I think people like the threads because it encourages users to actively play, chat, and SEE that other users are doing the same. Sometimes I also enjoy seeing other users playing and will participate (though it is rare for me).

This is just my opinion: I think that this type of 'problem' is actually going to hurt the site if you 'fix' it by removing it. In the long run users like seeing other users on site and interacting with them (that is part of why we are here). So if users who participate in those kinds of threads (that ones you mention in the first post) wanted to make a master list that automatically refreshes (we already have this option in the notepad and handy links, we just have to refresh the page manually - which is not hard), then they would have already done it.

I think the other reason users like this type of holiday thread is because it allows them to up their forum post count - and thereby get more stars under their name/achievement.

Yes, I completely agree with you about forum points leading to quantity over quality - which is sad. :-(

I'd be ok with not having this type of thread for the holidays. Also some users have no groups or friends -- so they need random links and random other users to interact with. Wouldn't it be sooo lucky if we all have multiple friends on site to interact with? I know i am lucky to have that (and even a sister who plays) but not everyone has that. Some people are very isolated in real life and on site here. 😢

So I think whatever we can do to encourage coming together and community would be awesome. I am all for that type of movement.

[edit] The reason I rarely participate is because I personally have a lot of friends on site so I do not feel the need to use random lists or generators. But (as mentioned above) not everyone does. Also the site does not encourage random user interaction -- it does not discourage it but it is rather ambivalent (except with shorter wait times for ToT if we do Random). [edit] 2 Also: I do not feel a need to get lots of forum points or posts, so that is also why I seldom participate in threads that are not producing quality or important information.

I posted once on a ToT thread this year to see if the ToT was broken if I chose from a random user instead of my sister, and it was. :/ But, obviously, this was fixed quickly. :* You guys are so speedy and awesome.

[edit] 3 Idea you could use an AI to place all posts that are less then 3 words to be not searchable? Or have the Ai read the posts and determine based on pre-set keywords which ones will come up? Or something?

one of the nice things about the holiday claiming threads is that you actually get to see the other people, their names, whatever cool seasonal avatar they've made for the occasion... even though it's not exactly direct communication, it's still much more social & personal than just clicking a button to trick-or-treat SOMEONE with no sense of connection to everyone else who is also doing this, such as the random TOT function we have now.

the downside, of course, is that it's essentially a manual approximation of an automated system, with all the entailed limitations of human error (whoops, i posted but then realized i still had a minute before i could TOT again, then got distracted and totally forgot to TOT that person!) and the forums themselves (ugh, coming up on post limit, time to make yet another thread, oh wait someone already did and now there's two new ones at the same time, whoops i had the old thread open in another window and posted in there only for the thread to have already been locked so now i'm the last poster on a locked thread so no one can post after me so now i don't get a TOT, etc).

if the same basic idea we have now—essentially putting ourselves into a visible queue where everyone before and after you is also listed—could be established as a standalone, non-forum page, that might be a decent alternative. so you can see the names and avatars of everyone who's already queued up in order (maybe reverse chronological order, so the most recent entrant is at the top?), and then you click a button and it simultaneously adds you to the queue AND performs the action on the last user on the list (and maybe also sets an alert so you know when you can add yourself to the queue again, or has some sort of countdown timer on the page itself before the button becomes clickable again).

and because it's not a forum thread, it doesn't need to be "re-made" every 1000 posts, and in fact could just hold a set number of entries in the list that cycle out the oldest ones as newer ones are added.

the main potential issue i could see with this is if two (or more) people happen to click the button around the same time, causing them both to trick-or-treat the same user and thus one of them getting skipped (which is in fact what is averted with a manual "claim and THEN do the action" system).

apart from that, as long as there's a way to keep doing essentially the same thing we're doing now, moving it off of the forums could in fact be a good thing.

Thanks! that's what I was saying :)

What if, instead of nixing the "action the user above" threads as a whole there are rules regarding these that take into account the feedback given and there is the option (for all but the Lumi things mentioned and biting) to do a "random" that batches users into groups of X number and lives for X hours until they have to join a new "random activity" group?

At each holiday, what if the mini-mods create the "event activity" board and there's something actionable beyond just the "activity". For example - each post must answer one of 10 themed questions in the first post or respond to someone else's answer (creates actual discussion, helps users get to know each other, low-pressure because the user has prompt ideas and isn't cold-opening a convo with strangers on their own). I think this could be a great way to help "break the ice" for new users, shy users, etc and may lead to connections that last beyond the holiday! The board can only be created by the mini-mods (including opening new ones when they reach post limit) and questions may or may not change going into new boards. There could also be things on these boards like HA contests, writing contests, etc if we wanted to get wild lol

Going back to the original post, I think that automating it would take away a lot of the interactivity of events.

Something like a games board/user pool type thing where you "opt" your name/user card/something in and say for example for ToT; You click on a person who’s opted in to "claim" them and then they disappear when they’ve been claimed. I guess then you may have an issue with clicking on someone that’s already been claimed but it’s a thought.

[edit] Spent so long trying to think about my post that I think kinda said a lot of what I was trying to say xD

Can you give us some idea of what you want the new forums to be? For example, what kind of discussions are you looking for? In the early days of Subeta there was a debate forum but this was removed on the grounds that some of the discussions got very heated. The Social Scene forum has a sub forum for Current Events but I think people tend to be very wary of posting topics in there. (Another reason for the Current Events sub forum being very bland could be people regarding Subeta as a temporary escape from the real world.)

maybe you could bring back a version of the kiss exchange you did a long time ago? https://web.archive.org/web/20110221104819/http://keithkurson.net/kissxchange/

I would be thrilled to never claim again. If there was a random user, similar to the trick or treat, for every current claim holiday it would greatly improve my holidays.

I would say a lot of my forum participation has come down to using claim threads. I'm not a big social person so I like that I can participate and hang out with everyone in a social way without having the pressure of needing to make sure what I'm posting is "high quality" enough. I haven't always been fortunate to have as many friends as I currently do, and I remember using the claim threads during different holidays helped me feel like I was still able to participate in the event and be part of the site.

I think I’m going to contradict myself here but…

I find the claim threads tedious, albeit incredibly helpful when trying to reach achievements etc…

however, the claim threads make the forums (and the site) feel active. They do for me what the sidebar shout box used to do. I actually find being on the site can be a very lonely experience, so it’s nice to see the boards moving - which the claim threads spearhead. This is especially felt as I’m on London time zone.

I support the idea of a queue system, or at least similar to RandomToT but you can see the other active users; but I will be sad to see the forums lose that engagement / energy that the claim threads bring.

i think the idea of claim threads being replaced by 'meaningful discussion' is a rather strange one, actually. they don't really serve the same purpose at all. when you go to a public place with a specific task in mind do you expect to see and have minute interactions with the public in service of that task, or to have deep conversations with the person behind you in line? i get that these are forums, but not every forum is going to produce that kind of discussion. trying to force it by removing avenues for 'low effort' discussion will just... remove low effort discussion, which is kind of not a luxury subeta can afford, to be candid!

for me claim threads (and the avatar games, and 'what are you listening to/reading/etc' threads) are a nice way to have small, consistent, low/no pressure interactions. i struggle to talk a lot in real life and online both, but having a place where you can do little friendly things that don't require many/any words is a nice way to interact with other users without needing to strike up an actual in-depth conversation! replacing it with an automated system would just remove the incentive to post for me. i generally just pick a random user to tot/kiss/flower myself rather than use the actual random options for this reason, the only exception being the random dance feature which is incentivized with better items. not to mention that more people have talked to me as a result of seeing my avatars on the silly 'low effort' threads and thinking they're cool than they ever have from the forums designed for discussion. because i don't post in those since they stress me out! no amount of finagling will change that. i doubt i'm unique in this regard.

more specific to survival: we DO have a thread for meaningful discussion of the strains as they progress! it's the strain tracking thread. the NVLB threads get some of that by nature of the thing, and a lot of helping people go through the process, but they're definitely way more complex than just spam posting 'claim' and leaving it alone (as Avel said better). they're also often insanely busy in a way that gets a ton more done than would otherwise and genuinely leaves little/no room for discussion at peak. i think Threadful bites alone this year took up literal days of my february, during which i also did a ton of kissing (to keep bite track) and thanking people! and exactly none of that could be done in the strain tracking thread and still have a strain tracking thread with 'high effort' posts.

the register of the coffeeshop is not the place where you sit down to chat! that's normal!

I don't mind the idea of adding back the shoutbox, if what we're all missing is the feeling of being on an active, social site again and just seeing some conversation go by!

fundamentally i disagree with the notion that the forum isn't the place for it, is the thing. i do understand the search concern! but i think that's something thats just better served by omitting those types of threads from a search, rather than putting effort into setting up an entirely new function to replace something minor that already works exactly as its intended to do.

This is exactly how I feel about claim threads. It's the low pressure, minimal effort that gets me actually interacting with other users. The shoutbox to me isn't a good substitute because it's a high pressure social scenario where there are usually established friends talking and posts usually require more effort than just being able to quickly join into a random forum game or claiming style thread. I understand indexing is a problem but if I don't have an easy social in, I will tend to lurk.

I don't know what to suggest as an alternative to that though, if it's too much data, can it be purged occasionally to make it manageable? Could certain forums be on purge schedule that was more aggressive (ie. holiday forums, game forums)? Or are you just wanting high quality posts only and maybe the forums aren't the space for introverted people like me to hang out?

I am not understanding what you're trying to get across with your mockup.

I'm still trying to figure out if it's just the claims threads you have issues with or if we're also looping in other types of threads AKA biting threads that while might not have a lot of conversation, it's still doing a lot of the customer service things with biting? you can also give us back our bite links.

for me (can't speak for others) its literally scrolling through and seeing other users In The Forum Space, in a similar manner to being on a bus (or insert another public space here). you don't board the bus to talk to people, you board the bus to ride the bus, but you're existing in that space with other people who then have the option to interact with you in a more meaningful fashion. the claim threads are not direct social interaction so much as it being a thread and not an automated function creates a social interaction. because making a post is, fundamentally, a social action. it involves existing in an online social space. it just doesn't require anything more than that.

to me what's being suggested feels more like either replacing that metaphorical bus with a rideshare app (something that, while it still technically involves others, explicitly cuts out the public space) or like getting everyone on the bus to do one of those teambuilding things where you have to tell everyone one thing about yourself (an uncomfortable forced interaction that puts you on the spot, rather than a voluntary spontaneous interaction). the point of those threads is not the social interaction, but because they are forum threads there is both indirect social interaction and the potential bonus of more in-depth social interaction. this is cut down or removed by shifting the interaction into a private space (individual user feature that maybe possibly your friends can see on their dashboard) rather than keeping it a public space (the forums where anyone can see you and your posts).

i don't mind the idea of having a functional random feature, but that doesn't replace the social space, it just removes the minor interactions from it and thus makes it emptier (which, again, is a negative and a major chilling effect on a forum that is admittedly dead without those minor interactions. i think people are more likely to post in an updating forum space with low-effort posts rather than a museum of occasional high effort posts separated by days/weeks/months.)