[MODERATION] Enforce reading the board description before the first post

MXXIV·Feb 16, 2015·5 votes·1,438 views

This section, Boards feedback, is getting huge amount of off-topic posts. I know moderators don't care, since they just delete them with one click, but I'm a little sorry for those confused readers. I have strong suspicion they have no idea that they are even posting to some section.

So why not force the users to read application/section guidelines before their first post there? That would really filter everybody but total ignorants...

9 Comments

DaenFeb 16, 20153 votes

To be honest, my opinion is that it should be immediately apparent where content goes without forcing users to read the manual. In this case, I would be much more likely to attribute thread creators' confusion to a lack of proper signifiers from the perspective of the Boards platform.

As far as your solution is concerned, it would be a bit frustrating to need to do that the first time you access a given board. If we ever get to the point the Boards team seems to want where we have hundreds of boards, it could directly dis-incentivize cross-board activity.

I would much rather see clarified board listings and a more intuitive method of posting to different locations, as it directly addresses the source of the confusion. My guess is that a lot of confusion comes from the board name "Boards Feedback", as it's the only board that directly references feedback in its core purpose.

EMOFRATPARTYFeb 16, 20152 votes

If only there was a "Balancing Complaints" board...

DaenFeb 16, 20152 votes

Hey there Emo! :P

And yeah, it's a pretty complex issue, I just get the feeling a lot of people assume Boards Feedback is the place to post any feedback to Riot at first glance since it's the only board that even hints at it.

I would be interested to see stats on which boards have the most misposts and how distinctly incorrect they are, it might shed some light on this.

EMOFRATPARTYFeb 16, 20152 votes

Board analytics in general would be nice. I think Boards Feedback is appropriately titled, personally, and a very large portion of the posts in this category do seem to fall in-line with intent. It's certain topics that kind of miss the boat, however.

My comment was light-hearted, but not entirely inaccurate...most of Gameplay & Balance is just a compilation thread featuring complaint after complaint. I'd like to see a way for Boards users to tag posts, similar to the way that Steam users can now tag games.

DaenFeb 17, 20151 votes

Board analytics in general would be nice.

Agreed.

I think Boards Feedback is appropriately titled, personally, and a very large portion of the posts in this category do seem to fall in-line with intent. It's certain topics that kind of miss the boat, however.

I agree, and I think this is actually an issue with the other titles and general organization rather than Boards Feedback. If there was an overarching Feedback listing with gameplay, story, art, Boards, etc. as different topics, my assumption is that it would cut down on the misposting.

most of Gameplay & Balance is just a compilation thread featuring complaint after complaint

This brings up some interesting questions. What is the actual intended purpose of the Gameplay & Balance board from Riot's perspective? How about from the players' perspective? Do we want player - player conversation primarily, or player-player -> Riot conversation? Should those two types of interaction be separated somehow, and how might that be done?

I'm rambling a bit, but there's a lot that affects this stuff.

EMOFRATPARTYFeb 17, 20151 votes

I agree, and I think this is actually an issue with the other titles and general organization rather than Boards Feedback. If there was an overarching Feedback listing with gameplay, story, art, Boards, etc. as different topics, my assumption is that it would cut down on the misposting.

So you have "Story & Art - General" and then "Story & Art - Feedback?" Could be a litle much.

This brings up some interesting questions. What is the actual intended purpose of the Gameplay & Balance board from Riot's perspective? How about from the players' perspective? Do we want player - player conversation primarily, or player-player -> Riot conversation? Should those two types of interaction be separated somehow, and how might that be done?

I think these things are intentionally overarching. It's not necessarily Riot's fault that: a. the Hivemind exists, especially in this community; b. the posts go a bit off-topic, even in their specified threads.

I'd love to see feedback branched out into its own little thing, but it could further split the Boards. That may or may not be a good thing.

However, the visibility of the posts in question -- especially like-minded ones that complain about balance -- is a bit crazy.

DaenFeb 17, 20151 votes

So you have "Story & Art - General" and then "Story & Art - Feedback?" Could be a litle much.

Oh I wasn't necessarily suggesting Riot implement them in such a way, it just poses an interesting thought experiment. If they were clearly delineated like that, would there be as much confusion?