Saint Isaias Boner posted:

my feeling with megathreads is that they kinda turn into subforums of their own with local characters and moderation that make them unfriendly to new posters and also produce behaviour that would probably be unacceptable outside those threads. they just make moderation harder and turn general bullshit into piles of specific bullshit

Saint Isaias Boner posted:

my feeling with megathreads is that they kinda turn into subforums of their own with local characters and moderation that make them unfriendly to new posters and also produce behaviour that would probably be unacceptable outside those threads. they just make moderation harder and turn general bullshit into piles of specific bullshit

b mad at me posted:

sounds like you might make a pretty good moderator

b mad at me posted:

sounds like you might make a pretty good moderator

Saint Isaias Boner posted:

my feeling with megathreads is that they kinda turn into subforums of their own with local characters and moderation that make them unfriendly to new posters and also produce behaviour that would probably be unacceptable outside those threads. they just make moderation harder and turn general bullshit into piles of specific bullshit

Cthulu Carl posted:

the weird tribalism that keeps cropping up

b mad at me posted:

that IS GBS, unfortunately

Saint Isaias Boner posted:

Saint Isaias Boner posted:

Sorry in advance for the long post but I'd like to propose the following, after reading all this stuff since the start (and not contributing much, because I'm moving, but that's by the by)

*GBS is still a web 1.0 forum but is gradually becoming a kinder and more welcoming place. Schoolyard insults like gay and aids shouldn't be blanket banned but if you post it in a thread and someone is upset enough to report it, you're gonna get a sixer and if you keep posting where you're not wanted you'll eventually get ramped up and lose $10. Read the room.

*Mods should try to understand actual instances of ableism, racism, homophobia, transphobia etc and gradually learn to get a read on them. In the meantime if an instance of something serious is reported, mods should take it seriously without assuming some posting vendetta is going on, google around or reach out, then act on it quickly. This is a lot worse than word filter poo poo. If a mistake is made apologize sincerely and do better. If mods aren't willing or able to do this they can't moderate a community.

*GBS is a big open forum and is the first place people who come to the site will really see. Smaller subforums are more like friendship groups and know who each other are, and can moderate themselves wrt to language, slurs and such. Just because another forum does something doesn't mean GBS can do it. We need to be at a standard that allows anyone to post here and mods need to clamp down not just on instances of rule breaking but also lovely posting that makes GBS a less user friendly place. If this means more mods and IKs to keep an eye on this forum then ugh so be it.

*Connected: Forum wars aren't happening, posters are concerned that the main part of the forums they post in is lovely and it's ok to try to fix it.

*As an aside, megathreads should be tolerated because people love them for some reason but they go rotten and can be unwelcoming to new posters. They should either be rebooted monthly or, in the unlikely occurance that they turn out to be actually good could be moved to the subforum they are better suited for, to allow posters to find new and cool friends and places to post.

I'd really like to assume good faith with the mods, and that they will try to handle issues they don't directly understand a bit better in the future. If a mod is repeatedly making terrible calls and doubling down on mistakes, they should be removed. Anyway I care about these dumb forums I hope we can fix them.

rydiafan posted:

Ewwww light mode.

b mad at me posted:

and my own opinion on it is that if you stifle and snuff out that "weird tribalism"

you kill the very thing that makes these forums alive and vibrant

Saint Isaias Boner posted:

... there's a dark mode?

Saint Isaias Boner posted:

my feeling with megathreads is that they kinda turn into subforums of their own with local characters and moderation that make them unfriendly to new posters and also produce behaviour that would probably be unacceptable outside those threads. they just make moderation harder and turn general bullshit into piles of specific bullshit

Cthulu Carl posted:

If getting weirdly aggro at other goons simply for having the temerity to post in other forums on this site is what makes GBS "alive and vibrant" then it deserves to die.

That poo poo makes things worse not better, dude.

Saint Isaias Boner posted:

my feeling with megathreads is that they kinda turn into subforums of their own with local characters and moderation that make them unfriendly to new posters and also produce behaviour that would probably be unacceptable outside those threads. they just make moderation harder and turn general bullshit into piles of specific bullshit

Saint Isaias Boner posted:

Sorry in advance for the long post but I'd like to propose the following, after reading all this stuff since the start (and not contributing much, because I'm moving, but that's by the by)

*GBS is still a web 1.0 forum but is gradually becoming a kinder and more welcoming place. Schoolyard insults like gay and aids shouldn't be blanket banned but if you post it in a thread and someone is upset enough to report it, you're gonna get a sixer and if you keep posting where you're not wanted you'll eventually get ramped up and lose $10. Read the room.

*Mods should try to understand actual instances of ableism, racism, homophobia, transphobia etc and gradually learn to get a read on them. In the meantime if an instance of something serious is reported, mods should take it seriously without assuming some posting vendetta is going on, google around or reach out, then act on it quickly. This is a lot worse than word filter poo poo. If a mistake is made apologize sincerely and do better. If mods aren't willing or able to do this they can't moderate a community.

*GBS is a big open forum and is the first place people who come to the site will really see. Smaller subforums are more like friendship groups and know who each other are, and can moderate themselves wrt to language, slurs and such. Just because another forum does something doesn't mean GBS can do it. We need to be at a standard that allows anyone to post here and mods need to clamp down not just on instances of rule breaking but also lovely posting that makes GBS a less user friendly place. If this means more mods and IKs to keep an eye on this forum then ugh so be it.

*Connected: Forum wars aren't happening, posters are concerned that the main part of the forums they post in is lovely and it's ok to try to fix it.

*As an aside, megathreads should be tolerated because people love them for some reason but they go rotten and can be unwelcoming to new posters. They should either be rebooted monthly or, in the unlikely occurance that they turn out to be actually good could be moved to the subforum they are better suited for, to allow posters to find new and cool friends and places to post.

I'd really like to assume good faith with the mods, and that they will try to handle issues they don't directly understand a bit better in the future. If a mod is repeatedly making terrible calls and doubling down on mistakes, they should be removed. Anyway I care about these dumb forums I hope we can fix them.

Saint Isaias Boner posted:

my feeling with megathreads is that they kinda turn into subforums of their own with local characters and moderation that make them unfriendly to new posters and also produce behaviour that would probably be unacceptable outside those threads. they just make moderation harder and turn general bullshit into piles of specific bullshit

steinrokkan posted:

I'm sure there are some bad megathreads that are too esoteric to get into, but I don't see how things like "post pictures of bad food" or "post videos of people humorously getting hit in the groin" are unapproachable or how restarting those threads is helpful.

Endorph posted:

the megathreads that are tagentially related to politics should be destroyed. the megathreads for simpsons quotes can stay.

Endorph posted:

the megathreads that are tagentially related to politics should be destroyed. the megathreads for simpsons quotes can stay.

Endorph posted:

the megathreads that are tagentially related to politics should be destroyed. the megathreads for simpsons quotes can stay.

Endorph posted:

the megathreads that are tagentially related to politics should be destroyed. the megathreads for simpsons quotes can stay.

16-bit Butt-Head posted:

goons dont dont turn into psychopaths in threads about simpsons memes its mock and politics threads that drive them insane

16-bit Butt-Head posted:

goons dont dont turn into psychopaths in threads about simpsons memes its mock and politics threads that drive them insane

16-bit Butt-Head posted:

if you want to know when a mock thread needs to be gassed its when goons run out of things to talk about and start posting someone who is only tangentially related to the thing being mocked social media accounts or once the posters start accusing outsiders of being supporters or fans of the subject being mocked at that point theres no value in keeping it around because its turned toxic

16-bit Butt-Head posted:

i think the schadenfreude thread has had to be rebooted at least once because goons started posting videos of people dying or getting mutilated in it lol so it should have someone keeping an eye on to make it doesnt turn into that poo poo again

Cugel the Clever posted:

I'd bet that if you were to put it to a vote, the majority of GBS posters would be in favor of the mega thread status quo. But because they're satisfied with the status quo, they're unlikely to show up in a feedback thread to defend them in the way that the discontented will to attack them. And, as the posters above demonstrate, it can be hard not to read such attacks as a backdoor way to achieve the longstanding goal of some to kill the politics threads they disagree with.

Feedback threads and forums are inherently going to be poor representations of the broader interest of the forum because folks who are content are going to see the vitriolic drama in them and . Making sweeping changes because a handful of posters are vocal about certain things isn't the way to go and the forum needs a democratic mechanism to get broad input from its constituents.

And maybe I'm wrong and GBS posters actually don't like mega threads and want to kill the politics threads! Seems unlikely given how popular they are, but I guess we'll never know unless the forum gives voice to those who likely don't even know there are folks campaigning for such drastic change.