Promoting Discussion in Forums
Is it possible to have less strict lock-downs on posts that are about game topics? Most popular gaming message boards, WoW, FF14, LoL, various subreddits, etc, all have discussion that is not as heavily moderated and topics are left open even if the posters are debating the same thing over and over. Debate is natural and expected for a video game forum. As an onlooker from the outside, it looks terrible that discussion topics are being locked because a moderator has deemed the issue "Resolved" or the "matter has been discussed."
Is it also possible to see an archive of deleted posts on a topic? There are frequent posts by mods who claim to have cleaned up/deleted troll posts. What constitutes this? More popular forums like Reddit have a community upvote/downvote section and offer the ability to see archived/deleted posts/comments.
Examples:
https://forum.uo.com/discussion/8856/pre-aos-stun/p3 ;
- This topic had good discussion on changes to a very unpopular mechanic in the game. Why close it? "Thank you for your feedback." - Closing the thread is not thanking someone for their feedback but shutting it down. Discourages future posts like this. Can we not discuss in-game mechanics that we are passionate about?
https://forum.uo.com/discussion/8915/showcasing-unbreakable-nerve/p2 ;
- Discussion/informative for people not aware of nerve strike mechanics. Not everyone is going to be an expert on mechanics, why not let players debate it about it.
https://forum.uo.com/discussion/8671/why-getting-rid-of-the-wbb-customizations-is-a-bad-idea#latest
- Someone posts an opinion about game content, I didn't see the alleged removed posts, but closing a topic because "Forum posts are not an accurate measure of the feeling on this topic. Only those who feel strongly will post, unless attempting to bait a troll." How can someone claim that "forum posts are not accurate measure of the feeling on this topic"? True or not, closing the topic without opening it up to everyone to give input seems ridiculous and not healthy to a game discussion.
https://forum.uo.com/discussion/8900/pages-of-lore-ridicolously-low-spawn-rate-why#latest
Players should be able to vent/express their opinions on in-game content. Just because another thread already exists doesn't mean this one should be closed. The most popular subforum of this forum isn't moving that fast, not like it is blocking out other popular content.
Now, on the contrary so this isn't just a negative post, examples of good moderation
https://forum.uo.com/discussion/8963/h-y-p-e-d-for-the-new-shard#latest
- Obvious troll post, serves no discussion. Even the most popular video game forums have troll posts, and they normally don't get locked, but in my opinion the mods do a good job with this.
https://forum.uo.com/discussion/7701/there-is-nothing-wrong-with-saying-pvp-lives-matter#latest ;
- Another troll post, closing post is reasonable.
In short - I think the current moderation team does put forth a lot of effort in promoting the community, although the excessive moderation greatly reduces on-going discussions and gives an appearance of a very filtered/restricted community.
Is it also possible to see an archive of deleted posts on a topic? There are frequent posts by mods who claim to have cleaned up/deleted troll posts. What constitutes this? More popular forums like Reddit have a community upvote/downvote section and offer the ability to see archived/deleted posts/comments.
Examples:
https://forum.uo.com/discussion/8856/pre-aos-stun/p3 ;
- This topic had good discussion on changes to a very unpopular mechanic in the game. Why close it? "Thank you for your feedback." - Closing the thread is not thanking someone for their feedback but shutting it down. Discourages future posts like this. Can we not discuss in-game mechanics that we are passionate about?
https://forum.uo.com/discussion/8915/showcasing-unbreakable-nerve/p2 ;
- Discussion/informative for people not aware of nerve strike mechanics. Not everyone is going to be an expert on mechanics, why not let players debate it about it.
https://forum.uo.com/discussion/8671/why-getting-rid-of-the-wbb-customizations-is-a-bad-idea#latest
- Someone posts an opinion about game content, I didn't see the alleged removed posts, but closing a topic because "Forum posts are not an accurate measure of the feeling on this topic. Only those who feel strongly will post, unless attempting to bait a troll." How can someone claim that "forum posts are not accurate measure of the feeling on this topic"? True or not, closing the topic without opening it up to everyone to give input seems ridiculous and not healthy to a game discussion.
https://forum.uo.com/discussion/8900/pages-of-lore-ridicolously-low-spawn-rate-why#latest
Players should be able to vent/express their opinions on in-game content. Just because another thread already exists doesn't mean this one should be closed. The most popular subforum of this forum isn't moving that fast, not like it is blocking out other popular content.
Now, on the contrary so this isn't just a negative post, examples of good moderation
https://forum.uo.com/discussion/8963/h-y-p-e-d-for-the-new-shard#latest
- Obvious troll post, serves no discussion. Even the most popular video game forums have troll posts, and they normally don't get locked, but in my opinion the mods do a good job with this.
https://forum.uo.com/discussion/7701/there-is-nothing-wrong-with-saying-pvp-lives-matter#latest ;
- Another troll post, closing post is reasonable.
In short - I think the current moderation team does put forth a lot of effort in promoting the community, although the excessive moderation greatly reduces on-going discussions and gives an appearance of a very filtered/restricted community.
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