Has The quality of our Discussions Plummeted?

Has The quality of our Discussions Plummeted?

  • Yes

    Votes: 14 40.0%

  • No

    Votes: 18 51.4%

  • Other

    Votes: 3 8.6%
  • Total voters
    35
I think one way to increse activity would be removing the "thumbs up" button. Nowdays i find it simply easier to click upvote button when I see an intresting post rathet than post a reply…

I get that removing the like button is a double edged sword,, but maybe the long term effect is that people post less, because its faster to click like button.

Just a thought.
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2006
Messages
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@HiddenX

I don't really see a problem, but I've really only ever been a lurker anyway.

What solution do you have for this decline that you see? You can't really enforce friendliness or a "proper" discussion (however you want to define that). What you have right now is an organic community of people who have an interest in being here. That seems like enough to me, but maybe you should think about recruiting people from other corners of the web that meet a requisite level of friendliness.
 
Joined
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I couldn't really care less if someone posts positively or negatively about game X. If they have a point, and can point out flaws to me, I'm thankful for the information. This forum is about discussing games, after all. If people can't stand reading the opinion of gamer Y (example: DArt), that's what the ignore button is for ;)
 
I still think the quality of discussions is very civil and usually on point. If you compare use of foul language to, well, that other site, it looks pretty good here. Forum at its core is, about disagreements, if we all agreed, it would be completely pointless. I don't want to come to some place that is cold and sterile. I will take this to heart a bit to reflect inside about my own crappy day when I have them and try not to bring it here.

I don't always agree with Dart(yes you're still mostly right) or Jemy(where the heck did he disappear to any ways) or any of the personalities here but it wouldn't be the same if they left. What I have learned and take away from this place is different viewpoints that I just would not get where I live. It's a cultural exchange to hear and learn about other people living in far off lands. College was a long time ago and I miss that aspect of it. hearing about the games is good too but just icing on the cake.
 
Joined
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@Korplem

There are many little things that everyone can do.

Lead by example. Be friendly. Welcome new board members. Encourage newbies to post instead of turning them off by letting them know how much more you know about CRPGs at first contact…
Say the glass is half full instead of half empty. Be positive about your hobby: CRPGs.
Write short reviews, previews. Tell newbies about CRPG history. Help Couch with news. Congratulate at birthdays,… make jokes, have fun. Support Myrthos - donate for the Watch. Make your posts entertaining by adding a link, a picture, etc.

In short: Behave like you would behave in a friendly tavern with friends and a glass of beer in your hand and the beer is for free.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
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My involvement has certainly decreased, and there are several reasons for that - some have nothing to do with the forums, some have everything to do with them.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
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@txa1265
It's good that you post at least now and then … ;)
 
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HiddenX said:
@txa1265
It's good that you post at least now and then … ;)
Click to expand...
I agree HiddenX.:thumbsup:

I read a couple of his reviews for iOS RPGs that helped me purchase a few of them. So thank you txa1265 for the reviews.:worship:

HiddenX said:
If we continue like this we will be a News-Only site like GameBanshee in a few years.
Click to expand...
Maybe I should go ask BuckGB for a job. I hear they get paid for just posting news, and that's what I mostly do here on the Watch anyway.

I wouldn't care so much about the negativity then either.:thinking:

PS: Just kidding guys but it's a nice dream to aspire to.:)
 
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Couchpotato said:
I read a couple of his reviews for iOS RPGs that helped me purchase a few of them. So thank you txa1265 for the reviews.:worship:
Click to expand...

haha - thanks :) Tonight I'll be soaking too much money into Bioshock for iPad so I can come back in a few days and warn everyone off of wasting their money :D
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
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The quality hasn't plummeted, it was always this bad :p

I probably lurked at the Watch for a couple years before bothering to make an account. I don't think the problem is that we're a bunch of annoying jackasses... yes, there are some people who always post the same complaints, but that almost gives this place it's special charm.

It may just be that new would-be posters feel awkward joining a forum where many members have been around for years and there's all these sort of inside jokes / whatnot because of that. Perhaps it would help to make the introduce yourself thread more prominent somehow (i.e., turn it into a subforum so it's more visible). Perhaps the younger generation would just rather be on social media sites than forums like us old geezers.
 
Joined
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I was a Codexer, but I'm possibly joining as a full time Watcher now. I think this forum actually strikes a good balance at nurturing a welcoming community that will not allow excesses, while not being overbearing on moderation, verboten topics, and forced pleasantness.

In my opinion and experience, when there is perceived decline at an online community, it is futile to look for causes, as these are due to cyclical events which are way beyond anyone's control. I think you can't force anything; it has to come about organically.
 
Joined
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The argument game, as I call those threads where two people take over and it veers way off topic is a problem, but it has a solution. Post the first reply to the opposing party on the forum and suggest carrying on via PM, then do so. If your spiel captures the responses of several people, then it is worth keeping in the forum as long as the many stay involved and the topic stays at least somewhat focused.

One thing that could perhaps improve the quality is being aware of when we've gone off topic and then creating a new thread or moving to a different forum as needed.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
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crpgnut said:
The argument game, as I call those threads where two people take over and it veers way off topic is a problem, but it has a solution. Post the first reply to the opposing party on the forum and suggest carrying on via PM, then do so. If your spiel captures the responses of several people, then it is worth keeping in the forum as long as the many stay involved and the topic stays at least somewhat focused.

One thing that could perhaps improve the quality is being aware of when we've gone off topic and then creating a new thread or moving to a different forum as needed.
Click to expand...

This. The problem however is that certain people don't seem to want to start a new thread even when it's suggested.
 
Joined
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HiddenX said:
If we continue like this we will be a News-Only site like GameBanshee in a few years.
Click to expand...
No. GameBanshee's forum (at least the current one, never really bothered checking on it before) is probably the worst forum design I've ever seen. Such thing can't form a community.
And for what's worth, they lost Brother None. No reason to check on GB at all. Not even for news.
 
Joined
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txa1265 said:
My involvement has certainly decreased, and there are several reasons for that - some have nothing to do with the forums, some have everything to do with them.
Click to expand...

It might be good to point out the ones that do ...
It might be useful to stop those things.
 
Joined
Nov 13, 2006
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Location
Manchester, United Kingdom
One question is how strict we should be regarding off-topicness. I guess in some threads derailments is bad, while in others it can be very interesting, even entertaining to watch how things develop. I guess it depends on the topic of the thread.

I quite often post off-topic stuff, mostly things that at least to me are funny associations based on something someone wrote. The occasional Tom Lehrer song. The occasional Monty Python quote. Or it's a follow-up to something already off-topic. Perhaps I shouldn't do that.

I remember all those years ago when rec.computer.games.ultima.dragons was active, we had the never-ending thread which almost by definition was a series of random off-topic posts.

pibbur who is a bit unsure about this, but is convinced that at least this post is on-topic.
 
@pibbur who
The "art of cross-topic posting" - the real masters were DzD and Pinnen at the Dot.
Their conversations were sometimes pure comedy.

But you are very close :) - just stay that way -> you are very entertaining and one of the best things this forum has to offer.
 
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