Shoutbox

The topic of conversation was changed in the thread about Johnny Leaving. It turned to how this forum has changed for the worse. Some of us have expressed our opinions, and i wonder if there are any others that also want to speak out. I would ask that you treat everyones opinion with respect, and if you disagree, please back it up with a decent reason.

Original Thread:
http://shoutbox.menthix.net/showthread.php?tid=50454&page=4

Here are a collection of responces from the original thread for your ease.

Proxy:

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None of the forum staff want to ignolage it, because the cause if it are members that they are friends with, plus some of the staff are the cause also.

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Originally posted by Haz
Although, what is in the hands of all of us, is trying to make the changes be towards positive, not negative...

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When we try, we get ganged up on, or flamed. 

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Originally posted by Haz
Things change. Forum communities change. It is inevitable, so I think it's kinda fruitless to point a finger at change itself.

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No offence, but your wrong.  This kind of change doesn't just happen.  Yes things do change but when I look at what is happening, I don't like the outcome.  It makes me very sad, because I care about this community, and the members, but I don't know what to do or how to change it.  It cant be done by the members that see the problem and are tired of it.  It's in the hands of the forum staff and the problem makers.

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Joa:

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i know i'm not an old member, but lately i feel it too... it's kinda depressing. it's like the spirit of this community is slowly disintegrating. some examples are that - if there are even arguments or whatever, they get really personal, people take some things way too seriously, more often people gang up on like one person who does a little thing wrong.

tempers are short... blah.
there's so much stuff....... like i said, i'm a newb compared to most of the members here. but i feel the change too. it's hard to explain WHAT exactly is happening, but there is something.

just the whole mood of the forums has changed..

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Leo:

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Anyway, I agree with proxy. I notice that lately I try to stay out of certain threads because I get the feeling that my opinions will trigger a wave of flames and attacks that I don't really have the time or strength to read.

And it's sad to think that some people might be doing the same. Holding back because you think people will take things personally.

I don't blame anyone in particular, I think we're all responsible. Over the year I've been around, I've seen these negative periods (which I call "bad waves" ), although this time it's more obvious.

I admit I also took part of a lot of these so-called waves. Trying to change that because this is the first community I fit in so well... At least I think so... Didn't make any friends, but did meet interesting people who I share stuff with.

It'd be sad if all this ends because of pride and selfishness...

Wish I could write more, there were a lot of things I had to say but I have to go, grandparents are waiting for me. If I come back home early I'll reply again (if I didn't get flamed to death ).

Kuddos, I hope no-one gets offended by this.

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FrozenDaggers:

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Guess it could be moderated a bit more, like by not letting personal feelings to someone else get in the way of people posting topics about things they want to talk about or share ideas about. If you don't like the person leave it... don't spam the thread with abuse, or if you dont agree with what the persons saying, don't get nasty about it.

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Haz:

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Things change. Forum communities change. It is inevitable, so I think it's kinda fruitless to point a finger at change itself.

Although, what is in the hands of all of us, is trying to make the changes be towards positive, not negative...

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Myself:

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How there are celebrities of the forum. How people gang up on others. How some treat new members with complete disregard. How staff has favourites and sometimes take bias decisions.

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I think that this forum is in a bit of a rut at the moment, but this has happened before.
I also think that people are blaming the admins way to much for this, its 90% members causeing the problems, and the admins overall to a great job on the forums.

seriously, i think it must be the change of weather or something
three people i know (including me) are depressed, all at the same time... tingeling it's school time and tingeling it's almost not summer anymore

nobody seems to smile or anything, and that includes me

I dno I think it's the lack of people posting here at the mo. I think it'll pick up and people will start acting responsable again.

The only problem I can see is that the lack of modding... I mean not one of my last 30 posts has went into the trash like it normally does. :/

First off, good idea Stigmata. 

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Originally posted by Stigmata
What a shame.

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The real shame is how no one is realizing why so many of our members are leaving.  The attitude of the forums has changed, for the worse.  These forum are dying, in a way I never thought they would. 

I'd rather have the spam problem then this.  Good luck to all who stay and put up with it. 
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Originally posted by Pr0xY
None of the forum staff want to acknowledge it, because the cause if it are members that they are friends with, plus some of the staff are the cause also.

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Originally posted by Haz
Although, what is in the hands of all of us, is trying to make the changes be towards positive, not negative...

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When we try, we get ganged up on, or flamed. 

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Originally posted by Haz
Things change. Forum communities change. It is inevitable, so I think it's kinda fruitless to point a finger at change itself.

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No offence, but your wrong.  This kind of change doesn't just happen.  Yes things do change but when I look at what is happening, I don't like the outcome.  It makes me very sad, because I care about this community, and the members, but I don't know what to do or how to change it.  It cant be done by the members that see the problem and are tired of it.  It's in the hands of the forum staff and the problem makers.
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There is everything I posted in the other thread.  I posted it here because that thread wasn't the place for it, this it though. 

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Originally posted by Carltos Cool
people will start acting responsable again.

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Hopefully.  Responsability & Respect are the two key issues here.

The forum doesn't seem too bad at the moment; I'll admit older members do seem to get more status and respect from other members than newer members however a way to look on this is that the member must prove themselves before they gain everyone is respect.
I don't like to insult newer members; if they post incorrect facts\advice, there's no need to flame them, just correct them and sure enough they will turn into active, helpful, and great members.

The big problem I find is that some members don't actually care about helping newer ones, they care too much about rushing in to help people without actually laying out their posts, which is very hard for less computer talented people to understand. They get so wound up in trying to look like a good helper that they post stuff that isn't properly researched and stuff less computer talented people won't be able to follow.

I agree with Anubis. The forum's aren't in a rut, and they're just like any other large forum - a bit rough around the edges.
What really matters is the core of the community, the glue that holds it all together. Everyone in this thread (and many more besides) are part of that glue, and we should all be proud of our own achievements, proud that we are useful people to have around.

As usual, it's the few who spoil it for the many. I won't name names (because, honestly, I can't think of a member that bad), but those who don't share the spirit end up losing out in the end.

I can guarantee to everyone on this forum - I'm here for the long haul. 'Till death parts us' sort of thing.

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Originally posted by Anubis
The big problem I find is that some members don't actually care about helping newer ones, they care too much about rushing in to help people without actually laying out their posts, which is very hard for less computer talented people to understand.

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The other problem with this is while your taking the time to write out a clear and informative post, about 3 people have posted rushed, dodgy and sometimes incorrect information which you would have to correct which is annoying and quite often you lose the effort to bother (which iirc was the basis of the whole cookie leaving thing a while ago)

If you guys don't like some members of the IRC community because we act differently, its because IRC has different rules. On IRC we just get rid of people right away if they're annoying or if they spam and no one cares. On these forums, everyone HAS to be respected ALL the time, even if we don't like people. Its the (lack of) rules on IRC that make it a more enjoyable place than the forums, and we all know how to control ourselves enough that it doesn't go to shit all the time even though our rules are more bare than on the forums.

I've recomend some action items to the staff. But Heres a question, List it out, what you would do to fix the problem.

And in response to Shawnz, Look at the volume of people that come through the forums, then look at the volume of people who go through IRC. Theres a huge difference. And IRC more often then not has ALOT more technically savy users so alot of n00b's dont end up there as often. Beyond that, It's a chat room, Not a forum.