Forum rules

[Ego Eram Reputo]

I agree you guys should be less rough when enforcing rules.

Take school teachers for example. The lenient teachers have some rule breaking going on in class, but it is not a problem. The strict teachers on the other hand, keep everything squeaky clean but creativity is inhibited in the process and they get a bad reputation....

We have a class size of 17,910 (Total Members). When that gets out of hand who you gonna call?

PDF - good idea, BUT where would we put it? We could post it alongside the rules - which are..., not read..... Post it to their email address - how do we prove they have read it?

Video - Probably not an option for anyone with a slow (dial-up) connection.

I like:

A User Validation question to be directly related to the Rules. So prospective users would have to look them up. Along the lines of: "Which Forum Rule relates to descriptive thread titles?"

A competition thread for image interpretations of the rules. The funnier the better (Rule Ogres anyone?).

[Simon Brown]

If it's possible to add extra scripts to the theme, one way to decrease posting questions in plugins/tutorials might be to change the new topic button in the plugin section to say "post a new plugin."

Untested script to do this (requires jQuery):

if ($("#breadcrumb a[href*=7-plugins]").length > 0) $(".topic_buttons img[src*=page_white_add.png]").text("Post a New Plugin");

[Lance McKnight]

PDF - good idea, BUT where would we put it? We could post it alongside the rules - which are..., not read..... Post it to their email address - how do we prove they have read it?

Maybe I wasn't clear with the PDF idea. The original author will be responsible for adding the PDF at his/her discretion. It can go along with posted screenshots of the tutorials at the bottom of their guide. If the forums does not have the server space, then I can see this idea being shot down, so how can one add a PDF of the tutorial, that's the question. I know Mediafire is known to be very, shall I say, finicky. It doesn't have to be requirement.

[Tarat]

I like EER's idea of having a User validation question...kind of like how some sites make you type in a series of letters to prove that you are human.

I also like the competition idea. I think I would actually enter that =D

[jerry533482]

I'm not saying you guys should stop enforcing rules, I just wish you'd let up a bit on the sarcasm.

[Ego Eram Reputo]

Personally I tend to reserve sarcasm for the more experienced users. Who should know better and thus deserve a gentle/not-so-gentle ribbing.

[jerry533482]

Yes, but you guys lock every single freakin' topic if it's something small. Why wasn't the offtopic locked?

[mountnman]

Yes, but you guys lock every single freakin' topic if it's something small. Why wasn't the offtopic locked?

from what ive seen, threads get locked for three main reasons

1) massive stupidity-example- insulting anybody and everybody associated with PDN and the program its self

example- insulting a mod after being told of a rule violation

2) noncompliance with rule after fair warning- example- "you have 24 hours to insert screenshots in your tutorial" and then they dont do it

3) potential for a flame war- if a discussion is headed for an all-out arguement with very heated oppinions, then it gets locked to prevent things from being said that shouldnt be-- its better to lock the thread than to have to punish the people later

in all three cases i find it hard to argue for keeping such threads open

p.s. i LIKE the sarcasm mostly, it makes me laugh

[barbieq25]

Are we discussing ways to makes reading the rules more palatable for new users or what?

Mind you, some older hands could do with a refresher too.

[Ego Eram Reputo]

Yes, but you guys lock every single freakin' topic if it's something small.

Disagree. That's just not true.

We _may_ lock posts that transgress the rules, but we also move, edit & delete them. Perhaps you notice the locked ones more? The severity of the offence and relative experience of the User are taken into account when an action is undertaken.

RE: mountnman's example #2. I actually gave the user 5 days to add screenshots then 24 hours as a final warning. How much time does someone need?

[ventor1]

Rules will always be broken in err or as a deliberate means of flaunting them. It's human nature to do so and I personally believe that making any changes and/or adjustments is probably just a waste of admin. time. The rules exist as they are, and you break them at your own peril!

Ever read a warranty/guarantee from cover to cover on an electrical item that you've brought? ...somebody will now answer yes!

V

[Goonfella]

Ventor I know what you mean. Even when the previous forum had a great big orange bar across the page people still never read them. I do think the competition idea is a good one though.

Edited January 5, 2011 by Goonfella

[Lance McKnight]

Yes, but you guys lock every single freakin' topic if it's something small. Why wasn't the offtopic locked?

I wonder if Jerry is still upset about Rick locking several topics that has something to do with v4.0?

[pdnnoob]

I do agree that there will always be some people that don't read the rule. There is no way everyone will read them. It is for that reason that I also like EER's suggestion of a User Validation Question. Perhaps if one was randomly generated at the end of the account creation similar to the check for human, you can at least get every new user to read one of the rules...

[Ego Eram Reputo]

The evil side of me wants to add the 'Rule' question to every login

[jerry533482]

I wonder if Jerry is still upset about Rick locking several topics that has something to do with v4.0?

It's not even that, it's just if you look at some old topics, Rick always seemed so much more cheerful.

And if you look at pretty much any other forum out there, there's a new plenthora of topics everyday, and they have less members than us. I just think the mods are being over-restrictive.

[Djisves]

I've been surfing the internet since 1996 and, at different times, I've been a member of countless fora on a (very) wide variety of subjects, two of which I moderate, one with 90,000+ members. I can honestly say that this is the only forum I know that one can easily find the information and advice on offer. It's so well run that I always find what I'm looking for, in no time at all. I don't think I ever looked for a solution or an answer that wasn't readily available to me, even without actually having to ask for it! If the price to pay for this is strict adherence to the rules and the restrictions imposed by the mods, I'm happy to pay for it.

What I'm trying to say is that a happy and cheereful forum is one with happy and cheereful members, not one with cheereful admins or mods. A forum is a place where members (in this case even non-members) share information about their common interest. If the information is there, if the information is solid and true, if the information is easy to find then, for all intents and purposes, the forum is a happy and cheereful one. Enjoy what we have here and be thankful for the way the mods run this place.

[Ego Eram Reputo]

It's not even that, it's just if you look at some old topics, Rick always seemed so much more cheerful.

Perhaps he will cheer up if you hit the donate button.... It's worth a try!

And if you look at pretty much any other forum out there, there's a new plenthora of topics everyday, and they have less members than us. I just think the mods are being over-restrictive.

This is not a twitter account where users read every tword you twrite about your tweek. This is a forum for Paint.Net. The content submitted must be of some value ( possibly excepting some areas in the GTOE which are there for fun). Don't confuse quantity of posts with the quality of the information being provided.

[jerry533482]

An intelligent answer EER.

[Flipper]

At the risk of sounding like I am splitting hairs......

I do have a question about necroposting Rule # 11.

Why is it that bad?

If I search for something, and a very old post comes up and I have a question about it, why is it against the rules to post to it. Wouldn't it keep things streamlined? (all things about subject x in 1 post no matter how old). I understand the relevance of this rule on some forums, and for some subjects on this forum. (I see a post about Hitler last entered in 3 April 1944, I think I will ressurect it with me saying Hitler was bad) but this is a how-to forum for the most part. How something worked 2 years ago still applies today (2nd exception to this would be reference to rule #7 - latest software . did latest software fix issue and no longer pertainant?)

Just my opinion, (or maybe I am trying to prove that I read the rules )

[Sarkut]

Mostly because Paint.NET is actively developed, and many questions become out-of-date rapidly.

Of course, the subject matter isn't out-of-date in all older posts.

Having the clear anti-necroposting rule saves forum members and mods

from having to agonize over whether each individual topic is still relevant.

If there is an old post that just perfectly describes a subject we want to discuss,

we can make a new topic and include a link to the previous post.

[pdnnoob]

The evil side of me wants to add the 'Rule' question to every login

o.o I would have every rule committed to memory within a week!

I actually almost like that idea, but would like to modify it slightly. Answering a question every login is a bit ridiculous, I think, because sometimes, you just log in to take a look without doing anything that would be related to the rules. However, if one had to answer a question every POST, that's a different story I'm not actually completely serious about that. Just eating EER's idea and spitting it back out after letting my gastric juices work at it a bit...

[mountnman]

. Answering a question every login is a bit ridiculous, I think, because sometimes, you just log in to take a look without doing anything that would be related to the rules.

agreed, but what about a "Rule of the Day" banner that would appear on header or wherever , wouldnt even have to stick to just rules, but could include simple PDN features,like "Remember: Pressing the delete button will erase a selected section"-getting a bit off the orriginal topic a slight bit, i play runescape(yep and i admit it) and they have something similar at login- just a thought