Attention all Offtopic Users...Project Offtopic is Underway

[Solidus_77]

For the "ever caught them" discussion I figured it would happen eventually but seriously, what prompted the fascist crackdown on the whole board? Did some angry soccer mom complain because her 12 year old son read stories in a thread labeled "Mature Content"?

 

 

 

The Funny Picture thread though should be kept open but censoring certain images. Oh wait, that's what mods have been doing all along!

 

 

 

If the admins can't do anything to help keep OT the way it is, could they at least get rid of the trolls that have been plaguing us?

[das]

I think overall this will help off topic transcend from what Into a nutshell was a forum with conversation fit for a middle/high school lunch table or lockerroom to a forum where intelligent, thought provoking discussions can be had.

 

 

 

I am a very lax person, but the contents of the "ever caught them thread" often crossed the line of acceptability for content many times and this course of direction is needed.

[deloriagod]

Glad I looked in the stickies, was wondering if there was going to be a place to discuss this.

This is why I don't think it should be a sticky. It'll get more attention when it's being bumped within the normal topics. Hell, I only noticed it originally when it was a normal topic; and almost missed it when it was made a sticky and I was looking for it.

 

 

 

Agreed. I don't even know how I ended up in this thread, I just noticed it was up and started reading.

 

 

 

I think overall this will help off topic transcend from what Into a nutshell was a forum with conversation fit for a middle/high school lunch table or lockerroom to a forum where intelligent, thought provoking discussions can be had.

 

 

 

 

You do realise the morjity of users in this area are middle/high school students, correct? I know we have some folks around here who are in college or even older but at this point they make up the minority and do a good job of fitting in with the rest. If all we're going to be doing here is debating and having deep conversations, I for one won't be around much. Don't get me wrong, those kinds of topics are great but there needs to be some fun. Topics with [Mature Content] always had plenty of laughs, amusing stories, etc while serious topics lead to a lot of flaming and debating over things that you'll find many users aren't interested in. I've always wanted to see this forum take a step up, but not at the cost of having fun.

[jemathonical]

Just ban little kids from this forum instead of punishing the contributing OT members

 

 

 

Well since the masturbation topic has been locked, we have lost Abyssal. So i guess that is one down.

 

I think it does need to get a little more stricter because when rules are enforced, people tend to smart up and be more mature.

[das]

 

You do realise the morjity of users in this area are middle/high school students, correct? I know we have some folks around here who are in college or even older but at this point they make up the minority and do a good job of fitting in with the rest. If all we're going to be doing here is debating and having deep conversations, I for one won't be around much. Don't get me wrong, those kinds of topics are great but there needs to be some fun. Topics with [Mature Content] always had plenty of laughs, amusing stories, etc while serious topics lead to a lot of flaming and debating over things that you'll find many users aren't interested in. I've always wanted to see this forum take a step up, but not at the cost of having fun.

 

 

 

 

 

No doubt, you are partially correct, but many cool threads can be had, although zombie threads are overdone, creative threads like the one song/weapon/partner zombie thread were cool and fun for all ages. I think there can be a balance of stuff for all ages that doesnt have to be "mature". While some of the replies were funny, many of the images and content users were offended by or had issues with and its a fine line.

 

 

 

I Mean, I guess I think of it like this, You have clean comedy and raunchy comedy and entertainment, done well they both can be funny, but the later can always be offensive to many people and miss its mark.

 

 

 

The amount of complaints from off topic users in the middle/high school age range though were amazing in the sheer volume and overall, I think this is a positive change for off topic.

[deloriagod]

 

You do realise the morjity of users in this area are middle/high school students, correct? I know we have some folks around here who are in college or even older but at this point they make up the minority and do a good job of fitting in with the rest. If all we're going to be doing here is debating and having deep conversations, I for one won't be around much. Don't get me wrong, those kinds of topics are great but there needs to be some fun. Topics with [Mature Content] always had plenty of laughs, amusing stories, etc while serious topics lead to a lot of flaming and debating over things that you'll find many users aren't interested in. I've always wanted to see this forum take a step up, but not at the cost of having fun.

 

 

 

 

 

No doubt, you are partially correct, but many cool threads can be had, although zombie threads are overdone, creative threads like the one song/weapon/partner zombie thread were cool and fun for all ages. I think there can be a balance of stuff for all ages that doesnt have to be "mature". While some of the replies were funny, many of the images and content users were offended by or had issues with and its a fine line.

 

 

 

I Mean, I guess I think of it like this, You have clean comedy and raunchy comedy and entertainment, done well they both can be funny, but the later can always be offensive to many people and miss its mark.

 

 

 

The amount of complaints from off topic users in the middle/high school age range though were amazing in the sheer volume and overall, I think this is a positive change for off topic.

 

 

 

On one hand I can easily see where you're coming from, but on the other hand all those people getting upset over a picture are in for a huge slap in the face when they come into reality and I don't feel that TIF Staff should be helping them live a sheltered life. If I were to suggest anything to compensate for this issue, it would be a subforum with permission needed for users to access it. As we all know by now, when we signed up for TIF we signed away our right to say what we want without being censored. Using that concept, users who wish to be granted permission to access the board would have to agree to the same soft of agreement stating that anything they find offensive is in to way tied to TIF community/staff. They decided they wanted to go into that board after being warned about the possible material therefore if they get upset the responsibility lies soley on themselves.

[das]

With no doubt i understand your viewpoint, but racial,gender sexual and offensive humor can be funny to some and offensive to alot. I wont lie sometimes when I am on long rides and faction is playing awful songs I give stern a listen for amusement purposes, I have heard him say many worse things than don imus but the media and people often take different things in different context than some issues. For the life of me I dont get why some things are offensive and some things are not. But its not my place to judge anyone for what offends them as a human being. We are not trying to help people live sheltered lives but give a clean enjoyable for all experience to give all users maximum enjoyment. There are plenty of other websites on the web and not on tip.it a fansite to a game with one of the most restrictive censors alive (phone, address, [wagon]). On these other websites and forums people could post and learn about explicit topics and they don't really need to be seen by such a diverse usergroup here at a gaming website

 

 

 

I dont think a mature content board with a warning would work because well, I can tell you from personal experience I do alot of work for an internet service provider and deal with many filter requests/complaints from parents about what should and shouldnt be blocked.

 

Many parents consider myspace pornography (shocks me too) and even pornsites that say you must be 18 or older click here, dont keep kids out, curiosity is common and at best its a hopeful dream that really just hides the same explicit content behind one extra click to access it. which gives curious kids on highspeed a mere few seconds from seeing the posts they dont need to see.

 

There are many places on the internet that can "unshelter" a kid in a hurry, I know I found plenty back when the internet was young in 95 and the sort. A gaming website, for a game many kids play doesn't need to be one of them

 

As staff, we take it as our responsibility to do what we can to make sure kids dont see explicit content here

[deloriagod]

Heh, I love turning on Howard Stern now and then just to see what he's going on about :P

 

 

 

Ugh, I have to say parents need to watch their children instead of complaining to their ISP or whatnot about blocking things they don't want their kids to see. I personally think if you're going to let your kid on the internet, you should know how to block sites you don't want them on or else deal with it on your own when they find that stuff. If they don't know how to block things, they have the internet right in front of them that's got more information than they know what to do with. They shouldn't be complaining to people like you because they failed to prevent problems on their own.

 

 

 

I understand you and the rest of the staff not wanting kids to be exposed to things that might be over their heads. At the same time, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, kids need to be 13 or older to sign up for this forum. So I'm not understanding how so many people can say this is a G-rated forum when everybody here should at least be able to get into a PG-13 rated movie without a parent. So I find it rediculous that these kids would go into a thread that is clearly marked with [Mature Content] and have the nerve to report posts that they found offensive. Mature content is mature content. If you're a sensitive person, avoid those topics. Those kids can't honestly expect mature content to be kept G-rated.

 

 

 

Overall I would love to see some way to continue having mature content topics on this forum. I know I could go elsewhere and find them but this community is much more accepting than most and it's more pleasent to read the topics with [Mature Content] around here than it is to go elsewhere and see tons of flaming because one person is interested in X and another only likes Y but feels the need to bash on the first person because their views conflict.

 

 

 

I guess in the end, it is the decision of the staff. But I'd like to see the staff keep in mind how much more accepting this community is than other places tend to be. I'm sure we could find a way to make [Mature Content] threads work if we took some time to think about it.

[das]

Oh no doubt parents think of the internet as a babysitter, infact some of them tell me they use it as one, think of it as the new "Tv" kind of scary actually.

 

 

 

You can actually view these forums without an account and read the content which means anyone can view it, a major reason explicit content is bad, also honestly how many kids lie and say they are over 13 :P I would wager some of our users are 10 and younger, we just dont know it.

 

 

 

Its a tricky line to draw without looking "Conservative" or "liberal", but one thing about this that sticks out is, many off topic users expressed complaints as well that were taken into consideration.

 

 

 

I think many people think any topics dealing with anything sexual, drug affiliated or generally "bad" have been axed and thats not true. for two examples, a conversation on say safe sex thats educational or discussion worthy and not talking about sexual experience in an explict manner would be allowed. another quick exampl that comes to mind is say std's orgins or transmissions, highly offensive to some because *gasp* they mention sex, but done in a informative discussion way is allowed while someone graphically describing how they got one or what thiers may look like in a grotesque fashion isnt cool.

 

 

 

I think it boils down to content, not explicitness, dont quote me on this, but as long as its educational, informative and intelligent, I am pretty sure it will never be locked, although I cannot guarantee that, but if it is, I am sure you could PM any admin and any of us would be happy to review it and go in depth with you on the topic.

 

and if it gets locked, and the merit for the topic is there, we will unlock it.

[Zierro]

About time this was done. I was getting tired of all the people who posted the most irrelevant flame-baiting material on this forum. I never got why people fell into the fad of trying to humiliate others online.

 

 

 

By the way, I don't think this thread should be about discussing who did what and what he/she said - bad things were done, and there's going to be a new change. Let's just leave it at that, without pointing fingers. I'm sure most of us here all said something inappropriate at one time or another too.

[PoorLepRecon]

About time this was done. I was getting tired of all the people who posted the most irrelevant flame-baiting material on this forum. I never got why people fell into the fad of trying to humiliate others online.

 

 

 

By the way, I don't think this thread should be about discussing who did what and what he/she said - bad things were done, and there's going to be a new change. Let's just leave it at that, without pointing fingers. I'm sure most of us here all said something inappropriate at one time or another too.

 

 

 

I think their primary goal was to remove the innapropriate topics and innapropriate responses, not just to stop flaming.

[Zierro]

I know that, Dragon. I was saying that irrelevant flame-baiting was what got on my nerves the most, so I'm happy that we're going to see less of that now.

 

 

 

As the topic starter said:

 

 

 

we're going to have to crack down on the rules hard.

[PoorLepRecon]

I know that, Dragon. I was saying that irrelevant flame-baiting was what got on my nerves the most, so I'm happy that we're going to see less of that now.

 

 

 

As the topic starter said:

 

 

 

we're going to have to crack down on the rules hard.

 

 

 

Oh I see. Sorry about that #-o

 

 

 

And your right, It is going to be really nice without all of that flame-baiting.

[Ginger_Warrior]

The degrading quality of threads/posts in Off-Topic could have been avoided in one fell swoop: The Real-Life Pictures should never have been put there.

 

 

 

It was pretty obvious to anyone who thought about the proposal for more than 30 minutes that more immature users would move to OT if the sticky was put there.

 

 

 

Solution: Move it to Forum Games. The trolls will move with it.

[dsavi]

No, move it to General. The trolls will keep in one place.

 

 

 

=D> Thanks, admins, this is a big improvement. Let's hope that OT stays in a good, non-spammy, troll-empty condition.

[evil_mumm_ra]

being as off topic is sortof my new tif home in a way (come on, i hardly post elsewhere) i suppose i should make some sort of meaningful post here. this is my attempt.

 

 

 

off-topic has degraded since i first really started coming here, it has it's moments currently, but definately needs this rework. of course the ever caught them thread was bad, but it had it's moments of fun and i probably shouldn't have posted on it the few times that i did. the funny picture thread, was indeed funny, people just pushed it too far. if off-topic could do a funny picture thread properly, i for one would be overjoyed.

 

 

 

this rework is needed because of the rule-breaking, flaming, trolling, you name it it's here that is going on. we can have good meaningful mature topics even with the rating we should have always upheld. it is up to us, the posters to make sure that all this project offtopic isn't going to boot. we can work together with the admins and mods to make this work, and make it work well. we aren't losing our off topic, it's been sucking recently. we are just reforming it into a new better offtopic.

 

 

 

instead of news article discussions (which are fine, don't get me wrong. they just get boring to read when there are a bunch of news article discussions going on), or discussions about things that don't need to be talked about on a runescape fansite, such as 4chan, or masturbation, think up something mature, and creative. we can do it, it's up to all of us to help steer offtopic in the right direction.

[Nadril]

Just ban little kids from this forum instead of punishing the contributing OT members

 

 

 

The only people who really ever posted in the "ever caught them" thread were pretty crap members anyways. Easier to ban the topic.

[Rainy_Day]

This whole '13+' thing is completely invalid. You do not have to be under 13 to be offended by some of the content that was found in some of the threads (mainly the Ever Caught Them? thread). People of various ages can be offended by numerous things, so bringing up the "oh you need to be 13 to use this forum.." etc is not relevant. Discussions about things like incest and so forth are simply inappropriate, and I wouldn't expect that many users here to consider it okay to be posted on tip.it either.

[Mercifull]

This is good news :)

[Nadril]

This whole '13+' thing is completely invalid. You do not have to be under 13 to be offended by some of the content that was found in some of the threads (mainly the Ever Caught Them? thread). People of various ages can be offended by numerous things, so bringing up the "oh you need to be 13 to use this forum.." etc is not relevant. Discussions about things like incest and so forth are simply inappropriate, and I wouldn't expect that many users here to consider it okay to be posted on tip.it either.

 

 

 

For me it's not as much of a matter of it offending me, because it didn't. However the problem is that a lot of this community is not mature enough to handle a topic like that, and it usually just ends up bringing in all of the immature kids because OMG IT TALKS ABOUT SEX. Because of this it turns into a bunch of 13 year old kids posting far fetched stories or just plain awkward and odd stuff that isn't funny or amusing at all, just kind of sad.

 

 

 

 

 

And most of the funny pictures thread sucked, I think I could maybe get a page of material out there that wasn't a motivational poster or some image with the word FAIL or OWNED plastered on it.

[Mercifull]

I posted the following (edited slightly to remove name of forum and other personal information) this morning on a different forum when discussing the deterioration of tipit ot. Little was i to know that my reccomendations would all come true a few hours later

 

 

 

I don't wanna sound like a prude or a killjoy here but I also agree with age being important. Its not the only sign of maturity but its a good one. Plenty of ppl will shout out in their loudest voice "I am mature for my age!" and yet clearly not be.

 

 

 

I openely do NOT AGREE with mature posts in off topic, it engourages the complete opposite and you end up with immature people invading off topic. I dont know even half the people that post there anymore and i dont want to post there anymore and i'm arguably the #1 off topic poster!

 

 

 

People forget sometimes that this is a Runescape forum. This is a forum which has a large userbase of young people. You expect certain things from a website of this kind and I think we might be on a downward spiral certainly in the off topic section. Its a cancer which needs to be removed before it infects the whole forum and it becomes a wasteland.

 

 

 

I understand that kids these days know a lot more than they did before and tipit isnt likely to be the place they learn about most things but as a responsible adult i feel we have at least a responsibility to make sure that kids are still protected and at 14 you ARE STILL A CHILD. You may be mature for you age but maybe you shouldnt be, theres nothing wrong with being a kid. Have some fun and mess about, being a grown up is boring.

 

 

 

----

 

 

 

In summary:

 

-Remove all [mature] theads from Off Topic

 

-Clarify the rules of the forum with a new sticky explaining no more mature discussions

 

-Send out warnings to those people who posted clearly innapropriate things in some of those threads (its not fair to ban because staff have left it too long to act)

[Mercifull]

Also the [mature] threads were more like [immature] threads.

 

Talking about sex doesnt make you mature in the slightest.

[Abyssalwhip]

Also the [mature] threads were more like [immature] threads.

 

Talking about sex doesnt make you mature in the slightest.

 

Mature content =/= adult content :wall:

[Rainy_Day]

Also the [mature] threads were more like [immature] threads.

 

Talking about sex doesnt make you mature in the slightest.

 

Mature content =/= adult content :wall:

 

Yet people seemed to assume the tag gave lee-way to talk about however they wished. "Oh there's a mature tag, we can discuss what-ever we want now!" - well no. People took advantage of those tags ever since they were introduced.

[fatbill]

Bout time if you ask me.

 

 

 

Although I have enjoyed reading the topics that have now been locked and deleted, I always thought they were crossing the line abit and well done on the mods for this revamp to improve the image of the off topic area and to keep it to a standered that everyone can read despite there age.