If you were a mod/admin on this forum, what would you do?

[pjk]

"profanity rule"

I don't see why you can't express yourself with cursing. The reason why it was implemented in the first place was because people were abusing (overusing) curse words. Can't you express yourself without cursing? Personally, I don't mind, but I respect the people who do, hence why it is in place. If kids can't control their language themselves, we have to implement the filter so it is controlled somewhat automatically. The rules state don't do it, yet people still do it.

However, what about sponsors who donate to speedsolving.com? It costs money to run this site, and even if the quality of discussion is improved by allowing people to discuss knock-offs, this will mean that members would need to donate more money to offset any lost income from advertisements and sponsors who do not wish to advertise their products on a site that promotes (or does not dissuade) knock-off producers. If you would be willing to host a quarterly or semi-annual fund-drive to help offset any lost income, then I imagine the admins would be more receptive to your idea.

As far as I know, VCubes don't advertise on this site. (idk, I use adblock) KO discussion wouldn't hurt advertising. Why would Lightake be annoyed that people were discussing knock offs? They sell them! Also, since the whole Guhong vs V Cubes fiasco went down I think the KO thing is much less of an issue these days.

If I remember correctly, this rule is in place simply because Verdes asked, and after discussing with the mod team we agreed is was a good idea. Vcubes does not advertise on speedsolving and the rule is in place simply out of respect for Vcubes. Yeah, we could easily promote knockoffs and hurt Vcubes quite a lot, but we choose not to. If any mods no longer like the idea, let me know.

 

[qqwref]

Can't you express yourself without cursing? Personally, I don't mind, but I respect the people who do, hence why it is in place. If kids can't control their language themselves, we have to implement the filter so it is controlled somewhat automatically. The rules state don't do it, yet people still do it.

Well, cursing nowadays isn't "I am saying something awful! ha ha!" but more of a way of expressing yourself and emphasizing certain things. For a lot of people, it's not that they can't control their language, but that they don't want to, because allowing those words allows more freedom/depth of expression. Yes, there are people who overuse it, and yes they will be caught. But for the rest of us they have as many legitimate uses as they do immature ones.

More importantly: the wordfilter doesn't really control the profanity at all. When you read a post saying "this cube is ****, don't buy it", you don't think "I wish I could understand that word, but I can't, because it has been replaced by little stars". You think "oh, that means [the curse word it should be]" and you read it as such. So it really does the same thing the real curse would (that is, putting the word into my head), with the side effect of being really confusing sometimes, which isn't really a good thing. Perhaps we could remove the filter, but also automatically flag any posts with more than one curse word, or certain strings ("**** you"), just to make sure anything really bad gets caught.

Yeah, we could easily promote knockoffs and hurt Vcubes quite a lot, but we choose not to.

First: Would we? I mean, this isn't a Chinese merchant's forum; we don't have people blatantly promoting knockoffs with no regard for V-cubes. What we do have is discussions about which is better and about the morality of the situation. I think it helps the community to have those discussions, and to be able to talk about the issues somewhere. We can try to dissuade people from buying the KOs (and we do, since most veteran members do have some respect for V-cubes), but trying to act like KOs don't exist at all would be silly.

Second: Although the "no knockoffs" rule doesn't say it only applies to V-cubes, that's really the case. Nobody is really worried about cubes that infringe the designs of anyone else. If we're going to keep that rule, at least point out how it's used in practice.

 

[Kirjava]

qq summed up my thoughts already.

I'd also remove the image size limit, or at least increase it, or remove the ugly banner above a resized image.

I'm not totally malicious

 

[qqwref]

I'd also remove the image size limit, or at least increase it, or remove the ugly banner above a resized image.

Oh yeah, this is a good point. I really don't like the current resized-image script. Can we replace it with something like on Wikipedia, where you see a thumbnail and can then click on it to go to the full-sized image by itself?

 

[theace]

Implement a system where people are made aware of existing threads before they post something silly like "is tha dayna goohung a goud cube?"

For example:
New Guy: Hmm. What should I get? *starts writing a one liner thread with a title like "what's the best 3x3?"*
*clicks on Post thread*

Now, the forum displays a page that goes like:

Is your thread about which cube you should buy? If yes, please ask HERE.
Is it about which method is the best? If so, please ask HERE.

You get the idea right? You could have this feature getting disabled once you reach a post count sufficient enough to ensure you've lurked enough.

 

[crashdummy001]

You could have this feature getting disabled once you reach a post count sufficient enough to ensure you've lurked enough.

yes, we should always assume that people with low post counts are noobs. I'm half expecting to get banned for simply having a low number of posts, with the reason for banning being "to reduce the probability of stupid threads being created"

 

[Engberg91]

i would act like a regular member.
and maybe ban one or two members for no reason. jk

 

[Chapuunka]

I'm half expecting to get banned for simply having a low number of posts,

No, you should expect to be banned for acting stupid.

The idea is that most people who come are new ("newbs") and may or may not need to be taught how things work at this forum before being left completely alone with their posting abilities. Teaching everyone makes sure everyone will know, even if it's just a review of something they already knew before.

 

[Andrew Ricci]

yes, we should always assume that people with low post counts are noobs. I'm half expecting to get banned for simply having a low number of posts, with the reason for banning being "to reduce the probability of stupid threads being created"

Are you kidding me? The mods don't automatically assume that since a person has a low post count, they must be a noob. Why do you (and others) constantly assume that this is the reason? Do you see someone like QQ or Kirjava making stupid threads and asking questions that have been answered again and again? Do you honestly think they do it, but get away with it because of a high post count. No, they are experienced and have a good understanding of the forum. That is also the same reason that someone who asks these questions and makes these threads tend to have a lower post count, since they have less experience with the forum.

And why do you assume you'll get banned? As long as you do nothing wrong, you won't be banned or even receive an infraction.

 

[Anonymous]

Just as an example, I don't even think that Macky has 100 posts.

 

[d4m4s74]

why limit the extra info to just new people

Just add a couple of links to the new topic page with frequently asked questions
"Before you create a new thread, it could have been answered before:
what cube should I get thread
how to get faster thread
etc.
Also, Check out the One Answer Question Thread"

something like that

I don't think many people would mind

 

[Owen]

I'd set the text under my name to "Oat", Unlock the "I just suddenly realised that..." thread, and then just moderate.

 

[amostay2004]

yes, we should always assume that people with low post counts are noobs. I'm half expecting to get banned for simply having a low number of posts, with the reason for banning being "to reduce the probability of stupid threads being created"

@Chapuunka and theanonymouscuber: I think this sentence is a sarcastic reply to the post above his

 

[Andrew Ricci]

@Chapuunka and theanonymouscuber: I think this sentence is a sarcastic reply to the post above his

That may be true, but I doubt it due to this post by him:

this forum is a clique. if you have 100+ posts, you're immune to everything. You can post garbage, spam, be a postwhore, insult others, be inappropriate, break rules, and do whatever you please...

 

[theace]

why limit the extra info to just new people

Just add a couple of links to the new topic page with frequently asked questions
"Before you create a new thread, it could have been answered before:
what cube should I get thread
how to get faster thread
etc.
Also, Check out the One Answer Question Thread"

something like that

I don't think many people would mind

agree

 

[pjk]

Well, cursing nowadays isn't "I am saying something awful! ha ha!" but more of a way of expressing yourself and emphasizing certain things. For a lot of people, it's not that they can't control their language, but that they don't want to, because allowing those words allows more freedom/depth of expression. Yes, there are people who overuse it, and yes they will be caught. But for the rest of us they have as many legitimate uses as they do immature ones.

If everyone could use the words (even though they aren't necessary at all) the way you described, it would be great. The fact of the matter is most abuse it, unfortunately causing it to be limited for everyone, and not just the ones who abuse them. Even without cursing, you can freely express yourself quite well. As I said before, I don't see why you can't express yourself with cursing. To respect the people who don't want to see it, we have the rules in place and have the filter in place. Without enforcing it, the quality of posts would be much lower and many kids may begin cursing because they see everyone else doing it. We avoid that here.

More importantly: the wordfilter doesn't really control the profanity at all. When you read a post saying "this cube is ****, don't buy it", you don't think "I wish I could understand that word, but I can't, because it has been replaced by little stars". You think "oh, that means [the curse word it should be]" and you read it as such. So it really does the same thing the real curse would (that is, putting the word into my head), with the side effect of being really confusing sometimes, which isn't really a good thing. Perhaps we could remove the filter, but also automatically flag any posts with more than one curse word, or certain strings ("**** you"), just to make sure anything really bad gets caught.

That is why you shouldn't use the curse word in the first place, because you know it is filtered and against the rules (and may make the sentence confusing). The issue you're referring to is related to people not following the rules, not to the core issue itself that I described above.

First: Would we? I mean, this isn't a Chinese merchant's forum; we don't have people blatantly promoting knockoffs with no regard for V-cubes. What we do have is discussions about which is better and about the morality of the situation. I think it helps the community to have those discussions, and to be able to talk about the issues somewhere. We can try to dissuade people from buying the KOs (and we do, since most veteran members do have some respect for V-cubes), but trying to act like KOs don't exist at all would be silly.

Second: Although the "no knockoffs" rule doesn't say it only applies to V-cubes, that's really the case. Nobody is really worried about cubes that infringe the designs of anyone else. If we're going to keep that rule, at least point out how it's used in practice.

Indeed, I think if we allowed the promotion of knockoffs, they would outsell Vcubes easily. If most people wish to discuss these, that rule could potentially be removed. It isn't our goal to limit discussion with these rules, but more so regulate them. The only reason most knockoffs exist is because they stole the design from Vcubes. Do you guys want to see more cool quality products come out, such as a 8x8 or 9x9? Then why not show respect to Vcubes and not promote knockoffs. Anytime someone discusses one, they will likely link to it. You'd be shocked how many sales are sent through just average posts where people link to a product/puzzle. If knockoff Vcubes were discussed regularly on here, there is no doubt that it would increase sales to knockoff companies and eventually hurt Vcubes.

In regards to modifying the rule, you're right, it should be directed toward Vcubes, since that is currently the biggest issue. Knockoff Rubik's cubes don't affect Rubik's too much; they already made their money. Vcubes is still growing and not stabilized (at least I assume), so promoting knockoff Vcubes has a deeper effect.

 

[maggot]

as far as vcube KO discussion, objective discussion should be allowed. im having a difficult time trying to convey what i mean, but i will try.

So, a lot of newcomers do not want to pump a lot of funds into cubing. the KO is an alternative to that. Since we do not discuss KO at all, people go off information they find on youtube or on cubingstore forums. A lot of this information is made by cubers who have very little cubing knowledge/are slow, they dont own a vcube, and typically they have no reputation. Therefore, a sale is made. They think because its vcube design but at a lot less cost, it is a deal. Well, as we all pretty much know, they're paperweights. I think if we had objective discussion of KO on the forum, people with reputation, people that own vcubes, people who arent slow would openly support vcubes. A lot of these KO puzzles are of such poor quality. If they start making puzzles of high quality, I would be concerned about regulating discussion on KO. But they suck. . so, whats the problem?

I dont even think you'd have to regulate discussion too much. People can have their own opinions, however its the opinion of the knowledgeable that I would typically follow.

 

[Kirjava]

It's worth noting that my ideas were not presented as suggestions for the current administration, because I feel like they were taken as such.

They were changes I'd make. I would not be catering to children.

With the direction the site currently is in, I understand why these rules would not fit. This is why I initially said that the Admins would not agree. I wasn't being defeatist Chris, I was being realistic.

 

[qqwref]

Indeed, I think if we allowed the promotion of knockoffs, they would outsell Vcubes easily.

I disagree with this. V-Cube has a good reputation because of high quality (especially after wearing in and modding) and good customer service. I think it's better to tell people this, than to have them make their own uninformed decisions - which will probably result in buying the cheaper cube (that is, the KO) because many young people are short on money. Since Google exists, I think it is no problem for anyone to search for the cubes online, so it is a safe assumption that anyone who really wants to buy a 7x7x7 (for instance) will know about the knockoffs.

The only reason most knockoffs exist is because they stole the design from Vcubes. Do you guys want to see more cool quality products come out, such as a 8x8 or 9x9?

Actually, I think the KO manufacturers have a much easier time mass-producing new puzzles. Notice that knockoff 9x9 and 11x11 cubes are already being sold. (I actually own an 11x11 knockoff, but it doesn't change the number of V-11s I plan to buy: exactly one.) I don't expect the V-Cube company to produce bigger cubes in the near future, but that's okay, because I support them for different reasons.

 

[RyanReese09]

Ban annoying people.