Attraction Source Forum

I love this kind of discussion - Everybody has an opinion.

Mine is this - The Forum is here to serve our overly Geeky needs and does a s**t hot job at fulfilling them all!! Weather they are just to have a look at other peoples views or to get in to your elbows and get truly stuck in.

The Mod's and Site team are there to sort through posts no matter how relevent or not they are and remove/edit what ever they want too. At the end of the day, they have been given their role by the exsiting team and lets be honest, do what they want to as they see fit.
The purpose of PM or post flagging is so you can have a more intimate discussion with them over any deleting or editing they do, its there to be used, so use it. I have and find when flagging posts, your opinion is listened too more than trying to do their job.
With an ever growing forum and Community I think it best to work with them rather than verbally abusing them and picking at their faults. Helping them rather than trying to do the work for them will help build the forum more than anything else.

Compared to other places, this forum and it's Moderating are so laid back we should be over the moon - maybe apart from Boz 

I know its easy to back seat moderate when your annoyed with someone for ruining discussion flow with rubbish, bring it to the mods attention, not the users....

I think i've done it countless times before & Human nature probably means I may do it again without meaning too.

I've noticed a number of posts in the construction topic can be sometimes quite rude towards any that mentions the slightest bit of speculation - not personally aimed at me but the tone being used is quite aggressive. Of course there is a place for speculation as there's a place for discussion but I really think some users have over reacted stating that they 'cant find any posts actually on construction'. Not every comment on a topic is going to satisfy you and all the Smiler topics merge into one in some respect.

The result of this constant moaning has, for some reason been aimed at the team and look at the result...all topics have been suspended while the team make a decision. Honestly, it's unfair on the team and creates extra hassle for them. I wish people would stop complaining and just get on with it...construction keeps as construction based as possible, and like wise with speculation. There's always going to be a bit of overflow seeing as how we're all discussing the same ride and its not the team's responsibility to sort it out, it's the users.

Some of my comments were very rudely shot down by members yesterday who, instead of redirecting me where to post it kindly, mouthed off about speculators and ther negativity...that just makes me reply with an opposing argument and all of a sudden a debate starts.

At the end of the day, we're talking about THE SAME ride. There's bound to be overflow into other categories. Maybe we should all start accepting that not all posts will give us satisfaction.

Seriously though, people need to stop blaming the mods. If you want to find a construction post maybe you need to do less moaning and more reading...

Not the mods fault at all!!!

Coming from an e-Commerce manager - the use of the word "General" is triggering most interactions, in that almost everyone visiting just goes here regardless.

I would like to see more specifics and have "Discusion" separately. Even a debate & opinions thread where members can go all out with their thoughts can give those people somewhere to play. Possibly naming it "Share your thoughts with other members" rather than "Speculation discussion"

The number of times I've logged in looking for excellent updates from members such as roodles (not forgetting MI7!) only to see pages of rants.

What if we got the "photo updates" thread back and a separate sticky outlining a daily summary of key updates - such as "member x on site today", "new POV video posted" etc... - allowing only updates in these threads. All discussion to be kept out to keep it tidy.

I think the main problem is the number of users in one place at one time, on that one particular thread.

I certainly hope this hasn't been any criticism on Tower Times, just my suggestions if I was in your position 

Just thought I'd share my view on clamping down on The Smiler forum for opening day. I can completely understand the bother Boz has to go through as he's on his own today and it's hard to moderate a forum that's thriving. Of course some posts are a little pointless and don't really contribute to discussion which I understand is adding to the pages of the topic.

However, does clamping down need to be as strict as it is? In some ways I'm finding it more difficult to read the topic with a fluctuating number of posts than an increase. Plus, people's excitement over the ride adds to the sense of community on the forum and makes the place a lot more lively. If posts are being clamped down for their lack of useful content, surely that is putting off some of the forum members from posting because they think it isn't useful enough? If that's the case it will slow down conversation and well...kind of be a party pooper on the big opening day, which for me I feel is better if there is a natural flow of conversation be it useful or not.

Don't get me wrong though, I can understand the reasoning behind it. Just wonder if it has to be as strict as it currently is?

Well, coming here to share my opinion since it seems to be the only place where we're free to talk.

I think the forum is totally over-moderated. The moderators need to take a big breath and chill out a bit. I mean it's impossible to follow a thread or a discussion within a thread due to the extremely high amount of post being moved or removed.

I appreciate the fact that the forum gets quite busy at times, but honestly you should let it go sometimes. Most of us are human beings, we can get excited about some stuffs, have emotions, explaining why we sometimes write messages that are slightly off topic, but as long as it doesn't turn into 5 pages of off topic discussion, just let it be. Reading the forums often seems like reading tons of moaning messages mainly due to the moderation trying to correct peoples. It gives a really negative feeling when it fact it should be the total opposite, given that we're all enthusiasts coming here to share our excitement about AT and rollercoasters...

So yep, just relax a bit, honestly. It will be better for you, for us, and for the whole TT forum.

I am not happy to be writing this as I love-d TT a few months ago now I like TT.

I feel that some of the mods are not following the rules them selfs at the moment.
For instance
Baffles created a smiler reviews topic even though Adz had made one all ready,thus breaking 'if there is a topic like yours don't post it', me and another member reminded baffles and a mod or admin removed both posts 'coving up' his mistake.

Also,I am getting a little annoyed with the recent moderating as most of it is quite bad,although only a few months ago this was a great site for moderation but now I consider it one of the worst.
This better clean up otherwise I will leave TT and will stop recommending it to my fellow enthusiasts.

The ShoutBox is getting ridiculous as your not allowed to step a foot out of line otherwise you are banned.

I understand its hard on Boz and the rest of the crew,and I've considered this position and still am,but seriously calm down a little to everyone (members,mods and admin) and take a rest,your not alone just have a little room to breath. I have been ignoring the high moderation and bad posts but now it's got too much, so really we need to help each other out, mods/admin you need to be a little softer in moderation and us,the members, need to post relevant things.

Thank you for letting me say my opinion.

I'm going to refer everyone to this statement: http://forum.towerstimes.co.uk/the-smiler/a-message-for-our-members!-please-read-before-posting/

We have posting guidelines, and they WILL be enforced. Today is an extremely busy day, and the reason there is so much post deletion, is because there are so many members making unnecessary, and off topic posts. It wouldn't be half as much of a problem if everyone was following the guidelines.

Thrillmad
With regards to SB activity, bans are 99% of the time, done in the spirit of banter. I've only ever given less than 10 serious bans in all the time I've been moderating it. it's a place of light entertainment, and I rather wish more people would use it for that, instead of clogging up the topics with useless rubbish.

Boz wrote: I'm going to refer everyone to this statement: http://forum.towerstimes.co.uk/the-smiler/a-message-for-our-members!-please-read-before-posting/

We have posting guidelines, and they WILL be enforced. Today is an extremely busy day, and the reason there is so much post deletion, is because there are so many members making unnecessary, and off topic posts. It wouldn't be half as much of a problem if everyone was following the guidelines.

Thrillmad
With regards to SB activity, bans are 99% of the time, done in the spirit of banter. I've only ever given less than 10 serious bans in all the time I've been moderating it. it's a place of light entertainment, and I rather wish more people would use it for that, instead of clogging up the topics with useless rubbish.

Yes,I agree but these last few months its been a little overboard in the smiler topic haha

Thrillmad wrote:

Boz wrote: I'm going to refer everyone to this statement: http://forum.towerstimes.co.uk/the-smiler/a-message-for-our-members!-please-read-before-posting/

We have posting guidelines, and they WILL be enforced. Today is an extremely busy day, and the reason there is so much post deletion, is because there are so many members making unnecessary, and off topic posts. It wouldn't be half as much of a problem if everyone was following the guidelines.

Thrillmad
With regards to SB activity, bans are 99% of the time, done in the spirit of banter. I've only ever given less than 10 serious bans in all the time I've been moderating it. it's a place of light entertainment, and I rather wish more people would use it for that, instead of clogging up the topics with useless rubbish.

Yes,I agree but these last few months its been a little overboard in the smiler topic haha

I'll second this. I can see why you're doing it because there is quite a lot of useless posts in The Smiler General & Construction Discussion, but it's almost as if every post HAS to provide some sort of useful update or it will be removed, as if we can't share opinions with other members of the forum in the topic. It just makes a long strand of news though which I could just get off a bog standard Alton Towers news website and there's no real discussion. In some ways that can make the site...well, quite bland.

The issue with that though guys, is the sheer volume of complaints and flagged posts we receive about 'pointless' posts and 'lack of moderation' since we relaxed the rules. Regardless of which standpoint we take we will get complaints and we have now decided , as Boz stated, to enforce the posting guidelines. There are PLENTY of topics, and the SB in which you can be off topic and have banter, but the fact remains we have had many issues where if left un-moderated we would have had page after page of repeated posts and irrelevant things which was becoming a huge bug bear of a lot of members. We always appreciate your feedback so keep talking to us, we do listen!

People want to read and post reply to posts that are meaning full and on topic. If we just let thing slip the whole thread becomes a mess and difficult to read or follow.

We don't have many rules but the rules we do have are for the benefit of the forums.

Well I'd just like to point out that you have managed to lose 2 members as I post both here and on TS, 2 new members moved over complaining about the moderating being too harsh... Just saying... Maybe relax a bit more. Not gunning down every single post. Lets try to stick to this type of moderating -------->

Rules are there, yes, but forums almost follow the natural flow of conversation, I agree totally off topic should be removed but vaguely related to a post that is quoted, perhaps picking up on a different point is just conversation. One word answers and people asking the same thing over and over is tedious and hard work to read.

But the easiest way thinking back to combat that and maybe as a step for future developments, would be to have a thread where members could post they were going to be on park and if they were taking pics etc. My idea would be that anyone asking would get the post removed and keep it purely for people saying I'm on park, maybe if someone wanted specific details they could ask or pm the person.

I my opinion the mods are just trying to make this a fair and peaceful site for everyone, sure some people think that the forums are over moderated, but its to make sure things are in the right topic and that if a rule is broken by a user than that user is prosecuted for the benefit of others on the forum, without mods this sight would be chaotic. As for correcting grammar it is a good idea as it makes people' posts who are either A(bad at spelling B(don't speak English as their native language or C) are lazy and use text language, easier to read.
So I do believe that what the mods are doing is for the good of the forum.
I hope I have cleared things up .
Astro

I have a couple of opinions, slightly contradictory ones in fact, but I'll go ahead anyway

1. Over moderation is never a good thing, and I've seen many a forum fall by the way side because of it, and I've seen plenty of moderators go about their business as if they're editing a multi-million selling newspaper or something. Forums are just that, a forum to chat and discuss, debate if need be and even the occasional argument doesn't hurt anybody. Start taking that away and playing too safe and you risk turning a forum that used to be bustling with interesting and knowledgeable discussion into something quite flat and boring.

2. Perhaps it's just me being an old git, but it does seem that since The Smiler construction, the standard of the average post has declined considerably. 2-3 years ago this site was full of well travelled enthusiasts posting trip reports from around the globe, avidly discussing new developments with intelligence. For whatever reason, it just seems as though there are far fewer interesting topics now. Like I say, perhaps it's just me being a moany git, but there used to be a time where I felt the urge to visit this forum at least once a day. Now I barely stop by once a week, and when I do, there's not really anything new or exciting being discussed.
I appreciate that this is fundamentally an Alton Towers forum, but one of TT's main draws for me was always that there was lots of discussion on other parks around the country and the world. It feels as though that focus has narrowed somewhat over the last year, and the forum is less enjoyable for it.

Just my thoughts, nothing personal.

ponder wrote:
2. Perhaps it's just me being an old git, but it does seem that since The Smiler construction, the standard of the average post has declined considerably. 2-3 years ago this site was full of well travelled enthusiasts posting trip reports from around the globe, avidly discussing new developments with intelligence. For whatever reason, it just seems as though there are far fewer interesting topics now. Like I say, perhaps it's just me being a moany git, but there used to be a time where I felt the urge to visit this forum at least once a day. Now I barely stop by once a week, and when I do, there's not really anything new or exciting being discussed.

If that IS the case, I wager they'll leave eventually. To someone relatively new like myself, the amount of people who pop up in similiar scenarios so to speak with very few post counts are high. Give it time to calm down, if The Smiler is attracting more people to the site it will continue to do so for a while yet given the inability of it to function.

As for me, I genuinely don't care about the moderation of the site. I tend not to post anything out of line, and most of my stuff is directly bang on the banter line/on topic line. If something arose that reprimanded me, I'd shrug, remember not to do it again and carry on with my day.

Thanks for your input, ponder!

Your first point covers a great many factors that we're well aware of, and are always trying to build our moderating style around.

Your second point is something I largely agree with. Our member base has changed drastically and very quickly over the last 14 months for reasons out of our control, and in exactly the way you've described. However, I view this not as a negative thing. Our current community consists of a great many enthusiasts who maybe lack the in-depth knowledge of the industry to which some of us lay claim. Or perhaps, as you quite rightly said, aren't as well travelled as some. This makes the forum a pleasant and engaging place for new members in the same situation, who might otherwise be put off by their apparent lack of knowledge compared with more established members.

I predict the more goony conversation will return with time, as this new member base builds up the knowledge required to hold such discussions! :P

There are many more things I could say about such matters, but I feel this isn't the time or place. Feel free to PM me if you have any more insights into ways we could improve, or indeed the community in general.

The current economic climate has also had an input on the amount of parks people are able to visit thus the decline in reviews and trip reports.

Thank you.
                It's so much better now that moderators don't sit of threads, well done.

[align=center]now to find a way to get ride of 1-week trolls  [/align]

Thrillmad wrote: Thank you.
                It's so much better now that moderators don't sit of threads, well done.

[align=center]now to find a way to get ride of 1-week trolls  [/align]

The moderation team never have sat on topics, with the exception of The Smiler forums which were a hotbed for horrendous activity.

We are always conscious of over moderation, but in my opinion, we've managed to get a decent middle ground, with subtle editing and post movement. At the end of the day, if the guidelines were followed by every member, we'd have no reason for the moderation team. If we don't moderate posts, people complain about the standard of posts, yet if we heavily moderate, people complain about over moderation. It's a case of damned if we do and dammed if we don't.