21 replies to this topic

[Mark420]

The reason I bring this up is because of all the sheer useless posts in the gaming forums.
As a moderator I kinda get sick trying to keep an eye on all the crappy posts that mainly new users post in the gaming side of the forums.
To me these are "Cheap" posts and a lot of people spam one liners on this side of the forums to gain credits only to find that when they post a request to be hosted that they are denied.
Trap 17 has a gaming forum which is also filled with endless debates about how much Runescape sucks or how much Halo "roxers" does  Astahost need this kind of stuff in the forum here as well?
My suggestion is NO!! I would lock the gaming forum and point people to Trap17 if they want to post about games.
So what do the rest of the Asta users think?

Marky;)

[SilverFox]

I think it has its place. Personally I feel that it might should not give credits or something if people are abusing it.

[leafbunk]

Well considering the fact that I rarely EVER find any other place where I feel like I can contribute by posting, I say "no" to your idea of getting rid of the game section of the forums. It seems like half of the sections already don't offer credits, so it would just bug the crap out of me if I have nowhere to post. And no, I'm not one of those people that only writes a line and then hits the submit button. I usually only post when I really feel like I have something to say or share, and it's becoming increasingly more difficult to gain credits to stay hosted here if I have absolutely no where that I feel I can post effectively. Does it not seem just ridiculous that so many sections have the disclaimer "No post counts" beside it? It does to me, especially since I'm obligated to post somewhere just to maintain hosting. Discussions about music don't count, and neither does life talk, or anything really that doesn't have to do with "computers" or "technology" of any sort. Many times I hate having to post here just because I can't find a decent topic where I actually know what's being discussed. I'm not a huge computer nerd, so I feel that anything I post in the "databases", "operating systems", "networking", "harware workshop", "programming", and many times "software" sections is not going to be worthwhile. So...that basically leaves me "What's new" and "gaming" where I feel I've got at least a tiny bit to contribute. Blah.

[lonebyrd]

I think the gaming forum should stay. Yes there are people who post some junk there, but you see junk in other places too. I like some of the topics that come about in that forum. It's informative sometimes. I know that Trap 17 has a gaming forum too, but why should we not have one. Why can't we have a little 'fun' talk. A little something for the entertainment side of computers. I don't see it as unnecesary.

[SilverFox]

I think that if its all "professional" and no "fun" then its not as enjoyable by the members. Not all of us want to go to Trap17, I haven't because I said I am getting hosting by Astahost so I'll get it! Sooner or later.

Keep the gaming forums, mods should just delete spam topics.

[Alegis]

I understand that there are a lot of cheap posts by Runescape and other game players alike. Yet it does have some value in answers getting returned.

[Jimmy89]

firstly i think that there should be some kind of 'game discussion' but nothing about how one game is better then an other! understand the viewpoint that the mods and admins have about useless posts and that it could get hard to keep an eye on and keep 'clean'. i would like to see them continued but without the meaningless and spam posts that litter it now! i also understand how hard this is though!

as i understand it, astahost is the forums for the technical minded people and doesn't have as much 'real life' as the trap forums. if people want to talk about games and why they hate other games so much, they can do it over there (i know how bad that sounds, im not trying to dump all the problems on the trap mods and admins). If astahost is more a technical forum, then maybe the games sub forums should be about the technical aspects of games!

though this is just one mans ideas and thoughts, this is a forum wide problem and everyone needs to have their say. ultimately, it is going to be the admins choice and whatever it is, i will happily support it!
-jimmy

[xboxrulz]

As a gamer myself and a forum dweller, I like to get into game discussions/debates, but no one seems to do so. However, I vote for it to stay.

xboxrulz

[sparkx]

I don't post thier much but I don't think you should take it out. It is a good forum. You may need to however start cracking down on people who post one line posts too much and give them a personal warning or a 24 hour ban (that in my opinion is giving them a good warning). It is nice to see the occasional new game and if you deleat it, new members will just start posting there short line posts somewhere else. That is my oppinion.
Thanks,
Sparkx

[brcmville]

Why scrap this part of the forum if its a burden on the mods here? I thought you guys had a job to do... Right?

Honestly, I don't really care if the game forums are removed or credits are no longer given for posting in them because I rarely use them and when I do, its usually to post a review or recommend a game that has not already been introduced. Sadly though, I am one of those people that has a hard time getting into a lot of the "technical" discussions that you find around this forum, and finding a good topic to discuss is sometimes a challenge. leafbunk, who posted earlier in this topic noted that some of us who are not as skilled or rehearsed when it comes to the "databases, operating systems, networking, hardware workshop, programming, and many times software" sections feel like we shouldn't post when we do not know what we are talking about. I am not advocating that credits should be earned from just talking about everyday life or spending 15 seconds replying to an already useless topic, but too much work with no play can be hard on anyone. Removing the gaming forums would be taking away one of the places I feel like I can post without looking like a complete idiot, and considering that my astahost.com account focuses on gaming and such, it would be a sad not to be able to discuss that here as well.

[toby]

How about banning topics saying one game sucks, or comparing one to another? Like saying Runescape could use mp3s not midis for the music, not omg itssuckscompare to WOW. Push it back to CC and advertising.

[Grafitti]

I vote for it to stay, even though i rarely post there, i try to post worthwhile comments. I don't mind if it's relegated to a "no-credits" zone, but i'd like it to stay.

[WeaponX]

I have perused the gaming forums here once in a while and have seen some posts that just bother the heck out of me in the past. I see another one now that a member reported already and hesitating on taking action on it. I believe that we should keep it, but change it to a no credit count forum instead. The "fun" part is still here, so there should be no problem. Astahost is used mainly for information on technology (mostly computer related). Gaming should have a category of its own and I believe that Trap17 is a good choice.

This is not to offend anyone, but if you have problems keeping up with the computer related forums, I suggest going to Trap17. This has been mentioned more than once before in the forum by other members and maybe even some staff. Not only will you be earning credits more easier over there, but it will probably interest you more.

With that said, I think it should stay as someone said before. As long as it pertains to more technical aspects instead of which game is favorite and listing your entire life time game collection, which I believe is a total waste of time and in a way I find it spamming...

[Killer008r]

Alot/most of the posts in the gaming part of the forums isn't spam, almost all of the ones that I have looked at/wrote have been good debates, and reviews. Not to mention I'm an avid gamer Definantly keep it Specially for me

[Arbitrary]

There's a voice in the back of my mind urging me to say "Just get rid of the gaming forums; they're useless!" But I guess I'll try being a bit more reasonable. It is very possible to have a gaming forum without spam. So maybe the gaming forum as a whole shouldn't have post count but specific topics that usually require "better" posts should? Like when a moderator finds a topic to be interesting/worthy of discussion, they'd mark at as having post count. (Or perhaps that system would be waaay too complicated...)

With that said, I think it should stay as someone said before. As long as it pertains to more technical aspects instead of which game is favorite and listing your entire life time game collection, which I believe is a total waste of time and in a way I find it spamming...

Same. But a lot of the threads are what you would consider spamming...And people can't exactly be warned off that. Every new member will inevitably go do that because it looks like an easy way to gain credits (which it is).

[xerxes]

I'm for removal of the section, or at least removal of the post counter around here. I was quite surprised when, after passing by the "technically minded forums only!" warnings, I saw the gaming section.

Although I admit that I've posted several times here, and some of the threads are on a high quality level, a lot of them are not. If fact, I'm a staff member on a site with 25000-members community, and I know how hard it is to moderate such section, which already is on the edge of usefulness for otherwise fine themed-forums. It is true that some of us participate in fine game-related discussions here, but there are other places (trap17 among them) we can do that on, and seeing how this section becomes an excuse for the said one-liners or other posts that nobody will read I definitely support Mark420's idea. I also would not mind deletion of my posts in this section, and would prefer the staff focusing on the threads more essential to the site's theme, instead of wasting time here.

[Jeigh]

Killer, we delete all the spam we find, that's why most aren't

I'll weigh in on this saying to keep the section. While I also put in a lot of time tracking bullshit posts in the gaming forum as well as rarely posting there myself, this place IS a technology site. Gaming is a very important and very lucrative technology business so it makes sense to keep it to me. Sure a lot of people try to abuse the section and post ridiculously cheap posts, but on the other hand sometimes there are very good discussions and debates about gaming on a level higher then "th15 g4m3s awes000me!!!1111ONE!"

So yes, I'll vote to leave it and even leave it counting for credits even though it will make me have more work to do. Maybe you should just be like me and get a little quicker on the old ban button

[yordan]

20 persons voted.
So, seems that only 20 persons seems concerned by the problem.
I would say something : suppose that the gaming forums turns to "no post count". I'm pretty sure that, then, no spammers will be interested.
Then, no more spams in this forum. Unfortunately, the people with a gamer-mainly profile will loose the opportunity of earning credits.
I see an intermediate solution : what about allowing a game-only profiled guy to be a moderator on the gaming forum ? He would be motivated to keep this forum clean and spam-free !

[mvs.en]

Just to toss my own suggestion out there...
Before I begin I'd like to say that I have VERY little understanding at how these forums are set up or how they work and what can/cannot be done with it...

But I think it mught be a decent idea to like... Have the gaming forums so they only give hosting credits to people after they've proven themselves to be capable of good discussion.

Such as, after they're hosted, or after they've been a good member for a certain amount of time... Or maybe just people who have achieved the higher level hosting package (The one that requires 30 Hosting Credits to request).

I have no idea how well that would work, honestly, or if it wolud be ridiculiously hard to implement, if even possible... But I think it should be at least considerable...

Because with it in place, new members who would only go in there to spam their way to hosting credits would recieve nothing in return... But once a member has proven themselves able to have an intelligent discussion and not spam and give more work to the moderators, they will be able to benefit from posting along in the gaming forums.

As for myself... At the moment I haven't posted there at all, which is weird for me because I'm rather a big gamer alot of the time...
I haven't even looked through the forum because I -know- they're horrible-esque right now.

[Vyoma]

Do I get to vote even if I have not been active for quite some time and I am in the process of moving over to Computing Host?



Any case, here is my opinion. I have posted in the gaming forum, but most of the time, it is with the perspective of a designer. Here are the options:

1. From seeing how things are going there, I would say get rid of it and direct interested members to Trap17 forums.
2. If that is too harsh, you can remove the post count/credit given for posts there.

And if it is kept, I would say at least combine all the subforums to one - it would hopefully deter and result in one spammy post instead of one in each sub-forum.