I wasn't there, but it seems like the Shoutbox was closed for good reason if any user(s) refused to comply (with a moderator?) and was being corrected by others imo.

I think it comes down to holding people accountable for their actions.

Isn't the shout box pretty fast moving? This doesn't make sense as a suggestion, because who has time to click a spoiler bar, just for it to move off the page quickly?

Do not agree. There is an entire forum dedicated to the plot, where spoilers are just fine. Following the rules aren't that difficult.

Perhaps if there are longer bans for people who break rules? Not familiar with the SB, but if people couldn't use it for like 7-10 days, they might think twice about what they're posting.

Why should rule breakers be accommodated for? As previously stated, spoiler tags would just encourage it, and its too fast moving sometimes.

It shouldn't be implemented, because people should follow the rules and stop saying "I forgot".

I don't think the shoutbox should be closed though, as that's punishing the many for the actions of the few, perhaps just silence those users.

I was not on at the time of this conversation and I don't know what it was about or what was said, but as a newbie I feel the need to defend myself. Yes, I make mistakes and sometime accidentally break the rules unintentionally, but once I am told so I immediately stop said rule breaking, and I've noticed pretty much every other newbie catch on pretty quick. However I think it would be really useful if there was a very obvious link to the rules, and maybe make everyone click agree to the rules everyday, resetting at midnight. Sure it would be a hassle to re-agree every day, but it would make sure everyone would be alittle more mindful of the rules, especially the ones about spoilers and harassment. Then if they break the rules again after agreeing, ban then from the SB for an hour. If they do it again for a day, and so on. As a new user on Subeta it is never my intention to break the rules, and I'm sure it is likewise for 99.8% of other new users as well. However if people aren't going to adapt quick and catch on to the rules, then they should be reprimanded instead of punishing the whole site.

sorry, but daily is too obsessive. I understand that you want to defend yourself but the blame is not entirely on you guys as a group. I totally agree with you about the rules being not so obvious to get to but forcing everyone to do a repeated action is just going to cause more problems. I've been a longtime user of the sb and I will quit it without hesitation if it is going to be annoying to participate in. nnBut how would you feel about like a spam bot that every half hour/45 minutes .etc it cites a rule. Like:nShoutbox: Remember to link using [url] tags.nShoutbox: linking to forums is not allowed.nShoutbox: Spoilers ruin the fun for lurkers.nnSomething along those lines. For a shoutbox that moves quickly at times I doubt it would be that much of a hinderance. Just slightly annoying.

Thats also a good idea. I would second the spambot. I just think there should be /something/ to make sure people are reminded of the rules, but unfortunately no matter what it would be it would be annoying. The daily thing wouldn't even have to be daily or that annoying, it could literally be a tiny checkbox next to the submit button that says " I agree to SB rules". And instead of daily it could be weekly, or monthly, or yearly. Or it could also be different for every user, so say user A never breaks a rule, they could just re-agree to the rules once a year just incase anything has changed, but user B is a serial offender and could be required to re-agree once a week or whatever is deemed appropriate.

To avoid rulebreaking in the SB, I suggest deleting the SB

if it was deleted that wouldn't solve anything either, it'd just move the rule breaking to the forums(granted those tend to be monitored more, but yeah) I tend to use it on occasion, but lurk more often than not though

I feel spoiler tags would be pretty redundant though as 1. they are too big and 2. they would just encourage posting spoilers even more.

the suggestion about a bot could work, but I don't really see it being easily coded.

one thing I've seen mentioned several times, but always seems to get shut down, is hire a mod or a few specifically for the SB

No to spoiler tags for SB. No to deleting the SB. (I hope that was a joke? I really can't see anything positive with that solution.) I don't see anything wrong with closing the SB for a few hours after a plot step is launched. Just keep it that way?

We just removed the Debate forums. What is the single next place causing the most senseless drama? I don't see why after years of people mentionning that fact, the shoutbox has to be kept when people are so prone to breaking rules there due to lack of moderation.

The Site Feedback forum? :P

If you want to suggest for the SB to be deleted though, I think a new thread should be made, as I don't think a lot of people will see that here. Specially those who use the shoutbox and follow the rules.

This.

There's no need for the spoiler code, as has been pointed out. It's too big for the shoutbox and people should just follow the rules anyway. It's just that simple. It's unfortunate that the SB can't always be watched by mods because it moves fast and there aren't enough to dedicate 24 hours a day to it.

No to allowing the spoiler tag.

Yes to better moderation. Ban the rule breakers form the SB, don't shut the whole thing down

In all seriousness though, the suggestion to delete the SB is silly. Staff has stated pretty recently that it's a very helpful feature for newer players.

">http://subeta.net/forums.php/read/821197/SB-closing-over-feminism/1/

^24/7 moderation takes a lot more work and resources than what the forums require, and that, for a place that is essentially a nest of drama and a remake of the Issues & Advice forum, but with much more chatting going on.

In a few minutes, you can moderate hours of content on some forums. In the Shoutbox it's essentially the opposite.

So, no, please, do not waste that quantity of resources into moderating the darn shoutbox that is used by the same 15 people everyday.

I can illustrate this point with a quote from the link posted above

is essentially being paid to watch the shoutbox, and she can only cover a third of a day. How many Carols do we need to do this job, and couldn't that pay a programmer instead ?

The argument that the shoutbox is essentially a place for newbies to ask their first questions does not reassure me in any way. Poor things. They register at a wrong time of day and BAM! they're traumatised forever. Or get ignored. Why are we torturing the newbies like that.

I seem to recall being told or reading something, that basically said that one of the jobs of the admins was to monitor the SB though, so I dunno..

yes I know the SB has its bad moments, but more often than not its fairly calm and helpfulunless I'm just never on when all of this drama starts

I use it, I don't use it..basically if I get annoyed with it I just ignore and maybe comment people I see needing help or if I see a friend post.

The forums on this site are not moderated 24/7, the SB doesn't need to be either...

is essentially being paid to watch the shoutbox, and she can only cover a third of a day. How many Carols do we need to do this job, and couldn't that pay a programmer instead ? LOL that's not at all what is paid to do on Subeta.

Edit: Case in point: is the site's lead programmer and here he is, locking threads. How many Keith's do we need to keep the forums free from... whatever caused him to lock this thread...?

I know that isn't what Carol is paid to do, but I'm only quoting her exact words.

It says, 8-9 hours a day monitoring the shoutbox. How many hours does she work in a day, 18?

So many suggestion threads being locked these past few weeks. That's one way to shut down a discussion for sure. What ever happened to "We're leaving threads open, even after staff has made a decision ?" Are we just not allowed to talk anymore ?