The Harlequin Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 [font=gothic][color=crimson]I was recently spending some time in the Battle Arena, at which point I ran into three newbies. They were sparring, no suprise, but in such a fashion that it became obvious that they had never even glanced at the rules, and had no idea what they were doing. Now, I'm aware that most of the members that sign up do read the rules, but this kind of thing is really starting to become prevalent. So I was thinking; design some kind of written test, based on the rules, including specific rules for certain forums, that needs to be completed before you can register. I have no idea what the questions would be, and I have no idea whether certain people would bother to obey the rules after completing the test, but I still think it would help a fair bit.[/font][/color] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valen Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 Yeah, at least they'd be forced to read the rules at least once through. I'm for it completely... hopefully it will lower the spamming in other forums, I.E., the Battle Arena and Otaku Lounge. But that's just me... I think it would also be interesting to see how many n00bs actually abide by the rules then. Sure you have your good n00bs, but with the good comes the bad... so... Yeah... Please do put up a test of some sort that won't allow you access unless you score a certain score... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juu Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Valen [/i] [B]Sure you have your good n00bs, but with the good comes the bad...[/B][/QUOTE] [color=deeppink] [size=1]Of course, we were all one of the 'n00bs' here sometime. ^_- Anyway, I think it would reduce the spamming. But then again, wouldn't that be just extra work for Neil/James? Membership sounds a little... complicated. = \[/color] [/size] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valen Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 Neil is very handy at multi-tasking... except of course when you give him GTA3 or Red Falcon... then he;s too bust killing to notice anything going on around him... So unless he has GTA3 or Red Falcon sitting around, or if James needs him, he should have enough time to throw together a little code and make one... [P.S. -- Neil, no kill Valen...] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solo Tremaine Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 You'd have to be moderately careful, because having a membership test runs the risk of making us sound like some kind of snooty exclusive club, and that takes away the friendly image that James and everyone has tried to set up. Another thing to do might be to have a page before the actual registration bit that makes them read the rules before they enter in any information. That way, they should have at least read them before they can join. Or, if they skip straight to the bottom, devise a little test (maybe a multiple choice) which, if they get above a certain score, allows them to enter their information and then register. That way, it's a passive thing and James and Neil won't have to do too much. Not a serious 'you're banned if you get below three' thing, but a 'go back and read the rules more carefully' thing. That way, new people won't be frightened off. Mnemolth likes making quizzes. Maybe he could help design it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 [color=#507AAC]Yes, I think having a "membership test" is a little [i]too[/i] exclusive for OtakuBoards. Generally, we expect people to read the rules before they register. And by registering, every single member on this site has [i]agreed[/i] to the rules. Whether or not you read the rules is up to you. But if you don't, you are taking a significant risk. Ultimately, if you are banned and you haven't read the rules...you can hardly blame us for banning you. The message I try to convey is that not everyone will read the rules to their fullest extent. But those who do are taking much [i]less[/i] of a risk and are far less likely to be banned in the future. Generally speaking, we understand that members (especially the younger people in our community) are not going to be 100% perfect when they join. If I banned everyone who wasn't 100% perfect, I'm sure that a LOT of people would not be here (including some well-established members). The key issue is making sure that people improve over time. And many have done. As long as people are willing to read the rules and willing to improve over time...I don't see a problem with that. We all make mistakes and some people will make a few minor ones before they settle in. That's okay; we've all made mistakes before.[/color] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 Good idea Flynn, but dont you think a test would just ward away even good wholesome nice people from the boards? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmjk Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 of course if you have a test... within a week there'll be some page with the answers floating around on the net how about if, every once-in-a-while (every 6mnths-1 yr) you get sent an PM Quiz witha few Questions (hmmmmmm, on 2nd thought ... No) I guess posting (or PM'in) "RTBR" Read The Board Rules will work too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 I just think that if we have people who evidently disregard the rules before posting...and especially in a place like the battle/adventure arenas.. than thats the ideal time for moderators to step in... *glances at Warlock and Medra* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 A membership test, while a good idea on the whole, is just too nit-picky. I just think we should crack down a little harder on newbies who don't read the rules. -Justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boba Fett Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 [COLOR=green]I remember reading that spar, and found it to be one of the bigger spam-fests I have ever witnessed. Although I can honestly say that had a membership test post been in place when I joined I would have failed, I still think that a membership post should be required. [/COLOR] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Harlequin Posted December 18, 2002 Author Share Posted December 18, 2002 [font=gothic][color=crimson]I'm not really sure I understand how the word "exclusive" fits in here. If you had said something along the lines of stringent, I would have understood. But I don't think exclusive really works in this situation. We're not really requiring them to do anything special or anything like that, just something that they were meant to have done in the first place.[/font][/color] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 [color=#507AAC]A membership test does create too much exclusivity. Many members (even well established ones) may fail the test if you put it there now. Plus, a compulsory test [i]before[/i] being able to post would be far too strict in my opinion. Remember, we're trying to encourage people to visit, not the other way around. Plus, even people who are potentially good members may see something like that and think it's not worthwhile. So this takes us back to the reason why we have Moderators. We are always giving new members the benefit of the doubt, in the sense that we aren't forcing them to read the rules or anything. So we're always giving them a couple of initial chances to do the right thing. It is only if they continuously ignore the rules that they are banned. What is being suggested here would probably cause a massive drop in new registrations.[/color] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 In a way, I think Flynn has a good point. It's not a situation on how or if the new/current members will pass. The point Flynn is probably making is just a mandatory way to make people familiar with the rules...Regardless of if the person passes or fails. PS: I hate being able to see it from both sides, heh. One second I hate the idea and think it will only cause unneeded bother. The next second I see why it 'can' be usefull. Oh well, its worth a try right Flynn.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valen Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 Dude... 3,000something members, barely 200(if that) have even bothered to post. But if we do at least make them read the rules once, someting that doesn't even take five minutes, then we'd really have the new members a little more familiar with the boards' ways of doing things, that way, incase they have any questions about the rules, they can just ask it instead of holding it in and spamming to the point of a ban when they didn't understand a rule or something... but I dunno... that's just me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 You must mean 2000, not 200, Val. ;) If you look at the members list, you see that one third of them have 1-10 posts, so two thirds have more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 [color=#507AAC]Actually, I recently removed all non-active members. Though some new non-active members will have arrived between then and now, the number would probably only be around 50. We have around 3,000 active members but probably only around 200 [i]very active[/i] members (in other words, people who post at least once per day).[/color] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mnemolth Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 Rules are necessary because its essential for policy to be written down so that people can reference it if need be. But REFERENCE is the key word. Many people don't read the rules. It would be interesting to see how many of the current active members have actually read through the rules before that started posting. And of those that read the rules many don't read them carefully enough, or forget them before they even reach the end. So I don't think your problem will be alleviated with some 'quiz' or test to verify that future members have actually read the rules. And at the end of the day, really, you don't even need to know the rules, you just need to apply a little common courtesy and sense. That's why most of the rules on Boards are very similar to one another. Stay on topic, no repeat posts, no single word posts, no advertising, etc. There are some variations of course but they are basically the same. If you want to tighten things a little bit there are a couple of things you can do. One, is to keep the rules as short as possible and to the point. When there are too many rules, or the rules are too long, people will skip them, or miss a lot cos they're skimming. The other is, if you have 'specific' forums like Battle Arena or Adventure Arena, then it pays to put up special rules about these forums. And put them IN the forums. The most common thing is to sticky them and lock the thread. Even if these rules are in the General Rules that you see before you sign up, put them in the forums anyway. You might think its redundant, its not. People have a tendency to pay attention to the sticky threads leading forums. These two strategies won't solve all your problems, but they should help. Product is distributed as is, no warranty is provided. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 [color=#507AAC][size=1]Mnemolth is correct. There is no way we can (or would want to) force everyone to read the rules. Rather, we do have them there as a reference point. And people will lower their risk of being banned if they do read them. As far as distribution of rules is concerned, I think you will find a much more comprehensive (and smaller) list of rules when My Otaku launches. The rules will be easy to find and it'll be easy to reference specific rules and such. But yeah, forcing people to take a quiz is going a bit overboard in my opinion. It's okay to have rules and regulations, but there must be some flexibility at some point.[/color][/size] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valen Posted December 22, 2002 Share Posted December 22, 2002 [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by James [/i] [B][color=#507AAC][size=1]Mnemolth is correct. There is no way we can (or would want to) force everyone to read the rules. Rather, we do have them there as a reference point. And people will lower their risk of being banned if they do read them. As far as distribution of rules is concerned, I think you will find a much more comprehensive (and smaller) list of rules when My Otaku launches. The rules will be easy to find and it'll be easy to reference specific rules and such. But yeah, forcing people to take a quiz is going a bit overboard in my opinion. It's okay to have rules and regulations, but there must be some flexibility at some point.[/color][/size] [/B][/QUOTE] I see where you're coming from there, James. Oh well, I guess it can't be changed that there will be spammers wherever you go. I should know... I used to be one at another board I went to, but that's another story... mutual hatred. So you did recently get rid of the non-active members? Cool, an old wish finally fulfilled. But why are they still on the member list? Aren't they supposed to disappear after being deleted from the database? Hmm Oh well, keep up the good work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravenstorture Posted December 27, 2002 Share Posted December 27, 2002 [color=darkgreen][font=gothic]Ok, so take me as the average potential Otakuian. First of all, if there was even the slightest chance of a uniqueness to the sign up, say a quiz or a compulsory read of the rules plus proof that you know what you're doing, or at least, proof that you're not the Lockpick guy in another disguise (for instance), I'd first of all think that there must be something worth signing up for. I mean, exclusivity has it's up points - let's take nightclubs, for example - if anyone can get it, who'd want to go. Secondly, I'd think - stuff it. Can't be bothered, if I never do it I won't know what I'm missing out on. Waste of valuble quota. Besides, I probably wouldn't 'get in' anyway... And thirdly, let me point out that although I have been swearing a bit this evening and I do have a tendancy to talk about the primal insticts in life, I am a respectable member and I have never read the rules. I just assumed we shouldn't spam, advertise, pay eachother out or try to take over the world. Sure, I've referenced them a bit but.. hang on, there is absolutely no point to this third point. What a pointless point! Perhaps we should warn people that there are rules and people who do not adhere to them get tracked down, tied to a chair and beaten to death with a big, organic cucumber. A white one. [/font][/color] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cloricus Posted December 30, 2002 Share Posted December 30, 2002 Yay that means my original nick is now available!!!!!!! I'm trying to get my count to 3 posts/day... Also the rules are very straightforward and easy to follow, and hard to try and break! But you need to have more on the protocol of how otakuboards run. Yeah its okay to think, ?oh they?ll pick it up as they go along? it?d be nice just to have a few starting pointers? -=This post has been uselessly provided by iBLiP enterprises?=- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Musahi Posted December 30, 2002 Share Posted December 30, 2002 [color=darkred]This suggestion may be stupid but [b]I[/b] think it would be a good idea. We all now many people will spam just to lose their ?newbie? title. So this is what I am proposing. Say someone joins on 01/01/03. One month or so after they join, regardless of post count, they take a test to advance to the next level or whatever. As they get higher the tests spread further apart. Any "newbie" could have a better post quality than James but still be looked upon as a "newbie". But the test will separate the real "newbies" from the rest of us. If that was a little off, it's because I haven't slept all night. o_O''[/color] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted December 30, 2002 Share Posted December 30, 2002 [color=#507AAC]I think that OtakuBoards is already reasonably exclusive. For instance, go and visit the Gaming-Age.com forums. Now, these forums aren't too bad...but read through a couple of threads. Any threads at all. And then look at OB again. See the difference? At many other sites, there is spam [i]everywhere[/i] and people have to try and talk over the rubbish to actually have a decent conversation. That doesn't really happen here. So I think that we are already exclusive enough...some say we're too strict and others say we're not strict enough. We can't and will never be able to please everyone. I think we're just about right at the moment, in terms of rules and rule enforcement.[/color] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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