What would you like to see added to the forum?

[DC]

1 hour ago, Shagger said:

 

You could add those thing to you profile, but I know you're about. You're about having your gamertags and such displayed below your avatar, right? I like the idea. Of course it would be 100% optional as not everyone wants to share those things, but I like the idea. What do you think @DC?

If there is enough demand I will consider implementing it. My only concern is that the profile/avatar area could start looking crowded with a feature like this.

[Yaramaki]

17 hours ago, DC said:

If there is enough demand I will consider implementing it. My only concern is that the profile/avatar area could start looking crowded with a feature like this.

Woulden't it be possible so they are only visible when somebody clicks your profile page, i agree it would be a mess if those show on the forum all the time.

Either way i can always add them in the about me page in my profile.

 

[Shagger]

21 hours ago, DC said:

If there is enough demand I will consider implementing it. My only concern is that the profile/avatar area could start looking crowded with a feature like this.

 

3 hours ago, Yaramaki said:

Woulden't it be possible so they are only visible when somebody clicks your profile page, i agree it would be a mess if those show on the forum all the time.

Either way i can always add them in the about me page in my profile.

 

 

They had this on a forum I used to be a part of years ago. The basic layout was actually very similar to what we have here with the profile info of the person, forum handle, role, avatar, number of posts etc on the left with the post itself on the right. I took a snip of one of these profile displays. I've blocked out the information for obvious reasons, I just wanted to give @DC an idea as to how this might look.

 

Edited April 11, 2022 by Shagger

[The Blackangel]

On 4/10/2022 at 5:48 PM, Head_Hunter said:

What about adding an icon on top of our display name that tells anyone that a particular user is online? 

Like, at the moment, I don't know who is online and who aren't online. 

If you hover your mouse pointer over "FORUM" at the top of the page, you will see the option "ONLINE USERS". Click on that and you can see who all is online. If you go to the drop down bar to the right you can easily filter it. I took the screenshots below to show it.

 

 

[Justin11]

Maybe it isn't displaying that way because I'm accessing the forum using a mobile device. Because I hardly see such feature over my own end, now I've known that the issue is from my end. 

[Shagger]

31 minutes ago, Justin11 said:

Maybe it isn't displaying that way because I'm accessing the forum using a mobile device. Because I hardly see such feature over my own end, now I've known that the issue is from my end. 

 

The same menu can be accessed form a phone or tablet on the mobile version of the site, it's just the layout is slightly different. Here's how it is on my phone and I see no reason it should be any different for yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

EDIT: Looking at this again, I've noticed how alarmingly low my phone battery is, I'd better charge this bastard.

Edited April 18, 2022 by Shagger

[Justin11]

It's cool, I've taken notice of it. I love the feature which notifies the Mods an ongoing activities around the forum. Like, members activities in the forum, I see myself displayed in the screenshot creating a topic at the sports section of the forum xD. 

[Shagger]

7 minutes ago, Justin11 said:

It's cool, I've taken notice of it. I love the feature which notifies the Mods an ongoing activities around the forum. Like, members activities in the forum, I see myself displayed in the screenshot creating a topic at the sports section of the forum xD. 

 

You can access the same menu, that's not a mod' only tool.

[Justin11]

1 minute ago, Shagger said:

 

You can access the same menu, that's not a mod' only tool.

That's true, i can see it here on my own end. That's where admin 'DC did the best on the forum. This type of feature is scarce, I've been to many forums, this one is the first with such an amazing feature that allowed members to see others activities in the forum, tremendous indeed. 

[Techno]

Something I'm beginning to notice is the difficulty of building up points. Especially for newcomers, while I understand that points mainly come from posts I would like to see some extra contests that would make gaining points more bearable. Something like a contest for most posts, most referrals, surveys, etc could help make the playing field a little better. Especially because I feel like the forum kind of has a gap in wealth. There's just a large gap between users and I fell like contests could help make the forum more fun for newcomers.

[DC]

4 minutes ago, Techno said:

Something I'm beginning to notice is the difficulty of building up points. Especially for newcomers, while I understand that points mainly come from posts I would like to see some extra contests that would make gaining points more bearable. Something like a contest for most posts, most referrals, surveys, etc could help make the playing field a little better. Especially because I feel like the forum kind of has a gap in wealth. There's just a large gap between users and I fell like contests could help make the forum more fun for newcomers.

Thanks for your insight. The current system is set-up as:

1. 5 Points per new thread
2. 2 points per new reply
3. 500 Points for winning member of the month

This set-up has been in place since 2018. I will brainstorm some contest ideas for additional point earning opportunities. 

[Techno]

This isn't all that serious but I found a Github addon for a arcade and I think it's a funny idea for an update. Anyone else wanna play pong clones on here?

[Withywarlock]

On 9/12/2022 at 6:39 PM, Techno said:

Something like a contest for most posts, most referrals, surveys, etc could help make the playing field a little better.

I think this only further increases the wealth gap we've both noticed, and also encourages bad forum etiqutte. I've talked at length about the low-effort posts on this forum and the clear reasoning behind why it happens.

I still stand by the removal of points and prizes entirely, but until that time comes I'd rather we have something that encourages good conduct. Your idea of referrals is a good one (with the caveat that the points are only rewarded after the referred person has made a significant enough contribution to the forum). Perhaps re-limiting the amount of reacts given per day and rewarding those whose content is positively reacted toward?

On 9/12/2022 at 6:39 PM, Techno said:

There's just a large gap between users and I fell like contests could help make the forum more fun for newcomers.

Might be an idea for prizes where only those below a certain figure can spend points, or things that cost less. I like Steam's way of doing its Points shop: you can buy profile picture borders, mini-profile backgrounds which are animated, and so on. Could be a nice idea to be able to buy cheap forum themes: a Halloween theme, a Christmas theme, showing avatars with jack-o'-lantern borders or Santa hats, with the VGR logo at the top caked in snow and fairy lights.

Seeing as there's rarely any prizes I want I tend to amass a ton of points, so more customisation for the forum would be grand.

[Techno]

20 hours ago, Withywarlock said:

I still stand by the removal of points and prizes entirely, but until that time comes I'd rather we have something that encourages good conduct. Your idea of referrals is a good one (with the caveat that the points are only rewarded after the referred person has made a significant enough contribution to the forum). Perhaps re-limiting the amount of reacts given per day and rewarding those whose content is positively reacted toward?

Might be an idea for prizes where only those below a certain figure can spend points, or things that cost less. I like Steam's way of doing its Points shop: you can buy profile picture borders, mini-profile backgrounds which are animated, and so on. Could be a nice idea to be able to buy cheap forum themes: a Halloween theme, a Christmas theme, showing avatars with jack-o'-lantern borders or Santa hats, with the VGR logo at the top caked in snow and fairy lights.

Seeing as there's rarely any prizes I want I tend to amass a ton of points, so more customisation for the forum would be grand.

(I have nothing to say on the first paragraph)

I personally don't think removal of points and prizes would be helpful. I do think they help build up the forum. I understand that people post just for points. But think that throwing away the entire reward system will just hurt the forum as it's a way to reward good members. Now in saying that, I do think we should start thinking about reworking it (heck, I might create an entire thread for a discussion like that). The system goes too slowly for good posters and speeds up for bad, spammy posters. If I make 5 quality threads, I'd be rewarded the same as a spam poster that posts 5 threads that are basically the same.

I like your customization idea, as a person who thinks a actual shop page could be a way to fix the rewards problem, it would be away to reward members without the problem of scarcity. I'd think some signature options could be just as interesting. The biggest problem with this is that I don't know what the forum is on software-wise, so I can't exactly say what could be done here.

Some very good points, and I do think we need a much bigger discussion on this as a whole.

[Withywarlock]

16 minutes ago, Techno said:

I personally don't think removal of points and prizes would be helpful. I do think they help build up the forum. I understand that people post just for points. But think that throwing away the entire reward system will just hurt the forum as it's a way to reward good members.

I completely understand where you're coming from, but I'm the sort of person who wants proof it builds the forum (which I don't think even DC can provide because how does one measure such a thing?) and I also don't think people need to be rewarded for posting. Posting should be its own reward.

Don't get me wrong, I love internet points. I frequented r/fatlogic as the Reddit karma was intoxicating, but it wasn't a requirement for my continued contribution. But if Reddit were to disappear I'd happily find another forum helping people debunk fat activist rhetoric and myths about obesity. I initially joined this forum not for points, but to lend my experience as a recently former games journalist and an interest in the industry. It has been rather rewarding engaging in discussion and trying to probe beyond the surface of the topics presented.

24 minutes ago, Techno said:

Now in saying that, I do think we should start thinking about reworking it (heck, I might create an entire thread for a discussion like that). The system goes too slowly for good posters and speeds up for bad, spammy posters. If I make 5 quality threads, I'd be rewarded the same as a spam poster that posts 5 threads that are basically the same.

I 100% agree. If the system is to remain it must be reworked. As of right now the only immediate answer I can think of, until we each get more ideas to bounce off one another, is to totally reset points. Have some silly prizes to spend them on, maybe some sort of "Veteran Member" or "Goldmember" badge for underneath your profile picture before they disappear, and we can start again.