Staff Meeting - WHAT WAS DISCUSSED (6/9)

[Boom115]

It is a tough area to enforce such rules, and I personally don't think it can ever be properly policed, so it is best to just leave this one be in my opinion.

 

I have no issue with someone doing  a quick response here and there. For Example, the current black sheep of CoDZ at times has 80 plus posts similar to this content in a single day. That is ridiculous, that it what needs policed. The repeat offenders are what I think need a watchful eye.  

[DeathBringerZen]

I have no issue with someone doing  a quick response here and there. For Example, the current black sheep of CoDZ at times has 80 plus posts similar to this content in a single day. That is ridiculous, that it what needs policed. The repeat offenders are what I think need a watchful eye.  

 

 

That makes a lot more sense now. Yeah, people who try to up their post counts without proper contribution should indeed be warned about their conduct. I misunderstood your point. I have seen many a people in the past do it, and even comment on the fact that they are doing it. Fair enough if they do not have something serious to contribute in the first place, but to contribute nonsense like you quoted above consistently is hardly opening up a discussion for others to partake.

 

My apologies.

[Chopper]

It's all very difficult to police or moderate.

For starters I would be stricter on a lot of stuff, but realise its not necessarily appropriate for this forum. I'm not letting a personal issue of mine become policy or official. My posts try and be encouraging certain behaviour, rather than dictating the 'law'.

I'm finding more and more that the board generally but not strictly speaking has 2 categories of users and I'd define them as young against old, or mature versus immature. However the immature behaviour that I see, is probably not seen as immature by many others.

Its all very difficult to define and make rules for.

Going to have to poll some stuff me thinks.

[Boom115]

For starters I would be stricter on a lot of stuff, but realise its not necessarily appropriate for this forum. I'm not letting a personal issue of mine become policy or official. My posts try and be encouraging certain behaviour, rather than dictating the 'law'.

 

I didn't post that link as what I though policy should be. I posted it because it backs up my statement that people aren't seeing post pumping for what it is. The thread simply spun out into a debate on can we say "I agree" or "I liked this". Seems like small potatoes in comparison to bigger issue of posting nonsensical crap. This only impacts less than 1% of the community and shouldn't ruffle any feathers for the most part.

[Chopper]

I didn't think you did mate.

I think its the one thing that really irritates me but tbh not sure we can change it.

Its either anal or dictatorial which are things we try and stay away from :)

[Boom115]

I don't wish to continue a debate in this thread as it is not the place. It is the staff decision, but I will say this. If rules are not being followed or enforced, then they are only suggestions and should be titled as such. Feel free to PM me if you would like additional input.

[Slade]

We all influence each other. I'd encourage everyone to hold a high standard when posting.

And as long as we all hold on to an adequate standard, I don't think we need to write down and enforce this.

If I see a post that to me looks like nothing more than post-pumping, I'll say something about it to the poster.

But I'm with Boom that there should be clear rules as to what the consequences are to those who just keep on post-pumping like there's no tomorrow.

[GRILL]

Some good debate here guys, definitely giving us a lot to talk about.

On a different subject, I completely spaced out and realized the meeting is actually next Thursday haha. So, yeah, gives us some more time to talk about the CoC and anything else y'all want represented in the meeting.

[Hells Warrrior]

I would start with post pumping; it is both too vague where needed and too detailed where problems don't really occur. When coached on post pumping the general take away always seems to only be don't post "I agree". As you can see in the following link http://www.callofdutyzombies.com/forum/index.php/topic/158976-non-response-responses/ . However the real problem is with posts like this:

 

HAHA

 

oo kill em

 

HAhahahhahahhahhaha

Ok.

What?

These are the posts that add no substance whatsoever to the forum. However they never seem to be addressed. I think the reasoning is that post pumping seems to be in a grey area.

 

Duplicate posts seem to be on the rise. Folks starting up new threads daily for information that we have already worked on months ago. As stated in the CoC it is on the members to know the previously posted content. Is this no longer the standard?

 

Signatures- If you look at my signature below it is well above the maximum size. However compared to most it is quite modest. I understand at one time there was an issue with people adding 14 huge pictures to their signatures and it taking quite some time to scroll through the page. So the current state is that no one seems to follow this rule so I would recommend amending it, removing it, or enforcing it. For a CoC we shouldn't pick and choose which rules to follow, ya feel me?

 

As far as what needs added, you tell me. What are your day-to-day issue that you can do nothing about because to rules have been set to prevent it?

 

I'm not a fan of post pumping, we have a topic bump feature for the author of a topic to bump it to the front but it an individual user has a limit as to how many they can "bump" on a daily basis. Members post pumping, is a bug bare but difficult to monitor and enforce. We will inevitably miss them and I would request that the community uses the report post function and give an explanation as to why it is being reported. We cna then take the relevant action.

 

Signatures, it is currently a setting which cannot be broken by a member, we can change the rules for it and so forth and I would be happy to discuss this in the meeting as to how we go about it.

 

As for duplicates topics/posts - if we see them, we deal with them (at least I try to) but it is a difficult thing to do. What we can probably do, is take responsibility for a forum section each and assign that person to those forum (acp setting can do this) - it doesn't have any effect on the current way things work, it just means you have a point of contact for a specific section and it would be their responsibility to deal with anything that arises within that section?

 

I'm oldskool, so I of a different mindset to most on this forum. I'm a firm believer in forum "etiquette" - something that a lot of new forum users or younger generation won't even be aware of.

 

Here is some forum etiquette things that should be followed, these aren't rules - they are just unwritten rules of the forum world.

 

1. Read the forums rules and guidelines before posting for the first time.

2. Search the other posts to see if your topic is already covered. (This is a biggy of mine, every forum should have a search funtion, it's like google, it serves a purpose).

3. Use a meaningful title for your thread.

4. Do not use a forum to promote your product, service or business.

5. Be civil. Personal differences should be handled through email or IM and not through posts displayed to everyone.

6. Stay on topic.

7. Ignore spammers, respond to them personally and not through the board, or report them.

 

8. Do not submit a post that requires readers to download a large attachment. Either explain the attachment or, better yet, provide a link to the information.

9. Use plain text over HTML if you want your post to be readable by everyone.

10. In order to be understood by most people, use correct spelling, grammar and avoid slang unless you know the word or phrase will be understood by other members.

11. Do not double post (post the same message twice in one thread) or cross post (place the same message across several forums).

12. Act in a give and take manner; help others as often as or more than you ask for help.

13. Do not use all caps or SHOUT in your posts. In addition, one exclamation point is enough.

14. When replying to a post, do not quote more from the previous post than you have to.

15. Do not post new problems on someone else's thread and interrupt a topic of discussion.

16. Do not use someone else’s thread for a private conversation.

17. Most forums prohibit warez, cracks or illegal downloading of software and similar topics.

18. Watch your sense of humor, posts may be read by people from a variety of backgrounds and ages.

19. Do not use a huge and annoying signature, a modest signature is fine, moderators may remove large ones anyway.

20. Do not post any information that you want private. Posts should not contain personal, identifiable information or content embarrassing to others.

21. Do not post content that violates copyright.

22. Do not post ”empty” or useless responses, such as just ”lol” or ”cool.” Only post responses when you have something to contribute.

23. Write concisely and do not ramble.

24. Do not use words like ”urgent” or ”important” in your subject line, be patient.

25. Do not chastise newbies.

[The Clay Bird]

I came here coincidentally to harp on Hell's Warrior's #2 concern above.   The forum has really recently gotten a pretty good amount of new members, which is awesome.  However, a side-effect of that is once some of these members have joined they immediately are making brand new threads for subjects that already have a thread if not multiple threads already. 

 

I know it would take a great deal of effort by mods, but one thing that was successful on past forums i've been a  part of, is if a thread is created that is on a subject that is already covered in another thread, the thread should immediately be locked, and a form message stating some instructions on how to use the search function of the forum. 

 

Many new folks may not even know there is a search feature.  This would do 2 things, 1) allow the new members to engage better by posting in appropriate areas where they will actually get responses, and 2) hopefully drastically decrease the clutter of new threads for every idea that pops into somebody's mind.

 

 

 

One other idea, is for general zombies ideas that there might not be a specific thread for, but really isn't significant enough to make an entire new thread, maybe we could make kind of a "catch-all" thread for random zombies thoughts?  I know there is the chicken sandwich thread in off topic for random thoughts, but i think it would be nice to have a seperate thread in General Zombie Discussion for small ideas or posts relating to zombies that might be random in nature.  Just some ideas to help de-clutter the forum a bit

[The Clay Bird]

We all influence each other. I'd encourage everyone to hold a high standard when posting.

And as long as we all hold on to an adequate standard, I don't think we need to write down and enforce this.

If I see a post that to me looks like nothing more than post-pumping, I'll say something about it to the poster.

But I'm with Boom that there should be clear rules as to what the consequences are to those who just keep on post-pumping like there's no tomorrow.

 

 

I don't think this is a problem at all right now.   The duplicate threads is  big time yes, but if we start moderating the actual content people are posting, it's going to discourage people from doing so, and i don't think thats a good way to go about encouraging good conversation. 

 

I think if we just take some measures to clean up some of the useless new threads, everything else is fine.  Don't want the forum to feel as if it's so censored that people don't post in fear of getting reprimanded by other members or mods

[Boom115]

I don’t think that you are understanding Slade’s point (or mine for that matter). Posts can be short, no reason to fluff it up if not needed. That’s not the problem we are addressing. What we are speaking of are posts that contribute absolutely nothing to a conversation. By letting it slide we are not encouraging good conversation, we are encouraging spam and my little pony memes. Having standards shouldn’t be seen as a negative thing. This is not a daycare, I see no reason to coddle people. The threads with lack of effort (or duplicates) go hand in hand with the post pumping issue.

[The Clay Bird]

I don’t think that you are understanding Slade’s point (or mine for that matter). Posts can be short, no reason to fluff it up if not needed. That’s not the problem we are addressing. What we are speaking of are posts that contribute absolutely nothing to a conversation. By letting it slide we are not encouraging good conversation, we are encouraging spam and my little pony memes. Having standards shouldn’t be seen as a negative thing. This is not a daycare, I see no reason to coddle people. The threads with lack of effort (or duplicates) go hand in hand with the post pumping issue.

 

 

Oh I didn't see it that way, I just meant I hadn't really noticed any problems with meaningless responses or pony memes or whatever, at least not in zombie related threads.  In off topic sure, but that's what it's there for.  Just stating that if someone wants to express that they agree with a members post or that they think its cool, i dont see anything wrong with that sort of short post that doesn't add any new info if you know what i mean. 

 

 

just my two cents, since we have been getting some nice growth lately, and I'd hate to stifle it by people being afraid to post in fear that it's not good enough that's all

[Chopper]

I believe that Slade, Boom and Clay are all correct in their points, even if they are somewhat contradictory.

Clay's point about people being scared to post is what concerns me, but I agree wholeheartedly with Boom about not running a creche.

 

The jist of it as I believe is ultimately it's more important to actually pick what we are going to enforce, have it written down and make sure we do.

[Slade]

I don't think we have to write down specifics. And I'm confident we all can spot the difference between a normal post and someone who's just post-pumping.

We can steer people the right way by: holding to an adequate standard of quality and when needed - approaching people with a friendly reminder whenever they post-pump.

Like having a guideline in the CoC along the lines of

"We encourage everyone to make of every post a special post and urge the need of remaining on-topic when posting in threads - especially in those that have a lot of work put into them."

Something like this. Something that lets our point come across to everyone without running the risk of scaring people away by writing down and enforcing rules like 'Post-pumping will result in a 48-hour ban'.

[Rissole25]

What about Off-topic posts not counting towards total post count? Not sure how effective that would be. Off-topic will see a lot of content though, especially the post anything thread. That has a lot of what you'd consider post pumping, just one or a couple of words in some replies.

[The Clay Bird]

What about Off-topic posts not counting towards total post count? Not sure how effective that would be. Off-topic will see a lot of content though, especially the post anything thread. That has a lot of what you'd consider post pumping, just one or a couple of words in some replies.

 

 

I don't like that.

 

 

especially with the very real potential for there not to be any new zombie content until november 2015?  The fact is, that during the off season, there just isn't that much stuff to talk about zombie related, yet we still like to engage with one another, and that might be on random topics such as chicken sandwiches, finding true love, other video games, etc. lol   

[Chopper]

It seems that I am one of the few people who actively tries to lower my post count periodically.  I'd rather have few posts of quality, than a load of posts of blah.

 

I don't go for the blah onsite, it's just not my cup of tea.  I don't say blah to be disrespectful, it's just how I would describe it.  I mean from my point of view, a post titled your banned with just completely random stuff, is something I'm never ever going to read.  Just don't see the point in it.

 

Clearly a lot of people do however.  My final point will be that I would love to reduce it, and put restrictions in place but I fancy the other staff are going to be a bit different.

The quality of posts is just massively down compared to when I joined, but it's off season.

 

It worries me that the site is becoming more and more like a youth club.  That's all from me, I don't want to debate this anymore until the staff meeting.

[MegaAfroMan]

That doesn't seem very fair to those of us who may have something to say about that who will not be involved in the staff meeting.

Rule of thumb: Never hold an opinion you can't defend, and especially never post an opinion on public forum that you don't want to defend.

[Chopper]

The defense of my opinion is simply that I think the forum is full of absolute shit now but I didn't really want to say that.

Everyone else is free to post their opinions in here, I just do not want to talk about mine anymore. Unless someone wants to debate back to me why I shouldn't think or feel the way I do. Best of luck with that one.

[Undead]

Off track here, but I just want to say this thread makes me happy. THIS is how I imagined the staff and CoDz working together.

 

*applauses*

 

On track again,

 

The whole automated introductory post? Makes us seem like those annoying automated phone calls. I understand the purpose of those, but perhaps there's a way to make it so the first time someone logs in, they have that appear in a pop up? Or at least in their PM inbox. It just seems like a lot of....blah tossed in your face right after you introduce yourself. I made a topic for my un-retirement recently, and was even like "Whoa wat?"

[The Clay Bird]

That's just the way the forum is going to be until new content comes out.  Aside from the off chance that new content for zombies is released between now and november 2015 there will be little new info to discuss that hasn't been discussed into oblivion already.  

 

However, a lot of us have made friends  within this forum, and it is still a fun place to discuss zombies, video games, and other totally unrelated things!

 

i use the other forum im active in quite often, and it's a good example.  It's actually a spin-off forum from the off-topic section of the Mars Volta (rock band) message board "The Comatorium"  The Mars Volta broke up 2 years ago, and many members of the forum lost interest in their music long ago, but it's still a semi active forum because of the relationships and discussions that take place.

 

 

 

So what my point is, is that even though there may be very few things zombies wise to promote thought-provoking detailed posts and threads, the forum doesn't just have to cease posting.  We can still chat, tell stories, joke around, and then once zombies next chapter does finally arrive? We can get to theorizing, generating best strategies, discuss weaponry, and so on and so forth

[MegaAfroMan]

EDIT: Too much stuff to account for.

On a different note.

I have already shared my thoughts on the automated message.

In short: I think it's dumb.

If you need it, just have it in a PM.

I can go on if need be, but I'm sure no one wants that.

[GRILL]

Well, I can tell you why I took no action.

As staff we are expected to save face, and while I agree with it on many levels - sometimes I think it's important to say what you mean, show those raw feelings. You are former staff, mega - so the reason why I took no action is because I believe it is more important for you guys to work this out rather then simply delete posts and sweep it under the carpet. Should it be worked out in private, rather then public? Maybe. And I'm sure you are both PMing each other in an effort to do so. However, I'd like to see it worked out publicly - so we can all move on, rather then sweeping it under the carpet.

So yeah, I hope there is an amicable way to proceed, but those are my reasons for letting it stand. I just prefer real talk, between real members. There are many other contexts in which I would have removed the posts, but coming from two senior members - I'd like to see it worked out.

[MegaAfroMan]

I can respect that much. We have removed one element of this, but after things were removed and edited on our parts, this still stood public and if that's where it need be, than that's where it shall be.