Suggestion for allowing posts in Announcements Forum - DONE

[-Devoted12-]

Hiya,

 

With the recent upgrade of Tripsis becoming an Administrator, I noticed that we can't post our Congrats to the newest Moderator/Administrator. I know this is not a big deal, but I would like to be able to posts Congrats to users that have newly come into the crew.

 

 

 

I feel that we should also be able to show our appreciation to the new mod/admin and not have to result to say congrats through PM. Is there a particular reason why these posts are immediately locked once posted? If it is not locked, only Administrators are aloud to post on the certain post. I like reading about the new additions to the team, but I don't PM them personally due to me not actually knowing them whatsoever. It may be a little awkward, therefore, my Congrats will rarely reach them. All people on this forum should be able to post the occaisonal congrats to the new team member. Maybe you could make that forum not effect your post count, so only members whom wish to post will.

 

 

 

 

 

P.S. Congrats again, Tripsis. You will do amazing things as an Administrator. :)

 

 

 

Thanks for your time and have a nice day. :)

 

~Devoted12

[InkofDeath]

700th topic. FTW

 

This was brought up close to a year ago, or some time around there. I don't remember the thread, since I didn't post on it...

 

 

 

Anyways, I think some topics should be allowed to be posted on, not all of them for some very easy reasons. Though, I don't know why topics about users/mods/global mods/super mods/admins/crews/other? get locked, and then their PM box gets spammed with very worthy Congrats. I can understand how new features would be debated about in Announcements, those types of topics are the ones which I'm talking about that should remained locked. But promoted users really can't grasp the importance, nor the feeling of being Congratulated by the Tip.It Forum Community if the main topic is locked. :-#

 

 

 

But, WooHoo, cheers for Tripsis! Hip, Hip, Hooray! Hip, Hip, Hooray!! Hip, Hip, Hooray!!!

 

And a great job you'll do, I'm sure. Best of luck.

 

\ Party Time \

[-Devoted12-]

Yeah, I agree with you skatedog. I think a lot of posts should be automatically locked, but I believe that congratulatory messages toward new mods/adminds/super mods should be available to all to post on. I can understand if the Tip.It staff would like this not to be changed because when any new updates occur, you will notice due to an Admins name being on the post on the Index Page. If this is the case, maybe we should advertise the staff elsewhere.

 

 

 

If I am not on a friend to friend basis with a mod/admin/super mod, I won't be PMing them to say congrats. The post would be awkward to him/her and me. If the thread was unlocked, all would be welcome to post with no awkward feelings. It's just like posting on a blog of someone whom you don't know of. You would rarely PM someone saying congrats on 99 _____ if you have never talked to the person. If there were to be a thread though, you would feel more comfortable in posting your message.

 

 

 

Also Congrats to the Super Mods too! :lol: Man, everyone is moving up the Tip.It ladder. :o

[Kaphias]

Just post on her blog. :wink:

[tripsis]

It might be a good idea to allow some threads to remain unlocked for users to post :) Like skatedog said, not all of them are necessary to unlock. Things like rule updates, security warnings, and things like that don't really require a reply. And to be perfectly honest, it was kind of fun to receive a handful of kind PMs from users congratulating me :lol: It was nice to be able to reply to them individually, which is something that I like doing.

 

 

 

There are some complications that could arise from this, which is something that I've noticed while searching through old threads on this forum. Many people once complained about the administrators posting security warnings (like e-mail scams and such) on the Announcements forum. The reason for their complaint was that they didn't like seeing the forum with new posts, knowing that it was going to be some "pointless security warning." So in the end, it caused them to ignore the forum all together. If the forum were being flagged down daily with new replies to threads, some people would be less inclined to check it.

 

 

 

To help resolve that issue somewhat, old threads could be locked occasionally, similar to how we deal with the RuneScape News forum. That would also be beneficial because it would prevent old threads from being unnecessarily bumped up. Anyway, just throwing around some ideas :P Unlocking the promotion threads would certainly allow our awesome staff members to feel some appreciation from the users!

 

 

 

And thanks so much for the congratulations you guys!! :mrgreen: \

[jemathonical]

Congrats Tripsis! \ :

[m1cha34l]

Maybe it would be worth haveing a subforum, with identical copies of the threads, but these would not be locked so people could reply.

 

 

 

This way peolpe can get to the newest threads and see them uncluttered AND be able to post on them.(in the subforum)

[ThruItAll]

It might be a good idea to allow some threads to remain unlocked for users to post :) Like skatedog said, not all of them are necessary to unlock. Things like rule updates, security warnings, and things like that don't really require a reply. And to be perfectly honest, it was kind of fun to receive a handful of kind PMs from users congratulating me :lol: It was nice to be able to reply to them individually, which is something that I like doing.

 

 

 

There are some complications that could arise from this, which is something that I've noticed while searching through old threads on this forum. Many people once complained about the administrators posting security warnings (like e-mail scams and such) on the Announcements forum. The reason for their complaint was that they didn't like seeing the forum with new posts, knowing that it was going to be some "pointless security warning." So in the end, it caused them to ignore the forum all together. If the forum were being flagged down daily with new replies to threads, some people would be less inclined to check it.

 

 

 

To help resolve that issue somewhat, old threads could be locked occasionally, similar to how we deal with the RuneScape News forum. That would also be beneficial because it would prevent old threads from being unnecessarily bumped up. Anyway, just throwing around some ideas :P Unlocking the promotion threads would certainly allow our awesome staff members to feel some appreciation from the users!

 

 

 

And thanks so much for the congratulations you guys!! :mrgreen: \

 

 

 

I saw your name in orange and said :

 

OMG, Tripsis is an administrator!

 

Then clicked it. :mrgreen:

 

This a great idea Devoted. I don't see why not.

[Ard_Choille]

Personally, I don't consider private messages of congratulations to be spam but this idea is worth considering.

 

 

 

The forum is only open to Administrator posting currently but maybe we can tweak the permissions a bit if the Administration team is in agreement.

 

 

 

- Ard

[eyehawk78]

Wow congrats Tripsis!!!

[Phil]

There are some complications that could arise from this, which is something that I've noticed while searching through old threads on this forum. Many people once complained about the administrators posting security warnings (like e-mail scams and such) on the Announcements forum. The reason for their complaint was that they didn't like seeing the forum with new posts, knowing that it was going to be some "pointless security warning." So in the end, it caused them to ignore the forum all together. If the forum were being flagged down daily with new replies to threads, some people would be less inclined to check it.

 

It is this reason I would have to say no to replies in announcements.

 

 

 

I don't see a problem with someone starting a thread in general if you want to congratulate someone. That's the way it used to happen.

[pokemama]

I agree with phil and others. Each time someone posts the topic/forum is marked as new for me to read, and ... I don't really need to read it everytime someone adds a congratulations (though I am still thrilled for tripsis :D).

[m1cha34l]

Maybe it would be worth haveing a subforum, with identical copies of the threads, but these would not be locked so people could reply.

 

 

 

This way peolpe can get to the newest threads and see them uncluttered AND be able to post on them.(in the subforum)

 

 

 

This would solve that problem (I think)

 

 

 

[off topic]Euch I'm quothing myself it's almost like talking to myself.[/offtopic]

[InkofDeath]

Actually what Tripsis posted was suggested twice on pages 10+.

 

 

 

[hide=Important Quotes From That Topic]

# By the time they're posted, they have already been emailed so people who might have fallen for them will mostly already have done so.

 

# They're all equally stupid, and there's a lot of them. Posting different versions doesn't really give any additional information, nor has it any use: posting a guide on how to recognize scam mails (I think Cameron did one?) does.

 

# They make the announcement board say it has new posts, while I could care less about the latest runescape scam. I do care about new mods/admins, forum updates, rule changes and the like. So for me, this is just annoying since I keep finding out I'm merely looking at more s(c/p)am.

 

# People who fall for one of those mails will fall for all of them, posting a great lot doesn't change that, they'll just click the link in the next one. I'm betting the vast majority of people who get their accounts hacked on these boards had the same password for some other service, or used an easy-to-guess password. Even people who do that are not stupid enough to randomly click emails 'sent' by someone who swears them, every time they log in to the game, that they won't send them email. Decent email programs and sites also show it when addresses are spoofed this way (eg. gmail).

 

There's little hope for people who actually fall for these scam mails.

I disagree. While I think some people may be ignorant and trust any mail they received, others like to stay on top of things and know what type of mail is being sent out. I've received several PMs thanking us for updating that sticky with new mail. Since we had the Community Box on the Tip.it main site, the number of views on that thread have increased from about 3000 to almost 80000. The # of views continues to rise every day.

 

 

 

We very rarely post on the Announcement Board. The Tip.it news box has three spaces - plenty for the amount of posting we do on that board. I don't see anything about removing the sticky besides cutting down the work admins do (even so, it is a very simple job).

 

 

 

So on removing that sticky: NO. We cannot track down how many people it has helped but judging by the number of views, users DO care about what is posted there.

[/hide]

 

Basically, when Tripsis says the forum was ignored, the sith says the view count went from 3k to 80k.

 

---

 

 

 

I don't think users would ignore the board.

 

 

 

The forum wouldn't be flagged down by new replies, since only so many topics would be open for replies. When Tallest got promoted to Admin, and from there to the last unpinned topic, there's 11 topics, which are to now, from Dec 08 2006. So 8 months, 11 topics that could possibly be replied to. Its not that bad is it? Now if I were to count Tripsis promotion topic, its in Announcements, it would be 12.

 

 

 

So, I really don't think opening some topics to congratulate users would be so bad. 11-12 topics spread over 8 months, possibly longer, seems fine. 12 topics aren't going to stop users from reading important topics in there, more likely it'll get them to read more of the topics. I don't see how congrat posts are going to drive away users? Unless they're against congrating users...

 

 

 

EDIT: To pokemama posts:

 

*Also look below to read Devoted's post about this*

 

 

 

No, but I do think since its not posted on every single day with new topics, it'd be safe to assume, especially when you can see the username of the last person to post. So unless you ignore the username, and the knowledge of the average times between important topics posted in there, then yes it could be a problem. :-k I don't mean to sound mean.

[-Devoted12-]

Personally, I don't consider private messages of congratulations to be spam but this idea is worth considering.

 

 

 

The forum is only open to Administrator posting currently but maybe we can tweak the permissions a bit if the Administration team is in agreement.

 

 

 

- Ard

 

I don't see it as spam either, but it can be awkward if I never have known the person whom I am congratulating through PM.

 

 

 

There are some complications that could arise from this, which is something that I've noticed while searching through old threads on this forum. Many people once complained about the administrators posting security warnings (like e-mail scams and such) on the Announcements forum. The reason for their complaint was that they didn't like seeing the forum with new posts, knowing that it was going to be some "pointless security warning." So in the end, it caused them to ignore the forum all together. If the forum were being flagged down daily with new replies to threads, some people would be less inclined to check it.

 

It is this reason I would have to say no to replies in announcements.

 

 

 

I don't see a problem with someone starting a thread in general if you want to congratulate someone. That's the way it used to happen.

 

I wouldn't mind just starting up a topic in General, although it is is now Runescape discussion and Tip.It Staff isn't exactly Runescape discussion. If we could do so, that would be great and work perfectly. I just think there needs to be another way to say congrats if the user doesn't have a blog rather than resulting to PM's.

 

 

 

 

 

I agree with phil and others. Each time someone posts the topic/forum is marked as new for me to read, and ... I don't really need to read it everytime someone adds a congratulations (though I am still thrilled for tripsis :D).

 

I agree with you on this one pokemama. The way I see the latest updates is if the little tag is red and a new admin has posted. If users could post on that forum, we may not recognise a new announcement has been announced. That's why I suggested moving it later in my post if this problem were to occur.

[Phil]

I wouldn't mind just starting up a topic in General, although it is is now Runescape discussion and Tip.It Staff isn't exactly Runescape discussion. If we could do so, that would be great and work perfectly. I just think there needs to be another way to say congrats if the user doesn't have a blog rather than resulting to PM's.

 

I don't think there would be anyone who would object to it because it wasn't runescape discussion. It still is the general board.

 

I would much rather have discussion in the general board than the announcement board.

[-Devoted12-]

Okay then, should a Tip.It Staff member be posting this, like an Admin, or should I just go ahead and post? I, for one, believe the Admin whom posts on the Announcement board about the promotions or recent addition to the staff should also post a quick post with the same information in the General Discussion board.

 

 

 

(I also just remember that the Tip.It Times article opinions and polls are posted there, so I am sure this wouldn't be counted as spam. :D )

[Phil]

Okay then, should a Tip.It Staff member be posting this, like an Admin, or should I just go ahead and post?

 

Whoever gets there first I guess. I don't think who posts it is important :)

[-Devoted12-]

Okay, thanks for all the help! :)

 

 

 

If an Administrator/Moderator would like to make the post from now on instead, feel free. I just assume I am aloud to do so. :)

 

 

 

After thinking about first come first serve posts, I don't think that is a good idea. First off, it may just become a competition just like the Runescape Updates are when they are posted in the General Forums. We don't want to give the mods any more trouble than they already have. I think we should designate a person of higher authority to make the post so this problem won't occur. If the Administrator who announces the recent staff addition would just post in General Discussion immediately afterword, that would work. :)

[Ard_Choille]

Announcement forum threads are now open for replies by registered users provided the thread is not locked. The projected use for such replies are for staff-promotion announcements and possibly site modifications.

 

 

 

- Ard

[-Devoted12-]

Thanks Ard. :)

 

You may want to go lock my post then that I was told I would be allowed to do. (In General Discussion) Try not to make me look like a complete hypocrite though because I was told I was given permission to post that. (which I was) I'll report it for easier finding. Thanks again! :)

 

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

 

Also, thanks all for the support and help on this subject. Much appreciated as always. :o

[Kaphias]

I think I've found the downside to this.

 

It used to be that if I saw the "new post" lit up for the Announcement forum I knew that there is a new thread and that I should have a look. But now, since there are posts in there, I really have no idea when a new topic is posted unless I check. Which can get annoying. Any suggestions to that?

[Errdoth]

I think I've found the downside to this.

 

It used to be that if I saw the "new post" lit up for the Announcement forum I knew that there is a new thread and that I should have a look. But now, since there are posts in there, I really have no idea when a new topic is posted unless I check. Which can get annoying. Any suggestions to that?

 

 

 

Yeah, I kinda developed a habit of clicking on the announcements forum if the new posts icon was up. It's kind of annoying now, and I'm not too sure I like the change. I mean, it's nice and all to be able to post a congratulations, but, if it's a big thing, like tripsis being a new admin, or something, why not put the thread in announcements, as normal, with the permissions on that forum set back to admin, and then make a topic in forum updates or something, and global announce that so that users can post their congrats?

[-Devoted12-]

I have the same habbit as you guys do too. I don't mind clicking it to read the congrats, but I always am expecting an update. Maybe there is a way we can get the last post to be last post by an Admin/Mod. By doing this, you may be able to see new updates easier. If not, then it's not too big of a deal. You'll make a new habbit of clicking it to check for updates and if they aren't there, then you will move on. I am getting used to users posting on there, and it isn't much different. I don't mind reading what other users posted either, so I don't mind too much. Another suggestion if this really does need to be changed is posting in General like I mentioned earlier if it really is that big of a deal.

[tripsis]

If too many people don't like the change, we can always go back to how it was before, so don't think of this change as permanent and no longer up for discussion ;)

 

 

 

Kaphias/Errdoth - Yeah that was the problem that I tried to highlight in my post. My 'half' solution for that was to only unlock the promotion threads, but then to lock them after a couple days (so they don't go on forever, or so they're not pointlessly bumped up again later). And if there's ever an important change that's implemented, it can just be turned into a global announcement so we can be certain that people will be aware of it.

 

 

 

It's not a perfect system, but I guess it's worth a try. If it gets to be problematic, it can always be changed back later and people can make congratulatory threads in General if they want.