Hello KI Forum community. I just had a quick question about the policy of the website in regards to spam and user activity. I’ve tried looking in the Terms of Service, FAQ, and About The Killer Instinct Forums but I have not seen a concise answer. Is there a limit to the number of threads we can make about certain topics in a time period? I’m quite concerned because it’s very possible to overflow the forums with to much content from parties that may or may not yield progressive discussion. I’ve noticed the rise in such posts and it makes me wonder if the environment could become toxic. If we don’t have any rules concerning this then I think it’d be good to have a dialogue to see if we need this.
I don’t know if this belongs in the off-topic section. Maybe in general discussion?
Done. I thought it wasnt talking about the game. So I off topic’d that.
Might wanna ping @moderators to get their attention if you’ve got a question for them.
I share your concerns.
Yes. @moderators. If possible, please give us a stand on what you think of the current amount of post members can make in an alotted time. For example: do you think having a spam-filter where you can’t make a certain number of posts should be in order (similar to the likes system in place). This does not solely have to rest on limiting a members option to make posts. Id just like to assess whether you think is worth looking over for positive community feedback because I feel that certain members are overwhelmingly posting a lot of topics with negative atmospheres.
Please if you have an opinion it’d be greatly appreciated. @WrathOfFulgore @STORM179 @Dayv0 @FallofSeraphs76 @BigBadAndy @TheNinjaOstrich @TheWeebSkeeb @
Well, as far as what I can gather, these forums are run jointly under the Microsoft Xbox Live terms of service agreements, which is really long and a piece of literature I’m not really in the mood to go through with a fine tooth comb, and then there is Iron Galaxy’s own forum rules FAQ.
From what I can gather the opening/creation of new topics and threads in a large number within a certain period of time isn’t explicitly outlined, but I do believe as long as a thread is made with a good topic in mind, and not some duplicate of an existing thread of discussion, is respectful (not containing vulgarities, name calling, ad hominem attacks) and produces fruitful discussion then it really doesn’t matter if a single person makes a bunch of threads within such a short amount of time (which some may consider a type of spam).
Really though, the forums here have a lot of moderator and community interaction to them in which there is a great deal of community assistance in detecting possible violations. It’s a joint self moderation in which we, the community, share responsibility with the moderators in preventing abuse of the forum privileges. So I guess really there’s a gray area as to how determine what exactly is considered spam type behavior and what should be done about it. The least any one can really do is bring such things as to the attention of the moderators and they will have the ultimate judgment to whether or not someone’s behavior in multiple thread posting is considered spamming. The sole responsibility of the forum’s moderation shouldn’t completely fall on the shoulders of the mods themselves though, since if we allow things of this nature to continue and not bring it to someone’s attention, we do the conversation and community here no favors, allowing toxicity to grow rampant.
In the end, it’s a gray area, but as long as that person has something important to say that lends itself to meaningful conversation, then they can make as much conversation as they want, given they follow certain etiquette and guide lines of manners.
Still, it may be a good idea to put a safeguard in place and place a limit on thread creation tied to a user’s rank (regular, beginner, etc.). More senior members with good reputation may be entitled to extended privileges of being able to create more threads of discussion, since most regulars tend to be regular posters by following guidelines and extending courtesy to other players.
Thank you for that well thought out response.
Honestly I think if you just post constructively and keep your topics on point there’s no limit, when you start spamming nonsense and posting annoying semi-satire threads ten times a day that’s when it causes issues.
…the thing is…that’s exactly why I made this topic…
Ah I getcha, as far as I’m aware there are rules about staying constructive and not spamming but nothing about posting limited, etc.
I don’t have (much of) an opinion on this. I ignore threads that seem pointless or excessively negative, and in my opinion the mods do a generally good job of banning truly destructive posters.
There’s a bunch of posts in general here that I think aren’t super useful or helpful, but I’m not necessarily opposed to letting such topics run their course. If that’s what the community wants to talk about, then that’s what they want to talk about. Plenty of worthy threads go unnoticed or unmentioned on here regardless of whether or not a bunch of silly nonsense posts exist - I’m not a fan of that dynamic, but people have a right to talk or not talk about what they want to.
The issue is, the posts are borderline spam because it’s frequent post generating. Unwarranted negative atmosphere without constructive discussion.
I agree this would be a great idea. Aside from that though I really can’t add much to the discussion, as I don’t feel like I’m well-versed enough in what measures already exist.
Sadly we can’t monitor and restrict people for posting negative opinions, just manage the overflow. I know of a handful of dreadfully toxic users who cause issues but if they step out of line they get whats coming. There’s not really much the rest of us can do, just trust in the moderators and don’t contribute to the problem ourselves.
I chose this quote because I wanted to pick at it through my logic. See I was in your thought process in regards to these threads at first. I just did not engage in it, however, I found it hard to deal with it because it started to bleed over into other regular discussions I like to participate in. It gets hard to ignore something when it slowly starts to wave it’s ugly finger in your face.
I’ll be honest, I really don’t have an opinion. Like @STORM179, I tend to avoid the negative discussions unless I have some feedback. However, I still look through them, and flag if deemed necessary. But as for spam filters or restricting, I don’t feel right restricting someone’s ability to share their opinion, Negatively or Positively.
I just mute threads that annoy me. Then they don’t show up in my feed at all.
Just going to point out again, as I have many times; if you see a thread or post you think is against the TOS in some way, please use the flag system.
We don’t always see posts or threads right away, and to be honest, it’s more frustrating to see a dozen back and forth argument posts than flags of the original post which caused the argument in the first place.
Flagging posts is the best way to help us keep the forums clear of duplicates, trolling, etc.
I’m kind of a libertarian at heart. I appreciate the sentiment and I understand the cause of your frustration @DulXboxOne. But I think in this case the cure would be worse than the disease. As it stands now, the productive discussions on the forum are generated by a handful of people who like to write. These productive discussions are then read by 10-100x the number of people making posts. How does limiting the number of posts of those writers impact the content in the forum? Further, even most productive threads eventually tail out in to back and forth between a few people.
Looking at the forum, the GGs thread has a huge number of posts and it has become a social thread for people to use to identify who they can play with, talk about the results etc. I don’t really want gestapo moderation telling everyone that they should only be posting GGs in there. So, if I don’t want the rules applied to me, I can’t really argue they should apply to other people - even if those people are clearly cluttering up the forum with weird nonsense.
I would just say don’t click on it and/or don’t respond. As you know I am terrible at following this advice, but it is good advice nonetheless.