Closing threads/No searching

[Pernicious]

Originally Posted by Smok

There is the Contact Us link, or you can just reply to the email sent out when a thread is closed. Of course, the people likely to kick up a stink in the first place are the ones that either don't read the rules, don't care about the rules, or can't see a sticky in the first place. And who wants them emailing LOL.

Well my thoughts were that, yeah there is the Contact Us link hidden in small text at the bottom of every page they could use, but if the offender didn't take the time to seek out the correct way of doing things in the stickies, then they wont search out the Contact Us link at the bottom of the page. Nor would many of them even think about using it when they can just post a new thread complaining. Sometimes Email takes a while to arrive at ones inbox or they simply might not check their email every few minutes like they would check new threads and replies to their own threads on a forum. I know that I'm constantly refreshing the forum pages far more frequently than i am checking my email.

So by including the "click here to respond to us closing your thread" email link at the end of the "We are closing your thread" post the moderators put up, more people might choose that option to respond than opening a new thread. Making it overly convenient for people is generally more effective in the end even if the Moderators should never have to do it in the first place.

This is all speculation, of course, and I may be assuming too much of how people react when their thread is closed. I merely put myself in that position to see what the most logical course of action I would take if I wasn't the type of person to take the effort to look stuff up.

[Warpy]

People who are unhappy here do have alternatives, good ones even, that give them other options, the official Blizzard Warlock Forums and Elitist Jerks both have very useful information for warlocks, but different ground rules from Warlock's Den.

If you want complete freedom to post as you please, the official Blizzard Warlock Forums offers just that, within the usual limits of Internet discussion (not a forum for racism, etc.). Yes, there will be problems, but these are a direct consequence of that freedom: it's full of trolls, hard to find good information, direct requests for information are frequently derailed, etc. That's why Warlock's Den is highly organized and moderated and why it should stay that way.

Often the mistakes are little ones or understandable ones. The post ydnandrew had closed "Specifics on socketing my pvp gear" would have been great in the equipment section if it had been "What's the best gem for a yellow socket in PvP gear once resilience-capped?" but it wasn't. And Akasha is right: all the extra information in the "Pimp my gear" profile would help, because the answer to that second question is "depends on the warlock." Warlocks still need some hit rating for PvP; and a lot of stam, etc. Tactics info (spell rotation by another name) helps too! So the help ydnandrew got (from Akasha) was not the help he was expecting, but it looks to me like it was intended as help, not a punishment. I hope he doesn't feel embarrassed, because it seems to me like an understandable error.

People are afraid to start new threads? Why? What's so bad about having a thread moved or closed when the moderator closes it with advice about how to get the information you want? It's embarrassing to make a mistake in front of hundreds of people, but if you're new, or it was a little one, no one whose opinion should matter will care much. The moderator is taking time to keep the forums well-organized and to help you get your post the greatest possible effect. Threads that are moved are much more likely to get useful responses in their new home, and all the threads that I've seen closed are inappropriate for the topic that they are in. Messages that get deleted save the original poster a lot of shame.

Most mistakes are getting treated as just that, mistakes. The moderators usually leave closed topics visible because the information about where to post a message like that is useful to everyone. Sometimes Akasha is having a bad day or the poster has made multiple mistakes and there's a scolding. People get banned, but it takes a lot of work, and the ones I've seen I wouldn't want in here at all. Bad reputation is something people can work to get rid of, if they even notice it.

If anyone wants a forum where mistakes are something to be afraid of, Elitist Jerks is the place. Almost all of the posts in those forums are great stuff, because if they are not, they get moved to locked threads in The Dung Heap:The Banhammer with the last word (rarely helpful) from the moderator. They have a complex point/infraction system to punish almost every one of these posters, usually with a temporary ban which keeps them from making another, more useful post and getting or saying what they need to. Quote splitting is described there as "general idiocy". On the other hand, Elitist Jerks is arguably the most informative WoW site out there at the Sunwell level for most classes.

For me, Warlock's Den is the best compromise, but that may not be true of all posters.

[Hakasa]

Originally Posted by Warpy

Messages that get deleted save the original poster a lot of shame.

I do believe that if the OP posted the message in the first place then he saw no shame in his question, therefore I see no reasoning behind that statement.. If getting a thread closed proves to save the OP from a lot of shame then this website can't be MUCH different from the WoW forums or EJ.. Right?

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by Hakasa

I do believe that if the OP posted the message in the first place then he saw no shame in his question, therefore I see no reasoning behind that statement.. If getting a thread closed proves to save the OP from a lot of shame then this website can't be MUCH different from the WoW forums or EJ.. Right?

The Warlock's Den is nothing at all like the Official WoW Forums. Good luck finding any useful information there. I don't know about the shame part of this topic, but having a post closed or moved is really only as big of a deal as people make it. Perhaps we all need thicker skin, eh?

[Nattal]

Originally Posted by Langseth

Not alone.

I just recently started playing wow this spring so starting out my knowledge base was limited to say the least. It was great to find this site, and it helped out a lot with some of the little obvious aspects of the game (yet not-so-obvious to a new player).

There IS a lot of information here, and that is also part of the problem on this end. Searching for an answer to a question often pulls up a year old thread with 20+ pages. Daunting, and possibly a waste of time to read if its out of date.

I'm personally in favor of an active conversational forum community that revisits topics in new threads from time to time. What's wrong with that? I understand the locking, but not everyone that posts a repeat thread is a lazy 13 year old who doesn't want to take the time to read for himself..

*shrug*

I do love the site, but I'm basically afraid to post anymore.

Pretty much sums up my recent experience. After doing some searches, not finding the answer I was looking for, I also hoped to get a bit of a discussion going but there was no opportunity as the thread was closed just hours after I made it.

It seems some other people did want to discuss the same thing, as I was contacted by a few people with similar questions and interests.

I can understand wanting to keep the forums tidy but I feel they are ruled with a very heavy rod of iron and I have gone from visiting 2 or 3 times a day to visiting maybe once a week. One of the things I really liked about the forum was the opportunity for open and mature discussion, I don't feel that is there any longer, its only permitted if the mods/admin think its a worthwhile topic or subject, hence the reason for my reduced visiting and input to the site.

[Hakasa]

Originally Posted by RomaGoth

The Warlock's Den is nothing at all like the Official WoW Forums. Good luck finding any useful information there. I don't know about the shame part of this topic, but having a post closed or moved is really only as big of a deal as people make it. Perhaps we all need thicker skin, eh?

I do understand what you're saying, bc the Official WoW forums are extremely crappy.. And yeah, it's only as big a deal as you make it because the information is probably somewhere else on there(though sometimes very rarely it may not be) and it's closed, but usually it's not a big deal. I do understand where the OP is coming from in this thread because there has been a ton of threads getting closed and some people could get discouraged to post just because of that

[Theleb]

The OP's thread was closed for the reasons stated earlier in the thread - its not as if we changed any of our procedures to do so which means he was of course treated like every other member of the Den.

Honestly, there's plenty of opportunities for discussion and I'm quite tired of hearing that the moderation is too heavy when in fact a lot of the changes were suggested BY the membership. You can't have it both ways.

[Twista]

Just be happy you can post as much as you like here. There is another forum that I won't mention that only lets people post 20 post in a 24hr period.

[Smok]

Originally Posted by Theleb

Honestly, there's plenty of opportunities for discussion and I'm quite tired of hearing that the moderation is too heavy when in fact a lot of the changes were suggested BY the membership. You can't have it both ways.

Although I'm not part of the mod team, so obviously don't have the same 'tiredness' of hearing those comments, I am sick of them as a member. And I really don't get the "woe is me, I'm too scared to post" Emo members. Are you serious?! Is following a couple of VERY EASY requests like posting under the correct section honestly that difficult for you to do? Because if it is, then quit crying that you're too scared to post for fear of being reprimanded and just go to the official forums.

Sorry if that's harsh, but I honestly don't understand it. Who ever said that some people need to grow thicker skin is definitely correct.

[Midnight]

I understand the comment that some people are scared to post, but I don't agree with being "scared" if that makes sense. I personally tend to be cautious about starting a new thread, but if anything, that just makes me search to double check that it's not already been asked. Usually, I find my answers. If I don't, I create a thread and be sure to provide as much information as possible so the mods can see it's not just another random question without searching. So far, I'm going ok.

As for posting under the correct sections, all of the area's are clearly marked in plain, easy to understand English. That's WAY better than some forums that use all sorts of off beat names. And as I've seen Akasha herself post before - the 'How to post a talent build thread' sticky is in THREE sections, yet people STILL miss it. /facepalm

So while I understand some people's reservations about creating a new thread, if you take the time to make sure you're doing it correctly, then you won't get in trouble.