Gaia Community Discussion - Where Do We Draw the Line?

[Seth Darkheart]

Hello, people of the GCD. whee

I was thinking of making this thread yesterday, but I got a little tired and couldn't really formulate sentences very well. I'm taking a small break from some Maths (hurrah for procrastination) and so decided I would make it now.

With other forums, it can be quite easy to tell whether a thread does or doesn't belong there. Avatar Talk is a great example; if it's not about avatars then it's in the wrong place. Similarly with Barton Town; if it's not a roleplay then it's in the wrong place.

The description of the GCD is a little more vague, I find. What exactly does constitute as Gaia Community Discussion? Yuzi_K once told me that we should think of the GCD as a gossip forum, which is one of the reasons why repeat threads are allowed here.

However, where do we draw the line? When does it stop being a discussion and start being spam?

I requested that the superhero and villain threads be moved to the Chatterbox as they had nothing to do with the community and weren't really discussions. Beaver Boy's returned because he added the question: "Which Von Helson is more evil?" to his title. I know that it wasn't my decision to make, and I'm not trying to say that Yuzi's decision to bring it back was wrong, as I'm not a mod and what they want to do is really up to them. If there was any discussion about the Von Helsons going on I'd have made the same choice.

Unfortunately, there isn't. It's mentioned on the first page, yet every single post only talks about Beaver Boy. Not even a discussion, just random spam (in my opinion). This isn't meant to be a rant about Beaver Boy, just a demonstration; does a thread constitute as community discussion if an NPC is mentioned somewhere?

Does a thread named: "cleavage" with a first post reading:

"lolz, doz Ruby hav nic3r b00bs dan S4sh4!?" count as community discussion?

If it does, then I can tell you that the future of the GCD doesn't look pretty. n the GD, people tag the word "discuss" on the end of their threads in an attempt to make them stay there. In the Exchange, people tag "selling a hockey mask" on the end of their threads for the same reason.

Using Beaver Boy's thread as an example again, does adding a question about an NPC keep you in the GCD? More and more threads will begin to pop up, discussing a television program that they watched last night, though an NPC will be mentioned in the topic line and very briefly in the first post to ensure that the thread gets noticed by GCD regulars.

Where do we draw the line?

This has been a ranty-type thing brought to you by Seth Darkheart, the letter T and the number 84. Thank you.

[Nurgle god of decay]

I agree whole heartedly.If it says something about it in the name but only briefly in the first post then no-one talks about Gaia just about i.e Beaver man? Then it is not a Discussion about it it is a side note. Then it shouldn't be allowed in the GCD.

[Demon Kairos]

I don't know where the line is drawn... but I do know I report anything that I feel doesn't belong here, and I'm almost always right ( Except that one time ninja but I didn't get warned for that since it DIDn't belong here but it was getting a lot of discussion )

It is hard to draw the line in this mini CB, but if you make your case right you can get most of the "spam" moved out of here 3nodding

[Serenity Winner]

It is my opinion that tacking on an NPC's name to make it work in GCD is awfully sneaky and downright mean... Why do you need your thread to be here? Would it really be such a loss if it was moved? Why us? However, because of that tacking on, there is the possibility that discussion about the NPC will go on or be brought up at least once. So, because of that slim chance, it's stuck here. It makes sense, but it's still lame.

They wanted GCD to be more lax, but that only seems to be ruining it. I think we need slightly tougher rules in here. I'm not talking running a GCD bootcamp here, just slightly stricter guidelines for what can and can't go here.

[freak_princess]

Nurgle god of decay

I agree whole heartedly.If it says something about it in the name but only briefly in the first post then no-one talks about Gaia just about i.e Beaver man? Then it is not a Discussion about it it is a side note. Then it shouldn't be allowed in the GCD.

3nodding 3nodding 3nodding

[Seth Darkheart]

Selenae

They wanted GCD to be more lax, but that only seems to be ruining it. I think we need slightly tougher rules in here. I'm not talking running a GCD bootcamp here, just slightly stricter guidelines for what can and can't go here.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

[The Morphine Blues]

*agrees*
a thread should be here when it's...coherente-in-english
*thinks how to explain that...gets spanish-english dictionary*
okay I'll be back later sweatdrop

[Nurgle god of decay]

It is dissapointing that the GCD is going down the metaphorical toilet.

[Serenity Winner]

Seth Darkheart

Selenae

They wanted GCD to be more lax, but that only seems to be ruining it. I think we need slightly tougher rules in here. I'm not talking running a GCD bootcamp here, just slightly stricter guidelines for what can and can't go here.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Thanks, Seth. whee

[Seth Darkheart]

It's no problem, Selenae.

Praise is given where it's due. 3nodding

[irust]

I think the GCD is about dicussing the Gaia storyline and things that happen in the GCD. Nothinging more, if a thread seems out of place I will report it.

[Seth Darkheart]

irust

I think the GCD is about dicussing the Gaia storyline and things that happen in the GCD. Nothinging more, if a thread seems out of place I will report it.

What about threads discussing other forums? They're allowed here, I know that much; heck, I'm sure the justification for this forum in the first place was so the mods would have somewhere to send EDAED. 3nodding

[LabTech042]

I think that the GCD is about the storyline and the NPCs.... to a point. Stupid things, like your "cleavage" sample post, I would report because I would consider it spam. I would like to think that we are a little more... intelligent?... than that. But if it does belong here, there goes the GCD. Whoosh.

[Aristeia]

I see GCD as a place to discuss about 2 things:
1) IC Gaia - storyline & NPCs
2) OOC Gaia - the forums & the "society" (except for Homes, Fishing, Avatars and Gaming aspect, which have their own forums, and questions that doesn't ask for opinions, which goes to Q&A)

The practice of tacking something "to make it legal" is another issue, though, which not only concerns GCD but other forums as well. Is " ____'s Birthday Bash! T/O Nitemare Scarf" that lasts a week in Exchange acceptable? Is the GCD Addicts thread acceptable after we ceased to list the things that makes you a GCD Addict and started talking about everything under the sun?

If so, then perhaps what you mean is that a thread's place is judged by the first post? Whether or not the first post has content that suits a particular forum, or just an appendix of legitimacy.

[Seth Darkheart]

LabTech042

I think that the GCD is about the storyline and the NPCs.... to a point. Stupid things, like your "cleavage" sample post, I would report because I would consider it spam. I would like to think that we are a little more... intelligent?... than that. But if it does belong here, there goes the GCD. Whoosh.

I'd report it too. I'm just worried that anything with the NPCs in is becoming GCD worthy. gonk

Aristeia: Good points. I can't actually think of anything else to say. I figured that the GCD Addicts thread would be fine, as we do discuss our addiction some of the time. The intermediary conversations are there instead of bumps. At least, that's my justification. ninja

I suppose I'd answer yes to your second question.