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Subject: A solution to the useless repeat threads on The Flood

In the heart of Africa, at the dawn of time. They built it.
Posted by: x Foman123 x
S3NATOR has brilliantly taken the next philosophical and theoretical step, and advanced mankind once more. For that, I'm forever grateful.

*lollernadoes*

I think hiding threads is a great idea personally. I hope we get to try this feature.

  • 03.20.2008 1:56 PM PDT
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Talk to the Soul | ~B.B. | Know Your Duardo |  | Hero | ISFJ | 77135 | 94371

"It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me."

Posted by: Achronos
Spam is best dealt with by providing a lot of tools for the victims of spam to deal with it themselves. For far too long, the moderators have been the only defense against spam on bungie.net. That defense is not sufficent for a population of this size. It is time we leverage the most powerful weapon we as a community have: our size. The community sees a spammer before the moderators will - but they don't have the tools to effectively deal with it. Until recently, they had to PM a moderator or just wait until it was noticed. Now they report it directly into a moderator queue. Why not allow them to automatically hide posts that have been sufficently reported (optionally)? How about being able to rate and sort threads according to that rate to push the stupid stuff away?
So, let me see if I understand this correctly. The community, if they see a bad post, can report it, and if enough reports are gathered, the user's post's will be hidden from EVERYONE, including the members who didn't report it?? And we (as individuals) have the option to turn this option on or off?

Also, just and idea here. What if certain members (not moderators), or even all the members, had the option to vote whether the thread be locked or not. If enough votes are gathered, the thread will automatically be locked. Mods don't have to do too much work, and members are happy to help.

Just an idea.

  • 03.20.2008 2:07 PM PDT
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A J A Q
C A C U
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...K.....E
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Posted by: Achronos
You underestimate the reporting system. There are lots of controls to prevent against this. People submitting bad reports will find themselves quickly banned.

And, even if you still don't believe me - you would easily be able to switch off the report filter.
<SNIPP>
Posted by: TOM T 117
No. I do not think post's should be hidden even if they are reported a lot. f this were the case we know if people disagreed with the OP and reported the thread they would effectively make it vanish. Any such system will be abused no matter what people think.


What is the defining term to a "bad" report, as opposed to a report that no one else marks?

If it is by volume, I would be banned. So therefore, I imagine it has something to do with if others mark it? No?

[Edited on 03.20.2008 2:08 PM PDT]

  • 03.20.2008 2:08 PM PDT

Hi I'm RT and I like to argue!

Posted by: Achronos
Any such feature would allow you to turn it off, yes. Although, the default for everybody would likely be "on". The only thing I'm not sure about is how to display those posts meant to be hidden. I'd probably just censor the subject and text but leave the body of the post there instead of outright hiding everything like I do for banned users. But I'm still undecided on that. I guess the big problem with hiding them outright is that people will start doubling posting, thinking their previous post got deleted or there was an error.

Regarding their point about people "unhiding" things... well, some people are like that, but really, if you're unhiding the reported spam, you don't get to complain about spam. At that point, it would be your own damn fault for being able to see stuff like that.

Other things I'm considering are a thumbs up/down for entire threads (not individual posts), and allowing you to sort the forum by the positive/negative status THEN by last post date if you so choose. Also, allowing you to sort by post creation date instead of last post date (and making that the default sort for the file forums so bumping threads has no effect there).

A lot of you focus on the problem of spam like it is caused by people not knowing the rules at all. That's silly - it is caused by people not caring what the rules are, combined by the sheer volume of stuff. The solution for spam, then, is to give you tools to elevate the good content to the top. This is a hard problem, of course. But suggestions that target that particular aspect are significantly more helpful than suggestions that assume people are ignorant of the rules, or suggestions like "get more moderators" or other negative reinforcement type suggestions. Moderators should be a last resort in an ideal system.

The thumbs up/down and hiding-reported-posts features sound great--I hope that, after the OP in a thread has, itself, been reported enough times, it becomes hidden on the forum front page, so as not to bump off potentially better threads.

Also, if we have the ability to rate a particular thread, do we have the ability to change our rating, or is it set in stone?

  • 03.20.2008 2:18 PM PDT
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  • Exalted Legendary Member

PREVIOUSLY COOKIE NINJA

the new updates, and features, also shenanigens have forced me to switch profiles, my only regret is that I didn't pick a better name... ah well, nevermind eh?

We have a report button, we should use it. The first person to hit report posts *reported* and then anyone who posts after that is banned for 2 days.

EDIT: nevermind, you guys seem to have thought up a much better system

[Edited on 03.20.2008 2:21 PM PDT]

  • 03.20.2008 2:19 PM PDT

Halo3Planet, the place for all things Halo 3..

Need help finding skulls, make sure to go here.

Not having the Files Forum organized by last post would, in my opinion, make it even harder to get your stuff noticed than it is now. Because of the sheer volume of stuff posted there, posts would be pushed off the page very quickly, and there would be no way to get them back up.
Posted by: Achronos


Other things I'm considering are a thumbs up/down for entire threads (not individual posts), and allowing you to sort the forum by the positive/negative status THEN by last post date if you so choose. Also, allowing you to sort by post creation date instead of last post date (and making that the default sort for the file forums so bumping threads has no effect there).


  • 03.20.2008 2:34 PM PDT

<3 Forky

Posted by: roman arrow12
Not having the Files Forum organized by last post would, in my opinion, make it even harder to get your stuff noticed than it is now. Because of the sheer volume of stuff posted there, posts would be pushed off the page very quickly, and there would be no way to get them back up.

Yeah, if it were put the way Achronos has suggested, then the Files Forum wouldn't work correctly. I, being someone who enjoys taking screenshots, would hate to have it organized by most popular because my screenshots, not to mention practically everyone else's, would not be seen.

  • 03.20.2008 3:47 PM PDT
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How about filter the words ''Suck, Hacker, Recon and overused.''

The Halo 3 forums would be a better place.

  • 03.20.2008 4:07 PM PDT

<3 Forky

Posted by: Cryptic Spartan
How about filter the words ''Suck, Hacker, Recon and overused.''

The Halo 3 forums would be a better place.

As I've said before, there's not much we can do about the Halo 3 forum. It's to the point where it's almost irreparable.

  • 03.20.2008 5:03 PM PDT

Regarding that 'thumbs up thumbs down' idea:

Why not have that option for single posts?

I thought for a min. that that would be a good addition to the trust system you've got going, but then I remembered that some people would probably abuse that too *sigh*...

But on single posts it could be similar to youtube style. A post is hidden automatically when it receives a certain number of thumbs downs. This could be added to the report as spam option(which was an awesome idea by the way) so a comment can be thumbs downed if it's...not great. Yet it wouldn't call mods to the scene unless it was serious enough to be reported also.

The problem I see with this is if people don't agree with a post it might be thumbed down. So if that post really was acceptable (as far as the forum rules go) and people thumb it down it might be hidden.

Maybe when a post is thumbed down...3-5 times more needed to hide it, that would also alert a mod. That mod could have to option to make the post un-hidable if it was downed for a stupid reason or just be alerted to do what mods do best? Just a thought.

Kind of sketchy still, but I think that'd be a good way to help keep spam down.

As to those who said the H3 forum is doomed...I disagree. The forums seem to have gotten worse over the last couple months. Yet for a brief period of maybe a single month, maybe only two weeks, it was fine. Meaningful threads, few repeats that I saw....ah well. There's still hope as long as there are still some decent community members lurking around.
Mods represent authority and have the final say (well, other than Bungie). Other community members can discuss, and while we're normally much less efficient than a mod, we can do things some mods can't...unless they just ban the people...then they can...hah.

  • 03.20.2008 5:21 PM PDT
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We all know that the reason we have spam on here is because of Stosh.

Thus, going back in time and killing Stosh's mom's mom is the solution. We take no chances. Stosh could somehow come back, unless we kill his mom's mom. Now I need to go build my time machine.

On a more serious note, IMO the "Post hide" feature Achronos is suggesting, would be cooler if a different icon came up near the post (such as a "cancel" Icon). This way the posts are still there (like "locked threads") but you can only see the "cancel" icon. Because I think quite a few users would be not so aware of the "post hide" feature..... so they would always keep it off. Which I am not 100% sure if it is a good idea, because people could then "hide" posts they didn't like, with massive numbers of "alt" accounts and things like that. So I'm not 100% sure if that is the best, instead a "cancel" icon would be cool. Or maybe you can "delete" threads you don't like ~ so that you never see them again, but they don't exist. Basically this means you can never "view" the thread again (it is replaced by the one below it) but others can. Seems like a solution to me, in a way you could "self moderate". Maybe you could do it to the "too many reported posts" only, but IMO that might be an idea (but it sounds more complicated then the "hidden" and the "cancel icon" one).


If enough votes are gathered


I don't think a "Number" is a good idea ~ more popular posts will get more "reports". A % would be better, a number could mean "large posts" could get "false reported" and could just get locked.... because for a 5k thread, it might get as many reports as a 5 post "spam" thread to "lock". Also, the number of reports for a thread would probably have to be decently low enough, that certain users could "spam report" to get threads they don't like locked (with alt accounts). But that could get them banned....

[Edited on 03.20.2008 5:45 PM PDT]

  • 03.20.2008 5:43 PM PDT

<3 Forky

Posted by: burritosenior
Shortened for viewing purposes

As to those who said the H3 forum is doomed...I disagree. The forums seem to have gotten worse over the last couple months. Yet for a brief period of maybe a single month, maybe only two weeks, it was fine. Meaningful threads, few repeats that I saw....ah well. There's still hope as long as there are still some decent community members lurking around.
Mods represent authority and have the final say (well, other than Bungie). Other community members can discuss, and while we're normally much less efficient than a mod, we can do things some mods can't...unless they just ban the people...then they can...hah.

You said two weeks, but compared to the amount of time the forums are horrid, two weeks is a very short time. Most of the repeat topics are just because one person wants to be more popular than another person who posted the same thread.

  • 03.20.2008 5:43 PM PDT

Yes, two weeks is a short time.

But it is something. One small step for the forums...another small step for the flaming community members...that leaves us with two small steps. Deal with it.

Haha.

  • 03.20.2008 6:03 PM PDT

<3 Forky

It seems as if to appease my will, some threads in the Flood have just been locked, along with some in this forum. Unfortunately, there is now another thread in the Flood that is spam. I swear that at least 10 people have reported it and it's still not locked. Of course, they're all replying to it.

The moral of the story: Report, not reply.

  • 03.20.2008 6:11 PM PDT

Posted by: Duardo
Also, just and idea here. What if certain members (not moderators), or even all the members, had the option to vote whether the thread be locked or not. If enough votes are gathered, the thread will automatically be locked. Mods don't have to do too much work, and members are happy to help.

Just an idea.


This is a good idea, but what about people with alt accounts? There would need to be some kind of system to prevent that kind of abuse.

Also, only giving the voting privilege to certain members would surely lead to cries of "elitism", etc.

But a good idea, nonetheless.

  • 03.20.2008 11:12 PM PDT

I'm so over all of this.

Posted by: Achronos
I suggest you USE THE REPORT BUTTON.

Seriously - the entire point of that button is to let the moderators know when they miss something.

Additionally, eventually I might add the ability for you to auto-hide posts that have been sufficiently reported until a moderator deals with the report. That way, you guys could essentially self moderate if you really wanted to. Maybe in next month's update.


That's just plain awesome.

  • 03.21.2008 12:00 AM PDT
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Ad Astra Per Aspera

Experienced In Life's Little Drama

I thought about that for awhile why they don't get kinda like mini mods, but to tell you the truth, what would be the point? It would just be easier to make them full mods instead of partial mods. Honestly, with this new batch of mods, we should have enough. Just use the spam button as it does work if moderators are on.

That is the only problem with the moderation is that they don't have set times to "work." However, considering they don't see many benefits for their efforts to improve the b.net forums by moderating, I'm not going to complain. They have their own lives and they can't be on the forums constantly.

  • 03.21.2008 12:26 AM PDT

Cake>Pie!
Hey you saw my sig! :)
Their was a time when this was under a post. Simpler times; no Halo 3 Forum and no search. Simpler times. Happy about search though.

Exactly how many years have we been trying reduce the spam there?

  • 03.21.2008 8:03 AM PDT

<3 Forky

Posted by: Tinman123
Exactly how many years have we been trying reduce the spam there?

Around 3 or 4, but that's besides the point. I wonder if Achronos would be able to correlate many of the ideas in this thread into an update to the site.

  • 03.21.2008 8:21 AM PDT
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That German guy gets banned all the time. He always makes one thread to spam the hell out of any random forum.

I think that there should be possibly a way to make a slightly less moderator to Forum Ninjas.

Maybe, but using the report button is the best way to handle any thread that seems rather annoying to you. The more people report on the topic at anytime anywhere (well maybe not at anytime because Bungie employers have there other jobs to do as well), its logic that the thread will be taking care of right away with more reports.

I think its safe to say that this thread has got attention, any possible way to prevent spam a little better than to report in the next site update is safe to say is a high possibility.

[Edited on 03.21.2008 8:31 AM PDT]

  • 03.21.2008 8:28 AM PDT

Hi I'm RT and I like to argue!

Posted by: Achronos
A lot of you focus on the problem of spam like it is caused by people not knowing the rules at all. That's silly - it is caused by people not caring what the rules are, combined by the sheer volume of stuff.

QFT. Case-in-point to follow, see if you guess which forum it came from:

Posted by: Awsomonium
Poll: Would you like an armour colour to be black?
Yes
No
Vote Results

this has probly been suggested god knows how many times b4 but here it is again.

  • 03.21.2008 8:28 AM PDT

<3 Forky

Posted by: RighteousTyrant
Posted by: Achronos
A lot of you focus on the problem of spam like it is caused by people not knowing the rules at all. That's silly - it is caused by people not caring what the rules are, combined by the sheer volume of stuff.

QFT. Case-in-point to follow, see if you guess which forum it came from:

Posted by: Awsomonium
Poll: Would you like an armour colour to be black?
Yes
No
Vote Results

this has probly been suggested god knows how many times b4 but here it is again.

That was probably in the Halo 3 forum.

I have an incredibly drastic idea to fix the Halo 3 forum. What if the Halo 3 forum was purged of all of it's topics except for the ones that are stickied? Some people might learn a lesson, but we'd get all the topics that would say "Bungie sucks they deleted all the topics." At least purging the Halo 3 forum would help for a slight while.

[Edited on 03.21.2008 8:34 AM PDT]

  • 03.21.2008 8:32 AM PDT

Hi I'm RT and I like to argue!

Posted by: GoW I Lord Hood
Posted by: RighteousTyrant
Posted by: Achronos
A lot of you focus on the problem of spam like it is caused by people not knowing the rules at all. That's silly - it is caused by people not caring what the rules are, combined by the sheer volume of stuff.

QFT. Case-in-point to follow, see if you guess which forum it came from:

Posted by: Awsomonium
Poll: Would you like an armour colour to be black?
Yes
No
Vote Results

this has probly been suggested god knows how many times b4 but here it is again.

That was probably in the Halo 3 forum.

I have an incredibly drastic idea to fix the Halo 3 forum. What if the Halo 3 forum was purged of all of it's topics except for the ones that are stickied?

I think you'd get an "Overkill" medal, because that's what that solution is IMO, overkill.

And for the record, you're right. I wasn't surprised to see another "black armor" thread, but the audacity of the OP was a bit stunning.

[Edited on 03.21.2008 8:35 AM PDT]

  • 03.21.2008 8:34 AM PDT

<3 Forky

Posted by: RighteousTyrant
Posted by: GoW I Lord Hood
Posted by: RighteousTyrant
Posted by: Achronos
A lot of you focus on the problem of spam like it is caused by people not knowing the rules at all. That's silly - it is caused by people not caring what the rules are, combined by the sheer volume of stuff.

QFT. Case-in-point to follow, see if you guess which forum it came from:

Posted by: Awsomonium
Poll: Would you like an armour colour to be black?
Yes
No
Vote Results

this has probly been suggested god knows how many times b4 but here it is again.

That was probably in the Halo 3 forum.

I have an incredibly drastic idea to fix the Halo 3 forum. What if the Halo 3 forum was purged of all of it's topics except for the ones that are stickied?

I think you'd get an "Overkill" medal, because that's what that solution is IMO, overkill.

And for the record, you're right. I wasn't surprised to see another "black armor" thread, but the audacity of the OP was a bit stunning.

*Walks outside, opens box, pulls out Overkill medal*

I already have one.

On Topic: Have you noticed that theres a topic in the Halo 3 forum with around 9000 replies that's just utterly spam? That's whats so bad about it.

  • 03.21.2008 8:37 AM PDT

Hi I'm RT and I like to argue!

Posted by: GoW I Lord Hood
Posted by: RighteousTyrant
I think you'd get an "Overkill" medal, because that's what that solution is IMO, overkill.

And for the record, you're right. I wasn't surprised to see another "black armor" thread, but the audacity of the OP was a bit stunning.

*Walks outside, opens box, pulls out Overkill medal*

I already have one.

On Topic: Have you noticed that theres a topic in the Halo 3 forum with around 9000 replies that's just utterly spam? That's whats so bad about it.

One of the "rate the person above you's trophy shot/stats/armor/whatever" threads? Or something else?

  • 03.21.2008 9:05 AM PDT

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