Active sabotage is the only way to get things done around here. Fact
I will put aside my internet revolutionary/supervillain/crazy person persona aside for the sake of this thread. Let's do this proper-like and get some positive results!
Timestamp: June 03, 2013, 12:38:34 (I have no idea what timezone)
I initiate my forum jihad by editing the rules sticky in the announcements. I'm able to do this since I'm the original poster and long-time NWR staff alumni.
Primary motive: comedy
Secondary motive: Affecting change in forum policy
Getting increasingly bored and frustrated with the NWR forums, I decide to edit the rules sticky into
this after kicking the idea around in my head a couple days. I considered giving a moderator a heads up on my scheme, but decided I liked surprise factor more.
What I expected to happen: Some laughs, maybe some moderation action. I didn't expect much, considering my godfather status, results of
previous shenanigans, and what other posters such as TJ Spyke and pokepal have gotten away with. Of course, there are 5 different ways to recover the sticky even without me keeping a copy, so I feel no real harm was done. I was slightly surprised at a 7-day ban (the ban message showed the ban would expire June 10), but was willing to roll with it. No moderator has identified themselves as the ban-guy. I suspect it might be a staffer that doesn't regularly use the forums but I don't even know.
June 03, 2013, 10:26:34 AM
I post a
sassy comment with one of my secret parachute accounts, Albert Wesker. Motive: sass.
June 04, 2013, 09:25:08 PM
I register a throw away account, WEEDLORD BONERHITLER, to share those
propagranda-poster-esque posters/avatars. Motive: comedy, propaganda psy-op.
June 4-9:
Nothing happens. I am content to wait out my ban. My ban expiration continues to show as June 10.
June 10:
My ban is suddenly extended to June 16. No explanation is given and no moderator has come forward about this. I'm wondering if it's the product of a forum bug (it wasn't). It seemed really rude and ice cold to me to extend a ban at this time without an explanation, especially since it was about to expire
and it was the week of E3.
June 10:
Not wanting to be left out of E3 posting, I register account Doctor Video Games and post like normal. So, Doctor Video Games was a response to the ban extension, not vice-versa. Me and Khush exchange some PMs, which he already covered. He came to me with his idea; I told him that forum prankery should use finesse, not spam. Maybe Khush can post that PM, since I can't see exactly what I wrote anymore. That's the extent of my involvement there; I slept through that entire action. Japan time.
June 16:
My extended ban expires. That's the timeline!
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Let's talk about forum policy. I based my version of the forum policy heavily on Something Awful, which I feel offers the best model rules/policy on any forum on the internet, and the level of discourse, popularity, and success there reflects it.
The two big things I think are missing here are working with the community, and keeping the riffraff in check.
This post by insanolord really got my goat; the smite system is hugely unpopular and I think probably contributes a lot to the air of negativity around here. Insanolord is saying "I'm going to do the opposite of what the community wants, for no reason." Maybe he said it in jest, but I don't know. If not ditching smites immediately, at least post a poll on them in announcements or something. Now, it's not just a bad feature in itself, but also seems kind of spiteful to keep at this point.
This post is pretty similar. It says to me, "I'm willing to let post quality degrade to some unknown low point before I am willing to take responsibility." Potential new posters decide to register based on the posts already in the forum. We want to attract posters who like good posts. Moving busted threads to the Funhouse is a good call. But, you can move whole posters there! I understand the want to be all-inclusive on the forum, and that's great if you want the forum to be 4chan or gaia online.
Some examples of past successes based the SA model implemented here: The Funhouse, "hot topic" temporary forum areas, adoption of user stuff (like mafia), pranks (Wandering's Funhouse, Everybody Gets Banned Day '08), rules including "work-safe" guidelines, bandwidth leeching, and the moderator catch-all rule.
There are a lot of smaller things to do but those are the big ones. Issues coming out of the current fiasco is moderator transparency and hierarchy - nobody seems to know who banned me, nor why my ban was extended. SA keeps a viewable rap sheet for each user, which shows each ban/probation on their account history, which mod/admin performed it, and a link to the offending post. Individual posts get a stamp at the bottom for infractions which is pretty handy for any user to understand what
not to post. I know this could be one of those things that's hard to implement, but maybe you guys can at least keep a log in your secret staff area or something. Actually, publically viewable is better. There also needs to be an admin who is on the forums frequently and has the final call on all of these things. I'd like to think that's whoever has the Community Manager title - those
responsibility dodges are no good.
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A thing that isn't exactly forum rules are anti-stagnation measures. I know it's kind of tough on a Nintendo forum (heh
), but at least shake things up from time to time to keep it fresh and interesting. I think it's about time to launch dedicated forums for Smash and Animal Crossing - they could potentially be big internet hotspots with some front page promotion. Maybe prune the deadest forum areas, change some colors around, instigate something funny. E3 barely measured a bump in activity at all, but the forums have to keep moving, like a shark allegory.
So there you go! Please use this post wisely.