OK, so how do you guys want your GenChat?

**blingdomepiece** · Joined: 03 Aug 2007 Posts: 4358 Location: Ottawa ON Canada

So the rant thread is locked for now and I'd appreciate some input before deciding what to do from here. I'd ideally like things to run the way most of you would like it, consistent with the rules of the site (no flaming, porn, etc.).

About the moderation, I recognize a lot of people don't like "silent destruction" of posts. Some folks want a "witty comment + lock" instead. One potential problem I see there is that one or two people can close down a thread by hijacking it with crap and getting it locked. I have also found that if I remove posts and explain myself, I end up embroiled in debate with people who have a lot more available time to debate this stuff than I do. At the end of the day, I might decide right or I might decide wrong. Maybe if you send me a PM saying why I shouldn't have deleted a post, I'll see your side and not do it in the future. But I'm not going to get into any more 10-on-1 debates (apart from possibly right now, haha) about message board rules, because those meta-discussions choke off the same debate I was trying to save with the initial moderation, and because whatever else I have to do as a staff member, I don't HAVE to do that, especially if the other side is more interested in starting a ruckus than improving anything around here. At whatever point JCirri decides I'm a terrible enough mod to get rid of me, he can, and until then, here I am, and my interest is in having a decent level of discussion here.

About the rant thread, there are clearly some people who are attached to it. I have no problem in principle with a general clearinghouse thread where people post whatever. I think there are cases where things should go into their own topics too, but sometimes you just want to vent and I think we can be cool about that. As bad as the current staff supposedly is, there's 399 pages of proof that we've been more relaxed than the older staff, whether that was a good decision or not.

But I guess my point of view is that whether there is a large Rant thread, or whether there are numerous small threads about whatever topic the person had in mind that day, there still has to be some quality in the posts, instead of an endless stream of "This." "This." "This." "QFT!" "U r dumb" "+1" "http://www.meme.com/I_have_no_original_thoughts.jpg" "haha I tunneled". Some of the same people who say the quality of mods have gone down aren't exactly Shakespearean in their own posting. If anyone has had potential Pulitzer-winning work deleted by an overzealous staff member, please let me know, because you have a legitimate grievance.

I wonder whether having the Rant thread encourages bad posting, or whether the people who post badly there would have posted badly anywhere. Either way, I'm not going to clean up any thread three times in 24 hours and keep it open. I'm sorry, I just won't.

Last thing, I think some of you have the attitude that rhythm games are dying, the site is dying or dead, so you don't have to respect it or anyone else here. Regardless of what happens to rhythm games or SH long-term, you SHOULD respect your fellow members. One way or another, you're all still here. Disrespecting the rest of the site is kind of like saying you don't deserve respect yourself, because you're a member too. If the site is going to be dead, then let it be a dead site with a decent message board, with posts by people who actually want to be here and value their experience here, and some standard of intelligence. This place has given me 4.5 years and some of you more. It's not asking a lot.

So, my questions for you:

1. Should there be a rant thread, or is it better if we just have individual threads for individual topics?
2. Accepting the reality that this place will be moderated, do you prefer lock-and-comment, silent removal, or something else?
3. How else could General Chat be improved?
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**Hobo111** · Joined: 27 Dec 2009 Posts: 3414

I'll try to look at it as unbiased as possible, considering the Rant thread was my (not well thought out) idea.

**Josseppe95** · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 1045 Location: Philadelphia

Maybe I didn't really notice the problem going on with the rant thread? But regardless I didn't really notice any poor posting (unless of course you just deleted it and I missed it, and in that case well you're doing your job well I suppose).

Regardless, I really do like the rant thread and don't think it should be locked. It kind of destroys discussion from other potential threads, sure, but hasn't one of the big rules of SH always been to post something in an existing thread rather than make a new one? I feel that, if anything, the rant thread has promoted discussion on this board because we have this thread that allows us to post what's on our mind as opposed to just not posting something entirely because there isn't a thread for it. Instead, we have almost an all purpose thread in the rant thread, something that I've really enjoyed since its inception.

Addressing your individual points:

1. Absolutely, the rant thread has definitely helped bring me back into the SH community and it's been one of my favorite threads in a while. Even if I don't post that often, I can assure you it's something that I'm reading and checking up on almost daily.

2. I think a silent removal method is the best, maybe adding a PM to the person whose posts are being removed explaining why you did it. I know if I noticed my posts were removed and I didn't exactly understand why I'd feel a little slighted, so that may help to bypass a bit of confusion.

3. I'm honestly really okay with the quality of GC right now. I've come to terms that it isn't really gonna go back to the way it used to be and I'm okay with that. I enjoy GC as it is now and certainly don't want anything to change.
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**thecaptainof** · Joined: 04 May 2007 Posts: 7571 Location: ¯\(°_o)/¯

**Vampyromaniac** · Joined: 08 Feb 2008 Posts: 1216

I mostly agree.

**TQSG** · Joined: 30 Jul 2008 Posts: 1054 Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

**Rikuthemaster**

I think it's awesome how you're getting our opinions on the situation before making a final decision. It's not something you see often in a message board, and it makes it feel more user-friendly, rather than a dictatorship. Just a little tid bit I want to throw out. :P

**inv4der** · Joined: 16 Sep 2007 Posts: 9658 Location: Meridian, ID

Gonna answer the questions without reading any of the rest of the thread so expect retreaded ground. >__>

**CamelTower** · Joined: 20 Oct 2008 Posts: 477 Location: Wisconsin

I don't really have much to say or add, as I'm an infrequent poster. However, navigating through pages of one thread is a lot faster than navigating through a lot of small threads.

As to the debate about the +1 threads, forgive my ignorance but does anyone care about post count anymore? I legit only post when I feel like adding something to the thread, I don't really care much about the numbers. If I posted something each time I visit the forums i'd probably have over 1000 posts. But that's just me
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**alexhaz64** · Joined: 01 Mar 2008 Posts: 4480 Location: Long Beach, CA

One problem I have with massive threads such as the rant thread is that the search function on this site is really inconvenient for finding things within such threads. If there was a way to choose any page of a thread to view, that would make things a bit better in that case.

In any case, I actually really like the rant thread. Partly because it's the most interesting thing on the forums most of the time, and partly because I know at least half of what is posted on there (good or bad) would never make it as a thread on its own, and would likely never be posted at all. Little personal stories were perfect in that thread, and I honestly can't see making a separate thread for each one of those. I can't think of any happy medium, but I have no problem with the state of general chat currently. Could you enlighten us by any chance as to what the main problem is? The lack of threads outside the rant thread? The quality of posts within? Whatever the problem is, I (and many others it seems) don't see it.
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**Dodongo** · Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2012 10:25 am Post subject:

I think an all encompassing thread such as the rant thread was great, everyone knew that if they wanted something looked at legitimately that that was the place to post it, because that's the thread everyone looked at (and Bob's thread, but that's for Bob). I feel that it was basically like a chat room, just with a little more decorum, because that's what you get with posts and forums in general. I think the rant thread was a great place for the community.

In regards to your next question, silent removal. I had a chance to look at the posts you removed, and I don't find them funny really (not having a dig, just not a fan sorry) so I don't care where they end. The part of that thread I liked was people talking about their lives and then everyone else pitching in with relevant experiences from their own.

Finally, how could General Chat be improved? I don't know. I think it's pretty good the way it is now, all things considered.
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**blingdomepiece** · Joined: 03 Aug 2007 Posts: 4358 Location: Ottawa ON Canada

Good points guys. I am at work so won't get back to this until later but I wanted to reply to one thing.

**GuitarHailz** · Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 4910 Location: Austin, Texas

**ShadoWolf** · Joined: 21 Jul 2008 Posts: 2034 Location: Slough, England

How about a rule of thumb that if a topic gets 3+(?) pages in the Rant Thread, it gets it's own separate topic? That'd do well to filter the actual topics from inane, less relevant topics that would just linger in the Rant Thread?
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**singemfrc** · Joined: 10 Aug 2007 Posts: 4407 Location: California