What are We Going to do When all Hell Breaks Loose?

Veruth · Post by **Veruth** » Mon Jan 02, 2006 6:11 pm

Good point, I'm going to have to agree with you. If the problem turns out to be too bad, something more extreme could always be put in place.

outwarddoodles · Post by **outwarddoodles** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 8:15 pm

Though I still think it's unfair to take 'action', I just thought of one thing we should do.

Does the forums still allow visitors to post without an account? It may be a smart decision to disable that if people decide to rush in here. Signing up for an account may discourage people from flaming, spaming, or trolling.

Scott Gardener · Post by **Scott Gardener** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 9:06 pm

It's true; sometimes something as simple as having to register before posting can make a big difference. I've decided against posting comments on other forums, simply because I didn't want to have to go through the bother of signing up, waiting for the authorization email, and then posting. No real barrier to enrollment or membership, but it discourages drive-by inane posts from random strangers who don't plan to stick around.

celtwolf · Post by **celtwolf** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 11:23 pm

or, perhapse, in addition to that, you could add a "why do you want to join this forum?" question box to the application process. that would deter even MORE spammers/flamers/etc. though, it WOULD discourage a few legitemate posters as well, but they'd probably also just stop posting after a while.

Set · Post by **Set** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 1:13 pm

celtwolf wrote:or, perhapse, in addition to that, you could add a "why do you want to join this forum?" question box to the application process. that would deter even MORE spammers/flamers/etc. though, it WOULD discourage a few legitemate posters as well, but they'd probably also just stop posting after a while.

A questionaire seems a bit elitist to me, since it gives the impression of "you must pass our test or thou art not worthy of us". It has a very "holier-than-thou" feel to it. One that made me walk away from another forum, in fact. But I'm not here to bore you with tales of the elitist jackasses at Awereness...

I'm just trying to keep everyone here from turning into them.

dnl · Post by **dnl** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 3:59 pm

The only thing I was worride about was this web site being shutdown aftear freeborn came out but looks like a no. so it's all cool with me.

also I'v been on sites where a noob jions and post the same topic in ever link. can they do that here.

Scott Gardener · Post by **Scott Gardener** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 6:28 pm

This isn't the official Freeborn web site or forum; the former right now is part of Anthony Brownrigg's web site (http://www.anthonybrownrigg.com/freeborn/), and the latter does not exist, though it will, once the movie starts to get filmed and starts generating buzz. This site was originally founded as an idea forum to get input to answer Brownrigg and his associates' question "what do you want." (Yes, to you Babylon 5 fans, he's in with the Shadows.) The result is Freeborn, but this site was handed over to our moderators as a stand alone entity right as Freeborn started gaining momentum.

Renorei · Post by **Renorei** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 11:20 am

Reilune wrote:
celtwolf wrote:or, perhapse, in addition to that, you could add a "why do you want to join this forum?" question box to the application process. that would deter even MORE spammers/flamers/etc. though, it WOULD discourage a few legitemate posters as well, but they'd probably also just stop posting after a while.
A questionaire seems a bit elitist to me, since it gives the impression of "you must pass our test or thou art not worthy of us". It has a very "holier-than-thou" feel to it. One that made me walk away from another forum, in fact. But I'm not here to bore you with tales of the elitist jackasses at Awereness...

I'm just trying to keep everyone here from turning into them.

Well...I don't know if anyone is dumb enough to fall for this, but...

Maybe it could be a multiple choice type thing. Examples of responses:

A. I want to talk about werewolves and other werecreatures.
B. I want to gush about how much I love Freeborn.
C. I want to spame and flame those stupid werewolf lovers.

If they choose B or C, automatically ban their ISP. Granted, your average sane person wouldn't choose option C, but the kind of person who actually came here to do just that might choose that option just out of curiousity. It's hardly a great idea, but I think it would at least deter some of the ruder freaks.

outwarddoodles · Post by **outwarddoodles** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 12:08 pm

celtwolf wrote:or, perhapse, in addition to that, you could add a "why do you want to join this forum?" question box to the application process. that would deter even MORE spammers/flamers/etc. though, it WOULD discourage a few legitemate posters as well, but they'd probably also just stop posting after a while.

Excelsia wrote:Well...I don't know if anyone is dumb enough to fall for this, but...

Maybe it could be a multiple choice type thing. Examples of responses:

A. I want to talk about werewolves and other werecreatures.
B. I want to gush about how much I love Freeborn.
C. I want to spame and flame those stupid werewolf lovers.

If they choose B or C, automatically ban their ISP. Granted, your average sane person wouldn't choose option C, but the kind of person who actually came here to do just that might choose that option just out of curiousity. It's hardly a great idea, but I think it would at least deter some of the ruder freaks.

Banning? My goodness! That idea just judges people much too early. We need to ban people because they do flame, not because we think they they're going to flame. So no questionaire, please.

As I said in my other post (down at the bottom of page 2), they have just as much right to be here as we do.

vrikasatma · Post by **vrikasatma** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 3:33 pm

Okay...
I used to be on a Crash Worship forum where the owner did NOTHING in the way of control. No registration, the poster posted "on the honor system" regarding their name (it wasn't automatically filled in by the program, the USER filled it in) and there was only one discussion thread: Crash Worship. The owner said he was a political anarchist and the board was an experiment following that.

Oh, boy, did we have anarchy.

I'm sure most of you can imagine what happens when there's NO RULES in a forum and apply the worst of the Internet to a community of necessarily open-minded, highly chaotic and go-with-the-flow creative types. We got Godzilla'ed and the community self-destructed within months. It was slow and bloody. The most vicious flame wars I've seen online — I include USEnet — were pretty much a continuous thing with NO way of tracking who was attacking, death threats, cyber-stalking, verbal assaults that would make your average talk show host go "wait a minute..." It was horrendous. Humans can be f*** EVIL when there are no lines and they know they can get away with it, and the Internet brings out the worst in us because we're not talking face to face, we perceive this mode of communication as talking to a bunch of letters and numbers. Which are much easier to abuse.

Trust me, you DON'T WANT flamers in here. TRUST ME, anything that keeps sociopaths like that OUT of this forum is worth it. Elitism is one thing, but let's not be so open-minded that our brains fall out... :duckiemind:

dnl · Post by **dnl** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 4:08 pm

cant we make a usergrourp or somethig like that.

Lupin · Post by **Lupin** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 4:13 pm

outwarddoodles wrote:As I said in my other post (down at the bottom of page 2), they have just as much right to be here as we do.

Until that right starts infringing on the rights of others to use this board.

Vilkacis · Post by **Vilkacis** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 4:44 pm

Lupin wrote:Until that right starts infringing on the rights of others to use this board.

Exactly. I don't want to see us getting to the point where we pre-judge people before they even finish signing up. The day we start doing something like that is probably the day I'll leave. Give everyone a chance and treat them as justified in accordance with their actions and their actions only.

If someone starts to flame or attacks another Pack member, or otherwise crosses the line, give them a warning. If they continue, delete or lock as appropriate. I don't believe it should ever come to banning except in the very most extreme cases.

In respect to vrikasatma's point, I realize that under-moderation often leads to disaster, but so does over-moderation. As with many things, you have to strike a balance.

As we get more members, our rules will likely become more strict in order to maintain order and peace; however, I think they should do so only in reaction rather than anticipation.

-- Vilkacis