A Way to Make Threads More Concise

[LyricsMode]

A "Karma" system of sorts, with posts being voted up/thanked/ditto'd/liked/whatever, connected to vCash (say 10 Cash each) would be rewarding for members, and we could also increased the required character count per post to something like 20 characters to encourage some actual thought in a post.

But, in any regard, you must be aware that all threads eventually do "polarize". Only so much can be said before someone repeats themselves. A debate can go on for hours even with all parties only saying the same thing, but with a directed focus towards whatever the previous poster said. It's just normal.

That's why an open conversation is the best thread and forums never really work, because the natural flow of conversation dictates that subjects change to avoid repeating ourselves. "Going off topic" as one would say, is simply changing topics to avoid repeating the same thing the above poster said. It's common practice in everyday society, but banned on message boards.

[Toast78901]

But if that was what Toast was referring to (didn't get that impression , personally) then perhaps add another part of the "Display" option of each thread so that you could set it to "Karma mode" in which the posts would be sorted from highest to lowest. As a default setting I'd be against it, but for something like the Boltshot thread and the Ordnance thread it'd probably have been a good way to essentially get a TL;DR of the threads.

I like this. Best of both worlds, with the ability to set the viewing options to one that has the most relevant, all encompassing views of one side of a debate (shown through the votes/karma/whatever you wanna call it) at the top for easier access to the jist of the thread. Maybe other order settings as well, like have a reverse order available, having the newest posts at the top.

[Gargoyle]

Toast has a point! Now let's get this topic to 15+ pages everyone!


With my formal suit on, typing almost nothing.

1. Large amounts of pages are one of the only things that honestly attracts forum activity.
2. Sometimes diverse opinions are in large numbers.
3. We already have popularity contests in FC

[Toast78901]

1. Large amounts of pages are one of the only things that honestly attracts forum activity.
2. Sometimes diverse opinions are in large numbers.

It's not the size of a forum that is a problem, or the amount of opinions. It's the repetitiveness and shitposts. From what I've seen, they seem to remove conciseness from threads that are meant to be used for suggestions, etc. The more concise something is, the more efficient it can become.

[Gargoyle]

This is why people have the use of polls. No matter what makes up the post or how many of them there are, at the beginning of every page the poll will still be there.

You could have 5 pages straight of people just throwing their poo at each other, a poll remains pure. Unless of course you fill it with the wrong choices......*COUGH PANIC COUGH*

[Harry]

I've noticed, especially in suggestion threads or polls, that the amount of pages a forum runs can grow to a rather significant size. However, one of the reasons is restatement. People will make a post just to say they agree with someone, or denote it with only ^, or any other way in which they would denote that they agree with a previous poster. This can cause a thread to have way more posts than there are opinions, with each page restating damn near the same thing every time, causing a new thread viewer to have to hunt through 15 pages of repetitiveness to see if any new ideas or opinions were brought up.

Granted, I know people like to express their own views and opinions. But on most issues, the thread becomes polarized with little new info being brought up. That being said, why not add like a Ditto button to posts? Kinda like a like button on Facebook, but that essentially denotes that you have an opinion, but someone has posted it already so you are showing your support.

Now, I don't want the forum to become Facebook (I say this because I can see people construing my point that way). But I do think that this may clean up threads a bit, making them more concise which can be incredibly helpful to Admins, etc. who are looking through a thread, gathering opinions and actually plan to make changes.

Thoughts?

^

[xXReiBearXx]

I like the idea of having a kind of like button here. At least for the suggestions section. There are WAAAAAAAAY to many times that topics have gotten way out of hand to the point that they get locked and people get made and post really negative comments to one another. a simple like or dislike would be better and cause less tension between disagreeing parties. HELL TO THE YES

[Toast78901]

This is why people have the use of polls. No matter what makes up the post or how many of them there are, at the beginning of every page the poll will still be there.

Polls only express yes or no. Not the general consensus as to the reason why.

^

Harry, you troll...

[Deathhawk]

First off, I'd like for you to show me a thread where this stuff is a problem.
Now show me how it's a forum-wide problem that's effecting many threads in various subforums constantly..

Just some perspective.

[Harry]

Harry, you troll...

<3