The count to 100 thread

Just thought I'd query its closure, yes it was a pure spam-trap but so is the first word that comes to mind thread, or the hate the person above me thread.

I was pretty against Zeb and everything he did here first time round but the count to 100 was actually pretty damn funny.

Mods lacking humour these days...?

 

I have to disagree. The spamming little nerd needs a ban, pronto. A mod/admin warning at the very least. There are at least 10, maybe even 20 regular members of bit-tech who have expressed disgust/dislike towards him and others who have started pointless spam threads in recent weeks and months.

GD needs more moderator intervention if you ask me - it's starting to turn into a complete mess. IMHO if there is no topic to discuss, it doesn't deserve to be posted in a thread. That includes "Hate the person above", "First word that comes to your mind" and "A-Z Fun".

 

I thought my final post was self explanatory?

The thread was proving itself to be madness, so I closed it.

 

I agree about Zeb entirely but surely you're suggesting a rather strict imposition upon the posting populous... I really don't see what harm a few less than serious topics could possibly do anyone, just don't read them if they bother you. After all there is the serious section for deep meaningful thoughts to be expressed.

Edit: I find that to be rather hypocritical of you mv, disappointing

 

I've been reading and posting in this forum for rather a long while now, and as such have seen many trends come and go; many changes take place; many attitudes change. There are many reasons why I feel this forum is going downhill from where it once was, which I won't get into here as it isn't the time nor the place, but one of the most concerning trends that I witness on a daily basis is the General forum being turned into one giant post-count-plus trap.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the frivolous threads where people will banter on about nothing at all, but I fail to see the benefit of any of the threads listed thus-far beyond increasing your post count (and I do understand where a slight giggle would come into this, but I'm choosing to ignore such a minor thing). I'm glad to see the thread got closed, I just wish more would.

However, I do feel there is another solution: none of the people that have thus-far posted within this thread, nor most that will read this thread will remember the glory that was the fabled Test forums. To put it briefly: they were a place without post-count, moderation (to an extent), or sense. It was a place where anarchy and frivolous topics could be let free to entertain. The forum was fun for the same reasons that the threads listed above are, but the average user wouldn't need worry about how much they spammed, as it was well allowed.

I propose a compromise: a blanket-tag within General with the same ideology as the Test forum of old. Post-count, sense, and spam wouldn't be concerns. Users could have the fun they enjoy from the silly threads that seem to pop-up endlessly without artificially ballooning their post-count (maybe even gently discouraging those inclined towards spam as a side-effect); moderators would be able to dump nonsensical threads into it without enraging users via closures; and those of us uninterested in such things could just happily ignore threads under that tag. Though if I'm honest I'd be well pleased if all threads of the sort being discussed were closed and deleted shortly after their creation, but that's neither here nor there.

As the Latin would say: Vincere rebus uterque.

 

Interesting idea Malfoleo, but don't forget some mod has to read through all that jibberish.

I binned the count to 100 and a couple of other spam topics because they were just that. Spam. Some of the other topics in GD which are a bit spammy at least have some kind of purpose, but enough's enough. Some had to go.

 

The good thing (and probably the only good thing) about these sort of threads is that they give you something to do when you're bored out of your skull. Sure it's puerile and not really constructive but I think we do need some places on the forum where we can just effectively spam our mundaneness away.

It's better than all the rant threads we were getting anyway.

 

Only to a certain extent though, Krikkit. I would like to imagine that the community does a certain amount of self-moderation via the "Report-a-Post" button which, alongside the given that the threads would be acknowledged as spam from the get-go, would mean very minimal effort on the part of the moderation staff. It's not a perfect solution, but maybe it is one to consider?

 

You put my exact thoughts into words so much more eloquently than I was able to at almost 2am this morning. Well done for that

All except for the test forums, of which I had no prior knowledge. Nice idea though, I'd be all for that as opposed to having those threads clutter up the GD section like they do at the moment.

 

Opening another tag to allow the spam is just compromising. Say yes or say no. There is too much middle ground. Whats next? Another topic section like technology, but purely for rubbish threads?

 

I think the problem with a topic section dedicated to spam threads is just inviting trouble. Really when that happens you have a 4chan thing starting. 4chan is like the Mr. Smith of the internet, if left alone takes over completely independent sites and just keeps trying to kill neo (the internet).

This is like the Demot thread, it got out of hand and needed to be put down like old yeller. And it seems there are a lot of 'old yellers' roaming about these days...

 

I have to side with Krikkit/Unicorn/Malvolio on this one. The ratio of stupid/whiny/spammy threads to threads that are actually worth reading has been increasing in the General forum lately, and it's cluttering the place up making the good threads harder to find. Some people seem to think we want to know each and every detail of their lives, and that Lord Xeb guy obviously had no interest in posting on the forums except for trolling and creating spam threads, so TBH I couldn't care less if they were all closed. It tends to be just the same people spamming them anyway, instead of being a lively community thread like the Demot thread was.

If we could also find some sort of sobriety posting test (a simple logical reasoning test perhaps?) which could come into effect between the hours of, say, 11pm-3am that would also be super. Hopefully that would cut down on the stupid drunken threads that have been cropping up lately.

 

Couldn't care less about these silly threads that turn into spam. I don't like them, so I don't click into them.

The demote thread was different, there were some genuinely funny images and it spawned a few community in-jokes, at times it was fantastic.... Until towards the end when it turned into people being offensive/offended on a more regular basis and people using it as an excuse to be idiots.

I am for the idea of an open area, though not a tag in general, just another section of the forum for random crap (preferably right at the bottom, out of the way), that way you don't even have to see it in the list of threads in general if you really don't like it. No rep, no post count, then all these "game" threads can roam free. Obviously there still needs to be moderation to stop people being idiots, but not as strong as other areas of the forum.

If you were to make it a members only area and be quite clear that its going to be full of random rubbish and possibly offensive* material then it would keep the forum family friendly, unless you really wanted to see a bunch of grown-up geeks failing to count with the odd mildly offensive image thrown in.

*The no nips rule should still apply.

 

It's good to see that I'm not the only one who think things have gotten slightly out of hand lately.


It's seems the "4chan-attitude" is infesting the GD section. I don't see the point of having such threads when people could rather go to 4chan and do whatever they want.

As for the "If you don't like it, don't click it". Well, first of all it clutters the forums, making proper threads hard to find. It also make the forums look bad for new users.



Bringing back the test forums could work, but I fear things will get out of hand pretty quickly. Moderating it back in the day would have been way easier than today simply because the user base were much smaller back then.

A compromise may be to have a "Ignore thread"-button. (If that's even possible)




(And yes, before people call me a hypocrite; I know I have posted in some of the mentioned threads but as said before, some threads have their time and place but sometimes time runs out)

 

I've been having a behind the scenes whine at this for a while. Either they need shutting quicker, or we need a no post count increasing forum for the spam to be shoved in.

I hope it doesn't come to this, as i love the current system. Perhaps an additional mod for the general section?

 

Although there is and has been a certain level of flexibility in the forums, I have to agree that the current trend towards spam and postcount +1 threads is disquieting.

IMO, a test area or tag which can be ignored by the majority of users would only invite people to act as tools on the forum as well as drawing in other tools from the greater Internet.

 

I think a seperate section would be good. Maybe get a few new moderators that would only be mods in that section. Still have the forum rules and stuff but let everyone spam if they want.

Maybe set a 18 age limit for it?

 

I thought getting ****ed off about people's post count rising without adequate reason for posting was below bit-tech, sheesh was I wrong.

Unless there is a devine rule that states the difference between A: Whiney but allowed and B: Too whiney to be acceptable, which I highly doubt is even possible, then every post complaining about it is just as bad as the original.

And guys, remember it's a recreational forum down there, there are no strict rules to keep 'on-topic' there is no agenda for that section if my eyes don't decieve me. The problem lies with the users, not the threads, and the users being attracted to bit-tech are going to be ever changing, seeing as it's free and open to register.

 

I honestly have no idea why everyone's so concerned with post-count, what possible relevence to anything does it have? It proves activity yes but nothing more, rep is a good idea for proving reliability but I think we can all agree it no longer does any such thing here. So what difference does it make to ANYONE how big someone's post-count is OR how they arrived at that figure?

Especially coming from you Mankz, when I joined you were known as the spam king, it was even your tagline at one point iirc

Personally I find the "1st word that comes to mind" far worse than the count to 100, endless one word posts contributing absolutely nothing whatsoever, and yet it survives. At least count to 100 was actually a fairly interesting experiment of sorts.

This isn't a particular rant about the loss of that thread, I just have no idea how that particular line was drawn/crossed.

I'm not a fan of whineyness either, there's been some absolutely ridiculous stuff posted in what's ruining (really, cutting your nail too short..? ) your life But surely this is the point of GD? As Canon has rightly pointed out there is no stated purpose to that section of the forum, how exactly do we decide what is and isn't allowed?

Topic A, spammy and solely comprised of one word posts - closed in three days.

Topic B, spammy and solely comprised of one word posts - currently at 6 months and change.

Where's the consistancy, if nothing else?

(I'm not trying to get 1st word closed, I just don't get the moderation processes at work here)

 

1st word is even more of a spam trap than the demot thread was.

And this is why it must be closed:



I mean, come on.

@October, yeah, I guess I was, but I always tried to in some way keep it slightly relevant. I personally feel that the quality of the posting in the general forum is sliding, and I don't want it getting to the point where its just a GIANT spam trap.