Double Posting...

[Chrome]

So just curious, why is the forum is so strict with double posting? Who/what does it actually hurt? Does anyone here see a double post and get mad or something and say "WTF, wow. He could have just edited his old post..." Is it to make the threads shorter? Is it so people cant increase there post count faster lol? 

Im trying to look for a disadvantage of double posting but I cant seem to think of any. However, there is one thing that makes double posting good is that it notifies other people there is another post (like maybe the OP solve the question on his own, but if he just edited his post then the people that are trying to find a solution would not know that and keeps on looking for the solution until they clicked on the tread again).

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

After having been in a lot of forums, I'd say it's more of the ethics and aesthetics...

also, on one of the forums I'm in, I used to do the Delete old post then repost method to shadow bump a thread (because there's a delete option there for posts)... then the moderators notified me that I shouldn't do it because it floods their notifications (and since they know what you did, it still counts as double post to them)...

IDK if moderators here experience the same...

 

[Zetu]

For one thing, it takes up the time of the people following it.  If someone posts once, gets read, then posts again, it takes up another read, when it's still the same person's opinion/statement/whatever.  Also, some people would abuse it, so there is a flat rule so that weather a 2xpost is justified or not is never questioned, it's just not.

 

[Shaz]

Yes, I find it annoying to read. And then you get people who triple or quadruple post - as if every additional thought deserves its own post rather than edit. And if they're only posting one or two lines, it takes up so much space, as the post header, avatar, location info and signature all add their extra bit. A little bit to say takes up a lot of room, and if they're doing it several times in a row, yes, it does get annoying to read.

 

[Kraikken]

What Shaz said.  I've got that problem moderating the Guns of Icarus forums, conversations will go on for days about the balance of a specific weapon with counter points only being a line or two long, or repeats of previous lines.

As double posts aren't in violation of the rules on those forums we try instead to get the parties into a steam chat and work out the conversation live if possible, then submit changes to the overall debate on the top page.

It can get labor intensive, but that community is very passionate about the smallest change to their gaming experience and the Developers often take an active stance in the argument so it helps to post a list of views so other people can follow along with the conversation.

 

[Celianna]

1. It bumps off other topics from the first page because they couldn't keep all content in one coherent post, but decided to post several times.


2. It clogs up the thread and makes it annoying to read through when someone's thoughts are scattered around in different posts.


3. It inflates the user's post count, despite their posts only containing like a few words.

 

[Espon]

I find the big blue text suddenly popping up and scolding the person more annoying than the double post.  Wouldn't it be better to send a PM to the person instead?

 

[Celianna]

If I hear a complaint about our big scary text one more time, I'm gonna kick a puppy.


And no, PMing would take more effort, and people can't see the person has been warned for it.

 

[seita]

I like the big blue text, very iconic of the forum. Plus yes, that's also how I learned a lot of the rules, from reading other peoples warnings.

 

[Chrome]

1. The other threads will still be bolded, but if you have something important to say and just edit, no one look at the tread.

2. I agree with espon, the blue text would make things worst then a double.

3. Do we get some kind of store discount after we hit a certain posts count or something?

If people actually find it annoying then fine. But quoting an entire huge post is even more annoying but there no rule against that. I'm just surprise that some find it annoying, cause I'm cool with it.

 

[zacheatscrackers]

I personally find it more necessary to just edit your initial post than post again.

I think it's fine to double post if the topic's been inactive for a while, though.

 

[Touchfuzzy]

Double post rules encourage people to think through their position and actually type out their full thoughts. Its not a chat room, people don't need to pop in to make a couple of sentence responses 8 times because they are typing on the off the cuff and can't be bothered to think through what they are saying.

EDIT: Also, there are actually exceptions to the double post rule, but I don't really bother much about it because they are much more rare cases: Posting in your project thread after more than 2 days to announce some kind of update (you must have added info), responding to something several days old when you've actually had new ideas and thoughts (you must have something new to say), etc.

Basically, if there has been a significant amount of time since the last post, but not long enough to make it a necropost, and you are adding NEW information that isn't just a rehash of things already said, double posting is generally fine. The double post rules are mostly just to stop people from making 4 posts in a row because they thought of "ONE MORE THING" over and over.

 

[Celianna]

I've moved this thread to site feedback. Please be sure to post your threads in the correct forum next time. Thank you.


@Chrome: 1. I don't think you understand the meaning of 'will bump other topics off the first page'. When it's off the first page, virtually no one will look at it anymore. Do you think it's fair someone else's topic gets pushed to the bottom because everyone else is double posting, and eventually, they'll be overlooked?


2. Blue text takes up as much space as regular text, double posting takes up screenspace because each post has its own minimum height. Scrolling more because of arbitrary double posts is annoying and jarring. Blue text is a moderator performing any mod duties and announcing them - that's not going to go away, and it has nothing to do with why double posting isn't allowed or not.


3. It's a way for moderators to see who is active within the community and who isn't, and will warn accordingly (a new member will get a verbal warning, but an old member with 600+ posts should know the rules by now and will be given an actual warning).

 

[Shaz]

If I hear a complaint about our big scary text one more time, I'm gonna kick a puppy.

Let's just change it back to red.

Why do you want to allow double posting? We've given all these reasons why not, now it's your turn to tell us in what way NOT allowing double posting is causing problems for you. Do you prefer to have to read 3 or 4 consecutive posts to get the whole gist of what someone is saying? Do you prefer a topic to take up twice as many pages because everyone is double posting, and for you to have to search through that many more posts to find the one you wanted to re-read? Do you WANT to be able to double post yourself, instead of going to the trouble of thinking and planning out a single, coherent post?

If it's a new topic, additions to a post will be seen. If your last post was 72 hours ago, you're allowed to bump.

 

[Celianna]

Let's just change it back to red.

I'm still voting for pink, personally. It's a nice and soothing colour that no one can complain about.


Plus it matches me.


I'd like to add onto Touch's post saying that in your own resource/script/project thread (no, not a support thread), you are allowed to double post (only once a day!), if your new post is about an update (posting new resources, updating your script, or adding new info about your project).

 

[Galenmereth]

I want to weigh in and say that I personally am very happy about the strict rules on double posts here. I've been around countless forums in my years of surfing the tubes, and let me tell you: Things can get outright nasty really fast if you don't enforce this. The fact that you're allowed to double post in your own project threads if reasonable time has passed, and you have actual new content, is perfect; there's no other reason to double post.

With that said, I have almost forgotten this rule myself in my own project thread, but right before I hit the post button something very blue flashed before my eyes and my finger wouldn't click. Now, if that text was pink... That would've been the best!

I vote for pink warning text!

 

[GrandmaDeb]

Double posting is no good.


I am just thankful there is no rule against editing your posts! I'd be sunk! I edit my posts on average about three times!


Comes from being a really bad typist, largely.


But double-posting is just another kind of spam. It serves to say "Look at ME!" even if it is unintentional.


New resources or major project updates Should get a new look.


But help threads? General discussion?


You are gonna have to make a really great case for that!


Down with double posting!


(and btw pink text is cute. but blue stands out better.)

 

[Celianna]

If they're doing it for attention ... let it be known the moderators of the support forum (since that's the most active forum and the forum users are more likely to double post in) will personally go through each and every topic that gets posted there (several times actually), so you will always get looked at no matter what.

 

[Emzie]

I find the big blue text suddenly popping up and scolding the person more annoying than the double post.  Wouldn't it be better to send a PM to the person instead?

I think it's better to send a nofitication to a member who got warned.And it's kinda annoying that you got warned and you don't even know that you got warned because you were not paying attention in the topic anymore.

 

[Espon]

2. Blue text takes up as much space as regular text, double posting takes up screenspace because each post has its own minimum height. Scrolling more because of arbitrary double posts is annoying and jarring. Blue text is a moderator performing any mod duties and announcing them - that's not going to go away, and it has nothing to do with why double posting isn't allowed or not.

Actually it takes up more space because instead of just getting a double post, you're now getting a third from a moderator.  While it might be helpful for new members, veteran members don't really need to see every single time when someone gets warned.  It just contributes to even more spam.  Often times the moderator doesn't really contribute anything to the thread itself.  PMing would still get the point across without inconveniencing the other members.

Since no one seems to read the rules, maybe there's a way to force them to read it when signing up.  Make them type in "I will not double post" as part of the registration.