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  • Subject: Super Secret Forum?
Subject: Super Secret Forum?

Nothing is so embarrassing as watching someone do something that you said could never be done.

(To Foman)
:O
I lost my Heroic Member due to the site rank update. So that would be unfair. :'(
The best way to prove this is *Points at SonicJohn*

  • 12.05.2008 12:07 AM PDT
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  • Exalted Legendary Member

Posted by: x Foman123 x
Posted by: CAVX
I suppose I'd be all right with it on the condition that (if they were built on titles) I wouldn't lose access to it if my title went down.
I think that the whole idea would be to be able to get rid of users who fail to demonstrate an ability to follow forum rules. A member with an elevated title who spammed the restricted-access forum would be banned, lose member title, and no longer be able to post in that forum. Are you still against the idea in that instance?

By the way, member titles seem, to me at least, to be fluctuating a lot less lately since Achronos made his changes to the trust system.

I wouldn't be against it in those cases. It would just be the times where I didn't go on for a few days and lost my title and could no longer go into the forums even though I did nothing wrong. You are correct that from the limited amount of time I even see member titles, they seem to fluctuate much less in that they have a "tier system" now. But I know that I can still fall back for inactivity. And I think that taking a week vacation is a pretty lousy reason to be restricted from a private forum. So I think a more complicated system would be necessary in terms of permissions. Like perhaps you are allowed in when you reach a certain member title, but you are only kicked out due to bans after that point. Something like that, I don't know. Apologies if you addressed that elsewhere in your posts, I'll admit that I didn't read all of that except the part addressed to me (kind of on a time crunch, shouldn't be here in the first place).

  • 12.05.2008 12:18 AM PDT

"I hope nothing, I fear nothing, I am free"
"A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free." - Nikos Kazantzakis
"The ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of martyrs" - Hasan al-Basri
Black Chapter, for all religious and political debate that doesn't fit in the Flood.

Posted by: x Foman123 x
Intelligent discussion in the Flood was achieved only after a massive crackdown by the admins and moderators of this site. You and people like you may have a self-filtering ability, but there is no way to reasonably argue that it is more desirable to see a higher number of worthless threads on the front page of a forum.

Your ability to filter through to find good discussions is likely quite similar to my own, developed after long experience on these forums. However, many people do not have this level of patience and understanding. Look at all of the times that Bungie employees and forumgoers both have complained about the noise level of the forums. Many users who are regulars of this forum have stated that they refuse to visit the Halo 3 Forum and/or the Flood Forum anymore. That doesn't make them bad members -- it makes them intolerant of the spam, crap, repeat topics, and flaming that, despite the moderators' efforts, is present far too often in these forums.

A "restricted-posting" public forum would largely eliminate that and numerous other problems. Nobody says that such a place MUST be THE place where users establish themselves or their identity -- it would simply be a place where users can go when they want to see or participate in intelligent, high-quality threads and interaction with the Bungie employees who choose to visit can go.

What's more, such a forum could act not just as an incentive to other members to post well, but even as a positive influence on the other forums' cultures. As the old adage goes, "lead by example." In this case, a public forum with restricted posting ability -- but readability to any member or non-member who chooses to visit -- could, if it contains lots of great threads and intelligent discussion, influence the way people post in other forums as well, including both regular members and members with elevated member titles.

I can't really see any argument that such a forum would be detrimental to this website or this community in any way.
From what I could see, intelligent posting lasted less than a few hours before return status quo ante bellum.

There are intelligent threads in the Flood, I should know - I spend most of my time either searching them out to post in or trying to make them myself. They're a small fraction of the threads, but they are there. They've always been there, long before the crackdown. They were there when I first returned to the public forums last October, they remained all through the year and the Flood is now as it ever was. Minor inconvenience of a two week ban for any infringement, but that's just an argument to have at least one alt and to clear your cookies. ;)

I can't see how it would be detrimental, I'm just not sure if I would ever agree with its standards or Achronos' view on what 'good' members are. Member titles are a fairly useless method of working out who is and isn't worth reading when it comes down to it, simply saying that certain Mythic members are well read and understand certain topics well != all Mythic members are intelligent and positive contributors.

Try it out, test it, see if it works. I'm simply sceptical about any real benefit it will give. Will there be the same current limitations on the rules in there? If so, I'd expect it to do almost nothing except filter folks by how long they've been here/when their last ban was.

  • 12.05.2008 12:21 AM PDT

Whisper Game Studios - shhhh, it's a public secret.
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[*Please note that anything in my posts is likely to be filled with sarcasm, and should be taken with a pinch of salt. I tend to help people, usually*]

*returns to discussion to find it has suddenly become interesting*
Posted by: Primum Agmen
Try it out, test it, see if it works. I'm simply sceptical about any real benefit it will give. Will there be the same current limitations on the rules in there? If so, I'd expect it to do almost nothing except filter folks by how long they've been here/when their last ban was.
Sounds reasonable to me. Perhaps it can be done in the same way (but with more-strict filtering) that the Family & Friends Beta PM invites were done.

I'm interested to see on what scale this sort of thing could be done. I think that it would be an excellent incentive for people to become better community members.

Everyone loves private clubs. I just hope they don't ask us for ID ;)

Posted by: eragonhalo18
(To Foman)
:O
I lost my Heroic Member due to the site rank update. So that would be unfair. :'(
The best way to prove this is *Points at SonicJohn*
Haha, Eragon, I've been warned three times since the update...albeit not all of them were truly justified, but that's not my decision to make. I'm not perfect. I'm human.

[Edited on 12.05.2008 1:52 AM PST]

  • 12.05.2008 1:50 AM PDT

"I hope nothing, I fear nothing, I am free"
"A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free." - Nikos Kazantzakis
"The ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of martyrs" - Hasan al-Basri
Black Chapter, for all religious and political debate that doesn't fit in the Flood.

I do wonder if this private members club will come with the obligatory drug supplier and easy bar staff...

  • 12.05.2008 3:15 AM PDT

No signature found. Click here to change this.

Posted by: x Foman123 x
I think that the whole idea would be to be able to get rid of users who fail to demonstrate an ability to follow forum rules. A member with an elevated title who spammed the restricted-access forum would be banned, lose member title, and no longer be able to post in that forum. Are you still against the idea in that instance?

By the way, member titles seem, to me at least, to be fluctuating a lot less lately since Achronos made his changes to the trust system.
Moderators are picked by other moderators and Employees based on a personal level of trust. Would this work the same way? A machine with a pre-set standard on who can post and who cannot is generally accurate, but it always has a few flaws in its programming. Would member selection be similar to the process moderators are picked, or the process Mythic Members are picked?

I personally think that with moderator required approval, it eliminates any chance for accidental acceptance or overlooked admittance. Granted some bias will show, but that would be an easy fix by having multiple moderators grant approval. If that ever did occur, I would put more effort into regaining my titles.

  • 12.05.2008 4:48 AM PDT

RIP Logan ~B.B.

@ Foman's Mega Comment

Re: The idea of a restricted forum based on Member Titles

I find the arguments against such an idea to be unpersuasive.
The one most important to me is that I have friends that I have met over a year ago on this site that are still just members. They are some of the cooler and smarter guys on the site. In most cases they've never been banned, but don't post much in public forums and tend to stay involved in private groups or other Bungie/Halo fan communities outside of Bungie.net.

My one and only argument against such a forum is that those guys couldn't participate. If they aren't welcome, I wouldn't feel like I was either.

  • 12.05.2008 6:30 AM PDT

Hi I'm RT and I like to argue!

Posted by: x Foman123 x
Posted by: RighteousTyrant (and others)
But...that's what we already do in private groups, isn't it?

No, private groups are not a valid substitute for several reasons.

Private groups are subject to administrators who must approve new members, and are completely invisible to users who are not members. This public forum would be like the Optimatch Forum -- visible to all, but you must have an elevated member title to interact (rather than a linked gamertag for the Optimatch Forum).

Private groups tend to be run by members, and, for the most part, run poorly. The quality private groups here that have truly lasted are either self-regulated by their members, or run by experienced admins who dedicate hours a day to their groups. All the same, they are still subject to "spam attacks," group conquerors, group wars, the whims of immature and inexperienced administrators, and malicious users. A public forum would be regulated by the Bungie Web Team, Bungie employees with moderating tools, and the forum moderators.

The most important difference, of course, is that private groups are not the public forums and are rarely visited by Bungie employees (with a few exceptions). A public forum with regulated access to actually posting in it would allow Bungie employees to interact with users who have proven their trustworthiness and dedication to the site. The interaction could be much more as it was years ago, when the forums were much more readable, the topics were more well-thought out, the users were more self-regulating, and every post by a Bungie employee did not result in a tidal wave of people either sucking up or proving their "rebelliousness" by disagreeing solely on principle that the post was created by an employee.

Hmm...your argument here combined with the idea that the forum would be viewable to all of the community (previously I had imagined it as being just like a private group...but I suppose it will be more like Optimatch) but only postable (Is that a word? It is now!) by certain members actually is swaying me to be in favor of this. Leading by example is a great way to foster the kind of change we all want to see here and a restricted forum would certainly provide a way to do that, without the good examples getting lost in the riffraff.

  • 12.05.2008 7:00 AM PDT

Proud Member of the Worker's Revolution
Halo 3 in the Workplace

Posted by: Obi Wan Stevobi
@ Foman's Mega Comment

Re: The idea of a restricted forum based on Member Titles

I find the arguments against such an idea to be unpersuasive.
The one most important to me is that I have friends that I have met over a year ago on this site that are still just members. They are some of the cooler and smarter guys on the site. In most cases they've never been banned, but don't post much in public forums and tend to stay involved in private groups or other Bungie/Halo fan communities outside of Bungie.net.

My one and only argument against such a forum is that those guys couldn't participate. If they aren't welcome, I wouldn't feel like I was either.


I get what you are saying - but the fact is that there are still plenty of places to interact with them. Some of the people I really get along with on this site aren't in any private groups I am in, but that doesn't mean the private groups are worthless.
I mean, sometimes I try to post in the Halo 3 forum and I don't feel like I am welcome there...
If everyone could SEE this forum, but maybe not participate, there is the chance that those "observers" would take some of the (hopefully) interesting conversations haping in this restricted participation forum and actually bring them into the forums in which they CAN post, thus potentially bettering the forums they CAN participate in.
I don't know....I just don't think that it is an issue of "welcom" or "unwelcome." More like earned, or not yet earned.

  • 12.05.2008 8:02 AM PDT

"Don't tell me how to live my life!"
~R.I.P. Chris Brown/D34THP1MP72


TWP
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R.I.P. ~B.B.

i think Jerome should have his own forum. we could all talk about beating up nerdy kids and the lack of women to protect over at the studio.

  • 12.05.2008 8:11 AM PDT
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Posted by: Lord Snakie
Posted by: SonicJohn
Posted by: cortana 5
Does it have a title? (The "secret" forum)
Now Cortana, if you'd been reading, it's pretty much been noted as being the Halo 3 Beta forum ;)
Yes, Cortana, get with the picture! Geez!

...don't hurt me.

Cortana won't hurt me. I'm too secksy.

  • 12.05.2008 8:58 AM PDT
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Destinypedia - The Wiki for Bungie's Destiny
Posted by: DEATHPIMP72
Anyone but Foman. He smells like cheese.

Posted by: Ponkapoag
Posted by: Obi Wan Stevobi
@ Foman's Mega Comment

Re: The idea of a restricted forum based on Member Titles

I find the arguments against such an idea to be unpersuasive.
The one most important to me is that I have friends that I have met over a year ago on this site that are still just members. They are some of the cooler and smarter guys on the site. In most cases they've never been banned, but don't post much in public forums and tend to stay involved in private groups or other Bungie/Halo fan communities outside of Bungie.net.

My one and only argument against such a forum is that those guys couldn't participate. If they aren't welcome, I wouldn't feel like I was either.


I get what you are saying - but the fact is that there are still plenty of places to interact with them. Some of the people I really get along with on this site aren't in any private groups I am in, but that doesn't mean the private groups are worthless.
I mean, sometimes I try to post in the Halo 3 forum and I don't feel like I am welcome there...
If everyone could SEE this forum, but maybe not participate, there is the chance that those "observers" would take some of the (hopefully) interesting conversations haping in this restricted participation forum and actually bring them into the forums in which they CAN post, thus potentially bettering the forums they CAN participate in.
I don't know....I just don't think that it is an issue of "welcom" or "unwelcome." More like earned, or not yet earned.
Yeah, Steve, I totally understand what you're saying too, and I think Ponk hits the nail right on the head.

First, I think it's important to note that a member who only posts once in a blue moon has not proven their trustworthiness -- they just haven't gotten in trouble in the course of their five- or six-post history. I know you, Steve, and so I'm sure that YOUR friends are pretty decent people who have no inclination to violate the forum's rules, but at the same time, there could be tons of people who fall on the wrong side of this line -- infrequent posters who, because of their lack of caring about this site, have no inclination to follow forum rules and for whom bans and warnings don't have any negative effect. There is no way to tell who is who, and so I have no problem with a forum that excludes these users from posting -- they can still READ the forum, they just can't post there until they have established a more active presence.

Second, there would still be plenty of places to interact with friends -- this forum would not be "all-in or all-out." Instead, think of it like the Optimatch Forum: viewable to all, but with a different requirement for interaction. That requirement is that you are established as a regular user of the site who doesn't get into trouble (along with whatever other factors go into trust rating, but we know that those are the major two).

I think that this idea has been unfairly painted as being an "elitist club." The title of this thread is not helpful to the notion either. I do not envision such a restricted-posting forum as being "super secret," "elitist," or "cliquey" at all. I merely see it as a place where anybody can find great conversations and threads, but in order to be able to actually post, you would need to be a member of the site who has proved that you are both a regular visitor to and participant in these forums as well as familiar with the forum rules.

As a result, I don't think you need to worry about feeling "welcome" or "unwelcome" :-)

  • 12.05.2008 9:03 AM PDT

RIP Logan ~B.B.

Posted by: x Foman123 x
Posted by: Ponkapoag
Posted by: Obi Wan Stevobi
@ Foman's Mega Comment

Re: The idea of a restricted forum based on Member Titles

I find the arguments against such an idea to be unpersuasive.
The one most important to me is that I have friends that I have met over a year ago on this site that are still just members. They are some of the cooler and smarter guys on the site. In most cases they've never been banned, but don't post much in public forums and tend to stay involved in private groups or other Bungie/Halo fan communities outside of Bungie.net.

My one and only argument against such a forum is that those guys couldn't participate. If they aren't welcome, I wouldn't feel like I was either.


I get what you are saying - but the fact is that there are still plenty of places to interact with them. Some of the people I really get along with on this site aren't in any private groups I am in, but that doesn't mean the private groups are worthless.
I mean, sometimes I try to post in the Halo 3 forum and I don't feel like I am welcome there...
If everyone could SEE this forum, but maybe not participate, there is the chance that those "observers" would take some of the (hopefully) interesting conversations haping in this restricted participation forum and actually bring them into the forums in which they CAN post, thus potentially bettering the forums they CAN participate in.
I don't know....I just don't think that it is an issue of "welcom" or "unwelcome." More like earned, or not yet earned.
Yeah, Steve, I totally understand what you're saying too, and I think Ponk hits the nail right on the head.

First, I think it's important to note that a member who only posts once in a blue moon has not proven their trustworthiness -- they just haven't gotten in trouble in the course of their five- or six-post history. I know you, Steve, and so I'm sure that YOUR friends are pretty decent people who have no inclination to violate the forum's rules, but at the same time, there could be tons of people who fall on the wrong side of this line -- infrequent posters who, because of their lack of caring about this site, have no inclination to follow forum rules and for whom bans and warnings don't have any negative effect. There is no way to tell who is who, and so I have no problem with a forum that excludes these users from posting -- they can still READ the forum, they just can't post there until they have established a more active presence.

Second, there would still be plenty of places to interact with friends -- this forum would not be "all-in or all-out." Instead, think of it like the Optimatch Forum: viewable to all, but with a different requirement for interaction. That requirement is that you are established as a regular user of the site who doesn't get into trouble (along with whatever other factors go into trust rating, but we know that those are the major two).

I think that this idea has been unfairly painted as being an "elitist club." The title of this thread is not helpful to the notion either. I do not envision such a restricted-posting forum as being "super secret," "elitist," or "cliquey" at all. I merely see it as a place where anybody can find great conversations and threads, but in order to be able to actually post, you would need to be a member of the site who has proved that you are both a regular visitor to and participant in these forums as well as familiar with the forum rules.

As a result, I don't think you need to worry about feeling "welcome" or "unwelcome" :-)


Well, I think Ske7ch is the one who dubbed it elitist. I do get why that, in most cases, isn't a bad thing. But I guess I kinda see the member titles kinda like trueskill. For some people it works, some seem to get caught in a strange vortex where they can never advance. I don't want to single out anyone, but I do know of one guy that has been a member for more than a year, posts very frequently, and has never been banned, yet is still just a member.

I love the idea the idea of such a forum for two reasons. One, it gives people incentive not to be morons on the forums. Two, it would filter out a lot of the noise created by trolls and oblivious posters. However, if you cannot accurately distinguish troll from quality member, I'd have to balk at the idea.

With this many members, I know making a perfect system might be too much to ask. It may very well worthwhile to go ahead if the 95% it works for get the benefits, but if you're caught in the few that seem to be shut out by the system, that's really unfair to you. I can think of two guys off the top of my head that this seems to happen to. If I didn't personally know of them, I might think differently, but as it stands, I can't agree with creating a forum based on a system that can't tell them from a troll.

But, like ske7ch said, this is kinda of pie in the sky idea and would be far off. I'm sure Achronos will continue to tweak the title system and work the kinks out.

  • 12.05.2008 9:30 AM PDT

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Posted by: x Foman123 x
Posted by: Ponkapoag
Posted by: Obi Wan Stevobi
@ Foman's Mega Comment

Re: The idea of a restricted forum based on Member Titles

I find the arguments against such an idea to be unpersuasive.
The one most important to me is that I have friends that I have met over a year ago on this site that are still just members. They are some of the cooler and smarter guys on the site. In most cases they've never been banned, but don't post much in public forums and tend to stay involved in private groups or other Bungie/Halo fan communities outside of Bungie.net.

My one and only argument against such a forum is that those guys couldn't participate. If they aren't welcome, I wouldn't feel like I was either.


I get what you are saying - but the fact is that there are still plenty of places to interact with them. Some of the people I really get along with on this site aren't in any private groups I am in, but that doesn't mean the private groups are worthless.
I mean, sometimes I try to post in the Halo 3 forum and I don't feel like I am welcome there...
If everyone could SEE this forum, but maybe not participate, there is the chance that those "observers" would take some of the (hopefully) interesting conversations haping in this restricted participation forum and actually bring them into the forums in which they CAN post, thus potentially bettering the forums they CAN participate in.
I don't know....I just don't think that it is an issue of "welcom" or "unwelcome." More like earned, or not yet earned.
Yeah, Steve, I totally understand what you're saying too, and I think Ponk hits the nail right on the head.

First, I think it's important to note that a member who only posts once in a blue moon has not proven their trustworthiness -- they just haven't gotten in trouble in the course of their five- or six-post history. I know you, Steve, and so I'm sure that YOUR friends are pretty decent people who have no inclination to violate the forum's rules, but at the same time, there could be tons of people who fall on the wrong side of this line -- infrequent posters who, because of their lack of caring about this site, have no inclination to follow forum rules and for whom bans and warnings don't have any negative effect. There is no way to tell who is who, and so I have no problem with a forum that excludes these users from posting -- they can still READ the forum, they just can't post there until they have established a more active presence.

Second, there would still be plenty of places to interact with friends -- this forum would not be "all-in or all-out." Instead, think of it like the Optimatch Forum: viewable to all, but with a different requirement for interaction. That requirement is that you are established as a regular user of the site who doesn't get into trouble (along with whatever other factors go into trust rating, but we know that those are the major two).

I think that this idea has been unfairly painted as being an "elitist club." The title of this thread is not helpful to the notion either. I do not envision such a restricted-posting forum as being "super secret," "elitist," or "cliquey" at all. I merely see it as a place where anybody can find great conversations and threads, but in order to be able to actually post, you would need to be a member of the site who has proved that you are both a regular visitor to and participant in these forums as well as familiar with the forum rules.

As a result, I don't think you need to worry about feeling "welcome" or "unwelcome" :-)

I agree with you and your proposal, Foman, as well as 99% of everything you said in those big two posts on the last page, but how is it not elitism?

It's a group of people who have gained trust and a higher rank, and thus get to associate with other people of the sort. I don't have any problems with an elitist attitude, unless if you're a jerk about it, i. e, "I have Heroic and you don't, haha".

But people of that quality aren't normally going to be the ones posting constructive material, and will likely get banned for breaking the rules. (That is not to say that not giving valuable input will get you banned, but more so that the ones with poor character are the ones who are more likely to break the rules, because they don't care).

So with a minimum number of jerk elitists who will, over time, get filtered out anyway, you have an elitist environment. People ARE "welcome" or "unwelcome". You are unwelcome when you are a new user. That is not to say that they are a bad person, for instance, when you first joined this site you wouldn't be allowed access to this forum, although you would turn out to be a highly respected and contributory member. You were unwelcome for a period of time that lasted until you proved yourself.

I think a forum like this is a great idea, and a great environment for constructive discussion, but I wouldn't say it isn't elitist. It is elitist, and I have no problems with that because the elite ones are the same ones who are trusted members. Let spammers be with spammers. Let the elite be with the elite.

I would also go so far as to say that this is segregation. My political views on this are beyond the scope of this forum, and it's rules, so I can only express my view when it relates to segregation on this site, which I think is a good idea, or at least in the form that is being discussed.

  • 12.05.2008 9:42 AM PDT

yoo•zel- ('yoo-zhul): slang: vb.

Officium quod Fidelitas.

I cannot post in this thread... foman took all the words. :(

Regardless, I agree with sketch on the need to ease people into Bungie.net and teach them how to interact socially without being a jerk to each other. When that day comes I may give up drinking, but don't hold me to it.

Regardless it is a complex problem because it does involve sociology and that is fickle, probably the last two pages are a prime example of the clash of ideas and how to address this problem. Everyone has an opinion in this matter but no one is necessarily right. There in lies the problem with designing such a system, but hey... when Bungie.net relaunched in 2004 there was a heck of a lot more elitism with post counts and thankfully it's not to bad with the current title system.

  • 12.05.2008 10:17 AM PDT

yoo•zel- ('yoo-zhul): slang: vb.

Officium quod Fidelitas.

The problem with this idea is that websites that do have moderator approved topics, etc... etc... have paid position in which they have normal hours of operation to be able to handle a system such as that. From that here we have an all volunteer force that are here for the love of the community, putting us in a position that would compromise our work and sleep schedules would be a rather unthinkable thing to ask. Not to mention there would be so much lag in getting new posted martial on the site.

Posted by: Screecherz
Moderators are picked by other moderators and Employees based on a personal level of trust. Would this work the same way? A machine with a pre-set standard on who can post and who cannot is generally accurate, but it always has a few flaws in its programming. Would member selection be similar to the process moderators are picked, or the process Mythic Members are picked?

I personally think that with moderator required approval, it eliminates any chance for accidental acceptance or overlooked admittance. Granted some bias will show, but that would be an easy fix by having multiple moderators grant approval. If that ever did occur, I would put more effort into regaining my titles.

  • 12.05.2008 10:22 AM PDT
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Posted by: Yoozel
I may give up drinking

...

:|

  • 12.05.2008 10:22 AM PDT

Why are you here?

Foman,

If you are a big advocate of a forum for high ranking members or the ones who have "gained Bungie's trust", then why not make a forum for 50's only?

One that everyone can access, only 50's/moderators can post, and contain Halo 2/3 or optimatch related rules and topics.

  • 12.05.2008 10:26 AM PDT

My Blogfolio | Twitter |
-------------------
Posted by: Yoozel
Over at HFCS we're constantly hard...

Wait...
What?

Posted by: Yoozel
I cannot post in this thread... foman took all the words. :(

Running out of salmon-colored toner? :)

I've pondered over this idea for a while now. On one hand it would cause people to want to become better members so they can interact on a 'higher' forum, but on the flip side of that coin it could cause people to develop a "I'm better than you" mentality. I think, if anything, it should be tried on a small scale at first (which I believe was mentioned earlier) If it doesn't work out than it shouldn't be to chaotic to pull the plug, but if it runs smoothly then it can be further developed.

  • 12.05.2008 10:28 AM PDT

yoo•zel- ('yoo-zhul): slang: vb.

Officium quod Fidelitas.

Because everyone and their mother has a level 50 account now, why give them special privileges when at best a lot of them have questionable gains to getting that level. Better question, why cross pollinate a game rank to a forum rank? It almost makes them immune to any sort of social system when they are automatically "in" because they're good at a game but that does not equate to being a good poster on this forum and in this community. So how do we deal with consequences with those people? For every ban you lose a level in Halo 3?

Posted by: z Floosy
Foman,

If you are a big advocate of a forum for high ranking members or the ones who have "gained Bungie's trust", then why not make a forum for 50's only?

One that everyone can access, only 50's/moderators can post, and contain Halo 2/3 or optimatch related rules and topics.

  • 12.05.2008 10:29 AM PDT
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Posted by: x Foman123 x
Since the member titles were introduced, I have always supported the idea of a forum for people with elevated titles.

Oh, you've supported it for quite a lot longer than that sonny jim. You're still wrong.

the forum would be virtually free of spammers and alternate accounts created solely for rulebreaking
It would be free of everything. There's no reason whatsoever to post in such a forum other than, as you put it "for more interaction with Bungie employees." Which, pretty much, says everything there is to say.

If i'm not completely lampshaded by 3am (i'll be completely lampshaded by 3am) i'll respond in full to your wall of words, but there's really not much more to be said that hasn't been said. There's no reason to post in such a forum, it's massively redundant and would serve as nothing other than a status symbol. An excellent example would be RoosterTeeth's sponsor forums.

Do you still see them?

ed: confirming i'll be completely lampshaded by 3am. don't expect a response any time before 4pm tomorrow. need time for post-hangover bacon butty too.

[Edited on 12.05.2008 10:46 AM PST]

  • 12.05.2008 10:31 AM PDT

USAF Air Traffic Controller.
#moap

Why sure lets all join in the elitist subforums and talk about how awesome our member ranks and titles are. I'd love that. We can massage each others e-peens.

  • 12.05.2008 10:33 AM PDT

Why are you here?

Posted by: Yoozel
Because everyone and their mother has a level 50 account now, why give them special privileges when at best a lot of them have questionable gains to getting that level. Better question, why cross pollinate a game rank to a forum rank? It almost makes them immune to any sort of social system when they are automatically "in" because they're good at a game but that does not equate to being a good poster on this forum and in this community. So how do we deal with consequences with those people? For every ban you lose a level in Halo 3?

Posted by: z Floosy
Foman,

If you are a big advocate of a forum for high ranking members or the ones who have "gained Bungie's trust", then why not make a forum for 50's only?

One that everyone can access, only 50's/moderators can post, and contain Halo 2/3 or optimatch related rules and topics.


I agree that the community of the 50 forum would not be any better than the Halo 3 forum is now, but there are always ways to fix it. Possibly find some trustworthy 50 Bungie members and give them access to mod ONLY the 50 forum, as they will have more incentive to visit being a 50 themselves. I am sure the mods we have now could regulate it pretty efficiently as well.

To the people that cheat for their 50's are just brought out into the open if they even mention something about their stats, eliminating the bragging rights they seek. It could work

  • 12.05.2008 10:35 AM PDT

USAF Air Traffic Controller.
#moap

See... no, that wouldn't work.
Rankbased forums are not a good idea. What's the point of having a 50s only forum if not to talk about how pro and 1337 you are. Whats the point honestly?

  • 12.05.2008 10:38 AM PDT

"Once Bungie takes over the world, The Marty Army will take over Bungie and then we'll really have some fun."
-Marty O'Donnell

"Condemnant quod non intellegunt."

Make Bungie.net More Enjoyable: Read & Follow

Posted by: z Floosy
Foman,

If you are a big advocate of a forum for high ranking members or the ones who have "gained Bungie's trust", then why not make a forum for 50's only?

One that everyone can access, only 50's/moderators can post, and contain Halo 2/3 or optimatch related rules and topics.

How does a rank in a video game translate into being a constructive, intelligent member of a community to any extent of the imagination?

There very well may be good, worthy members that are also level 50's but reversing the major premise of such an argument is a complete, illogical non-sequitur.

The only way to truly judge a persons dedication, intelligence, and regard of the rules is to observe their behavior. Do they spam, or troll? Or do they actively, frequently participate in healthy discussions? The answers to those questions are completely independent of that persons skill at a video game. Additionally, the title bar rank system seems to be doing a great job of calculating that automatically.

  • 12.05.2008 10:39 AM PDT