Quote:Original post by krikkit
I remember when the lounge was nothing but a continuous stream of one-word posts, depraved picture-spamming and a true dearth of morons who considered themselves the "elite" of gamedev for being crude, insensitive jokesters.

Thats why I kinda boggle at claims that the lounge is starting to "suck"...to me, the lounge is now the best its ever been: lots of mature, respectful discussion, compared to the old days.

Even the flame wars are astoundingly intelligent compared to 95% of the internet.

While this is very true, I feel like the Lounge has mostly lost its ability to have fun at all, at what fun that does come around is mostly unoriginal.

Quote:Original post by LessBread
No one is forced to click on links to serious or stressful topics. If seeing the title of a thread makes it difficult for you to relax, then you need more help than what can be found in the lounge. In other words, police yourself first before seeking to police others.

LessBread, you would probably be the single biggest culprit in this regard. I don't think you do with any intent in changing the atmosphere of the Lounge, but I hardly think that the GDNet Lounge, the off-topic posting forum of a game development technical site, is the appropriate soap box for your issues. And while there is nothing wrong with discussing political issues, I don't think you can argue that you have some sort of duty to post these threads as some form of activism, because it's really a silly venue to do it. If the people on the boards using gdnet as their news source, thanks to LessBread, then that's a bad situation all together. Thread titles alone can have a *huge* effect on the overall atmosphere of the forum. I really don't care if Israel is bombing Lebanon. After a while, I just assumed that they always did that. By now, it's no better than the 20th iteration of "post your desktop wallpaper" thread. Oh big whoop. MindWipe has Hello Kitty on his desktop and there is discord and strife in the world.

I could just ingore the threads. I could just close all the popup advertisements manually without using a popup blocker. I could just sit here and listen to that infernal mocking bird outside and not put a scarecrow out to scare it off. The point is, it's freaking annoying to come in here and see "another reason why I should hide from all the bad men." Do you have some sort of pathological need to share the ills of the world with everyone?

[Edited by - capn_midnight on October 6, 2006 3:34:48 PM]

Probably the reason why the humor is unoriginal is because the mods are pretty rough lately in my estimation. Things used to be pretty free (hitlar/goatse again), people could kind of do what they want. Then a lot of people got banninated, and the ones who managed to avoid bannination are the ones who decided to not press the boundaries to keep their GDNET account alive.

That's just my humble opinion, though. I'd say it was about 2 crackdowns ago that gamedev lost a lot of its individual "spirit."

I agree that the lounge has become pretty bland, but it's still a forum that I like to come to for discussing stuff like what PDA to buy. <shrug>

These aren't rules to be adopted by the staff. This has nothing to do with the staff. This is about what the *people* can do, instead of just sitting around and complaining about "oh, the Lounge sucks these days," to make the Lounge better.

Quote:Original post by JBourrie

Quote:Original post by ViLiO

Quote:Original post by capn_midnight
Don't post drunk or stoned
Some people seem to have forgotten this basic rule.

I disagree with this point. Some real comedy gold has come about from drunken posts [smile]

Classic.

oh, it can be quite hillarious, but it's a fine line to walk, and the more you drink, the harder it is to walk fine lines. It's an issue of self preservation. I also miss the "Hitlar" pics, but I definitely don't miss Goatse.

The best way to make the lounge better is to shut up about trying to make the lounge better.

Quote:Original post by capn_midnight

Quote:Original post by LessBread
No one is forced to click on links to serious or stressful topics. If seeing the title of a thread makes it difficult for you to relax, then you need more help than what can be found in the lounge. In other words, police yourself first before seeking to police others.

LessBread, you would probably be the single biggest culprit in this regard. I don't think you do with any intent in changing the atmosphere of the Lounge, but I hardly think that the GDNet Lounge, the off-topic posting forum of a game development technical site, is the appropriate soap box for your issues. And while there is nothing wrong with discussing political issues, I don't think you can argue that you have some sort of duty to post these threads as some form of activism, because it's really a silly venue to do it. If the people on the boards using gdnet as their news source, thanks to LessBread, then that's a bad situation all together. Thread titles alone can have a *huge* effect on the overall atmosphere of the forum. I really don't care if Israel is bombing Lebanon. After a while, I just assumed that they always did that. By now, it's no better than the 20th iteration of "post your desktop wallpaper" thread. Oh big whoop. MindWipe has Hello Kitty on his desktop and there is discord and strife in the world.

I could just ingore the threads. I could just close all the popup advertisements manually without using a popup blocker. I could just sit here and listen to that infernal mocking bird outside and not put a scarecrow out to scare it off. The point is, it's freaking annoying to come in here and see "another reason why I should hide from all the bad men." Do you have some sort of pathological need to share the ills of the world with everyone?

Don't make this about me.

A link is not a popup or a similar nuisance that forces itself on you. As I wrote initially, no one forces you to click on it. If you don't care about this or that in a title, don't follow the link. If those titles annoy you, that's really your problem. You should be glad that they make clear that the thread pertains to a subject that doesn't interest you so that you can skip it. It's really that simple.

Quote:Original post by capn_midnight
These aren't rules to be adopted by the staff. This has nothing to do with the staff. This is about what the *people* can do, instead of just sitting around and complaining about "oh, the Lounge sucks these days," to make the Lounge better.

And that is commendable. How about instead of criticizing others, you encourage others to create threads on topics that you find suitable and relaxing and so on? Why not seek to expand the lounge rather than restrict it?

I'm just waiting for the day I become a Moderator. Then you'll all pay.

Quote:Original post by Conner McCloud
Don't worry LessBread. I don't read anything Capn Midnight writes either.

CM

I can't say the same. I check out his threads even if I don't respond in them. The point I'm trying to make is that if a person wants to see more of a particular kind of thread in the lounge, then a person should start more of those kinds of threads rather than complaining that there are too many threads on topics they don't like. If those threads are interesting, others will follow suit and soon enough those threads will out number the kinds of threads that person that started the trend originally found undesireable. For example, if a person wants to see more threads about football or baseball and less about baking cookies, then they should start a thread about football or baseball. If a person wants to see more threads about television or movies, and less about football or baseball, then they should start a thread about television or movies. And so on. I'm not saying that every thread is started because the poster wants to see more threads on similar subjects, but simply that people tend to copy other people and to talk about things that other people are talking about. Right now, the United States is heading into an election, so it shouldn't be surprising that there is an uptick in political threads. People in the United States are talking more about politics and that is bound to spill over into the lounge. Such talk will likely subside after the elections as people turn their attention back to the mundane regularities of everday life.