Pare down the number of smilies. I knew when they let Kyle start admin-ing again he'd go apeshit on new smilies.
One reason or another the board is becoming ideologically uniform. So, the answer is to tell your ideological opponents to "f" off.
It's been a factor if not the sole reason, for many of those listed in Sokar's sig. But even if he was having no effect we shouldn't want someone like him on our board.
As for improving Wordforge, the very FIRST thing we need to do is to find new members. I sent a Wordforge promo banner to some of the staff last week, to get their approval on, but with all this drama, they are probably too busy to deal with it at the moment. Advertising on other boards would certainly help bring more people here. I do hope they reply soon though. Secondly, some people might feel there is too much drama. This can certainly affect newbie's opinion of us, so I'll suggest what I suggested all along: Put drama threads, rep whining threads, and "calling out" threads in it's own forum, with Red Room style rules. If a political or ideological thread starts in the Red Room and devolves into a shitfest, then it should stay in the Red Room, but if someone starts a thread with the intended purpose of shaming another forum member, then move that thread to the community forum. (Not move it from the Red Room entirely, but just have the thread say Moved: ) We could probably even use the grey room for this, as it would liven that place up. A Red Room that at least bears the semblance that Wordforge is about discussion of controversial topics would help in driving new membership here. If a visitor comes into the most active forum and sees 8 garamet or KIRK threads, they are going to wonder if they have any place here where it only appears the board is about self generated drama and tearing each other apart. Those are two simple suggestions, but I think just doing those two would solve a lot of the complaints some people have about Wordforge right now, which are: 1) Knowing the membership too well and predictable responses 2) Drama, rep whining, and "driving members off board" would be confined to it's own community forum. Thirdly, we've gotten to the point where we have too many rooms. I am probably personally responsible for at least one of them, but there is no reason why Media Central and Press Start can't be one room again, and Gold Room and Iron Room can't be rolled back into the Green Room. Yes, there will be confusion because of the number of threads one forum will generate, but this is a good thing, IMO, and makes Wordforge look like it has less "dead" forums. Wordforge should be a little bit less organized and chaotic than TrekBBS. That should be the appeal of this place.
No. The board isn't becoming more uniform ideologically. It probably appears that way to you because you are the biggest loon we have left. By the way, in case you haven't noticed, more people here agree with me than agree with you even if they may not approve of my posting style. I'm never leaving pal. Understand that. I'm not the kind of person that lives for the approval or others. 20 people telling me right here and now that I should leave doesn't mean jack shit to me. It means I'm guaranteed to stick around longer and post more.
Fixed. Harmon Bokai left because he was a whiny little bitch who couldn't handle the board not being run the way he wanted it to be. Liet left the first time for much the same reason. Diacanu vacated because he couldn't handle it when everyone stopped treated everything, even the verbal diarrhea, that came out of his mouth as something akin to the works of Shakespeare. The others just left because they moved on, had real life issues or were banned because they were stupid enough to break well known rules.
I respectfully disagree Dan. Is Sokar's sig really driving people off the board? If Sokar added you to the list, it would make you want to leave? And he always ends up adding the name AFTER the person has left the board. So for example, Harmon Bokai or trinity would've probably never seen their name there. Plus, whenever a poster returns, he usually takes the name off. (Unless someone demands it, then he just leaves it on as a big fuck off to them.)
Do you deny that you are trying to get political opponents to leave the board? Do you think it's good for WF that you celebrate when established members leave on bad terms?
On a little side note I've got to laugh at the people who are acting like an effort to run people off the board, assuming for the sake of discussion that one exists, is someone new. Has everyone forgotten about Cass harassing and banning people just because she disagreed with them?
idd'n it kinda...I dunno...a point of pride here at WordForge that we welcome anyone and everyone, regardless of ideals or attitude? Granted, we have rules to follow, but nothing intolerable. Personally, I think anyone that believes otherwise is a bit hypocritical when referring to WordForge as "our" WordForge.
I'm not talking about banning them, I'm talking about them being shunned. Whatever he claims, Sokar won't stick around too long if he's universally despised and ridiculed. I'd expect some temper tantrums first of course, but that might even be fun.
....getting back to Tamar's initial question... No, there really isn't anything *to* change about the board. After that months-long drama from last summer that resulted in a much-needed overhaul of the moderator staff, this board has been relatively drama-free. No more mud slinging in HD from staff members who want to turn the drama up to eleven--the biggest scuffle was when Linda R gave Tasvir some warning that wasn't deserved, and she was ab;e to state her opinion without being a condescending bitch about it, and it passed over. To my knowledge, she hasn't repeated that mistake. As for the population of WF...I really wished some would learn to censor themselves and pick their battles a bit better, but any rules being added for that purpose would go against everything this place stands for. Honestly, if the Garamet/Kirk thing is the biggest thorn in WF's side, we've far better off than most places I know of.
How is it "elitist" to not want people on the board who have the express aim of damaging it? There aren't actually that many of them.
As far as I can tell, there really isn't anything that needs to be changed about WordForge itself. Every problem that's really come about has been having to do with posters. It's been a pretty clear cut case with Garamet. I never really had a personal problem with her, but she did break a very clear rule, and she's facing the consequences. Plain and simple. Though, I do think Media Central and Press Start could be one room. Should be, really. I just assumed there were so many gamers on the board that it needed to be a separate room.
Yes. They left because lefties can't control their emotions. Yes. They're lurking and need to know people are laughing at them for breaking the rules and expecting to get a free pass.
What makes it an elitist statement isn't that you don't want a poster on the board. What makes it an elitist statement is that you want to create a mob against Sokar because you don't think what he posts is worth your own time. Even going as far as to say he's trying to "damage" the board. It's arrogant, it's elitist, and it's presumptuous.
