The State of ScoreHero

[CleverTangent]

I've noticed with a dawning dismay that these boards are simply not what they were; even from my relatively short time on ScoreHero, the gradual decay of these boards has been very clear to me.

While entropy on the Internet moves at an alarmingly fast rate, I'm still very disappointed that ScoreHero is heading down the road of GameFAQs and other similar forums. Many people on ScoreHero hold to the mantra that "at least we're not GameFAQs/rockband.com/etc.", but we're morphing as a whole into the idiotic mass of a mega fanboard.

Why is this happening?

I've been thinking about this for a while, and I've tried to narrow down the symptoms and the causes.

Symptoms:

1) The degeneration of General Chat from a discussion forum to a poll forum. "Poll thread" is an administrative buzzword, but it's remarkably apt. Forums are intended to be facilitators of discussion; from their very inception as an extension of Usenet, forums have been used to discuss issues and rapidly disseminate information among the educated masses. Many denizens of General Chat post once in a topic, and then never post in it again; I can't fathom why somebody would come to a discussion forum and not discuss like this, but the intention of a forum thread is for there to be discussion, and multiple posts should be required to conduct a lucid conversation.

Similarly, when a true discussion thread rises amid the muck, some people take it upon themselves to dilute the discussion by posting once and then leaving, or by posting something stupid that doesn't add to the discussion at all. If you've got nothing to say, don't post.

2) Posts and threads in the accomplishment forum receive more posts and attention than threads in other forums. I believe that the accomplishments forum is out of control; people artificially inflate their post counts by simply congratulating every person who creates a thread; the thread creator is encouraged by this type of post, and updates more often, hoping to attract more people, and they post in other people's accomplishment threads, and the cycle continues. While I have nothing wrong with making friends and posting in each other's threads, I don't see why people post so much in the accomplishments forum. With regards to the "big" or "famous" players, a majority of the posts in their threads are "Wow!", or "You're awesome, do (song name) next!" posts, and really are pointless. The result is an atmosphere of back-patting and tit-for-tat posting in accomplishment threads which is largely pointless.

3) General lack of intelligent discussion. While I hesitate to use the lack intelligence as a grievance, the general stupidity of some posts simply can't be ignored. The ridiculous reliance on internet memes is really, really old, and people new to the internet keep reviving things that should have died long ago. (Over 9000 springs to mind.) Also, ScoreHero's tendency to "sig" humorous posts creates a noxious atmosphere; people attempt to be funny at other people's expense so that they might be immortalized in signatures. Some people even keep track of the times that they've been sigged. The result is a community that loves to make fun of each other at other people's expense, which creates rifts in the community and just isn't funny.

The Causes:

1) Maturity. Again, I hesitate to use this, as I am only 16 years old myself, but a lot of ScoreHero's problems can be traced back to the point where some people simply don't know how to act accordingly in an atmosphere with mixed ages. Younger members should expect to meet the rest of the community halfway with regards to their humor and level of discussion, and nine times out of ten this doesn't happen. Many people are also new to the internet, and are not aware of the unspoken rules that exist in internet forums. To you, if you're reading this: lurk. You know better than to go to another country and ignorantly screw with the locals. You learn, and by learning you are welcomed and brought into the fold. (Obligatory nod to Welcome to the Internet)

2) Influx of people. Usenet users still bitterly complain about the September that never ended, when Usenet was made available to AOL users, who muddied the waters with their general stupidity. The same happens to any message board over time; as the amount of people in a community increases, the communal intelligence level decreases. Groupthink increases, leading to some of the social atmospheres that I described above. This can be solved by simply thinking for yourself; don't try to say things that might be funny so that you might get sigged; say what you think needs to be said, and add humor if it helps.

3) Lack of perspective. This is mainly a problem on the Rock Band side; in the Guitar Hero series, there have been over 200 songs featured. Rock Band has over 500. Stop complaining about the lack of your favorite songs; you are a lowly forum poster, and the development companies do not give a damn what you think, unless they ask you specifically.

I'd love to hear of other causes or symptoms, or you can disagree with me and we can talk a little. This is a discussion board, right?

What can be done about this? I truly believe that if every poster begins to discuss instead of simply posting, the atmosphere of ScoreHero will change dramatically. Gone will the "What's the hardest DLC song?" posts be; gone will the "Favorite song?" threads be; instead, legitimate discussion will replace them, forming an atmosphere of friendliness and intelligence that fosters a positive board image.

This requires concessions for some people. If you want to be silly and stupid, please go somewhere else. If you don't want to discuss things, don't come to forums. I have many friends on this website, and I gained them through discussion, not by posting in their accomplishments thread, or by posting once in every thread I see. My post count is independent of the value of my ideas.

TL;DR: If you're skipping to this part of the post without reading anything else, please leave this thread. Thanks!
_________________

Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth. ~Oscar Wilde

[CleverTangent]

I've noticed with a dawning dismay that these boards are simply not what they were; even from my relatively short time on ScoreHero, the gradual decay of these boards has been very clear to me.

While entropy on the Internet moves at an alarmingly fast rate, I'm still very disappointed that ScoreHero is heading down the road of GameFAQs and other similar forums. Many people on ScoreHero hold to the mantra that "at least we're not GameFAQs/rockband.com/etc.", but we're morphing as a whole into the idiotic mass of a mega fanboard.

Why is this happening?

I've been thinking about this for a while, and I've tried to narrow down the symptoms and the causes.

Symptoms:

1) The degeneration of General Chat from a discussion forum to a poll forum. "Poll thread" is an administrative buzzword, but it's remarkably apt. Forums are intended to be facilitators of discussion; from their very inception as an extension of Usenet, forums have been used to discuss issues and rapidly disseminate information among the educated masses. Many denizens of General Chat post once in a topic, and then never post in it again; I can't fathom why somebody would come to a discussion forum and not discuss like this, but the intention of a forum thread is for there to be discussion, and multiple posts should be required to conduct a lucid conversation.

Similarly, when a true discussion thread rises amid the muck, some people take it upon themselves to dilute the discussion by posting once and then leaving, or by posting something stupid that doesn't add to the discussion at all. If you've got nothing to say, don't post.

2) Posts and threads in the accomplishment forum receive more posts and attention than threads in other forums. I believe that the accomplishments forum is out of control; people artificially inflate their post counts by simply congratulating every person who creates a thread; the thread creator is encouraged by this type of post, and updates more often, hoping to attract more people, and they post in other people's accomplishment threads, and the cycle continues. While I have nothing wrong with making friends and posting in each other's threads, I don't see why people post so much in the accomplishments forum. With regards to the "big" or "famous" players, a majority of the posts in their threads are "Wow!", or "You're awesome, do (song name) next!" posts, and really are pointless. The result is an atmosphere of back-patting and tit-for-tat posting in accomplishment threads which is largely pointless.

3) General lack of intelligent discussion. While I hesitate to use the lack intelligence as a grievance, the general stupidity of some posts simply can't be ignored. The ridiculous reliance on internet memes is really, really old, and people new to the internet keep reviving things that should have died long ago. (Over 9000 springs to mind.) Also, ScoreHero's tendency to "sig" humorous posts creates a noxious atmosphere; people attempt to be funny at other people's expense so that they might be immortalized in signatures. Some people even keep track of the times that they've been sigged. The result is a community that loves to make fun of each other at other people's expense, which creates rifts in the community and just isn't funny.

The Causes:

1) Maturity. Again, I hesitate to use this, as I am only 16 years old myself, but a lot of ScoreHero's problems can be traced back to the point where some people simply don't know how to act accordingly in an atmosphere with mixed ages. Younger members should expect to meet the rest of the community halfway with regards to their humor and level of discussion, and nine times out of ten this doesn't happen. Many people are also new to the internet, and are not aware of the unspoken rules that exist in internet forums. To you, if you're reading this: lurk. You know better than to go to another country and ignorantly screw with the locals. You learn, and by learning you are welcomed and brought into the fold. (Obligatory nod to Welcome to the Internet)

2) Influx of people. Usenet users still bitterly complain about the September that never ended, when Usenet was made available to AOL users, who muddied the waters with their general stupidity. The same happens to any message board over time; as the amount of people in a community increases, the communal intelligence level decreases. Groupthink increases, leading to some of the social atmospheres that I described above. This can be solved by simply thinking for yourself; don't try to say things that might be funny so that you might get sigged; say what you think needs to be said, and add humor if it helps.

3) Lack of perspective. This is mainly a problem on the Rock Band side; in the Guitar Hero series, there have been over 200 songs featured. Rock Band has over 500. Stop complaining about the lack of your favorite songs; you are a lowly forum poster, and the development companies do not give a damn what you think, unless they ask you specifically.

I'd love to hear of other causes or symptoms, or you can disagree with me and we can talk a little. This is a discussion board, right?

What can be done about this? I truly believe that if every poster begins to discuss instead of simply posting, the atmosphere of ScoreHero will change dramatically. Gone will the "What's the hardest DLC song?" posts be; gone will the "Favorite song?" threads be; instead, legitimate discussion will replace them, forming an atmosphere of friendliness and intelligence that fosters a positive board image.

This requires concessions for some people. If you want to be silly and stupid, please go somewhere else. If you don't want to discuss things, don't come to forums. I have many friends on this website, and I gained them through discussion, not by posting in their accomplishments thread, or by posting once in every thread I see. My post count is independent of the value of my ideas.

TL;DR: If you're skipping to this part of the post without reading anything else, please leave this thread. Thanks!
_________________

Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth. ~Oscar Wilde

[mac081793]

These kind of topics have been brought up in the past. I beleieve BJW made one and it was an interesting discussion.

This pretty much happens to all forums when they get big and popular. More users coming in and being noobish and what not.

I understand how you feel though. You don't get that same small community feeling where it felt like a lotta people knew each other.

Now that I think about it. The only reason I ever come to SH anymore is mainly for 'General Discussion" and Game Discussion". "Misc. GH Discussion" is just the same shit every week with the same threads. I rarely go their now.

I never go to the accomplishments forums. In fact, I never even have visited that area, nor I have I cared. I'm just not a hardcore GH/RB player that most others here.

Anyways, I know exactly how you feel man. I kind of feel like I could post less because I think I've been posting useless crap lately. As Scorehero grows, it seems like I keep seeing locked threads more and more. I mean I see a cool discussion and I come back to visit it and BAM, it's locked.

I just don't understand why people can't have civil discussions. People always have to ruin it. I wish there was a way for new users to be forced to read the rules.


EDIT: Ok SERIOUSLY! One more thing


STOP FUCKING POSTING DEPRESSING FUCKING STORIES! It's very very annoying.
_________________

Freebird Status Received on 11/16/08

[mac081793]

These kind of topics have been brought up in the past. I beleieve BJW made one and it was an interesting discussion.

This pretty much happens to all forums when they get big and popular. More users coming in and being noobish and what not.

I understand how you feel though. You don't get that same small community feeling where it felt like a lotta people knew each other.

Now that I think about it. The only reason I ever come to SH anymore is mainly for 'General Discussion" and Game Discussion". "Misc. GH Discussion" is just the same shit every week with the same threads. I rarely go their now.

I never go to the accomplishments forums. In fact, I never even have visited that area, nor I have I cared. I'm just not a hardcore GH/RB player that most others here.

Anyways, I know exactly how you feel man. I kind of feel like I could post less because I think I've been posting useless crap lately. As Scorehero grows, it seems like I keep seeing locked threads more and more. I mean I see a cool discussion and I come back to visit it and BAM, it's locked.

I just don't understand why people can't have civil discussions. People always have to ruin it. I wish there was a way for new users to be forced to read the rules.


EDIT: Ok SERIOUSLY! One more thing


STOP FUCKING POSTING DEPRESSING FUCKING STORIES! It's very very annoying.
_________________

Freebird Status Received on 11/16/08

[shadow6463]

I have noticed less activity, but not exactly what you have wrote. While I do believe it is inevitable that this site will start going downhill as a result of more people, we still have awesome mods that do the job right and more importantly, we have a strong base of intelligent forum posters already here and still contributing. I will admit, I don't have much experience because I never have been on GameFAQs.com or whatever Usenet is, but just my 2 cents.
_________________

"What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist."

http://www.erepublik.com/en/referrer/shadow6463

[shadow6463]

I have noticed less activity, but not exactly what you have wrote. While I do believe it is inevitable that this site will start going downhill as a result of more people, we still have awesome mods that do the job right and more importantly, we have a strong base of intelligent forum posters already here and still contributing. I will admit, I don't have much experience because I never have been on GameFAQs.com or whatever Usenet is, but just my 2 cents.
_________________

"What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist."

http://www.erepublik.com/en/referrer/shadow6463

[KloK]

One of the problems is that some of the big topics that bring about good discussions (e.g. politics, religion, etc.) usually devolve to a few posters flaming each other and subsequently the thread gets closed and the topic becomes sort of taboo.

that's my reasoning for there not being many good discussion topics, and this relates back to your maturity thing.
_________________

[KloK]

One of the problems is that some of the big topics that bring about good discussions (e.g. politics, religion, etc.) usually devolve to a few posters flaming each other and subsequently the thread gets closed and the topic becomes sort of taboo.

that's my reasoning for there not being many good discussion topics, and this relates back to your maturity thing.
_________________

[hydrapower]

[hydrapower]

[tormentedbyu]

[tormentedbyu]

[D0m0omod]

I agree with everything. I'm guilty of a few joke posts but there are reasons why I rarely venture out of General Chat. I, too, noticed the Accomplishment Forum +1 posts multiplied by how many people post in there.

This is all happening because Scorehero got big. The problem with getting large amounts of people to join a group is that you can't properly filter said people. Sure, we've got 300,000+ members, but how many of them bring something to the table? Not that they need to, but instead of some of them trying to post something decent I have to keep checking if I'm on Ebaums or YoutubeComments.com. This is why I stay in The Metal Thread and why I don't bump my CD Thread in my sig after each update.

I'm fairly biased though, as I hate the majority of all people.

[D0m0omod]

I agree with everything. I'm guilty of a few joke posts but there are reasons why I rarely venture out of General Chat. I, too, noticed the Accomplishment Forum +1 posts multiplied by how many people post in there.

This is all happening because Scorehero got big. The problem with getting large amounts of people to join a group is that you can't properly filter said people. Sure, we've got 300,000+ members, but how many of them bring something to the table? Not that they need to, but instead of some of them trying to post something decent I have to keep checking if I'm on Ebaums or YoutubeComments.com. This is why I stay in The Metal Thread and why I don't bump my CD Thread in my sig after each update.

I'm fairly biased though, as I hate the majority of all people.

[schism]

I don't know how many of you will remember me but this is the first post I've had around here in awhile. In my absence of a few months, I thought about making a post like this and when I thought about it, the main reason I stopped coming around here was:

[schism]

I don't know how many of you will remember me but this is the first post I've had around here in awhile. In my absence of a few months, I thought about making a post like this and when I thought about it, the main reason I stopped coming around here was:

[Squirrel]

I kinda agree in this sense.

I only reside in the general chat and misc gaming forums. It seems that there are a bit few more intelligent people there than other places. It could be that I also barely have enough time to play any games, let alone guitar hero.

Then again I am kinda loving of my fix your console thread, so eh...

That's just me. I'm just saying, I really just stay and visit the general chat and misc game discussion forums.
_________________

[Squirrel]

I kinda agree in this sense.

I only reside in the general chat and misc gaming forums. It seems that there are a bit few more intelligent people there than other places. It could be that I also barely have enough time to play any games, let alone guitar hero.

Then again I am kinda loving of my fix your console thread, so eh...

That's just me. I'm just saying, I really just stay and visit the general chat and misc game discussion forums.
_________________

[FBMrider86]

Most of the people in this thread have already said the mandatory "I agree..." so I'll just fast forward to the only problem I see, particularly in this forum.

You mentioned flame wars starting and topics (many of which still contain a great amount of ACTUAL discussion) being locked. I see this as kind of a flawed system. Is it too much to just edit what a particular user that stirs up shit in a particular post and possibly temp ban them and it still remain unlocked? I realize you attempt to "hold your self in high standards" but come on...this is, after all, the internet. Morons runs wild.

I've noticed over the past few months that General Chat has slowly and slowly contained less new threads, and a good majority of those threads are simply "shocking" stories (woman drops kid, kid throws taco at mom, man eats own head, you get the idea). Those that provoke strong opinions, (religion, the recently closed vegetarian thread) you can almost bet that they'll soon be locked. We're all essentially playing "Beat the Clock". "That thread's been open for three hours and it's about religion? Well I better get the hell in there before people start flaming each other."

When I first came here and Matt was still an admin here, I noticed he allowed FAR MORE then what is deemed "acceptable" now. In fact, he would kindly (ie, sarcastically) explain to someone how they may have been wrong and send them on their merry way. Obviously if they stepped out of line again, he smash their skull with a banstick, but that's understandable. Honestly I think he understood that not everyone will read every single rule, therefore he at least gave people a chance or two before he decided the fate of what they posted and their existence on this website.

/my $0.02
_________________

Quote:

I think my neighbors have figured out my address. Should I move or kill them?

Custom Guitar Paint Jobs (Submit Yours!)
Proud supporter of EWiggen's Grilled Cheese and GH Combo

socrstopr wrote:

This thread is very disturburbing. Also terrible.

[FBMrider86]

Most of the people in this thread have already said the mandatory "I agree..." so I'll just fast forward to the only problem I see, particularly in this forum.

You mentioned flame wars starting and topics (many of which still contain a great amount of ACTUAL discussion) being locked. I see this as kind of a flawed system. Is it too much to just edit what a particular user that stirs up shit in a particular post and possibly temp ban them and it still remain unlocked? I realize you attempt to "hold your self in high standards" but come on...this is, after all, the internet. Morons runs wild.

I've noticed over the past few months that General Chat has slowly and slowly contained less new threads, and a good majority of those threads are simply "shocking" stories (woman drops kid, kid throws taco at mom, man eats own head, you get the idea). Those that provoke strong opinions, (religion, the recently closed vegetarian thread) you can almost bet that they'll soon be locked. We're all essentially playing "Beat the Clock". "That thread's been open for three hours and it's about religion? Well I better get the hell in there before people start flaming each other."

When I first came here and Matt was still an admin here, I noticed he allowed FAR MORE then what is deemed "acceptable" now. In fact, he would kindly (ie, sarcastically) explain to someone how they may have been wrong and send them on their merry way. Obviously if they stepped out of line again, he smash their skull with a banstick, but that's understandable. Honestly I think he understood that not everyone will read every single rule, therefore he at least gave people a chance or two before he decided the fate of what they posted and their existence on this website.

/my $0.02
_________________

Quote:

I think my neighbors have figured out my address. Should I move or kill them?

Custom Guitar Paint Jobs (Submit Yours!)
Proud supporter of EWiggen's Grilled Cheese and GH Combo

socrstopr wrote:

This thread is very disturburbing. Also terrible.

[footballtom3685]

I always have a hard time responding to these threads for some reason...I don't know why. I think it's just difficult for me to sum up my thoughts or something? Meh..I tried responding to each point you made but that didn't really work. I'll just say what I have to I guess.

Unfortunately I.. don't think these threads really help anything. Sorry, but I don't. bjw made one a while ago, and while it created a lot of discussion did anything really come out of it? Did the forums suddenly improve? I'm probably coming off as an asshole, but I think I finally realized what it is that makes me unable to reply to these threads. I know you mean well CTangent, and I agree with many of your points, but here's the thing. The people that are the problems probably aren't going to bother reading this thread. The ones who discuss things here and want to better Scorehero's forums are generally the ones who you aren't describing in your post. I think Hailz made a good effort at this with her General Chat announcement, but that didn't make it to the front page so I think a lot of people just missed it or shrugged it off. I don't claim to have a better solution, and I applaud you for trying and for starting a discussion about this...I especially enjoy reading peoples' opinions in these threads, although I myself don't usually have too much to say.

Anyway...I hope I don't get attacked for this but I think it sums up my feelings on these threads pretty well. At first when I went to reply I was trying to go through your statements one by one...but the end result just didn't satisfy me for whatever reason. I'm not saying this thread is totally useless or anything, and it's a hell of a lot better and more interesting to read than most threads in General Chat, but personally I don't feel like the end result of these threads is anything near what is hoped for.

I will say one thing that nobody has mentioned yet (or at least nobody had mentioned before I began writing this): The threads that are asking for help in any form (in General Chat at least, not guitar hero related)...99% do not belong on Scorehero. If you have a computer virus, WHY are you asking a guitar hero forum how to fix it? If you have a relationship problem, you SHOULD NOT be asking a guitar hero forum for help. Feeling sick? Call a doctor! Not General Chat! The mods do a good job locking/deleting these threads, but they really annoy me.

[footballtom3685]

I always have a hard time responding to these threads for some reason...I don't know why. I think it's just difficult for me to sum up my thoughts or something? Meh..I tried responding to each point you made but that didn't really work. I'll just say what I have to I guess.

Unfortunately I.. don't think these threads really help anything. Sorry, but I don't. bjw made one a while ago, and while it created a lot of discussion did anything really come out of it? Did the forums suddenly improve? I'm probably coming off as an asshole, but I think I finally realized what it is that makes me unable to reply to these threads. I know you mean well CTangent, and I agree with many of your points, but here's the thing. The people that are the problems probably aren't going to bother reading this thread. The ones who discuss things here and want to better Scorehero's forums are generally the ones who you aren't describing in your post. I think Hailz made a good effort at this with her General Chat announcement, but that didn't make it to the front page so I think a lot of people just missed it or shrugged it off. I don't claim to have a better solution, and I applaud you for trying and for starting a discussion about this...I especially enjoy reading peoples' opinions in these threads, although I myself don't usually have too much to say.

Anyway...I hope I don't get attacked for this but I think it sums up my feelings on these threads pretty well. At first when I went to reply I was trying to go through your statements one by one...but the end result just didn't satisfy me for whatever reason. I'm not saying this thread is totally useless or anything, and it's a hell of a lot better and more interesting to read than most threads in General Chat, but personally I don't feel like the end result of these threads is anything near what is hoped for.

I will say one thing that nobody has mentioned yet (or at least nobody had mentioned before I began writing this): The threads that are asking for help in any form (in General Chat at least, not guitar hero related)...99% do not belong on Scorehero. If you have a computer virus, WHY are you asking a guitar hero forum how to fix it? If you have a relationship problem, you SHOULD NOT be asking a guitar hero forum for help. Feeling sick? Call a doctor! Not General Chat! The mods do a good job locking/deleting these threads, but they really annoy me.

[Shaph]

Note: I started this post awhile ago, so I apologize if these ideas have been brought up already:

I'm not as troubled by the status of the General Chat board as you seem to be CleverTangent, though I will focus on General Chat because this is where I spend most of my time posting. I haven't noticed much of a change in post-types since I first got here, but I think that also relates a bit to the group dynamic present here covering so many ages and thus so many experiences. A lot of threads here are in fact very general and demonstrate that people have different quirks, tastes, preferences, prejudices, etc. And threads on those topics do at least allow people to define their interests to others in this community and match those up with others, giving us more than just a screen name for definition. They do not necessarily require discussion to serve their purpose, though it's nice when that happens.

Even news blurb threads have a bit of purpose, even if most on here are depressing: this is the same stuff I talk about at coffee shops, restaurants, bars, etc. with friends, family, etc. Discussing reactions, and expanding those reactions to feelings on life, society, etc. is something I would consider normal social discourse anyways, so I see nothing wrong with it here.

Part of this rationale might be what I get out of being at this site in the first place: a place to procrastinate, even gain a starting point to learn about some subjects on which I know little, a nice, neat way to evaluate my performances on songs, and now I chat college/pro sports with a bunch of cool people, etc. and even have an IRC trivia game to play. Whenever it's on, of course.

With that, I don't have the desire or demand that all discussion here be about such topics as global warming, race/gender/sexual discrimination, or other complex issues. It's nice when said topics are present, as the majority of responses I read are thorough, well thought out, and respectful of others; however, here the thread is punished when one asshat starts a fight/troll/flaming position. Given that it takes so little to quash such topics, it almost feels ridiculous to start a new thread hoping that this time things will go the way I hope they do. Still, there is enough other stuff on this board to talk about that I guess I don't get down on it.

Obviously I'm not too upset about the state of General Chat, so I don't necessarily share the same views as you there, but I guess that's because in my particular scenario I'm pretty much content with what ScoreHero offers to me. I'd love more flexibility and possibility in keeping complex discussion/issues threads open if only because I don't like it that one jackass can generally destroy what others try to properly create, but that's about all I could ask for.
_________________

I proudly serve my country's Navy combat team with Honor, Courage, and Commitment.

This will never be the only landscape we create.

[Shaph]

Note: I started this post awhile ago, so I apologize if these ideas have been brought up already:

I'm not as troubled by the status of the General Chat board as you seem to be CleverTangent, though I will focus on General Chat because this is where I spend most of my time posting. I haven't noticed much of a change in post-types since I first got here, but I think that also relates a bit to the group dynamic present here covering so many ages and thus so many experiences. A lot of threads here are in fact very general and demonstrate that people have different quirks, tastes, preferences, prejudices, etc. And threads on those topics do at least allow people to define their interests to others in this community and match those up with others, giving us more than just a screen name for definition. They do not necessarily require discussion to serve their purpose, though it's nice when that happens.

Even news blurb threads have a bit of purpose, even if most on here are depressing: this is the same stuff I talk about at coffee shops, restaurants, bars, etc. with friends, family, etc. Discussing reactions, and expanding those reactions to feelings on life, society, etc. is something I would consider normal social discourse anyways, so I see nothing wrong with it here.

Part of this rationale might be what I get out of being at this site in the first place: a place to procrastinate, even gain a starting point to learn about some subjects on which I know little, a nice, neat way to evaluate my performances on songs, and now I chat college/pro sports with a bunch of cool people, etc. and even have an IRC trivia game to play. Whenever it's on, of course.

With that, I don't have the desire or demand that all discussion here be about such topics as global warming, race/gender/sexual discrimination, or other complex issues. It's nice when said topics are present, as the majority of responses I read are thorough, well thought out, and respectful of others; however, here the thread is punished when one asshat starts a fight/troll/flaming position. Given that it takes so little to quash such topics, it almost feels ridiculous to start a new thread hoping that this time things will go the way I hope they do. Still, there is enough other stuff on this board to talk about that I guess I don't get down on it.

Obviously I'm not too upset about the state of General Chat, so I don't necessarily share the same views as you there, but I guess that's because in my particular scenario I'm pretty much content with what ScoreHero offers to me. I'd love more flexibility and possibility in keeping complex discussion/issues threads open if only because I don't like it that one jackass can generally destroy what others try to properly create, but that's about all I could ask for.
_________________

I proudly serve my country's Navy combat team with Honor, Courage, and Commitment.

This will never be the only landscape we create.

[sedron]

I usually post in the TS+G, misc. GH/RB and general forums. I am also 16 years old, for what it matters. I think that your first and second causes go hand-in-hand. Generally speaking, as more people join a website, the maturity level is going to decrease. More and more kids/teens/adults-who-act-like-teens-and/or-kids are going to arrive here every day. This is entirely inevitible, as the only way to stop this would be to stop people from registering on the site altogether, and no one wants to close off the site, right?

This website has stickies of rules that a large number of people are not gonna read when entering the forums. I'd think that the best solution would be to have a little warning come up when someone registers asking them to read the rules. If they don't want to, then you cannot force them to read them. For those who end up breaking a rule when starting out here, they are usually told of their mistake by a mod and either learn their lesson or (rarely,) get banned. Both of these outcomes solve the problem, right? Sure, a lot of people are gonna get annoyed by the constant stream of new users who learn this way,but I don't know what else can be done. It's possible that an announcement could be made and mods would really crack-down on things if they get too out of hand, but I think this site still has ways to go before any drastic measures ned to be put into place.

As for the unspoken rules, people (hopefully,) learn from their mistakes. I feel sympathy for someone who is new to the internet. In my first experience with a forum website, I bumped a thread seven times before being told I shouldn't do that (in a rude manner, for that matter.). Unspoken rules can only be learned by experience or lurking, really. Again, it's annoying, but this is something forum-users have to live with.

FBMrider86 brings up a valid point about flame war threads. I have only been active here for a few months, but every time I see a thread with real discussion value, it seems to get locked. Even if the mods were to decide to leave the discussion open and not edit posts/ban posters, those interested in having intelligent conversation could just ignore the flame-war starters. It's better than ending the discussion alltogether.

The final point I want to discuss in this post is the use of humor in posts. I don't think there's anything wrong with silliness in posts at all. I like coming to this website for some laughs. That said, if someone is going to be humourous, I think it shouldn't detract from intelligent conversation and that it shouldn't make fun of anyone. Memes are funny (or at least I like some of them,) but don't have to be brought into every topic. As for making fun of other people, I think some Scorehero users are getting a very elitist attitude. This thread from TS+G is a great example. There's no reason this kind of stuff should be happening.

P.S.- Yes, my sig's quote contradicts a few of my points. I actually think I'm gonna change my sig because of this...

[sedron]

I usually post in the TS+G, misc. GH/RB and general forums. I am also 16 years old, for what it matters. I think that your first and second causes go hand-in-hand. Generally speaking, as more people join a website, the maturity level is going to decrease. More and more kids/teens/adults-who-act-like-teens-and/or-kids are going to arrive here every day. This is entirely inevitible, as the only way to stop this would be to stop people from registering on the site altogether, and no one wants to close off the site, right?

This website has stickies of rules that a large number of people are not gonna read when entering the forums. I'd think that the best solution would be to have a little warning come up when someone registers asking them to read the rules. If they don't want to, then you cannot force them to read them. For those who end up breaking a rule when starting out here, they are usually told of their mistake by a mod and either learn their lesson or (rarely,) get banned. Both of these outcomes solve the problem, right? Sure, a lot of people are gonna get annoyed by the constant stream of new users who learn this way,but I don't know what else can be done. It's possible that an announcement could be made and mods would really crack-down on things if they get too out of hand, but I think this site still has ways to go before any drastic measures ned to be put into place.

As for the unspoken rules, people (hopefully,) learn from their mistakes. I feel sympathy for someone who is new to the internet. In my first experience with a forum website, I bumped a thread seven times before being told I shouldn't do that (in a rude manner, for that matter.). Unspoken rules can only be learned by experience or lurking, really. Again, it's annoying, but this is something forum-users have to live with.

FBMrider86 brings up a valid point about flame war threads. I have only been active here for a few months, but every time I see a thread with real discussion value, it seems to get locked. Even if the mods were to decide to leave the discussion open and not edit posts/ban posters, those interested in having intelligent conversation could just ignore the flame-war starters. It's better than ending the discussion alltogether.

The final point I want to discuss in this post is the use of humor in posts. I don't think there's anything wrong with silliness in posts at all. I like coming to this website for some laughs. That said, if someone is going to be humourous, I think it shouldn't detract from intelligent conversation and that it shouldn't make fun of anyone. Memes are funny (or at least I like some of them,) but don't have to be brought into every topic. As for making fun of other people, I think some Scorehero users are getting a very elitist attitude. This thread from TS+G is a great example. There's no reason this kind of stuff should be happening.

P.S.- Yes, my sig's quote contradicts a few of my points. I actually think I'm gonna change my sig because of this...

[jamesw]

Honestly, I've been here nearly every day for a while now and I find that the forum is awesome, and always has been as long as I have been here. I think lots of the problem is complaining about the perceived problems. It's not going to fix anything, really. I'm not trying to sound like a dick here but if you want these forums to improve, there is nothing to stop you from doing it yourself. Continue being a positive influence, coming up with interesting topics and posting relevent arguments and this forum will improve.
_________________

dahabi wrote:

Jameswow. You'll be saying Wow! everytime.

Harmonix games are just too good not to play them for 8 years. Officially back in action.

[jamesw]

Honestly, I've been here nearly every day for a while now and I find that the forum is awesome, and always has been as long as I have been here. I think lots of the problem is complaining about the perceived problems. It's not going to fix anything, really. I'm not trying to sound like a dick here but if you want these forums to improve, there is nothing to stop you from doing it yourself. Continue being a positive influence, coming up with interesting topics and posting relevent arguments and this forum will improve.
_________________

dahabi wrote:

Jameswow. You'll be saying Wow! everytime.

Harmonix games are just too good not to play them for 8 years. Officially back in action.

[Kingofterrors]

There is a reason I'm not very active here anymore ;). I miss SH in the old days.
_________________

[Kingofterrors]

There is a reason I'm not very active here anymore ;). I miss SH in the old days.
_________________