Okay guys, this is how it's going to be...

[Vash_the_Stampede]

Okay,

I'm sure by now that you guys have noticed that Linkin Park Forums isn't in it's 'prime' anymore. With all the fights, spamming, & everything like that. So, This is where I come to you, the general populace of LPF, to help us, the staff, figure out a way to assist LPF in getting back to a fun & enjoyable place to be. So, I am making this thread for everyone to post their opinions & suggestions on how we can make it better here. I do not want anyone to flame anyone else because of what they say, as it is their OPINION.

I am done talking now, so, please, someone start us off with a suggestion, comment, opinion, or whatever.

Thank you for taking your time to read this.

Vash_the_Stampede

[Shadowed Heart]

Can we suggest to get rid of certain people? Oh and I didn't mean to "spam" Twi today...

[Vash_the_Stampede]

No, you cannot suggest to get rid of so & so. That's not the problem I'm trying to solve. And, I am by no means calling anyone out in this post, or the previous one.

[twilightcrimson7]

Its okay Spamming is pretty much allowed in journals, right? unless of course it pisses of the Journal owner (which you didn't Riss )

Okay so yeah. I noticed a few things about LPF.

There's a lack of order... *doesn't know how to word this*

it doesn't seem to be taken care of properly...

Also, a lot of GOOD members are leaving...and there's a decrease in activity. I don't really know how to make it 'more appealing' to the populus of the world, but It might need that.

Some other factor that might contribute to LPF's nadir might be

1)its summer, and a lot of people are busy.

2) Linkin Park are working hard to put together Fort Minor's work and their new album...so there hasn't reall been much to talk about or nothing that's created much 'hype' so maybe when they come into action again, there will be more intrest.

 

these are some thought at the moment...

[Suicide King]

Yeah, like Vash said. We need your input. Think about what you would want out of this site. What would make you want to stay and come back every day? Suggest anything. As long as it's reasonable, we'll consider it.

[Clogz]

Okay...here is what I think...

 

First off, ban the banned. Treeves and Chainerreturns need to be banned. I don't understand how such flagrant disrespect for the rules is tolerated...no offense to you guys. You have alot on your plates. I just think the rules need to be enforced...and fighting should not be tolerated.

 

Maybe we should set up some way to report a person who is fighting, and then after a set limit of complaints against them, have them banned or some sort of punishment.

 

I think that that another problem is that many people will post anything...that is where our spam problem comes from. Alot of the new people, and some of the older ones, believe they can just post anything on this site. Its not a rule issue though, more like common sense.

 

Also...what is going on? I mean...whats happening with the site? I know many people on the site are probably in the dark as to what is going on. ATLien had talked alot about the major changes that would come, but we haven't seen or heard anything of them since. Knowing what is going on witht he site will make people feel more involved.

 

Which, actually, is the real problem with the site...involvement. Maybe its time to try something that will make everyone feel more involved in the site in some way. Anything. In the old days, the boards were notified of everything that happened...it would be nice to have that back.

 

Anyway...thats my two cents.

[twilightcrimson7]

I agree with Clogz... I think the main issue is Involvement...

its just so messy around here lately.

[Minzara]

uhhh... hmmmm.... Well Maybe make more threads to cover other topics that arent being coverd, maybe that will atract more people.....

[azemkamikaze03]

we have maybe 2 primely aktive mods...we need a new one...pick someone who is active enough

 

we need something FUN dunno

elect some elites to make a news colum

like have a main page that has news and stuff..like at all the other forums...

[spike91232004]

Don't give the people who get banned other chances to come back. Like LPBB or whatever the hell her name was. Because many people who were banned have been able to come back to LPF which isn't a very good decision in my opinion.

[azemkamikaze03]

ya but ppl like treeve came back and he cuased no problems

[Vash_the_Stampede]

But that's the thing, they came back after being banned.

[Hyper]

i think we need a couple more active mods.. i haven't seen allied in ages, i know there's something goin on with him, but i have no clue what it is. and spud said he lost interest..

[Spike_1412]

How about deleting acounts that have no posts and haven't been active for over six months? That would free up usernames.

 

People who have names like the one highlighted green, should have an instant IP ban.

Usernames should only be able to have standard characters (Pink Highlight).

http://www.offtopic.forum/data/MetaMirrorCache/a7710a447b4b94279f6ac29206b0cd25.png

 

[offtopic]I've been wondering for a while now, are the LPF awrds going to take place?[/offtopic]

[Vash_the_Stampede]

Okay, Spike, I'll tell you this, & everyone else.

If you guys want the next LPF awards to happen, you guys are going to have to act like more of a commUNITY, as cheesy as it sounds.

[Ravynlee]

Hey, to be honest until it was pointed out to me I had no clue that the LPF awards actually existed! *looks puzzled* But then, I have to agree with whoever said it earlier, keeping the members informed rather than treating them like cattle is an issue that probably deserves addressing. Not meaning any disrespect with that, just an observation. Since I've been a member (and that hasn't been that long) I've been pretty much blissfully unaware of the issues surrounding this place, and it's easy to go through without knowing unless the issues are kind of enforced upon you. Let's face it, most people avoid these sections ( a few that I know of) because they think it doesn't involve them. I also think previous comments made regarding reformatting the layout to including some sort of news and issues thread and being at the top rather than at the bottom of the forum would also be better all round. Just a minor detail that I think, while being rather menial and moot for some, may help a bit more.

It's been adressed but other sites I've been to basically have a news page you must wade through before access to the rest of the forum can be obtained, that may be a possibility? *shrugs* But as for the technical stuff I've no clue.

 

Keeping people involved and wanting unity is one thing but unless you're looking for the info you can exist in this place rather well without having the faintest clue as to what's going on. The banning I think should stay but it would be hard to keep repeat offenders out I guess, I'm no technical wizz so I'm not sure how that works. *shrugs* But some people here to cause problems need to be tossed out... still, doesn't solve the unity thing. I don't know how that can be addressed, and I'm still not sure how the awards will help. I didn't even know they were around, so *shrugs again* there you go!

Promotion is the key there, but then again, when the hype dies down from those...

 

Anyway, I've rambled on enough. Just had to add my own five cents (cause we don't have 2 cent pieces in Australia anymore! *sob*) Hope some of it made sense. Thanks for listening.

Y'all take care, TTYL

-Rav

[Qwest]

elect some elites to make a news colum

like have a main page that has news and stuff..like at all the other forums...

I like this idea. ANyone else vote for this? Having a front page like other forums? example: http://www.rapfx.com or http://www.ipodarena.com

 

Vash, this is an awesome thread by the way and one I was thinking of starting.

 

Good job!

[nkramar78]

Although I haven't been here too long, I'm a veteran of a lot of other messageboards and have seen many different problems over the years, some far worse than those named here.

 

Unfortunately, this particular board is tied specifically to the cycle of a popular band. With excessive downtime from the band (no albums, no tours) comes a loss of interest in thier messageboards and fansite boards. It's a pretty common occurance.

 

A few thoughts -

 

Banning users: Pure and simple, a banned user should not be able to come back except under permission of admin. Those who have been banned run a greater risk of being banned again. If there's no enforcment of punishment and they can keep coming back, it creates a cycle where the users you want to keep will leave. If a site like the LPU, where users PAY for accounts, can ban users effectively, why can't any site?

 

News and info: This should be a top priority, especially in times where there isn't much going on. The best fansites get the news first. Look at forfeitthegame.com - How many exclusive tracks and news stories have they gotten first? Why is LPTimes so popular? Info.

 

Inactive accounts: Should be purged on a regular basis anyway. I've scrolled through a small amount of the member list and I could barely count the number of usernames that were registered long ago with a 0 post count.

 

Disruptive usernames: If you see someone register the name 'i_h8_LP', doesn't that just SCREAM of someone looking to troll/flame a board dedicated to fans of the band? A great example would be GameFAQs.com - For years, admin there have automatically banned users who register disruptive names, no questions asked, no chance to change it. The same could easily be done here.

 

 

Overall, I enjoy my time here on the LPF. This is pretty much the only LP board I regularly post on other than the LPU. As someone previously said, I haven't been here long enough to know all of the troubles that have gone on here... But every community goes through them. The key is to work together as much as possible...

[nkramar78]

Currently Active Users: 113 (9 members and 104 guests)

 

Here's another thing...

 

SOOOOOO many guests. Give them incentive for registering/logging in. Make certain forums 'Member Only'

[Vash_the_Stampede]

That's the thing, we have member only forums, one being the Journals. But, as it was said before, most of those guests are bots.

[Qwest]

Guys I just wanted to point out that I've been running forums for over 4 years and frankly, ALL forums go through this. Most once a year.

 

As for banning users there are plenty of methods you can use with the forum software this site uses. IP Banning, Tachy coventry, etc. So yes I agree the letting members return needs to stop. Banning needs to become a permanent decision BUT... only when it's a permaban. Banning can be used as a warning as well. You see the mods have the ability to post a temp ban on members that automatically expires. So that's probably what's happening. If the temp ban expires then they return with the same problems then a perma-ban can be put in place along with an IP ban.

 

If you guys really like the idea of the news front page that's VERY easily doable and can be done by this Friday. What do you think?

[Ravynlee]

Guys I just wanted to point out that I've been running forums for over 4 years and frankly, ALL forums go through this. Most once a year.

 

As for banning users there are plenty of methods you can use with the forum software this site uses. IP Banning, Tachy coventry, etc. So yes I agree the letting members return needs to stop. Banning needs to become a permanent decision BUT... only when it's a permaban. Banning can be used as a warning as well. You see the mods have the ability to post a temp ban on members that automatically expires. So that's probably what's happening. If the temp ban expires then they return with the same problems then a perma-ban can be put in place along with an IP ban.

 

If you guys really like the idea of the news front page that's VERY easily doable and can be done by this Friday. What do you think?

I'm fine with it. Like I said, it's probably the most effective way for everyone else who usually doesn't have much of a clue what's going on in the site the heads-up. Good, yep, I agree. Also agree with the perma-ban thing, sounds more than reasonable. *nods*

 

BTW, Vash, I may sound dense but what's 'bots' mean in your last post? It's in reference to guests and so forth. I feel dumb for asking but *shrugs* Thanks.

 

TC & TTYL,

-Rav

[Vash_the_Stampede]

Okay, first, I need to correct you(Qwest) on something, us mods can permaban people, we've done it.

 

Rav, When I said bots, I was talking about bots from places like google, who come here & get info about the site.

[Qwest]

We would need a few new News Posters to keep us all updated on LP news etc.

 

Any volunteers?

[nkramar78]

We would need a few new News Posters to keep us all updated on LP news etc.

 

Any volunteers?

 

 

I could most likely contribute... But I'd basically be stealing info fom most of the other fansites.