• Welcome to ZD Forums! You must create an account and log in to see and participate in the Shoutbox chat on this main index page.

Ideas/implementations for the Forum

Majora's Cat

How about that
Joined
Sep 3, 2010
Location
NJ
I have to say, I am not a huge fan of removing things that do not meet a quota of some kind like that.

Yeah, it doesn't hurt to have the sub-forum around, does it? I'd rather have multiple sections under larger generalizations like a menu system than simply merging together sections of the forums.

Djinn said:
Another idea is to make a Fun and Games Category with sections within it being Forum Games, Mafia, Role Play, and maybe a signups subforum.

For the sake of being organized, I agree with this. Forum Games, Mafia and Roleplay don't seem substantial enough to be their own sections under the Communty category. I think that Forum Games should be changed to Fun and Games, with Mafia and Roleplay being sub-forums of the Fun and Games section.

I am also all for the Community Competitions forum. I think the reason previous competition threads were misplaced. Because they were each under the section of the forums they were related to, they easily felt separated. Now the fact that they all eventually became dormant is another problem entirely, and I just think that having weekly competitions allows for too thin a time margin. It would work much more easily with monthly competitions.

DGN's unofficial Golden Rupee Awards was quite the success, and as Zelda Universe has demonstrated, an awards ceremony of sorts can greatly increase interest in the forums. It should be an exciting period of time on the forums and keep many members glued to their computer screens during the summer. If done right, yearly awards could be both fun for the users voting and running the process and beneficial for the Dungeon Gaming Network forums.

Djinn had come up with the idea of designating a Forum Staff badge to those who help out with said awards and other forum business in a noticeable way. I think it's a good idea, but I would much rather prefer that different badges would be assigned for more specific forum jobs. One of them should be Article Editor, and if the yearly awards should ever come to fruition, the Awards Staff, etc. Just some food for thought.
 
Joined
Feb 23, 2011
I am also all for the Community Competitions forum. I think the reason previous competition threads were misplaced. Because they were each under the section of the forums they were related to, they easily felt separated. Now the fact that they all eventually became dormant is another problem entirely, and I just think that having weekly competitions allows for too thin a time margin. It would work much more easily with monthly competitions.

DGN's unofficial Golden Rupee Awards was quite the success, and as Zelda Universe has demonstrated, an awards ceremony of sorts can greatly increase interest in the forums. It should be an exciting period of time on the forums and keep many members glued to their computer screens during the summer. If done right, yearly awards could be both fun for the users voting and running the process and beneficial for the Dungeon Gaming Network forums.

I was thinking there could be medals awarded to the Golden Rupee Award winners, instead of the usual signature bars. [i.e.
mcuserbar.png
] And if it is not a pain to implement, I think it'd be a great idea to reserve a space on the user side panel (the area where your avatar is displayed) where the award medals can be placed.

Building of the idea above, I also think that it would be a great idea to include smaller badges that specify exactly which position a person holds in the Site Staff, etc., instead of a full badge title for a given position. For example, the full badge title for Site Staff can remain as is, but a smaller badge that specifies exactly which position the person holds [in the staff] can be placed in a small area on the user side panel. [E.g. Site Staff (full badge title). Position: [insert position here] (smaller badge title)] Just to be clear, the smaller titles would not supersede the current full badge titles - Hylian Knight, Hylian Noble, etc.

The reserved space for the medals and badges would have to be implemented in a manner that does not clutter the user side panel, as a busy user panel can easily become a nuisance in the long run. This is why, if possible, it might be a great idea to place them in a sort of spoiler-esque box - perhaps underneath "Blog Entries." I have been working on illustrations for the above ideas, but they are not complete at present; I'll return here at a later time to present my ideas in a viewable form.
 

Djinn

and Tonic
Joined
Nov 29, 2010
Location
The Flying Mobile Opression fortress
So a few changes have been successfully made in the last couple months. I still had more than a few extra ideas for the forum but I am also looking for any suggestions or input on expanding any ideas made or if anyone has anything of their own to add just go ahead and place it here.

Something I have noticed before is that the average non staff member generally only sticks around on ZD for about a year, at least most of the time it is a year. So I was trying to think up ways to possibly reward someone who has decided to stick around for a bit longer than evryone else. Even a usergroup or something to give an account that is 3 or so years old. However I have not really come up with any good reward ideas for them. Possibly a banner or milestone type of title, or even their own private section to play in. Nothing really seems to stand out. But I am still looking for ideas there.

Something else I thought about, off topic but not necessarily harmful posts are just fun. Things like the muffin thread, waffle thread, etc. They are fun to join in and make posts but we really do not accommodate that much. Sometimes a forum will have a Spam-type of section but that seems to be a little extreme. I was mostly thinking of just renaming the Forum Games section to something like Fun and Games and allow for things like muffin threads there. They are senseless but fun threads however I still do not think they should contribute to postcounts. But if people want to join in them go ahead.

Also since the badge system is now in place for the community competitions, it can be viewed at the top in the header under awards.
Dungeon Gaming Network - Awards
They are fully customizable and we can change the graphic or add even more awards for other things. If there is any ideas that anyone here has for an award to give out then just leave a suggestion.

And I have brought this up in skype a couple times but I do not think I have mentioned it on the forums is that I believe the Zelda Historians project could not be any more dead. However the info there is still very useful to us. So I thought to just change the title of the section to Wiki Collaboration and repurpose it for the wiki members since all of the important info is moved over there. Then things like developer quotes and manual info can still be readily useful. Plus a forum section will greatly help in the collaborative efforts of wiki editors if they have any specific plans or projects happening atm.

And lastly, I still think the shirt idea from a year ago could be a fun project and I would like to attempt this again. Only now it would be a DGE shirt that encompasses either the community or all the series covered here instead of just Zelda. Maybe we could do something like give a free shirt to the successful designer of it. Who knows.
 

Vanessa28

Angel of Darkness
Staff member
ZD Legend
Administrator
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Location
Yahtzee, Supernatural
Gender
Angel of Darkness
I like the usergroup idea of the years being active. I know other forums which had/have the same thing. It is a bit of an appreciation and maybe encourage people to stay on longer.
Another suggestion I have is with some threads like for example "What was the last thing you saw" we should skip the necromancy rule. I mean I can understand this is important in threads like Zelda or Mature Discussions or the General gaming etc. Because there it sometimes doesn't make sense to dig up old threads, but with topics like what was the last show you watched, what did you have for breakfast, What is your fav band etc I think the rule should not count. Topics like these will never get old and are always up-to-date since it implies on every single day.

Another suggestion I have is to sharpen the guidelines for the Theory forum. I see sometimes tons of the most ridiculous theories passing by and then I don't know whether I should lock it, move it or leave it since it is a theory after all. I think the Theory should be a bit more serious for serious talks about the World of Zelda. But not all members take this all serious and are posting the most strangest theories and suggestions
 

arkvoodle

Diabolical
Joined
Sep 20, 2008
Location
Somewhere
I like the usergroup idea of the years being active. I know other forums which had/have the same thing. It is a bit of an appreciation and maybe encourage people to stay on longer.

It's a nice idea, but we don't want there to be too many usergroups circulating around. It makes things sort of confusing for new people. However, i'm sure there's some way around it.

Another suggestion I have is with some threads like for example "What was the last thing you saw" we should skip the necromancy rule. I mean I can understand this is important in threads like Zelda or Mature Discussions or the General gaming etc. Because there it sometimes doesn't make sense to dig up old threads, but with topics like what was the last show you watched, what did you have for breakfast, What is your fav band etc I think the rule should not count. Topics like these will never get old and are always up-to-date since it implies on every single day.

I like this idea. It'll make sure that large threads that maybe have just fallen a little inactive are not completely abandoned.
 

Emma

The Cassandra
Site Staff
Joined
Nov 29, 2008
Location
Vegas
I like the usergroup idea of the years being active. I know other forums which had/have the same thing. It is a bit of an appreciation and maybe encourage people to stay on longer.
Another suggestion I have is with some threads like for example "What was the last thing you saw" we should skip the necromancy rule. I mean I can understand this is important in threads like Zelda or Mature Discussions or the General gaming etc. Because there it sometimes doesn't make sense to dig up old threads, but with topics like what was the last show you watched, what did you have for breakfast, What is your fav band etc I think the rule should not count. Topics like these will never get old and are always up-to-date since it implies on every single day.
I've made my position clear many that we absolutely do not need the necromancy rule at all. It does more harm than good. So of course I think this much at least is a good thing. We should do this at the very least.

Another suggestion I have is to sharpen the guidelines for the Theory forum. I see sometimes tons of the most ridiculous theories passing by and then I don't know whether I should lock it, move it or leave it since it is a theory after all. I think the Theory should be a bit more serious for serious talks about the World of Zelda. But not all members take this all serious and are posting the most strangest theories and suggestions
I can understand this, but you what you end up with is trading one problem for another. Who gets to define what is a "ridiculous theory"? Split timelines were considered silly theories back in the day, then that turned out to be right. One of the primary motivations of the birth of Zelda Informer was exactly this problem. Some "expert" theorists believed that poor theorists shouldn't be allowed to be in the theorizing section at all. This is disturbingly close to that. I think that something like this would only give us more problems. Not less.
 

Locke

Hegemon
Site Staff
Joined
Nov 24, 2009
Location
Redmond, Washington
Something I have noticed before is that the average non staff member generally only sticks around on ZD for about a year, at least most of the time it is a year. So I was trying to think up ways to possibly reward someone who has decided to stick around for a bit longer than evryone else. Even a usergroup or something to give an account that is 3 or so years old. However I have not really come up with any good reward ideas for them. Possibly a banner or milestone type of title, or even their own private section to play in. Nothing really seems to stand out. But I am still looking for ideas there.
Awards/Badges.

Also since the badge system is now in place for the community competitions, it can be viewed at the top in the header under awards.
Dungeon Gaming Network - Awards
They are fully customizable and we can change the graphic or add even more awards for other things. If there is any ideas that anyone here has for an award to give out then just leave a suggestion.
Being registered for x amount of time. Going infraction-free for x amount of time. (These would be hard to do if we can't set it up to do them automatically.)

And I have brought this up in skype a couple times but I do not think I have mentioned it on the forums is that I believe the Zelda Historians project could not be any more dead. However the info there is still very useful to us. So I thought to just change the title of the section to Wiki Collaboration and repurpose it for the wiki members since all of the important info is moved over there. Then things like developer quotes and manual info can still be readily useful. Plus a forum section will greatly help in the collaborative efforts of wiki editors if they have any specific plans or projects happening atm.
This goes beyond making sense.

And lastly, I still think the shirt idea from a year ago could be a fun project and I would like to attempt this again. Only now it would be a DGE shirt that encompasses either the community or all the series covered here instead of just Zelda. Maybe we could do something like give a free shirt to the successful designer of it. Who knows.
If you want to cover all of them, you gotta offer a design for each. I don't want a shirt with darksiders stuff on it.

Another suggestion I have is to sharpen the guidelines for the Theory forum. I see sometimes tons of the most ridiculous theories passing by and then I don't know whether I should lock it, move it or leave it since it is a theory after all. I think the Theory should be a bit more serious for serious talks about the World of Zelda. But not all members take this all serious and are posting the most strangest theories and suggestions
Yeah, I've been getting lazy again now that we don't have contests to stir me up. I need to keep in mind the option of moving threads to WoZ. A lot of times I'd just feel too bad closing or trashing a thread.

I can understand this, but you what you end up with is trading one problem for another. Who gets to define what is a "ridiculous theory"? Split timelines were considered silly theories back in the day, then that turned out to be right. One of the primary motivations of the birth of Zelda Informer was exactly this problem. Some "expert" theorists believed that poor theorists shouldn't be allowed to be in the theorizing section at all. This is disturbingly close to that. I think that something like this would only give us more problems. Not less.
That's a very good point. Don't want to end up like ZI... Irregardless, I try not to judge "silly" theories, but ones that obviously look at evidence and aren't just "what if?" and "what do you think?" Basically, yeah, quality of a theory is too subjective to be a basis for moderation, so I try to judge based on how well the thread fits the definition of theory (which, as we've experienced, is admittedly also quite subjective, but I think it's a necessary distinction to keep WoZ discussion from creeping in).
 

Vanessa28

Angel of Darkness
Staff member
ZD Legend
Administrator
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Location
Yahtzee, Supernatural
Gender
Angel of Darkness
I've made my position clear many that we absolutely do not need the necromancy rule at all. It does more harm than good. So of course I think this much at least is a good thing. We should do this at the very least.

In a way you are right BUT there are some threads that really don't even need to be digged up. There are threads like: "I have a giftcard and I want to buy the 3DS. Suggestions?" and this thread is posted in October 2011. And in June 2012 people reply: I suggest you go for the 3DS. These kinda threads absolutely deserve the necromancy rule. Or topic with a theory or about a game and some reply: Yes I agree with you. This asks to be moderated. But topics like: Do you like OoT and what do you like about it are also timeless topics. You can create it in 1998 and still reply to it in 2050 because it is a timeless topic.


I can understand this, but you what you end up with is trading one problem for another. Who gets to define what is a "ridiculous theory"? Split timelines were considered silly theories back in the day, then that turned out to be right. One of the primary motivations of the birth of Zelda Informer was exactly this problem. Some "expert" theorists believed that poor theorists shouldn't be allowed to be in the theorizing section at all. This is disturbingly close to that. I think that something like this would only give us more problems. Not less.

I don't want to judge people but let me make myself more clear here. Yesterday I saw a topic: Why is King Zora fat? With all respect but the OP was not exactly serious. People might disagree with me but these kinda theories cannot be considered very serious. I mean yes we have to stay polite and some theories are not as ridiculous as they seems but I mean we can all see clearly what is a real theory topic and what isn't.
 

Emma

The Cassandra
Site Staff
Joined
Nov 29, 2008
Location
Vegas
In a way you are right BUT there are some threads that really don't even need to be digged up. There are threads like: "I have a giftcard and I want to buy the 3DS. Suggestions?" and this thread is posted in October 2011. And in June 2012 people reply: I suggest you go for the 3DS. These kinda threads absolutely deserve the necromancy rule. Or topic with a theory or about a game and some reply: Yes I agree with you. This asks to be moderated. But topics like: Do you like OoT and what do you like about it are also timeless topics. You can create it in 1998 and still reply to it in 2050 because it is a timeless topic.
Why do you need to have a harmful, broadly defined rule that causes a lot of needless collateral damage for no valid reason just to deal with a very specific and infrequently occurring set of threads? Can't you just dump the rule completely, and then replace it with something like "don't revive question-like threads that are no longer relevant" or something like that, something specific to the ACTUAL PROBLEM anyone cares about instead of having this pointless and excessively broad rule that only succeeds in making people too afraid to post in older threads out of fear of being in trouble for it and too afraid of posting a new topic out of fear of being in trouble for making a duplicate? You have two rules in direct conflict with each other instilling fear in people and holding back posting. And you really don't need one of them and have very little excuse to justify it. So why keep it?

I don't want to judge people but let me make myself more clear here. Yesterday I saw a topic: Why is King Zora fat? With all respect but the OP was not exactly serious. People might disagree with me but these kinda theories cannot be considered very serious. I mean yes we have to stay polite and some theories are not as ridiculous as they seems but I mean we can all see clearly what is a real theory topic and what isn't.
I'd say that Locke's idea of having a framework of sorts for a well-formed theory would be the best option. You cannot really use the subjective part of it as a means of moderation. You will just create a bigger headache for yourself than is worth it if you try.
 

Nicole

luke is my wife
Joined
Apr 9, 2010
Location
NJ
I like the idea of having a little award for members who have been here for a significant amount of time, though as Locke said, if it couldn't be done automatically, this might be troublesome to keep up with. Ooor actually it might not be; we could always just check the Member List, select Join Date, and go from oldest members to newest to see who's been here three (or however many we decide on) years. That's not the most practical or foolproof method, but it would work. Plus, we could have multiple milestone awards, not limited to three years. Three years might actually be a bit much. Also don't really like the idea of having a separate usergroup or forum for them, though. Not sure how I feel about an infraction-free award; oftentimes I see people who were given minor infractions early on in their ZD "career," many months ago, who have not repeated any offense since. This isolates them, even though many of them have grown into wonderful non-rulebreaking users.

arkvoodle said:
Vanessa28 said:
Another suggestion I have is with some threads like for example "What was the last thing you saw" we should skip the necromancy rule. I mean I can understand this is important in threads like Zelda or Mature Discussions or the General gaming etc. Because there it sometimes doesn't make sense to dig up old threads, but with topics like what was the last show you watched, what did you have for breakfast, What is your fav band etc I think the rule should not count. Topics like these will never get old and are always up-to-date since it implies on every single day.
I like this idea. It'll make sure that large threads that maybe have just fallen a little inactive are not completely abandoned.

That is how we use the rule already. Reviving old threads is only an offense if the post does not contribute to the discussion. A legitimate post on an old thread is fine. I don't have a problem scrapping the Poor Quality Necro infraction and just using Poor Posting Quality for instances that might require it (such as an outdated thread being pointlessly bumped).
 

Fig

The Altruist
Joined
Jul 23, 2011
Location
Mishima Tower
Hello my fellow Hylian Knights! ^^ I would like to propose a new idea that member MarkaenShoque92 has proposed for the Pokémon Dungeon portion of the forums!

What he has proposed is that he wants to make this "game" where members of the forums can challenge the Gym Leaders for badges, Elite Four for qualification, and Champion for glory and Hall of Fame! Here are the full details of his idea.

No problem. Here is my idea: have 8 people (possibly the people in charge of Pokemon Dungeon or anyone that cares to sign up) that are Gym Leaders and 4 people act as the Elite Four (including a champion). Have these people make teams on Pokemon Online (or whatever online Pokemon battling system they care to use), and have a way for forum members to challenge the leaders and earn theoretical badges. After someone earned all 8 badges, they can challenge the Elite Four and proceed to challenge the Champion once the Elite Four are defeated (there could be a hall of fame for the victors). In essence, it would be like the way the games have been set up since day 1 except it includes members of the Pokemon Dungeon community as the trainers (and none of the "traveling the region battling an evil organization" stuff).

As for the teams, the Leaders and Elite Four could be restricted to having a single type of Pokemon (like the games), and the Champion could (and probably should) have a team of Pokemon of varying types. The people challenging the League could use whatever Pokemon they want, but there would of course have to be restrictions (such as no legendaries) so someone doesn't sweep the league with a team of 6 Arceus.

I have seen something like this a couple times before on forums and Facebook pages, but never with a forum with as many members as Pokemon/Zelda Dungeon. If the leaders (and other trainers, for that matter) are really into it, they can design a trainer card or gym badges for fun (I have even seen someone design a region for their League with made-up towns to go with the Gym Leaders). Just an idea.

You can find the link to his thread right here: http://zeldadungeon.net/forum/f106/pokemon-dungeon-league-33690.html

I really hope that his idea will be accepted and if it does, then it will surely bring more members into the forums and also make the Pokémon section of the forums more popular than it is already! Thank you for taking the time to read this fascinating idea that one of are members have decided to create! Thank you and have a nice day! :)
 

Kybyrian

Joined
Jan 31, 2008
Location
Amherst, MA
Gender
Didn't I already answer this one?
I like the idea Fig, and it's something I've actually considering playing with before. The only problem I foresee is having enough people to appoint as Gym Leaders and all that. We don't actually have a lot of avid competitive battlers on Pokemon Dungeon staff, just Pokemon fanatics that really like to help out with the site. We do have a few, but it would be great if we could get some volunteers around the forum beforehand, so we don't end up creating thread with less than enough volunteers. :)
 

Djinn

and Tonic
Joined
Nov 29, 2010
Location
The Flying Mobile Opression fortress
Okay well with the new awards system it does allow for us to hand out rewards for many more things around the forum which in turns gives the members something else they can earn given time or effort. I have wanted to add a couple extra awards beyond the community competition medals. However the challenge there is to add a little bit more variety without going overboard and having way too many or making them too easy to get. Then it cheapens the whole idea and people lose interest in the community competitions. There were a couploe other things that I thought are reasonably merit based and worthy of some recognition. Just a few ideas that I had were

Arcade Champion
Vi7fR.png
VWzQe.png

For those who have consistently high scores in the arcade, or we could bring back the arcade tournaments and give these to the winners.

3 Year Membership
(images still coming)
This goes back to my original idea of having something for a member who has remained active in our community for at least three years and we show some recognition for their dedication.

Pokemon Tournament Winner
yRf7P.png
WS7KX.png

This was something thought up for the few Pokemon tournament ideas that have been suggested a couple times on the PD boards. It could use a little more definition from the ones who are in charge of that type of thing.

Helpful member
DHlbg.png
(large image still undecided)
This one is not as defined either, but it was just something that I thought about giving to a forum member that goes well out of their way to help out the community in some significant way. Either they provide something great for us, or help out the staff, or solve a major problem, etc. Any more suggestions on this would be great.
 

Vanessa28

Angel of Darkness
Staff member
ZD Legend
Administrator
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Location
Yahtzee, Supernatural
Gender
Angel of Darkness
I think this is a brilliant idea :) It is a nice add to a member's contribute to the forum in a positive way :yes:
Maybe we could do a Member of the week thing? Or member of the month? When someone has contributed in a positive way and has made good and decent posts. I don't mean posts in forum games or entertainment stuff
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top Bottom