Follow-Up: Under-the-Name Info

[Katzaniel]

Previous discussion

 

Please, if you have an argument for keeping any of the above-mentioned fields, please say it, because numbers don't always speak for themselves. If every single person votes to remove something but someone comes in on the last day and posts a heartfelt plea to keep it, we'll almost certainly keep it. Conversely, a single vote with no words of accompaniment would not hold the same sway.

 

Furthermore, I wanted to hold a continuing discussion on whether we should use a drop-down box - ie, standardized options - or let people write their own text. And if it's the former, what should the standardized options be?

 

One question that might help us answer this is: If you had a text box to describe your default feedback preferences with a limit of, say, 30 characters, what would you say?

Edited November 5, 2007 by Katzaniel
Added last two items to poll

[Patrick]

Please note that warn level is only visible for moderators.

 

I voted to keep Group and guild image and do away with the rest. Group is useful, since the whole forum is built around advancement through the groups and it's useful to know who is an Elder. We should have the guild image while we have the guilds.

[Katzaniel]

Sorry, I meant to add these in right after posting the topic. Anyway, it looks like they're there, but don't show up for a given user until you move the option off of "Unspecified" which, I think, should be okay. If anyone can't see the new fields just under the Geld field, please let me know.

 

PS. Given Patrick's new info, it looks like we might not be able to remove warn level for those that can see it. Keep voting, though, 'cause if enough people hate it like I do, I'll delve a little deeper, though I still won't make any promises.

 

Also, anyone else noticed that we seem to have 2 gender drop-downs in our profile? Apparently I'm female *and* not telling.

Edited November 5, 2007 by Katzaniel

[Preprise]

voted. Same point of view as before

[Mardrax]

The current Not Chosen default is fine, just let it always show

About that though, how about making it show as:

 

Preferred feedback:

story: x

poem: x

 

To counter it taking up 4 lines as it does now and hence improving the look somewhat as well.

Also, while minimising clutter, it might also just show a "preferred feedback:" if story and poem entries are the same, or just add a "general feedback level" pulldown which does that, if the user so desires.

 

Voted to keep just about everything other than Member No. Geld and guild image.

As they stand, carnivals seem a thing of the past. No use letting relics linger. Unless carnivals get resurrected again, of course, so that I may actually live to see one

Member No I see no point for, other than perhaps giving a view on where people stand in the community from a chronological standpoint, which Joined Date does a far better job at as far as I'm concerned.

 

Guild image. Hard one. First from a purely functional standpoint. What does it do (that I can think of(in my 1 AM state of mind))?

-Indicating a guildleader has clear purpose. This is whom every member can walk up to with whatever guild related business. Also, it's a nice way to show someone is willing to go the extra mile for the community.

-Indicating a guildmember.

--Shows the leader his "underlings". Not necessary. A sticky in the guild's section will do a better job of keeping a list of members, and would give less clutter on the rest of the forum.

--Shows the guild to the people, as a living thing, other than just a little (hidden) niche in the forum. Good.

 

Issues with the guild image in a single line: It's a big piece of clutter in a crowded space that completely stings with the surrounding clutter and otherwise the interface of the forum, in being an image (among text) that doesn't adhere to our forum's style.

 

Further comment:

The guilds; They gathered dust, were discussed to the point of fatigue, were dusted off and descended, we're awed and oh!'ed and gathered dust again since. *rueful sigh*

 

On other notes, the things to keep:

Group, keep for reasons Pat mentioned.

 

Posts gives a nice indication of how active this person is within the community.

Joined gives a nice indication of where this person stands within the community from a purely chronological standpoint.

Both give reason for new people to pinpoint people whom they could ask certain questions they might want answered in private. They raise figureheads, so to speak, and it's always good to have a few sticking out of the mass.

 

Location, when filled out truthfully, may give community members things in common outside of writing and may even cause them to look eachother up. A good thing, as I know a lot of us would acknowledge. Also, it may bring a better sense of knowing someone, just knowing something as basic as a home base about him, which helps the community be more of a community, especially for new joiners, but undoubtedly for the older ones as well, especially since some of us seem eternally on the move

 

Well, that's my 2 cents.

Edited November 6, 2007 by Mardrax

[Degorram]

I've never understood what a Geld was...what is it?

[Mira]

I've never understood what a Geld was...what is it?

 

$ € ¥ etc...

 

 

We use to earn and use them during seasonal carnivals, an event that we haven't held for some time, but hopefully can resurrect.

[The Portrait of Zool]

I voted.

 

I definitely would like to keep Group, Posts, and Guild Image. Everything else is either extraneous or even inaccurate, such as Join Date and member number. If someone wants to know where you are from I think that is the kind of info that probably belongs in your Bio anyway. Warn level? Never used it, never seen it used.

 

I think the best default would be for Gentle Feedback, simply as a 'set-it-and-forget-it' choice for general public board tone.

Edited November 6, 2007 by The Portrait of Zool

[Salinye]

Honestly, the only thing that I voted to do away with was the member number. I personally like everything else. I like to know what group people are in, what guilds they joined while the guilds were thriving and I really love knowing where in the real world people are located. It's just a fun tidbit. :0)

 

Now, I know that I've been gone for a long time, but I sincerely hope that you will not get rid of the geld!! I'm so sad to hear that it's not being utilized anymore! That was QUITE fun! When we invented the guilds and the carnivals, we would have all of these exercises and competitions that allowed you to win geld. The resulting geld could be used in other activities like slave bachelor/bachelorette auctions. There was also a regular carnival event where a name title would be given and people would compete by writing up a description of what that item was and then people got to bid or something in order to win that item as a new item their characters now owned. It was quite inventive.

 

Anyway, maybe I'm blowing on dying embers, but I think it doesn't hurt anything to be there and keeps open the potential for resurrecting some fun activities.

 

Just some thoughts from a...well I don't know what I am lol. Am I considered an ancient because I've been gone so long? I'll have to look.

 

Just some thoughts from a Salinye.

 

~Salinye

[Degorram]

I've never understood what a Geld was...what is it?

 

$ € ¥ etc...

 

 

We use to earn and use them during seasonal carnivals, an event that we haven't held for some time, but hopefully can resurrect.

 

Ah! Well, that would be why I have none.

[Mardrax]

Dying embers have started forest fires before Salinye. I for one would love to join in on a carnival if I could find the time for it.

 

Deg, the term was taken from Archmage (Which is a game that has brought many from this group together but that has sadly died years back, you'll find references to it throughout the forums if you know what to look for) which means "money" in German, Dutch and possibly other germanic languages.

You're among an army of paupers

[Katzaniel]

OK, given the votes and discussion, I really only feel comfortable removing Member Number. I have to get to work post haste, but that's on my to-do list (will only take a second once I get to it... ). I'm wondering, though, are there really no comments about the actual drop-down choices I made? Are they really satifactory for everyone? (Ha!) No, I don't expect to accomodate every single last person, but I thought there might be some more discussion on that...

[Tanuchan]

Hm... Well, I for one am not happy with the choices for either story or poems... since most of the time I don't look for "critical" in any of them, but it's not "positive only" or "just sharing" either. "Minor feedback" would be okay if I knew what "minor" is... grammar? flow? feelings? I'm not looking for grammar in poems, though in stories I might. I'm certainly looking for flow/feeling in both of them...

 

I don't know what could be there to give better ideas of what we want, but maybe we could discuss it a bit more?

[reverie]

Hmm, this got me thinking some. Maybe we need to clarify a few definitions, just so we don't offend anyone unintentionally. IMHO these are the ones I consider most appropriate which apply to our site.

Selecting from Websters:

 

Critical 2c: exercising or involving careful judgment or judicious evaluation <critical thinking>

 

-as opposed to 2a: inclined to criticize severely and unfavorably

 

Feedback 2b: the transmission of evaluative or corrective information about an action, event, or process to the original or controlling source; also : the information so transmitted

 

Minor 1: inferior in importance, size, OR degree

 

 

 

Hmm, I guess the opposite of critical feedback for our purposes could be considered a gut feeling or first reaction usually brief or more intuitive in nature.

 

Now Harsh feedback is something completely different. I throw it around more as a joke of a shared hardship endured really. The tone of Critical Feedback may range from bold, mild, to relatively timid in nature, but that's largely dependent on the personality that is delivering the feedback and how well they can control their emotions or assert themselves. Some are better at it than others. Regardless of tone, Critical Feedback should always have something redeemingly useful to say about what is said or not said in a written work otherwise you're just being rude, mean, or worse incoherent.

 

hope that helps.

 

rev...

 

 

*god, I edit a lot.

Edited November 19, 2007 by reverie

[Gwaihir]

I must say that I would like to see us cut a few more (like posts number for sure and a few others in my ideal world) just because it's too full down there.

[Tanuchan]

I'd suggest taking out post number, member number, and geld (can't we get it invisible, and show it again if we ever have another Carnival?). It *is* too crowded...

[Patrick]

What about getting rid of join date?

[The Portrait of Zool]

What about getting rid of join date?

I agreed with you on this, because for the older members it only reflects when this site opened (The Pen has had several URL/site incarnations).

 

I am certainly happy to abide by the general vote - I guess I could just edit it to reflect my real join date.

[Gwaihir]

Good point, Zool. I had forgotten how many of us had bogus join dates when I voted. I change my vote then. The things can do no good. Either they'll make people feel junior and presume bogus inferiority or they'll misinform.

[Katzaniel]

OK, I'll remove join date, member number and possibly temporarily, geld. All three will still exist, of course, but be no longer part of the under-the-name info.

 

I will rethink the critical levels and post again re: that - any more suggestions in the meantime (NaNoWriMo is almost over! Gahh!) would be great, because we could easily come up with 5 or 6 suggestions for each level and put them to vote.

[Katzaniel]

GAH

 

After all that, guys, it turns out that the part of the Admin thingy where you can change what shows up in "author details" (apparently that's what it's called) only applies to *custom* profile fields. I've been poring over the Admin options since I posted the above comment, however long that is, and I can't find anything about the rest of them. (I did find Warn level - we can disable the thing altogether if we want to, and I think we should, since we never use it). But everything else seems to be there for good. Which is weird, because I'm sure they weren't all always there.

[Patrick]

I'll have a look at the PHP files Katz.

[Patrick]

The stuff can be removed in the skin options (editing template HTML). For the moment if I remove something it just removes the text and leaves an empty line, but I'm looking into it in more detail.