Many WC'ers have advanced ideas for The Forums and problems encountered using them. They're spread out all over the place. That's the reason I'm making this Post: To centralize things to make the job of others who want to make WC the best it can be easier.
Everyone is welcome. Have fun. I'll do my best to sift through it all and post it up here to try and save evryone's time (Zubaz's suggestion)
A. Make last post read work.. for everyoneB. 1. Return to top of page at bottom of each page. 2. Clicking on Recent forum Activity take you to latest post not first page. 3. Expanded smiley list. 4, Separate section for Political discussions, Humor (including shopping shots) and personals. 5. General section would be for general Stardock and WC realated conversations. 6. Recent posts list either expanded to 20 listings, or separated into help related and non-help related subjects. 7. Better search function.C. 1. Polls.. everyone could create polls. 2. Introduction of negative karma. 3. Increased Firefox compatibility. 4. Lower/shorter render times. 5. Bann on using adult words 6. Animated Gif avatars less than 100 kb 7. Integration between WC main site and forums.....(sign on)D. actually having the built-in browser spell checkers function in these post boxes.E. I think rather than trying to implement more ideas for the forums...like birthdays etc...as done previously....best to try and get what we already have working.....or back to working....again.F. 1. Fix the "insert link" function. It currently works backwards. It should work as follows: Click the insert link, put in the url, it puts in the appropriate code with the url doubled as the name, which is highlighted so you can name it whatever you wish. (any problems with this suggestion please ask bebi bulma for a better/fuller explanation). 2. actually having the built-in browser spell checkers function in these post boxes.
G, 1.subscription emails for watch list) and other features that are totally broken/nonfunctioning (guestbook comment deletion, the photo albums) that those should be fixed before anything else gets added. 2. make the smilies style='vertical-align:middle' like they were before. 3. fix the Quote mechanism: attribution should work even for limited portions of posts/replies.
H. Please make the comment book 'remove comment' function work again.
I. I would like to see a timer perhaps. You have 2 minutes to edit your post . .and then it's locked.
J. There are times when you need to edit something after 2-5 min.
K. 1. uploading images directly into the post as opposed to calling on an external site to relay the image back. this would be especially helpful in the help sections of the forums . 2. [do something with the wiki to make it effective, it seems pretty barren on information/help.]
L. 1. Faster refresh rate for the forum pages to prevent mistimed replies.
2. Fixing the "double post" problem.
M. 1. No changes to karma. Should remain positive incentive.
2. Mod edit objectionable picture content.
N. No animated avatars. Forums not a video store.
O. 1. Several ideas for time limit to "edit" function: Range from 2-10 minutes from time of post.
2. the time limit should be fairly long until they get around to putting a spell checker in the editor.
3. Edit would only add new comment in the same box and require printed 'reason for edit' above the newer post and notfication in the thread that a post was changed.
4. Karma should not be anonymous. Karma has become pointless.
5. Karma is ok, it's meant to be taken lightly, and there's no need to kill the fun
6. Karma is nothing but a novelty. It's FUN trying to get that karma up. Add negative Karma and the fun is gone, and with that it'll be entirely useless.
7. Karma: It's kind of relative and for me it has had a positive effect.
P. 1. Edit function should last a few minutes. Original post/reply should remain along with it.
2. Freezing the post after a short time, if someone wants to correct or change a thought, let them post another.
3. Re the editing of comments....I'm totally against it. Posts [and threads] being altered for whatever 'agenda' is not acceptable. Whatever is decided, the number one demand is accountability....the thread comment must be tagged with 'edited by....' publicly .... and ideally if that's the case the edit text should be linked [hidden] but visible for review by the Admins. I've always thought the height of bad manners was/is to edit a thread topic, etc AFTER several/many people have taken the time/effort to respond/comment.
Q. 1. The forums shouldn't parse any html whatsoever from the post box.
2. Unless you are a member of a specific user class, your html isn't parsed, period.
3. User posted html just wrecks havoc on the forums and should be completely ignored from parsing. It should all be plain text (with the exception of the bbcode buttons in the editor). There just doesn't seem to be any checking for open tags, which causes all the problems.
4. I think 2-3 mins for the post locking. negative Karma is a bad idea.
5. Several of the classic smilies do not match when posted...would be nice to have them tidied up...the sad goes to angry and the Yum goes to the big smile.
6. Cross posting errors if two windows are open.
R. {1. Inaccurate time/date stamping keeping comments at the top of notes on Personal sites}
S. Fix the need for double sign in @ WC Home page then again @ Forums.
T. Subscribers still see ads.
Or 3 minutes for folks with severe spelling issues
AHAHAHAHA YES Zubanese.. or will that be a new feature?
Now since there are no rules I can break free.....
I don't agree.
There are times when you need to edit something after 2 min.
Like I had to remove a pic of a diseased person from this thread
I had not posted his pic to make fun of. Due to poor understanding of my English, I thought Fuzzy was crying for his figure.
So I posted that to show many have even worse condition and they are still smiling but I had to remove it as it proved to be offensive..as Mrs Starkers too was suffering from same disease....and I still feel sorry for this.
However, I could edit this only after 16-18 hours.
I did delete my suggestions once but to make it more clear.
To think that newer people often break law is not good.
Look at society there can be good or bad men. But children(newer) are always good they will learn what they are taught.
heman, God love you, you are a sweet lil guy and I do adore you, your innocence is so damn cute! but it's about forum improvements hon
....I like Fuzzy's figure
HERE HERE!!! the OP is now completly reformated as are the comments, and now my comments look insane....so no one would have any inkling what i was on about..
I suffer this affliction daily, tho really most of the time, I havent the foggiest of what im goin on about either.
{note to self summarized thru here}
Doc, please include these also. and I would to agree that if you post it, you live with it, and editing should be accomplished in a timely manner. (edited this after 5 minutes to change a word)
how would the negative karma work? It seems that it might help keep people a little more civil but it also seems that if one gets a burr under their saddle about someone...
exactly. I can see the mass # of Pm's rolling in now as people start pointing fingers. We already get that when a skin drops in ratings.
*note to self- summ. to here.
Explanation: I saw the posts on the wiki, but was rather unsure as to whether the wiki falls under forums or not. Human Anatomy know I do, but WC/Forums/Wiki know I do not. Also i've been reticent about adding my own suggestions as I do not wish to be accused of 'bias'. I may add them at some point after we finsh with the English, Greek, Arabic and Hebrew alphabets in the list at the top of the page (feeble attempt at humor).
And the wiki is a seperate animal than the forums (that anyone can edit)
Zebra related?
Regarding the "edit post" comments,
I contemplated suggesting the ability to totally edit the whole comment for a maximum of two minutes, then locking the original and allowing only commentary edits ("text of post" , "editors mark" "further comments regarding the edits wanted to be made") it might look something like this:
"This is my original post
*editors mark of some kind with timestamp included* to add this further comment that is relevant to the original"
But the more I thought of it, the more I reallized if this was possible we could end up with a lot of posts that take up a full page as people add to their original comment to the point of some form of thread hi-jacking.
Is there a happy medium here?
My own thought is very close to yours, wulfn1: that at some point a person might wish to change what was written for any of a host of possible reasons. There should be a time limit, allowing for global time differences and incidental server problems which could happen.
Maybe people should be allowed to do that...after all, (and not to trivialize an important issue in some cases) we're not rewriting a very significant piece of legislation nor a life/death determining document.
That said, a time stamp on edited comments might (if folks agree) appear under (but in the same box) as the original. a reason for the edit would also have to be given and printed under that new comment:
"The original comment above was edited at XYZ o'clock by the maker for the for the following reason: " which would have to be filled in to have the edited comment added say after a 5-10 minute edit margain. People should, however weigh their words and be held to that responsibility.
Thus the original would continue to appear, only with comment in red below it and then, below that the edited comment.
I think that might satisfy folks....
*this is not included in the listed suggestions. Only when this can be amicably worked out (or an approximation of a final opinion) will this be added...i claim author bias as the reason.
Nothing really wrong with a couple of minute window.. then zero edit.
I go along with 2-3 minutes then zero.
Just makes it silly when posts are changed people reply to the original.
You don't want to have to keep going back looking at what the edit was so the posts made before the first post was edited make sense.
If that makes sense.
If there were to be a time limit for edits, then put in an exception for those who post something very offensive to the forum as a whole, (i.e hermes picture) that a mod could go in and allow the user to edit after a request. Or just have to mod edit period.
As for -karma....bad idea. I foresee a lot of issues with that. This is a postive enviroment, let's keep it that way. If you feel someone crossed a boundry, the PM them, that is what it is for.
I'd like to leave room for human/machine/connectivirty/forums refresh rate problems. Which is yet another 'needs fixing'. Everyone has experienced those, I think...also if one gets an important phone call and has to interrupt...
I just think there needs to be "some elastic in the waist band". I'd also like to come to a consensus view...alternatively I could just copy it all to the list....what would you like, fellas?
{note to self karma suggestion posted. Rest of "timing edit" waiting for feed back to my #70}
Immy, I summarized the karma suggestion as "No changes to karma. Should remain positive incentive." OK?
Animated avatars are as annoying as blinking text. Do not implement!! It's a forum, not a videostore.
Uh.... please?
oops, yep, I guess I was just over zealous with an opportunity to make suggestions.
Greg...no problem. Zubaz cleared it up for me also. you weren't at all overzealous. You have the interest and caring needed to make the forums a great place. Don't knock gmc2, Greg...he's good peepz.
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