Hey all,



Once thing that really bothered me on the old FPSC forum was so overwhelming number of locked threads on the forum. I'm specifically referring to threads that people create in the WIP section that don't abide by the correct layout and rules.



I don't mean to sound like a $#%^$ <--- insert your own word there. But users create WIP threads without the correct format and then a mod locks it. In turn, we end up with dozens of locked threads. This happened quite frequently on the FPSC forum.



Would it not be better to have new threads in the WIP/Showcase forum to be approved by a mod first before it gets published to the public?



I know this is extra work but it will ensure that the quality of posts in the forum is a lot better. Not everyone sees the sticky threads, or not everyone bothers to read them...



Just a thought.



Landman

Back in the height of the FPSC classic boards that was the only way they could be dealt with, there were just so many posts.











It would be extra work yes and until now we had a shortage of mods and it wouldn't have been an option, I will look into it now and discuss with the mods.





On the forums ignorance is not an excuse for breaking rules... hence the lock

It would be better to delete than lock these threads so they aren't left hanging around cluttering the place up. If the user has had time to correct it and doesn't then there is no point in it sitting there locked for all time. You are always going to have these with users who either haven't read or don't understand the rules, and yes, it looks bad.



If you cant delete useless threads for any reason you could create a hidden trash board to move them to, or even better make it open and call it 'Epic Fails'. I would probably be checking that one regularly

I'm not in favour of a failure board as it creates bad feeling, and we lock threads and leave them so the user responsible knows why the thread was locked.



However, we can delete threads and that might be something worth considering after a number of days. We'll discuss this amoung the mods and decide what's best.



To avoid this becoming a rant, I'm also locking this thread.



SC

Not to over-ride Scene Commander on this but I am interested in the communities opinion.



So to everyone... How do you think we can reduce the number of locked threads? How can we make it more clear to users that are new or simply haven't read the sticky threads? Any idea is a good idea these forums will be operating for a very long time and we have a chance to set them up efficiently now



Please keep this clean I don't want to have to do any moderating

Maybe on the WIP/Showcase boards there could be a reminder near where you post a new thread, that if the poster clicks on it, it opens a new tab to the WIP/Sowcase Thread Requirements page.

I agree this would be a good idea.

Have you ever thought of having a blog section set up for members to post in their own blogs instead of a WIP thread. This would allow each member to post ideas, plans, experience, and WIP. It is separate from the forum and could reduce the locked threads. You could also setup of employee blogs as well spotlight the blogs that stand out over the rest.



I understand that you want certain format for posting on the WIP section. However, maybe if a person post their work on their own blog they may use their own format. Use the special formats for community competition entries or game submissions threads. Both would have to be submitted and reviewed before posted to the forum.



If you want to see some examples, I can post a couple of links to some.



Mark

why lock something unless its offensive or spam?. just move it to a dif section for incomplete threads or thread errors give the reason for it being moved and a way for it to be fixed and put back where it was intended and such.



you have more than enough mods here now to do this just give a section to each mod to watch over and/or move threads to the new section?!. locking threads to me is rude even more so when NO reasons are given or way to fix the issues. people obviously should read the forum rules but come on, even I know from xp with running/modding forums that people don't read the rules threads.. hell even I haven't read all the forums rules for each section lol, and quite possibly 50% of every1 else is the same if not more..



so in short don't lock, move threads to a new area for correction by the users responsible, then move back when acceptable.

OR a new thread in the WIP section isn't shown to the public until it is approved by a mod?



So basically only a mod and the thread creator can see the thread until it is approved by a mod. In this way, if the thread doesn't meet the criteria then it can be updated by the creator before being approved and displayed public.



Landman

A good idea, I will look into that.







This would be a lot of work to setup and a nightmare to manage, we would have to check all over the place for inappropriate blog posts instead of just on the forums.







This works at first glance. However we would then have one big board full of a mess of threads, that are still likely to be commented on by other users and still need locking and deleting after the owners inevitably don't meet requirements. So instead of solving the issue we sort of shift it to another location. We would also have the issue of users not understanding where their thread has gone when it vanishes from one thread and appears in another.







We have just assigned areas to different mods and they know where to look, this should help keep things tidy.







It isn't rude if there are clearly posted rules that have been broken, we don't lock without reason and even if short and to the point we always leave a note.







This was mentioned somewhere before and seems like a very good idea, it will take a bit of changing the forum code to get it to work though.

If that is doable it will solve half the problem. Users who don't read the rules will still be able to post and mods will still need to deal with improper threads. We just won't see them. Still, it's better than what we have.



I would like to see a "fill in the blank" WIP creator that would not create a thread until the required info was inserted. I guess even that could be abused or beaten but it would present the user with the requirements and check to see that at least something was entered.



Brian.

I think ALWAYS is to strong a words the next m8, I have had threads locked with no comments to why!, had to start a new thread to find out why...







ah cool, yeah a good idea m8, keeping forums tidy is a lot of work lol speaking from xp..

That is something that I am sure we will try to avoid in future. However sometimes mods are just in a hurry, they are all just community members and are not paid for their time here.



The aim going forwards is that the FPSCR forums are moderated in a way that will make them easily accessible to all. So all moderation action will be transparent All that being said myself and other mods won't accept a debate on moderation action, so it is always best to accept the message left by a mod or send a polite PM to ask why a lock was issued.



I have been asked about a message being left automatically saying who locked the thread and when. However I chose not to implement this as I feel it will result in moderators being targeted with personal and public messages when a thread is locked and the owner doesn't agree, which they do not need, if you have a question about a lock any mod will do to ask as we all see the logs on the backend.







When I first took over the forum code I thought about this, but came to the conclusion that it would just result in the users enter n/a into any box they didn't want to fill in. This resulted in me giving up on the idea, maybe someone has an idea on how this can be avoided as a template would be tidy

Let's take a look at the requirements...



Name of Game.

Developer name.

Storyline and/or description.

Screenshots.



While I certainly don't look at every WIP, as far as I can remember of the ones I did look at, the issue has always been the pictures. It seems that every would-be game developer has no problem providing the name of the game, their name (or company) and a description. Even those who have nothing but an idea are proud to provide the basic info about themselves. The only reason one would not enter those basic things is to spam the forum. That said...



Most any upload script can require an image format and size.



Still, I could upload an image of my mother. There is always a way to beat the system, but that shouldn't stop us from having one, especially if the one we have is not working.



It's not just a matter of us not liking a messy board with a bunch of locked threads. It's more about what visitors think when they come here to see what it's all about.



Brian.



EDIT: The Showcase board could also be easily handled by being locked, and only when a WIP is completed would it be moved, by request, to that board.

Just shove them into "Off Topic" Everyone on any forum expects that section to be messy...solves all the problems ...

I completely agree with you Brian.







Could you PM me what forum script this forum is running on and I could install the same script on my local server so I can poke around. I am a web dev/designer by occupation so I would be happy to lend a hand if I can come up with a solution. Don't worry I won't ask for any FTP details etc.



Another suggestion is, what if all locked or flagged threads only became visible to mods and the creator of that thread? Then when it is unlocked/unflagged, it's just a regular WIP thread?



Landman

Afraid I can't do that the source code is property of TGC and is linked into the other sites so giving out source could cause security concerns. I am a Software Engineer by profession, the issue is not to do with the code it is just the way users would interact with the form and just enter any value they wanted. There is no easy way to validate against this.





It is locked now and I will be keeping it locked, mods can move items there already if they wish so the functionality for that is already in place.

Unless the AUP or anything else relevant has changed recently, anyone that gets a thread locked by a Moderator because it breaks the rules does not necessarily need or require to have a reason given.



If you don't read the stickies and rules and follow other either published or unpublished obvious good manners and behaviour towards the boards or other users then no response is required when a thread is locked.



Moderators are not required to out of necessity provide a reason, argue or debate a reason or otherwise elaborate a reason for locking a thread whether its obvious or not to an individual poster concerned.



If you don't want your threads locked then follow the rules - plain and simple.



It's not rocket science for anyone and is little more than common sense which may be in short supply or not I don't know.



Whatever the situation - these boards are for the enjoyment of everyone, equally without fear or favour and should be kept that way or the product will suffer and if they are allowed to deteriorate to anything like conditions of the past product and boards, sooner or later someone - TGC or other will have to do something about it.



Best not to let it get to that situation.



If you behave in a way which is likely, potentially likely, or possibly likely to bring these boards or TGC into disrepute as interpreted by a Moderator as defined in the AUP and rules, written or unwritten then Moderators have the right to decide if any action should be taken at their discretion. If it is deemed as appropriate to provide a reason or advice in a particular instance, an overview in any way or advise anyone else of the reason for any decision taken then that's something for Moderators to decide either as an individual or group.



These boards are thankfully relatively well behaved and I thank all users and the whole of the community for that. Long may it be so and that the boards may continue to be a place of enjoyment and learning now and ongoing into the future - a pleasant place to be and hang out, find friends, help others and share knowledge and experiences in a spirit of tolerance, friendship and understanding.

Uman said it very well. What we are discussing here is not how mods deal with locks but how we can help make the WIP board easier for users to understand (the rules), therefore posting threads that won't get locked in the first place.



The end result is that mods will be locking/deleting threads that do not comply with rules. I will be putting in some of the suggestions made to ensure everyone knows the rules when they first post I hate the clutter of locked threads also.