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Official Suggestions Thread

Non member access to viewing blogs is already a thing.

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I do not think it should be set to the default privacy setting, however, it is available if you wanted your blog visible to non-registered users.
 

YIGAhim

Sole Survivor
Joined
Apr 10, 2017
Location
Stomp
Gender
Male
I think we need to make some serious changes in how we handle making fun of people. In the SB, it's more tolerated, because there are almost never serious conversations, but we can't be having people have that behavior outside the SB, or very rude things will be said, and they just were. I think we'll need to act on this one, because I know feelings got hurt over the last one, and that's not ok.

I think that infraction points shouldn't be enough. If something rude is said, and the rude person gets away with it, somethings wrong. We need a warning system (Or strike system), where we are not only told where "Too far" is, but we get strikes when the line is crossed. This is the only way it will stop happening unless the user gets more infraction points then they currently do.
 

Ninja

Well well well
Joined
Jul 5, 2017
I think we need to make some serious changes in how we handle making fun of people. In the SB, it's more tolerated, because there are almost never serious conversations, but we can't be having people have that behavior outside the SB, or very rude things will be said, and they just were. I think we'll need to act on this one, because I know feelings got hurt over the last one, and that's not ok.

I think that infraction points shouldn't be enough. If something rude is said, and the rude person gets away with it, somethings wrong. We need a warning system (Or strike system), where we are not only told where "Too far" is, but we get strikes when the line is crossed. This is the only way it will stop happening unless the user gets more infraction points then they currently do.

Justice has been served in the last incident, the user that made those unacceptable comments appears to be banned for that offense. I believe that if that particular user gets unbanned, they will think twice about what they say before the hit the reply button. There's no shame in hitting that report button because based off of the things that I have reported in the past, the team reacts very quickly and posts an articulate response.

From the Forum Rules said:
Infractions and Bans: Usually when a member breaks a rule for the first time they will receive a PM reminder. The next step is a formal warning, which stays on that member's profile (only visible to that member and to moderators) as a permanent reminder of the rule. If the member continues to break that rule, he or she will receive an infraction, which comes with a certain amount of points toward a ban of a certain length. Points expire after 9 months, and can add up to bans of the following lengths:
  • 15 points - 7 day ban
  • 20 points - 2 week ban
  • 25 points - 2 month ban
  • 30 points - 4 month ban
Points are not 'used up' when a ban is given. If a member accrues 15 points and receives a 7 day ban, an infraction worth 5 or more points given before the first 15 expire will raise the total to 20, resulting in a 2 week ban. Keep in mind that the forum staff may issue custom ban lengths or extend the duration of an existing ban if circumstances call for it. In the most extreme case, a ban can become permanent.

The bolded text is important to note because if the offense is extreme, the staff can customize the "punishment" accordingly. In the last incident, regardless of the points the user may have had, the forum staff acted in interest of the community by not tolerating that behavior at all, and banned the offending party for their comments.
 

Kylo Ken

I will finish what Spyro started
Joined
Aug 10, 2011
Location
Ohio
but we can't be having people have that behavior outside the SB, or very rude things will be said, and they just were. I think we'll need to act on this one, because I know feelings got hurt over the last one, and that's not ok.

What happened? You posted this around 11am yesterday but I only see a conversation about adams apples at that time. Or maybe it happened at a different time, and I'd like some context to your post.

Either way, I still disagree with just about everything you said. I see two solutions to this SB/bullying problem:

The first one is to loosen the rules regarding speech and flaming. I think this is ideal because it's not like the rule stopped the person from flaming you, anyway. Now you can curse and say nasty things back right to their face. You were thinking those things anyway. Now people can bicker and work it out with getting banned. There's also another benefit to this. When some really goes over the line and harasses or threatens someone's life or something, swift action can be easily justified.

The second I already suggested in this thread so I'll quote it
I have an idea. To clearify, I still don't agree with this rule. If they're making death threats, then that's one thing, but banning speech that can be deemed as hateful is ridiculous. People should be able to say "hey that guy's an asshole" or something every once in a while. I feel banning drama won't stop drama.

But anyway, you can change the wording to "threatening" or "harassing." Further, perhaps have a mod start a pm with those in question and make the OP, "This is where it's going to be left. Any misconduct related to this topic outside the thread will not be tolerated." That gives the parties an opportunity to hash it out and get it out of their system, as opposed to increased passive-aggressiveness. At the same time the moderation team would've taken a big step to resolving the conflict rather than outright banning the conflict in the first place.

Jimmy said that there was a thing like this once. But that we can't force people to talk about their problems. Still, I'd prefer that to forcing the user off entirely for something that coulda been said privately during one of these dms. Don't get me wrong, if it were up to me, people could say whatever they wanted. I think that'll build a strong community. May argue a lot but still.
 

Jimmu

Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
I just realized that the blog section here is not open for public viewing, it's restricted to members only. I can understand why forums like Community Area and Life Advice are hidden from the public, but if the MD and TOYM are open for guests to view, along with even this thread, then the blogs probably could be too. All one has to do to view them is click the register button, which only takes a few seconds, but that means banned members can't view them at all.

I get that most people would probably want them to stay hidden, but I personally think they could be public. It's not a huge thing, mind you, just something I noticed.

I've fixed this now so guests should be able to see the blogs that people set as public.

------------

Also please contact me regarding the other incident via PM if you'd like me to look into this more as I am not sure which specific incident you are referring to @YIGAhim
 
Been thinking about this a little in regards to thread posting activity.

What if we offer some rewards for thread replies/making?

Perhaps if a member posts in 50 threads in the space of a week (or month or whatever) they get a reward. Extra ruppees or a badge or something for their profile.

Just thinking something like that may help activity since we're almosy dead as a site.
 

YIGAhim

Sole Survivor
Joined
Apr 10, 2017
Location
Stomp
Gender
Male
TBH I think that that's not necessary. As it is, rupees aren't a big part in the site, and are barely an incentive.

A badge or something is a much better incentive, like you were also saying.
 

Mellow Ezlo

Spoony Bard
Joined
Dec 2, 2012
Location
eh?
Gender
Slothkin
Been thinking about this a little in regards to thread posting activity.

What if we offer some rewards for thread replies/making?

Perhaps if a member posts in 50 threads in the space of a week (or month or whatever) they get a reward. Extra ruppees or a badge or something for their profile.

Just thinking something like that may help activity since we're almosy dead as a site.
I'm actually trying to get a new thing started to reward people, not for posting a lot, but for posting well, and consistently. Even a badge for people who make quality posts is an incentive for people to post a lot. My only real concern with awarding people based on quantity alone is that people will undoubtedly troll and spam in order to get it, which is what happened last time we tried it.
 

YIGAhim

Sole Survivor
Joined
Apr 10, 2017
Location
Stomp
Gender
Male
The afro thing, right? If it's quality posts, then that won't be a problem.

There should be some blogging awards/rewards too

EDIT: We need to add Galaga to the arcade (on a random note)
 

Jimmu

Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
I've thought about how we can reward people and encourage users to post more (while not making that be spam too). One idea was a user group (with a colour) for active users with some requirements to stay in it month to month.

Perhaps something like:
x amount of posts per month (maybe 30ish - only in forums in which post count is increased)
x amount of new threads per month (probably a single one will do)
x amount of blog posts per month (probably a single one will do here too)
no infractions in the month (perhaps to discourage spam, but not so sure that this requirement is the best way to go about this)

Whether or not you're in the user-group for December would be based on your activity of November, and keep cycling each month. Potentially you could even move into another user group if you maintain the activity for six months.

This is clearly somewhat similar to Hylian Knights and Hylian Nobles though, which may be an issue. Although I think that the main issues with those groups were not the fact that they existed but the way in which they were managed and the voting process to enter which pretty much made it seem like a exclusive club for the popular kids. Having a clear requirement that anyone can really achieve should eliminate this problem.
 
I've thought about how we can reward people and encourage users to post more (while not making that be spam too). One idea was a user group (with a colour) for active users with some requirements to stay in it month to month.

Perhaps something like:
x amount of posts per month (maybe 30ish - only in forums in which post count is increased)
x amount of new threads per month (probably a single one will do)
x amount of blog posts per month (probably a single one will do here too)
no infractions in the month (perhaps to discourage spam, but not so sure that this requirement is the best way to go about this)

Whether or not you're in the user-group for December would be based on your activity of November, and keep cycling each month. Potentially you could even move into another user group if you maintain the activity for six months.

This is clearly somewhat similar to Hylian Knights and Hylian Nobles though, which may be an issue. Although I think that the main issues with those groups were not the fact that they existed but the way in which they were managed and the voting process to enter which pretty much made it seem like a exclusive club for the popular kids. Having a clear requirement that anyone can really achieve should eliminate this problem.

I like the idea of the groups not being fixed like the knights and nobles and the chance to increase rank for constant activity is nice could have a few ranks.

Could have an award at the end of the year like the GKA for staying in a certain group for long periods. Like if you turn purple based on activity and keep that activity up for 6 months you could get like a 'term of service' to the site award.

Nice.
 

Ninja

Well well well
Joined
Jul 5, 2017
Would it be possible for the Shoutbox to appear on the forums when you aren't logged in, or haven't created an account yet? Being able to do so may encourage more signs ups since the guests can jump into immediate discussion, or can just "hang out" with the members right away.

Before joining ZD, I was out of the forum game for awhile, and it was a very pleasant surprise seeing that a forum could have a shoutbox/chat room.

Of course, if the unregistered guest tries to post in the shoutbox, a prompt could come up and say "Thanks for participating in our Shoutbox! In order for you to chat, you'll need to create an account! Click here to register."

Edit: Also, is there a way we could add fun facts and interesting links for unregistered guests? When you visit the forums as a guest, its just the regular forums with no shoutbox. If we had a paragraph on top of the web page that encouraged them to sign up, and let them know what fun things we do here (like shoutbox, competitions, awards), they would be more inclined to sign up and get our activity up. :)
 

Jimmu

Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
We should totally have clans like ZU. I'd love to see that

We've had this suggestion quite a few times over the past couple of years. We have always come to the conclusion that our community isn't large enough to effectively support such a system while having it be meaningful. I don't think that this has really changed since last time this was discussed in detail.

Would it be possible for the Shoutbox to appear on the forums when you aren't logged in, or haven't created an account yet? Being able to do so may encourage more signs ups since the guests can jump into immediate discussion, or can just "hang out" with the members right away.

Before joining ZD, I was out of the forum game for awhile, and it was a very pleasant surprise seeing that a forum could have a shoutbox/chat room.

Of course, if the unregistered guest tries to post in the shoutbox, a prompt could come up and say "Thanks for participating in our Shoutbox! In order for you to chat, you'll need to create an account! Click here to register."

Edit: Also, is there a way we could add fun facts and interesting links for unregistered guests? When you visit the forums as a guest, its just the regular forums with no shoutbox. If we had a paragraph on top of the web page that encouraged them to sign up, and let them know what fun things we do here (like shoutbox, competitions, awards), they would be more inclined to sign up and get our activity up. :)

I like where this idea is coming from but I do have concerns about making the SB public. We have a number of active users whom have force-ignores due to various reasons (including stalking) and I feel as though making the SB public would discourage these users from participating in the discussions that happen there.

I like the second part of the suggestion, it would be good to showcase what's on offer more to potential new members. I'll have a look into how we could go about doing something like this and we can discuss the precise content in more detail once I decide how best to display it.
 

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