Is it clean up time?

Throw your ideas for Druchii.net around in here...

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Kitrik
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Is it clean up time?

Post by Kitrik »

I was reading through the "GW boards are better than Druchii.net" and I felt betrayed. I then started thinking - what can we do to improve the quality of messages while retaining the necessary 'newbie' questions that are inevitably asked. How about this...

A new forum that contains topics of merit, or topics that newbies can learn from. For example - a good post about how to use Dark Riders efficiently could reside in here - locked. Everything would be viewable by all, maybe even replyable, but no new posts could go into the forum. We could keep it short (<50 total topics) so that newbies can find there questions quickly. This would cut down on the # of posts but the quality improve.

I see our main problem right now is that the revision is over. We do not have a goal anymore! People have dropped off because there are not many hugely interesting topics flying around the net. One guy said this in the "GW is better" thread and I completely agreed with him...

Lets move that thread's conversation over here and find some IDEAS, not just criticisms, so we can improve this site again - maybe clean it up a little...

Let's hear some ideas people!!!

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Post by Souldrainer »

I think that would be a great idea. I believe you have a "new member" forum in here, when not increase the information there? A sort of starting guide with good information on all units and a beginners tactica?
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Post by Fellblade »

I agree, it would be good. I don't feel like a newbie anymore... Chaos knows I feel like screaming whenever I see yet another "Slave Unit" post... but I have done my share of posting on topics that have been done to death.

And let's face it, few people check the FAQ forum, and when you do, it can be very hard to find your question.
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Post by Sureal »

GWMB are better then Druchii.net? Have I sliped into another dimension or something?

Well, if you want ideas... here's my comments:

1) Once the revision is complete, work should start for the new army book. This should/could be done in the same way as the GP.

2) Get the Inatives doing a bit more. Make the site more then just a forum.

3) Give a forum soley dedicated to people introducing themselves and asking the 'newbie questions'.

4) Pay me lots of money. No really - it'll help ;).
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Post by Z'gahn »

I was shocked when i read the post subject and had to read it again before it got thru my skull.

But they were suprisingly right about most of it. (I still think Druchii.net is way better than the gw-boards).

That new board would certainly help, but only if you make it replyable; you can't prevent 'newbies' from having questions, and if that forum is locked, those will go to dd anyway.

So that would solve the 'newbie questions'-problem.
The other was the stupid posts that don't really add anything. This is, imo, the greatest of all; I cease reading a topic when there are multiple large posts after each other generally saying the same.
There is no perfect solution to this. But it may be better than nothing to have mods delete posts which do not or hardly add anything to stuff said before and sending a pre-made warning to them. I suppose this should keep the general druchii player from doing so again on purpose, but when one goes to far with it, he could (temporarily) banned from the site, to the mods/admins discretion.

Those two should take care of it that there are very little to no double posts.

But there is one thing that concerns me; with that new 'newbie' forum, wouldn't it become so that the dd runs out of subjects? this could be fatal to the site.
I'm not that active on dd (busy on the Quarterly and Development board), so i could be wrong, but it needs not be overlooked.

But, as sureal said, if we get the initiatives up again, (the quarterly is 2 weeks away from release, so that's going the right way) and it is encouraged to discuss stuff released, the threat above could easily be nutralized.

(that enough? :roll: )
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Post by Imdat tauble »

Get the initiatives up. All of them can pretty much cover basic tactics, painting and modelling, etc. etc. etc., so we can move on to better topics :D

just tell all newbies to look at the initiative sites/the quarterly...
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Post by /\\//\ »

I think Kitrik's idea of a newbie forum where they can simply access info is great. However I think if we have it then we should have a big link on the homepage saying NEW TO THIS SITE? CLICK HERE FOR ALL THE INFO YOU NEED! or something along those lines. The forum should contain small tactics pieces and painting ideas but most importantly how to use this site. Newbies have a tendency to post their army lists in the first forum they come across. Of course they are newbies so it's hardly fair to shout at them but it does get annoying. They should be encouraged to make sure they are posting in the right forum and give a list of all the forums available. Forum rules should also be on this forum.
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Post by Swedenpack »

Reading the two threads on decline of post quality (I’m not saying I always make a good post) I got reminded about My old locked topic dating back to the beginning of June.

http://www.druchii.net/viewtopic.php?t= ... rsairs+job

I don’t mean to gloat, maybe I do, but I think it is sad that the tread was locked so soon, the problem could have bin discussed a long time a go. Maybe it could have prevented something of what we see now, I don’t know, to late now anyways.

I at least will think twice before posting a unnecessary post.


I want to be constructive to, so I say, at the sign up would press the importunes of reading the proposed "New Generals Forum"

I don’t know how difficult it is to program this but Ill say my suggestion anyways;
How about a popup (I know you hate pop-up's Kirtik, but keep reading PLZ) saying; "Have you looked in the "New Generals" Forum?? The answer may lay waiting for you there", every time posting a message.

This pop-up is Default turned ON. And it can be turned off in the profile.

Ones a New general has entered the forum he will read most of it; in theory...

Sounds like a lot of work, or a good idea? :?:
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Post by Seraphlaw »

One thing is also the ranking system causing people to repost multiple times to clock the posts (sorry but i used to do it, now i find it rather stupid... :oops: ) i think there should be a better way to rank people rather than just posting alot...
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Post by Z'gahn »

Yes, the ranks is one of the causes, and it may be best to cancel the real ranks, but moderators etc. may have a custom title, as they do now.
Also, we will be introducing awards.
Those combined will make that people, to look good on their profile, will need to really accomplish something instead of just stupidly post a lot.
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Post by Malachi »

I wanted to start by saying that Kitrik this is a fantastic site to be on, please do not take it to heart about what has come up recently. YOu have created a magnificent site that is admired by lots of people and has been the sole avenue for which the DE revision was successfully waged upon.

My ideas.

Ranks. I think everyone is excited about becoming a member here and as a result of the ranking system aspire to be a DE highborn or better and as a result bump their post counts by sometimes replying to posts without much relavent content.

I think an idea should be to keep the amount of posts replied to a person but more importantly add another section to the rank that shows how many posts have been started by that person.

I know some may think well this will just lead to more BS posting but here comes the next idea. For every posted reply, there should be a usefullness scale. This has to be checked before posting. The end result being if X amount of people do not find it useful, then it gets locked and/or possibly deleted after a mod determines wheter it is trully worthy. This then becomes the new ranking criteria.

Another thought that has crossed my mind is that one of the greatest things about this website is that it is free to join. This is a good thing but I am sure people will agree that it lets a lot of people in here that have not contributed that much and are not very serious. Thus I think that a nominal annual memebership should be charged to possibly weed through would be non serious members. The money collected could be spent to make the site better.

This leads me to my next point. I think that painting and modeling has suffered due to the lack of users photo albums etc. I think that without being able to give a visual representation, people cannot appreciate the true work of the members on this site, which is fantastic. I think that a sense of pride would be created because it would enable people to show how that is possible etc. Members like Lion of Flanders would theb be able to show there work and then maybe start posts as to how to create results that they have achieved.

A newbie forum is a good idea in that topics should be there as a read only topics but I think maybe a beginners compendium talking about the FAQ and a mix of tactics would be a great idea for those starting out. Until newbies have read this area, followed maybe by a quiz or something before they can start posting.

These are just my thoughts of the top of my head. I will post more as soon as they come to me.
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Post by Imdat tauble »

For ranks - if that could be done, it'd be great. However, it may be hard to implement (kitrik???) and it really depends if people could be bothered to check the usefulness factor every time they post, esp if they post multiple replies. Perhaps a system based on the number of replies you get (and crap posts, of course, are deleted)???

IMO, Nominal annual membership should never happen. I will not allow those who have trouble sending money overseas or who dont have a credit card to be left out, not to mention the people who are financially disadvantaged. I think I would leave the site should I see this happening, and I think that it will be a very sad day indeed if and when it does.

An album is needed, hopefully it will be back soon. Newbie forum wont be around - instead there'll be the initiatives with information on basic tactics, fluff and everything, so we can get on to the more interesting stuff :D
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Post by Mornedhel »

well, as u might notice, i´m a newbie myself. not to the hobby, but to this forum.
i think this forum is the best i have seen on anything that´s got something to do with WHFB.
But i also understand the problem, that too many newbies might spoil the forum.

about ranks and the different ideas discussed here: i think it isn´t a good idea to have to check a 'usefulness list' everytime u post. that wouldn´t only keep people from posting useless things, but also from posting useful ones, because of the time spent with that. haven´t got a better idea though :?

about ranks: i don´t think ranks are really important. people who really contributed to druchii.net will be known for that anyways, at least a little.
maybe u could just leave the ranks out and solely concentrate on that awards idea by z'gahn - the mods can give awards whenever they think a posters idea is especially good, or when a dicussion reaches a very interesting conclusion, he could give an award to everybody who contributed to that
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Post by Malachi »

Another thought that I had that would solve one problem that comes up in regards to the spelling of posts, a spell checker perhaps?!

I think this would help those who do not have english as a first language.

Back to the drawing board for now...
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Post by Decheran »

What if we made a forum called something like The Glossary, with explanations of where to find the GoP, the Hydras, how to use Dark Riders, MSU For Dummies, whats going to happen with the revision, etc. It would cut back alot of stuff methinks. Its pretty much what everyone else said, only I gave it a name :D However, it wouldn't be so much a New Generals Forum, because I think some people might have been playing DE for a while, but have just come to the site and feel a bit out of place. Also, I still forget where the Hydra stuff is and am not too aware of how MSU is supposed to be played, so with a name like The Glossary, its a place where the whole community can go and post general questions.
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Post by Dark Alliance »

How about an Index?

The information referred to in Dech's post is already on the site you just need to know where. The index could have basic topics which can then be updated by the mods with links to the various threads on the site.

Ranks - they are gonna stay. I hear Poisonblades point but there really is little spam on this site. The mods keep it well under control. Personally I think the issue has been blown up out of proportion.

I think you get out of the site what you put in and I stand by previous comments that if you can't find interesting topics to discuss start your own.
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Post by Decheran »

Isn't it easier just to have all the information already there instead of having links to everywhere? But, DA is older and wiser than I...
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Post by Leithel and odd »

A few things I would like to see for Druchii.net.

1) More support for initiatives, IE the Druchii.net quarterly needs to have it's own section of this site where we can post up the old Druchii.net montly articles as well as new quarterly articles.

This section could also have a place where people can submit articles that aren't for the monthly/quarterly perhaps? Like the Articles and Essays forum.

2) A BUG report forum, Kitrik doesn't have to check it but I have having to keep them in the Druchii Discussion forum when people say things like, if I search like this I get an error.

3) A newbie forum where people can post hello and ask newbie questions... we get lots of questions like... "Hi I'm new to druchii.net and i didn't know where to post this so I posted it in the "INSERT RANDOM NAME" forum."

That's what I'd like to see.
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Post by Ryan »

I totally agree with this, but overly opinionated things like army composition and tactics shouldn't be in there as most newbs simply take them as fact. Therefore I think the topics should be confined to things like rule questions, and adressing common questions like... "what's the best unit?" or "what is city guard?" I think that they should be able to post questions that haven't been adressed too though, but lock the other posts.
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Post by Regulus »

Concerning Ranks: Well, on one side, I do believe you are right: People often spam to get more posts, and thus move higher up on the food chain. It happens everywhere - especially when its so easy to do so. Make a couple worthless posts, you get up to a Corsair, next stop Shade, and so on and so forth. One thing you could consider doing is making them some sort of award system? You already do that with custom titles, but if people are making worthless posts to move up, then is it really worth it? If you had your Forum Admins and Mods get together, and make a list of people who have contributed significantly to the site, and have made helpful posts, then I think as a reward, they should be granted a title, perhaps on a scale of a rank depending on how many times you are deemed worthy for this award, or something along those lines. However, you do seem to do a very nice job of keeping this board clean of spam, and I know that you're ranks are one thing that makes Druchii.net unique, so its just a thought on an arisen issue :)

Otherwise, I think this site is excellent. Very helpful, friendly people. Its really a delight to Ambassador to and I will admit, sometimes I am rather...jealous ;) Not to insinuate that you all are better than Ulthuan.org, of course...:P Good Luck!

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Post by Nagathi »

Prince Regulus wrote:One thing you could consider doing is making them some sort of award system? You already do that with custom titles, but if people are making worthless posts to move up, then is it really worth it? If you had your Forum Admins and Mods get together, and make a list of people who have contributed significantly to the site, and have made helpful posts, then I think as a reward, they should be granted a title, perhaps on a scale of a rank depending on how many times you are deemed worthy for this award, or something along those lines.


But who will decide what is a "helpful post" ?
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Post by Regulus »

Well, I would assume your council of Mods and Admins, instinctively. Thats not to say I think they should go around rating each post - but browsing the forums you kind of get a feel of whose putting effort into things and who is just spamming.

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Post by Sanguinius »

"GW boards are better than Druchii.net"


WHAT!!!! I love this site and log on many times a day just to check what's new. I can see that there might be a need to "clean up" once in a while though I don't have the perfect solution to do it. Maybe the site admins and mods could check which topics haven't recieved answers or been viewed in say a month or two and if it's because that the topic has been outdated or is without "general interest" (not sure how to explain this phrase but I hope the name gives an idea to my thoughts) and then either lock it down, delete it or place it in an Oldies but goodies forum :?:

As for the talk about a special newbie forum I like the idea but I think that there is a very important thing that needs to be in there: Explantions of the most commonly used abbreviations on Druchii.net. I must admit that I had a hard time figuring some of them out and have seen some posts from people with the same experiences.

I personally dislike the idea of charging a membership fee for Druchii.net. It will keep some people from joining (for reasons alredy stated) and thus limit the creativity of the site. IMHO the more people that can contribute to the debate the more fruitful it wil be.

On the rank situation then I dont' have any bright ideas. I like the idea of the ranking system with Druchii titles as I think it adds to the feel of the site and tends to get me in my "Invade the rest of the old world and bring back slaves and plunder for the Witch King mood" but I can also see the danger in some people posting a lot of more or less useless posts just to get a higher rank but as far as I can see the problem isn't really that big and there is always the threat of the admins and mods deducting numbers (and thereby rank) of posters who exploit the system. But to be honest I think that it isn't a problem at all since when you first fall in love with the site you tend to try to live up to the standards shown by the "hard hitters" on this site (and not post spamming posts). Now I can only hope that I myself can live up to my own words :P

Well that was just my thoughts for the moment ;)

P.S. thx for an awesome site, Kitrik :!: :!: :!:
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Post by Drakken »

This has been said, but I think it needs a second voicing and vote behind it. A huge add would be a spell-check. I'm horrible with English, and I'm from an English speaking country, and we have a lot of people from non-Enlish majority's here.

And while there are isolated incidents of spamming, I feel its well handled by the moderators, and see no reason to correct whats not a problem.
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Post by Nagathi »

Spam and such is handeled very effective by all the moderators.

I do like your idea Sanguinius about a "Oldies but Goodies" forum.
Some sort of an archive for posts gone outdated.
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