Return to Unfiction unforum
 a.r.g.b.b 
FAQ FAQ   Search Search 
 
Welcome!
New users, PLEASE read these forum guidelines. New posters, SEARCH before posting and read these rules before posting your killer new campaign. New players may also wish to peruse the ARG Player Tutorial.

All users must abide by the Terms of Service.
Website Restoration Project
This archiving project is a collaboration between Unfiction and Sean Stacey (SpaceBass), Brian Enigma (BrianEnigma), and Laura E. Hall (lehall) with
the Center for Immersive Arts.
Announcements
This is a static snapshot of the
Unfiction forums, as of
July 23, 2017.
This site is intended as an archive to chronicle the history of Alternate Reality Games.
  

The time now is Sun Nov 17, 2024 10:20 am
All times are UTC - 4 (DST in action)		 View posts in this forum since last visit
View unanswered posts in this forum
Calendar
 Forum index » Archive » Archive: MetaCortechs » MetaCortechs: General/Updates
[META] Long long long threads
View previous topicView next topic
Page 1 of 2 [25 Posts]   Goto page: 1, 2 Next
Author Message
BoJangles
Boot

Joined: 14 Mar 2003
Posts: 67
Location: B.C. Canada

 		[META] Long long long threads
To the mods of this forum, due to the shutting down and sending of people to one thread to discuss different aspects of a site, the treads are becoming 40+ pages long. Shocked This is crazy to expect people to go through pages after pages of crap to get the information that they need. You constantly tell people to read all the posts before bringing anything up but that is crazy if you cannot find that information anywhere on the board. You tell people to search for the information but what if they do not understand what to search for? as well as the fact that the search option does not seem to work everytime leaving that person believing that it has not been brought up.

I am all for the strict moderating on this board but it has gone way too far and some of you (or should I say one of you) are going to far. Looking at posts and topics of the other games, some of which I have played along with, there are multiple treads about one site, all relating to different aspects of that site, and this has worked. You don not end up with 40+ pages on one thing you end up with 1-3 pages on that topic. I know that you are all dealing with a huge number of posts by people who are new to this format og gaming, but no matter where on the boards you send the people they are still going to post and that has been leading to threads that are unmanageable for the readers of this forum. You are also looking at loosing many people and turning them off of this genre. I can understand sending people to the puzzle or interaction boards as well as stopping repeat posts but sending 2 or more topics on a website to one thread is nuts. Think before locking, it is not a show of power it is a service you are providing to all the members and guests of these boards.

That seems to be my rant for the day.

Later,
Mel
_________________
I might repeat to myself, slowly and soothingly, a list of quotations beautiful from minds profound; if I can remeber any of the damn things. - Dorothy Parker

PostPosted: Sat Oct 11, 2003 1:12 am
 View user's profile Yahoo Messenger
 Back to top 
Dr Wily
Boot

Joined: 07 Oct 2003
Posts: 43

 		agreed

PostPosted: Sat Oct 11, 2003 1:21 am
 View user's profile
 Back to top 
yanka
Fickle


Joined: 06 Oct 2003
Posts: 1214
Location: undesirable

 		BoJangles
No way... I'd rather look through one 40-page thread then through eight 5-page threads. And then, let's say I had a spec - which thread should I be posting it in? On top of that - my guesses are sometimes so "off", but they trigger something that might lead somewhere in someone else. Well, I have now just decreased my chances - because where is the guarantee that THAT "someone" will happen to browse into THAT one of the 8 threads? I understand your reasoning - a thread per topic - but they never do stay on topic - they spin off somewhere else; so, technically, you could end up with 15+ threads on the "carelessly" topic alone, each one delving into another, and into other subjects as well... it would be, imo, a giant mess.

In short, I am for
- keeping #threads to a minimum
- keeping threads strictly on topic
- oh, and ignore "trout" posts - responding to them is just additional clutter
_________________
Annushka has already bought the sunflower oil, and has not only bought it, but has already spilled it.

PostPosted: Sat Oct 11, 2003 1:48 am
 View user's profile
 Back to top 
Monki
Veteran


Joined: 08 Oct 2003
Posts: 117
Location: Austin, TX

 		Preach on
I very much agree with Yanka... I just didn't want to be the first person to say anything...

When I get home after doing whatever, I know I just need to read about 4 posts and I'll be all caught up....

Fewer posts make it muuuch easier.

My brain hurts enough without having to read 500 threads about the carelessly files..

AHH! Another 500 occurance!

-Monki
_________________
--((Insert insanely vague literary text here))--

PostPosted: Sat Oct 11, 2003 1:52 am
 View user's profile Visit poster's website AIM Address
 Back to top 
BoJangles
Boot

Joined: 14 Mar 2003
Posts: 67
Location: B.C. Canada

 		Re: Preach on
Monki wrote:
When I get home after doing whatever, I know I just need to read about 4 posts and I'll be all caught up....

Fewer posts make it muuuch easier.
-Monki


The thing is though that there are no fewer posts just all put into one catagory. That is the problem. If the topic of a thread is something that you have read before then you dont have to read it. BUT when all posts about leiphe.net or paintover.net and all that they entail then you end up rereading the same spec and you also end up confused. It's like being in a room with 50 conversations going on and you can only hear all of them at once, instead of visiting each conversation seperately.

BTW: Someone mentioned to me to add that the idea of having to check into chat regarding your potential posts has been discussed before and was completely shot down.

Later
Mel
_________________
I might repeat to myself, slowly and soothingly, a list of quotations beautiful from minds profound; if I can remeber any of the damn things. - Dorothy Parker

PostPosted: Sat Oct 11, 2003 2:02 am
 View user's profile Yahoo Messenger
 Back to top 
Monki
Veteran


Joined: 08 Oct 2003
Posts: 117
Location: Austin, TX

 		Re: Preach on
BoJangles wrote:
Monki wrote:
When I get home after doing whatever, I know I just need to read about 4 posts and I'll be all caught up....

Fewer posts make it muuuch easier.
-Monki


The thing is though that there are no fewer posts just all put into one catagory. That is the problem. If the topic of a thread is something that you have read before then you dont have to read it. BUT when all posts about leiphe.net or paintover.net and all that they entail then you end up rereading the same spec and you also end up confused. It's like being in a room with 50 conversations going on and you can only hear all of them at once, instead of visiting each conversation seperately.

BTW: Someone mentioned to me to add that the idea of having to check into chat regarding your potential posts has been discussed before and was completely shot down.

Later
Mel

Thats why its good to use quotes in your posts... you can get an idea of what the hell is being talked about.

-Monki
_________________
--((Insert insanely vague literary text here))--

PostPosted: Sat Oct 11, 2003 2:07 am
 View user's profile Visit poster's website AIM Address
 Back to top 
BoJangles
Boot

Joined: 14 Mar 2003
Posts: 67
Location: B.C. Canada

 		META THREAD LENGTH
yanka wrote:
I understand your reasoning - a thread per topic - but they never do stay on topic - they spin off somewhere else; so, technically, you could end up with 15+ threads on the "carelessly" topic alone, each one delving into another, and into other subjects as well... it would be, imo, a giant mess.


I am not suggesting allowing the repeated threads, if you read my previous post to Monki, I reference a room of people talking. And if you take a glance at the threads for Acheron or Chasing the Wish you will see what I mean and you dont end up with excessive posts about one topic. Mainly because each person can see that the topic has been covered before and to post in that thread. Right now this whole forum is swarming with newbies to ARG, including yourself, and we need to organize this better so that they can get into the game. Right now there are a large number of people looking at backing out of the game because they dont feel welcome! This new genre cannot continue to grow without welcoming the new people. All people have a life outside of the internet and they cannot be bothered to look through 40+ pages of posts on one website in a chance to catch up! People are easily discouraged when it comes to new things. By placing each topic about a website in a seperate thread these people do not have to read 40+ pages they can look to see what each topic is and choose which one they will read. It has worked in the past and can work here. This also allows for people to choose which aspect of the game to follow. Some people like to deal with character development while others look for the story line and still others look at it being a big puzzle. These games are not made for one type of person cause if they were we would get nowhere.

Later
Mel
_________________
I might repeat to myself, slowly and soothingly, a list of quotations beautiful from minds profound; if I can remeber any of the damn things. - Dorothy Parker

PostPosted: Sat Oct 11, 2003 2:19 am
 View user's profile Yahoo Messenger
 Back to top 
yanka
Fickle


Joined: 06 Oct 2003
Posts: 1214
Location: undesirable

 		BoJangles,

You are right - I never "played" before, and I don't know how these things are done; but my common sense suggests strict adherence to organization. While I'd rather not see a single thread on, for example, paintover, I'd very much rather NOT see 5 different threads on each image from it. That scatters collaboration, scatteres attention, invites searching difficulties, and precludes me from being sure that I'm posting my idea in the right thread. It's like this morning - I came here and saw 3 (?) different threads on Wongmo, and couldn't figure out which one I should read, so I just ended up reading all of them - of course, found a lot of redundancy there.

As far as a certain 40-page thread - that's just how it was; there was absolutely no way to separate it; files kept being downloaded and discussed along with that progress. I mean, what could have been done: a mod would have stepped in and said that 20 pages was long enough? Even at this point in time, I would vehemently oppose breaking "carelessly" into different subjects - clearly they are all interconnected, and somebody's idea about any particular file needs to be seen (by him/her, as well as by others) in the context of the other files.

I understand and support your concern about new people coming in and not being able to find information, and feeling "unwelcome", etc. But that, imo, is just a problem of "reference". There already are webisites that keep a pretty general log on stuff; unfortunately, if someone is wondering about some particular/obscure/speculative/etc. issue, they will just have to read a lot or keep refining their search. If worst comes to worst, they can ask at the risk of being "trouted" - in which case they are as good as guaranteed to be told where to find the info they are looking for along with the "trout".

Lastly,
Quote:
... people to choose which aspect of the game to follow. Some people like to deal with character development while others look for the story line and still others look at it being a big puzzle.

I'd say that's how it already is: people can certainly choose what aspect of the game they want to discuss/follow, but, imo, it'd be hard to follow just some aspects without seeing how they are connected with others.

Anyway, as you noticed, I'm totally inexperienced in this kind of thing; and I certainly will not push my opinion as the "right" one, especially given that. But in the end, I know what I'd like, I know my reasons for it, and ultimately that's the only thing I can argue.
_________________
Annushka has already bought the sunflower oil, and has not only bought it, but has already spilled it.

PostPosted: Sat Oct 11, 2003 3:37 am
 View user's profile
 Back to top 
Giskard
Sassypants


Joined: 07 Oct 2003
Posts: 2066
Location: Chicago

 		I'd be for the principle of keeping the number of threads to a minimum, but I do have one question. Is there any way to go directly to, say, page 15 in a 40 page thread? \

Because when conducting a search, and it comes up with one thread, that is 40 pages long, you have no idea where to look, or, when you do, you can't access that page directly but need to use "next" 15 times... or is there a smart way I'm overlooking?

PostPosted: Sat Oct 11, 2003 5:11 am
 View user's profile Visit poster's website
 ICQ Number 
 Back to top 
chancesend
Veteran


Joined: 08 Oct 2003
Posts: 128
Location: Colorado, USA

 		I gotta side with the "one topic" people on this one (even though I have been guilty in the past of starting threads that shouldn't be started - I'm working on it!)

I just came back after not playing for 12 hours. I'd much rather try to find my "tried and true" threads, rather than trying to find out which ones have anything I'm interested in.

Though perhaps threads with 40 pages are a bit excessive. Maybe a *bit* more specificity in topics might be warrented. Don't know how to accomplish that, howver, without throwing chaos everywhere!
_________________
--
(Chance's End )
Skyway 12" now on sale! (MP3 of Radio Mix)

PostPosted: Sat Oct 11, 2003 5:15 am
 View user's profile Visit poster's website
 Back to top 
GOD
Guest


 		Paging
Giskard wrote:
I'd be for the principle of keeping the number of threads to a minimum, but I do have one question. Is there any way to go directly to, say, page 15 in a 40 page thread? \

Because when conducting a search, and it comes up with one thread, that is 40 pages long, you have no idea where to look, or, when you do, you can't access that page directly but need to use "next" 15 times... or is there a smart way I'm overlooking?



There are 15 posts per page.
Page 1 is start position 0.
Page 2 is start position 15.
etc.

Example...

To jump to page 21 in the CARELESSLY thread...

http://forums.unfiction.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2608&start=300

Cool

PostPosted: Sat Oct 11, 2003 5:23 am
 Back to top 
Giskard
Sassypants


Joined: 07 Oct 2003
Posts: 2066
Location: Chicago

 		Ok, thanks for that Smile

Keep it at a minimum of threads then people! Wink

PostPosted: Sat Oct 11, 2003 5:25 am
 View user's profile Visit poster's website
 ICQ Number 
 Back to top 
GOD
Guest


 		Keep threads to a minimum.
Best example of minimum threads...

The Official Matrix Forum

www.thematrix.com


One continuous thread.

Cool Very Happy Cool

PostPosted: Sat Oct 11, 2003 5:38 am
 Back to top 
Ehsan
Entrenched

Joined: 09 May 2003
Posts: 992

 		BoJangles, from the replies you got it seems people are happy with one single thread, but please let me know if this is not how people want it. It's not a show of power.. I'm not even getting to enjoy the game just trying to keep things clean..

Let's take the example of the "carelessly files" thread, which is obviously the biggest with 600 posts. How would you seperate that? Assume we cut it into one thread for each file, so since we have 15 carelessly files we'll have 15 seperate thread..

Now granted, a person who wants to talk about one of the files will have it much eaiser to find the information in a 3 page thread. But what if someone wants to read about all the files? That's 3 pages time 15.. 45 pages, and we're still back where we started..

Moreover, seperate threads discussing the same topic will have redundant posts. I am the kind of person who likes to read every single post, and I like to doing it by pressing next from page 1 to page 40. I don't want to click a thread, click next from page 1 to 3, and then click back to the forum index to read the next thread.

Think about it and let me know.. remember that I'll just do what you guys want not what I think is right.. so thanks for your opinion and let me and all the other mods know what you think.

PostPosted: Sat Oct 11, 2003 6:11 am
 View user's profile
 Back to top 
catherwood
I Have 100 Cats and Smell of Wee

Joined: 25 Sep 2002
Posts: 4109
Location: Silicon Valley, CA

 		[SUGGESTION]
Readers, I highly recommend the use of a feature which only appears after you LOG IN. It marks which posts are new since you last LOGGED IN.

Of course, you have to use a single registered nick, and always LOG IN before you start reading. But hey, then you'll already be LOGGED IN when you hit that reply button and make a post.

Try it. Look for the "View posts since last vist" link in the upper right corner. Or just pick a forum and notice all the black arrows marking threads that have been updated since you last LOGGED IN.

I know this does not address the issue of organization, but it does help you to quickly get caught up.

PostPosted: Sat Oct 11, 2003 12:14 pm
 View user's profile AIM Address Yahoo Messenger
 Back to top 
Display posts from previous:   Sort by:   
Page 1 of 2 [25 Posts]   Goto page: 1, 2 Next
View previous topicView next topic
 Forum index » Archive » Archive: MetaCortechs » MetaCortechs: General/Updates
Jump to:  


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum
You cannot post calendar events in this forum



Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group