Shoutbox Feedback

[Lady Amber]

@Corn: I haven't really read through this topic, but what I can see from glancing at some of the posts, I don't think they were exactly squabbling. Or arguing. They were simply debating/discussing whether the shoutbox was needed. Your storming in here and yelling at everyone was slightly rude; the whole point of the topic is to say what you think about the shoutbox.

[Fatch of Southsward]

I'm still a little new here, kinda, and I want to just point out really quick this doesn't leave the best of impressions for people that are just getting here. All these long posts and arguments kinda makes the shoutbox seem like more of a mess/issue than it is.

And I'm not pointing names or naming fingers (  ) I'm just suggesting that maybe we should let the staff deal with it, and PM them if you are truly concerned. That's what they're there for, unless I'm much mistaken. 

I don't care much about the shoutbox being there or being gone, but I do care about feelings being hurt. 

[The Skarzs]

Thank you for that, Fatch. That's all I can say to appreciate that post there.

[Wylder Treejumper]

Well, as one of the most prolific users (and abusers ) of the shoutbox, I can certainly say that I miss it. However, it is not an integral part of the forum and time will tell if it was positive or negative.

Just curious, though: Have there been signs of increased activity since the shoutbox removal?

[James Gryphon]

Post output seems to have increased roughly by 50% per day, compared to earlier days in June before the box was removed.

There is one major flaw in this metric, in that I believe the Statistics post count counts all posts equally, which includes those in the Cellars, which were intended to suffer from the box being present, and, of course, all the posts arguing for or against the shoutbox , which wouldn't be here if it wasn't gone.

Time and a greater sample size will tell whether or not the box's removal helped the rest of the board in that manner.

[Wylder Treejumper]

Is there a metric for total time spent on the forum? Because I have a hypothesis about that.

[Hickory]

I'm just coming back here to say a few things.

A while ago I posted an unofficial poll requesting the feedback from members about the shoutbox being axed, and the results tallied highest in "I didn't know I cared for it so much" and "meh, minor loss" with a few obvious votes from obvious members going to the extremes of "good riddance to bad rubbish" and "it's like I've lost a limb".

Basically, it averages out to forum life going on. However, the exit of the shoutbox has left me thinking. Looking through Funny Post Collection (and some other Cellars threads) it came to my attention that I miss it significantly, and in a way that it's a greater loss then it was originally. We did have some good times with the shoutbox, with memorable quotes like "MY AUTOMATEEK KALISHNOKOV WILL KEEL YOUR FACE" and characters like Rainshadow's Sister being a staple of shoutbox activity. Albeit, that fun came at a price - in for a penny, in for a pound - the amount of spam present surrounding those golden moments took the sheen away.

I know that we can now appreciate those moments in their full glory, in a proper topic, but I do find myself lacking the shout box significantly from time to time. So, yeah, I do actually want it back. A little.

Anyway, that's all I have to say for now.

[Wylder Treejumper]

Can we perhaps do a trial reinstatement of the shoutbox? I kind of miss it- it was fun and made communicating a lot easier. Maybe if you could do a general shoutbox and a shoutbox that was only for spam stuff in the Cellars that would cut the junk. Of course, I don't actually know if that's possible, but its a thought.

[James Gryphon]

I could talk to Matthias about it, but personally I'm reluctant to bring it back to the public use, because I think that it interferes with posting activity in some of the regular forums, and also because I'm still concerned it promotes an atmosphere where people feel like they can say anything, without being bound by rules of order or decorum. I would rather look into new ways to make the normal board>topic>post system faster, more efficient and more accessible.

[Wylder Treejumper]

That would be nice, but so far I've seen no real improvement in the way posts flow. The advantage of the shoutbox (and disadvantage, I suppose) was that it was instantaneous and omnipresent; it was very easy for people to see and reply without the post being "covered" by other activity. The disadvantage being it favors absolute rapid-response and spam, but it was effective at its purpose, and I see no suitable replacement.

[Wylder Treejumper]

Pardon the double post, but I actually have come up with a good idea (for once). What about having something like the shoutbox up top, only it displays the first ___ characters of whatever the 10 most recent posts are? That way, activity is instant, omnipresent, still posted to topics encouraging propriety and diminishing spam.

Or, perhaps, something similar: whatever is posted in one topic (like "The Shoutbox Topic") would instantly appear up top? Then everything would be instant, omnipresent, confined to one topic, and have all the advantages of posting and the shoutbox.

Again, I don't know if these are actually workable, but I am trying to come up with possible improvements.

[James Gryphon]

The advantage of the shoutbox (and disadvantage, I suppose) was that it was instantaneous and omnipresent; it was very easy for people to see and reply without the post being "covered" by other activity.

It seems a little odd to me to say that the posts aren't being covered by other activity, because by its very nature the shoutbox's content is constantly scrolling upwards and getting covered up by new material. I don't clearly see how the standard system is inferior in that respect, provided that you know what topic the discussion is taking place in and are there keeping up with it.

Pardon the double post, but I actually have come up with a good idea (for once). What about having something like the shoutbox up top, only it displays the first ___ characters of whatever the 10 most recent posts are? That way, activity is instant, omnipresent, still posted to topics encouraging propriety and diminishing spam.

Or, perhaps, something similar: whatever is posted in one topic (like "The Shoutbox Topic") would instantly appear up top? Then everything would be instant, omnipresent, confined to one topic, and have all the advantages of posting and the shoutbox.

Again, I don't know if these are actually workable, but I am trying to come up with possible improvements.

I appreciate that.

The idea of having some sort of "recent posts" with visible text in a prominent place has crossed my mind. I'll look through the forum's feature set to see whether it has anything like this already that's just turned off; if not, then I can begin searching for a new modification to achieve this purpose.

I would like to note that this isn't unlike the "Recent Posts"' individual page that already exists; it's just ubiquitous instead of split off into its own thing.

[Wylder Treejumper]

The advantage of the shoutbox (and disadvantage, I suppose) was that it was instantaneous and omnipresent; it was very easy for people to see and reply without the post being "covered" by other activity.

It seems a little odd to me to say that the posts aren't being covered by other activity, because by its very nature the shoutbox's content is constantly scrolling upwards and getting covered up by new material. I don't clearly see how the standard system is inferior in that respect, provided that you know what topic the discussion is taking place in and are there keeping up with it.

What I was thinking of is this situation: You go into, say, the Cellars. You make a new post. The posts shows up on the index. Then, 2 seconds later, something else is posted in the Cellars. Your post is no longer easily seen, and people may not reply quickly because they don't notice the post. An additional advantage is the presence of some/all of the content of the posts, so that others can easily see what you are posting about.

And yes, my first idea was basically just updating the "Recent Posts" page with the characteristics of the shoutbox: instant, and omnipresent.

I feel like both ideas would be good, but the first idea would be easier to implement and be a better overall forum improvement, while the second would be most like the shoutbox, simply modifying the posting method to slow it down slightly and encourage propriety but keeping the single conversation flow pattern.

[Jetthebinturong]

The advantage of the shoutbox (and disadvantage, I suppose) was that it was instantaneous and omnipresent; it was very easy for people to see and reply without the post being "covered" by other activity.

It seems a little odd to me to say that the posts aren't being covered by other activity, because by its very nature the shoutbox's content is constantly scrolling upwards and getting covered up by new material. I don't clearly see how the standard system is inferior in that respect, provided that you know what topic the discussion is taking place in and are there keeping up with it.

What I was thinking of is this situation: You go into, say, the Cellars. You make a new post. The posts shows up on the index. Then, 2 seconds later, something else is posted in the Cellars. Your post is no longer easily seen, and people may not reply quickly because they don't notice the post. An additional advantage is the presence of some/all of the content of the posts, so that others can easily see what you are posting about.

But the "NEW" button takes you to the latest post you haven't seen, meaning that it shouldn't really be possible to miss a post.

[Cornflower MM]

^I didn't know that. . . Some things are making sense now.

I have an idea. Why not have the shoutbox but have rules and a mod just for it? That would cut down on some of the junk at least. If I remember correctly there weren't any rules just for the shoutbox - you were just expected to be a good member. Well, some of us bowed down to temptation and then were made to feel lower than a worm's belly. I don't think it would happen again. Of course, I could be overestimating us all - I do like to do that - but a good set of rules and a mod that's active seems like it would help. A lot.