Less strict forum rules

[heepheep]

ok i've been trying to pinpoint why socialization on here feels suffocating and you nailed it. its great that i could post what pound pet i got, or talk about my current mood, but no one really engages anyway. they're all just massive threads where you post and dip out. no further discussion encouraged, and if you do, take it to pms. i've even tried joining clubs to make friends on here but the ones with media i like are dead lol
not to be the guy who compares fr and cs, but i've been playing flightrising lately and seeing casual discussion on the forums is so so nice. it actually feels welcoming! like even a topic as simple as "i updated my bio" is allowed haha

you have my support! besides spamming and vent threads not being allowed (referencing the code of conduct rules) i dont see where forum posts without a clear point of discussion is rule breaking. i guess similar topics and vague discussion are considered spam?

[peachy!]

Full support. This game doesn't really function as a true forum game/site with the current rules in place; interaction is effectively banned if you aren't on an official thread, and I never post forums because of the fear of getting insta-locked for a vague or a personally invalid reason.

[Cady55again]

Probably a controversial suggestion, but I've noticed there are a >lot< of locked threads in places such as general discussion, often for reasons of redirecting to other older threads of similar topics of discussion or being locked for not having a clear point of discussion. And I just have to say - is it necessary? Maybe this new thread has a similar topic of discussion to some random fanclub or other, but the specific, concentrated topic people are discussing is a topic within its own vein. It just feels more organic if you want to talk specifically about one aspect or thing that happened. A lot of the threads people get redirected to (e.g. comfort corner, weather today thread) are more the kind where people just post and leave - as in, there is rarely quoted conversation or ongoing threads of discussion because just so many people come in to post their thoughts it becomes more like the twitter feed as a whole rather than a string of replies between individuals. More individual threads encourage these more direct conversations between multiple people.

As for the rule of having no clear point of discussion - the only reason I see to close these kinds of threads if it's quite literally just spam with no discernable words. Overall, I don't see the harm in younger people on the site or even just people in general looking for some extra interaction just posting a thread with a bit of a vague thread of discussion, as long as they're having fun and being respectful to all parties involved.

In my opinion, the only reason threads should be closed is if it's straight-up a fanclub that there already is an active version of, or if it's about a more uncomfortable topic that might be inappropriate for the site. I don't see why excess threads on the site would be an issue, as the CS as a whole has been getting more inactive over the years and I can't see it suddenly lagging from a increase in thread activity (if say the rules were changed). But if that is a issue, my apologies - I'm running off of the assumption it wouldn't be a technical issue.

Anyways, I understand this probably won't go anywhere, but I thought it important to get my thoughts out there. I'd love to see the CS forums be a little more lively. Sorry if this has already been suggested as well - I didn't use the search function besides a quick glance at declined suggestions.

support!!!! reading what everyone is saying definitely makes me agree with this, not sure if NSR fans are even here, but i've been too intimidated to make a forum asking because it might get redirected or locked (

[Wysterinka]

Mmm yeah I think there used to be similar discussion before too and the reasoning was something like this site running on really old coding and not enough server space to support too many topics and pages. However I thought this was already sorted out somehow?

And then again these topics seem to get locked so quickly that I don't even know how is it possible and then, there are CS auctions where there are constantly 30+ topics that ask for a lock and don't get it for weeks So I don't really know what to think about it.

There might not be enough staff for it all but then I don't understand what was the recent hiring of helpers for if something this simple was still overlooked. I have already offered to be of help as well since I have unlimited free time, but was never really noticed I guess

And also...venting forums where there is never any communication and it just lays there are just...plain weird thing to do but alright then.

[trapezoid]

-and the reasoning was something like this site running on really old coding and not enough server space to support too many topics and pages. However I thought this was already sorted out somehow?

If that's the case, They should be using the money we spend on C$ to work on better servers if they haven't/aren't already. I recall seeing a post here about the lack of transparency on that, So really we don't know.
Honestly if they're going to have a forum, They gotta be prepared for this. People ARE going to make a bunch of new topics, It happens nearly every day! Because, well... It's a forum!

...also, the "combine every reply to one post" gets stressful. I know it reduces spam on threads, but it also makes it very long and difficult to reply to other posts in threads on mobile.

about the spam, I really don't see TOO much of a difference between someone replying 2-3 times in a row, And someone totally different posting something 1 second after you. Maybe that's just a weird way I see it though... I just don't get how having an ACTUAL conversation is spam? Spam would be posting something totally unnessecary like FHGSDKJHFDHFHJG in threads over and over. But if someone actually has something to bring to the table, What's the harm in that?
Of course This does not count for bumping over and over cuz that's just greedy X).

[bfdi]

i absolutely agree with this. a lot of the rules on what qualifies as spam make sense, like of course dont post in the wrong board, dont post chainmail, etc. but i don't understand having a rule that multiple people can not make a thread about the same thing. first of all, a lot of our userbase is neurodivergent or physically disabled in some way. not everybody can be expected to use the (frankly, broken) search feature to find the giant masterpost for whatever they want to talk about. not to mention, the masterpost is usually going to be too broad anyway. if you want to talk about something specific that relates to something that already has a post, you're probably not going to get a meaningful discussion about the thing you really want to discuss unless you make your own topic. if it's a server problem then they desperately need to fix it since it seems like the lag is just getting worse and worse.

addendum: i do think that some specific topics that are more likely to become spammy should be kept in one topic, such as 'pound pets you got', 'december 18th pets you got', or topics that show off all the outcomes for monthly pets. but a lot of topics dont really seem like spam issues so i feel like for the most part multiple topics about them should be allowed

[Pantherpaws!!]

Bumping!

[Darkcloud!]

Support, especially from the perspective of catch-all threads not meeting the needs of a social community.
A lot of the "main" threads have one or more of the following
-main post is from an inactive account
-stringent set of rules that end up not really making a good catch all thread
-main post contains a viewpoint/description that is from 10+ years ago that doesn't reflect the current community
-thread is 10+ years old and has a huge amount of pages and personal history: this can feel overwhelming
-and as others have said: they aren't discussions, they're dump threads

I also play on neopets, and I adore the small threads that pop up there that are only a few posts between two or three people. People are relaxed and silly, and there are no wrong questions about the site/gameplay, and a wide range of interests is easily available to jump into a convo about, or start your own. Even when Neopets site has lag/ issues, there will be a lot more posts being silly about it while people wait, rather than complaining (which reflects that users are widely positive and just want to chit-chat/meme).

CS is able to support 1x1 threads and has since 2010 for RP, so it seems reasonable that something similar could be done for the discussion boards: keep a section of "general" threads (with a clean slate to let active users host the topics), and then an area for those smaller threads that may fall off after a few posts OR become the next big "general" and get moved there.