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Hi everyone,
there seem to be those forum readers who are here for ages,
there are those who are totally new here, and
there are some who are somewhere in between like me.
There are some threads which don't have any connection to the original topic any more (e.g. black hole in the submission rooms).
There are other threads which are "hijacked" by contributors and message board veterans (I confess guilty, I did that, too, at times).
Whatever the reasons: It makes navigating the threads unnecessarily more difficult.
My proposals:
A new lobby area for social talk,
an introduction area for new message board readers, and maybe some of the senior readers would like to introduce themselves to the new ones, too?
Greetings,
Günther
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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I think sticky threads would be nice for things like the blackhole thread.
I'm not sure about the need for a new lobby area since there are already extensive off-topic message boards. Similarly, an introduction thread is easily started, and does not need its own forum.
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I think sticky threads would be nice for things like the blackhole thread.
... or a different thread title? ;-)
I think sticky threads are supposed to contain general information that is not to be repeated over and over again in new threads - quite the opposite of this thread.My proposal was rather aimed at newcomers to these boards. They'd surely welcome some short introduction.
I'm not sure about the need for a new lobby area since there are already extensive off-topic message boards. Similarly, an introduction thread is easily started, and does not need its own forum.
Agreed. A lobby was just one possible means to the end. A sticky thread for new arrivers would do quite well, too. :-)
I say, trial by fire! Really I think there are enough helpful folks here to direct new posters. And the Black Hole thread always gets back to fretting over the next adventure meeting. Besides it's the Black Hole thread! You can't have a messageboard without a Black Hole thread! It's never gonna go away for long, and always comes back to the top every 3 months or so.
Remember, the most fulfilling things in life are rarely easy.
;)
3G
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Must be my fault then? ;-)
I think the black hole thread is just a symptom.
There are those of us who grew up with Maure Castle, Castle Greyhawk, and Keep in the Borderland, but obviously I am not one of these people.
Now and then it is fun to get a glance at the "inside talk" of veteran D&D players. And sometimes it is even fun to read some contributor pranks aimed at some other present or not present person.
Most often I like to get the content proclaimed on a label (in this case the thread topic). And then I am not amused to see threads being hijacked by veteran board members or interesting content being hidden under obscure thread titles.
Maybe the messageboards really don't need a sticky thread for new arrivers, but a "reservation" for veterans? :pp
Greetings,
Günther
Must be my fault then? ;-)
Could be. ;)
I think the black hole thread is just a symptom.
...Of a morally bankrupt and degenerate society no doubt. ;)
There are those of us who grew up with Maure Castle, Castle Greyhawk, and Keep in the Borderland, but obviously I am not one of these people.
Actually, its not obvious at all. I didn't play in or DM any of those settings. I see the posts about them all the time and I suppose if I was more interested, I could do some research and have done so in the past for various projects, but back when I was growing up I played ICE's Middle-Earth RPG, Mayfair's DC Heroes, or White Wolf's Second Edition World of Darkness, or old skool rainbow box D&D, and almost never touched a D&D that had an "A" in its title.
Most often I like to get the content proclaimed on a label (in this case the thread topic). And then I am not amused to see threads being hijacked by veteran board members or interesting content being hidden under obscure thread titles.
One Man's "obscure" is another man's "popular cultural euphemism." Besides plumbing the obscure or the unknown is one of the things that makes life worth living. It keeps you sharp and alert. I for one love the obscure.
I'm not a big fan of threadjacking either unless it involves 4.5 Edition rumor-mongering, which basically equals WotC saying the sky is blue and a mob of rumormongers constantly yammering about whether it's true or not.
"I think it would be nice if it was greener so as to match my lawn." "But how could you tell where to stop mowing?" "I like puce." "You would!" "Why cant we have our sky different colors every day?" "What do you mean it's always sort of gray where I live. Besides its never really been a true blue to begin with." "I heard the weatherman say the other day we can expect snow."
Maybe the messageboards really don't need a sticky thread for new arrivers, but a "reservation" for veterans? :pp
Funny you should mention that....
Only 30 or so people will get that last sentence. How's that for obscure?
OWC
GGG
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I think the black hole thread is just a symptom....Of a morally bankrupt and degenerate society no doubt. ;)
... no, much simpler: of the things mentioned in the very next sentence of my original message.
Actually, its not obvious at all. I didn't play in or DM any of those settings. I see the posts about them all the time and I suppose if I was more interested, I could do some research and have done so in the past for various projects, but back when I was growing up I played ICE's Middle-Earth RPG, Mayfair's DC Heroes, or White Wolf's Second Edition World of Darkness, or old skool rainbow box D&D, and almost never touched a D&D that had an "A" in its title.
There you are: :p I didn't play either of these games (apart from D&D). And I can only grasp from the context of your words what "A" adventures could be...
One Man's "obscure" is another man's "popular cultural euphemism." Besides plumbing the obscure or the unknown is one of the things that makes life worth living. It keeps you sharp and alert. I for one love the obscure.
But most people seem to have a more utilitarian approach to message boards, I fear. ;-) I don't look for intellectual challenge when visiting these boards. I look for information, preferably the one promised in the thread...
And when I feel like gossiping or chatting with people here: Yes, there really is an off topic corner in these boards!!
I'm not a big fan of threadjacking either unless it involves 4.5 Edition rumor-mongering, which basically equals WotC saying the sky is blue and a mob of rumormongers constantly yammering about whether it's true or not.
We don't seem to agree on much there.
I don't like any kind of threadjacking, although it happened to me, too. :pAnd I am not interested the least in any fourth edition rumours apart from the the time of its publication. The time when I'll stop buying D&D products (too much 3rd edition material here, I won't make any transition to new rules).
"I think it would be nice if it was greener so as to match my lawn." "But how could you tell where to stop mowing?" "I like puce." "You would!" "Why cant we have our sky different colors every day?" "What do you mean it's always sort of gray where I live. Besides its never really been a true blue to begin with." "I heard the weatherman say the other day we can expect snow."
One more to add?
Yesterday temperatures were lower than outside.Just what does this silliness add to this conversation (apart from giving away your fascination for colours)? ;-)
The rest of your answer was cut by the quotation function, but I have to admit that I didn't understand your comment about 30 people reading my posting.
Some nuances of your language still seem to escape me...
Greetings from Germany,
Günther
P.S.:
One thing in common at least: 3 Gs at the end of our postings. :p
I'd really like to be able to subscribe to the threads I am posting in so, I don't miss a reply ^_^.
... no, much simpler: of the things mentioned in the very next sentence of my original message.
I think the black hole thread is just a symptom....Of a morally bankrupt and degenerate society no doubt. ;)
My attempt at humor. Your line "I think this is just a symptom..." is sort of a cliche here in the States. It usually ends with people blaming Marilyn Manson, rap music, and or video or role-playing games for a the destruction of western civilization.
There you are: :p I didn't play either of these games (apart from D&D). And I can only grasp from the context of your words what "A" adventures could be...
... and almost never touched a D&D that had an "A" in its title.
The "A" stands for AD&D. I have never really played Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. Mostly because I thought it was a poorly constructed set of rules that harmed role-play rather than helped it. I stuck with classic red/blue/teal/black box D&D until it became AD&D.
One Man's "obscure" is another man's "popular cultural euphemism." Besides plumbing the obscure or the unknown is one of the things that makes life worth living. It keeps you sharp and alert. I for one love the obscure.
But most people seem to have a more utilitarian approach to message boards, I fear. ;-) I don't look for intellectual challenge when visiting these boards. I look for information, preferably the one promised in the thread...
And when I feel like gossiping or chatting with people here: Yes, there really is an off topic corner in these boards!!
That maybe so but wit is the spice of conversation and most of the information on these boards really is only opinion. And the messageboard format is more like a community than an Excel spearsheet anyway. I think most people like gaming for the imagination. Rules are just a crutch to enable that so occsional flights of fancy are a must-have. I would really hate to see a forum that was all complex stat blocks or a thorough detailing of the grapple rules and no "life."
Perhaps the WotC boards.... ;)
I'm not a big fan of threadjacking either unless it involves 4.5 Edition rumor-mongering, which basically equals WotC saying the sky is blue and a mob of rumormongers constantly yammering about whether it's true or not.
We don't seem to agree on much there.
I don't like any kind of threadjacking, although it happened to me, too. :pAnd I am not interested the least in any fourth edition rumours apart from the the time of its publication. The time when I'll stop buying D&D products...
I'm not going to talk about whether or not I will pick up such a beast. It depends on what else is out there when the time comes. I'm not interested in threadjacking either and always try to put some bit of worthwhile info into whatever I am posting, even if it is a bit obscure. I'm subversive like that. In the case of that particular "threadjack" (for which I was a late-comer) the message was "Get over it already! If you waste all your time yammering about something you can't control what good are you accomplishing? Get out there and do something constructive!"
The "color-wheel sky" aside was part of my monologue on 4th ed rumormongering and its ultimate futility. Basically the powers that be (WotC in this case) have said one thing, but everyone is still trying to pick it apart and make soemthing of it so that at the end of the day when X Edition shows up they can stand up and say "AH HA!!! We told you so!!! We told you so!!! Where is our cookie!!! Where is our parade!!!"
Basically chalk it all up to English facetiousness not working as well in other languages.
As for the approximately thirty people getting the reference to your comment about "a board for vetrans" let me just say that some of us (about 30 now) have one.
Hope that explains things,
Gx3
PS ;P
I'd really like to be able to subscribe to the threads I am posting in so, I don't miss a reply ^_^.
I think that's on the list of upgrades and may even have something to do with the "Loaf Question" thread in the Off-Topic forum.
GGG
Senior Software Developer
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I'd really like to be able to subscribe to the threads I am posting in so, I don't miss a reply ^_^.
You can. Look for the little orange square and the "Recent Posts" link. That's an RSS feed that you can subscribe to for a thread (or a forum, depending on which orange box you use).
See this thread for more info.