Whats happened to tip it?

[Uula]

I'll agree that it's not going well.

 

I rarely see a thread worth posting in anymore.

 

And many of the stickies are pretty useless, with just people posting, leaving, and no one reading the posts.

[-Devoted12-]

There really is no winning for Mods/Admins. We get complaints because there are too many of [insert threads here] and they want a seperate forum for [insert threads here].

 

 

 

What we do is we give them what they want, whether it be the Questionaires Subforum, certain stickys, etc.

 

The community is so big now a days that no one wishes to see, I need a Heroes Quest Partner, etc. every other thread. Therefore, we created a sticky so you don't have to.

 

 

 

Just follow the rules, they are fairly simple and obvious and you have nothing to worry about.

 

 

 

A dictatorship? Not really, we are just trying not to be hypocrites. How can we create a sticky and point someone to it because that is the "communities wishes" and then allow some threads not to be put in the sticky. It isn't like one day we wake up and say we want a sticky, let's make it. There is a lot of thought and usually we open the discussion up to the community in order to post their input. I think Tip.It is the exact opposite of a dictatorship. We take suggestion in the Forum Updates and Suggestion forum. If you have a suggestion to better the forums, you can post it there. Most of the time, if it is a worthwhile suggestion and the community likes it, we will implement it. Is that a dictatorship?

[warlordsagan]

I honestly don't know what people expect to see out of these forums?

 

Angel2002 to start posting his pk's again, or Lady Lynda & Gregechidna6 to start spamming these forums? Stuff changes, people come and go, and people have been saying TIF has been going downhill since before they've changed to these forums back in 2004. As for all the subtopics, I hardly ever look at them because I forget their even there.

[The_Sith]

I think a lot of the problems stem from people who think it is their right to have the forum exactly the way they want it to be. "Please make a new sticky/board/forum because there are two threads about Star Wars on page one of Off-Topic - I can't read any other threads besides Star Wars threads!"

 

 

 

IMO, I would remove all "post X here" threads. The idea is good for organization's sake but this forum shouldn't be 100% based on organization - this is a gaming forum; not one for business discussions. People have the ability to sift through threads that don't interest them. They certainly can't expect to be entertained by each and every thread that is posted here so there will ALWAYS be some "selection" involved. The creation of so many mass stickies (which are completely pointless - why would anyone read through 100 pages of links to some video site?) and separate boards (which just strains the activity more) just harms the boards. But as Devoted said, for the Staff, no matter what is done, it is a lose/lose situation. If they act on a new idea, people will complain. If they keep things the way they are, people will complain. You pretty much have to ignore what people are saying and do what you feel is right for the forum. Then ignore the users until they are quiet.

 

 

 

In my mind, I compare this forum frequently to the WoW official forums. Is this a good idea? Probably not. But the overall basis for the WoW forums is something that has kept me visiting there on a high frequency for much longer than I have visited here. So naturally, being that I enjoy spending time at Tip.it too, I want Tip.it to become more like WoW forums (and other community discussion boards). I'm not bashing Tip.it - I'm just making a comparison. When I was on the Staff at the end, I did try to mold the forums a bit into a more WoW-like system. Less boards, more concentrated discussions, less locking, more leniency. Ideally, I would think that forum "natural selection" would provide people with the interesting topics they desire. If you have more activity concentrated on one board, topics that are interesting and original are kept bumped by posters; those that suck and are stupid are left to die. This type of thing cannot be done overnight but overall, I think it would be beneficial to the boards if something like this emerged.

 

 

 

Still, talking about these types of changes and actually pushing them through and having them succeed are two different things. Right now, a large portion of the community is used to a certain style. Many people say they are for change but once those changes approach and things aren't exactly like they pictured, they complain. People don't understand that it takes time for large changes to change/adjust into something better. If people would leave well enough alone and stop reporting every other thread just because they don't agree with its placement, the forum would improve on its own. But some people enter this community with the sole idea of bettering the community by "wannabe-modding" it and disrupting people's browsing.

 

 

 

So I'm not sure what should be done really. Even though I've left the staff, I've continued to think about what could be done to improve the forum. No concrete ideas have entered my mind. Removing the stickies, encouraging moderation through topic "natural selection," and otherwise, having less disciplinary interaction with the forums sounds good on paper but executing these radical changes would require everyone to change their idea of what Tip.it should be like. And I don't see that happening easily, if at all.

[Maximusa]

Thats why I choose to post on other forums rather than this one because it seems no fun, too bossy.

 

 

 

A community should also have some 'fun' involved with its members. When youtube vids of a guy killing a mole thing with a chicken gets moved somewhere 'I will never look..' then it aint as much fun to be part of the forums. The rest of the threads are just cookie cut threads about regurgitated topics. This forum is great for intellectual stuff but its too restrictive making it no fun. I rather not have to shift through hundreds of stickies or sub forums for things that could be considered acceptable here but gets moved.

[fakeitormakeit]

That has changed severely. This feels like we're all being holed up in boxes as if we do not post in the correct sticky, topic or thread we will be shot hung and quartered. Note: Sarcasm.

 

 

 

It makes tip.it more like a giant machine rather than a community its become like some kind of dictatorship... And if this gets moved it just further proves my point.

 

 

 

It is not hard to know where to post a topic. The titles of forums, sub-forums, and sticky could not be made more obvious.

 

 

 

Posting in the correct spot helps keep the boards organized. They are a helpful tool. Want to see some in game pics? Look at the "pictures" sticky. Want to talk about general Runescape? Post it here. Etc.

 

 

 

If I want help and advice, It is nice to have a specific place to go to for that.

 

 

 

Take a look at all the recent topics that were moved. Most of the replies politely say "I think this belongs ______." I just don't see where you are coming from with your opinions.....

 

Yes 3 - 10 sections are possible needed. But not endless threads and stickys to the point where no-one can be bothered to read what you put and your comments just become part of an endless sea. It's a game but we dont need to treat the forums like some kind of bureaucracy (dunno if i spelt right)

 

 

 

Agreed :P

[Walk_On2]

I'm old to tip.it... like... REALLY old... and yea, new, snobby people come, enforce rules with flames and such, and somehow get a high position on forums... I've started posting on tip.it resontly, but i've been reading it's topics for a long time. I lost my other account though :(

[icecube]

:shock:

 

Well welcome back, I think I remember you ^_^. I just came back too, still not really back though.

 

 

 

I always liked how organized Tip.It was but idk now, it definitely does seem a bit like a "giant machine". I don't see as many fun topics as before, though not as much spam either, but it seems discussion is pretty limited now.

[hellbellz]

I'm going to agree with Sith. The rules are pretty strict for a gaming forum. :\

[doomy]

The problem is how broad the stickies are, so even something hardly related has to go in one :?

[QueenValerie]

You all need to remember that people who play WOW and visit the WOW forums are mostly adults or older players from what I have been told.

 

Us Mods follow the rules and implement them in otherwords doing our job. Sometimes we have to be strict in order to get our point across to a few select users giving us problems. It's not that we enjoy it, it's our job.

 

You complained about the " What If " topics so we enforced nomore " What If" topics then a few months later we are told that some users miss them so we put them into a sticky and yet we still hear complaints.

 

 

 

We tryed the " natural selection" idea and it's impossible to work when users keep posting on the useless thread saying how useless it is.

 

I try to remind users if there is a thread on the forums that does not fancy you DO NOT post on it. All it does is bump it back up on the board let it die out and watch it move to page 2 or 3. But no there will always be a select few that just has to post on it and reply with " What a useless thread" or Spam thread FTW!"We remove the spam/bumps and yet it happens again then we are left with no other option but to close/lock it.

 

With so many users visiting these forums daily we can not make everyone happy if you have a solution to the problem then please let us know on the " Forums Updates/Suggestion Forum". We are more then happy to listen to your ideas/solutions.

 

 

 

Oh.. and ya welcome back FlameGuy I remember you well. :lol:

[chase_cool7]

Topics are locked at the drop of a hat now, even at no fault of its creator. I must agree with you on this, I think (some) mods need to loosen up a bit.

 

 

 

(Edit:) the above post has changed my view a bit, perhaps the problem is more complex than I had originally perceived. I don't like it but here I am saying something needs to be done and yet expressing no solution.

[QueenValerie]

Threads are not locked for the fun of it the last thing Mods like to do is stop a dicussion on a thread. Most threads that are locked are locked for a good reason and if you feel the lock was unjustified then you have the option of P.M'ing the Mod about the lock. We don't bite and we are happy to listen to your reason to why you feel your thread should be unlocked.

 

Most threads that are locked have been reported for a good reason.

[Italian5kamikaze]

Threads are not locked for the fun of it the last thing Mods like to do is stop a dicussion on a thread.

 

Yet its the first thing they do, yes mods help with A LOT of spam but too many times have I seen a thread that could have had a lot ofpotential get locked.

 

 

 

Also I would rather see ten threads that hold little discussion then ten freaken locked threads on the first page.

[-Devoted12-]

Here is our recent Tip.It Article. It goes along with Tip.It Forums. You may wish to read it to see our side somewhat...

 

I could do that job so much better!

 

 

 

Okay, this is the way I see it. If you leave threads out there that yield little discussion, they just get flamed up and spammed. Most of the times, they will even say "locked." In the end, what is leaving that open accomplishing? Users spamming, thus raising their post count, which users will complain that their post count went up due to spams. It may even cause more work in the long run because we have to clean these threads that have no dicussion brewing in them. I think I would rather do a 40 second lock rather than coming back in an hour and spending 30 minutes cleaning a thread in order to get it back to it's original, no discussion, point. I remember not so long ago, we got someone mad at us because a thread was out for more than 15 Minutes without being locked that was full of spam. On the other hand, there are users complaining that there was a "discussion" going on when there was only a spamfest of posts.

 

 

 

Leaving a post open that doesn't deserve to be open only gives mods more work, and more users a chance to spam their random stuff. Either way, it doesn't look good, so why not eliminate the problem right away?

[aj926]

Here is our recent Tip.It Article. It goes along with Tip.It Forums. You may wish to read it to see our side somewhat...

 

I could do that job so much better!

 

 

 

Okay, this is the way I see it. If you leave threads out there that yield little discussion, they just get flamed up and spammed. Most of the times, they will even say "locked." In the end, what is leaving that open accomplishing? Users spamming, thus raising their post count, which users will complain that their post count went up due to spams. It may even cause more work in the long run because we have to clean these threads that have no dicussion brewing in them. I think I would rather do a 40 second lock rather than coming back in an hour and spending 30 minutes cleaning a thread in order to get it back to it's original, no discussion, point. I remember not so long ago, we got someone mad at us because a thread was out for more than 15 Minutes without being locked that was full of spam. On the other hand, there are users complaining that there was a "discussion" going on when there was only a spamfest of posts.

 

 

 

Leaving a post open that doesn't deserve to be open only gives mods more work, and more users a chance to spam their random stuff. Either way, it doesn't look good, so why not eliminate the problem right away?

 

 

 

I must say, a genuinely lovely time to use that article.

 

 

 

 

 

I think what The_Sith posted would work.

[Dharockslayer]

Ill have to agree with other people, there are too many stickies. Yet some of them are really neccesairy. Like the need person for heroes sticky.

 

 

 

I remember from the old forums that events were posted right here in the General board, especially the Leesters events ( Waterbirth Island, anyone? 8-) ). It would get tons of attention and tons of people visiting. What would happen if we shoved that in the events board? It would die :? .

 

 

 

I agree that tip.it is far more organized then it was before, and its great in that particular way. But its getting a bit overkill, tif is like becoming a maze now. They went in the right direction when they fused the general board with the General p2p. But there are too many stickies draining the usefull topics away from General. Hence the people complaining about it having not enough discussion. Its the only thing people can come up with without it being transferred to another catagory and left to die.

 

 

 

The Tip.it community is great, Ive loved it ever since I got here. The forums have gone down hill, making a few people leave, and still the community is great.

 

 

 

We only need to find the correct balance between order and chaos, thats all. You guys from the Tip.It crew have done a great job, these forums are free of spam and rule breaking posts.

 

This topic is just like a topic in the suggestion board, only it brings more people to discuss it. The posters are just explaining their opinion about it, and saying how it might be better. So please, don't move this to a place where its less wanted :cry:

[Who]

Yeah, it is a lose/lose situation. You could make a million stickys, but no one would actually read them all. Or you could not have stickys, but then we have pages full of "OMG hidden update" and "Quitting/Playing again" threads. Both are just more work for the moderators. :wall:

[Artemis1330]

Ill have to agree with other people, there are too many stickies. Yet some of them are really neccesairy. Like the need person for heroes sticky.

 

 

 

I agree that tip.it is far more organized then it was before, and its great in that particular way. But its getting a bit overkill, tif is like becoming a maze now. They went in the right direction when they fused the general board with the General p2p. But there are too many stickies draining the usefull topics away from General. Hence the people complaining about it having not enough discussion. Its the only thing people can come up with without it being transferred to another catagory and left to die.

 

 

 

How is it a maze? Any new user that has spent more then 30mins looking over the forums should know right away where things are.

 

 

 

Further more, I don't see how any of the posts in the General stickies could generate more then a page of genuine discussion, other then "that's neat /post".

[Brolly04]

The Tip.it community lost its "community" when rsc died and rs2 first came out. The reason I say that is because everyone that was well known in rsc was on Tip.it. Now we have a bunch of nobodies (no offence to anyone as I also am/was a nobody) posting and no one wants to pay attention to what they really have to say.

[The Observer]

The Tip.it community lost its "community" when rsc died and rs2 first came out. The reason I say that is because everyone that was well known in rsc was on Tip.it. Now we have a bunch of nobodies (no offence to anyone as I also am/was a nobody) posting and no one wants to pay attention to what they really have to say.

 

 

 

We have a few of our loyal players here still.

[epeeflecher]

I remember your siggy :shock: .

[Phil]

'rose tinted glasses'

 

 

 

But seriously forums never stay the same, the community changes them, but one thing I can say is that these forums have been worse than they are today.

 

There will always be arguments about how things have been better in the past. I'm not going to sit here and try and defend it though since this argument crops up every few months.

[Myweponsg00d]

What does this have to do with Runescape? This should be moved. Seriously.

 

 

 

It's called spam. Spammy topics flood the front page, so we have to enforce people posting in stickies, threads that already exist, and the CORRECT FORUM most importantly.

[Poopingman]

What does this have to do with Runescape? This should be moved. Seriously.

 

 

 

It's called spam. Spammy topics flood the front page, so we have to enforce people posting in stickies, threads that already exist, and the CORRECT FORUM most importantly.

 

 

 

Heres an example of another problem: people over-enforcing the rules when they aren't even in the position to do so. It is insipid, and grows stale quickly, especially when most of the time its over trivial things.