Returning Users

[squiggs96]

Shocking that a person this thread was created for is posting here. Shocking.

[4X4]

The way some of these "new members" come along introduce themselves is like doing a cannon ball into a hot tub full of people that are chilling and enjoying each others company. Then they stand up and go "what?".
What do those guys expect from the people already there? The answer is that they DGAF. Their sole purpose is to disrupt, and to piss off people that they already know, but they get to do it with a disguise, and the regulars aren't allowed to make a big deal of it, because that would be "putting our trash out in the open".

Here's an idea... Put a daily post limit for new members for a few weeks. If nothing else, it will help these pathetic returnees from being so damn obvious, and might help them understand why it's just so much better when the room isn't filled with a bunch of verbal BS.

[Jbo]

Love the idea that a new poster has a limit on posts. At least for 2-4 weeks.

[MrMastodonFarm]

I've been suggesting that and limit their abilities to start threads for years now. Every time I mention it not one moderator even comments on it.

I think the moderating team needs a couple switch ups. When was the last time one was added or removed?

[rubecube]

I'd also argue that the board has grown exponentially in the last few years and may not be as easy to moderate as it used to be. Why not get a few more helping hands with some fresh perspectives?

[Dion]

Originally Posted by J-bo09

Love the idea that a new poster has a limit on posts. At least for 2-4 weeks.

Except we are punishing all newcomers because of a few bad apples that sign up from time to time. Not to mention all the extra work Photon would have to do to set such a thing up. How is that fair to newcomers who want to make a positive contribution to this site?

We also have this obcession of getting into a ying yangs with the bad apples. We engage their posts and the threads they create making the problem bigger than it already was. It's like responding to a bully and giving him or her the attention they are seeking. The solution is to ignore such posts and threads but that rarely happens.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by Dion

How is that fair to newcomers who want to make a positive contribution to this site?

How is it not? Newcomers making a 'positive contribution' generally don't make 23 posts per day in the first two weeks.

I can obviously only speak for myself, but I can assume I'm not alone in my thinking - I've never joined a forum and started making a ton of posts without either introducing myself and getting a feel for the place, unless I join a forum specifically to ask a question, in which I'll ask, and then get a feel for the place.

I'm not sure how limiting posts isn't fair or doesn't allow people to contribute. This isn't saying anyone new can't post, just don't spam the forum.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

How is it not? Newcomers making a 'positive contribution' generally don't make 23 posts per day in the first two weeks.

I can obviously only speak for myself, but I can assume I'm not alone in my thinking - I've never joined a forum and started making a ton of posts without either introducing myself and getting a feel for the place, unless I join a forum specifically to ask a question, in which I'll ask, and then get a feel for the place.

Why focus your attention on what they say or are doing when we already have a solid core of posters who add solid contributions and great discussions on the forum? Maybe i'm different than most but I aways look for the positives in the forum, weather it be posts or threads of new topics for discussion.

My guess is some newcomers have posted on other forums or have been lurkers who understand the basics of forum rules and such. A newcomer who joins and posts like knows this place well is often accused of being a formerly banned poster when that may not be true.

I'm not sure how limiting posts isn't fair or doesn't allow people to contribute. This isn't saying anyone new can't post, just don't spam the forum.

Now we're are getting into what consitutes as spam. Is there some unwritten rule that says we have to post in a certain manner and respond in certain ways? I say that because everyone has different views on that.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by Dion

Now we're are getting into what consitutes as spam. Is there some unwritten rule that says we have to post in a certain manner and respond in certain ways?

Spam as in sheer volume.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

I've been suggesting that and limit their abilities to start threads for years now. Every time I mention it not one moderator even comments on it.

I think the moderating team needs a couple switch ups. When was the last time one was added or removed?

We've consistently added mods as the site has grown.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

We've consistently added mods as the site has grown.

Any comment on the idea to curb potential returnees?

In the last thread on the subject I tried 3-4 times to get an answer and not one moderator answered any questions. Ditto this time so far.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Any comment on the idea to curb potential returnees?

In the last thread on the subject I tried 3-4 times to get an answer and not one moderator answered any questions. Ditto this time so far.

I think they are poor ideas as it makes this place even less welcoming.

[Jbo]

Honestly, I'm not sure how it is a poor idea. If a poster is an actual new poster that wants to join CalgaryPuck, a period of of few weeks with some limits does not make this place less welcoming. If anything, it creates some value in being a member.

If we lose a few good genuine good posters, but curb the returnees it's worth it.

I don't see how it is any different how new members cannot post in buy/sell for a period to protect the forum from scammers

[photon]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

I've been suggesting that and limit their abilities to start threads for years now. Every time I mention it not one moderator even comments on it.

I think the moderating team needs a couple switch ups. When was the last time one was added or removed?

I mustn't have seen it, because new users are already limited in their ability to start new threads in the FoI forum for a few weeks after registering.

I don't think limiting # of posts is possible and I don't think we'd want to do that anyway.

EDIT: And I don't think limiting ability to post or ability to start threads for a time will do anything with returnees, they often do that themselves anyway so enforcing it isn't going to discourage them.

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

I think they are poor ideas as it makes this place even less welcoming.

I've always wondered, what's the problem with elitism and exclusivity?

I suppose you could arguing if you're not growing, you're dying. But massive growth for the sake of massive growth isn't a good thing either.

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by fotze

I'm sure this place makes some ad revenue. I'm sure if we offer to compensate bingo for potentially lost growth revenue he would concur.

Ahh, subscriptions. It would be a totally different business model, and I suppose you'd risk capping you're revenue.

[Traditional_Ale]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

I think the moderating team needs a couple switch ups. When was the last time one was added or removed?

It's an old-boys club with a cancer in the locker-room. Always knew that JiriHrdina was too good to be true.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by J-bo09

If we lose a few good genuine good posters, but curb the returnees it's worth it.

100% disagree. A forum's best contributors can be those who randomly join and jump into a conversation, and settle in as a regular contributor over time. If you're actively discouraging them from joining in, then you're segregating yourselves from the potential base of interested people. 99% of the time, the more restrictions you place, the more likely you'll kill your community.

You will occasionally get those who jump right in and should probably have held back a bit, but we all know that witch hunts on the internet usually end up framing the wrong person. The ones that happen on CP for returning users usually get out of hand too quickly and don't help anyone, as we're derailing the thread as much as the original posts that got things started do.

The moderators have been doing fine here. There's an extremely fine line between being too easy going and being heavy handed when it comes to forum moderation, and you can't expect them to ride that line perfectly all the time. If some people feel there aren't enough moderators here, then I think they're actually doing their job really well, because we don't notice them often, and that should be how it is. There's rarely stuff that shouldn't be on here sticking around for long, and that's because the moderators are on top of things. If we saw these messy arguments and the resulting infractions in plain sight every time, it would only make things worse as everyone would want to argue over those too.

If there's a way to force the User Guidelines sticky in every new user's face and force them to read it, it would probably go a long way to getting new users to chill out a bit and slowly work their way into things...but this is the internet, and people will be stupid sometimes. If we don't laser focus on every new user and analyse their first posts like it's a court case, I don't think things would get out of hand so often.

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

100% disagree. A forum's best contributors can be those who randomly join and jump into a conversation, and settle in as a regular contributor over time. If you're actively discouraging them from joining in, then you're segregating yourselves from the potential base of interested people. 99% of the time, the more restrictions you place, the more likely you'll kill your community.

You will occasionally get those who jump right in and should probably have held back a bit, but we all know that witch hunts on the internet usually end up framing the wrong person. The ones that happen on CP for returning users usually get out of hand too quickly and don't help anyone, as we're derailing the thread as much as the original posts that got things started do.

The moderators have been doing fine here. There's an extremely fine line between being too easy going and being heavy handed when it comes to forum moderation, and you can't expect them to ride that line perfectly all the time. If some people feel there aren't enough moderators here, then I think they're actually doing their job really well, because we don't notice them often, and that should be how it is. There's rarely stuff that shouldn't be on here sticking around for long, and that's because the moderators are on top of things. If we saw these messy arguments and the resulting infractions in plain sight every time, it would only make things worse as everyone would want to argue over those too.

If there's a way to force the User Guidelines sticky in every new user's face and force them to read it, it would probably go a long way to getting new users to chill out a bit and slowly work their way into things...but this is the internet, and people will be stupid sometimes. If we don't laser focus on every new user and analyse their first posts like it's a court case, I don't think things would get out of hand so often.

I love how Trumbull thanked this post.

[Trumbull]

Originally Posted by squiggs96

I love how Trumbull thanked this post.

Which has what to do with the discussion? It was a good post.