So GD is pretty much a shell of it’s former self. We still have an assload of people posting, but everybody seems to be confined to a lot of different threads, and never branch out.
I’m kicking around the idea of getting rid of the “Super threads” like the xbox 360 thread, ps3 thread, wii thread, etc. Or at least re-arranging them. I’m also considering relaxing some of the gd specific rules.
But I’d like some suggestions from you guys first.
What do you want to see changed? What do you think should be allowed, what should be banned, etc?
Super threads are fine but they’re lounges. SRK Lounge isn’t the only ‘lounge’ on this board, and they’re all mini-communities. Which is cool for ongoing or specific discussion, but when a new guy posts something there, they’re walking into the culture of that super thread. For example, the movie thread is basically a film analysis thread or wants/tries to be. You’re not gonna get many replies from the regular posters if you post a trailer for a dumb comedy or loud action movie. And it’s not visible to people who don’t check the movie thread regularly but might have something to say about that dumb comedy/action movie trailer.
More general news articles should show up on GD. Not just politics, but whatever. And don’t move them to their ‘proper’ super thread. Stop saying “there’s a _______ thread for that breh.” Not saying make it a ban/infract-worthy offense but it’s no longer a valid response.
with every game getting its own off-topic/lounge/gd kind of thread, alot of members dont see the point of coming to GD
myself, I pretty much post in lounge/whatever news/game thread catches my fancy. I dont keep up with baseball enough to be a consistent member in the mlb thread, i dont care about any other spots enough.
I don’t know how much can really be done, I don’t think the issue is the rules or discussions available, but the posters and the quality of their posts. The reality of the situation is the fighting game culture you remember is not the fighting game culture of today.
I think a few things could be done, like, tidying up the stickies and making a FAQ to make sure its crystal clear if your thread should be in FGD or Tech talk. But when it comes down to enforcing or instilling quality in everyone’s posts, it’s pretty difficult. If you just wanted to spice things up, rattle a few cages, you could start infracting people for spelling mistakes. I’m sure the people on the cell phones would love that.
If anything, I think re-evaluating the policy on video embeds and images could help. I have no idea how often the “no smilies, one word or picture replies” rule is enforced, but I see it all the time. I think image macros make people lazy, and do nothing for the discussion. I blame them chiefly for the “4channing” of srk. Like, when was the last time you saw a good flame war? Now its just “LOL ur dumb” and its over. If anything, make image posting a privilege again.
If anything I don’t think its the “super threads” so much as it is the forums themselves dividing people. I mean, counting character specific forums you got like, hundreds? of places to post. And don’t get me wrong, I can see the value of it. But to break down the “general” forum even more seems unnecessarily divisive. I mean, why would somebody ever want to look at a matchmaking thread for a different region? I’m sure it happens, but not everybody is interested in GD, and not everybody is interesting in wrestling or anime… and that is fine, they can co-exist. I don’t think its realistic to expect everyone to care about the broader social aspects. Maybe they just want tips on how to play the game. I think a lot of GD, especially the old cats, they aren’t competitive, and they can’t be bothered to wade through all that information and they’ve made gd their own little island paradise, which is why it has a distinct culture of its own.
I think a lot of it is cyclical. I’m pretty sure there have always been highs and lows of GD.
i never go into the 360 thread, as it just seems oh so casual in there. Whenever a big game comes out, it has its own thread anyways. I dunno about the PS3 one, but I really fail to see the need for them as super threads. Which GD specific rules you looking to ‘relax’?
I’d also like to see the main Marvel and DC threads brought over here, rather than the comic section, as we have enough conversations that end up devolving into Marvel/DC discussions.
Kromo said everything. It’s the quality of the posts/posters. Can’t really do anything about that unfortunately.
My observation of the past 3 years is…
I don’t think super-threads are or were the problem. What killed GD was mainly the seemingly zero-tolerance stance Mods had on random silly threads and flaming a little while ago. While the unsolicited 09 hate flaming was over the top, those 2 things are what made GD entertaining. In the fallout, random open ended discussion threads were closed or questionably moved for no real reason. Even regular non-date related flaming was discouraged.
It became real stale here as a result. Lots of regulars got bored, left for new e-homes or just resorted to posting in already established threads to play it safe. Things actually seem better now here now the '09 hate hype has died down and Mods aren’t forced to step in to resolve issues as often imo.
Bring back the rep system. Pretty much that and give us more skins like we use to have back in the day. Maybe even dare I say bigger av size. The console threads are good cause they put peeps up on games that some of us are not checking for. I found and enjoyed plenty of games just based on peeps from Srk.
Rep is never coming back. This site has gone through a lot of “clean-up” projects over the last couple of years to maintain its image as THE fighting game site. GD is still one of the best forums on SRK, despite it not being as “entertaining” as it has in recent years. Some people don’t even venture outside GD because of the abusive moderation that has been documented in other forums. I don’t think it needs major clean up, except for probably lesser stickies. Some “Super Threads” are absolutely necessary imo. I can’t imagine the PS3, Wii, and 360 threads getting crammed together with different communties crossing each other on every occasion. We have a Pokemon, Anime, even Wrestling communties that have worked well in keeping topics updated and centered to one place. Every now and then a news thread will pop up and everybody tries get in their best pun. Just my two cents, because I think there’s nothing really out of the ordinary right now.
I agree ban me just cause of when I joined. Ban me for having enough interest in fighting games to want to be on this forum. Seriously you sound like a hipster.
How about an IQ test though before being allowed to post new threads? that would be cool.
