Ideas to Improve Quality of Posts

[MathiasPW]

This thread is about suggestions to the mods so we can have a better forum that increases the number of regular posters - old and new - and has better overall quality of discussions.

If you want to flame a suggestion, you must bring a replacement idea.


DIAGNOSIS

Here are the main problems I currently observe:

1) If you divide posts into NEGATIVE ("I hate my team"; "you suck"; "tank now"; "trade everyone", etc.) and POSITIVE ("I have a suggestion", funny stuff, useful links and thoughts, etc), I would guess more than 3/4 are NEGATIVE (I don´t have an official stat, sorry).

2) Psychology has something called "brain conditioning" (marketing uses it a lot). The more you are exposed to something, the more you get used to it, until it becomes normal (like the saying "a lie told enough times becomes the truth"). Excessive NEGATIVE posts are becoming the norm, and they drag overall post quality down. Even tipical POSITIVE posters get caught up in flame fests every now and then.

3) There is also a phenomenon called "crowding out". Which basically means that NEGATIVE posts tend to shy away POSITIVE posts, giving even more room for other NEGATIVE posts, which become more and more dominant. It is common to read posts such as "that is why I don´t even post here anymore" within our threads.

SUGGESTIONS

1) Extinct Game Threads. They are the most common place for overreactions and biggest source of NEGATIVE posts. Replace them with a link to an online chat room where people can vent all they like, but once the game is over, it disappears into internetland. I assume a lot of people read the forums after a game, and the overall impression is always that the Suns have lost by a blowout every single game.

2) Rank overall post quality, by poster. People need to try and post better stuff, rather than just use RealGM as their potty. You can create a ratio of "And1/Posts", for example, (or create a "Minus1" button, too) and make it as a rule that people need to keep that ratio above a certain (very easy) number. People who continually fail to do so get a warning, than a suspension, then eventually a ban. This may sound closeminded, but it is democratic.

3) Monitor new posters. New guys that come in often find a very hostile environment and give up posting quite early. Also, many times new posters bring up old subjects that have been discussed to exhaustion (i.e. "tanking vs not tanking"), which only bring back forgotten heated exchanges (new guys first post is "Hey, BurningHeeart, I love Steve Nash so much"). To avoid this, pair every new poster with a more experienced and active current poster that can show him the basics. New posters will feel more welcome, and old posters will avoid being exposed to all the stuff they just can´t read about anymore.

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I believe that aiming for good quality attracts good posters and gets the best out of those we already have. In time, you´d bring in people from other Suns forums, Suns fans that are not currently active on internet boards, and older peeps who have left us because negativism gets too repetitive.

Please, try to keep this discussion productive. Don´t shoot down ideas without offering a substitute.

[Kerrsed]

[TASTIC]

I get what you mean Mathias, sent you a PM.

It is a little tricky though as this is a public forum, so with the good comes the bad - no way round that unfortunately!

The 'minus 1' idea I've seen on a few other forums, but if someone has a well thought out trade idea, with supporting discussion and they do it amicably with reason and all clearly laid out - they'll STILL get 'minus 1' from people who hate the trade, which goes against your idea of having a replacement suggestion as they just click 'minus 1' and be on their way...

[nevetsov]

Ignore list is a good option, too

[Frank Lee]

Mathias, I'd be glad to take you under my wing







PS... Sorry, this team is causing me a spiraling decent into sarcasm and cynicism. But i get your point. Personally, I wish we'd go back to a more shoot first and face suspension. an unkinder and ungentle-ler nation. Letter rip tater chip

[Kyler Murray]

Ignore list is a good option, too

Problem is, you can't ignore half the board, you'll need a decryption after every page.

[bigfoot]

Wait ... you taking about changing America as we know it. Currently the only sh*t we see in the news in negative crap. So that's what all these youngsters and many oldsters have been conditioned to do. Spout negative crap without THINKING anything through. It's all based on raw emotions and nothing logical. Damn go look it any news report on CNN or Fox News websites and see the banter afterwards in the comment section. **** just watch a news show with two "experts" with opposing viewpoints. It's actually frightening that the Internet and news media have been able to create this atmosphere.

What your asking for can only happen when a person chooses to take the time for personal reflection. They have to look at themselves and say do I believe half the nonsense that other people (or news organizations) spew. Then they have to look at themselves and think is what I am saying (or repeating) right. We all have to remember the truth almost always lies somewhere in the middle of two opposing viewpoints.

[bwgood77]

Good thoughts. It would be nice if new posters are not run off half the time or given a welcome so we could hear some nice fresh viewpoints on occasion instead of the same "must tank now" or "we should trade for Horford or Cousins" posts repeatedly.

[RaisingArizona]

I used to think the Suns board here had quality posters. I'm not so sure anymore. It's like lather, rinse, repeat with the same 10 people.

[Kerrsed]

We still have some excellent posters! The issue is the team. When the team sucks, people tend to post less or take a step back from the game. When we start winning, they come back. Im not calling them "Bandwagon Fans", but there is a lot of heartache watching your team crumble when you are so passionate about them. Go back 5 or 6 pages in the Gamethread. I believe we had 2 posters point that out and say that they refuse to watch or post until the team changes.

There are alot of different reasons as to why people stop/take a break from posting.

[bigfoot]

I do have one suggestion that could improve the quality of posts. People could learn how to put together video clips of either the good things or bad things they see. Obviously if you can string together a bunch of plays showing your point it makes it easier for others to see. Maybe Kerrsed can give us all a crash course in how to do this. Where to find a game replay and how to edit them. Someone could string together all the Suns technical fouls and send it off to Kieff courtesy of the Suns RealGM board.

[Revived]

We still have some excellent posters! The issue is the team. When the team sucks, people tend to post less or take a step back from the game. When we start winning, they come back. Im not calling them "Bandwagon Fans", but there is a lot of heartache watching your team crumble when you are so passionate about them. Go back 5 or 6 pages in the Gamethread. I believe we had 2 posters point that out and say that they refuse to watch or post until the team changes.

There are alot of different reasons as to why people stop/take a break from posting.

^this.

[Marz11]

The game threads don't bother me as much, but the trade ones do when people want to trade away half the team based on the last games performance.

The game threads just end up resembling the up and down nature of the Suns play within games. It can get frustrating.

But you make some good points.

[bwgood77]

The game threads don't bother me as much, but the trade ones do when people want to trade away half the team based on the last games performance.

The game threads just end up resembling the up and down nature of the Suns play within games. It can get frustrating.

But you make some good points.

Or posting ideas to trade for other teams' cornerstones as if they are available. (Cousins, Horford, Melo, Bosh)

[grumpysaddle]

1) Stop overreacting.

/thread

[MathiasPW]

Well, we've got pretty much anything but other ideas, so far, except for Bigfoot's (which I actually like, but may be too much work for actually being practical)

[Frank Lee]

Well, my point was less censorship, but those were the good ol days that had to change per mitch and maury from downtown.

Your efforts are appreciated Mathias. I'll toss one out... I'd like to see more off topic / current events discussion. There are some very smart people on this site. And there are some very important things going on.

[King4Day]

Forums wouldn't be forums without horrible trade ideas and incessant bitching. I love the mixture. Allows me to vent and see the entire spectrum of how people think. Nothing wrong with that. It's like this on all forums.

[lilfishi22]

I've been here for a little while and I don't see any majors shifts in the type of posters we have. We still get those stat-heads, passion-posters, it's-the-end-of-the-world guys, trade rosterbaters, trolls and etc. It's the same type of guys posting whether we're winning or losing.

There are disagreements but i think overall, most of the arguments have been fairly civil and rarely do they require the intervention of a mod. Let's not forget, we're posting in a FAN forum. There are going to be different level of fanaticism and that's just what you get on fan forums.

1) Stop overreacting.

/thread

[bwgood77]

Any new ideas welcome as we head towards the draft.