So, having used it for a bit more than a day, I was perhaps too critical of it initially. The system seems to have some merit, but I agree with others that too many downvotes seem to simply be the result of someone not liking the poster. Which is just silly, but we all knew that was going to happen. And Insightful, Vote Up and Awesome all seem to be more or less the same.
So, all in all, right now I'm not bothered by the reacting feature itself, however I would believe things could very well consolidated down to a button that shows positivity (whether it's insightful, vote up, awesome or something completely else) and perhaps a LOL button. Rest seem pointlessly excessive and in cases of vote down and flagging options, only there to cause drama.
But I know I wouldn't cry if the system was completely scrapped either.
consider this: the Devs spend more time with Reddit, than they do here. maybe they're hoping here will become more like Reddit?
Sure, because it's the upvote-downvote system that makes Reddit better than forums, right? It possibly can't be anything else, like, I don't know, the community?
And could someone please tell me what the heck 'Promote' is supposed to do!? Promote in rank? Promote the idea of their post?
See, this is a good example of why I hate this new system: why would 2 ppl mark my above post as off-topic? Asking about the 'Promote' button is as on-topic as it gets in this thread. And I still wouldn't mind an answer.
I noticed the same thing. People are already starting to go around voting down/marking everything off topic. I got downvoted for saying something was interesting in another thread.
Edit: LOL and it looks like you even got reported for "abuse" on a comment that couldn't possibly be seen as abusive.
Yup, this is exactly what I feared would happen: the swinging of old axes. Went from 4 downvotes to 28, in no time, all done by the same person. I reported it to BMR, but I don't think they're really ready to deal with the fallout of this move of theirs to implement this not-entirely-well-thought-out system. We'll see, though.
Sorry to hear it's been happening to you too. You know what they say "Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate." And I'm sure I ticked off a few ppl in my days; but I always believe ppl generally like me (which I know is probably sounding a bit silly). Anyway, I really, really, implore the Devs to get rid of downvotes altogether. I didn't think it would happen to me (so soon) per se, but things are unfolding exactly as I predicted, the moment I heard about this new voting system. No good can come of downvotes.
My question when it comes to this is... When does this repeatedly happening reach a point to constitute a report for harassment?
And could someone please tell me what the heck 'Promote' is supposed to do!? Promote in rank? Promote the idea of their post?
See, this is a good example of why I hate this new system: why would 2 ppl mark my above post as off-topic? Asking about the 'Promote' button is as on-topic as it gets in this thread. And I still wouldn't mind an answer.
I noticed the same thing. People are already starting to go around voting down/marking everything off topic. I got downvoted for saying something was interesting in another thread.
Edit: LOL and it looks like you even got reported for "abuse" on a comment that couldn't possibly be seen as abusive.
Yup, this is exactly what I feared would happen: the swinging of old axes. Went from 4 downvotes to 28, in no time, all done by the same person. I reported it to BMR, but I don't think they're really ready to deal with the fallout of this move of theirs to implement this not-entirely-well-thought-out system. We'll see, though.
Sorry to hear it's been happening to you too. You know what they say "Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate." And I'm sure I ticked off a few ppl in my days; but I always believe ppl generally like me (which I know is probably sounding a bit silly). Anyway, I really, really, implore the Devs to get rid of downvotes altogether. I didn't think it would happen to me (so soon) per se, but things are unfolding exactly as I predicted, the moment I heard about this new voting system. No good can come of downvotes.
My question when it comes to this is... When does this repeatedly happening reach a point to constitute a report for harassment?
Yeah although it's really just a silly little number on your control panel and nothing more, newer players joining the forums might look at profiles to see who is fairly knowledgeable around here so they know if advice given is good etc.
Certain parties downvoting en-mass will skew how people's profiles look for no reason other than spite or trolling, or in a few rare cases being ganged up on by a group of friends who oppose the person's view. @meimeitoo has a disproportionate number of downvotes on her profile now,all from the same 1-2 people and it makes it look on initial glances as if she just posts nonsense and doesn't know what she's on about.
But it's been skewed that way intentionally, so the system is absolutely not serving any meaningful purpose in this case and if anything is doing more damage.
Also, it's possible to just go to a person's control panel and downvote all their posts from there without even going to the threads in question. It's literally providing a perfect tool for trolling or abusive behaviour to happen.
And could someone please tell me what the heck 'Promote' is supposed to do!? Promote in rank? Promote the idea of their post?
See, this is a good example of why I hate this new system: why would 2 ppl mark my above post as off-topic? Asking about the 'Promote' button is as on-topic as it gets in this thread. And I still wouldn't mind an answer.
I noticed the same thing. People are already starting to go around voting down/marking everything off topic. I got downvoted for saying something was interesting in another thread.
Edit: LOL and it looks like you even got reported for "abuse" on a comment that couldn't possibly be seen as abusive.
Yup, this is exactly what I feared would happen: the swinging of old axes. Went from 4 downvotes to 28, in no time, all done by the same person. I reported it to BMR, but I don't think they're really ready to deal with the fallout of this move of theirs to implement this not-entirely-well-thought-out system. We'll see, though.
Sorry to hear it's been happening to you too. You know what they say "Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate." And I'm sure I ticked off a few ppl in my days; but I always believe ppl generally like me (which I know is probably sounding a bit silly). Anyway, I really, really, implore the Devs to get rid of downvotes altogether. I didn't think it would happen to me (so soon) per se, but things are unfolding exactly as I predicted, the moment I heard about this new voting system. No good can come of downvotes.
My question when it comes to this is... When does this repeatedly happening reach a point to constitute a report for harassment?
That can get bad quickly. Maybe a person really gets downvoted often cause their posts are terrible. Not saying meimeitoo makes terrible posts, obviously, but do we really want to leave the forum mods the ultimate authority whether a person/post deserved to be downvoted or not? However, falsely flagging a post as abuse should definitely receive immediate moderator attention, especially since such flaggings are public.
(And still, just get rid of downvotes).
And could someone please tell me what the heck 'Promote' is supposed to do!? Promote in rank? Promote the idea of their post?
See, this is a good example of why I hate this new system: why would 2 ppl mark my above post as off-topic? Asking about the 'Promote' button is as on-topic as it gets in this thread. And I still wouldn't mind an answer.
I noticed the same thing. People are already starting to go around voting down/marking everything off topic. I got downvoted for saying something was interesting in another thread.
Edit: LOL and it looks like you even got reported for "abuse" on a comment that couldn't possibly be seen as abusive.
Yup, this is exactly what I feared would happen: the swinging of old axes. Went from 4 downvotes to 28, in no time, all done by the same person. I reported it to BMR, but I don't think they're really ready to deal with the fallout of this move of theirs to implement this not-entirely-well-thought-out system. We'll see, though.
Sorry to hear it's been happening to you too. You know what they say "Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate." And I'm sure I ticked off a few ppl in my days; but I always believe ppl generally like me (which I know is probably sounding a bit silly). Anyway, I really, really, implore the Devs to get rid of downvotes altogether. I didn't think it would happen to me (so soon) per se, but things are unfolding exactly as I predicted, the moment I heard about this new voting system. No good can come of downvotes.
My question when it comes to this is... When does this repeatedly happening reach a point to constitute a report for harassment?
Well, I decided not to wait and find out, after hitting 28 downvotes in a matter of minutes. BMR hasn't gotten back to me yet (nor did I expect so, btw: it's quite customary -- not just on this forum -- to not inform ppl what happens with their abuse report; and I'n totally okay with that). He did post "I have a "banned" button," though, just a few posts later. I'd like to believe it's the mods subtle way of letting us know they've got this.
And could someone please tell me what the heck 'Promote' is supposed to do!? Promote in rank? Promote the idea of their post?
See, this is a good example of why I hate this new system: why would 2 ppl mark my above post as off-topic? Asking about the 'Promote' button is as on-topic as it gets in this thread. And I still wouldn't mind an answer.
I noticed the same thing. People are already starting to go around voting down/marking everything off topic. I got downvoted for saying something was interesting in another thread.
Edit: LOL and it looks like you even got reported for "abuse" on a comment that couldn't possibly be seen as abusive.
Yup, this is exactly what I feared would happen: the swinging of old axes. Went from 4 downvotes to 28, in no time, all done by the same person. I reported it to BMR, but I don't think they're really ready to deal with the fallout of this move of theirs to implement this not-entirely-well-thought-out system. We'll see, though.
Sorry to hear it's been happening to you too. You know what they say "Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate." And I'm sure I ticked off a few ppl in my days; but I always believe ppl generally like me (which I know is probably sounding a bit silly). Anyway, I really, really, implore the Devs to get rid of downvotes altogether. I didn't think it would happen to me (so soon) per se, but things are unfolding exactly as I predicted, the moment I heard about this new voting system. No good can come of downvotes.
My question when it comes to this is... When does this repeatedly happening reach a point to constitute a report for harassment?
Certain parties downvoting en-mass will skew how people's profiles look for no reason other than spite or trolling, or in a few rare cases being ganged up on by a group of friends who oppose the person's view. @meimeitoo has a disproportionate number of downvotes on her profile now,all from the same 1-2 people and it makes it look on initial glances as if she just posts nonsense and doesn't know what she's on about.
But it's been skewed that way intentionally, so the system is absolutely not serving any meaningful purpose in this case and if anything is doing more damage.
Also, it's possible to just go to a person's control panel and downvote all their posts from there without even going to the threads in question. It's literally providing a perfect tool for trolling or abusive behaviour to happen.
Thank you! Yes, I honestly believe we should just get rid of downvotes. As I've argued earlier, ranking up can achieved equally easily, but without the negative effects, just by using upvoting (the only way you could then abuse the system, is by upvoting everyone in the thread, except for the person you hate, LOL). Tunebreaker argued for a similar system.
That can get bad quickly. Maybe a person really gets downvoted often cause their posts are terrible. Not saying meimeitoo makes terrible posts, obviously, but do we really want to leave the forum mods the ultimate authority whether a person/post deserved to be downvoted or not? However, falsely flagging a post as abuse should definitely receive immediate moderator attention, especially since such flaggings are public.
(And still, just get rid of downvotes).
That will mean going through hundreds of profiles daily on top of the usual work? not likely. Sure the Moderators got to do their job and police the area even though i don't like how one or two do their thing. None the less it is their responsibility, but crawling through dozens of profiles on top of that to make sure there aren't an alarmingly high number of downvotes in one go? That seems a bit over the top for the moderators.
I know of this user Meimeitoo, generally helpful and always on the target when it comes to the point. As stated before now this user has been given the public shame record because of a number. That isn't right.
T6 Miranda Hero Ship FTW. Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
That can get bad quickly. Maybe a person really gets downvoted often cause their posts are terrible. Not saying meimeitoo makes terrible posts, obviously, but do we really want to leave the forum mods the ultimate authority whether a person/post deserved to be downvoted or not? However, falsely flagging a post as abuse should definitely receive immediate moderator attention, especially since such flaggings are public.
(And still, just get rid of downvotes).
That will mean going through hundreds of profiles daily on top of the usual work? not likely. Sure the Moderators got to do their job and police the area even though i don't like how one or two do their thing. None the less it is their responsibility, but crawling through dozens of profiles on top of that to make sure there aren't an alarmingly high number of downvotes in one go? That seems a bit over the top for the moderators.
I know of this user Meimeitoo, generally helpful and always on the target when it comes to the point. As stated before now this user has been given the public shame record because of a number. That isn't right.
Totally agreed, on all counts.
You're especially right in saying this probably more than moderators can handle, en masse. I just saw BMR post in another thread, saying he/she's getting tired of the downvoting TRIBBLE (or words to that effect). Another good reason to just do away with downvoting altogether: when abuse of the system isn't possible, no abuse reports will be generated either.
At first I wasn't sure, but having read some of the responses here, I agree: scrap the downvotes (and for crying out loud, don't advertise how often a person's account is flagged! This isn't feeding the trolls; it's giving them a new multi-span bridge, with all-inclusive utility and internet bills, and free mortgage!
Also, quote and flag back to the far right, pretty please?
Sounds like people are already abusing the system and targeting specific forumites.
And apparently someone flagged me for spam once... over a gif animation I used as a response in one thread. And frankly... kinda misleading because said gif actually fit as my response was to lol. Excuse me for not quoting first, since the post I was responding to was directly above mine.
Sounds like people are already abusing the system and targeting specific forumites.
And apparently someone flagged me for spam once... over a gif animation I used as a response in one thread. And frankly... kinda misleading because said gif actually fit as my response was to lol. Excuse me for not quoting first, since the post I was responding to was directly above mine.
Tbh, answering in form of a gif, without any context given, I'd consider it to be spammy too. Not flag-worthy, obviously, but still.
Sounds like people are already abusing the system and targeting specific forumites.
And apparently someone flagged me for spam once... over a gif animation I used as a response in one thread. And frankly... kinda misleading because said gif actually fit as my response was to lol. Excuse me for not quoting first, since the post I was responding to was directly above mine.
Tbh, answering in form of a gif, without any context given, I'd consider it to be spammy too. Not flag-worthy, obviously, but still.
Whilst true to some extent, the flag option should only be getting used for serious maters like actual breaking of forum rules, trolling, flaming, abuse etc.
And the spam button should really only be used if someone is going out of their way to post endless memes in every reply to a thread, or posting the same thread topic multiple times.
Simply downvoting or marking as spam/flag etc because someone has a different opinion is childish playground nonsense. To my knowledge nothing says we can't reply to threads with gifs, and if they adequately reflect your feelings or the message you wish to portray why is it ever a problem.
I am all in for getting rid of the downvotes and even upvotes. Likes is similar enough along with Awesome and so is Insightful to show off that others are supporting what the person is saying in their post. Downvoting also goes against the whole point of, if you don't have something nice to say, then don't say it at all. Well...
Downvoting is essentially the forum equivalent of the virtual middle finger! Meimeitoo's post generally reflect my opinions as well and are very well written and thought out.
Disagreeing with others is one thing, but I firmly believe that one persons interpretation of how STO should not any more or less important than that of someone else. Whether that is multiplayer, ships wanted, costumes wanted, their feedback on episodes and content, etc. There is content in the game that I don't personally like, but I wouldn't want that pulled or altered because others could potentially like it. The same goes for ships. There are plenty of ships in this game I wouldn't fly. That doesn't mean the dev team didn't work hard on them and that doesn't mean they shouldn't be in the game. It just means, they aren't for me. People being allowed to downvote one persons opinions or suggestions over anothers really takes away from the whole point of feedback.
There have been a lot of jailed users popping up lately as well, myself included at one point. You will get some users that will literally downvote the mods based on their actions and not the quality of their posts. Mods are people and more than likely, players as well, whether we agree with them and their enforcement of the rules or not.
Likes is similar enough along with Awesome and so is Insightful to show off that others are supporting what the person is saying in their post.
I'm afraid I have to disagree. I can find a post insightful, such as a well-structured argument, and still disagree with it. You don't have to like an argument to find it insightful. That's called an echo-chamber.
That still means we can eliminate several of the options: remove the vote down option entirely; roll 'off-topic' into the flag options; eliminate awesome. That leaves vote up, lol, and insightful.
I'm not seeing any reports generated off of any of these "reactions". The only thing I've noticed is that down voting is "sinking" threads, a power that only mods had before. Effectively driving a thread to the bottom even if it remains active. This is problematic for mods because, now, we have to hunt for active threads rather than them "rising" to the top.
Star Trek Online Volunteer Community Moderator and Resident She-Wolf
Community Moderators are Unpaid Volunteers and NOT Employees of Gearbox/Cryptic
Views and Opinions May Not Reflect the Views and Opinions of Gearbox/Cryptic
Sounds like people are already abusing the system and targeting specific forumites.
And apparently someone flagged me for spam once... over a gif animation I used as a response in one thread. And frankly... kinda misleading because said gif actually fit as my response was to lol. Excuse me for not quoting first, since the post I was responding to was directly above mine.
Tbh, answering in form of a gif, without any context given, I'd consider it to be spammy too. Not flag-worthy, obviously, but still.
i will hold my hand up here as the one who reported it for spam for this reason you mentioned. there was no context, just a picture with no way to know what it meant or who ever it was directed at, if it had any meaning at all. i wouldn't of responded to it as spam if there were more context given than a stupid cartoon horse gif.
I reported it as spam because it isn't the first time the user in question has done this over multiple threads over time, using horse pics without context. it constitutes as spam as there is enough of a trail to follow on the issue as it is.
But this now illustrates the point even so, it doesn't matter that i reported it for spam, the fact someone can easily pick up on this and start a forum fire over it... and it won't be the only one.
Just as well it is in the open now, more to consider for this silly system going forward.
Edit: almost forgot, hover your mouse over the number next to the reaction button, it will show a popup window with the person who chose that reaction
T6 Miranda Hero Ship FTW. Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
i will hold my hand up here as the one who reported it for spam for this reason you mentioned. there was no context, just a picture with no way to know what it meant or who ever it was directed at, if it had any meaning at all. i wouldn't of responded to it as spam if there were more context given than a stupid cartoon horse gif.
I reported it as spam because it isn't the first time the user in question has done this over multiple threads over time, using horse pics without context. it constitutes as spam as there is enough of a trail to follow on the issue as it is.
But this now illustrates the point even so, it doesn't matter that i reported it for spam, the fact someone can easily pick up on this and start a forum fire over it... and it won't be the only one.
Just as well it is in the open now, more to consider for this silly system going forward.
Edit: almost forgot, hover your mouse over the number next to the reaction button, it will show a popup window with the person who chose that reaction
i will hold my hand up here as the one who reported it for spam for this reason you mentioned. there was no context, just a picture with no way to know what it meant or who ever it was directed at, if it had any meaning at all. i wouldn't of responded to it as spam if there were more context given than a stupid cartoon horse gif.
I reported it as spam because it isn't the first time the user in question has done this over multiple threads over time, using horse pics without context. it constitutes as spam as there is enough of a trail to follow on the issue as it is.
But this now illustrates the point even so, it doesn't matter that i reported it for spam, the fact someone can easily pick up on this and start a forum fire over it... and it won't be the only one.
Just as well it is in the open now, more to consider for this silly system going forward.
Edit: almost forgot, hover your mouse over the number next to the reaction button, it will show a popup window with the person who chose that reaction
I was reacting to the post DIRECTLY above mine.
with no quotes at the time? and i also didn't know that at the time either, neither am i a telepath. But i'm ending this here, i got no interest in such things. if you feel it is unjust, report it and let the mods decide,
T6 Miranda Hero Ship FTW. Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
Considering I don't know HOW to report a false spam report... we're kinda in limbo. Especially since its tied to this new reaction system.
In general... if I'm not quoting the guy I'm responding to, I am most likely responding to the one directly above me. And that particular gif I used is an alternative to just typing LMAO or any other variant.
I'm not seeing any reports generated off of any of these "reactions". The only thing I've noticed is that down voting is "sinking" threads, a power that only mods had before. Effectively driving a thread to the bottom even if it remains active. This is problematic for mods because, now, we have to hunt for active threads rather than them "rising" to the top.
I sent one to you yesterday, in PM (as there's nothing to 'flag', post-wise; just an abuse report about a user).
Yeah, meimeitoo, that was a PM, though. I'm talking about reports generated just from clicking on the reactions. There are none that I can see.
Star Trek Online Volunteer Community Moderator and Resident She-Wolf
Community Moderators are Unpaid Volunteers and NOT Employees of Gearbox/Cryptic
Views and Opinions May Not Reflect the Views and Opinions of Gearbox/Cryptic
Disable the vote options ability to shuffle threads around and we're good. We're gonna get flooded with new accounts to manipulate the forums, and its going to make navigating them hard. Especially if we get into a situation where the pitch forks come out over something people don't like.
"Oh Cryptic did this? WE DON'T LIKE! BURY IT SO NO ONE CAN DISCUSS IT IN PROTEST!"
Targeting specific forumites, like meimeitoo, and affecting where threads are... its abuse. Pure and simple. Mob mentality abuse and censorship.
Disable the vote options ability to shuffle threads around and we're good. We're gonna get flooded with new accounts to manipulate the forums, and its going to make navigating them hard. Especially if we get into a situation where the pitch forks come out over something people don't like.
"Oh Cryptic did this? WE DON'T LIKE! BURY IT SO NO ONE CAN DISCUSS IT IN PROTEST!"
Targeting specific forumites, like meimeitoo, and affecting where threads are... its abuse. Pure and simple. Mob mentality abuse and censorship.
In all honesty, this forum doesn't need the system and so far, there have been a number of good cases where it is currently premature to consider it as it is without setting up in a way that works more effectively as it has been pointed out a good number of times by a number of other users. As i mentioned before in another reply, we already have more than our fair share of toxicity on this forum, we don't need another fuel source.
T6 Miranda Hero Ship FTW. Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
I'm not seeing any reports generated off of any of these "reactions". The only thing I've noticed is that down voting is "sinking" threads, a power that only mods had before. Effectively driving a thread to the bottom even if it remains active. This is problematic for mods because, now, we have to hunt for active threads rather than them "rising" to the top.
Interesting. I didn't realize threads, as a whole, could 'sink' too (I probably misunderstood, initially, thinking it was ppl's posts inside a thread that could sink upon downvoting).
Interesting. I didn't realize threads, as a whole, could 'sink' too (I probably misunderstood, initially, thinking it was ppl's posts inside a thread that could sink upon downvoting).
I think the WAR thread in General is an example. For some reason it's still rather low on the page, despite the fact I had posted TODAY, not yesterday, in that thread. If its a symptom of downvoting or not... I don't know.
Interesting. I didn't realize threads, as a whole, could 'sink' too (I probably misunderstood, initially, thinking it was ppl's posts inside a thread that could sink upon downvoting).
I think the WAR thread in General is an example. For some reason it's still rather low on the page, despite the fact I had posted TODAY, not yesterday, in that thread. If its a symptom of downvoting or not... I don't know.
Tbh, I don't think I like the idea of threads sinking/rising at all. And IF the powers that be decide they should sink/rise at all, then just based on 'activity over the last X days' or something. But I just as soon see them just the way they were: it's not just harder for moderators to find 'sunken' threads, but for my poor brain too.
That kind of power just screams "abuse me" because it means burying things a lot of people don't like so no one can actually discuss it. And with the nature of the forums... its easy to make throwaway accounts to skew the results in your favor. We get a thread discussing some new feature coming in AoD? Vote down and bury it because its Discovery related and "Ah hatez Discoveriez! Get off mah lawn!"
Interesting. I didn't realize threads, as a whole, could 'sink' too (I probably misunderstood, initially, thinking it was ppl's posts inside a thread that could sink upon downvoting).
I think the WAR thread in General is an example. For some reason it's still rather low on the page, despite the fact I had posted TODAY, not yesterday, in that thread. If its a symptom of downvoting or not... I don't know.
Tbh, I don't think I like the idea of threads sinking/rising at all. And IF the powers that be decide they should sink/rise at all, then just based on 'activity over the last X days' or something. But I just as soon see them just the way they were: it's not just harder for moderators to find 'sunken' threads, but for my poor brain too.
potentially hundreds of thousands of threads posted over the years. 1000's of pages to find the thread? that could take hours simply because the system is set up that way. I wouldn't want to be in the moderators boots with the system the way it is currently.
T6 Miranda Hero Ship FTW. Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
That kind of power just screams "abuse me" because it means burying things a lot of people don't like so no one can actually discuss it. And with the nature of the forums... its easy to make throwaway accounts to skew the results in your favor.
Absolutely true! "Anything that can be abused, will be abused." Regular posters (= non-moderators and up) should not have the power to manipulate things in this manner.
Comments
So, all in all, right now I'm not bothered by the reacting feature itself, however I would believe things could very well consolidated down to a button that shows positivity (whether it's insightful, vote up, awesome or something completely else) and perhaps a LOL button. Rest seem pointlessly excessive and in cases of vote down and flagging options, only there to cause drama.
But I know I wouldn't cry if the system was completely scrapped either.
U.S.S. Buteo Regalis - Brigid Multi-Mission Surveillance Explorer build
R.R.W. Ri Maajon - Khopesh Tactical Dreadnought Warbird build
My Youtube channel containing STO videos.
I can.
"No you can't."
Yes I can.
"No you can't!"
Stop arguing with me!
Both of you knock it off or I'm cutting our hair again!
My question when it comes to this is... When does this repeatedly happening reach a point to constitute a report for harassment?
Yeah although it's really just a silly little number on your control panel and nothing more, newer players joining the forums might look at profiles to see who is fairly knowledgeable around here so they know if advice given is good etc.
Certain parties downvoting en-mass will skew how people's profiles look for no reason other than spite or trolling, or in a few rare cases being ganged up on by a group of friends who oppose the person's view.
@meimeitoo has a disproportionate number of downvotes on her profile now,all from the same 1-2 people and it makes it look on initial glances as if she just posts nonsense and doesn't know what she's on about.
But it's been skewed that way intentionally, so the system is absolutely not serving any meaningful purpose in this case and if anything is doing more damage.
Also, it's possible to just go to a person's control panel and downvote all their posts from there without even going to the threads in question. It's literally providing a perfect tool for trolling or abusive behaviour to happen.
That can get bad quickly. Maybe a person really gets downvoted often cause their posts are terrible. Not saying meimeitoo makes terrible posts, obviously, but do we really want to leave the forum mods the ultimate authority whether a person/post deserved to be downvoted or not? However, falsely flagging a post as abuse should definitely receive immediate moderator attention, especially since such flaggings are public.
(And still, just get rid of downvotes).
U.S.S. Buteo Regalis - Brigid Multi-Mission Surveillance Explorer build
R.R.W. Ri Maajon - Khopesh Tactical Dreadnought Warbird build
My Youtube channel containing STO videos.
Well, I decided not to wait and find out, after hitting 28 downvotes in a matter of minutes.
Thank you!
That will mean going through hundreds of profiles daily on top of the usual work? not likely. Sure the Moderators got to do their job and police the area even though i don't like how one or two do their thing. None the less it is their responsibility, but crawling through dozens of profiles on top of that to make sure there aren't an alarmingly high number of downvotes in one go? That seems a bit over the top for the moderators.
I know of this user Meimeitoo, generally helpful and always on the target when it comes to the point. As stated before now this user has been given the public shame record because of a number. That isn't right.
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
Totally agreed, on all counts.
You're especially right in saying this probably more than moderators can handle, en masse. I just saw BMR post in another thread, saying he/she's getting tired of the downvoting TRIBBLE (or words to that effect). Another good reason to just do away with downvoting altogether: when abuse of the system isn't possible, no abuse reports will be generated either.
Also, quote and flag back to the far right, pretty please?
Trials of Blood and Fire
Moving On Parts 1-3 - Part 4
In Cold Blood
And I'd really like the option to switch the feature on and off, please...
... and of course, I'd love to have a T5/6 Kamarag, like there is a T5/6 Ambassador.
And apparently someone flagged me for spam once... over a gif animation I used as a response in one thread. And frankly... kinda misleading because said gif actually fit as my response was to lol. Excuse me for not quoting first, since the post I was responding to was directly above mine.
Tbh, answering in form of a gif, without any context given, I'd consider it to be spammy too. Not flag-worthy, obviously, but still.
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Whilst true to some extent, the flag option should only be getting used for serious maters like actual breaking of forum rules, trolling, flaming, abuse etc.
And the spam button should really only be used if someone is going out of their way to post endless memes in every reply to a thread, or posting the same thread topic multiple times.
Simply downvoting or marking as spam/flag etc because someone has a different opinion is childish playground nonsense. To my knowledge nothing says we can't reply to threads with gifs, and if they adequately reflect your feelings or the message you wish to portray why is it ever a problem.
Downvoting is essentially the forum equivalent of the virtual middle finger! Meimeitoo's post generally reflect my opinions as well and are very well written and thought out.
Disagreeing with others is one thing, but I firmly believe that one persons interpretation of how STO should not any more or less important than that of someone else. Whether that is multiplayer, ships wanted, costumes wanted, their feedback on episodes and content, etc. There is content in the game that I don't personally like, but I wouldn't want that pulled or altered because others could potentially like it. The same goes for ships. There are plenty of ships in this game I wouldn't fly. That doesn't mean the dev team didn't work hard on them and that doesn't mean they shouldn't be in the game. It just means, they aren't for me. People being allowed to downvote one persons opinions or suggestions over anothers really takes away from the whole point of feedback.
There have been a lot of jailed users popping up lately as well, myself included at one point. You will get some users that will literally downvote the mods based on their actions and not the quality of their posts. Mods are people and more than likely, players as well, whether we agree with them and their enforcement of the rules or not.
I'm afraid I have to disagree. I can find a post insightful, such as a well-structured argument, and still disagree with it. You don't have to like an argument to find it insightful. That's called an echo-chamber.
That still means we can eliminate several of the options: remove the vote down option entirely; roll 'off-topic' into the flag options; eliminate awesome. That leaves vote up, lol, and insightful.
Trials of Blood and Fire
Moving On Parts 1-3 - Part 4
In Cold Blood
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i will hold my hand up here as the one who reported it for spam for this reason you mentioned. there was no context, just a picture with no way to know what it meant or who ever it was directed at, if it had any meaning at all. i wouldn't of responded to it as spam if there were more context given than a stupid cartoon horse gif.
I reported it as spam because it isn't the first time the user in question has done this over multiple threads over time, using horse pics without context. it constitutes as spam as there is enough of a trail to follow on the issue as it is.
But this now illustrates the point even so, it doesn't matter that i reported it for spam, the fact someone can easily pick up on this and start a forum fire over it... and it won't be the only one.
Just as well it is in the open now, more to consider for this silly system going forward.
Edit: almost forgot, hover your mouse over the number next to the reaction button, it will show a popup window with the person who chose that reaction
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
I was reacting to the post DIRECTLY above mine.
with no quotes at the time? and i also didn't know that at the time either, neither am i a telepath. But i'm ending this here, i got no interest in such things. if you feel it is unjust, report it and let the mods decide,
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
In general... if I'm not quoting the guy I'm responding to, I am most likely responding to the one directly above me. And that particular gif I used is an alternative to just typing LMAO or any other variant.
I can be visual at times.
I sent one to you yesterday, in PM (as there's nothing to 'flag', post-wise; just an abuse report about a user).
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"Oh Cryptic did this? WE DON'T LIKE! BURY IT SO NO ONE CAN DISCUSS IT IN PROTEST!"
Targeting specific forumites, like meimeitoo, and affecting where threads are... its abuse. Pure and simple. Mob mentality abuse and censorship.
In all honesty, this forum doesn't need the system and so far, there have been a number of good cases where it is currently premature to consider it as it is without setting up in a way that works more effectively as it has been pointed out a good number of times by a number of other users. As i mentioned before in another reply, we already have more than our fair share of toxicity on this forum, we don't need another fuel source.
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
Interesting.
I think the WAR thread in General is an example. For some reason it's still rather low on the page, despite the fact I had posted TODAY, not yesterday, in that thread. If its a symptom of downvoting or not... I don't know.
Tbh, I don't think I like the idea of threads sinking/rising at all. And IF the powers that be decide they should sink/rise at all, then just based on 'activity over the last X days' or something. But I just as soon see them just the way they were: it's not just harder for moderators to find 'sunken' threads, but for my poor brain too.
We've already had someone highlight exactly why this particular element is terrible in this very thread.
That kind of power just screams "abuse me" because it means burying things a lot of people don't like so no one can actually discuss it. And with the nature of the forums... its easy to make throwaway accounts to skew the results in your favor. We get a thread discussing some new feature coming in AoD? Vote down and bury it because its Discovery related and "Ah hatez Discoveriez! Get off mah lawn!"
potentially hundreds of thousands of threads posted over the years. 1000's of pages to find the thread? that could take hours simply because the system is set up that way. I wouldn't want to be in the moderators boots with the system the way it is currently.
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
Absolutely true! "Anything that can be abused, will be abused." Regular posters (= non-moderators and up) should not have the power to manipulate things in this manner.