Jim Posted June 17, 2015 Posted June 17, 2015 (By the way, on a game programming forum we have solved this by having a "sneak previews" topic. There, people can show a picture of something they're working on. Maybe Eurobricks could try a similar thing? Where things that aren't yet worth a topic can be shared there. Just, one picture and one line of text about a build-in-progress per post. Sounds like a great idea! A Preview and Ideas topic. Quote
Lipko Posted June 17, 2015 Posted June 17, 2015 I thought about the Ideas thread, and I have an idea, though it seemt to be little tedious. So: ideas thread, with only idea posts, no questions/comments on the ideas are allowed. If anyone has a question/comment about the idea, one can send a PM to the idea poster, then the idea poster can freely edit and expand the idea post, if (s)he wants. The general problem with general threads is that there are no levels, so a new post about a new topic will melt with the reactions, and reactions to various posts will also interweave with each other. Quote
Milan Posted June 17, 2015 Posted June 17, 2015 So: ideas thread, with only idea posts, no questions/comments on the ideas are allowed. If anyone has a question/comment about the idea, one can send a PM to the idea poster, then the idea poster can freely edit and expand the idea post, if (s)he wants. Problem with this, or with any other concept that includes some fixed rules about posting/behaving, will not be possible, since lots of new members, or even not so new members does not read rules. Quote
Hao Posted June 17, 2015 Posted June 17, 2015 Yeah, I also hate empty comments too. And since I'm here, I will say that I'm gonna build a EV3 pigeon (not that pigeon,it's a car!) sometime soon. Sorry, off topic...... Quote
Jovssen Posted June 17, 2015 Posted June 17, 2015 (edited) Edited February 6, 2017 by Jovssen Quote
Lipko Posted June 17, 2015 Posted June 17, 2015 Problem with this, or with any other concept that includes some fixed rules about posting/behaving, will not be possible, since lots of new members, or even not so new members does not read rules. Yes, but at least it can be used as a reference to delete/report posts. And since it's just one specific thread, it wouldn't mean much extra effort to keep it clean. Quote
dr_spock Posted June 17, 2015 Posted June 17, 2015 I don't think we want to discourage people from posting or commenting. Remember how quiet the Technic forum was 5 or so years ago? Maybe add a few more moderators and regulators to keep the forum tidy if the workload is an issue. Quote
nerdsforprez Posted June 17, 2015 Posted June 17, 2015 Perhaps this thread can be locked as well...... we are sitting here discussing something that, although I admit there may be some weight to a possible "trend" in creating useless posts, this really boils down to an issue of underage posting. I don't think this is really a trend, I just think people really got their feathers ruffled by recent events on the Technic forum. But those "events" were due to underage posting, not an actual theme in my opinion..... ....btw.... just to lighten the mood around this and other related, recent posts..... just have to say, "Called it!!" (see other related posts and you will know what I am referring to) Quote
DrJB Posted June 17, 2015 Posted June 17, 2015 Maybe one 'fix' would be to create sub-forums (not sure if possible here). Other forums i read have such feature. It is rather simple, we can have the following sub-forums: 1- Technic Junior ... for young kids with basic questions 2- WIPs and Ideas 3- Official Technic sets and MOdding ... You get the point. Quote
Gnac Posted June 17, 2015 Posted June 17, 2015 I imagine that could fragment the existing userbase, spreading activity so thinly as to have little to no activity on the spin-off boards, and also make things daunting for new members. Quote
Sariel Posted June 17, 2015 Posted June 17, 2015 Maybe one 'fix' would be to create sub-forums (not sure if possible here). Other forums i read have such feature. It is rather simple, we can have the following sub-forums: 1- Technic Junior ... for young kids with basic questions Or we could, you know, actually enforce EB guidelines which clearly state 'adults only'. I strongly suspect this would take care of many, many topics in question. Quote
mahjqa Posted June 17, 2015 Author Posted June 17, 2015 I find that "age" and "maturity" don't necessarily go together. Also, I wouldn't want to discourage young builders from posting here. If someone posts something that doesn't work (an empty topic, a question that would better fit elsewhere) it's very little trouble to report the post, or politely explain to them how the forum works here. I'd like to think that our members are mature enough to help the newbies along. Quote
Tommy Styrvoky Posted June 17, 2015 Posted June 17, 2015 (edited) Maybe it would make sense to have a topic where people could post questions in, like a pinned questions about technic sets, comparisons, speculation, ect. That would remove a lot of the numerous topics like what set is better, differences between sets, pros and cons. maybe a pinned preview topic too, as teasers seem to be a little useless, as they do use up space for other fully released MOCs. Personally I think a topic should have to meet certain requirements to be posted, like having to have lego technic related content, having photos of the MOC/WIP/rough sketches/Blueprints/Images of real vehicle. Though I do understand the Feelings of enthusiasm when one comes up with a great new concept and wants to rush a post with little information. Age seems a bit irrelevant, as most people that I see building with technic seem to be mature enough as they have interest in mechanisms/technical aspects of Lego. Also I know some people find the WIP threads to be taking up space. I know during TC6 and MINI contest, I posted tons of photos, like with the Renault FT-17, I posted near 90 photos of it, but I found the topics to be useful, not just because it gives one a little popularity, but it helped provide feedback to me on what I needed to change with the model. The WIP threads also provide information to other builders, by seeing how other people like to build their models, and if there is enough information/photos, someone could reverse-engineer the MOC. Edited June 17, 2015 by Tommy Styrvoky Quote
andythenorth Posted June 17, 2015 Posted June 17, 2015 (edited) Hmm. Is there really a problem to solve? I find that lots of the threads are crappy or inane, but it doesn't worry me, it's just internets. Eurobricks is quite a lot 'nicer' than some other forums where daft threads are shot down earlier - in those forums people consequently learn to think a bit more before posting. Being a bit less 'nice' might be handy. But that can become bullying super-quick. Dunno. Sometimes fixes can be worse than the problem they try to solve. Edited June 17, 2015 by andythenorth Quote
Kiwi_Builder Posted June 17, 2015 Posted June 17, 2015 Or we could, you know, actually enforce EB guidelines which clearly state 'adults only'. I strongly suspect this would take care of many, many topics in question. You see the problem with that would be that there are many people who aren't adults, yet are more mature than some adults. I know teenagers who are extremely mature and don't have a problem with that on here. More appropriate would be to make it so that if you find the comment childish or immature you can just report it and a moderator can look at it and make a decision from there and give them a warning if it's their first time or do something more serious about it if the user does comments like this multiple times. You can't just single out all people younger than adults as being the main problem, sure many users who are under adult age will be adding to this problem but many under adult age users are fine. Quote
miguev Posted June 17, 2015 Posted June 17, 2015 I'm not sure "underage" is an accurate term for the kind of posts we'd like to see fewer of, maybe "underthought"? Regardless of age, posting without thinking through it is quite common, I think people are being just spontaneous not knowing they may annoy others. A gentle reminder from about how it's better done would likely be appreciated by everybody, and maybe not-so-gentle reminders for recurrent suspects? It's a difficult balance to strike. Also, on comparing yourself to others: My sentiment exactly. (says the guy who made the worst of all BJ Baldwin trucks (4) so far, and doesn't even have a video of it) Honestly, other forums I frequent that have a "like" feature still suffer from a poor signal:noise ratio. What happens in my experience is that you get a similar amount of short "I agree" posts, but a lot of lurkers or casual browsers who wouldn't have posted anyway will give likes instead. So it's good for getting some form of extra participation, but I don't think it will cut the number of agreement posts significantly if at all. I'd appreciate a +1 button I could hit on comments to second them, and wouldn't mind it at all if my username shows up there. Most of the times I react privately to content here (I let a "wow" come out) but then find myself unable to express my opinion / impression / feelings in an original way, so I refrain from posting and move on. Very often I'd love to +1 someone's comment rather than quote it with "My sentiment exactly" (as much as I love using that quote). Quote
fred67 Posted June 18, 2015 Posted June 18, 2015 (edited) This is like being stuck between a rock and a hard place. If you create a new thread you'd get flamed for making empty topics and if you bump older threads you'd get flamed for doing...well, exactly that. I've seen this happen way too many times in other forums. It's actually not - I see old threads on EB get bumped all the time: when somebody bumps it with "that was cool!" they flamed, when they bump it with something useful - an update, or their own version of something - something useful and relevant, they don't get flamed. Is there really a problem to solve? I find that lots of the threads are crappy or inane, but it doesn't worry me, it's just internets. Yes... the signal to noise ratio is decreasing. That's always bad. EB is nicer than other forums for now, I don't think the people that run it want it to become what other forums are. I have to say that this topic, in fact, IMO, actually belongs in the general forum, because it's happening everywhere, not just in Technic. Edited June 18, 2015 by fred67 Quote
sm1995 Posted June 19, 2015 Posted June 19, 2015 To be honest, at this point for me it's intimidating to post in the Technic subforum, because whenever I look it's the same ten or fifteen people who are famous (famous on this forum for Technic, at least) posting stuff that stays at the top for a week and a load of tiny little threads that disappear within five hours because there's always ten new threads that retread the same question or idea. In order for your stuff to get any sort of attention, you have to compete with those top builders because otherwise it disappears onto the dreaded second page and beyond, never to be seen again until someone asks you for the .lxf two years later. The cycle of mediocrity is something that I mentally struggle to deal with, sadly, so I don't even bother with Technic much nowadays. Just over these last two weeks I've seen three trial trucks in lime green, white, and black color schemes, all of which are so amazing that they take my aspirations and grind them into the dust (metaphorically). I'm not saying to build less, but maybe, to make your posts count? A new trend I've been noticing lately - across the entire forum, not just this one! - is for a lot of posts to be something along the lines of 'cool build' or something similar in terms of content and length, which just cements whatever thread happens to be popular at the time at the top of the board and pushes everything else down. I feel exactly the same way. I'm intimidated to post my creations here but at the same time I want to share them with people and get some feedback on them too. Just wish there was a sub-forum for beginners or newbies... Quote
Jim Posted June 19, 2015 Posted June 19, 2015 I imagine that could fragment the existing userbase, spreading activity so thinly as to have little to no activity on the spin-off boards, and also make things daunting for new members. Exactly. That's why we keep the subforums to a minimum. I feel exactly the same way. I'm intimidated to post my creations here but at the same time I want to share them with people and get some feedback on them too. Just wish there was a sub-forum for beginners or newbies... Don't be intimidated. Becoming a pro needs practice and failure. It might be an idea to start your topic with [bEGINNER], so people know how to handle and react. Quote
sm1995 Posted June 19, 2015 Posted June 19, 2015 Exactly. That's why we keep the subforums to a minimum. Don't be intimidated. Becoming a pro needs practice and failure. It might be an idea to start your topic with [bEGINNER], so people know how to handle and react. That's actually a pretty great idea. I'll most probably do that Quote
rollermonkey Posted June 19, 2015 Posted June 19, 2015 Thank god. Maybe I can finally stop marking everything as read and leaving... I just got way too tired of sifting through teasers to find real threads. Quote
aol000xw Posted June 19, 2015 Posted June 19, 2015 I am not sure If this thread is restricted to empty threads or includes general complains about thread policing... I'll assume is the second The search button is pretty useless, when I need to find something I resort to google site:eurobricks.com So I guess sometimes new threads are created because a relevant thread can't be found even when it is just a week old. Also some useful threads like the "General Parts" are not pinned and it is a shame because it just makes things harder. Also sometimes necrotheading policy isn't clear...or helpful. Creating a new thread instead of using the one where most of what you need is posted seems... unnatural. For example I hope that no matter how old it gets the Third party tires thread stays alive and unique.... and pinned? But above all I really miss a "hide this thread" button. Quote
Blakbird Posted June 19, 2015 Posted June 19, 2015 A "hide (or ignore) this thread" button would be awesome! I don't think pinning more topics is the answer. I was recently on a forum in which 20+ topics were pinned. It means you have to scroll down just to see anything new and hardly any new topics fit on a page. I think 5 is about the max number of topics that should ever be pinned, and ideally it would be 2 or 3. On the other hand, we have a pinned index topic and it can link to the other important reusable topics. I also often have trouble with the search function, even when I know exactly what I am looking for. More consistent use of thread tagging would probably help a lot with that. Quote
Alasdair Ryan Posted June 20, 2015 Posted June 20, 2015 A "hide (or ignore) this thread" button would be awesome! There is actually a "Hide Function" that staff members can use,but I can see a public version of that leading to trouble with people making "hidden" comments. I also often have trouble with the search function, even when I know exactly what I am looking for. More consistent use of thread tagging would probably help a lot with that. I just use Google,the topic tagging system on Eurobricks gets abused... It might be an idea to start your topic with [bEGINNER], so people know how to handle and react. People should be treating others with respect and being helpful anyway,no matter if they are a new or old (*cough Jim*). Quote
miguev Posted June 20, 2015 Posted June 20, 2015 A "hide (or ignore) this thread" button would be awesome! But above all I really miss a "hide this thread" button. Yes, please! There's something similar in GMail called "mute" (never see this email thread again) and it's the one feature I use more than anything else, at work. Being able to say "OK, seen this thread, it's about X which I've no interest for" would go a long way! I also often have trouble with the search function, even when I know exactly what I am looking for. More consistent use of thread tagging would probably help a lot with that. I just use Google,the topic tagging system on Eurobricks gets abused... The search button is pretty useless, when I need to find something I resort to google site:eurobricks.com So I guess sometimes new threads are created because a relevant thread can't be found even when it is just a week old. So I'm not the only one resorting to the site:eurobricks.com trick. Well, here's something admins could use you turn EB's search box into exactly that: Google Custom Search. You can give it a try in my (mostly abandoned) blog at miguev.net, it even has suggestions (start typing "en"). Quote
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