Suggestion re: nth'ing posts

[Kaana]

Hi, not sure if this is the right place to post this, and I appreciate someone's probably thought of it before, but just as an idea;

Y'know the way when you're in the forum adventures section and you see someone's suggestion, you post a reply with "2nd/3rd/12980748370th" or whatever that number may be. Obviously this is an awful lot of practically contribute-less posts, so, as an idea, why don't we have buttons?

On each post would be a button. Before anyone clicks on it, it would say something like "click to 2nd". When someone clicks on it, it would change to "This post/suggestion has been 2nd'd". The next time someone clicks it, it'd change to "3rd'd" and so on and so forth. Aside from the obvious people trying to break the buttons (Hey, what happens if we get everyone to click the button?), it doesn't seem like a bad idea to cut down on useless posts.

If there's no record on a person's page of the number of "2nd"s they get, it won't turn into a popularity contest either.

As I said, this is just an idea. I have no idea what it would take to implement, so if it's too hard for whatever reason, fine. Again, just an idea. Thank you for reading.

[ProfessorLizzard]

I would think that this feature would not have much use outside of forum adventures. And most forum adventure author won't pick commands based on their popularity anyways.

[Inconspicularity]

What?

I've read through this again and again and I still can't understand you.

[ProfessorLizzard]

What?

I've read through this again and again and I still can't understand you.

I think he wants a "Like this post" button to avoid contentless "I agree" posts.

[Inconspicularity]

That only complicates things.

[InvertedVoid]

"I agree" posts really don't come up too often, and it wouldn't really be worth coding in a whole extra thing for it. Plus you still wouldn't be able to see who agreed with it and when.

And sock puppets are allowed here, right? People would just second themselves.

Just have the guy running the forum adventure put a note in the OP that says "Hey, if you're going to have a contentless post that just 2nd's someone else's post, put some actual content into it too."

[Drillgorg]

And sock puppets are allowed here, right? People would just second themselves.

No they are not, but it is hard to be aware of them unless they start causing problems, so most probably go unnoticed.

[unbridledExüberance]

Hi, not sure if this is the right place to post this, and I appreciate someone's probably thought of it before, but just as an idea;

Y'know the way when you're in the forum adventures section and you see someone's suggestion, you post a reply with "2nd/3rd/12980748370th" or whatever that number may be. Obviously this is an awful lot of practically contribute-less posts, so, as an idea, why don't we have buttons?

On each post would be a button. Before anyone clicks on it, it would say something like "click to 2nd". When someone clicks on it, it would change to "This post/suggestion has been 2nd'd". The next time someone clicks it, it'd change to "3rd'd" and so on and so forth. Aside from the obvious people trying to break the buttons (Hey, what happens if we get everyone to click the button?), it doesn't seem like a bad idea to cut down on useless posts.

If there's no record on a person's page of the number of "2nd"s they get, it won't turn into a popularity contest either.

As I said, this is just an idea. I have no idea what it would take to implement, so if it's too hard for whatever reason, fine. Again, just an idea. Thank you for reading.

Seconded


(Seriously though, I don't think adding a Google +1 / Facebook Like / Reddit... thing... would really add that much to the forum. Sure, it would probably be easy to make (well, it would be if a forum were like making regular software-- I don't know if it would actually be that easy for a forum or not), but it's not really necessary and would feel kind of out of place outside of Image Manip, art threads, and forum adventures (though I guess you could restrict it to those areas).

[~ATH]

I'D LIKE TO KEEP FACEBOOK FAR FAR AWAY FROM MSPA FORUMS, PLEASE. THANK YOU.

[Kaana]

Ok, ok, too hard. Too complicated. Not worth it. I appreciate you all having a look at my little suggestion. I do mostly hang around the forum adventures, so it is something I notice and I see a lot of people complaining about, but if the system works, it works.

I haven't really been here too long, so I don't know how these forums work, but maybe now would be the time to lock this topic?

[Frost]

You guys are talking as though this would have to be implemented as a blanket thing across the entire forum, but I'm pretty sure such a feature could be implemented in only one subforum (ie, Forum Adventures). Might make the idea a bit more viable, presuming that it is possible.

I used to be involved in another forum which implemented this feature all over, though, and it ended up being intrusive, ugly and barely-used. Wouldn't recommend implementing it anywhere unless there's a real need for it.

For what it's worth, though, I checked half a dozen random pages from Forum Adventures, and I didn't see a single contentless "I agree" post. I think you might be blowing the problem out of proportion a bit.

[SkaianRedeemer]

I don't know, it'd be nice to have in the Art forums - a Like feature, that is. I don't have anything to say to most pieces of fanart and that. The people who can draw have more to say, and sometimes it seems like nobody's noticing certain pieces at all.

[temporalPeregrine]

I completely agree with this being implemented ONLY in the MSPAFA section.

[Inconspicularity]

The most advanced you can sanely get with popularity systems is a reddit-esque up/down button.

But you have to make sure as possible to not advance it any further than that (put a ban on mentions of upgraded liking/disliking things, for example) otherwise shit gets bad.

A simplistic like/dislike system with two buttons and a number is always the best. It doesn't go as far as to encourage popularity contests and gives an incentive to make decent posts.

[~ATH]

Ahem.

"Like this post if you agree with what I'm saying! "

"Thumbs up if you came here from TvTropes!!!!!!"

and the like.

Like I said, I want to keep facebook far away from these forums, and we don't even need a thumbs up/down feature, it's pretty much useless. After all, you don't need 5 thumbs up to let you know that that is a good post.

[Inconspicularity]

I think the MSPAforums community is decent enough to not thumb-whore. Just make sure upvoting doesn't give any rewards.

[ashdenej]

I personally cannot stand upvoting or the like. I seem to recall that it was discussed a while ago and discarded due to the general ill-will towards it - not to mention the implemention side of things.

If the admins decide differently this time, then that's fine, too.

[BRPXQZME]

I have seen it on other forums. I can’t say it added anything to the experience, except when there was a... need for ostracism? Well, speaking for myself, I don’t think we need that here.

[OrangeAipom]

Can seconding commands be banned instead? I mean, if this suggestion isn't implemented.

[ArmsAreLoud]

I feel like this would be useful in the Fan Adventures and Artbound forums. A lot of the clutter in those forums (ESPECIALLY the former) is caused by people basically just posting a +1.

[ashdenej]

I feel like this would be useful in the Fan Adventures and Artbound forums. A lot of the clutter in those forums (ESPECIALLY the former) is caused by people basically just posting a +1.

This problem should be really solvable in each individual thread, shouldn't it? I know for sure that some authors don't mind at all, as it gives a sense of what the prevailing mood is for the direction of the story to go.

If an author hates it, then they can say that +1s are forbidden! Simple (in theory).

[simon.clarkstone]

How enforceable would that be? In fact, how enforceable are various adventure-specific rules?

[Inconspicularity]

To be honest I think the fact that we're having an argument about this safely says we should have this.

[mysteriousOutsider]

To be honest that seems like completely the wrong conclusion in every way.

[SleepingOrange]

I think the MSPAforums community is decent enough to not thumb-whore.

Ahahahahaha! No, the instant you give people a way to be """better""" than other people, it becomes a Thing. I'd love it if post counts were done away with just to forestall all the conversations about them that happen, and that doesn't even give people a way to think they're funnier/more interesting/more popular.

I had enough of Objectively Good Posts about a year back, thanks.

How enforceable would that be? In fact, how enforceable are various adventure-specific rules?

The Official Position™ is basically "if you ask your readers to do/not do a certain thing in your thread and they persist, ask a mod and they'll step in for you" unless that changed.

To be honest that seems like completely the wrong conclusion in every way.

2nd