What happened to these forums?

[Alg]

Yes, the topic about discussing how attractive woman are certainly seems like an enlightened and thought provoking example of a forum I want to participate in.

There's a gun law debate like two threads below it if that's more your thing :v

 

Also yeah, as someone that's been on forums with pretty blatantly corrupt staff, the staff here isn't even remotely corrupt they accept bribes equally from everyone, so it's more of an auction than anything else

[muggiwhplar]

 

Yes, the topic about discussing how attractive woman are certainly seems like an enlightened and thought provoking example of a forum I want to participate in.

There's a gun law debate like two threads below it if that's more your thing :v

 

Also yeah, as someone that's been on forums with pretty blatantly corrupt staff, the staff here isn't even remotely corrupt they accept bribes equally from everyone, so it's more of an auction than anything else

 

 

We literally did have a staff slave auction back in like 2006. Good times, I won Cdub_Foo as my personal slave for the evening.

 

http://forum.tip.it/topic/77806-my-day-w-cdub-foo/

 

Too bad all the pics don't work anymore. He was my kinky BDSM slave for the evening :twisted: One of the other mods had to delete one of the pics because it was too risque IIRC :lol:

[Estonian dude]

If you guys checked just a wee bit or browsed the Today thread, we have topics or discussions regarding pretty much everything that has been actual in the world.

One of the positives of having a community that started out from our love of one game is that we have people of wildly different backgrounds in Off-Topic.

We have a polyamory hunk, a rich Middle-Eastern dude, a few LGBT members, Californian libertarians, Aussies with their thoughts from down under, some underaged kids with their naive worldview, rational Brits, cold-blooded Canadians and some guys from more obscure places.

And that was just a few of the regulars mentioned, we are a wild bunch with differing opinions and argumented and reasonable discussions unlike anything you see on reddit or 4chan or whatnot.

[Miss_Kozlov]

If you guys checked just a wee bit or browsed the Today thread, we have topics or discussions regarding pretty much everything that has been actual in the world.

One of the positives of having a community that started out from our love of one game is that we have people of wildly different backgrounds in Off-Topic.

We have a polyamory hunk, a rich Middle-Eastern dude, a few LGBT members, Californian libertarians, Aussies with their thoughts from down under, some underaged kids with their naive worldview, rational Brits, cold-blooded Canadians and some guys from more obscure places.

And that was just a few of the regulars mentioned, we are a wild bunch with differing opinions and argumented and reasonable discussions unlike anything you see on reddit or 4chan or whatnot.

So like what, 14 people?

[Alg]

Yeah, but that's actually a pretty sizable chunk of the forum's active population

[Miss_Kozlov]

Yeah, but that's actually a pretty sizable chunk of the forum's active population

Yes, this would be the issue sadly.

[Mrs Chips]

 

I do hope that, that sentiment has changed now. I myself try to be very positive. However, we cannot and shall not peoples opinions regarding the game or the company. It is their right to express it within reasonable boundaries. We hope that we have improved the atmosphere since, at least in your opinion.

 

All the crew are leaders.  Leaders set the example to the community either by their actions, or by doing nothing.  Leaders don't really have the same freedom of speech the rest of the community has.  Poor leadership means a poorly-led community and allows negativity to flourish.  Your efforts to inject the community with more positivity is a good thing, but don't you think it's too little too late?

 

They were selected for their community participation, initiative, and maturity. Their personal opinions were their own. Implying that the staff were not only corrupt but actively trying to damage the community is highly insulting to the time they volunteered here.

 

If you're seriously proposing that the moderation staff should've barred people from sharing criticism on a game update, I vehemently disagree and question whether you were actually familiar with tipit at all. For every person who was a habitual whiner there were at least three active tipit users who simply used the boards as a place to talk about the game and its updates pleasantly and with good will.

 

If you never saw those people because the disgust of a troll or two, I am very sorry you missed out on a fun experience.

 

You are mistaken here on a number of things.  I have lurked this site for a number of years, stopping when the rot set in.  If the set team criteria was as you say it was, then the team would have been a much more supportive crew to the community.  They weren't, and were happy to maintain the status quo.  The fun community that was there just disappeared.  It was only after the appointments of Miss Lioness, and Arceus in particular, that the boards felt a little brighter again. 

 

You were a moderator yourself for some time.  Did you effectively lead by example and set a positive attitude for the community to follow?

[Kimberly]

Was I always a fountain of sunshine? No. Was everyone on the team? No. Did the staff interact with the community in positive ways? Yes. Did they work on behalf of the community because they cared for it and shared a common fondness both for the site and the game? Yes.

 

I watched people come and go for years, bringing both good and ill to the community. I watched mods discussing policy, dealing with some really vile people, trying their best to keep a place for reasonable discussion without being as harsh and demanding than the official forums or other places. I watched crew work tirelessly on site content, bringing some really amazing tools and guides over the years. I watched the community praise great updates and simmer in irritation for bad ones, with debates in between on the virtues of each passing update. I took part in helping train batch after batch of new mods, as did many other moderators, and trying so hard to find people who were willing to step up to the role of either moderator or crew. I watched as TET worked their asses off for a small group of people, making fun events and grand times, until they were disbanded. I saw the creation of the monster hunting team, where members still labor to take people to popular boss spots. I saw some really creative writers and thorough editors take place and produce content for the Tip.it Times. I watched as clan staff made tournament wars and ranking systems for the fledgling group of clans that briefly called Tip.it home. I watched as people posted research and findings, data and amazing hard work, that left an imprint on the greater runescape community as a whole before they went to create their own site to further their work. I watched people cheer on Paperbag's exp race, Suomi's 5b in all, and all the competition in between. Topics that tracked the f2p community, that discussed prices, that laughed and joked over more normal things in the Off Topic boards, and so much more.

 

If you were offering just a personal impression, I wouldn't have bothered with this post. Everyone experiences everything in different ways. You're entitled to a difference of opinion. But you're not, are you? You're saying, flat out, "This is what it was. This is all it was. This is what happened." as though you were actually there, seeing things you in no way were able to see without actually being a part of the community.

[Trojann2]

I'll always remember TET.  Was an honor to be on that team.

[Veiva]

 

Yeah, but that's actually a pretty sizable chunk of the forum's active population

Yes, this would be the issue sadly.

 

To be brutally honest, all forums I've been a part of since early 2000s have bled a ton of users to social media and specialized discussion formats. There is nothing Tip.it could have done.

 

It's like complaining no one uses Usenet (outside of piracy) anymore. Or mailing lists are becoming obsolete with issue trackers and other tools...

 

Discussion formats evolve with advances in technology. It's simple as that.

[Sy_Accursed]

 

 

Yeah, but that's actually a pretty sizable chunk of the forum's active population

Yes, this would be the issue sadly.

 

To be brutally honest, all forums I've been a part of since early 2000s have bled a ton of users to social media and specialized discussion formats. There is nothing Tip.it could have done.

 

It's like complaining no one uses Usenet (outside of piracy) anymore. Or mailing lists are becoming obsolete with issue trackers and other tools...

 

Discussion formats evolve with advances in technology. It's simple as that.

 

 Lies I say lies!

 

Clearly when technology and social media move forward it is 100% the specific communities failing that their format dies out. Everything can live on if you believe! 

 

Now excuse me whilst I go back to my lively MSN and AIM group convos whilst browsing Myspace and Bebo and updating my Geocities blog.

[Kimberly]

 

 There is nothing Tip.it could have done.

 

There are maybe a few things, but it would've only delayed the inevitable for reasons you've already pointed out. To achieve those things would've required more hands on deck than the staff actually had available at the time and a few other factors. It just wasn't meant to be. But that doesn't mean the path the site took was the wrong one, don't get me wrong! Just different.

 

Still, hail reddit.

[Fallstar]

For me personally, I stopped playing RS a lot, spent another year or so playing in bursts and then stopped playing completely. Even after I stopped playing completely I stayed around on various community sites/irc and kept up with a couple of youtube channels etc. but that dropped off over time and nowadays I just have sporadic contact with the closer friends I made from RS.

 

The game feels completely alien even from when I used to enjoy playing, which wasn't so long ago... and I won't be playing RS3 again. For those of us who did mostly use TIF for the RS related side of things rather than off topic, once you stop playing you obviously check the site less and less and get out of the habit of doing so. I'd guess it's mostly the OT guys who are still around now?

 

I don't see reddit as a replacement for forums, I use both mediums differently and very, very rarely contribute anything myself on reddit. But I can see how people would focus more on subreddits than community sites nowadays.

[Miss_Kozlov]

That is another thing too. The forums suffer because the game suffers. I used to watch this YouTube channel because they played a lot of the WWE games. Well the past two years the games have had so many less features that its limited what they can do and hurt their little franchise somewhat.

 

Point is, Tip.it is to a point, handcuffed to a dying man.

[sarg1010]

The efficiency-scape schism that took place didn't help things much either.

[Mrs Chips]

If you were offering just a personal impression, I wouldn't have bothered with this post. Everyone experiences everything in different ways. You're entitled to a difference of opinion. But you're not, are you? You're saying, flat out, "This is what it was. This is all it was. This is what happened." as though you were actually there, seeing things you in no way were able to see without actually being a part of the community.

Whether you think my opinion is valid or not is of no concern. With all due respect, you were at times disrespectful to the game publicly as a moderator and therefore to the community you served.  Many of those in the community adored the game. Who wants to be led by negative community leaders? You may have done many positive things as you claim but it just looks like papering over the cracks.

[muggiwhplar]

 

If you were offering just a personal impression, I wouldn't have bothered with this post. Everyone experiences everything in different ways. You're entitled to a difference of opinion. But you're not, are you? You're saying, flat out, "This is what it was. This is all it was. This is what happened." as though you were actually there, seeing things you in no way were able to see without actually being a part of the community.

Whether you think my opinion is valid or not is of no concern. With all due respect, you were at times disrespectful to the game publicly as a moderator and therefore to the community you served. Many of those in the community adored the game. Who wants to be led by negative community leaders? You may have done many positive things as you claim but it just looks like papering over the cracks.

I think you're taking this a bit too seriously and making mountains out of molehills. I've been here for over a decade and I've never really viewed any of the mods as "role models." That's not to say that they aren't role models; but rather I'm saying that I just view them as normal people volunteering to do a shitty job that most people don't want to do: babysitting strangers on the internet for free, and having your hard work go largely unnoticed by the community (with the exception of wannabe mods and people who have grudges against you).

 

Sure they're held to a higher standard and expected to be more mature than the average poster, but I think it's a bit silly to genuinely view them as "leaders" or "role models." It's just a fansite forum and they're just trying to keep the place from becoming unruly. Even though I've had arguments with many of the mods over the years (Kim included), I don't think I've ever thought "Wow, I can't believe this person is a mod! What is wrong with this forum?!" I have a feeling you already had the belief that certain mods were dropping the ball somehow, and then you ran with that belief, looking for as much evidence as you could to reinforce that belief.

 

Anyways I'm rambling now. I'll close with: If you don't like TIF, then you can

:thumbup:

[Miss_Kozlov]

Ditto. She was never favorite person, but the last thing I'd want is to have a mod be outright dishonest about how they feel about things and put up a false front, plaster on fake smiles, and tell everyone how great things are.

 

That's what the RSOF F-mods are for I believe..:p

[Miss_Kozlov]

Glad I got banned off RSOF back in 06, sometime after hunter came out I believe

I specifically am referring to the demodding of a very popular forum mod on there because he created a video showing all the bots/goldfarmers and was showing his displeasure about their lack of response.

[Pinata]

Hmm I sadly don't really go onto these forums due to the lack of activity. I bet a lot of others are the same.  Myself and others leaving due to inactivity just furthers increases the problem. If Runescape had maybe 100 people on at one time I'd probably quit playing the game from boredom.

 

Not to mention tip.it is not really advertised out there to attract new players. 

[Estonian dude]

It's a bit of a shame how OT and the rest of the forums have separated from each other.

 

And I've been here for almost ten years and I can't say I've ever had bad experience with mods.

Rather the opposite, many of my good friends from RS ended up getting promoted here aswell.

 

And I ain't ever had a problem with misconduct either.

[Kevin_]

Shame these forums went downhill so much. I remember back in the day afking and constantly browsing every section lol.

 

Edit, can't believe I've been registered for nearly 12 years on these forums. Time really flies.

[aspeeder]

I remember when the forums went offline for a few weeks to transfer to a new system and checking constantly to see if it was back.

[All_Is_Great]

Checking in on a whim,

 

I remember when the shitstorm about "efficiencyscape" happened. Man those were fun times on here.  |^_^|

[Miss_Kozlov]

Good or bad, at least they were times to be had.