Except of course that the Trek Fora are the most boring ones of the lot. How many times do we need to see topics discussing the merits of the 'Akira' class starship, or the 'Steamrunner' class, or any other class thats been seen only once on DS9 (usually for a split second, before being destroyed).
Hell, I for one, don't even know what either the Akira or Steamrunner class look like, and I really dont care. I have only ever posted a handfull of replys in the Trek fora, and then only to topics that are slightly different from the usual run of the mill threads.
Personally, I would have liked to have seen
Christian take a back seat in the running of the board. I know the site belongs to him, but he seems to have his hands full keeping the server operational, and running the rest of the TrekNation site. He certainly doesn't seem to realise the trouble with the trolls that are already here.
DEA found a way to effectively ban
Slaurus and
Che Guevara permenantly, within the rules of the board, but it appears that
Christian has backed down from this position, and they'll be welcomed back fairly soon. Does he think they will have changed? I, for one, doubt that they have.
The irony of this position, is that
Christian himself gave the infamous
Red Quacker an 'illegal' lifetime ban.
Red Quacker posted for a while at Trek Talk, and intimated that there had been some previous bad blood between himeslf and
Christian, for which he was shouted down. Now I wonder if there was a grain of truth in his statements.
I do agree that the new policy will deter the trolls from coming here, but I fail to see how it deals with the ones we already have. And has for the word 'illegal' when used within the context of this board, what does it actually mean? Are there any legal reasond why undesirables can't just be banned, or does it just refer to the rules of the board? If it's the latter, why not just change the rules? After all, isn't that whats happening now.
I agree with the policy on double usernames. That particular habit is very annoying, to say the least.
Now, on to the thorny subject of post count.
If post count dosen't matter, why do we continue with it? Once someone reaches 100 posts, they can post anything anywhere (within the boundaries of the rules). Why not just stop at 100 for everyone?
And, as the mod and admins are so keen to point out, if the post count is
really meaningless past 100, why havent they all volunteered to have their counts reduced to that number? You really should lead by example boys and girls. Unlees, of course, the post count does matter to you. In that case, why shouldnt it matter to everyone else?
Now to the ranking structure.
This pretty much ties in with the post count issue. If we want to continue with having rank, then there are really two options.
The first is to tie it to post count. However, if your going to do that, your going to have to reinstate post count in all fora, not just the trek ones. Your always going to have people who are obsessed with the idea of rank, and all that they will do is post multiple threads on similar topics in the Trek fora. It happens in ENT (though for different reasons), and I'm sure it will happen elsewhere.
Second option is to tie rank with time on the board. I actually would prefer this option, as I've found that you soon form friendships with those who joined about the same time as yourself, especially if you post in the lounges much (as I do).
There is a third option, and that is to remove the rank system altogether. Have only 4 differing distinctions, which could be
- Junior Member with 0-99 posts
- Member with 100+ posts
- Moderator
- Administrator
Pesonnaly, I like the rank structure. It's just a bit of fun, and adds character to the board.
This would leave the question of what to do about the lounges. I know that these are unpopular with some people, but they do serve a function. I've found that they are ideal places to discuss matters not really suited for any other fora with a few members, rather than posting it all in Misc, where many topics get swamped fairly quickly. They also take some of the strain from Misc, as closing the lounges would not stop the topics being opened in the first place.
So, if the rank system does ever disappear, why not theme the lounges. For example, have one for some of the story threads that get started (should please
Kitty if no one else).
I know this has been a long post, but I honestly believe that the new policy is full of half measures, and does discriminate aginst those of us who aren't really that interested in the Trek Fora. I know it's a Trek board, but most of us do have other interests, and some of the other fora do address those interests.
And toughen up on the troll policy. No more hand wringing about 'illegal' bans. This is a privately owned board, operated for the benefit of those members who want to contribute to it. Change the rules, so that the Admins can take whatever action neccesary to deal with the problems. Don't punish the majority of us who just want to enjoy ourselves.
