Otakubaords - a community apart?

[Lord Dante]

As many people know, members on the otakuboards place a great emphasis on, and in some cases take great pride in the quality of thier posting. Which In my opppinion makes for a far more enjoyable experience.

However, upon scanning the Information Superhighway, I stumble upon forums (One example I can give is a forum called gaia [or something like that]) which is full to the rafters with spam, flaming and inherrent "l337speek". Add to this the multitude of forums "in between", where posts are legible, but not grammatically or syntaxically correct 100% of the time.

Scanning these forums, I discovered that forums like ours are met with scorn, being considered 'elitist' and suchlike. This got me to thinking.

Are we noting more than a bunch of elitists, or is it simply that we feel that what we are saying deserves to be put forward in a manner that is gramatically recognisable and correct? or is it something in between?

Some oppinions on this matter would be gratefully recieved.

[Stark]

I've been to Gaia, I'm ashamed to say, and I have to say that you may have a point. But, I've never consideredmyself an elitist; just a Grammar Nazi at times. Frankly, I like it when I can understand a person's post. When the grammar, syntax, and spelling are all used properly it makes everything so much easier to understand.

Besides that, I rather like the trend of 'literate RPing' on the OB. Again, everything is so much easier to understand. On the plus side, you also don't have to request 'literate RPers' around here. It's just a given.

Elitists? Here? It may be possible, considering that, from what I gather, noobs who use spammy 1337-style posts are looked down upon. You're right, proper grammar does make the experience around here so much nicer. I enjoy it a lot more that I would have otherwise.

[ForgottenRaider]

Ironic, most ironic.

Lord Dante I find it amusing in a thread about quality of the forums you misspell [i]boards[/i] even when it is listed in the title bar of every page! ^_^

Mmm though I totally agree with you...I personally tend to avoid forums where the posting quality is worse than my own and while OtakuBoards goes through patches of rubbishy posting on the whole it has been very good over the years.
This sort of quality is rather rare indeed as I only see it in mostly geeky/technical forums. Most others are in poor form these days and all of this is made more suprising when you realise how young the average OB poster is.
From a thread about this topic many years ago people commented that it must be the culture of quality that the moderators and general userbase expects. I agree.

Elitist? I'll take the ability to easily read posts over name calling any day. :)

[Solo Tremaine]

[color=#503f86]Every site has its own rules. We could just as easily pour scourn and run spamming attacks on any board that doesn't make the best use of spelling and the like, but ultimately it's pointless getting worked up about things like that.

But way way back in versions 3 and previous, you'd be shocked at the quality of OB's posts back then. I've only read over them a couple of times in archive sites, and to be honest on the whole they're no different from any other internet forum. It's just that since then the rules have been tweaked and enforced to a better degree.

You only need to talk to most of the people here to know that we're not here specifically to show up other forums- this is just how the people who organise the site prefer it to be run, and personally I like it like this. If anyone objects- fine. It's not as if it matters a great deal.[/color]

[Ellerby]

[color=#333333]I would not say that OtakuBoards is elitist in any way. We keep the posting quality high here at OB for a few simple reasons (in my opinion).

First of, it is just easier to read than "OMG!!1! I <3 |
Not often would you find threads like this in a forum full of l33ts and spammers. This is what makes OB so special.[/COLOR]

[Lord Rannos]

While OB certainly demands a higher quality of posts, I don't think we can be called elitist. Simply because we allow anyone who is n00bish to prove themselves. When someone comes in a posts a bad thread, the mods close it respectfully. If we insulted all the new members, then we would be elitist.

Besides, better to be elitist then to be "1337ist"

Oh, that was bad. I'm sorry.

[IceRose]

I rather like it here, I mean people in gaia can easily pass a post as just writing the word "BUMP" which in my opinion makes no sense at all, so to speak. I would sincerely rather make sure my posts are of good quality than just placing spam on our site.

[Pumpkin]

[FONT=Arial][SIZE=2][COLOR=#336699]I never liked Gaia Online so I can't relate. I do think people do however, expect more of you as a member on OB to be active & post quality not quantity. Which is how it SHOULD be. I've been to many forums where people just post just to get their post count up and create some of the dumbest threads ever. Need an example of an out of control forum? Go to Minitokyo or AnimeOnline and you'll see what I mean.

One of the things I like best about OB, is that we're so strict with the rules and being specific about grammar is not bad if it doesn't get out of hand (being a grammar natzi is a bit too much). I do think however, Some (not all) older members view themselves over newer members sometimes but that is pretty common. There are always going to be people with big egos on different forums, and I've run into these types plenty of times. Overall, I pretty much agree with what Solo said. Rules change and the forum develops for the better (I'd hope so). [/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR]

[Sandy]

It's not "elitistic" if you know how to write. ;P

Sure, it might be hard for a new member who's used to write only so-so to get into OB's systems, but it's not impossible - every "full" member here is a living example of that.

I, for one, am ashamed of my post quality from when I joined at v.4, but at that time it was common style (which was still considered "good quality" in comparison to some other forums). Naturally I improved my writing skills at the same time the vast majority of members did so too.

I believe the overall quality is a defining factor on how forum members post. It can be even seen here at OB on smaller scope. I'll be brave enough to say that the members who frequent in Anime Lounge have poorer writing quality over those who mainly use the Arena. I honestly don't know what causes this difference, but I guess it's just that people adapt to how the others around them write... The environment, in a manner of speech.

But but... I wouldn't worry too much about what other online communities think of us, since we know we definately top them for example in post quality. A proud thing to say, but in most cases true. ;D

[Charles]

On one hand, I adore the high expectations placed upon members here. I love actually being able to read well-contructed posts, that show a lot of forethought. It's rewarding to read clearly expressed ideas as opposed to mindless drivel. However, in many ways a lot of people here are elitest. It's not a terrible problem and this site has become much more relaxed than it used to be (see my image posts). So, it's not in how the site functions or how the rules are set up that's elitest. I can honestly say that OtakuBoards is really structured to be a site that accomodates everyone and treats everyone equally.

However, I see a lot of people trying too hard sometimes to sound intelligent and it comes off as silly and pretentious. They use words and phrases that they would never use in real conversation and their posts sound way too formal (which is why I hated Gavin's "interesting, most interesting" before I knew it was a running joke). I also see people immediately jumping upon new members about their post quality even if it is obviously coherent but slighly flawed (say, lacking capitalization). So yeah, some members appear elitest when they consciously try to sound impressive. It just comes off as a bit much sometimes. Especially when you have kids and teens talking here about profound, incredibly complex world issues as if they are experts and cannot possibly be mistaken. If anyone says they haven't seen that happen here, I'll punch them in the face. But, then again, this is the Internet and that problem (obnoxious kids) is probably common across all web forums.

In the end though, I think a lot of people mistake "high post quality" for posts written with flawless grammar, diction and syntax. That's only part of "high post quality" in my opinion because--your post can be written as structurally sound as they come, but if the ideas are ridiculous or uninteresting, then guess what pal, your post sucks anyway.

By the way, I [i]am[/i] an elitest, so this is going to be as good of a response as you're going to get.

[/thread]

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]I don?t know if I would consider OtakuBoards an elitist place, but I do know that I never joined other forums like Gaia because of the spam and poor spelling and grammar issues. I never learned how to post using terms like : I luv ur site! It?s a major headache reading posts like that since I don?t know what they are trying to say and if you do ask you get treated like you?re an idiot. >_< And I never liked the system of so many posts earned you a title. I?ve seen many threads where it?s just one person posting over and over just to get a title.

But if having better grammar and easier to read posts means OtakuBoards is considered an elitist place then I can live with that. ^_^ [/COLOR]

[Dagger]

OB is hardly the only decent forum around. But the struggle against spam and whatnot is fairly visible here, so you can't hang around for too long without getting the idea that good post quality is something we value.

There are two forums aside from OB that I post at regularly. Both are moderated less strictly. They can afford that, though, because they tend to attract older members (sorry if that's not politically correct enough, but it's true). As a result, a thread can start off with a flurry of fun one-liners & other banter, flow quite naturally into a heated debate with lengthy, well thought-out replies, and then go right back again in an instant. I love that kind of atmosphere--it's casual and relaxed, but people don't mind delving into serious topics, and it's hard to get away with BS.

I like the way things are run here, too. Despite the fact that--every few months or so--someone decides to say that OB is going down the tubes, I think things are on the upswing. They always have been on the upswing, in my experience. And I don't feel that there's anything elitist about preferring coherent posts to l33t-ridden gibberish. Assuming that using big words lends you an intellectual advantage (or validates your views) is what I'd call elitist.

~Dagger~

[Fyxe]

[size=1][color=slategray]The thing is, I started off with the OtakuBoards being my first forum. So, with that, I found it hard to stay connected with other forums, because I was so used to here and the rules. Whenever I would type something decent in a rather spammy forum, I would get replies saying that I was wasting my time with commenting the way I did.

I just think it's logical to have forums with stricter rules, less spam, and more civilized typing. Otherwise, what is typing class for? :P Duh. And, I mean, I hope people don't actually talk like that outside of the internet. Running around saying, "OMGERZ//// sum1 getch meh layd!!!!" >> and so on.
Coming down to the point, it's just plain annoying to read stuff like that, just as much as it would be annoying if it was said in public. I know that people want to "get away" from school/work writing and such, but, eventually, the way you type on the internet, can effect the way you write normally. Everything you learned about grammar and spelling could easily deteriorate.

I don't know. If they so wish to feel contempt, who is stopping them? They have their own standards, and we have ours.[/color][/size]

[Claire]

[FONT=Arial]I've been to several different message boards, tried to maintain an account, and failed, simply because I couldn't keep an interest level high enough to continue going to any of them. OB is the only forum that I enjoy and go to on a mostly daily basis, because most of the members here are extremely intelligent (at least to someone like me) and I can really get inspired by them. It's always interesting to read someone's thought-out opinion on something, and not try to decipher it: "i like sald fngrs a lot bcuz it is rrll rrll funny ya lol." Yeeaaah. That's exaggerated, and not everywhere but hey--I've been on the N message boards. O_O;; most of the members on that board are within a range of ages...maybe 11-16 or 17? They certainly type like it (even the older ones), and they are extremely shallow. I finally just gave up on the board after my first four posts, because I couldn't take it anymore.

So, tis a very very good thing that OB is different from a lot of communities. Difference is most often wonderful.

By the way, my boyfriend was permanently banned from GameFAQs for posting ONE insult to ONE person, who was in fact a big idiot when it came to rating games ("i give sc3 a 4.5 because the announcer guy is like 'soul calibur.........................................3!') or something like that. I think his ban was overturned, but I don't remember. GameFAQs is not such a great board.

*waves the national OB flag while humming the OB anthem*[/FONT]

[TheShinje]

[color=crimson] At first I thought this might have been a thread about some deep rift within the community. Interesting, most interesting.

I don't fimnd OB elitist at all, the thing is though, you have to be able to string a few sentences together coherently to succeed here. Obviously some people have difficulty with that and this is not their place.

I, like others who post here, like to see some structure and thought put into what is written, it isn't that hard and the user at the other end more often than not "gets" what you say. I'd rather view responses like the ones seen in this thread as opposed to "heh, I agree :p ;) :cool::animesigh:animeblus:catgirl::mad::mad::rolleyes:!!1"

[quote] Lord Dante I find it amusing in a thread about quality of the forums you misspell [i]boards[/i] even when it is listed in the title bar of every page! ^_^ [/quote] Knowing how to spell something doesn't mean that you're immune from the curse of the "typo." :p

And now to cloes off this thread the same way as Charles, because he's cool, you know.

[/thread][/color]

[Gavin]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting.

Personally I think OtakuBoards has the kinds of forums and members that were meant to exist on the Internet, rather than the intellectually-devoid spam that have been mockingly called replies on other boards. The very fact that the vast majority of OB members use some variety of spellchecker before making a post that actually consists of an intelligent opinion. While we may be described as Elitists, I would personally take it as being a symbol of honour that some brainless amoeba barely able to form a word as long as Elitist would scorn a person for forming a constructive response on a forum.

OtakuBoards is the best run forums I have ever had the pleasure of coming across, which sadly does make us a community apart. But even if OB is one of a handful of boards where members are actually willing to post intelligently we should be grateful there are a handful of them.[/SIZE]

[Starwind]

We are not some elitist communtiy here. We just value cohernet and intelligent conversation. Is that wrong? No. Compared to many other forums I find this one to be a breath of fresh air where I can hold my head up high and hold engaging converstaion with the likes of Stark, Inukuroyoukai(aka Kuro-tan), and (Even though we don't agree on anything) retribution. All top notch posters who I can meet with on an intelligent and intellectual level.

I can't understand this scorn that is felt for us in other forums. We're not elitist here, or at least I've never noticed any one procaliming our dominance over the other forums. At the end of the day, I know that this is the only forum I'd choose to be on because the people and staff here are top notch and are able to keep me thinking and coming back.

[SunfallE]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]Interesting that other forums would consider OtakuBoards members elitist. I joined primarily because I got tired of other forums full of spam, flaming and poor posting quality. I like to actually be able to understand what the other person is saying when they post and if that makes me an elitist, so be it.

I certainly like it much better here as the moderators do such a great job of keeping the spamming and flaming to a minimum. I wouldn?t say that better grammar and posting makes us elitists but rather people who understand the concept of using programs like Word to catch our mistakes. ^_~[/COLOR]