How would you rate the new forum features?

[tk102]

How would you rate the new vBulletin 3.7 forum features?

Which ones do you like or dislike?

[The Source]

Since my comments were not replied to, I thought I would move it into this thread. My comments are based upon the social groups and profile additions. Some of the new stuff added to the forums are pretty cool. When it comes to the social groups, friends, and other divisable aspects:

Personally, I think the whole idea has pros and cons. One of the major cons is that it will divide everyone into smaller groups. One of the pros is that people can congrigate into smaller and more focused groups. Another con is that people will stop talking in the forums, and they will focus on the social groups aspect. Instead of people feeling as if they are a part of a major community, people will now be sperated by borders. We will become so seperated that people will start to walk away from the forums. There will be nothing to do. On the pros side of the new features, we can now block and prohibit people we don't like from participating or interfering in conversations. Instead of using and teaching tolerance, we can now act discriminately to block out unwanted participants.

(**Sarcasm Used For Below***)
Sounds cool to me. Anything to divide people wins me over.

[Astrotoy7]

My 0.0128 Euros :

*Implemented without doing this type of poll *beforehand*
*Potential splintering of larger community entity
*Extra places for members and staff to check and moderate
*Potentially less accessible for new/curious members
*Catering to a demographic that does not exist at LFN "Like, ohmygod, like, yknow"

Luckily it can be mostly turned off

>>TH4NKz 4 TEH 4DD !! >>is this what you are trying to reduce our vibrant community areas to??

mtfbwya

[The Source]

Originally Posted by Astrotoy7

My 0.0128 Euros :

*Implemented without doing this type of poll *beforehand*
*Potential splintering of larger community entity
*Extra places for members and staff to check and moderate
*Catering to a demographic that does not exist at LFN

Luckily it can be mostly turned off

>>TH4NKz 4 TEH 4DD !! >>is this what you are trying to reduce our vibrant community areas to??

mtfbwya

That is very true. Things can allways be turned off. I agree with all your points. LucasForums is all about community. Even though we may disagree with each other, we still have big borther and sister watching out for us. When we create elements that 'splinter' the community, or prevent new commers from getting deeply involved, we loose the wholeness of the group. People will eventually walk away.

[igyman]

I've already said what I had to say on the matter here, so I won't repeat myself. Short version - it's good that the new features are there and as for their usage, it's up to the individual member.

Originally Posted by igyman

I salute every single addition, even those I find completely unnecessary, like blogs for example - I've never understood the purpose of those things, other than to rant senselessly about what first comes to mind. However, there are people who see things differently and are into blogs, so I say let 'em have that option, I doubt I'll use it, I probably won't even look at it, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be able to. As it has been said, it's up to the individual user to decide if they want to use a given option or not.

[Ghost Down]

I don't care really, I'm probably never gonna use them.

[Totenkopf]

Overall, no problems. Igyman sums my position up pretty well, also. While I'll use some of the new features, I'll still check the various threads for a wider range of discussion topics.

[Jae Onasi]

I'm having a fine time using the features already. I think it'll cut down some of the spamming that goes on in threads that we now have to delete, so that's a positive. I don't think it's going to affect community that much. The people who are going to form separate groups have already done so on IM, Skype, etc. This just keeps it all in one place instead of scattering it all over the internet. I think it's useful in that respect--when I get a new message, PM, etc, I get a popup and can click that instead of having to leave the forum entirely to go to MSN/IRC/etc. From a business standpoint, keeping people on the forums is an intelligent business move....

I don't know about teens elsewhere, but the ones I work with are very active on Facebook, MySpace, and other social networking sites. Making this site friendly for them for networking can only be a good thing.

Welcome to the 21st century of computing life.

[Ray Jones]

I'd like to have the points system back, and the shop where I can buy name glows and user titles, attachments and other stuff.

Other than that, the only thing that does not really convince me (yet) is the social groups stuff, as it appears to add more jungle-ness to the forums. That mustn't mean it won't turn out to be a fun thing eventually. I also don't think that this feature *will* splinter the community, I mean, all the sub-forums here don't produce such effects, so...

As for friends/album/visitor message features, they might very well add to the experience the user will err experience here, if he wants to.

What I see is the need for rules to be put up and some kind of moderation at least for the public available areas of any of the new features.

And a "beforehand" poll most probably had everybody say yes anyway.

[Sabretooth]

Originally Posted by Ray Jones

name glows

Name glows! Why did the name glows have to go?!

[Jasper_Kazai]

I don't care at all. I didn't even know there were new features at first.

[tk102]

I for one like the AJAX very much. The rest to me is more work than play, requiring increased vigilance. I do hope at least that the features will provide more reasons to stick around on these forums with all the new nooks and crannies to explore.

[M@RS]

I dont like the fact that we can't put new animated avatars on and I cant change my avatar to another animated avatar it annoys me...

[mimartin]

The features I really like are:

I’ll save the best for first – the ability to multiquote – now you can reply to more one members without using copy and paste over and over.

Linked quotes now you don’t have to search the entire tread in order to see what context a quoted remark was made in.

Blog – It is interesting to read others thoughts. The main reason I joined the forum, other than being stuck on Taris, was to interact with people that had different opinions and beliefs. Blogs allow post to be more personal without subjecting the rest of the community to wade through threads they find uninteresting.

Still I do share some of Astrotoy7 concerns, but I will hold off judgment for now. Even with my concerns I voted “Approve of the new features,” for the multi quoting and linked quotes ability alone.

[tk102]

Originally Posted by M@RS

I dont like the fact that we can't put new animated avatars on and I cant change my avatar to another animated avatar it annoys me...

That feature should be fixed now.
http://www.lucasforums.com/showthrea...99#post2467599

[EnderWiggin]

Originally Posted by Sabretooth

Name glows! Why did the name glows have to go?!

I'll second this.

However, as for this topic:

I think that the new features are good for the forum. No offense meant here - but I think that some of the members are stuck in the 'good old days' mindset of LF when it was a smaller, tighter community. I remember some of those times (not as much as others, though) and I miss them too. But this won't be the death of the forums, IMHO.

The new features might be a bit myspace-y, but I think that the reason they're being used to the extent they are is because everyone is trying out their new toys. I think that the usage will die down after a bit and then it won't really matter all that much. In fact, there aren't that many members that are using it now.

@Astro: I understand your concerns, but I don't think this update is a negative. I still intend to post in HL and Ahto and Kavar's. It's not like this site will morph into a facebook clone and the forums will stop.

And if we'd have put the poll up before, the response wouldn't have kept the change from happening. I for one would definitely voted for them to implement these 3.7 changes.

And as for you, Source - I found your post to be offensive, crude, and out of place. You can voice your negative opinion without condescension. Not a flame, just letting you know that what you said doesn't rest well with me.

Originally Posted by Mama Jae

Welcome to the 21st century of computing life.

That's what computers are all about - these sort of changes.

And Astro - that's my 20.5854502 centavos.

_EW_

[Negative Sun]

Originally Posted by Jae Onasi

I'm having a fine time using the features already. I think it'll cut down some of the spamming that goes on in threads that we now have to delete, so that's a positive. I don't think it's going to affect community that much. The people who are going to form separate groups have already done so on IM, Skype, etc. This just keeps it all in one place instead of scattering it all over the internet. I think it's useful in that respect--when I get a new message, PM, etc, I get a popup and can click that instead of having to leave the forum entirely to go to MSN/IRC/etc. From a business standpoint, keeping people on the forums is an intelligent business move....

I don't know about teens elsewhere, but the ones I work with are very active on Facebook, MySpace, and other social networking sites. Making this site friendly for them for networking can only be a good thing.

Welcome to the 21st century of computing life.

I agree with you on this Jae, I don't share old Astro's doomsday views on social networking, as it's a natural counterpart/extension of forums IMO...Profiles and buddies and such are all well, but to have discussions on a certain topic or meet new people etc the forums are still gonna be heavily used, it also depends on the popularity of a certain video game that'll affect certain forums, like the Force Unleashed one will probably boom very shortly (especially with it being so multi-platform), and these new features can only help spread the joy

[Rev7]

I really like the new features!

I like the multi-quote, and it is pretty cool to have a friends list. I think that I might start a blog too....anyways, I strongly approve of the new features. Good work tk!

[Pho3nix]

I approve.

[jonathan7]

I'm neutral, I'll use the new features, I'm not going to complain about then, I come to LF to hear peoples thoughts, and tell them what I think... That hasn't changed

[Det. Bart Lasiter]

Originally Posted by Ray Jones

I'd like to have the points system back, and the shop where I can buy name glows and user titles, attachments and other stuff.

I want my name in marquee tags

[Astrotoy7]

How the heck do you switch off friend requests. Ive got 240(and rising) that keep popping up and annoying the heck out of me.

I dont even know who 99% of these clowns are, so bugger off!

Please, make it stop!!

mtfbwya

[stoffe]

Originally Posted by Astrotoy7

How the heck do you switch off friend requests. Ive got 240(and rising) that keep popping up and annoying the heck out of me.

It's currently not possible to turn off the friendship feature for individual members, there's just a setting to turn it off for user groups or disable it forum-wide. Would have to make changes to the vBulletin scripts to add something like that. I'll have a look and see how hard it would be to add.

That many requests sounds pretty odd though. Could be a bug somewhere, or some bot used to spam-flood friend requests as harassment (if all the members who send them are recently registered and have no posts).

[Thrik]

To be honest I've hardly even noticed the new features, and have just kept on using the forums as I did before. They seem like something you can ignore exceedingly easy if you don't really care for them. I'm not sure how they could be detrimental to anyone or anything, as they're really just fluff around what's a regular forum.

I don't think there'd have been much point in having a poll beforehand, though. We had to upgrade the forum software for the sake of security and resolving bugs, and most of what's been introduced was simply part of the newer vBulletin package. It probably seems like quite a lot because we'd fallen very far behind with regards to versions, and a lot of new features had been introduced in that time.

If certain things attract overwhelmingly negative or positive opinion then they can be either de-emphasised or given more exposure. Just leave posts in the feedback forum please.

[Thrik]

Originally Posted by Ray Jones

I'd like to have the points system back, and the shop where I can buy name glows and user titles, attachments and other stuff.

You know, I could kill you and nobody would ever find the body.

[stoffe]

Originally Posted by Ray Jones

I'd like to have the points system back, and the shop where I can buy name glows and user titles, attachments and other stuff.

Originally Posted by Thrik

You know, I could kill you and nobody would ever find the body.

I think that can safely be interpreted as the Over my dead body kind of No.

[mimartin]

Originally Posted by Astrotoy7

How the heck do you switch off friend requests. Ive got 240(and rising) that keep popping up and annoying the heck out of me.

Originally Posted by stoffe

That many requests sounds pretty odd though. Could be a bug somewhere, or some bot used to spam-flood friend requests as harassment (if all the members who send them are recently registered and have no posts).

Sounds to me like either Astrotoy7 has a bunch of wannabe friends or someone’s goal is to annoy him. It is rather strange coincidence that this “bug” would only affect Astrotoy7, the most visible opponent of these changes to the forum. I would imagine that the bug or bugs walk on two legs and can use a keyboard.

[Ray Jones]

oo thirky-poo you know you love me and you would not kill me because you know if i stop calling a certain number every 21 minutes certain authorities will receive a certain tape containing exact information about how a certain member of a certain online community got aaallllll those hundreds of thousands of points back then ;~~~

[Ctrl Alt Del]

Is there a way not to approve it? The pessimistic predictments of community splintering are a bit too, uh, pessimistic.

[EnderWiggin]

Originally Posted by Ctrl_Alt_Del

Is there a way not to approve it? The pessimistic predictments of community splintering are a bit too, uh, pessimistic.

???

Do you mean predictions? And if so, what are you trying to say about them?

And what are you trying to say about approving? If you don't approve, there's an option for that in the poll.

_EW_

[Sabretooth]

Originally Posted by Astrotoy7

How the heck do you switch off friend requests. Ive got 240(and rising) that keep popping up and annoying the heck out of me.

I dont even know who 99% of these clowns are, so bugger off!

Please, make it stop!!

Come now Astro, don't you want to be a part of our friendly and social atmosphere where we friends can socialize because it is fun? Don't you just love what the Internet can do?

[GeneralPloKoon]

I wouldn't notice an update....

[Astrotoy7]

Originally Posted by mimartin

Sounds to me like either Astrotoy7 has a bunch of wannabe friends or someone’s goal is to annoy him. It is rather strange coincidence that this “bug” would only affect Astrotoy7, the most visible opponent of these changes to the forum. I would imagine that the bug or bugs walk on two legs and can use a keyboard.

or perhaps a bug that reads too many Mad Magazines

mtfbwya

[littleman794]

the new features are pretty sweet


(")>.<(")

[Kjølen]

Ordinarily, I'd say I was neutral since the new features, at the very least, do not bother me. However, some of them look a bit interesting, such as the member groups and the photo sharing. Obviously, I'm not over-zealously enthusiastic, but I guess I approve.

[Thaatiba]

This is the most functional forum that i've used, also easiest and the funniest.