(no subject)
The Hoosier Web Message Boards are some of the worst well-populated message boards on the planet. Obviously a message board with no people and posting is the worst kind. But as of today, 2744 people had registered for The Hoosierweb, about 1/10th of the population of Indiana University students, the target audience of the web page. Furthermore, today there were 1173 posts. That's an incredible amount. And yet these boards suck. So here's my reasons the boards suck and things to fix the boards.
1) Totally unmoderated: There is just next-to-no moderation on the boards. The only threads which are ever locked are ones which end up as personal attacks toward the site owner(s).
2) No search function: There is no way to search the boards and find which topics had already been posted. As a result, there are four threads asking "Can boobs be too big?". Sometimes there are multiple ways to look at something, or someone has found a new way to rehash a topic, but even then a good search function would allow a topic to be found and maintained as one thread, rather than splintered ideas.
3) Lack of netiquette: Rare is the topic which doesn't turn into a series of personal attacks and flames. ALL CAPS SHOUTING is common as well. Ideologies and views that people don't agree with are not respected at all.
4) Needless posts: Often, a thread will pick up over 100 replys very quickly. Most of these replys are of the "lol, cool" variety.
5) Inability to stay on topic: People cannot seem to stay on topic. A thread about the final four might end up as a discussion of NFL quarterbacks or the sex appeal of J.J. Redick.
6) No signatures: Signatures are an important way to forum member to express themselves as long as they are not too large or distractings. A number of full posts could be eliminated by having signatures.
"Stop whining Taco, you're just saying this because you're a big nerd who loves those Trillian forums." That's partly true. I am whining. I am a big nerd, and I do think those forums are a model community which the Hoosier Web could be. If the following things are put into place:
1) A search function: A search function cuts down on duplicate threads, keeps the boards clean, and makes it easier to find information and topics to talk about.
2) More aggressive moderation: A policy of moderating the forums more aggressively will make the boards a vastly better place to be. I am convinced there are a number of registered users who do not post for the sole reason that they will be personally attacked by any and all who disagree with them. Also, if you're going to have a search function, someone has to enforce the use of it. Duplicate threads, threads which stray too far off topic, threads which turn into personal attacks and and thread which the starter requests to be locked or recieves too many complaints should be locked. Obviously different standards will be used in each board, i.e. Sex and Dating would have almost no moderation based on sexually explict material, but the Sports Talk board would have more. Most board members are college students, and that should be taken into account as well. Threads should also be moved if posted in the wrong board. I understand this takes much more time than just letting every fly and warning people about it. But a number of members hang out in the forums frequently, and are quite familiar with the culture of the forums and could easily become moderators. A quick goggle search brings up a number of pages with tips and guides to being a forum moderator.
3) A good free chat room: The current chat room on THW is a paid service, which is of very poor quality and which is poorly populated. If the chat room was free, and a good quality chat room too, then fewer mundane conversations would take place on the boards, cleaning them up and drastically reducing the amount of needless posts.
4) Continued off-line meeting of forum members: This is either going to be most successful of the changes or the least successful. My theory is that as forum members meet, certain discussions will be taken offline or to another online resource (that is, AIM, chat room, e-mail). As members meet, they will see each other as more people, rather than faceless screennames. More respect would develop, and people would begin to understand each other's tendancies better, so people would be less likely to be offended by something that wasn't meant to be offensive.
5) Add signatures and polls: Signatures allow participants to express themselves more on the forums, leading to a richer experience. Polls reduce posts because if one has nothing to add to a question other than an answer (or wishes to answer anonymously) then they can just select a poll option rather than actually posting.
This all comes down to the following question: Are the site operators happy with the community they have created? If they are, they enjoy the dymanics of the community, do not see the problems I do or do not object to them as I do, and are happy with the level of features on the forums, then it is their perogative to leave the site as it is. If they are not, and wish for a more respectful community while still giving Indiana University students a place to come together online, these suggestions should go a long way.
1) Totally unmoderated: There is just next-to-no moderation on the boards. The only threads which are ever locked are ones which end up as personal attacks toward the site owner(s).
2) No search function: There is no way to search the boards and find which topics had already been posted. As a result, there are four threads asking "Can boobs be too big?". Sometimes there are multiple ways to look at something, or someone has found a new way to rehash a topic, but even then a good search function would allow a topic to be found and maintained as one thread, rather than splintered ideas.
3) Lack of netiquette: Rare is the topic which doesn't turn into a series of personal attacks and flames. ALL CAPS SHOUTING is common as well. Ideologies and views that people don't agree with are not respected at all.
4) Needless posts: Often, a thread will pick up over 100 replys very quickly. Most of these replys are of the "lol, cool" variety.
5) Inability to stay on topic: People cannot seem to stay on topic. A thread about the final four might end up as a discussion of NFL quarterbacks or the sex appeal of J.J. Redick.
6) No signatures: Signatures are an important way to forum member to express themselves as long as they are not too large or distractings. A number of full posts could be eliminated by having signatures.
"Stop whining Taco, you're just saying this because you're a big nerd who loves those Trillian forums." That's partly true. I am whining. I am a big nerd, and I do think those forums are a model community which the Hoosier Web could be. If the following things are put into place:
1) A search function: A search function cuts down on duplicate threads, keeps the boards clean, and makes it easier to find information and topics to talk about.
2) More aggressive moderation: A policy of moderating the forums more aggressively will make the boards a vastly better place to be. I am convinced there are a number of registered users who do not post for the sole reason that they will be personally attacked by any and all who disagree with them. Also, if you're going to have a search function, someone has to enforce the use of it. Duplicate threads, threads which stray too far off topic, threads which turn into personal attacks and and thread which the starter requests to be locked or recieves too many complaints should be locked. Obviously different standards will be used in each board, i.e. Sex and Dating would have almost no moderation based on sexually explict material, but the Sports Talk board would have more. Most board members are college students, and that should be taken into account as well. Threads should also be moved if posted in the wrong board. I understand this takes much more time than just letting every fly and warning people about it. But a number of members hang out in the forums frequently, and are quite familiar with the culture of the forums and could easily become moderators. A quick goggle search brings up a number of pages with tips and guides to being a forum moderator.
3) A good free chat room: The current chat room on THW is a paid service, which is of very poor quality and which is poorly populated. If the chat room was free, and a good quality chat room too, then fewer mundane conversations would take place on the boards, cleaning them up and drastically reducing the amount of needless posts.
4) Continued off-line meeting of forum members: This is either going to be most successful of the changes or the least successful. My theory is that as forum members meet, certain discussions will be taken offline or to another online resource (that is, AIM, chat room, e-mail). As members meet, they will see each other as more people, rather than faceless screennames. More respect would develop, and people would begin to understand each other's tendancies better, so people would be less likely to be offended by something that wasn't meant to be offensive.
5) Add signatures and polls: Signatures allow participants to express themselves more on the forums, leading to a richer experience. Polls reduce posts because if one has nothing to add to a question other than an answer (or wishes to answer anonymously) then they can just select a poll option rather than actually posting.
This all comes down to the following question: Are the site operators happy with the community they have created? If they are, they enjoy the dymanics of the community, do not see the problems I do or do not object to them as I do, and are happy with the level of features on the forums, then it is their perogative to leave the site as it is. If they are not, and wish for a more respectful community while still giving Indiana University students a place to come together online, these suggestions should go a long way.