Alizée America Suggestion Box

[BlackAnthem]

Originally Posted by Azhiri

-pat- Not you, BA. <333

Aw thanks. I was soo sure. <3

[Fèvier]

Yeah. I was thinking of an idea similar to brian's but I have a really odd/random headache now and can't remember at all :/

Either way, I think that labeling threads, in general could be a bit helpful. Like with Aayush, he put "[Forum Game]" om all threads to be thought of as only a game. We could try to clean things up a bit if we label threads, or at least ones that are worth labeling. As for the trolling, I admit I find much joy out of trolling, just not really here. But it must all be stopped if we want to get things running smoothly, especially for the more mature members/viewers. One thing I could also suggest is making new off-topic/ Alizée discussion sections meant to be for mature and more in depth discussions.

Another major thing is financially running this place. I know I'm not one to speak, but we need more people pitching in to help with keeping the site up. Alas I do not own a credit/debit card so I am unable to donate money and I know for sure that my parents won't let me give money. So for those that do have the ability to put in donations, a few bucks won't hurt you. I'm not asking people to give hundreds of dollars but every bit counts in maintaining and improving AAm.

That's all for now and pardon any grammar/ random words. I am on my iPod and if I misspell, auto-correction puts in random words.

Feasibility of a private forum

vBulletin provides us the option for creating private forums with custom permissions and access. For such forum, user group that can access the forum needs to be defined. So, if one needs a forum for selected members then a separate user group has to be created to grant limited access to the forum.

Level of visibility of a private forum

Private forum and it's contents can be prevented from appearing on the home page of the site and also in the search results of search engines.

[User22]

Originally Posted by Merci Alizée

Feasibility of a private forum

vBulletin provides us the option for creating private forums with custom permissions and access. For such forum, user group that can access the forum needs to be defined. So, if one needs a forum for selected members then a separate user group has to be created to grant limited access to the forum.

Level of visibility of a private forum

Private forum and it's contents can be prevented from appearing on the home page of the site and also in the search results of search engines.

Hehe, but yeah that sounds good if somehow we had a legitament and fair system of picking who gets on that "mature user list".

[Corsaire]

Lots of food for thoughts so far... Myself, I think we need to reflect on this some more. The most contentious aspects seem to be:

- Will creating a private forum really help AAm forums
As I said before and as others have mentioned, there is a real possibility that creating a private forum would deplete the posts from the already post deprived public forums. Would that leave the public forums with the less interesting topics? Would that make the AAm forums even less appealing for potential newcomers? Conversely, would such a forum help bring more interest and increase the posts in the public forums? It could be that once people see what a forum with more quality posts looks like, they would behave a little better in all forums (doubtful, but not impossible).

- What would be posted in that forum
Some might want to see only mature and deep or meaningful topics being discussed. Myself, I think “controversial” and less conventional topics should also be discussed. I think that before we create that forum we should make a proper assessment of what it will be used for, so to avoid confusion and frustration.

- Should there be extra rules for that forum?
No trolling, no off-topic... Difficult to enforce, but what if we would spare the moderator of this task and just go with a system where if, let’s say, more than 5 members complained about the behaviour of a particular member, then that member would be out of the private forum? Members could complain publicly about another member by adding their name to a list that would be accessible to all members. i think that could be a good deterrent.

- Who should be allowed to join that forum?
It will be difficult to reconcile the different views. Myself, I do have a problem with any type of selection process because this will inherently be biased. I would prefer that all members be allowed.

I will reflect on this for a while and possibly propose a solution or two. In the meantime, if people have more ideas, comments or solution of their own, do post it here. Later on, I suppose we could have a poll to test the general interest and see what is the most popular solution.

Thanks to all for the input!

[Azhiri]

Once again I am left to marvel at Corsaire's clear, well-gathered way of thinking.

Originally Posted by Corsaire

- Who should be allowed to join that forum?
It will be difficult to reconcile the different views. Myself, I do have a problem with any type of selection process because this will inherently be biased. I would prefer that all members be allowed.

Now this is something that is only as complicated as we make it. I believe most members here are honest enough with themselves to say "Hey, you know, maybe that's just not for me." Not only that but it's not as if we don't have some form of exclusivity here already; not the snobbish kind, but we all have our different ranks of credibility based on our actions even if not in a written-rule sense. We all know our place, so to speak.

I don't see why the private discussion forum thing would hurt anybody's feelings.

[Rev]

We have had serious discussions in the past and, although we have drifted off topic, we eventually returned to the topic. When a serious discussion was going on there was usually some reserve shown by those not involved.

I really don't see the need for a separate area. I think it would split the forum and I think that the split could be the beginning of the end for this forum. Also, if you add a gatekeeper (rather than simple rules) you create an in group and an out group - and this I believe would be detrimental in the long run.

Rather, we simply need to (as a group) reinforce a general behavior of respect for each other. If you spot someone who is consistently negative just for the sake of being negative, don't let them get away with it. If someone thinks that they do not have to follow the rules and can do whatever they want, simply remind them that this is a community.
Discussions between a few people can occur in PM, and there are no limits there as to what can be said. Meanwhile, this is a community - a community that has worked well, so far, as it is.

This site has worked well for years as it is. People come here because newcomers feel welcome here. Think carefully before you change the underlying dynamic of what makes this forum work.

[Corsaire]

Merci pour les compliments, Azhiri.

Rev, this is an important issue and there is no taking this lightly. You do know that, if ever, it will not be implemented without popular support or if too many members fear negative effects on AAm forums. There might be other solutions that would work. We have time; let’s not kill the idea, just yet.

[HelixSix]

Originally Posted by Corsaire

Who should be allowed to join that forum?
It will be difficult to reconcile the different views. Myself, I do have a problem with any type of selection process because this will inherently be biased. I would prefer that all members be allowed.

If everyone is allowed in then it ceases to be private or separate and the whole idea is moot.

Originally Posted by Rev

I really don't see the need for a separate area. I think it would split the forum and I think that the split could be the beginning of the end for this forum.

That is assuming the beginning of the end hasn't already started. I think it's closer to the end. At least the end of a respectable forum. And as each new generation takes over more of the older guys get irritated and leave. I used to talk to them a lot in the off topic section, that was of course way before it turned into the troll section.

Originally Posted by Rev

This site has worked well for years as it is. People come here because newcomers feel welcome here. Think carefully before you change the underlying dynamic of what makes this forum work.

It might work for the new people but what about the older ones? There will come a day (if it hasn't already) when Ben, Roman and the others will roll over in their legendary graves because of what their hard work turned into.

I've been apart of great forums that died because people thought "it isn't that bad" but did nothing until it was too late. One of those I ended up being banned for making claims like I'm kinda doing right now. The mod's were in denial and perma banned me and when I went back 4 months later it had vanished. Admins pulled the plug.

[Azhiri]

Originally Posted by HelixSix

I've been apart of great forums that died because people thought "it isn't that bad" but did nothing until it was too late. One of those I ended up being banned for making claims like I'm kinda doing right now. The mod's were in denial and perma banned me and when I went back 4 months later it had vanished. Admins pulled the plug.

Maybe that's just the natural cycle (haha) of forums. Life happens, people move on, nobody can maintain a forum forever and there isn't always someone to pass the torch to.

This is not to say we should just go, "Well, it's okay that trolls are taking over our forum". This is why this is difficult: the private discussion board could act as a sort of treehouse for the more mature members of the forum to kind of recapture the old spirit of AAm, true and troll-free. But there's always the chance that it could also drive a wedge between senior members and newer people.

Now, here's something I'm not quite clear on: what would the criteria be for getting posting privileges for this new section, should the idea come to fruition? Would it be based on purely how long you've been around? Would there be some kind of exam on the content of the majority of your posts?