Please! My Eyes Burn!: A Rant and Discussion

[Isaac Dodgson]

Oh, It's rant time my fellow escapists, and though I haven't ranted here, my friends personally know me for my embittered tirades on subjects of any matter.

A line must be drawn here on this forum. And the mundane, empty threads need to stop, or at the very least be slowed down a whole lot.

I don't mean to police this place, that's not my job and we have very capable people to do that sort of thing for us. But we can't rely on them all the time, and rather we need to learn restraint. What constitute a stupid or mediocre topic in my opinion?

[li]Threads started for the sole purpose to gain the 10,000 post badge[/li]
[li]Topics repeated because of the creator's lack of search for a previously existing topic[/li]
[li]Polls, or discussion threads whose OP is shallow and undeveloped.[/li]
[li]"What's your insert adjective and then noun or nouns here" threads that are underdeveloped and plain over all, offering no depth for discussion[/li]
[li]Any and all threads whose soul purpose is to start an argument between one group of people against the other.[/li]

I've seen too many of these recently around here and I've personally have had enough of this. Perfectly good topics are being drowned out by these, and I know I'm not the only one who feels this way. I started a thread a while ago entitled "Why all the why all the hate on blankety blank." Which pointed out a current trend in threads at the time, and one that annoyed me a bit. It was a meme, one that was getting old fast, and though it's ended, it seems this one, of people posting topics for the sake of posting topics, and not put more than what appears to be a minute or two of thought into the post has irked me quite a bit

[li]Original posts. If you're starting a thread, make sure your first post seeds the thread with something to discuss. If you want to talk about a game, give us some background or post a mini-review. When you start a thread, ask yourself why other people should care.[/li]

Do people read the rule threads any more. This directly aimed to the new comers. who have started a few ridiculous topics. Have you not asked yourself why other's should care? It's something that I try to do before every post never mind the few topics I've started...

Look, I'm not insulting anyone's intelligence here, but I will openly insult your common sense if you warrant such. Put a little thought into your damn topics before you post them, please for the sake of all those who happen to read them, and for the eyes which have been burned by those who've read the ones who have not.

With all of this being said, I will seed this topic with a discussion. Argue for or against the things i've said. Am I completely off my rocker, or out of place with these things and should just shut up? Or have i brought up a good point?

 

[Solo508]

Welcome to the internets.

EDIT: Sorry... that was rude of me. What I meant to say was; your damn right, but this is what its like on every public message board on the internet. Its something you just have to put up with. I have to say though, the Escapist is one of the few that do a great job of keeping those kind of people on a leash.

 

[Lvl 64 Klutz]

A. Last one doesn't really belong, because it's the whole core of a debate. Very popular, and if handled in a mature fashion, is one of the key features of any forum.

B. You forgot to mention inside joke threads, which have been exploding recently. The PM function is there for a reason, people.

 

[PersianLlama]

Welcome to the internets.

QFT

 

[ElephantGuts]

Nice guidlines.

I do suggest that new comers to the Escapist take some time to check out existing and successful threads before making their own, to get a feel of how we civilized gentlemen converse...er...how we talk. So you can fit in with everyone else, you know. That advice will get you far through life. I hope.

 

[josh797]

this thread is full of win. i find myself less and less interested in the topics here. its just irritating, ive seen fewer and fewer interesting threads here, and more and more, whats your fav game? what scares you? blah blah blah, nothing insightful to say, just posting for the hell of it, almost makes me want to leave.

PLEASE PLEASE consider before your post, if you are saying something anyone cares about, dont ask questions, make statements, thats how good conversations start. when someone bring up an interesting topic its infinitely better than just a question that required no thought to ask, and little thought to answer

 

[Isaac Dodgson]

A. Last one doesn't really belong, because it's the whole core of a debate. Very popular, and if handled in a mature fashion, is one of the key features of any forum.

B. You forgot to mention inside joke threads, which have been exploding recently. The PM function is there for a reason, people.

Ah, I do agree with you about the last one. Controversial topics can be great, in fact most are, but there have been a few whose purpose was not discussion, but simply to spark a flame war.

And yes, it's the internet, i know, and stupidity and the internet go hand in hand. But this current trend of raising levels of stupid threads is what's bothering me.

 

[Space Spoons]

Normal people have come to the Escapist forums. It was only a matter of time, really. We all knew it wouldn't stay a safe haven for intelligent discussion for long.

As with any Internet forum, I don't think there's much that can be done about this. The best course of action would be to just avoid the constantly repeated tripe and make sure to post on the worthwhile stuff.

 

[Isaac Dodgson]

Even as I post this there are four threads at the bottom of the first page list that have been both started and locked today, and three of those have been polls! This is what I'm talking about, do we not hold ourselves in a higher regard? We must, if you, Space Spoons, have referred to them as "Normal" people.

... But maybe this is just a silly dream.

 

[Space Spoons]

Well, by normal, I meant normal by the standards of the Internet, meaning dumb as a sack of hammers. As it's already been said, stupidity is the order of the day in Inter-Land.

 

[Labyrinth]

Even as I post this there are four threads at the bottom of the first page list that have been both started and locked today, and three of those have been polls! This is what I'm talking about, do we not hold ourselves in a higher regard? We must, if you, Space Spoons, have referred to them as "Normal" people.

... But maybe this is just a silly dream.

FAQ you! [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.76446]

 

[Chartist]

true, but you don't have to read them

 

[Isaac Dodgson]

true, but you don't have to read them

Yes, but the current influx of them is drowning perfectly decent topics of discussion, and THAT'S something worth getting upset over in my opinion.

 

[Imitation Saccharin]

I just realized how caustic and hateful I've become. So in the vein of newfound empathy, isn't this thread exactly what you are complaining about?

Wait fuck. This will be harder then I thought.

 

[Isaac Dodgson]

I just realized how caustic and hateful I've become. So in the vein of newfound empathy, isn't this thread exactly what you are complaining about?

Wait fuck. This will be harder then I thought.

If you can argue to me how this thread is both pointless and lacks any sort of substance or depth and in the long run is mundane, meaningless and over all a waste of space...then sure it is

 

[Lvl 64 Klutz]

Even as I post this there are four threads at the bottom of the first page list that have been both started and locked today, and three of those have been polls! This is what I'm talking about, do we not hold ourselves in a higher regard? We must, if you, Space Spoons, have referred to them as "Normal" people.

... But maybe this is just a silly dream.

FAQ you! [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.76446]

What's the argument or point, here? That thread is a perfect example of something where 50% of the posts should be in PM's rather than on the main forum

 

[nightowlc]

I don't mean to police this place, that's not my job and we have very capable people to do that sort of thing for us. But we can't rely on them all the time, and rather we need to learn restraint. What constitute a sthttp://oascentral.warcry.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/escapistmagazine.com/L20/1729641609/Bottom/Warcry/EscShow_allpositions/TES_300x250BoxAd.png/5330516f626b673871777341446f3676?xupid or mediocre topic in my opinion?

[li]Threads started for the sole purpose to gain the 10,000 post badge[/li]
[li]Topics repeated because of the creator's lack of search for a previously existing topic[/li]
[li]Polls, or discussion threads whose OP is shallow and undeveloped.[/li]
[li]"What's your insert adjective and then noun or nouns here" threads that are underdeveloped and plain over all, offering no depth for discussion[/li]
[li]Any and all threads whose soul purpose is to start an argument between one group of people against the other.[/li]

I've seen too many of these recently around here and I've personally have had enough of this. Perfectly good topics are being drowned out by these, and I know I'm not the only one who feels this way.

I've only been checking out the Escapist for a few months and only recently joined as a member (haven't even gotten around to putting up an avatar picture). I occasionally glance at the list of forum topics and find very little of interest.

So, I completely agree with your post.

Unfortunately, I fear very few people will pay any attention to what you are saying. As of right now, your thread has only 13 posts in it. By comparison, the FAQ You thread which is only a couple days old has 700+ posts in it, and after reading through two pages (out of 20+) I wrote it off as some of the most boring self-absorbed group navel-gazing I've seen in months.

 

[chronobreak]

It's the net. You'll be fine, take a salt tablet. Or don't take an internet discussion forum too seriously. You see a dumb thread, or one that's against the rules? Report, or don't take the time to look at it.