# Positive & Negative Energy Forums



## Kzach (Aug 14, 2008)

Put your hand up if you're tired of seeing all the "I hate/love 3e/4e!" threads crowd the general forum.

The signal to noise ratio is pretty heavily favouring noise at the moment and has been for quite a while. It's a month since release and these topics are still crowding out all the rest.

Obviously it's a topic people want to talk about, otherwise the threads wouldn't be so popular. But there are also people like me, I'm sure, who are just over it, period. I'm so over it that I'm considering adding anyone that starts another thread on the subject to my ignore list, whether positive or negative on 4e.

So I'd like to suggest a new rule for ENW. If you haven't got something positive or constructive to say, take it to the Negative Energy forum. This could be a new forum specifically for arguing about the positives and negatives of any system, whether D&D or not.

People could get all their vitriol off their chests here, rant and rave at each other to their hearts content and leave the rest of us alone in peace, to contemplate and discuss subjects that actually have some sort of content and meaning beyond  for tat.

Keeps everyone happy. Makes the mods jobs a lot easier. And publishers could have a single source for all the bile they could ever lust for about their products.

So, ENW, what do you think?


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## Mustrum_Ridcully (Aug 14, 2008)

Is this some hidden invitation to Circus Maximus? 

Maybe we should just stop whining about those "venters". Often enough, the title warns you that the topic will not be too pleasant. And if not, just stop reading after the first post.

Maybe we need to learn and accept that we don't have to personally refute any negative opinion or complaint voiced on he board... That keeps such threads small, slow and totally not your problem.


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## Wormwood (Aug 14, 2008)

*raises hand*

I'm sick of the complaints, but I disagree that server space should be devoted to Stuck Pig Open (a forum which would---by its very nature---tax our already overworked moderating team).

I find that the optimal solution is to ignore the more obvious cries for attention while enjoying the occasional trainwrecks.


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## Kzach (Aug 14, 2008)

Mustrum_Ridcully said:


> Maybe we need to learn and accept that we don't have to personally refute any negative opinion or complaint voiced on he board... That keeps such threads small, slow and totally not your problem.




I try not to enter those threads at all. That doesn't stop them from being a nuisance. Over the last few weeks I've posted several threads on topics that I felt were relevant to players of D&D and were current, and yet those threads were drowned out in MINUTES by the wave upon wave of vitriol flowing through the general forum.

It's hard to ignore threads that take up the majority of the space on an entire forum.



Wormwood said:


> I find that the optimal solution is to ignore the more obvious cries for attention while enjoying the occasional trainwrecks.



Well, IMO, it would make the moderator's jobs easier as it would clearly define for everyone that such topics need to go into a different forum than general. That way, mods don't have to police the entire content of every thread, they just have to police the topic itself.


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## Baumi (Aug 14, 2008)

Maybee a rating system would help where users can give 1-5 start to a threat where you instantly know which gets drowned in flames and which are interesting well-thought out posts.


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## DaveMage (Aug 14, 2008)

Make it simpler - just have a "4E Sucks" *thread *where all the posters who have a beef with 4E can post.  That way it's centralized.  We can do the same with 3.5 if necessary.


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## thundershot (Aug 14, 2008)

DaveMage said:


> Make it simpler - just have a "4E Sucks" *thread *where all the posters who have a beef with 4E can post.  That way it's centralized.  We can do the same with 3.5 if necessary.




That's a GREAT idea! That way I can safely read through a 4E thread without the occasional potshot from an anti-4E sniper. Honestly, I don't even READ the 3.5 threads because they don't interest me or support my current system. Why would I want to disrupt the people who DO still enjoy that system?





Chris


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## GlassJaw (Aug 14, 2008)

I'm sick of the threads about being sick about the 3ed vs 4ed threads.  Just don't read them.  Sheesh.


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## Schmoe (Aug 14, 2008)

If you're sick of the noise, then post more signal.  Easy enough.

I personally tend to ignore edition-based threads.  Lately, that means I can browse the forums much more quickly.  I'm sure my boss is happy.


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## Joshua Randall (Aug 14, 2008)

This is a futile and ultimately pointless endeavor. People like to gripe about stuff -- that's why the Internet exists.

If you don't want to read it, then don't.

Now if only there were some way to, how should I put it, IGNORE certain people you find annoying....


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## w_earle_wheeler (Aug 14, 2008)

Complaining about other people complaining is just as annoying.


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## Kzach (Aug 14, 2008)

Schmoe said:


> If you're sick of the noise, then post more signal.  Easy enough.






GlassJaw said:


> Just don't read them.  Sheesh.




Again, it's not as simple as ignoring them when they push all the other topics down.

And yes, people like to gripe. I'm not suggesting banning the topic. Just moving it to its own forum (or one single thread would work too).


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## Remathilis (Aug 14, 2008)

Schmoe said:


> If you're sick of the noise, then post more signal.  Easy enough.




Signal is drowned out by noise.

I made a post yesterday about what Goodman games modules would make a good Adventure Path. It got 2 replies. 

I also read the compiled info on 4e forgotten realms, which got 21 replies. 

but then I found why 4e reminds people why they like 3e, and it has 181 posts (and currently is on the first page, the others were found on page 2). 

One is a legitimate question, one is a compiled spoiler thread, one is an anti-4e rant. Which has the the most bandwidth?

Right...


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## Henry (Aug 14, 2008)

I don't think Russ would be interested in the equivalent of a "self-flagellation" forum for ENWorld. I know I sure wouldn't.


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## Maldin (Aug 14, 2008)

w_earle_wheeler said:


> Complaining about other people complaining is just as annoying.



And I guess people complaining about people complaining about other people complaining is... oh, ummm... nevermind. 

Denis, aka "Maldin"
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com


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## Umbran (Aug 14, 2008)

Kzach said:


> Again, it's not as simple as ignoring them when they push all the other topics down.




There are, at the moment I'm writing, four threads that I'd classify as a love/hate thread (a couple on WotC business, might be considered by some as love/hate, but I'm calling them about recent business) on the front page of General.  Four out of 20.  That means four-fifths of the discussion is on other matters.

I am sorry if that isn't enough for your desires, but 4 threads are not sufficient to really force other matters down.  Especially if you do something as drastic as read the second page of the forum on occasion.

I think the larger issue isn't the number of threads, but the general tone and tenor of the place - ti is still rather aggressive and contentious.  It has been improving somewhat, but not as quickly as might have been hoped.


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## w_earle_wheeler (Aug 14, 2008)

Maldin said:


> And I guess people complaining about people complaining about other people complaining is... oh, ummm... nevermind.
> 
> Denis, aka "Maldin"
> Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com




Yeah, I sure made a thread about it... oh, ummmm... nevermind.


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## Arnwyn (Aug 22, 2008)

I get as much out of "I love 3e/4e!" threads as I do out of "3e/4e sucks!" threads.


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## James Heard (Aug 22, 2008)

Is there a way to display messages filtered by tags? If so then members could tag threads and simply not have them show up for certain users depending on their settings and their level of trust in the system/their fellow forum members.


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## MacMathan (Aug 23, 2008)

The Ignore Thread feature works pretty well.


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