Last Stand

[Pete Zaria]

@cash86,

I do see your point about Theopia being a kind of generic, off-topic forum. But that's exactly where off-topic discussion belongs.

This forum is intended for spudgun enthusiasts to share information in a reasonably mature environment. All the off-topic discussion and immaturity lately was hindering the forum's ability to do that.

Since everyone is going to be automatically registered for Theopia, why not move the off-topic discussion over there? It makes sense. Most of the SpudFiles users will still be there.

This should significantly clean up the SpudFiles forum and should allow the moderators (myself included) to kick it up a notch and try to make this forum more professional all-around.

Theopia can be as off-topic and immature as you want it to be, as long as it stays within the rules of that forum.

I think the Off-Topic section here may be unlocked after things settle down a bit, but that's PCguy's call.

Just my two cents.

Peace,
Pete Zaria.

[integral]

I have this feeling that even by adding everyone's accounts to theopia, there wont be as much traffic as we get now, since a lot of people wont bother signing into theopia, since their main interest is spudgunning.

Just a suggestion: why not have the recent post update window of both sites on both sites...
i.e: on spudfiles.com have a theopia.com recent post window and vice versa. That way, both sites will be able to link its members and encourage the off-topic chat to theopia. The spudding community will still be able to share their off-topic discussions whilst on spudfiles.

[ammosmoke]

Why wouldn't you just make it so that the spudfiles off-topic section has a posting limit for each day? Or, so that there is a seamless transfer and login to theopia when you click the "off-topic" link?

[PCGUY]

A posting limit for each day is interesting...

Seamless Theopia/SpudFiles access is very hard to do. It was worked on at one point, but it makes huge security holes... not worth it really.

[Pete Zaria]

A posting limit for each day is interesting...

Seamless Theopia/SpudFiles access is very hard to do. It was worked on at one point, but it makes huge security holes... not worth it really.

Yep, it creates an instant session hijacking vulnerability that can't really be avoided.

I think things will settle down after you get the user databases merged and most of the off-topic discussion moves over to theopia. Maybe then the off-topic section could be re-opened with a 5 post per user per day limit, or something similar? I don't know how much you can customize that side of PhBB.

Peace,
Pete Zaria.

[ammosmoke]

That is too bad that there is too many security holes...... I think that a posting limit is really the best solution. Posting on those off topic sections is really addictive I will admit. I think that you can still get plenty of response with a limit, and with the limit in the people's minds, they are more likely to post something that is actually useful. I am glad that you thought my idea was good.

[Velocity]

I'm not sure how safe/easy it would be to do, but I really like integral's idea of having two recent topic lists in both Spudfiles and in Theopia. This would allow off-topic discussion to be seen by all members, but it wouldn't interfere with the actual spudgunning nature of Spudfiles.

Remedying the off-topic situation would solve a large portion of the problem. One of the other main parts is the BS posts. You guys (and gals) know exactly what I am talking about. The one sentence post which really isn't even a sentence. Grammatical mistakes everywhere, and few words are spelled correctly. To make matters much, much worse, the content of the post is something completely unrelated. Sometimes it will be an anecdote which barely even relates to the topic, and doesn't actually add anything to the discussion. Anecdotes are OK, as long as you provide information and explain why such a story is relevant to the topic. Another common thing which occurs in these BS posts is random suggestions which are outlandish, absurd, or downright obvious. Examples of such suggestions are "you should hook it up to unregulated CO2 and really see some damage ", "just add some epoxy to that leak, and then wrap the whole thing in duct tape to prevent an explosion... if you really want it to be safe, add an extra duct tape layer for ultimate strength ", or "if you used helium instead of compressed air, you might get faster projectile speeds... also, if you made the chamber out of metal instead, you could take it to higher pressures". While comments like these are made in a genuine attempt to help, they really waste space and don't add anything to the conversation.

Moderators, I am all for you guys acting stricter... it might make some people pissed, but these are the people who are causing the problem. The forum would be a cleaner place with less babbling going on.

EDIT: 666 post count... if this message seems angrier than usual, you know why.

[MrCrowley]

Well this sounds great! I second that idea of Rmich's and Integral's idea of two recent topic lists, it could clutter the home page more then it already is though....

Anyway i've always been a fan of this off-topic that goes to theopia idea, and cash you said you don't ike theo because there wont be members that express your love in spudguns, well the way the off-topic section is going at the moment most members will be over there posting as well.

Personally I would like to keep 'non-spudgun related activities' on spudfiles, just because they involve hobbies and electronics and launching other things and rockets and so on and so forth.

[Insomniac]

If you are going to copy the user database of spudfiles to theopia, could you make so that once you have signed into one site, you don't have to sign into the other one separatly? That way, when you log into spudfiles you could just click the theopia link and post, instead of logging into theopia and having to type out your password again. It would make the sites seem more intergrated, instead of two totally seperate forums.

[MrCrowley]

A posting limit for each day is interesting...

Seamless Theopia/SpudFiles access is very hard to do. It was worked on at one point, but it makes huge security holes... not worth it really.

Thats why.

I have a fingerprint scanner on my keyboard that logs me anyway so it doesn't matter.

[jrrdw]

At one time there was a posting limit here, i know, more then once i hit it and could not post to any topics untill the next day. It's easy to log into Theopia, just check the remember my infomation box and bookmark the home/sign in page and waa laaa, your in. Thats how i do it, works great for me. The off topic section in forums is all ready linked to Theopia, click it there and watch where it takes you. The only reason people/members can get a new topic going here is because when you click on the navigation above a thread it leads to a different section where you can click the new topic butten there, and it puts your new started thread here on spudfiles. It's locked now so it doesn't work that way anymore, i just tryed it.

[cash68]

Here's an idea: GET RID OF POST COUNTS.

Seriously. They only matter to a few people anyway. The join date should be more important. If post counts don't matter, then you won't care. Also, then this place could lighten up with their nazi-like double posting policy.

[PCGUY]

I doubt getting rid of post count would do any good.

Like I said earlier, seamless is out of the question due to security issues.

jrrdw, there has never been a posting limit on SpudFiles. You stop gaining SpudBux after a so many posts within 24 hours, but you can still actually post.

So far I think the best plan is to keep the Off-Topic section locked down for a bit here, to let things cool down. Then copy the userbase over to Theopia, so whoever wants to use it can. I will do some work to Theopia as far as phpBB 3.0 goes, so it should be nice to use. After that I will reopen the Off-Topic section here but but a posting limit on the section.

Edventually SpudFiles is going to change over to phpBB 3.0 and SpudBux are going to go away. A new system about user reputation will be in place instead, and your signature ability will appear at a certian post count. Custom titles will be had through donations, but everyone with a custom title already would get to keep it.

Big changes will happen here at SpudFiles, don't think for a second that it is going downhill. SpudFiles is always advancing, and will always be growing as members want different things. This is one of the first major steps to creating a more professional community.

I hope to edventually make it out to a big spud meet to properly represent SpudFiles.

Edit - I seems like I may be scaring some members making them think I am forcing all of the members here to do something. I am not, so don't be afraid. I am just making the SpudFiles forum more focused on spudding, and Theopia more focused on Off-Topic. Many of the users on Theopia will be from here so most of you will still share the same love for spuds. The Off-Topic section here won't be deleted or anything, it is just locked for a cooldown.

[CpTn_lAw]

Spudfiles is a great forum, like in any forum over the net, there are people who provide nothing but bad advises and troubles. I think that for the SMS writing issue, nothing can really be done. People who don't know how to write should do it. Some people put on the different nationality, but hey, i'm not english and i try to write correctly.
I mean, a big part of the spudfiles community members try to do an effort, try to be helpful and give examples from their own experiences, and the noobish people who just heard from spudding a week ago act like they know better than anyone what to do. That clearly pisses me off.
The age question should be considered. A lot of people here aren't 16. That poses a maturity problem, what do you expect from a 13 years old boy who builds a spudgun? I personaly hope he doesn't blow off.
I don't know what is litteraly possible to do ton enhance the forum, but something like an evaluation of new members could be helpful. Some questions about spudding, about firing safety etc...

I like this forum a lot and i haven't been posting here for a certain time over serious threads, 'cause people seem not to pay attention on what we say.

[PVC Arsenal 17]

I really like this forum.

Of all the ones I've been to, this by far my favorite. Maybe because I lasted over a year without being banned. I usually get banned or warned on every other forum withing a few days of joining.

I try to control myself here, because I respect what this website is. It's a place for people from all over the world to come together and share the hobby of spudgunning. This forum is full of brilliant, polite people who for the most part, all get along.

A few /b/tards obsessing over ancient cat memes is nothing to worry about. Their jokes will be old soon enough and we'll get back on track. I personally don't think closing the off-topic forum was necessary. There is a difference between off-topic discussion and spam. If mods keep an eye out, we can continue to enjoy our discussions without spam.