Post here if you feel a topic has been for no reason

:smt042 after my joke of locking the "Topics locked sucks!!! we're not in a slave environment" thread, I was wondering maybe that some threads are locked without enough justification. Post here with your views on why you think a certain thread should not be locked.

Mostly threads are locked encase they become a verbal war zone but sometimes they are locked for other reasons. Mods need to know your views.

Yakumo

 

Okay, I will make an acceptable thread for...the spring. :smt043

 

:smt042 ok smart arse :smt042 Never noticed that typing error :smt083 fixed it now.

Yakumo

 

I think you guys are doing a good job, keeping the flame wars out and keeping everyone on topic.

There seems to be a lot of animosity towards members in regards to the different countries they live in, which is only natural given the times as they are. We are living in the age where everything is falling apart, and whatever new system that will replace it (for good or ill) isn't very apparent yet.

What I think we're seeing here (and on pretty much every other board out there where topics like global politics pop up) are people's natural fearful reaction to this paradigm shift.

Please, no one take offense. I'm not saying anyone is afraid. What I am saying that it's pretty evident that pretty soon, one way or another, it is not going to be business as usual for planet earth, on a global scale. No, I don't mean the end of the world. I'm only saying is that there's going to be some fundamental changes in the way the world works, in areas such as politics, commerce, war, etc. which are all being compacted by many different factors (technology for one.)

This change has been in the making since the 1970s, and right now we're living through a phase where every year the changes accelerate. Everthing from our basic family structures and the way we do business to the way we fight wars and govern ourselves has changed in the period of time, and the change isn't over yet.

So to cut the sermon on the mount short, I think it's a good thing to let us discuss things like these, and to cut it off when it turns into a stupid ass flamewar or something.

Also I'd say, a lot of us here in America are still pretty pissed off about our latest election, and tend to get into fights rather easily about the subject. Please, lock all those arguments with all due haste. This is a videogame board afterall.

 

Sometimes it has felt like mods have been a little quick to lock, but on the other hand every time it's happened it's been understandable. It's a narrow margin between a lively discussion and a flaming match.

It's a thankless task being a moderator. Generally, the only time people recognise what you're doing is when they're complaining about what you've done. I'm sure most people here think that moderating is excellent, so keep it up :smt023

As far as I'm concerned, so long as it doesn't get personal anything's fair game. Off-topic seems like the right environment to discuss politics, if that's what people want to discuss when they're not talking videogames. Obviously if it gets to insults then locking is the solution.

I also think that the animosity aimed at/coming out of the US right now will pass. Everyone's still a little high-strung over the recent election, I'm sure it'll blow over.

 

well the only times i was pissed off it was when my message "guns does not kill people , but people kill people" was deleted and when i did not finish my great but high wave discussion with IDrepublix

other than that i always ask the moderator why it was locked.

 

I like everyone here but not the way this same subject pops up every other week...what good will it do to post here If I think a topic is locked unfairly....we've talked this subject into the ground....the way I've understood it the last 4 times this was supposedly resolved was that:

1. Personal attacks not allowed
2. All other viewpoints acceptable

That works great as if it's not a personal attack it should be left open for our discussion...I'm sure after all of this, things will be ok for a couple of weeks and then it'll happen again, then it'll be ok, then it'll happen again....see a pattern here??

If it's in off topic and it's not a direct personal attack... LEAVE IT ALONE!!

Thanks
Jason/kstyle25

 

I've been mod of a few other forums over the years, and always get annoyed when some petty argument over politics and/or religion starts, mainly because most of these threads GO NOWHERE and usually annoy the shit out of me, and I've been more than tempted to lock them but I've never had the guts to actually do it. I just ignore them, and they do end... eventually. But if some stupid Bush vs. Blair thing started up I would probably kill it good.

And besides all that, there are some things that just have to be moderated:
- Talking about warez and other commonly illegal internet things
- Flame wars, of course, and other cases of people just being downright insulting and/or annoying trolls/tards/etc.
- And one fatal flaw of phpBB - being able to make completely retarded polls - "What's you favourite colour?", or things that just make no sense.

If you want to be annoying and make stupid polls, there's a place made specially for that! Go here.

 

Thanks for posting your thoughts guys. Keep them coming. Even if they aren't replied to that doesn't mean they aren't read :smt023

Yakumo

 

Glad to hear we mods are actually liked, i got the idea that we weren't to popular amongs certain people.

 

Mods are good, but there's one thing that pisses me off about the marketplace.

Yes, you've all heard it before, but people piss on other's sales, quite blatantly too. It's unnecessary and really just plain makes you look like an asshat.

 

cahaz say: keep up the good work! :smt023

(...but be less trigger happy on political threads. ;-) )

a toast for the best internet community. :smt1062

 

Guess there's a lot of asshats here then. The point is, the majority of us here are well versed in the economics of this market, which, I might add, is becoming increasingly defined by what things sell for on eBay, as the majority of things traded here have been off retail for years (if they ever were in some cases) and thus, there is no suggested price. The value of items comes mainly from how much people are able to purchase them for on eBay, give or take small adjustments for things like not being as rare as they seem, more available in one region than another, etc. So if someone comes on the board with a price that's totally out of whack, people are going to comment on it, and possibly, if they are interested, offer a price more acceptable to them. The thing you forget is that a seller is in no way required to sell items to members that suggest a lower price - it's haggling in the tradition of open and free marketplaces everywhere. Sometimes members have said something because they are looking to get the item for something more reasonable, sometimes it's just because they don't want to see some poor sod get ripped off - I know I have done both. But really, what's so wrong about trying to get something for an affordable price? Are you saying that you would gladly pay $400 for some dev equipment that changes hands regularly for $100 just to avoid 'pissing on someone's sales'?

The whole thing of haggling on prices/correcting rarity has gone on on this board for as long as I've been a member, but I have noticed a recent influx of whining about it. People are going to keep offering lower prices for things as long as we're allowed to, but everyone seems to forget that the seller is in no way obligated to meet these prices. And until we have people absolutely destroying a thread by attempting to sabotage someone else's sale due to a price they don't like, I'd say we should all be happy with our right to trade in a free market.

Thank god we don't have that sort of poll abuse here - if you think the mods are lock-happy now, you wouldn't want to see how ugly it could get if people started polls like that. :smt043

Everyone's just being nice in the afterglow of the holidays. ;-) :smt042

 

I like the mods, and I think they do a good job :smt023

 

I've said this many times and you continue to miss my point, GSL. Suggesting and actually pissing on people's sales are two different things. One is helpful, and the other is not. Sure, with dev gear it's hard to say what prices are--but running into a thread and being like "Dude, wtf, there's no way that's worth that much. You're crazy." (similar things have been seen) There are a lot of very "trivial" posts that just seem there to piss people of and discourage people.

 

'Eh, just know that if you're going to sell something for a high price, you'll probably have to defend yourself (like what I'm doing in my SFC/N64 thread) :smt043

 

True, there is a certain burden of proof on the part of the seller to provide why they are choosing a certain price for an item. (Obviously, brand new N64 or SFC would commend a higher price, but the same cannot be said for other items). And again, saying a price is too high is hardly what one would call 'pissing on an auction' - if that is indeed how it seems, maybe you'd prefer a far more tyrannical forum where people aren't allowed free comments or opinions?

And I must insist that the point being missed here is my own - nobody is doing any pissing on any sales, and if you really get that vibe, you're being overly sensitive. Plus, one would think if the seller really had a problem, they would say something about it themselves. I think you're just getting this illusion of a hostile selling market here on the board that isn't really picked up on by everyone else.
Then again, if you had been around longer, you'd see that this isn't a new thing, nor does it seem to make people as angry or unwelcome as some seem to think.

 

I think that if you're not willing to buy, you have no business being rude to the seller in front of everybody. Not really a matter of pissing on anyone's sales, just seems rude.

If, however, the price IS outrageous and/or the seller seems somewhat shifty, maybe a polite questioning of it might not be out of order. If the article IS really overpriced, then the buyer (unless s/he has an infinite amount of money) will hopefully check other sources for pricing information, or ask someone who knows.

It's just a matter of being nice, methinks.

I myself really like the moderators here, especially because there's practically no repression, yet the conversation is always kept intelligent and orderly.

Hard to find a video-game forum where stuff is actually typed correctly (Bad "Grammer" is TEH SUXXORZ) , there are no pointless flamewars and veterans don't say anything about "n00bs" or such nonsense.

The mods and the people of the forum have done a great job.

 

The fact is, GSL, people have been ticked off when people have run into their threads and started all this price throwing. I'm hardly overly sensitive, it just seems unnecessary to do that.

I know it isn't a new thing. I've read the old(er) Marketplace topics, and they're pretty similar.

Free speech=good. Being an unhelpful ass=bad. Being helpful=good. :smt045 :smt045

I guess what I'm saying is...if all you have to say is "Your price is too high" or "eBay is cheaper" then it isn't helpful. Thoughtful analysis and proof is good, but laughing at someone's price or making fun of it or simply posting "Too high" etc. doesn't help.

 

About the sales of good for rediculas prices.

If someone decides to sell something for a stupidly high price then so be it. Chances are that the item will not sell and if it does sell then the person who bought it should have done their home work first to see if the item was really worth what they paid.

There is no reason what so ever for others who have no interest in paying what the seller wants to give abuse. Just leave the thread alone. If I was going to put a brand new SFC boxed etc on the board and ask for 200 US dollars then got a load of abuse in return, do you think that would make me lower my price? Like hell it would ! If the item didn't sell then I would lower the price but if it did sell I'd be very happy indeed. It wouldn't be my problem if the buyer was ripped off. It's a sellers market. If the buyer wants to pay inflated prices then they will. Luckily I'm not the type of person to over charge like that but there are those that will. My advice is just leave the thread as it is. no point in starting bad vibes 'cause someone wants a bit of extra cash.

Yakumo