3 features Imgur does that I feel have merit here

Sir ArmaMalum · 2014-07-25T19:37:53.394Z

Title: @[blank] messaging. Any comment or post that has @[your username] sends you a direct link to said comment. Granted this would probably come after/if a private messaging service as a whole, but I would love to be able to highlight a post for other people I know would like it or have valuable input on as well as vice versa. "Collapse all" default. All comments are, by default, collapsed except for the first 'parent' comment. Granted without a word limit this would only be variably helpful but I always find minimizing the conversations I've already read down useful, and I would probably find it a bit easier to track if I can 'unfold' the specific train of back and forths I'm following at the moment. (Naturally only pertains to discussion view) Upvote Threshold. Okay, here's the big one. Imgur uses a simple line of "if a post is over x upvotes it gets moved to 'most viral'", and I'm not saying we should do that verbatum. I feel like a threshold mechanic might be able to find use here, largely because "getting a post to the front page" is a huge culture thing in Imgur and I think this mechanic can be one of those rare opportunities for system reinforcment's of a vote's impact on visibility instead of agree/disagree. The biggest thing to consider here is that a highly upvoted post can actually be removed from the lower votes and put elsewhere. While not anywhere near a perfect fix for the "popular crowding out the minority" it's something at least. Thoughts?

Sir ArmaMalum·Jul 25, 2014·2 votes·243 views

Title:

@[blank] messaging. Any comment or post that has @[your username] sends you a direct link to said comment. Granted this would probably come after/if a private messaging service as a whole, but I would love to be able to highlight a post for other people I know would like it or have valuable input on as well as vice versa.
"Collapse all" default. All comments are, by default, collapsed except for the first 'parent' comment. Granted without a word limit this would only be variably helpful but I always find minimizing the conversations I've already read down useful, and I would probably find it a bit easier to track if I can 'unfold' the specific train of back and forths I'm following at the moment. (Naturally only pertains to discussion view)
Upvote Threshold. Okay, here's the big one. Imgur uses a simple line of "if a post is over x upvotes it gets moved to 'most viral'", and I'm not saying we should do that verbatum. I feel like a threshold mechanic might be able to find use here, largely because "getting a post to the front page" is a huge culture thing in Imgur and I think this mechanic can be one of those rare opportunities for system reinforcment's of a vote's impact on visibility instead of agree/disagree. The biggest thing to consider here is that a highly upvoted post can actually be removed from the lower votes and put elsewhere. While not anywhere near a perfect fix for the "popular crowding out the minority" it's something at least.

Thoughts?

7 Comments

PryotraJul 25, 20141 votes

I don't mind this feature in the slightest, as it helps communication.
I've wanted this for a while.
This one is a nono. That whole "culture" you are referring to is called circlejerking. Not something we need any encouragement on right now.

Sir ArmaMalumJul 25, 20141 votes

That whole "culture" you are referring to is called circlejerking. Not something we need any encouragement on right now.

yeah like I said not a perfect fix, but I think it can be a good food for thought thing, Think about it, if the circlejerking isn't wanted, then with this, the threads that are circlejerked upwards will be taken out and put elsewhere. On imgur there's a lot of people who stay as 'dedicated' user submitted viewers who want more posts to sort through themselves, while there are the 'dedicated' front page viewers who just go through most viral for a laugh and/or thought provoking posts.

And yes, Imgur is a fundamentally different sharing service than the Boards, but I still think a lot of the features they implement can be appropriately tuned for here.

PryotraJul 25, 20142 votes

yeah like I said not a perfect fix, but I think it can be a good food for thought thing

Yeah, no.

Sorry, but I don't see any good that does. All it does is encourage sh!tposting and circlejerking just to get that "frontpage" status. While yeah, the successful ones are removed, the unsuccessful ones are left here. I don't think anyone has a problem with a good laugh, I think people take issue with how much fail we have to slag through to get the funny.

If I want funny, I don't come to the league forums. I go elsewhere, as there are plenty other places for it. Here Simply isn't it. Besides, we have a front page already. Why do we need a second just for successful circlejerks?

Sir ArmaMalumJul 25, 20141 votes

My thinking is that by separating the voted (circlejerked) threads and the lower votes (non-circlejerked threads) will actually give the lower threads visibility towards the people that will actually read through them and give feedback/discussion because they're not looking through for the votes, they're looking through for the posts themselves (ideally, of course). Meanwhile the people who aren't going to contribute and are there just to see what everyone else of is looking at and what's trending can go to the other side of the threshold and see the 20+ or 30+ posts.

Or, on the flipside, a threshold could be done for activity instead. If a post has a certain amount of comments/hour (or something similar, ratios would have to be fiddled with) then it could be pulled off to the side to a separate page very similar to GD, but also separates the active discussions from the slower (probably wall of text) posts. Like I said, thresholds can be a good point of food for thought, it doesn't have to just be off of voting, it could be off of some other metric.

PryotraJul 25, 20141 votes

Even with another metric, you are essentially talking about a prisoners island setup. Either the circlejerking is in one category or the other.

Secondly, I don't see any reason to cater to those who can't be bothered to contribute. That might seem elitist or whatever, but why would you cater to the least interested people? Consider this: when catering a wedding, do you cater to the bride and groom, who have the most invested interest, or the wedding crashers, those just there for the free food?

I'm sure this system works well on imgur, but lets be real. The boards aren't an image hosting site. They are a forum. As such, we are supposed to cater to discussion, not the easily digestible media that is images.

Sir ArmaMalumJul 25, 20141 votes

That is a way of looking at it I agree.

You do bring up a good point of who to cater for, and I agree focus should be put on those who contribute. My main thinking was to try to recreate a GD style mosh-pit (which I don't personally agree with, but hey just because I don't like it doesn't mean it isn't worth trying) while still holding onto a system that can raise posts with the system the Boards currently have. Essentially a compromise, my intent was not to put posts above the threshold above the less voted posts in terms of visibility but instead break them up and put them on even ground.

Momentum wise a system based on reader input that substantiates more visibility (and therefore more reader input) is what I view as the definition of circlejerking (if your definition is different, please tell me, I may have misinterpreted). And while I don't like as it stands now I think it can be worked with or worked around to produce a system that everyone can find a place to look into and contribute. "In a perfect world" maybe, but hey, can't blame a guy for trying :P

PryotraJul 26, 20141 votes

I believe that we have GD-style mosh pit covered in misc when it is sorted Chronologically. Hopefully this time with actual moderation. Without mods, GD is essentially babbies first 4chan, regardless of where it resides. Not that it is bad to be babbies first 4chan, but I don't feel that the league forums are the place.

As far as the definition is concerned, I may be misreading it, but it sounds like your definition of circlejerk could be applied to discussion in general, at least in a forums sense. I see circlejerking as posting whatever (See: Sh!tposting) to garner attention and therefore be liked/have the highest rating by whatever obscure social metric. People who are circlejerking tend to follow a herd mind mentality, going with the flow and rarelly producing discussion or debate, as that usually isn't easily consumed and therefore easier to ignore. The quality of their posts are at the lowest, basest form of posts, as all they are doing is trying to throw something at the board to see how many likes or +1's or thumbs up they can get. If you go against the circlejerk, they downvote/-1/dislike/whatever the post so that the circle jerk can continue uninterrupted. (See: Reddit)

I guess you can sum up my definition of circlejerking as Posting so that the maximum number of people can see and like said post, regardless of content.