How GiantBomb's Forums Clucked Up

I don't know why, but this website is driving me insane....

It's still beta. For all you know, this feature or that feature could be gone tomorrow.

It may get there, it might not. We will see.

Yeah, something took my identity already. It is very annoying.

I've seen a number of forums and am now fairly active in now 3 forums (Gamespot, Simtropolis, and here) and I must say that this is the most chaotic forum I've been a part of... not a good thing.  I know it's still a work-in-progress and thinks are a bit glitchy, but the rampant spamming and offensive material is too much for some people.  I don't mind the cussing and the minor jabs at each other... even some of the weird topics are fine, but when we see people spamming up to 100 posts per hour, showing offensive material, and denegrating others, there's a problem.

Giant Bomb needs some order... dictatorships don't work, but neither does anarchy.

"I've seen a number of forums and am now fairly active in now 3 forums (Gamespot, Simtropolis, and here) and I must say that this is the most chaotic forum I've been a part of... not a good thing.  I know it's still a work-in-progress and thinks are a bit glitchy, but the rampant spamming and offensive material is too much for some people.  I don't mind the cussing and the minor jabs at each other... even some of the weird topics are fine, but when we see people spamming up to 100 posts per hour, showing offensive material, and denegrating others, there's a problem.

Giant Bomb needs some order... dictatorships don't work, but neither does anarchy."

I have been on here for 2 days now and have already gotten used to the forums, its really great actually not as unorganized as I felt in the beginning, still needs mroe mods but thats coming.

Chill a little it's beta and the site has been on for like one good day now?

"IHeartUnicornsAndRainbows said:

"Just to let you know, you can unhide posts!!!
"

Unhiding posts is glitched in IE7.

BlackWaterCO said:

"Lets just focus on getting mods first"

Y'know what? If GiantBomb is listening or reading this, I volunteer myself to the task. We need *common sense* moderation. You shouldn't get moderated for a few bad words, minor insults, or stating your point of view. However, if someone is just spamming and repeatedly being a dick, then we need to close their topics and give them a warning. In other words, if all of you think that something is disruptive to the board, then it is - if everyone is like "woah, mod, we want this topic open" (so long as it's not like - kiddie porn) then it should be. You need a mod you can turn to and say "hey, what's up? Listen this is how I feel about _________ and I want you to explain why you did _____________" and get an answer. Someone who admits when they've messed up.

I think they should go into a topic and say "look, what's your intent here?" and give you a chance to explain -  but we need *some* form of control here. Otherwise, it's just going to be nuts - we can't expect a bunch of people on their own to have the courtesy to keep "character wars" down to a couple of topics, or to not bump spam posts.

.

However it doesn't *have* to be myself - we just need *someone* - anyone who meets the above criteria - and we need a constraint on them - they answer to Jeff and crew. If you guys are unhappy with them, then that mod gets sat down, and they explain why they did what they did. But we need someone with that power we can turn to.
"

"I have been on here for 2 days now and have already gotten used to the forums, its really great actually not as unorganized as I felt in the beginning, still needs mroe mods but thats coming.
"

"Sentry said:

"I have been on here for 2 days now and have already gotten used to the forums, its really great actually not as unorganized as I felt in the beginning, still needs mroe mods but thats coming.
"

I'm just worried about who the mods will be - I trust myself - but others? I have a ton of experience in this realm, between running websites, unions, clans, and the like - and I've had a hand in choosing people I trust to deal with fights between members. Myself? I could handle it - but on Giant Bomb? I'm not saying that users here aren't great - but there's a certain quality you begin to recognize in people over time that makes them suited to the task - I've seen a few people I'd pick - and a few people I worry they'd pick who I feel are ill-suited. It's a tough task.

It's sort of a frustrating place to be in - I'll do my best to communicate with the staff of course because ultimately I want this to succeed and most importantly I don't want moderation to take away from people's ability to have a discussion."

I left the Gamespot forums hoping I'd see more meaningful posts/threads. Instead, it feels like all of System Wars has migrated over here.

So yeah, I hope some good moderation comes through soon.

Seriously? There has only been one or two "SYSTEM WARS", and they have been pretty casual.. so I don't believe you. ;)

More GS mods have imposters running around, and the new moderators chosen are 15 ~ 18 year olds. Wonderful. None of this bodes particularly well for the decision making involved here.

Yeah, we'll see how it goes it's still early on bro.

"More GS mods have imposters running around, and the new moderators chosen are 15 ~ 18 year olds. Wonderful. None of this bodes particularly well for the decision making involved here."

I don't think it is really that big of a problem.

I agree with Disgaeamad, having a 15-18 year old mod is not a bad thing, it doesn't matter how old the mods is, its how they work things.

"subrosian said:

"More GS mods have imposters running around, and the new moderators chosen are 15 ~ 18 year olds. Wonderful. None of this bodes particularly well for the decision making involved here."

Although I've agreed with a lot of points you've been making so far, I have to disagree with you here. You claim that it's bad for 15 - 18 year olds to be mods, yet I just don't see the basis. A 15 year old can make the same decisions as yourself without being biased towards who they are modding, and sure, people in those age groups can be very immature, but there's always a select few who know what they're doing and what they're saying, and I doubt Jeff and the rest of the staff are going to select the immature ones.
"

The system is faulty... but to be honest, all replies that I've revealed so far have deserved their hidden status.

"It's very unusual for someone of a younger age to be entirely impartial, or easily resistant to being led astray / biased by their associates. It's also far more likely for them to be at an early stage in life where their personal achievement have not yet caught up to their potential, leading them to view it as a greater thing than it is, and find themselves on the path to misuing their powers.
-
There are exceptions to this rule - but given the site is only all of 48 hours with user accounts, there is no possible way anyone could know just yet if the ones being selected are the exceptions. Early heavy activity on the site is a *warning* not a basis for choosing them. I say this coming from many a site that made the same mistake - I'm hoping to help GB avoid making those early mistakes.
-
No, I'm not trying to make some age-cist statement and imply youth are somehow automatically less wise - there are plenty of dumb, hot-blooded old people in the world (we call them politicians :P ) - but, again, as desperately as we need mods, they must be, without a doubt, carefully selected. Unless they can demonstrate certain understandings and a track record that their years do not, I worry, I worry because I've seen it all before, seen the mistakes, seen the consequences - and I wish GB to be sparred that."

Honestly, for someone to think that AGE matters heavily in being a mod, thats just a tad ignorant IMO. It depends on who the person is, no matter if they are 30 or 16.

I don't know who here would make a great mod that isn't one already, but I can tell you all I don't want to be one. I'm happy to help my fellow users with any issue they may have regarding the site, chat about this and that, submit missing information on various pages and articles, etc. However, I'm not looking for any sort of responsibility. I just want to have fun here.
...
And some will probably assume from those few sentences that I'm subtly suggesting just the opposite: that, in fact, I should be a mod. Nope, nah, no way. Hell no.

But I don't see a problem making this subrosian guy a mod. He seems to have a lock on what needs fixed around here.

"Honestly, for someone to think that AGE matters heavily in being a mod, thats just a tad ignorant IMO. It depends on who the person is, no matter if they are 30 or 16."

Yeah, there should later be a HELP thread stickied with all the staff and mods listed, as well as FAQs and whatnot. Too many stickies atm.

The +/- this is really over used right now. You should be able to hide posts you don't want to see, but everyone else can still read them.

"The +/- this is really over used right now. You should be able to hide posts you don't want to see, but everyone else can still read them."

"Honestly, for someone to think that AGE matters heavily in being a mod, thats just a tad ignorant IMO. It depends on who the person is, no matter if they are 30 or 16.
"

You seem to have a lot of experience with websites getting hijacked lol.

I agree with you 100%. Just keep in mind that the +/- option does have it's advantages and as long as the site doesn't get hijacked, I do think that it is a good thing to have. Also, mods are already being picked and will continue to be picked to help out with managing the site's community.

I think you undermining people around the age of 16-18 is really off. Those things do matter, but the way someone that age views things is not how you may think, and does not mean they are not worthy of become a mod.

I know what you mean with the whole 'world view' thing, and IMO from what I have been through, it has to do with expereince, not the age or how long you have been alive. A 16 year old may be far more worthy then a 30 year old in this case, it all depends on the person not the age, although sure the age does have to do with it, it is not the sole reason to not accept/accept mods of a certain age.

Hater? He seems like he have got his reasons.

subrosian, you make a lot of good points and it's good to see someone who isn't afraid to tell it like it is, rather than just sucking Giant Bomb's ass. I love this site and the people behind it, but ignoring the problems and excusing it as a beta is the wrong thing to do--we need to be pointing out where we see things going wrong. I like the basic "don't be a dick" rule for the forums, but I don't want this place turning into NeoGAF. I also don't want it turning into GameSpot's nazi forums. We need mods with common sense (like you said) who are going to keep things fun, yet civilized at the same time.

I also agree with you about the imposters. I think it sucks that CaseyWegner and a lot of other respectable GS posters have imposters and could have their reputations harmed. I know it was first come first serve for names, but they should make exceptions for cases like this and let the right people have their account names.
 
I know the site is in beta and it's incomplete, so I'm not pushing blame or judgement on anyone. Let's just not ignore the problems.

there were some nice points in there and some order has to be maintained but I do not want this to become another GS, and i think thats how most ppl feel as well.

The laidback feeling is better suited but yes some order and rules have to be set or else it'll all go to hell.

No launch is perfect.

why did you even mention /b/ there probably planning a raid now.

"I think you undermining people around the age of 16-18 is really off. Those things do matter, but the way someone that age views things is not how you may think, and does not mean they are not worthy of become a mod.

I know what you mean with the whole 'world view' thing, and IMO from what I have been through, it has to do with expereince, not the age or how long you have been alive. A 16 year old may be far more worthy then a 30 year old in this case, it all depends on the person not the age, although sure the age does have to do with it, it is not the sole reason to not accept/accept mods of a certain age.
"

"subrosian, you make a lot of good points and it's good to see someone who isn't afraid to tell it like it is, rather than just sucking Giant Bomb's ass. I love this site and the people behind it, but ignoring the problems and excusing it as a beta is the wrong thing to do--we need to be pointing out where we see things going wrong. I like the basic "don't be a dick" rule for the forums, but I don't want this place turning into NeoGAF. I also don't want it turning into GameSpot's nazi forums. We need mods with common sense (like you said) who are going to keep things fun, yet civilized at the same time.

I also agree with you about the imposters. I think it sucks that CaseyWegner and a lot of other respectable GS posters have imposters and could have their reputations harmed. I know it was first come first serve for names, but they should make exceptions for cases like this and let the right people have their account names.
 
I know the site is in beta and it's incomplete, so I'm not pushing blame or judgement on anyone. Let's just not ignore the problems.
"

I see you're doing that thing that you do, Sub.

Carry on.

How long before we see the inevitable  'Giant Bomb Bets' thread?  lol

I admit i think there is still a lot of work that needs to be done, but im sure the team will get it all covered in due time.

"I see you're doing that thing that you do, Sub.

Carry on.

How long before we see the inevitable  'Giant Bomb Bets' thread?  lol
"

lol @ needing "life experience" to moderate.

couldn't hurt. :)

About impostors:

Well first of all does anyone really believe that these people are who their names say they are? (And similarly, there are men who pretend to be hot available women to trick people). You have to take anything on the internet with a lot more than a grain of salt. When RL names come up, I assume it's not them, just like I don't think Hulk is the actual Incredible Hulk. Anybody who believes that "I'm the real Casey W" crap is foolish. Since I do not believe it is them, it doesn't tarnish the real person's reputation. If someone came on as Santa Claus and said "I hate kids, they should all **** themselves" I'm not going to think any more or less of the "real" Santa Claus. Don't give these people any more attention than they deserve by asking them or disagreeing with them as to their name. Just treat their name like anyone else.
If I were a celebrity (and I'm not) I would never come as [insert my real name here]. The minute someone found out, I'd get a flood of pm's like "Are you really him?", "Your last game suxxed", "Can I have a job?", and if I were any female, "You're hot, are you single?" Celebrities have to keep a wall around them to prevent things like this. If I wanted to communicate, I'd have an account that had nothing to do with my name and answer things about me to a minimum. Multiple postings of "no, that [insert my name here] guy is actually kewl!" would rouse suspicions. If I had something to say as a celebrity, I would contact Giant Bomb, somehow vouch my identity, and maybe have what I have to say separate from the postings (like in the Bombcast), or I'd set up a temp account, say whatever, and get that account banned or deleted immediately after posting.
As for not having the names in (I agree they are annoying), it would take work from the mods. Either the names have to be caught when you first sign up (someone has to pre-program ban names : computers don't know) with all their variants, you know, with and without spaces, first initial of first name, then last name, etc. I don't want to be in front of a computer thinking of all the Casey Wegner permutations someone can think of, let alone all the dozens of other celebrities out there. If a mod really wants to do that, fine, but I'm not holding my breath. The other thing you can do is ban them after they log in, which also takes effort. You have to get a hold of "Casey" then give him time to prove that's who it is. If someone wants to namechase, fine, but again, who wants too? Plus there are grey areas: someone could come here claiming they really like playing Yahtzee and there were "madonnas" before Madonna. Not allowing names that can be other things (a dice game and a mother with child) just seems silly and off-putting. I wouldn't have someone leave here just because they can't have a name that is also a celebrity name they don't know about.

We can also add having no signatures or smileys to the TC's post.

i could prove it if you'd like.

"About impostors:

Well first of all does anyone really believe that these people are who their names say they are? (And similarly, there are men who pretend to be hot available women to trick people). You have to take anything on the internet with a lot more than a grain of salt. When RL names come up, I assume it's not them, just like I don't think Hulk is the actual Incredible Hulk. Anybody who believes that "I'm the real Casey W" crap is foolish. Since I do not believe it is them, it doesn't tarnish the real person's reputation. If someone came on as Santa Claus and said "I hate kids, they should all **** themselves" I'm not going to think any more or less of the "real" Santa Claus. Don't give these people any more attention than they deserve by asking them or disagreeing with them as to their name. Just treat their name like anyone else.
If I were a celebrity (and I'm not) I would never come as [insert my real name here]. The minute someone found out, I'd get a flood of pm's like "Are you really him?", "Your last game suxxed", "Can I have a job?", and if I were any female, "You're hot, are you single?" Celebrities have to keep a wall around them to prevent things like this. If I wanted to communicate, I'd have an account that had nothing to do with my name and answer things about me to a minimum. Multiple postings of "no, that [insert my name here] guy is actually kewl!" would rouse suspicions. If I had something to say as a celebrity, I would contact Giant Bomb, somehow vouch my identity, and maybe have what I have to say separate from the postings (like in the Bombcast), or I'd set up a temp account, say whatever, and get that account banned or deleted immediately after posting.
As for not having the names in (I agree they are annoying), it would take work from the mods. Either the names have to be caught when you first sign up (someone has to pre-program ban names : computers don't know) with all their variants, you know, with and without spaces, first initial of first name, then last name, etc. I don't want to be in front of a computer thinking of all the Casey Wegner permutations someone can think of, let alone all the dozens of other celebrities out there. If a mod really wants to do that, fine, but I'm not holding my breath. The other thing you can do is ban them after they log in, which also takes effort. You have to get a hold of "Casey" then give him time to prove that's who it is. If someone wants to namechase, fine, but again, who wants too? Plus there are grey areas: someone could come here claiming they really like playing Yahtzee and there were "madonnas" before Madonna. Not allowing names that can be other things (a dice game and a mother with child) just seems silly and off-putting. I wouldn't have someone leave here just because they can't have a name that is also a celebrity name they don't know about."

The forums needs sigs. :(

The All Forums Page needs a way to block out invidual forums (specifically Off-Topic), so I can browse the aggregated forum on a gaming site without "9/11 Revelations" "Man made global warming: yes or no" "Why we need McCain now" "Seriously, is anyone voting for McCain" "America vs the world: who would win?" "Save the endangered species act" and the dozens of  "dude, check out this 3 year old youtube video" occupying spots on the front page and baiting me to torture myself by reading them.

"The forums needs sigs. :(

"