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**Official** Threads


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Let me start by saying I don't intend this to be any sort of attack against anyone who has ever started an **Official** thread. It's just my opinion.

 

I very well may be alone in this thinking but I'm of the opinion that LCVG should limit or not allow **Official** threads. These threads are one of the many elements that slowly degraded HTF into what it is today. Additionally, I don't think it at all helpful to contain ALL discussion about one game in a single thread. Such discussion can occur across multiple sub-topics which would be better served in separate threads.

 

Official threads get waaay too long. I'd love to read everyone's opinions about a specific topic but I'm not about to wade through 200 posts to keep up. Following one of these threads is like keeping up with a Soap Opera (or a Robotech series): if you miss a few you have to start all over. Everyone here has a life so smaller more manageable threads will probably be much easier for the casual LCVG reader who visits once per week. Consider the new member who is interested in a topic covered by an Official Thread: Imagine the overwhelming feeling he/she gets when confronted with a 10-page thread!

 

Official threads limit the scope of the discussion. If I have a different perspective on a topic already being discussed in an Official Thread I'm stuck with a delimma: do I follow the lemmings and post it in the Official Thread where it may be lost altogether or do I become a rebel and risk starting a new thread? Having your thoughts totally lost in an Official Thread may make you think twice before participating again.

 

Official threads are more difficult to moderate. Moderation at LCVG will never be an issue. These guys are great and I have every confidence we will continue to see an admirable level of hands-on participation. That said, the sheer size of some Official Threads combined with the broad sub-topics contained therein can be overwhelming to moderate. A half-dozen people could be talking about the power-up aspects of the game while 2 more people may be debating the character animation while others still discuss how the game compares to its competition. Keeping track of whom is responding to who and which sub-topic (sub-threads) correspond with one another can become a daunting task.

 

Official threads can lead to bad blood. Here's a scenario I've seen at other forums: There's an existing Official Thread for Halo yet a member starts a new thread discussing some other, more specific topic pertaining to Halo. Suddenly people respond to his new thread asking him to obey the Official Thread. Next thing you know his thread is closed. How does that member feel?

In many instances I've seen people act really rude about something as silly as ignoring the Official Thread. That's nuts, IMO, a forum should welcome such posts.

No doubt that will never occur at LCVG but why even toy with the posibility? Despite the nice organized sterility of an Official Thread there are sub-topics that are better served separately.

 

I certainly do not mean to come off as 100% against Official Threads. They help keep heavily populated forums from redundant threads creating a traffic jam. They're your one-stop-spot for a specific topic and can be quick and easy if you manage to keep up-to-date with the thread.

 

I think the assembled LCVG moderators are more than capable of deciding exactly when multiple threads are close enough in topic to be merged -or- when an Official Thread becomes too populated by sub-threads and needs to be split up. I would imagine it's easier to merge threads (or suggest they be merged) than splitting a large thread.

 

Anyway...those are my silly little thoughts.

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I see what you're saying, in a sense official threads are a kind of dumping ground of information on any topic related to the game at hand. Which can make finding something specific about a game difficult.

 

OTOH, official threads keep clutter down. Certain extremely popular games could generate 5 or more threads, which makes moderation more difficult. Also, individual threads rarely stay strictly on topic anyway, there's usually a good deal of 'garden path' meandering as people reply to each other.

 

As it stands, it seems to me like the LCVG is handling things OK in this dept. If you look at the Mario Golf threads for example, you'll see there's an official thread and then another for a tourney. On a more strict forum, a mod may merge the two, which would be a mistake, IMO. In contrast, I could have started a new thread about the 480/720p issue in SCII, but I don't think there needs to be a new thread just for that.

 

It sounds like the 'bad blood' thing is more about being lenient on jerks with bad attitudes than about enforcing forum rules. I don't see any reason why a mod can't respectfully direct a member to an official thread without hurting anyone's feelings (and respectfully ask anyone whose being nasty about it to calm down). And a mod should let a thread remain if it serves a distinctly different purpose, like the Mario Golf threads. Where do you draw the line? I don't know, but it seems like both official threads and a limited number of 'specialty' threads on the same game/topic should be able to co-exist.

 

But I can't speak for the forum owners, this is all IMO.

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we'd have to figure up a usable and uncluttered system for different threads

 

Agreed. The necessity for an official thread cant be denied. As was mentioned a popular game can generate loads of threads. Take a look at the IGN forums which has endless threads on the same game. What I propose is possibly creating separate threads for #1 reviews (discuss game graphics, sounds etc expund on gameplay..). #2 strategy (discuss help topics and helpful tips) #3 If the game calls for it, story discussions and spoilers (ie for games like Silent Hill or Resident Evil.).

 

How is that for a breakdown? Feedback? Suggestions?

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Originally posted by FutureVoid@Sep 4 2003, 01:21 AM

What I propose is possibly creating separate threads for #1 reviews (discuss game graphics, sounds etc expund on gameplay..). #2 strategy (discuss help topics and helpful tips) #3 If the game calls for it, story discussions and spoilers (ie for games like Silent Hill or Resident Evil.).

I seem to remember a tallish gentleman of Cuban descent hassling me when I used this approach with KOTOR. ;)

 

Come to think of it, I'm probably wrong: Romier's no gentleman!

 

And I like the approach -- but keep in mind that you can easily make a ton of "official" threads, it might take some time establishing balance. For example, I like the following split for ESPN FB, but I don't know whether it would work well in practice:

 

Official ESPN FB gameplay discussion

Official ESPN FB tips

Official ESPN FB technical aspects discussion

 

See, some game's might not need a technical aspects discussion (e.g. Advance Wars 2). So I dunno.

 

My inclination is to go with Romier's suggestion (My idea! We hates you! Dirty thiefses!), but couple it with an organic approach to designating threads. Let the board members do what they want. If a new topic starts about, say, Halo, don't automatically move it to the Official thread. Look at the new thread and try to determine whether its topic is unique and can merit its own thread.

 

In short, I think mods should excercise discretion and responsibility and not simply apply mechanical rules.

 

-j

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I agree that Offical threads are obnoxious to sift through and follow. I don't know the logistics of site management, but if it were possible to create sub headers occasionally where common threads could be grouped it would help elimate endless threads yet keep common info together. For Example : Jonny Rocket wants to start a Halo2 impressions discussion Under the Xbox thread, and Barry Manilow wants to create a discussion on Halo2 glitches also in the Xbox thread, those discussions could be grouped under a sub header Halo2. I.E. Xbox\Halo2,... Much like the way the LCVG Gods created a Live sub header in the Xbox thread.

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Originally posted by Joel Hurley@Sep 4 2003, 09:30 AM

I agree that Offical threads are obnoxious to sift through and follow. I don't know the logistics of site management, but if it were possible to create sub headers occasionally where common threads could be grouped it would help elimate endless threads yet keep common info together. For Example : Jonny Rocket wants to start a Halo2 impressions discussion Under the Xbox thread, and Barry Manilow wants to create a discussion on Halo2 glitches also in the Xbox thread, those discussions could be grouped under a sub header Halo2. I.E. Xbox\Halo2,... Much like the way the LCVG Gods created a Live sub header in the Xbox thread.

Good idea, but its a bit much I think. I think you guys will be smart enough to create your own "offical" discussions.

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-Yeah, I'm torn over the idea, as I'd also hate to see a ridiculous tree system involved. My idea was to create a simple, shallow tree system. Just a suggestion. Once again, I love hitting these boards and I appreciate all the hard work that goes into them, but I don't envy the amount of work it must take to manage them. If I haven't said it enough, Thanx guys!

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