RuneScape Forum Archive | (feedback about) General

2_Tron

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@Ana, I do believe that General will be going to "its purpose as to how it was" meaning that players will keep themselves to the specific rules of that forum and that it isn't a forum where you can drop anything in you like to throw into. Also respecting its strap-line.

For a lot of other forums, it already is happening so General will eventually follow the way other forums are being used.

23-Jul-2020 20:17:23

Mrs Ana

Posts: 8,998 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

2_Tron said :
@Ana, I do believe that General will be going to "its purpose as to how it was" meaning that players will keep themselves to the specific rules of that forum and that it isn't a forum where you can drop anything in you like to throw into. Also respecting its strap-line.

. How so? Like I have stated before, General has always been "the to-go place". In order to try to fix this issue, the sub-forum's description must be changed to reflect what you are suggesting and the Forum Specific Rules must also be updated.

Until we get that, the General sub-forum will always be the place for players to go. It has always been this way and I can safely presume that it will stay this way. Forum Moderators do not have an issue moving threads that are misplaced and threads will keep being posted here because that's where most people are at. Even though it may seem like it's incorrect to post there, I do not see a harm being done and nobody has been punished for misplacing threads before.

I still think that this issue is nonexistent.

24-Jul-2020 14:34:25

2_Tron

Posts: 22,959 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The strap-line & specific rules do really have a perfect description, therefore, nothing needs to be changed other than the behaviour of some individuals who will attempt to turn that forum into something else over & over.

24-Jul-2020 14:48:52

Mrs Ana

Posts: 8,998 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

2_Tron said :
The strap-line & specific rules do really have a perfect description, therefore, nothing needs to be changed other than the behaviour of some individuals who will attempt to turn that forum into something else over & over. Changing the behavior of individuals is out of your control and Jagex's. I know you are suggesting for something to be changed in General, but your own thread was moved from General to Rants due to the fact that it was a rant rather than a general topic. I'm sure that you were aware of that, correct? Your concern is heard by active players here on the Forums and I am sure most of them know this rule; however, when a new player comes in, the first sub-forum they see is General and its title attracts their attention and that's where they post.

That's something that may not change at all, but hey, here we are

.

24-Jul-2020 14:54:32

Mrs Ana

Posts: 8,998 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Actually, I decided to look at statistics at the time of this post:

First 10 pages of General:

Page 1: One moved thread (yours).
Page 2: Two moved threads.
Page 3: Three moved threads.
Page 4: One moved thread.
Page 5: Three moved threads.
Page 6: Three moved threads.
Page 7: Three moved threads.
Page 8: Five moved threads.
Page 9: Two moved threads.
Page 10: Four moved threads.

Each page holds 20 player-made, non-sticky threads. If we multiply 10 x 20, we get 200 threads in total, minus 3 stickies so 197 threads in total. Out of that, 27 were moved, so 27/197 = 13.71% were moved. Personally, I do not see this as an issue and apart from the fact that another thread gets moved down the list, there is no harm done if a thread is misplaced in General.

The community is willing and able to answer and to help the OP with whatever concerns/questions they may have. Once that's done, you may educate the player in question to post in the correct sub-forum for better reception and in some cases, we get Forum Moderators to move the thread to its correct location. For example, when I see a thread that belongs in the community-led sub-forums, I always ask an F-Mod to move it there so that the OP can receive the necessary assistance and better reception.

It's impossible to change the behavior of players to avoid them from posting in General. This may be possible to do with veterans of the Forums as they are fully aware how the Forums work; however, whenever you see a new player or someone looking for help, they are more than likely to post in the General sub-forum than any other sub-forum due to the fact that 1) General is the most attractive sub-forum they see on the Forums list and 2) Its name suggests that anything may be posted here, even though it says "not covered by any other forums". Someone that's looking for desperate help does not read the "not covered by any other forums". They just want their issues resolved.

24-Jul-2020 15:08:34

Mrs Ana

Posts: 8,998 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

I have always been a fan of educating players. If someone posts in General regarding an account issue, it serves them better to answer their questions first and then try to educate them on the fact that the thread belongs in Community-Led Account Help. This will somehow alert them that the next time they may have an issue with their accounts, posting in Community-Led Account Help would allow Community Helpers and other helpers to come to their rescue as soon as possible.

Furthermore, I have noticed many Forum Moderators do this and I myself simply ask an F-Mod to move the thread to the correct location after answering their questions/concerns. It isn't helpful to simply say, "Hey, you posted on the wrong sub-forum". Instead, it makes more sense to try to help them first and then, if you wish, try to educate them on where that type of thread belongs. You may not have the ability to move the thread yourself, but you do have the ability to teach someone where to correctly post a thread the next time they come here.

New players and people desperate for help do not care nor they read the General's description. All they are looking for is someone to respond to their thread and General fits perfectly. Veteran users, for the most part, are less likely to do this due to their tenure here on the RuneScape Official Forums.

Posting a misplaced thread isn't harmful; however, if it's blatantly done, I'm sure the Forum Moderators will take care of it. Throughout my years here, I have never seen someone get warned about misplacing thread, let alone being punished for it. If we do see 20 threads in one page being moved from General to other sub-forums, then it may be an issue. As of this moment, I personally believe that this is not even an issue. We should strive to educate people to make sure that their mistakes or confusions do not repeat themselves.

24-Jul-2020 15:16:39

2_Tron

Posts: 22,959 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Ana, you encourage players to purposely misplace threads. Would other forums were chosen for being the correct place, those forums would function better and General wouldn't have soo much gaming/gear/armour threads floating the first page but instead in the proper forums where it needs to be.
You refuse to see what is wrong.

24-Jul-2020 16:08:38

Mrs Ana

Posts: 8,998 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

No, I see and understand your suggestion. Forum Moderators themselves have shared with us in this thread that they do not see this as an issue at all and if it were considered an issue, it would be all the way at the bottom. Forum Moderators themselves have posted that whenever they see a misplaced thread, they are more than happy to move the thread to its correct location to the best of their ability and knowledge. If somehow someone disagrees with that, then we are fully aware that Forum Moderation Review may be used to dispute their actions.

I'm not refusing to see what is wrong because there isn't anything wrong, 2_Tron. Sometimes, you are going to get threads that do not belong in General and people will do their best to answer the questions to help OP. If an F-Mod is around, they are more than happy to move the thread and to educate OP on where to post next if they were to come back here. Veteran forumers, for the most part, are fully aware what the intention of General is. Newer players and people looking for help, like I have explicated above, do not look at the "strap-line" or FSRs of General due to the fact that 1) General is right in front of their eyes and 2) Its title fits whatever they need help with.

Unless we see 10-20 misplaced threads in every page of General, then, as of this precise moment, there is nothing wrong. In fact, if you have not noticed, the Forums have had way less traffic the past couple of years because people are leaving to Social Media. I do not think that shooing people away because of a misplaced thread in General is the right approach to attract more users.

You did say that there is nothing wrong with the "strap-line" or the FSRs of General, yet, as you claim, people still post in General for the reasons I have repeatedly mentioned. It is not possible to control people. You may do your best to educate and this is what I always see people do when a thread in misplaced. The F-Mods are currently fine with it.

24-Jul-2020 16:22:01 - Last edited on 24-Jul-2020 16:23:31 by Mrs Ana

Mrs Ana

Posts: 8,998 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Tuffty said :
Hello 2 Tron.

Great thread and I get where you are coming from. So to help out I will pass this along to the team and Jagex and see what can be done to make General Great again. (Bad pun but needed to be said)

So that you and I do not have to go back and forth, 2_Tron, I believe I will wait for this response from a Jagex Moderator to see what their thoughts are regarding what's being discussed in this thread ^_^

.

24-Jul-2020 16:24:48 - Last edited on 24-Jul-2020 16:25:28 by Mrs Ana

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24-Jul-2020 18:12:51