Locked Post

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yogigami
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Locked Post

Post by yogigami »

Hi,

I posted earlier today with a post called 'Paper Tips' in the General Forum.A moderator called The RealChris has replied and then locked the post. He replied with a link to another thread so I assume this is meant to mean that the answer to my post is in the other thread. If this is the case, i can't find the answer in there having read through it. Can my post be unlocked so that other people might have a try at helping me?

Thanks,

Yogigami
TheRealChris
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Re: Locked Post

Post by TheRealChris »

I locked the paper topic because we already have a big thread about paper. please ask your questions there.
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malachi
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Re: Locked Post

Post by malachi »

Isn't this a little overzealous? This is a new user asking a very specific question, "Where in the UK can I find 3" squares of pink and green paper to fold for a project?" Simply responding with a link to an 8 year old thread about what paper people prefer to fold with seems confusing at best. I find it unsurprising that the user in question has not been back since Nov. 25th.

I question the logic that a "big thread about paper" is the best place to ask such a specific question. For one thing, I am certain some users of the forum do not real all new posts in all threads. In particular, at least one user does not read new posts in threads that no longer seem to be of interest. This means that adding post number 513 to an existing thread is likely to reach a smaller group of users, reducing the usefulness of the results of the query.

As a tangent, I have sometimes wondered what the responses would be to a reformulated version of the paper preference question, but I don't dare post such a poll because it would almost certainly be closed as a "duplicate" even though the options, format, and context would be different.
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Re: Locked Post

Post by TheRealChris »

regarding to the fact that 63% if our users have 1 post or 0... and only 3% of our users have more than 100 postings its pretty obvious that a very small number of users are really productive in here (only 0,4% have more than 500 postings). its more than unsure if that user would have ever posted more that lets say 10 times (because only 13% of our users posted more than 10 times). oh how I love to be the smart-ass :D

but more that that, its a lot more confusing for the other members to browse through a dozend of topics only because other people where to lazy to use the search function and find the correct existing topic. topics names like "help" (or worse: "hlep") make it all even worse. we simply don't need 10 bathrooms just because there's a different soap in each one of them. its like with all those useless new topics about already existing models just because the people are too lazy to spend some minutes to read an existig thread. its the easiest way to know a single room to find a piece of soap because all soaps are stored there... better than walking from bathroom to bathroom just to finally find the soap I was searching for.

the topic we are talking about was FAR AWAY from beeing specific (like what kind of paper to use for the damn dragon). the poster just wanted to know where to buy paper in the uk... and believe it or not: the paper topic is exactly the right topic for that question. if you have a paper question: ask it in the paper topic... its as easy as that.

and don't be too childish with posting new things... regarding to the amount of postings we close only a very small number.
steingar
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Re: Locked Post

Post by steingar »

The moderator who moderates least moderates best.
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Re: Locked Post

Post by phillipcurl »

Only 5 of the users have more than 1000 posts.
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malachi
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Re: Locked Post

Post by malachi »

TheRealChris wrote:regarding to the fact that 63% if our users have 1 post or 0... and only 3% of our users have more than 100 postings its pretty obvious that a very small number of users are really productive in here (only 0,4% have more than 500 postings). its more than unsure if that user would have ever posted more that lets say 10 times (because only 13% of our users posted more than 10 times). oh how I love to be the smart-ass :D
I find it fascinating that you choose to bring posting statistics into this discussion as I would contend that the harsh moderation policies have a chilling effect on posting, in particular posting by new users.

I know that I personally post much less here than I might otherwise, but I often become infuriated by the strict moderation that is, in my opinion, often unproductive. This causes me to a) read the forum less frequently and b) post less frequently when I do read the forum, and I am part of that 3%!

My point is that strict moderation, while it does attempt to maintain one type of order, does not create an inviting community.
but more that that, its a lot more confusing for the other members to browse through a dozend of topics only because other people where to lazy to use the search function and find the correct existing topic. topics names like "help" (or worse: "hlep") make it all even worse. we simply don't need 10 bathrooms just because there's a different soap in each one of them. its like with all those useless new topics about already existing models just because the people are too lazy to spend some minutes to read an existig thread. its the easiest way to know a single room to find a piece of soap because all soaps are stored there... better than walking from bathroom to bathroom just to finally find the soap I was searching for.
I completely agree that one of the biggest problems with online forums is poor subject line wording. The post in question was titled "Paper tips" and should probably have been titled "Suggestions for finding origami paper in bulk in the UK". In fact, this is a type of moderation that should be encouraged both by editing titles and by suggesting that users be selective in their wording and revised titles as needed.

I also agree that there are cases where a simple search could have uncovered the information being requested, or a better thread to post the question on, but I am arguing that this is not one of those cases.
the topic we are talking about was FAR AWAY from beeing specific (like what kind of paper to use for the damn dragon). the poster just wanted to know where to buy paper in the uk... and believe it or not: the paper topic is exactly the right topic for that question. if you have a paper question: ask it in the paper topic... its as easy as that.
I think this is the crux of our disagreement. I believe the question was specific and that the very long and ancient thread about paper preferences is not the best place to ask it.

I believe you maybe conflating two things: similar topics and redundant topics. Asking the same question someone else has asked before and received an answer to is redundant, and it is generally appropriate to refer them to the relevant thread. Asking a different question on the same subject is simply a similar topic, not a redundant one.

To be a little more explicit, this is a forum dedicated to origami, the art of folding paper. To me, the suggestion that such a forum should only ever have one and only one thread about paper is absurd. There are so many aspects and related questions and sub-topics that I would even argue that an entire sub-forum could be dedicated to Paper.

Expecting any user to slog through a thread with 500+ posts in the hope that they might find an answer to a question that they have that might still be relevant today is rather insulting and abusive to the users of the forum. And, as I have already said in this thread, I think it is less productive to expect people to post new, only tangentially related, questions to an old and very long thread if they really want a meaningful answer.

If you want statistics to prove me wrong then gather metrics on the number of times each thread is read each day and compare new/fresh threads to the oldest/longest threads. If the number of reads each day is about the same for both then it doesn't really matter, but if it is higher for new threads then my conjecture is correct that new threads have greater exposure.
and don't be too childish with posting new things... regarding to the amount of postings we close only a very small number.
Calling me childish is a little insulting. I would say that I am just averse to wasting my time dealing with a group of people that I find unreasonable.
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Re: Locked Post

Post by phillipcurl »

I do think there should be an entire sub-forum dedicated to paper as it gets somewhat annoying to search through several hundred posts where not even half of them are relevant to the actual topic.

I think why most of the people don't have many posts is simply because that they had one question to ask, and the got it answered. no reason to come back. it could also be that no one ever answered their question and they got a bad impression of the forum in the first place.

They could have just signed up to sign up. but none of this is relevant. so screw that.

the people that actually participate on this forum is a great group (er, most of them) and i enjoy it on here. I can get help on something, or help some other people. anyway, if someone locks your post, don't say anything about it. it was for a reason. i used to be an administrator on a forum with 1000 + ACTIVE members. it was insane. i had to constantly be locking posts, deleting users, blablabla. luckily the website it was hosted on got hacked and deleted by some crazy guy. i don't know why he locked your post, but it was most likely for a reason. so don't complain next time.
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Re: Locked Post

Post by malachi »

It was not actually my post that got locked, it was yogigami's, and the entire point of this discussion is that not only do I disagree with the reason but I also disagree with the method, as I have also stated in the past.

As for your recommendation that I not complain, if a forum can not handle civilized discussion about its own rules then it is probably time for me to move on. You should keep in mind that I am not arguing just to argue. I personally want this community to grow and thrive and I feel that the moderators do not act in sympathy with that goal, having selected a specific type of order and control over openness.
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Re: Locked Post

Post by fncll »

FWIW, I think the idea of having a sub-forum for paper makes a WHOLE lot of sense. The really long paper threads are tedious seeing as how they conflate any number of paper-related topics that aren't specifically about folding... which seems like a natural thing given that this is an origami forum. It would be great to have a subforum where those topics could breathe...
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Re: Locked Post

Post by phillipcurl »

malachi wrote:It was not actually my post that got locked, it was yogigami's, and the entire point of this discussion is that not only do I disagree with the reason but I also disagree with the method, as I have also stated in the past.

As for your recommendation that I not complain, if a forum can not handle civilized discussion about its own rules then it is probably time for me to move on. You should keep in mind that I am not arguing just to argue. I personally want this community to grow and thrive and I feel that the moderators do not act in sympathy with that goal, having selected a specific type of order and control over openness.
I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to the poster of this topic. sorry for the confusion. and I do not agree either with a lot of what goes on, but what happens is most likely done for a reason. I do not know any of the moderators in person so I really have no say
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Re: Locked Post

Post by steingar »

TheRealChris wrote:regarding to the fact that 63% if our users have 1 post or 0... and only 3% of our users have more than 100 postings its pretty obvious that a very small number of users are really productive in here (only 0,4% have more than 500 postings). its more than unsure if that user would have ever posted more that lets say 10 times (because only 13% of our users posted more than 10 times). oh how I love to be the smart-ass :D
This would suggest that the forum is not engaging to a majority of it's viewers. Were I involved in it's management or moderation, I would be trying very hard indeed to think up ways to increase that engagement, to make my forum more successful.
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Re: Locked Post

Post by Harpseal »

The dreaded hlep......
I don't see why you're still discussing this. There is a sub forum on paper now, why can't the query be posted there?
I still love (with an ironic tint) the idea that someone could misspell help.
Moderators could put hlep in their signatures, with some slightly miffed comment, it may raise awareness!
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