Re: Forums not used as much anymore
 

I think the solution is nothing new. Before you post in a thread, read the whole thread(within reason, I'm not expecting anyone to read an entire game hint thread;) ). After you've done that, read your post, and if you are not adding anything new to the discussion, just don't click "submit reply." Often what happens is someone starts a thread, and within an hour there's 20 posts that say pretty much the same thing. With time, I think we can make CD a friendlier place.

Re: Forums not used as much anymore
 

The signal-to-noise ratio on Chief Delphi has definitely gotten worse. I'd wager that the amount of signal posts has stayed relatively stable (if you stick to the technical type threads) while the number of noise posts has skyrocketed, thus making it harder to find the good posts.

Threads like the Brony one (I had no idea what that was at first, now I want brain bleach) just contribute to noise.

Re: Forums not used as much anymore
 

It hurts to be ganged up on, but I think people fear the negative rep button the most. I don't use the negative rep button, and I refuse to use it on new members because I feel it really discourages them from posting on this site again. It's hard to feel comfortable on this site when you think you're being judged based on your rep.

Re: Forums not used as much anymore
 

Threads in the off topic forum hurt the signal to noise ratio?

Re: Forums not used as much anymore
 

Very much, yes.

I appreciate a lot of the comments my earlier post received. I'll respond to them sometime this weekend, I hope, but work is crazy and I shouldn't be reading CD :)

Re: Forums not used as much anymore
 

I agree on this. I think the most I've ever done is either threatened to use red (once), sent a neutral rep (a couple of times), or in particularly "stubborn" cases who seemed to have filters on their inputs, thought about using red and then realized that 47 other people already used it, so I thought I'd rather not.

I'll also send a PM instead of a red rep. I've done that a time or two.


The way I look at a lot of things is: "They" have an opinion, based on some evidence/assumptions. I have a different opinion, based on different evidence/assumptions. If I'm going to change an opinion, assuming it even needs changing, then I have only one option: Present my evidence/assumptions as a counter to "their" evidence/assumptions, and let them figure out whether they agree or disagree. And, anybody who thinks my opinion needs changing is welcome to do the same to me--as long as it's not a personal attack, I'll almost certainly be OK with that. Doing that can lead to some very interesting discussion, which may actually be instructive to everyone involved.

Re: Forums not used as much anymore
 

Who would be open to an experiment: hide the reputation count from view in the thread.

It could still be visible on the profile page and the member list, so that the information isn't lost—just a little less emphasized. And maybe one's own reputation could appear below the welcome message in the top right—just so you're accountable for your own behaviour.

This could also be implemented as a profile option (enabled by default), so that anyone who dislikes the change can restore their preference.

Granted, responders will also see other cues like post count, rookie year and join date—but I think those represent something very different than reputation, because they inherently take years to develop.

Re: Forums not used as much anymore
 

Just a quick question... How much do people pay attention to rep? I have to be completely honest - I didn't even notice it for the first couple of years, and after I did I didn't really care. When I read posts, I don't look at the rep when evaluating the post. I only look at my own rep every few months to make sure I'm not doing something stupid that people don't like.

Re: Forums not used as much anymore
 

Almost never, in my case. I've given out a total of 64 rep points in the 8 years I've been using CD. To be honest I don't see the benefit of the rep system, negative rep can drive away users that are new or hold views that are against the grain while I don't think positive rep causes us to retain users that would otherwise lose interest.

On the note of threads in the Off-topic forum, threads such as the Brony thread generating "noise" isn't a bad thing. Which would you rather have, users continuing to use CD and building relationships with each other even if the discussion isn't about robots and FIRST 24/7, or CD sitting inactive because it is a place only for "serious business"? Maybe it's just because I think Bronyism and internet meme culture is hilarious but I prefer the former. Sometimes a user needs some silly threads or outside interest discussion to keep them coming back to CD, and that gives them the chance to see other threads elsewhere in the forums that may catch their interest and spark a bit of inspiration. You don't have to see the Off-Topic threads either, use the "Recent Posts Config." under the User Control Panel to only view the forums you think are worth seeing and set the threads shown number to something absurdly high. That's what I do and filter out half the site because I've figured out that I almost never contribute anything to sub-forums like Off-topic, CAD, the Rumor Mill, etc. It allows me to quickly get up to speed on CD without having to leave the main portal.

Re: Forums not used as much anymore
 

I didn't care about it at all until I received my very first (and as of this moment only) red dot earlier this year, ironically due to a post which in part complained of the hive mentality.