Don't publish post count

[Echo84]

Had an interesting comfy discussion on /v/ the other day on the topic of game forums, consensus was that showing user post count attracts weirdos and eventually kills a forum because of "elitism" and endless low quality spam from said weirdos chips away at the whole thing.

Also, do not allow mods to post with a mod-flag or anything of the sort, they can use alts to interact with the community, apparently it takes just one power tripping janitor to destroy a forum for good.

 

[SHaines]

Hey there,

Thanks for the feedback. Can you provide more specific detail on what the specific risks are of having a post count be visible? If you have a specific negative outcome experienced by a forum, providing insight into that as well would be helpful.

For the time being, we're likely to keep these things in place since they seem to work fine on a good number of forums we have running on a ton of different topics. However, if evidence of the destructive nature of that transparency is available, we'd be open to reconsidering.

 

[Echo84]

Hey there,

Thanks for the feedback. Can you provide more specific detail on what the specific risks are of having a post count be visible? If you have a specific negative outcome experienced by a forum, providing insight into that as well would be helpful.

For the time being, we're likely to keep these things in place since they seem to work fine on a good number of forums we have running on a ton of different topics. However, if evidence of the destructive nature of that transparency is available, we'd be open to reconsidering.

That's fine, mate, I have no idea about examples, but at the time it was an interesting thread and thought this is a good opportunity to bring it up (Seeing as the forum is brand spanking new!).

Maybe things like post count/join date and like system etc are needed though, but I reckon keeping an eye on how it affects your community in say, two years from now would be an interesting observation on how these features change the general discourse at least.

It's really cool that you guys started a forum, glad you did. Hope we see cameos here by guys like Logan Decker too!

 

[Colif]

We use the same system over at Tom's Hardware and its been running for much longer than this forum has. We don't find it encourages that many garbage posts and the community is pretty good at reporting any troublemakers. Over there we have an upvote/downvote system on some posts and garbage soon gets rejected.

gamification of forums is just another game. As long as you realise it doesn't mean anything it is healthy. The points here don't matter (will it remain that way?)

 

[jpishgar]

Just to echo some of the other sentiment here - you're absolutely right that post count and even join date sometimes can produce a very terrible culture of elitism in a forum or community. One of our guiding principles is to be welcoming, and that includes acknowledging that there are no born experts - they are created out of newbies by sticking around and asking the questions that might sometimes be viewed as too low level or not worth it to the jaded veterans of the forums.

This is something your community management team here will fight against, and ensure that this forum remains a warm and welcoming place to all levels of skill and interest in PC gaming. There will be denigration of skill or interest level, no dismissal of basic questions or expression of passion in gaming here by a jaded forum aristocracy made that way by dint of pixelcrack and a few errant trophy badges on their profile. All are welcome.

Also, do not allow mods to post with a mod-flag or anything of the sort, they can use alts to interact with the community, apparently it takes just one power tripping janitor to destroy a forum for good.

Multi-username use is tracked closely, sockpuppeting is prohibited by the rules of conduct, and an appeals process exists in-place. If you or anyone ever encounters any moderator or staffer who you feel is abusing mod powers, dispatch an email to community@futurenet.com and we'll review the matter directly.

 

[Inspireless Llama]

I've been a moderator at a gaming forum as well (it was a specific game). Whenever I had to edit a post as moderator, I had to give a reason why I edited a post. Same as users who edited their own post, they could give the option to give a reason why they edited the post.

Would it be an option to see if that's possible here? For example, on that forum you weren't allowed to double post, so when I merged those post, I edited the post and after "edited by a moderator" you could see the reason, in this case "merged double posts." Would that lower the chance of people feeling mod powers were abused by changing posts?

That forum is up since 2007 and always showed a postcount, I personally didn't really nottce negative things about that. Just checked those forums again, in the forums itself the post count is not visible, while selecting a profile to view you can see them.

That forum had parts as well which was a "free forum" with topics unrelated to any specific parts of the game. There would be topics about sports for example, movie recommendations, music etc.

 

[jpishgar]

they could give the option to give a reason why they edited the post.

Would it be an option to see if that's possible here?

Great suggestion! Will implement immediately (if the system allows).

 

[Colif]

Generally if I edit a thread, the only reason is either to make thread easier to read by adding space or to take out abuse.
Very few people want to read a wall of text
I haven't done either of which here yet.
I always put in a line saying I edited it and why

 

[jpishgar]

I think this is less about edits for reading or quality control and more about transparency of rules and moderation. We can be sure to include a minor note if an individual post was edited for content and retained with no infraction. Off topic stuff I'm thinking, mostly.

 

[Inspireless Llama]

I think this is less about edits for reading or quality control and more about transparency of rules and moderation. We can be sure to include a minor note if an individual post was edited for content and retained with no infraction. Off topic stuff I'm thinking, mostly.

I always put in a line saying I edited it and why

That's good. It means that when people see their (or a) post was edited, they know the reason, which helps with transparancy indeed. Even if the post was abusive, an added reason stating "removed abusive content" for example might help. Especially if not the entire post is abusive.

On the forum I was mod at the time real life names were prohibited. When they were used I had to edit the post to remove the name, and named the reason "real life name removed".

 

[jpishgar]

Of note, though - when moderators moderate, they will do so when and where able, privately. We're big believers in the principle of "praise in public, correct in private" in order to preserve the respect of the user.

Personally identifying information is disallowed here, though you may see some reps, staffers, and others using their real names - also for the sake of transparency.

 

[Lee_Bo]

As a current mod at other sites, I personally like post count and titles. If I'm new to a forum, like this one, and post a question or comment on a thread and someone with a "mod type" title quotes me or comments on what I say, it let's me know that they "see" me. To me, that's a great feeling.

 

[Colif]

Some people get rattled if a mod answers them. I have answered threads (on other forums) as a mod and next thing you know, they guy who got answer right has since deleted his account... and I have to assume it was my answering that did it. I am not a scary person

Some people (me included) don't want to get the attention of anyone higher than Mod as talking to admin is scary, if you are just a user. Alas, they noticed me and here I am... sometimes being noticed is a good thing, often mods just notice the troublemakers and overlook those just trying to help and stay out of trouble.

 

[Lee_Bo]

Some people get rattled if a mod answers them. I have answered threads (on other forums) as a mod and next thing you know, they guy who got answer right has since deleted his account... and I have to assume it was my answering that did it. I am not a scary person

Some people (me included) don't want to get the attention of anyone higher than Mod as talking to admin is scary, if you are just a user. Alas, they noticed me and here I am... sometimes being noticed is a good thing, often mods just notice the troublemakers and overlook those just trying to help and stay out of trouble.

And yet, here you are, joining in a conversation as just a normal everyday person. One thing I make a priority is to jump into as many threads as I as a normal everyday user and not someone with a title under their name.