SPOT Discussion

I would like to preface this post with a question, and then promptly answer with my very own opinion.

What is the difference between the SPOT and the Satellite Lounge?

Well, the general trend seems to be that the SPOT is for threads too dumb, too chaotic, too useless or too topic-less to be in the Satellite Lounge. Mayhaps that is the point. In fact, the very description of the forum reads: "A place for anything that is WAY off topic and composed of complete chaos that has been left unchecked".

Okay.

Why the hell do we want a breeding ground for idiots and idiotic behavior? Isn't that something that is frowned upon in the rest of the forums? People say that nobody gives a shit about the rules in the SPOT. Why should it be exempt? Isn't it always important to, say, not call people niggers? More importantly, perhaps, if there is a thread in the SPOT with a sufficiently strong topic of conversation, why not just move it to the satellite lounge?

I simply do not know the answers to these questions.
Personally, I feel that the SPOT is idiotic and should be removed. That's my suggestion. Obviously, some of you guys have differing viewpoints. If you think the SPOT should stay as it is, say why. If you think it just needs a more clear definition of what should go there, say so, and give suggestions.

I can't really think of a better way to do this.

 

All forums have spam forums, no exceptions.

Why the hell do we want a breeding ground for idiots and idiotic behavior? Isn't that something that is frowned upon in the rest of the forums?

Please don't tell me you're serious. Far more idiotic things have happened in the Cave Story section than in The SPOT. And in fact people act like idiots all over the forum, even the hack and mod section isn't safe from it even though it does get much less than other parts of the forum.

Personally, I feel that the SPOT is idiotic and should be removed.

Might as well delete the whole forum, eh?

If you think the SPOT should stay as it is, say why. If you think it just needs a more clear definition of what should go there, say so, and give suggestions.

The SPOT should stay and it should be given a better definition, yes. First off, rules shouldn't be completely ignored in The SPOT, but they shouldn't be completely there as well, they need to be lax, since it is indeed The SPOT, the spam section of the forum.

It is sad when even the staff doesn't know what that section is for.

Yeah I'm locking this. The SPOT was made for a place to move spam posts or offtopic discussions, not a place where we could spam for the sake of spamming.

Of course the staff of the forum is compose of snails, so I shouldn't be surprised.


The purpose of The SPOT is for a relaxed setting where you don't have to be bent over by the rules but not where you can bend the rules over. You shouldn't go into The SPOT and start flaming people and saying stuff like "METASERAPHIM YOU SUCK I HOPE YOU DIE AND GET RAPED." but you should be allowed to make a thread that has no purpose at all besides to have fun and mess around with other members of the forum as long as you aren't setting out to break all the rules. Since The SPOT is the spam section spam should be allowed as long as you don't go overboard with it like posting 21 threads in an hour. All things in moderation, no?

Also, The SPOT isn't only just trash forum where you move trash threads to, that is what a trash bin section is for. The SPOT is a section simply for have fun no point threads, nothing more, nothing less.

 

I use the SPOT because really, we're all friends here, and we need to have informal discussion sometimes (AKA dicking around). Yes, the IRC is for that, but IRC is real-time and not everyone uses it. I don't think it's bad to have completely relaxed discussion with less rules that has no impact on the rest of the forums.
Basically, it's for fun, and since nothing important happens in there, you don't have to use it.

 

I don't really think of the spot as being a "breeding ground" for stupidity; it's more of a place for people to get that out of their system, so that they don't do as much spamming in other parts of the forums, so in that sense the spot is actually beneficial to the rest of the forums.

That being said, I wouldn't really object that much to the spot being removed, since we do have irc for more spammy stuff.

In my view, the main problem with the spot currently is that the rules are inconsistently enforced. I think, if the spot continues to exist, it should not have the rules enforced, since, by definition, there essentially are no rules. The way it is now, they sometimes are enforced, and sometimes aren't, which is frustrating to everyone. Basically, the spot + enforced rules = the satellite lounge, so, if rules were enforced in the spot, there would no longer be any point to having the two be separate.

 

The problem with the SPOT is that no clear explanation of what's allowed there and what isn't was given upon its creation (which I'll remind you was before I was a staff member). This hasn't really been fair on GIR and Noxid because they don't know what they're expected to do there.

The staff are discussing things currently, and after we get a chance to talk to Noxid we'll come up with a proper outline for the SPOT. Possibly a name change as well, so that people don't feel encouraged to act stupid.

 

Throughout my entire experience with the forums, it's well known that the SPOT is meant for stupid, random bullshit. I just don't understand what's the point into spending too much time with locking threads that just come back in the next few days. It's not harming anyone, the only problem is that there may be children waddling around aimlessly, vurnable to the overpowering stench of a explicit vocabulary and imagery.

I have mixed feelings about the forums, anyways. I really like the majority of the community, but I don't like how the forums just keep itself from being ontopic about what it's meant for: Indie gaming. It seems to me that these forums have just blown up into a complete friend circle other than a fully public forum, which isn't a very abnormal case. It's actually really common for most forums, I've seen it before 7 years ago. (9 years old at a really lame and obnoxious furry forum that I expected to be a video game discussion forum).

We've discussed every little bit and piece about Cavestory, yes, but there are many other things that can be discussed that are similar other than completely focusing on one game.

If you want a completely clean forum, I'd suggest deleting the S.P.O.T and the rest of the rotting nonsense, however most members who came here just to have fun and dick around would most likely leave, hell, I would probably join them, since I have no purpose to being here in the first place anymore. However, the forum would live up to it's name alot more, and it would actually turn out to be what it is for the most part.

If not, well.. keep the SPOT and don't clean up. The forums will just stay the same. I just think that these forums are just blown up into all these messy portions.. some parts are discussing about what's actually expected from these forums, while most parts are just friend-circle related discussions.

That's my view of the forums, I'm not proving anything right or wrong, and I'm not questioning any authorities. My wars with staff members and others are long gone ever since I re-discovered my behavior on the internet.

 

I'm just worried that if all of the "regular" members leave, the forums will only be left with the new, much younger users who shout out random, old, overused memes and smiley faces all the time, without having meaningful discussion
[no offense to any of you, some of you are really great and honestly we need more people like you i.e. Dubby (who really isn't that new anymore), cripplechair, etc]

Frankly the "other side" of the forums is what keeps it running right now, as well as the mod section to a smaller extent (what's left of it right now is really great though).

So yeah.

 

There's a balance and we're going to find it. Not much sense in going on about the community and its importance if both sides of the argument can't be taken into consideration.

 

good point. hey maybe instead of commenting on the community I should talk about the spot? yeah let's do that.

I say that as long as something isn't explicitly offending someone from these forums (i.e. FUCK YOU CAPTAIN FABULOUS I HATE YOU GO DIE), or people are complaining consistently about someone's posting and they aren't stopping, moderation should be kept out of that section of the forums. Spam etc. is part of the "flow" of discussion in there.

That being said could we at least try to have half decent topics of discussion in there. I mean, it's for humor (in my opinion), not just for stupid random shit

 

1. The SPOT isn't a place for people to release their silliness because people act silly even outside it. Its more of a place where the regulars can circlejerk (man thats such a bad word but theres no better one to describe it) without being reprimanded for it. I think this is a good thing. If theres circlejerk everywhere else, new users become alienated to what they see as an already established community where they're not welcome.

2. In my experience, relying on an all encompassing and well-defined set of rules for a forum works crappily. Most people don't even read the rules. And if you punish someone, they're going to argue back using some niche interpretation of the rules, and it becomes an upward battle about the semantics of the rules. This is idiotic. What works much better is a small list of general rules, mods are highly visible and use their own common sense and discreetion in deciding punishments and this is all within a culture of trust.

 

First of all I didn't read any replies. Not even one. Second of all the reasons for the S.P.O.T are so obvious that this thread should be deleted and everyone in it ip banned so that it could never be discussed. The point of having a forum section like that is not only to contribute random pictures, but to move somewhat spammy yet interesting topics from other more specialized forum sections.

 

1. The SPOT isn't a place for people to release their silliness because people act silly even outside it. Its more of a place where the regulars can circlejerk (man thats such a bad word but theres no better one to describe it) without being reprimanded for it. I think this is a good thing. If theres circlejerk everywhere else, new users become alienated to what they see as an already established community where they're not welcome.

No. I'm not going to waste any time arguing this, but you are completely incorrect here.

2. In my experience, relying on an all encompassing and well-defined set of rules for a forum works crappily. Most people don't even read the rules. And if you punish someone, they're going to argue back using some niche interpretation of the rules, and it becomes an upward battle about the semantics of the rules. This is idiotic. What works much better is a small list of general rules, mods are highly visible and use their own common sense and discreetion in deciding punishments and this is all within a culture of trust.

We don't really have super strict rules, but it's pretty clear when something violates them.

The only thing that bothers me is when a moderator locks a thread for "being too spammy" when it's in the SPOT, and defends their argument by saying "the SPOT isn't meant for spammy threads."

YES IT FUCKING IS, read the description you wrote for it D:
This is the one thing that really pisses me off around here, inconsistent SPOT rules.
If a thread isn't being filled with highly inappropriate content, then leave it as it is, why on earth would you close it? It doesn't hurt you, and all it does is make people upset. If it gets inappropriate, then issue a warning and delete the inappropriate posts.

If the SPOT is deleted, I will leave the forums, because the forums will die, I guarantee I won't be the only one to leave.

 

Personally I believe the spot serves an important role to the forum. It can't be removed because what is a community without the social aspect; if the forums were strictly srs bsns then, well, it wouldn't be as much fun.

THAT BEING SAID

I think perhaps some general consensus of what constitutes good conduct needs to be established. If everybody was 100% fine with what was going on, then we would have never had this issue. I am of the opinion that the SPOT is "Untamed" in that there should be little moderation there barring exceptional circumstances (highly offensive / illegal content). Rather, it should be the governed by common sense (even saying that myself, I can feel the barbs of cynicism poking at me).

Without beating around the bush, to the best of my knowledge, this issue centers around the "OMGWTFBBQ" thread. The gross constitution of such consisted of largely nonsensical posts in ALLCAPS in large font, to the effect that the reader is being yelled at. Personally, I don't enjoy this sort of thing one bit. I think that Screaming contests and other displays of "Who can be the most outlandish" belong on an elementary school playground. However, I know that my opinion is just that - opinion. If the general populous of the forum disagrees with me, then who am I to argue? It may sadden me that the standard of communication has fallen so low, but generally there is nothing one can do to change the will of the people.

I am familiar with numerous such threads existing in the past. It's a phenomena I don't at all understand and perhaps someone could provide some insight on the matter to help me out. Is it really that exciting to post reams of poorly spelled, largely copypasted text? Does it make people like you? Does it cure gout, malaria, head cold and morning sickness? I just don't know.

 

I am familiar with numerous such threads existing in the past. It's a phenomena I don't at all understand and perhaps someone could provide some insight on the matter to help me out. Is it really that exciting to post reams of poorly spelled, largely copypasted text? Does it make people like you? Does it cure gout, malaria, head cold and morning sickness? I just don't know.

It's only funny to the person posting it. And untill someone tells them their shit isn't hilarious, they'll continue. Solution would be

1. continiously state how retardedly unfunny a person is (but that doesn't get you far, remember Fire1052?)
2. delete fucking everything, which brings even more drama and topics like "omg the staff sucks"
3. ignore (best one so far)

 

Without beating around the bush, to the best of my knowledge, this issue centers around the "OMGWTFBBQ" thread. The gross constitution of such consisted of largely nonsensical posts in ALLCAPS in large font, to the effect that the reader is being yelled at. Personally, I don't enjoy this sort of thing one bit. I think that Screaming contests and other displays of "Who can be the most outlandish" belong on an elementary school playground. However, I know that my opinion is just that - opinion. If the general populous of the forum disagrees with me, then who am I to argue? It may sadden me that the standard of communication has fallen so low, but generally there is nothing one can do to change the will of the people.

I am familiar with numerous such threads existing in the past. It's a phenomena I don't at all understand and perhaps someone could provide some insight on the matter to help me out. Is it really that exciting to post reams of poorly spelled, largely copypasted text? Does it make people like you? Does it cure gout, malaria, head cold and morning sickness? I just don't know.

I would say that sort of thing is neither harmful nor helpful to the community, and should therefore be ignored by the moderation. I personally am not really into that stuff much, but, if some people are, and it's not harming anyone else, then I see no reason to put a stop to it. As everyone here should know, deleting spam and/or locking threads causes a lot more unnecessary drama/frustration than the spam itself ever would have caused. If you don't like what people are doing in a thread, the solution is simple: just don't read the thread.

 

1. continiously state how retardedly unfunny a person is (but that doesn't get you far, remember Fire1052?)
2. delete fucking everything, which brings even more drama and topics like "omg the staff sucks"
3. ignore (best one so far)

4. Set some clearer guidelines so that there's no confusion, and if someone thinks a decision was maybe slightly borderline they can deal w/it

If the general populous of the forum disagrees with me, then who am I to argue?

Someone who's been put in a position to make judgment calls?

I'm only going to speak for myself here, but the thought of having to deal with drama does not intimidate me remotely and after a fair plain is drawn up I'm going to expect it to be followed. If it makes anyone feel any better, I doubt the SPOT is going to end up being made un-postable now (it won't be deleted because I don't like permanently removing things that people have said). Since we're talking about things this community has always been, one thing it has always been is small but steady. If a couple of people end up leaving because we try to make some technically objective improvements (that don't really harm anyone oh gee that's getting thrown around a lot isn't it) then as far as I'm concerned it's their loss, because there are a lot of great things here to leave behind.

As everyone here should know, deleting spam and/or locking threads causes a lot more unnecessary drama/frustration than the spam itself ever would have caused.

And this is my fault how exactly? All that ever happens is a bunch of people stir things up, throw in some derogatory comments and make a nice ol' mess, and then point to me and say "Look at what you did!". If it's that big of a deal, it's the regular users that need some sense kicked into them, not the other way around.

If you don't like what people are doing in a thread, the solution is simple: just don't read the thread.

And this is just setting a double standard. Do I have to answer to every "valid" claim/argument/accusation that's made of me, and then turn a blind eye when things start getting overly silly? Am I supposed to be selectively ignorant when it suits certain people? Even if I wanted to do that, it wouldn't solve anything. A site balanced on that kind of platform will never really be stable.

And while I'm at it I'm making it site policy that QFT stands for Quit Fuckin' Trolling because I get confused every time I see it

 

Quoted For Truth
Anyway the point of the spot is to be a place for off topic random shit, and if most people don't like that, we can always change what it is. So reply saying you'd like it change if you want it changed I guess.

Right now I think we have a consensus of a few very strict rules that are kept in place:
1. Do not be an asshole to other users
2. Do not be an idiot
3. Should you break rule 2, lurk more

the second one is really general, but honestly anyone with common sense can figure it out. If you are about to post something, then think "hey, is this going to piss anyone off" or "this is really stupid/ offensive but I'm going to post it anyway just to be cool" then don't fucking post it.

Also it's hardly a "circlejerk" subforum compared to some other forums I've seen. Honestly you could just jump right in and start posting, and as long as you don't break rule 2, you'll be fine.

 

The problem with the SPOT is that no clear explanation of what's allowed there and what isn't was given upon its creation (which I'll remind you was before I was a staff member).

Is this where I come in? I mean, is my statement going to mean anything?

Because, you know, I was there. I was the one who created it at Thomas request and was told what it was for, but with basically a whole new staff from that time I wonder if it matters now.

 

Since we've already got something mostly figured out I doubt it

 

The purpose of The SPOT is for a relaxed setting where you don't have to be bent over by the rules but not where you can bend the rules over. You shouldn't go into The SPOT and start flaming people and saying stuff like "METASERAPHIM YOU SUCK I HOPE YOU DIE AND GET RAPED." but you should be allowed to make a thread that has no purpose at all besides to have fun and mess around with other members of the forum as long as you aren't setting out to break all the rules. Since The SPOT is the spam section spam should be allowed as long as you don't go overboard with it like posting 21 threads in an hour. All things in moderation, no?

Also, The SPOT isn't only just trash forum where you move trash threads to, that is what a trash bin section is for. The SPOT is a section simply for have fun no point threads, nothing more, nothing less.

Finally, someone who thinks the same way I do about The SPOT.