Shoutbox

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Originally posted by Sunshine
If the good helpers can't be bothered anymore then there is something seriously wrong isn't there? Where will these forums end if we give up?

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Absolutely ... Since this post i cut down on my posts as well this is the main reason imo ..... and as ash_ said in his thread too ..... why is there a post about every news in the world .... i could have made a post the other day on the forums that the guy next to me has a new dog now

i didn't sign up to spam.. its just an extra..

i just don't see anything i can help at, im more the techsupprt for hardware and windows based issues.. not msg plus... haven't come across such a  problem yet.. maybe one day

I agree with SunShine.  People should come to this forum for help with Plus! (main reason), not because they see there's a place to chit chat and spam. 

The main reason why I don't help out on these forums as much as before is because when I do go around looking for those in need, I usually encounter a problem that's been solved..or solved incorrectly (which REALLY frustrates me. It's so much more harder to fix the problems caused by incomplete or incorrect help being given, than a problem that there's a known fix for). Most people don't view this as an issue, but when you come to these forums and there are a large number of helpthreads posted and you search through each post only to find spam, incorrect information or incomplete support, you just feel like giving up your search. It not only hinders the supporters but the people that actually SEARCH before posting (as you guys shout the new members to do).

Excuse my language, but searching these forums for support for a problem is truly hell. It takes hours on end just to find the right post with the right information. And if you are a new member, searching for help, you often come across mutliple threads that either same the same thing, something similar or something completely different. Now, when you encounter said threads, what do you do? Do you follow the first posts advice or the second? How do you know which is right? It's a huge issue, searching these forums. It truly is.

It's not the staff's fault, as some of you seem to think but the community's fault. The staff are doing their best to keep these forums clean and it doesn't help when the members are constantly posting off-topic posts, stupid replies or cross-posting (as you guys do). Spam is easy to fight if the community helps each other, but you guys dont' seem to understand the importance of limiting the amount of spam and the amount of incorrect posts and threads being made. The reason the top helpers are top helpers is because they HARDLY EVER post incorrect information. Personally, I never post anything unless I've checked it myself or someone I trust has. I don't just post because it increases my post count (cool!) but because I love to help. Ranks mean little if they haven't been earned legitimately.

Sure, General Chat and Testing and Trashing are fun forums to post in but this forum is more viewed as a support source than a chit chat area. Please consider the feature requested, it would help the helpers a lot.

Honestly guys, if CookieRevised is angry and Sunshine is angry there MUST be something wrong. Please guys, let's work together to fix this problem now and forever. Every community has it's ups and downs and some communities fall because of them. This community will NOT be one of those. The forums are dying as a reliable support source. We need to work hand in hand to bring it to it's peak once again. Instead of shouting the members that do wrong, educate them on what is right and dont' be an ass about it. Please. I'm hoping to bring CookieRevised back but I need your help. The community needs your help. Sunshine warned us and we didn't listen. Everyone gets a second chance, let's not waste ours.

Please, think about it. For the Messenger Plus! community!

I agree with EvilSeph and his comments. While the community has grown, so has the level of useless posts. Being able to turn off T&T in the latest posts page only goes so far. Often topics are full of useless comments. What annoys me most is when people, some of them with hundreds of posts to their name, getting angry and solving nothing, except to get people all the more annoyed in turn. This leads to incomplete support.

When people start posting on this forum, some of them are quite young. Also for some people, its probably the first forum they have posted to, so its all very new for them. As a community we should help them to understand how things work. Sadly, people with hundreds of posts who should know better, don't set a very good example at times. Surely by the time you reach a certain level of posts, you should understand how you should post.

However, there is a lot of spam about. One thing I have seen on other forums, and that may work here, is a cooling off period after signing up. A lot of the time, people do sign up without searching and post straight away (for now, let's just put EvilSeph's comments about searching to one side). How it works is that you sign up, and you are told that there is a 3 day cooling off period where you can sign in, but can't post, and you are recommended to search the forums as many problems can be solved that way. People are often persuaded to search first as they wait for their posting privaleges to be enabled.

This apparently works quite well. I am not suggesting its ideal, but if we are to improve the forums, we need to come up with some ideas. In theory this will cut down on the spam, and hopefully make searching more successful, which is one thing I'd love to see

Let's hope things improve, because even I have been tempted to leave after reading thread after thread of basically, just crap

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Originally posted by Jeronimo
I've seen on other forums, and that may work here, is a cooling off period after signing up. A lot of the time, people do sign up without searching and post straight away. How it works is that you sign up, and you are told that there is a 3 day cooling off period where you can sign in, but can't post, and you are recommended to search the forums as many problems can be solved that way. People are often persuaded to search first as they wait for their posting privaleges to be enabled

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i dont like that idea at all and i dont think it should be put here.if i had to wait 3 days for something little like post help posts i would give up on this place or sign up somewhere else

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Originally posted by *Saint*
i dont like that idea at all and i dont think it should be put here.

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Fair enough, but could you possibly elaborate why? Most people would be willing to wait a few days, maybe even just 24 hours. If it persuades them to search first it maybe worth it. If after searching they can't find it, then I am all for them posting on the forum. This gives them a whole day to use the search facility which is probably plenty of time in 90% of cases

That may work Jeronimo, but you have to take the fact that not everyone is patient into account. Most people - and I'm speaking from experience - just give up if faced with an email validation system or a probation system. I've personally done so myself a couple times when I just can't be bothered to wait. I mean, just how important is it for me to be able to post or be a part of a community when there are others, just like the one I want to join, elsewhere - freely available on the internet?

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Originally posted by EvilSeph
Most people - and I'm speaking from experience - just give up if faced with an email validation system or a probation system. I've personally done so myself a couple times when I just can't be bothered to wait.

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Yeah, I agree.

As for the feature request: I think I'll add the ability to hide any forums you want from the Latest Posts page. I'll work on it in a few days...

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Originally posted by Sunshine
preferably in user cp, so we can turn it on by default

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But I want the options to be easily accessible. Who wants to go through the whole user cp process to un-hide T&T? Not me.

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Adding this option in  user cp would be even better because then you won't have to click the hide this and that every time

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Since when do you have to click it every time? It's supposed to remember the setting with a cookie.

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Originally posted by WDZ
As for the feature request: I think I'll add the ability to hide any forums you want from the Latest Posts page. I'll work on it in a few days...

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Thank you

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Originally posted by Sunshine
preferably in user cp, so we can turn it on by default

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But I want the options to be easily accessible. Who wants to go through the whole user cp process to un-hide T&T? Not me.

Since when do you have to click it every time? It's supposed to remember the setting with a cookie.

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I mean everytime you enter forums..yes it should be easily accesable, but putting that many links under latest post page could be a bit too much. If possibility to turn on/off in user cp we can do it once..then if we wanna see T&T or GCC or w/e we hidden, we can just go to specific forum (no need to do that through last posts page really).

I personally use latest post page mainly to see if anyone needs help. Right now when you come on you need to look at the two latest pages instead of one to see em all (all since going off). By hiding things you don't wish to see inthere this can be reduced to one page again.