What a fancy forum

[Colours]

To be fair, looking over the list of ghost rules with a bit of admin experience behind me tells me that the forum has grown out of hand, the moderators are fed up with people regularly trying to rules-lawyer their way through things, and - perhaps most importantly - parents have complained and possibly threatened legal action against them. All of this in mind, it's understandable that they'd want to regulate things strictly and play it as safe as is possible for them.

 

...I have an impression that there might be a "critical size" for internet forums. Once any of them grows too large, it irrevocably becomes unpleasant and the only way to perpetuate it is to over-regulate. Perhaps it's kinder to let them die when that time comes.

[Edgedancer he/him]

To be fair, looking over the list of ghost rules with a bit of admin experience behind me tells me that the forum has grown out of hand, the moderators are fed up with people regularly trying to rules-lawyer their way through things, and - perhaps most importantly - parents have complained and possibly threatened legal action against them. All of this in mind, it's understandable that they'd want to regulate things strictly and play it as safe as is possible for them.

 

...I have an impression that there might be a "critical size" for internet forums. Once any of them grows too large, it irrevocably becomes unpleasant and the only way to perpetuate it is to over-regulate. Perhaps it's kinder to let them die when that time comes.

Probably true, rules are made because they were broken before and all that fun stuff. Seems like this forum is just spoiling us with rules like those not being necessary.

[Rubix he/him]

Here's the thing. Like, 90% of my theory on rules is that it comes down to "Don't be a jerk to another human being". Yes, all we see here are avatars, but it's a real person at the other end. That's not so say that some things won't be said that may disagree with what specific people believe. It's when you start targeting someone specific that things become a problem. 

 

There have been problems on this site in the past, and to some extents, there always will be. But we're going to continue to put the foot down when people come here and can't bring themselves to be civil. And as many people here can attest, we're very open about what happens by way of moderation. A lot of the time we like to handle it via PM instead of in a thread, but if you have questions, please, never hesitate to shoot me a PM. I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

[Kestrel she/her]

Totally! I can see where a lot of their rules come from, to an extent. I was there during the whole "Hetalia" thing and and "over top blood in art" as well, and some of it did get out of hand. The forum is definently way too big, but I feel like they can handle it better. Or at least update the official rules to accommodate for the new ones, which they won't do for some reason? The politics of that place are crazy.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

Here's the thing. Like, 90% of my theory on rules is that it comes down to "Don't be a jerk to another human being". Yes, all we see here are avatars, but it's a real person at the other end. That's not so say that some things won't be said that may disagree with what specific people believe. It's when you start targeting someone specific that things become a problem. 

 

There have been problems on this site in the past, and to some extents, there always will be. But we're going to continue to put the foot down when people come here and can't bring themselves to be civil. And as many people here can attest, we're very open about what happens by way of moderation. A lot of the time we like to handle it via PM instead of in a thread, but if you have questions, please, never hesitate to shoot me a PM. I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

 

This, I think, is the key difference between what I saw of the Warriors board and this forum. From the rules I read there, they seem to assume that most people are fragile, mean-spirited morons who will dissolve into a rage-filled puddle of tears if they happen to see something that they don't like on some level. 

 

The mods here, however, assume most members are good people who are here to discuss life and an author they happen to like. They assume misunderstandings will happen, and fights too, but that they can be resolved (usually) without resorting to drastic action. 

 

And if I've learned one thing during my time on teh interwebs, it's that when people make assumptions about others, they almost always turn into self-fulfilling prophecies. 

 

In other words, you mods are awesome.  

[Glamdring804]

Wow, nice forum, and even nicer community members. That being said, the Infinity Blade forum is pretty awesome. Trolls are rare, practically non-existent. I don't think anyone has been banned for a couple months. The moderators, they all started out as normal forum members, and we're then promoted to mod status. There are three of them, and I'd like to think I'm friends with each of them. The rules are pretty relaxed, and everyone is so nice and acomadating, they rarely ever have to be enforced. Basically, I'm trying to say that I'm glad I found another nice, friendly forum. They are quite rare.

@TwiLyght: You don't like Inheritance? Perhaps we shouldn't talk to each other...

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

Wow, nice forum, and even nicer community members. That being said, the Infinity Blade forum is pretty awesome. Trolls are rare, practically non-existent. I don't think anyone has been banned for a couple months. The moderators, they all started out as normal forum members, and we're then promoted to mod status. There are three of them, and I'd like to think I'm friends with each of them. The rules are pretty relaxed, and everyone is so nice and acomadating, they rarely ever have to be enforced. Basically, I'm trying to say that I'm glad I found another nice, friendly forum. They are quite rare.

@TwiLyght: You don't like Inheritance? Perhaps we shouldn't talk to each other...

 

I liked it right up until I read Eldest. Where Eragon was a quick, enjoyable read (more enjoyable since I was pretty young and couldn't see as many of its flaws), Eldest was a slog. But I figured that if I kept going, I'd get to the good part; if I just forced myself through it, it would all be worth it. However, when I got to the 

 

naked elf twins whose magical tattoo magically heals Eragon because he's so magically special

 

I decided Paolini was officially out of ideas and moved on with my life.

[Glamdring804]

I liked it right up until I read Eldest. Where Eragon was a quick, enjoyable read (more enjoyable since I was pretty young and couldn't see as many of its flaws), Eldest was a slog. But I figured that if I kept going, I'd get to the good part; if I just forced myself through it, it would all be worth it. However, when I got to the 

 

naked elf twins whose magical tattoo magically heals Eragon because he's so magically special

 

I decided Paolini was officially out of ideas and moved on with my life.

Okay. Fair point. Just know this: Paolini and Sanderson are good friends.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

Okay. Fair point. Just know this: Paolini and Sanderson are good friends.

 

Oh yes. I saw Paolini's blurb on the back of Steelheart. Sanderson even thanked him for being a fantastic beta reader in the acknowledgements. Sanderson is still a far, far better writer than Paolini, and Paolini could benefit from having a few more critical beta readers. I don't have anything against Paolini as a person; from everything I've read about him, he's a sweet, adorkable guy who loves geeking out about fantasy. I just don't like his writing. 

[Kestrel she/her]

This, I think, is the key difference between what I saw of the Warriors board and this forum. From the rules I read there, they seem to assume that most people are fragile, mean-spirited morons who will dissolve into a rage-filled puddle of tears if they happen to see something that they don't like on some level. 

 

The mods here, however, assume most members are good people who are here to discuss life and an author they happen to like. They assume misunderstandings will happen, and fights too, but that they can be resolved (usually) without resorting to drastic action. 

 

And if I've learned one thing during my time on teh interwebs, it's that when people make assumptions about others, they almost always turn into self-fulfilling prophecies. 

 

In other words, you mods are awesome.

^ -points upward-

I was there for a while, and it was.. yeah. The mods there are horrible at their job, or rather, they do it too well. Which is better than not doing it at all, but they handle the huge influx of users poorly. But the forum is geared towards younger users, and if a troll gets on and posts some graphic/sexual material, the publishing company (that runs the forum) could get sued if a parent sees it. But still, a lot of the ghost rules are silly and nobody follows them, to be honest. So many people get banned. Its bad.

This forum is so nice. Its rather small and I haven't seen one fight. Not one. Everyone is very mature. A+ would stay again.

[Glamdring804]

Oh yes. I saw Paolini's blurb on the back of Steelheart. Sanderson even thanked him for being a fantastic beta reader in the acknowledgements. Sanderson is still a far, far better writer than Paolini, and Paolini could benefit from having a few more critical beta readers. I don't have anything against Paolini as a person; from everything I've read about him, he's a sweet, adorkable guy who loves geeking out about fantasy. I just don't like his writing. 

 

I would tell you that you are wrong, and Paolini's writing is awesome, etc., but I haven't read the books in a while, whereas I am currently working my way through the Cosmere. I can't give an accurate judgement, so I'll hold off for now.

 

I am partial to Paolini, as I live in Montana, not 50 miles from him. It's very nice to read such a local artist. I've been to two of his book signings, which were held in the local Costco. I got the impression that he is a very grounded person, and I'm glad to have met him.

Edited May 23, 2015 by Glamdring804

[Rubix he/him]

The mods there are horrible at their job, or rather, they do it too well. Which is better than not doing it at all, but they handle the huge influx of users poorly. But the forum is geared towards younger users, and if a troll gets on and posts some graphic/sexual material, the publishing company (that runs the forum) could get sued if a parent sees it.

 

The age of the readers probably has a great deal to do with it. Where those books are geared towards younger readers, the forums actually do allow for kids under 13 to register (with a parent entering their email address), which 17S does not. Okay, yes, the Alcatraz books are geared towards younger readers, but a WIDE majority of Brandon's readership is over 13.

 

So yeah, there's a chance that Harper Collins could get in trouble for what's on those boards, and there are probably parents who contact them wanting tighter rules so that their kids won't run into content that they object to (see their ghost rule on guns). Fortunately, 17S isn't beholden to a publisher in that way, and while we do have a professional relationship with Brandon and his team (we're the official fansite, and we're linked on Brandon's site), they (more often than not) let us do as we see best.

[Colours]

Sometimes I wonder how much the internet's been screwed over by the general attitude of "please don't sue me". 

[Voidus]

I managed to stick out the Inheritance cycle to the end but that ending just left me completely underwhelmed and annoyed in a lot of ways. His writing's not terrible but just plot-wise it just... yeah not a fan anymore.

[Curious Anamaximder he/him]

Lark, after reading those rules, I realized how nice this place is. I was on a pentalingual forum for a while and it sucked. I do not know how to speak Italian.

[Delightful]

I managed to stick out the Inheritance cycle to the end but that ending just left me completely underwhelmed and annoyed in a lot of ways. His writing's not terrible but just plot-wise it just... yeah not a fan anymore.

It was a lack of Angela backstory that really messed up Inheritance for me. Honestly, I think the series is ok but not spectacular, unsurprising considering he started the series at 15. What id really like is to read something recent of Paolini's - just as far as I know he has nothing else published.

[Mailliw73 he/him]

I'm more or less laughing about the "no character death" one in the disbuted rules.

Its like the mods haven't READ warriors.

Some of them make some sense, but most. I'm like. Okay wow.

Wow. I guess I see where they come from, but wow. THe zombie apocalypse one, for one, seems very random.  

 

Here's the thing. Like, 90% of my theory on rules is that it comes down to "Don't be a jerk to another human being". Yes, all we see here are avatars, but it's a real person at the other end. That's not so say that some things won't be said that may disagree with what specific people believe. It's when you start targeting someone specific that things become a problem. 

 

There have been problems on this site in the past, and to some extents, there always will be. But we're going to continue to put the foot down when people come here and can't bring themselves to be civil. And as many people here can attest, we're very open about what happens by way of moderation. A lot of the time we like to handle it via PM instead of in a thread, but if you have questions, please, never hesitate to shoot me a PM. I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

I'll vouch for this. There was an incident some months back and quite a few of us questioned what happened. Chaos sent us a PM and cleared it up all nicely. The Admins and Mods are great here and they're open about everything. Just ask if you have questions and be kind and it'll all be okay.

[Glamdring804]

Wow. I actually never realized how nice my forums are until I read those rules. No R rated material. That means you can't even use Matrix memes.

Edited May 25, 2015 by Glamdring804

[Surgebound Rainspren he/him]

I really tried to keep liking the Inheritance series, I really did!

But the ending to the last book just felt forced and lackluster! 

[Adamir he/him]

To be fair, looking over the list of ghost rules with a bit of admin experience behind me tells me that the forum has grown out of hand, the moderators are fed up with people regularly trying to rules-lawyer their way through things, and - perhaps most importantly - parents have complained and possibly threatened legal action against them. All of this in mind, it's understandable that they'd want to regulate things strictly and play it as safe as is possible for them.

 

...I have an impression that there might be a "critical size" for internet forums. Once any of them grows too large, it irrevocably becomes unpleasant and the only way to perpetuate it is to over-regulate. Perhaps it's kinder to let them die when that time comes.

And now you've depressed the entire forum...

[Colours]

And now you've depressed the entire forum...

Shh, it's only a guess.   Based on one person's worth of anecdotal evidence.

 

And even if it is true, exceptions will likely exist. I mean, there are plenty of good-sized subreddits and things that do a good job of keeping things civil, for example - maybe you just need a system of hiding the comments that have too many downvotes, or some such thing, to make it self-regulating (to avoid excessive increases in mod requirements). Prevents troll-feeding and all that.

 

...I have a feeling this might be an actual branch of sociology.

Edited May 25, 2015 by Colours

[Adamir he/him]

Shh, it's only a guess.   Based on one person's worth of anecdotal evidence.

 

And even if it is true, exceptions will likely exist. I mean, there are plenty of good-sized subreddits and things that do a good job of keeping things civil, for example - maybe you just need a system of hiding the comments that have too many downvotes, or some such thing, to make it self-regulating (to avoid excessive increases in mod requirements). Prevents troll-feeding and all that.

 

...I have a feeling this might be an actual branch of sociology.

I've been studying sociology for the past year, and while I know absolutely nothing useful from that year of study, this looks like it could work.

 

On another note, that's the fastest reply I've seen on any forum to one of my posts. I think its been a total of 0.5 minutes since I made that post.

 

EDIT: I just checked the clock, twenty minutes since I made that post.

Edited May 25, 2015 by Adamir

[Colours]

I've been studying sociology for the past year, and while I know absolutely nothing useful from that year of study, this looks like it could work.

 

On another note, that's the fastest reply I've seen on any forum to one of my posts. I think its been a total of 0.5 minutes since I made that post.

 

EDIT: I just checked the clock, twenty minutes since I made that post.

Watch out! There might be a time-distortion effect near you somewhere. 

 

Yeah, I've had my share of successful and failed forums over the years - it does seem to me that they might have a natural lifespan, but at the same time, there might be ways to get around it, like the downvote system. It shouldn't be necessary here for a while yet, so it's all good.

[Kaymyth she/her]

Watch out! There might be a time-distortion effect near you somewhere. 

 

Yeah, I've had my share of successful and failed forums over the years - it does seem to me that they might have a natural lifespan, but at the same time, there might be ways to get around it, like the downvote system. It shouldn't be necessary here for a while yet, so it's all good.

 

There's an equilibrium to be reached, and the recipe requires some good ingredients.  Good mods, people who are mostly reasonable people, and a living fandom and/or reason for being are among those.  Back in the days of yore, I was part of the Bronze:Beta Buffy fandom board.  It had its rocky places, but in the end, the reason it faded was because Buffy, Angel, and Firefly had all ended.  It's raison d'etre was gone (though I do still maintain a few of the friendships I gained back then).

 

Of all of the forums and posting boards I've been on over the years, 17th Shard is definitely one of the nicest.  in fact, I can only think of one where people are more polite - and that's an etiquette forum.

[Colours]

There's an equilibrium to be reached, and the recipe requires some good ingredients.  Good mods, people who are mostly reasonable people, and a living fandom and/or reason for being are among those.  Back in the days of yore, I was part of the Bronze:Beta Buffy fandom board.  It had its rocky places, but in the end, the reason it faded was because Buffy, Angel, and Firefly had all ended.  It's raison d'etre was gone (though I do still maintain a few of the friendships I gained back then).

 

Of all of the forums and posting boards I've been on over the years, 17th Shard is definitely one of the nicest.  in fact, I can only think of one where people are more polite - and that's an etiquette forum.

I've been part of a couple of forums while they were still new, and it's really a hit-or-miss thing whether they'll take off or simply run out of momentum and vanish. There was one that I think should have worked but didn't - it was overrun by spambots until everyone just gave up - and a couple that had a very limited userbase to begin with, so those were likely doomed. And then there's one that's alive and well and gradually gaining new members through some indiscernible means, but still small enough to require essentially no regulating.

 

The thing is, when the forums start out, they always seem to be pleasant places. The larger forums I've seen tend to lose that, and it's often easy to find a pattern in the posts of the older members - often, they leave behind a post in which they reminisce about how wonderful the community was in the old days, lament about how it was ruined after some great influx of members, and then say goodbye.

 

...Maybe it's just that gaining members too fast is bad for your health.