Would you still post here...?

[Valiance]

If post count wasn't tracked?
If you didn't have a personal user profile?
If the website didn't have badges?
If the website didn't have a friend system?
If you didn't have a "new message" when you were quoted? (This one a lot of people turn off anyway, but yeah.)
If simple polls weren't allowed?
If list threads weren't allowed?
If vs. threads weren't allowed?
If all topics were designed to promote discussion, and only discussion? Not mindless drivel, not inside jokes, not one-line answers...
If the search button was actually used...?

Would you still be here? Why?

I think it'd be quite dry, personally...I'd hate to say I'm a forum whore or achievement whore or I'm LEVL'IN UP ON MY MMORPG WIT MY POST COUNT but honestly, it feels good to have things I say documented...I like being able to go back to my first post...Quaint inside jokes that I don't understand make me smile because it shows that some of the community is tight-knit, and I'm glad...

Badges look pretty sweet, and having special exclusives for participating in a community event is always pretty cool. Even though other forums have emblems and similar things, I think the Escapist badges are the most stylish I've seen. Even though I hardly PM anyone on my friend list, it's still good to have it there, because most of the time, I friend them because they say interesting things - and it's good to be able to check what my friends have recently said there.

A notification when I'm quoted makes me feel that my statements haven't gone unnoticed - that perhaps others share my point of view, or even better yet, could correct me in a logical fashion...

Polls, vs. threads, and list threads might not be an older user's cup of tea, but who cares? It's not like it stops you from making your own topic, and no one forces you to read "MASTER CHIEF VS KRATOS WHO WINS," or "Games you liked but no one else did!" or whatever...Even though they might bump your topic down, there's no reason why you can't just stick it back up there if you have something to add, right?

Besides, they bring new users over with an easy transition...

And if the search button was used, well...We'd have a similar call of "necrophiliac" every time someone bumped a 3 month old thread that was the same idea as theirs. Hey, maybe they just joined, so they might not know that we have an unnecessary religion thread every week...

I love the Escapist.
I'd probably stick around but I'd probably visit much much less without these cute additions.

How about you?
Would these things being gone bother you? Be honest, now.

Would you stay?
Would you enjoy it?

 

[daviejjd]

I bet you get few replies to this post

 

[traceur_]

If all those things were gone then the escapist forums would be kinda boring.

 

[Nazulu]

To be honest, probably not, I hate when people use of the search button!

 

[SharPhoe]

If all those things were gone then the escapist forums would be kinda boring.

Exactly. I think I'd feel like I'm writing a TPS report or something every time I posted.

To me, even with the rehashed threads, flame-bait arguments, and the occasional troll/d-bag, The Escapist is a wonderful place to be. It ain't perfect, but it's home.

 

[AlphaOmega]

If post count wasn't tracked? Yes
If you didn't have a personal user profile? Yes
If the website didn't have badges? Yes
If the website didn't have a friend system? Yes
If you didn't have a "new message" when you were quoted? (This one a lot of people turn off anyway, but yeah.) Yes
If simple polls weren't allowed? Yes
If list threads weren't allowed? Yes
If vs. threads weren't allowed? Yes
If all topics were designed to promote discussion, and only discussion? Not mindless drivel, not inside jokes, not one-line answers... Yes
If the search button was actually used...? Yes

 

[Nmil-ek]

Considering the only thing I have bothered with thus far is my profile and my avatar it would really not bother me. If this forum like so many others I have visited would suddenly bar religious/political and economic discussions then maybe I would leave though the community has endeared me so maybe not. If there were no more VS threads that would be a bloody dream come true can we have that now? please?

Though I would be lying if I said I was not trying ot go for a perfect 1k without annoying the moderators

 

[Christemo]

dont think i would.

 

[leaman474]

I couldn't be bothered to read the line of text so... /shrug

 

[Chipperz]

I couldn't be bothered to read the line of text so... /shrug

Well, isn't it lucky you could still be bothered to post? I'm glad we all got to see how lazy you are.

I'd probably still be here - I came for the movies, stayed for the forums, and all the crap I've seen so far hasn't got rid of me...

 

[Andalusa]

It will be very boring, sure some of the interesting topics might keep me hanging around.

 

[Fire Daemon]

Ha... Hahahahaha... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Oh good God this too funny!

Would I be a member of the Escapist if all those things were gone/replaced/implaced? Yes, in fact I might be more of a member (that sounded dirty).

Original Poster, you've basiacly described the Escapist as it once was minus the post count, friendslist and profile page, things that didn't matter back then anyway.

Frankly. I think the removal of all of these things would make the website better. I don't see how it would make it dry, it would promote discussion and create a stronger community, especially removing the VS threads. Anything that encourages discussion and reading all the posts ina thread would make this website much, much better.

So maybe it isn't that funny but it is pretty interesting to see how this forum is in the eyes of newer users. I'm suprised some of the newer people see the gadgets and gizmos as vital aspects of the Escapist experience while older users tend to seem them as non-essential add ons.

Interesting note: VS threads and list threads are not allowed. What's the deal with people thinking they are.

 

[lumenadducere]

Yes, I still would. I like having a user profile because I like having my posts attributed to me, but the rest of the stuff really doesn't matter to me.

 

[Rickyvantof]

No, because then it would be boring.

 

[SmilingKitsune]

Well it would take a lot of the fun a way, badges and post count are records of your time here, and it's nice to be able to display a badge that tells people for example, that you posted 1000 times without saying anything stupid and getting a suspended etc.
The forums would still be largely the same, just strippped of the sense of community, which is one of the things I love most here, so I'm not really sure if I would.

 

[Vibgyor]

Maybe they could make a new section for the Vs. Threads? Then we could all ignore it

[http://heresy-online.net/daemons/adoptables/5782-loe.htm]

 

[mshcherbatskaya]

When I originally came onto this site, post count was tracked, we had user profiles, and I think a friending system was in place. There were no badges or notification PMs, and there was a single totalitarian mod who would shut down threads for being stupid or pointless, and would ban people because, in his sole opinion, they were attention-whoring or "being a dick."

Not to be a moaning oldbie, but the system worked, because the people who did want earnest discussion stayed, and the people who just wanted to chit-chat and hang out went to forums that were geared to that sort of thing. And believe it or not, we had fun, and lots of it. The forums did not fossilize into a solid block of serious business. And the sense of community? Incredibly strong. You see the remnants of it even now in the clannishness of the oldbies.

Obviously, the place has changed since then, and people clearly enjoy the more lightweight nature of the forums as they are now, or they would leave. Well, leave or complain a lot. I've done both, and yet here I am, posting away. And under the old regime, some current, well-respected Escapists would have been whacked with a banhammer for self-indulgence. I remember Khell getting banned for writing a post about his vacation, so posts like Lab's "Artist" thread would have probably been bombed from orbit. And the RPs? Forget about it. Not a chance in hell.

This isn't an either/or situation. The situation you described never existed on the Escapist, at least as long as I've known of it.

Now that I've lectured you whippersnappers on the days of Ye Olde Escapiste under the reign of King Joe, I suppose I should answer your questions.

If post count wasn't tracked? - YES

If you didn't have a personal user profile? - YES. Many people don't put any info in their user profiles to begin with.

If the website didn't have badges? - YES.

If the website didn't have a friend system? - YES. I do like the friend system, though, because it makes it easier to track my RPs.

If you didn't have a "new message" when you were quoted? (This one a lot of people turn off anyway, but yeah.) - YES

If simple polls weren't allowed? - YES

If list threads weren't allowed? - YES. These are actually discouraged in the current guidelines.

If vs. threads weren't allowed? - YES. These are actually discouraged in the current guidelines.

If all topics were designed to promote discussion, and only discussion? Not mindless drivel, not inside jokes, not one-line answers... - If that would ban the RPs, I would be sad, but if it also reduced the bullshit content of Off-Topic, I would be willing to make the trade-off. So YES.

If the search button was actually used...? YES. Yes! A thousand times yes!

 

[Lord Krunk]

It's not about the site itself, it's the community behind it that matters most to me.

When I first entered this site, it didn't have half the number of people here now. A nice, inviting place that let me have my say, so long as I spell it correctly. Incidentally, the place fit me like a glove.

As a result, yes, I would still post here. If the community doesn't change, then I'm fine by it.