, but doing so doesn't particularly benefit anyone and really just puts more work on Garth. Additionally, we gain nothing from setting up unnecessary hoops for people to go through to become part of the community.

4) I get that it's very easy to say that there's a limited number of people active on the forums from the staff, but it's important to also remember that a lot more goes on that isn't visible. Most reddits and forums are NOT primarily staff involved, with the user base making the significant majority of posts and the staff working on moderating and doing stuff behind the scenes. Although there are arguably a few staff members who do less work than others, everyone contributes in some way and has been kept for a reason. Reducing our numbers really does nothing except for create potentially bitter people who won't want to be involved anymore.

5) We do have rules??? Although we may not be constantly running through people's posts and deleting each singular one that maybe isn't worthy of post count or points, we do attempt to our best extent to keep a watchful eye for anything that may be destructive or harmful. If people do not report when things are offensive to them or hurtful (WITH THE PROPER REPORT FUNCTION), then there's usually little need to go in and intervene. We trust the small but steady community to self-regulate to an extent and to avoid really toxic behavior. Were I to see something really awful, I have and would take action against it in whatever form I saw necessary.

6) You're not in exile, but no one is forcing you to be a part of our forums either. If you want to go enjoy that DBZ forums, awesome! We're happy you've found someplace you enjoy. However, there is no place here for people that hate being here. Hate is contagious and horrible, and just as there's no use in insulting a person you hardly know about all of the flaws you find so horrific, there is no need to casually walk in and **** on the forums. We're constantly attempting to improve, with the home page slowly (thanks to Zach) becoming a decent source of information, and with things like the RP and Mafia being revitalized thanks to some supa cool members. If you do not enjoy your time here, you do not have to come, but do not take out your dislike of the forums by continually returning and turning against the members. We will continue to improve, and if our speed or changes don't fit your taste, then I'm sorry. I hope you find somewhere that you do enjoy.