Thinning the herd.

724Skinsfan

Is this mainly about starting garbage threads or posting garbage in general? I'm probably a contributor to the latter. I haven't taken anything seriously since I got held up in an attempted robbery and the dude's gun misfired. Ever since, I try to keep it light.

I hope Daseal reconsiders. I bet he will. He is one of about 20 whose posts I'm inclined to take special interest in due to the intelligence and unique perspective.

Daseal, if you're reading this, come on back. Where you go, others may follow and that'll suck.

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firstdown

No I think 100 will get someone in to the flow of the site and will give them knowledge to what others want to talk about and not just starting a tread to do so. If they are true fans (I'm not saying a new poster is not) and really like this site 100 post would only take a week or two.

JoeRedskin

Matty,

I like the reply posting requirement. Thank you. I do expect, however, we will get a few thread spammers who will just run up a quick post count with meaningless replies (one word replies, etc.) so I think you will end up needing to set the initial post count pretty high (50-100).

Another thought, and in conjunction with the "new thread" requirements, how about placing a post-per day limit on new members? This would both cut down on spamming to reach the "new thread" requirements and provide newbies with a chance to make limited posts while seeing how things operate around here.

As many of the vets (and mods) know, losing Daseal as an active participant decreases that which was the essence this board. Seeing the decline in several other posters whose contributions I have always appreciated has, in my opinion, hurt the board and, I believe, Daseal and Cpayne have clearly stated the reason why this has occurred.

I do appreciate the mods concern with being an inviting and open forum that encourages discussion by not placing limits on membership. As with Cpayne and Daseal, however, I have missed the "knowledgeable fan" discussion that previously marked this board.

Let me just ask this - what is the Warpath's goal? To have increased membership or to have knowledgable and informative discussions? If the former, change nothing. If the latter, then it may time to place limits on posters. Doing so will weed out the kidwell's, etc. (who simply have to go somewhere else to vent their Extreme opinions) while, hopefully, encouraging those who are looking for some more meaningful discussions to stick around.

If I sound like a veteran snob, so be it. I understand that, in limiting newbies and low-posting regulars/lurkers, the biggest concern is that you limit and cut off discussion. Currently, however, the multiple thread garbage and excessive dross seems to me to be doing the same thing with Daseal's announcement being the most obvious evidence of it.

This post ended up being MUCH longer than I anticipated. I hope it will be taken in the spirit it was meant (See below).

Two final points:
I hope Daseal changes his mind b/c, as many have said, I greatly appreciate his contrarian nature when it comes to the Skins.

In one of your posts you indicated that the mods had already been discussing this issue. I would simply like to thank you for the efforts you, the mods, HAVE made in keeping threads clean, merging where appropriate and locking when appropriate. Given the "in season" issues, I recognize the vigilance used, the careful balancing that you have performed, and the incredible amount of work already being put into the board. And, for all the above critique, this is still the only forum site I visit for discussion. Thank you for your excellent work and commitment.

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My Little Pony: Friendship is magic? or ... a repressive matriarchal society where individuals' roles are defined by their immutable physical characteristics and governance is reserved for those who demonstrate the genetic purity of the pony master race?

Mattyk

I appreciate the feedback but 50 or 100 is way too much. I've been a member on other boards that required a certain amount of posts and 10 seems to be pretty standard. If someone had to hang around for 50 or 100 posts alot of people would quickly look for another forum. We'll see how this goes and we can always make changes.

Spammers aren't going to hang around, they look for a quick in and out. Most aren't interested in hanging around for even 10 posts, and there is already a requirement in place as to how long a reply must be, so quick one word answers won't always cut it.

As far as limiting posts per day there isn't a way we can do that currently, unless I can find a modification for that.

Obviously we're never going to find a perfect solution, but I think these new member restrictions are going to help.

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Mattyk

As for the knowledgeable tag line, I appreciate that you guys liked that. I can bring that back, I just felt like changing it up a little. It wasn't meant to reflect that the site is moving in a different direction or anything, but perhaps it was important to help set the tone.

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onlydarksets

It's back! I like it!

onlydarksets

I'm already in favor of what JoeRedskin posted (I forget who posted it first). Some kind of a limit on the number of posts per day would be great.

An alternative for creating the new thread could be that you have to have 10 posts and be a member for a week, or something like that. It would prevent people from dumping a bunch of posts in the Parking Lot just to be able to create a new thread.

ArtMonkDrillz

I don't like the idea of limiting the amount of posts a person, even a newbie, can have per day at all. I know it will help with the Kidwells of the world, but sometimes people get into heated discussions on here (like the one I was involved in on monday and tuesday) and before you know it you've posted 50 times.

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Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

Longtimefan

You'll be back Daseal, and I share in your frustration at times. I browsed this forum for a long time before I became a part of it. I decided to become involved because of people like you. You and I joined up here at the same time, and it was some of your coments and insight that inspired me to be here. Sometime the repetition, profanity, and constant bashing become an issue, but consider the source and hang in there.

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A revolution is coming and it will be televised.

onlydarksets

yeah, that's a good point. there is, obviously, no perfect solution. however, there aren't many people who have been here for only a couple of weeks who are going to get in that kind of a conversation. the "limit" could always ratchet up more quickly, so that "unlimited posting" comes after a matter of weeks, not months. still, i think it's a good idea to force people to ease into posting instead of jumping into every conversation like they've been here all along. the point being, this will help newbies get a feel for the people and the style here.

dmek25

yawn, i didnt know it was april

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"It's better to be quiet and thought a fool than to open ones mouth and remove all doubt."
courtesy of 53fan

JoeRedskin

I hear you. It has been awhile but, every now and again, I get into a good conversation. At the same time, I still think a generous PPD limit is a good thing for those starting out on the board. As the point is moot and as Matty seems to think a PPD will be to discouraging, I am perfectly willing to accept that assessment.

And Matty - thanks for the "knowledgeable" tag again. It was the first thing that attracted me to the board (that and the newslinks) and, as it was so obviously true, the thing that kept me coming back (which, in turn, obviated the applicability of the tag line for all other posters).

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My Little Pony: Friendship is magic? or ... a repressive matriarchal society where individuals' roles are defined by their immutable physical characteristics and governance is reserved for those who demonstrate the genetic purity of the pony master race?

onlydarksets

hmm...I missed the Ego weighing in on the PPD discussion. I still think it's a great idea, but if the mods have discussed it and opted against it, I'll drop it. For now.