Melodeon.net Forums

Forum and website admin => Wish lists => Topic started by: Adam-T on November 10, 2012, 08:37:05 AM

Title: A Banter Forum
Post by: Adam-T on November 10, 2012, 08:37:05 AM
Al's Accordion forum has one - Somewhere to discuss non-melodeon related stuff like the Ham Radio / Tractor / Knitting thread which was moved to the sandbox and was flushed.

On reflection Maybe the Sandbox is the best place as is this stuff really needed to be kept but it seems to work on accordion forum. Just a thought.
Title: Re: A Banter Forum
Post by: malcolmbebb on November 10, 2012, 09:59:47 AM
I've run several mailing lists,over time.

When your contributors start chatting away about off-topic subjects, it's a sign of the forum's success - everyone feels at home there.

It's also a royal pain in the jacksie, because those not interested in the chit-chat drift away and newcomers are put off. The signal to noise ratio dies.

Some forums do have a special topic, some call it chat room or coffee shop or whatever. The admins then have grounds, should they wish, to move any off-topic or borderline threads into this area which is flushed out to keep the archives  - well, I was going to say free of clutter, but anyway with a bit less  ;D

The down side, IMO, is that it then encourages off-topic conversation and increases bandwidth and work for the admins. Not to mention giving implicit permission for topics such as politics which invariably lead to bad feelings.

My view is that we should aim to stay at least on topic as we generally have been, with the admins having the right to lock (in their opinion) way off-topic threads (or split those drifting too far) and put them in the sandbox. With stern admonitions as felt necessary, of course >:E
Title: Re: A Banter Forum
Post by: Chris Ryall on November 10, 2012, 10:08:41 AM
We've been there http://forum.melodeon.net/index.php/topic,2914.0.html got the T-shirt 8)

1824 :o T-shirts actually, by the time Theo pulled the plug ....
Title: Re: A Banter Forum
Post by: PortDouglas on November 10, 2012, 11:09:36 AM
increases bandwidth and work for the admins.
Title: Re: A Banter Forum
Post by: pikey on November 10, 2012, 11:58:01 AM
how about a thread drift thread? :||: :||: >:E
Title: Re: A Banter Forum
Post by: pikey on November 10, 2012, 11:59:10 AM
and a can't take a joke thread?  >:E :M :-[
Title: Re: A Banter Forum
Post by: Theo on November 10, 2012, 02:56:47 PM
how about a thread drift thread? :||: :||: >:E

Please read previous posts before making smarta*** comments see:
We've been there http://forum.melodeon.net/index.php/topic,2914.0.html got the T-shirt 8)

1824 :o T-shirts actually, by the time Theo pulled the plug ....


increases bandwidth and work for the admins.

Please please please, from the bottom of my heart I would love it if all the nice people who like to add humorous little off the cuff quips would please please please think carefully about the whole post they are commenting on, on the original subject, and if the comment is just to get a quick laugh, and has nothing to do with the OP then please please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please,

don't

My workload in moderating this forum has shot up in the last couple of months because of the volume of banter from a very small number of members.  I'm not naming names, but you know who you are.

Please help me to keep this forums reputation, built up over several years.  It's not the pub, it's not a cafe, it's not a festival, it's not a standup open mic spot.  It is a discussion about melodeons. 

Teacher has  serious face on - take note!
Title: Re: A Banter Forum
Post by: malcolmbebb on November 10, 2012, 03:08:23 PM
Although not mentioned, It's been rather noticeable that Theo has been rather busy moving threads into more appropriate topics lately.

I'm sure a bit more thought about where to start a thread might not go amiss.
Title: Re: A Banter Forum
Post by: Theo on November 10, 2012, 03:15:05 PM
Thinking before writing is always to be commended.

Yes there have been several threads recently, but actually moving threads is relatively easy,  its usually pretty clear if something is in the wrong place and two clicks and its done.

What takes the time is when threads get overheated, seriously off topic, or two topics get entangled.  Usually this involves any of:  reading and re-reading posts and coming to a decision about what needs to be done to be fair to all, splitting topics, filleting two topics out of one thread, contacting original posters to try to help them get their thread back on topic,  contacting miscreants and using all my charm and tact to get them to reform without upsetting them,  etc, etc.

Hence my appeal above for more consideration before writing.
Title: Re: A Banter Forum
Post by: pikey on November 10, 2012, 03:15:33 PM
sorry. point take. suitably humbled. stupid boy. (:)
Title: Re: A Banter Forum
Post by: Noodle on January 22, 2013, 12:36:58 PM
I moderate a heavy metal festival forum, where clashes and arguments are ten a penny, and thread drifts are a regular occurrence. Ironically, it happens far more often in the sections dedicated to the festival itself and the metal discussion sections than the off-topic, free-for-all section. Thread drifts aren't usually detrimental to the purpose of the forum, and clashes of personalities will always happen. With all that happening, I can understand how Theo, Clive and those who help out with melnet can quite happily get by without the hassle of checking every thread within an off-topic sub-forum in order to maintain their well built reputation as a helpful resource.

Thinking before writing is always to be commended.

What takes the time is when threads get overheated, seriously off topic, or two topics get entangled.  Usually this involves any of:  reading and re-reading posts and coming to a decision about what needs to be done to be fair to all, splitting topics, filleting two topics out of one thread, contacting original posters to try to help them get their thread back on topic,  contacting miscreants and using all my charm and tact to get them to reform without upsetting them,  etc, etc.

Hence my appeal above for more consideration before writing.

To add to this, I find that if I feel I want to say something that will quite likely rile someone, typing it out anyway and then reading it to myself instead of posting it will sometimes help. Obviously my internal quality control isn't always reliable as I often have many things to say that aren't useful, but it's a method I employ fairly regularly. Probably explains my lack of posting activity.
Title: Re: A Banter Forum
Post by: Owen Woods on January 22, 2013, 12:40:45 PM
The Thread Drift Thread was fun, but a waste of energy. This forum is about melodeons and that is how it should stay. Banter is fine, but the more banter there is, the fewer constructive comments there are...
Title: Re: A Banter Forum
Post by: george garside on September 13, 2013, 11:51:18 AM
The Thread Drift Thread was fun, but a waste of energy. This forum is about melodeons and that is how it should stay. Banter is fine, but the more banter there is, the fewer constructive comments there are...

so to  update an old saying you are suggesting that  folk should  ''engage brain before operating  keyboard''

george
Title: Re: A Banter Forum
Post by: Chris Ryall on September 13, 2013, 12:52:01 PM
Those of us (Theo may be one) old enough to remember Newcastle University's time-sharing operating system MTS might hark back to its arguably most useful output 'device' of *dummy*

… "write only" memory, can be very handy at times!  ;)
Title: Re: A Banter Forum
Post by: Theo on September 13, 2013, 12:59:39 PM
Yes, remember coding that onto a punched card!

Seriously, there is a "shoutbox" add on for SMF .  Shout box lets any member post a short message, but only stores a limited number of messages.  Once the box is full the oldest message is deleted each new message is posted.  Could be useful for limericks?
Title: Re: A Banter Forum
Post by: Chris Ryall on September 13, 2013, 01:05:56 PM
PUNCHED? 

Sheer luxury! We had to clip t' chads out with our teeth, I 'd 've used the HASP output for wall paper, except the only running water in my girlfriend's West Road flat … came down the walls …
Title: Re: A Banter Forum
Post by: malcolmbebb on September 13, 2013, 01:27:09 PM
Yes, remember coding that onto a punched card!

Seriously, there is a "shoutbox" add on for SMF .  Shout box lets any member post a short message, but only stores a limited number of messages.  Once the box is full the oldest message is deleted each new message is posted.  Could be useful for limericks?
... Or banter forum threads, perhaps?

Having a short term forum for threads of ephemeral interest would IMO be worth a try.
Title: Re: A Banter Forum
Post by: Ray on September 13, 2013, 03:22:02 PM
I think trying a banter forum for a while would be a good idea, lets people have a place to post daft things without clogging up other threads.

Also, while I agree that the forum was set up to be a place to discuss melodeons, I think it has become a place for melodeon players to bond with each other and form a little community, the banter in threads is just evidence of this. Personally I think it's absolutely great and should be encouraged, just not in ways that detract from sensible threads, e.g. by having a special place for it.

I also disagree with the idea that having a bit of silly banter detracts from the forums reputation, if anything I think it enhances it. I'd hate to think that people would come here and feel like they must be entirely serious, melodeon players seem to have a bad enough image as is without people thinking we're humourless buggers too  ;)

Long post I know, but in short, I reckon it'd be nice to give a banter forum a go for a while, can't hurt! (Much!)
Title: Re: A Banter Forum
Post by: deltasalmon on September 13, 2013, 03:58:31 PM
I'm not really for or against the banter forum but I think if there was one here it should pretty much work like the sandbox. It should be emptied out periodically or use the shoutcast thing that Theo mentioned before so there aren't 20+ pages to sift through. Also I think the sandbox (but I know the Support forum) doesn't show up in the "unread posts since last visit" section. It would be another good feature similar to what I think others are mentioning about the "Ignore thread".

Title: Re: A Banter Forum
Post by: Owen Woods on September 16, 2013, 09:36:13 AM
shoutboxes are quite fun. It's somewhere between live chat and a forum. Could be a good solution.
Title: Re: A Banter Forum
Post by: Clive Williams on September 17, 2013, 09:36:20 AM
Can't say I'm a huge fan of shoutboxes I'm afraid - e.g. http://www.simpleportal.net/ - what does the shoutbox on there add? Not a lot I would suggest, and it detracts quite a lot. Any examples of shoutboxes being used well out there?
Title: Re: A Banter Forum
Post by: Graham Spencer on September 17, 2013, 09:48:52 AM
I think trying a banter forum for a while would be a good idea, lets people have a place to post daft things without clogging up other threads.

Also, while I agree that the forum was set up to be a place to discuss melodeons, I think it has become a place for melodeon players to bond with each other and form a little community, the banter in threads is just evidence of this. Personally I think it's absolutely great and should be encouraged, just not in ways that detract from sensible threads, e.g. by having a special place for it.

I also disagree with the idea that having a bit of silly banter detracts from the forums reputation, if anything I think it enhances it. I'd hate to think that people would come here and feel like they must be entirely serious, melodeon players seem to have a bad enough image as is without people thinking we're humourless buggers too  ;)

Long post I know, but in short, I reckon it'd be nice to give a banter forum a go for a while, can't hurt! (Much!)

The thing is, the humorous postings generally arise spontaneously from pre-existing threads; having a specific forum for "silliness" would remove the spontaneity and would, I suspect, soon become tiresome.
Title: Re: A Banter Forum
Post by: Ollie on September 17, 2013, 10:00:41 AM
Can't we all be adults about this, and, y'know, just stop doing it as asked? We don't need forum post limits, or shoutboxes, or a banter forum, we just need some common sense...
Title: Re: A Banter Forum
Post by: Lyra on September 17, 2013, 10:11:00 AM
The thing is, the humorous postings generally arise spontaneously from pre-existing threads; having a specific forum for "silliness" would remove the spontaneity and would, I suspect, soon become tiresome.
A lot of truth in that. It's what gives it a little lift.
However, there are occasionally threads that are just silly (in a good way) which could be tidied into a banter forum, cleaned out regularly and .... well actually, it's not a "banter" forum it's an "ephemera" one - nothing there has any lasting import, it's just of the moment. Unless Collis Bird publishing gets his mitts on it, of course, in which case archaeologists of the future will be piecing together fragments and worrying about the state of mankind in the 21st century.
None of which contradicts the notion of administering a small degree of self censorship, I suppose, as long as it doesn't completely stifle creativity.
Title: Re: A Banter Forum
Post by: Chris Ryall on September 17, 2013, 10:14:31 AM
While there is a place for the one liner, such humour sort of has to be immediate, My brain sometimes thinks of things that no longer seem funny as there have been intermittent postings. I hope I manage to resist posting then?

Humour also needs to pick up the essence of the thread, when it can make very telling points?

Well, that is my version of  ::) common sense
Title: Re: A Banter Forum
Post by: Theo on September 17, 2013, 12:13:01 PM
Can't we all be adults about this, and, y'know, just stop doing it as asked? We don't need forum post limits, or shoutboxes, or a banter forum, we just need some common sense...

Unfortunately that seems to be in short supply from some members.  My recent request for thoughts on the idea of a posting limit was prompted by a direct request to avoid a drift into a an area of discussion which had previously become "overheated".  The request was ignored very shortly after.  So it would appear that I just need to be less nice and kick a few backsides.
Title: Re: A Banter Forum
Post by: pikey on September 24, 2013, 08:10:37 PM
I think trying a banter forum for a while would be a good idea, lets people have a place to post daft things without clogging up other threads.

Also, while I agree that the forum was set up to be a place to discuss melodeons, I think it has become a place for melodeon players to bond with each other and form a little community, the banter in threads is just evidence of this. Personally I think it's absolutely great and should be encouraged, just not in ways that detract from sensible threads, e.g. by having a special place for it.

I also disagree with the idea that having a bit of silly banter detracts from the forums reputation, if anything I think it enhances it. I'd hate to think that people would come here and feel like they must be entirely serious, melodeon players seem to have a bad enough image as is without people thinking we're humourless buggers too  ;)

Long post I know, but in short, I reckon it'd be nice to give a banter forum a go for a while, can't hurt! (Much!)

The thing is, the humorous postings generally arise spontaneously from pre-existing threads; having a specific forum for "silliness" would remove the spontaneity and would, I suspect, soon become tiresome.

If we had a Silliness thread, I suspect that me and my fellow nutcases would post serious comments on it.......   ;)
SimplePortal 2.3.5 © 2008-2012, SimplePortal