Potential Forum Changes

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Boem wrote:

Does this mean threads will be completely deleted in the future?

What i mean is, currently all the "this has no category" post's get moved to OT as a final resting place, but if that get's deleted they will have no place to be moved to.

I reckon that was the original goal of OT's creation before it turned into a political fest warranting moderation.

Sort of curious what will replace that.

Peace,

-Boem-

If the posting guidelines are clear enough, why shouldn't threads outside those guidelines be deleted? Everything has its place, but that place doesn't have to be this place.

You're looking at thread deletion any way this goes. If they implement 'posting guidelines' for Off-Topic, then anything posted there outside those will be deleted. If they remove OT altogether, then anything deemed OT will be deleted. It's all just a matter of degrees. The argument isn't whether or not certain threads will be deleted. The argument is whether or not they should have been posted in the first place. And people can cry 'but my free speech!' all they want. Just not here. Not on a privately run and moderated forum for a computer game which provides more than enough material for discussion in and of itself.

+1

Less overlapping forums discussing the same topics, easier to find information. I never understood why there were separate forums for Skill and Support Gems, or why Dev Manifesto had to be different from Patch Notes.

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People don't read stickies.

I neither expect them to nor care. The priority here is not the sticky but the rule which it would mention, which would apply regardless of whether someone had bothered to read it.

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Even if they did, this would look like arbitrary censorship, which is what it is.

I've posted on forums which asked people to avoid certain topics and never felt that my rights were being infringed on. This forum is about a video game, and if the company paying for it chooses to allow some irrelevant banter but asks people not to discuss the kind of thing folks typically don't comment on in a work environment, I think that's reasonable.

If Off Topic is lost, then realistically 95% of discussion about topics other than Path of Exile will go the way of the dinosaur. I'm a pragmatist; I say let's save what we can. Though I'll admit I'm not suggesting that we sacrifice anything I would lament losing...

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Perhaps you don't realise that every time Support have had to swoop in and delete pages' worth of vitriol and hand out probations and lock out-of-control threads *was* GGG trying to save it.

Trying to save it how?

Handing out temporary suspensions to people who have no intention of changing? Locking out of control threads, only to allow near-duplicates to take their place?

I'm sorry but if that's trying then they haven't tried hard enough. I refuse to consider a forum moderator deleting a vitriolic post as being some effort to go above and beyond. It is their job. I don't consider it an easy nor pleasant job - and I appreciate those who typically action posts I report in under a minute - but trying to save Off Topic? I see no particular effort...



tl;dr: The Off Topic section of the forum has intrinsic value. It offers regulars a place to chat - which can both foster a sense of community, while also encouraging people to visit regularly. Given GGG's intentional decision to post a daily Announcement thread, I would infer that encouraging people to frequently visit the website is a desire of theirs.

Call it arbitrary censorship if you wish. If it works, I don't care what it's called.

I want to make clear I personally like your solution more. I love posting in OT about games and movies and books and cats and holidays philosophy and...yknow, all the things a healthy OT board is about.

I just don't think it's realistic at this point. Not organically. Not naturally. It'd be a sugar-coated fairyland with something seething just under the surface. At the very least certain recidivists would have to be probated almost permanently and I don't think their right to post on a PoE forum should be restricted by how they behave when talking about non-PoE things.

personally i can find another place to expound my philosophies and rant about political, gender, societal etc problems

IF however there is a need for off-topic but GGG is concerned with the potential liability of controversial topics amongst there younger or hypersensitive members, why not just have an age restriction to that forum specifically (this should already be apart of our profiles right?)

Edit: maybe a checkbox saying "i am over the age of 18" or "I do not identify as a feminist"

Short feedback: I dont like the changes which affect me and I have no proper opinion/understanding on the others.

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Bex_GGG wrote:

• Announcements
• Development Manifesto
• Patch Notes

Not sure what exactly the plan is but I dont see the point of merging these into a single forum. Users cant post there and merging any of these just makes it harder to find something.

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Bex_GGG wrote:

• Gameplay Help & Guides would move to the 'Help' subcategory.

Not sure what exactly is planned here either but its now 'gameplay help AND DISCUSSION'. This is very different from technical things and IMO does not belong there. At least it needs its own (sub)forum.

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IMO there should be a forum for gameplay discussion which is not diminished by a spectrum of other things being discussed. I cannot find such a forum/place in the planned forum structure.

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D3izhistory wrote:

Edit: maybe a checkbox saying "i am over the age of 18" or "I do not identify as a feminist"

Or 'I am not a troll'. Wait, would you check that box or not? HMMMM.

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I don't think their right to post on a PoE forum should be restricted by how they behave when talking about non-PoE things.

I'm pretty sure half them don't play the game or post outside Off Topic. I'm happy to have a few randoms from the internet if they're pleasant to be around and don't get in the way. But if I have to weigh the community's interests against theirs it'll be pretty one-sided.

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Sarno wrote:

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I don't think their right to post on a PoE forum should be restricted by how they behave when talking about non-PoE things.

I'm pretty sure half them don't play the game or post outside Off Topic. I'm happy to have a few randoms from the internet if they're pleasant to be around and don't get in the way. But if I have to weigh the community's interests against theirs it'll be pretty one-sided.

I'm pretty sure almost 100% of them/us either used to play the game or still do. They're not transients or tourists. Check their posts histories sometime. Or even easier, look at achievement count.