Netiquette, lazyness and common courtesy, some sort of reminder Options

[Kaptin Gavrin]

Hear, hear! If I'm going to take time out of my day to check a forum, I want it to be an enjoyable experience.

[Bozo]

I am still of the mind that alot of the mistakes caused by newer members are borne of ignorance, not laziness.

I really think it would improve the forum if there was a topic pinned in each section (Meks garage, Goff fortress etc.) just telling all the new members how to behave. I know there already is a message like this on da message board, but I think that the message board is not where most new members gravitate first. They just head to meks garage, goff fortress or what-have-you and start posting.

So if there was a friendly: what to do and what not to do message pinned in each subsection I think it would help alot, epecially for annoying things like threadomancy, which is caused by new members being unaware of PMs, or how do i make rivvit threads, which are caused by unawareness of the search function.

Even if little messages like this would be OT in most subsections, it would save everyone a lot of head aches and annoyance.

my two teef



EDIT: i have been wondering about banners in sigs. Is this acceptable? Someone (can't remember who, but you know who you are) told me that they were not alowed, but in the past couple of days i have seen a few flying around here and there. So what is the actual policy on this.

(or am i asking in th wrong place/is this stated somewhere i dunno about)

[Sneeky Git]

Thanks a lot again for your suggestions, Bozo. Rest assured that we have thought about these things hundreds and thousands of times and have discussed about any scenario imaginable to solve these problems. But no matter what, we end up with the same questions. And to your suggestions they are:

Would those who don't care to read the very basic notices in Da Message Board or take a closer look (the search function e.g. isn't that well hidden, is it?) read those extra topics? And aren't a lot of these things so basic and self-evident that they can be expected from everyone who browses the internet? And we do already have a whole section for common questions, that is quite obvious and still frequently neglected.

As for banners in sigs, we've long since banned them because they slow down the site for those members who have dial-up connections (to cut a long story short). So no banners on The Waaagh.

[ghaleon88]

Hey Sneeky, is there any way to send a PM to EVERYONE in the forum? Some kind of auto-spam PM?

Because you could type up a similar form-netiquette reminder, and then everyone would be forced to read it rather than only some people bothering to read this post.

Especially because it's been pointed out that most of the people who read this post aren't the ones who need the reminder.

[Sneeky Git]

I'll check with Krum who is our board-mek-maniac. In any event we have da grot messenga which might be worth a try.

Not to sound sarcastic, but if someone opens a PM doesn't necessarily mean he reads it or reads all of it. Even if it's a firm warning...

[lordmetroid]

I have to say, that being somewhat of a signature-image nazi at the end of last year when I didn't have much to do during work hours rather than idling at The waaagh, I became quite bored out of policing and informing people regarding the matter and what had been previously dicussed. Not all the time they took the message to their heart but for the most time the new members did and was actually happy to have been informed about such policies that The Waaagh have.

I can just say I'll understand the workload The HQ has somewhat better when I myself participated in it on my own inititaive.

Nowdays however I find idling at The Waaagh to be less attractive for many reaons. I'm not building anything on my army, I allready finished it to the point where I will not paint another model before the new codex comes out. But also because the topics seems less appealing to me nowdays. I'm rarely in Mek'z garage sometime I do sneak by and see something stunning and/or worth commenting on. But mostly The Fungus beer house is the location of my attention.

I'm noticing so many more locked posts and disputes, it's like the Warboss died and now people are brawling to get the position just cretaing chaos in it's trails. Something I'm somewhat concerned about. I'm all for open dicussion but the topic of the discussions must be sane

[WarbossGrimgazza]

The part about the search function is very good stuff sneeky.

Now but in my humble opinion it is also spamming to post a message saying nothing except:

Use the search function ye git!!!

It is a one liner and has little or no potential of doing any difference, it just clutts down the forum and a lot of these things makes the board look visually ugly as hell.

But then, great topic and when it gets locked in da message board, you have my word there'll be a link in my sig!

[Agatheron]

Also, one more note from one of the Nob-types...

If you see a topic that is either inappropriate, out of line, or otherwise needs to be dealt with, please report the post. The small Arbork icon in the bottom of the post is the best way to have something dealt with, rather than adding one's own comment on how appropriate/inappropriate a given topic or post might be. If something's inappropriate, don't give it the bandwidth, just let us know via the report button and we'll deal with it accordingly.

I may not be as overtly active as the other HQ, but I certainly do check in every day... even so, I know that I cannot read every single thread out there... I am grateful that the report button is used when it is...

[Sneeky Git]

Unfortunately enough, this topic had to be dug up from the dead and made a sticky again *sigh* Is it really so difficult to be polite on the net?

[Kr00zA]

Id like to add my two teef and comment on people uploading pictures of both massive dimentions and file size.
I find it very hard to beleive this is due to anything other than thoughtless lazziness.
I upload a fair ole bit and am very grateful for it. I take time to complie my shots into one picture and save it in a small size formate 'ie JPEG' All of which can easierly be done with MS Paint, a program Im sure almost everyone has.
There are members that dont do this 'mainly noobs' and it winds me up no end.
We dont pay for the bandwidth, so we should show our gratitude by using it as sparingly as possible.

[itainteasybeingr...]

Thanks, Sneeky, it's always good to get a reminder. And I'm particluarly happy that the Waaagh! is a grammer friendly board. I came here from Warseer, where the l33t and laziness had caused the mods to all but give up on policing post content. The battle was epic and contentious, and I eventually gave it up as a bad job. Much happier here, and I owe it to the nobz and bossez, so thank you

Just a couple of additions from my personal experience

When I first joined the Waaagh!, I went back fifteen or twenty pages on the forums I was interested in. Usually that will take you well past the surface of the thread cemetary and into territory where you don't dare even HAVE a shovel, let alone use it. Therefore, I tended to ignore the search function at first. The thing that egged me into using it was the raft of UTSF one-liners. Particularly the ones that included links to some of the more pertinent results.

So while I agree that "use the search function, ya git!" isn't the best use of bandwidth or the best method of education, "use the search function, ya git!" followed by a couple of links to search function answers works well for both purposes.

The report function: I've always been very reluctant to click on the arbork. I somehow thought it wasn't really my place. But following the recent contratemps in the FHB I've taken to using it rather than replying to obviously "wrong" threads (the orc boy anyone?) Nobody's showed up at my door with a choppa or PMed me that I'm an uppity git who "dinna know 'is place!" so far. Use it, Love is, keep da bosses happy.

And last, threadomancy: There have been times when I had to leave the computer to avoid responding to an ancient thread. Some of those old projects beg questions or comments that make my brain swell up. Particularly if somebody links to an old project by one of the masters, only to lead me to a pic-heavy thread with the pics removed. Maddening, I tell you! Is it even possible to have a coherent newb-friendly threadomancy policy?


Oh, and this one is just for me (and maybe krooza) Is it possible to have a Terminate and slay poster button? Something colorful but harmless that will visually riddle the avatar with bullets or slash it to pieces with a choppa? A java or macro, like? I know that if I could do that, I'd be much less likely to post a rash stab at some clueless goof who obviously isn't paying attention. I'm a hardware guy not a programmer, so I don't know if it's possible, but It beats squeezing my little stress ball till the sand shoots out and knocks my coffee cup over

Spell-checked by Red Sandz Sniperz

This post has been edited by Sneeky Git: Jul 31 2006, 11:53 AM

[Skarnuckle]

Two comments:

(a) Threadomancy. Whenyou encourage topic searching, its bound to happen. It really should be overlooked unless it is so plainly obvious that it was done to be annoying.

(b) I hope you have not found my pics too big.

[Sneeky Git]

Good point, Krooza. We tackled it a little with a maximum size for attachements, but there is no way of avoiding overly large pictures alltogether from our side. So please keep reminding (new) members that it is possible to shrink pictures. Not only does it take away bandwidth, it also slows down the connection speed for those members who still use dial-up.

Threadomancy. Is it bound to happen because we tell people to use the search function? I think not. Because you can read an older topic and use the reference without putting your own personal "Job's a gud 'un!" under it. If you have questions regarding it, PM the author. If you take a closer look, most "Use the search function" comments are made under a) common questions and b) "show me your battlewagons/trukks/warbosses..." Where there is really no need to dig up the old topic and comment. Once you've made up your mind for your own project it's time to start a new topic anyway.

On a final note: If you really, really have something substantial to say, people won't be bothered by a little threadomancy once in a while. Plus you can always start a new topic to discuss a certain aspect of an older project and link to it so people can use the old topic as reference. What will annoy people (and get even VUTs - very usefull topics - closed faster than you can say "choppa") is a non-descript one-liner without any true content.

[Kr00zA]

Good point, Krooza. We tackled it a little with a maximum size for attachements,

If its possible... you could disable the ability to upload BMPS files.
Nothing... and I mean nothing, anoyz me more than someone uploading a low quality MS Paint sketch in a BMP formate.

[Kaptun Krum]

I recently added some code in that resizes images linked through html tags vs. uploading to the same size as attached images. My big beef was people posting the huge pics and then havin them resize the whoel screen. So I hope that fixes that issue.

[Gashbad]

I for one think the change has been working brilliantly! If you just want a quick look at what somebody has done the thumbnail pic is about the right size so that you can see what's going on (if the pic is decent anyway) and if you want a more detailed look you can have the pic blown up to full size. A few more seconds of loading time well worth it for anyone who hates having to constantly scroll sideways to read someone's post (and I'm sure thats about 99% of the population)

[ThorDUDE]

It's a mixed blessing i say.
Sure i hated when ppl didn't crop thier pictures or resize them (which is very easy to do in PAINT!)
But i miss being able read the captions while seeing the picture, kinda takes it out of context.
Also it was a symbol of high-status to have your pics incorporated in the text, since it ment you were clever enough/cared enoughto get a photobucket account

[Ah stuff it that...]

Guilty as charged, I'm sure this is probably not the right place to put this but hey I think I need to say it somewhere, reading the above I think I can honestly say I've been guilty of most of the above and take this moment to briefly and unreservedly appologise.

Cheers to all the Bosses and Nobs who give up their time to bring us a fantastic site that has already given me countless ideas which I hope to share with you all in the future.

[Wyrd Boyz]

Come on, boyz, be good to yer bosses and odder boyz, get extra teef, and get yerself da best shoot in da whole band!