"Ask xxxxx anything and I will answer" threads

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Exactly. I don't see how these threads could be considered spam in any way.

If you don't like these threads then surely, an adequate solution would be to ignore them!

Again - and try to answer this time - how exactly does it harm you, if there would be a "ask me" place with all this threads nicely stored? Does it make you life any harder? Does it consume your time or energy?

Because when I click on members only discussion, I have to waste lots of my time reading "ask me" titles and realizing this are the threads I want to ignore.
Thanks god you are bored of them too and stopping to keep them alive.

This was already answered earlier: the forum structure will not be redesigned to accommodate a passing fad - because it is a passing fad.
The members are losing interest and moving on to other things.
Hence "passing fad".

No structure needs to be changed. Simple sentence "all passing fads here, please" ( under one of existing categories- Random Discussion or Off the Wall seems perfect) and maybe a bit work by mods is all it needs.

Just single sentence - and this debate would not exist because everyone would know RD/OtW is the right place for passing fads. So if someone is bothered by them, he could simply ignore whole RD/OtW with no harm done.

But not MOD, because it is the only "private" part of WP, where people expect serious private disscusions not facebook like exhibitionism.
In other words: when someone wants at least a bit of privacy, MOD is the only option at WP. And you took away this last option by saying "just ignore it". It is inappropriate and has nothing to do with "support site" mission.

Funny how you feel it's reasonable to expect people to ignore an entire forum, and yet it's evidently not reasonable to suggest you ignore a few posts in one forum for a while. Cute.
The forum description says only: "This forum allows more privacy than the other forums. Only registered members can read it."
Meanwhile, I'm happy to go with what the membership feels is private and more appropriately posted there. It matters to them so therefore it matters, period, and we're not about to start questioning people on why they feel their post requires more privacy.
No-one has suggested that the Members Only forum should be ignored.

Anyway - during the time it's taken to maintain this circular argument your problem has pretty much solved itself because those posts are continuing to slip off the front page of the index. Instead of refusing to ignore them it really would be simpler to do what you're very likely doing with several other posts on WP and... just ignore them.

I think that what everyone wants to see is an "Ask aSKperger anything" thread!

(Dives for cover dodging the bullets)

Don't worry. I killed the last thread : P With my incredibly weird question

Can't you see the difference or you know exactly what I mean and just play games?
If people don't like anything and have a better option - they leave/ignore the frustrating one.
If they don't like anything but can't choose, they are frustrated, pissed off, depressed.

"ignore them" means waste time reading their titles every day. Tell me, if "ignore them" is such easy and great solution, why are there any categories in the first place?! Let's put all threads together and simply "ignore" what we don't like. Yeah, great idea...




Very nice. But I am sure if this fad started in any other category, people would continue it right there. You are using this as an excuse for preserving status quo. Which is far from satisfying as you see. I would really like to know why are you opposed to any progress.
Don't say it is in favour of members. We are asking for improvement here and you are the brake. Oh and I have almost forgotten the most famous excuse called Alex - please don't use that one and give me some real explanation why don't you want to change anything here.



It is not my problem, it is a matter of principle. I just keep asking, that's all. And I am asking, because I want to understand your thinking. And maybe trying to help some people by fixing the problems they face. But you don't want to fix anything, you just want to wait until people shut up. And then face the same complaints again and again after some time. Jeez man, why do you do this? It is much easier to fix it once and forever, not so? What is the trade off here??


TallyMan good one

So, you make a point of reading every. single. post. on WP?
Unlikely. I'd say you simply ignore the posts that are of no interest to you just like everyone else does.

But it didn't start in any other category. Members Only is pretty open in its stated purpose and as was said earlier, a member answering questions about "anything" is better suited to a more private forum. Therefore, Members Only is a good choice.

We have been explaining how things work, not making excuses.
I'm not going to respond to further hyperbole where you attempt to create the impression there is a seething mass of users, almost hysterical with rage because they're being whipped into ignoring a few posts against their will because the nasty moderators are being cruel and refusing to help. It's getting ridiculous.
These issues have all been addressed already.

Nope, it's your problem because you are refusing to ignore a few specific posts in one forum. Instead, you are expecting them to be brushed away into a corner under your own terms and with your own definitions of what constitutes "junk threads".

And there you go again with the hyperbole.


Once again: it's a passing fad and requires no special treatment. One that has pretty much passed already, yet here you still are.
However, I'm not.

So much words yet so little said... and no single answer to direct questions.

Still can't find out if you don't understand or you do this on purpose...

Are you able to answer just one? Let's try: how does "them to be brushed away into a corner" harm anyone??? What wrong would it cause and to whom???

It is no hyperbole. It is direct question (well, two of the same meaning ). I don't say there is "mass of users", just Pompei.
And the answer is... deleting of post and locking of the thread would be typical

Serious business is afoot

Now now, I'll give you context because I'm an aspie who likes giving context. First of all. The Members Only Discussion, as you may be aware by the title, only allows members to read what's in there, and it's contents will not be indexed in a third party search engine. Those "ask xxxx anything" require privacy, and the people who feel comfortable with sharing information about themselves to other members may not like sharing it to the public at large.

Brushing the threads away into a corner... well, your proposed solution is creating a new subforum for passing fads. The problem with them is that... they pass, as the "Ask xxx" are passing, and as the "Is it cheating if xxxx" already passed. The last one I mentioned was in the AAI, and some had content that was only appropriate for AAI, so that specific fad couldn't be moved there unless that thread had an age limit, and then access to innocent fads would be restricted, so there is already a logistics problem there. Also, threads don't move by themselves, there is a mod who does that behind, and they shouldn't have extra work for something so trivial. And going back to the initial idea of the paragraph, what when they pass. Does the forum sit there empty? How would we name it, "Passing Fad Forum"? I've read Wrongplanet runs on obsolete code; creating a new subforum may be harder than you'd think, may consume a fair bit of extra resources, and the idea of a forum for something like that seems also very inelegant to me. Especially because, do you think such a forum would have the activity that other subforums do?

How much time do you waste reading the titles anyway. Ten seconds? This is also a cost-benefit issue here, creating a whole new subforum just for that doesn't seem like a solution. Daily I have to go through quite a bit of thread titles, and only a few of them are interesting to me. I bet it's the same with a lot of people, and they just... don't open it. It takes less than a second to read a thread title anyway. I wonder if mods must read every single thread to do mod stuff, that would suck!

Yes I understand this, thanks.
What irritates me is that I do not see much will to move things here. To improve the WP. Sure mods do they work we all appreciate that blah blah but the wp is "dying".

Rules are old = we can't change them
WP runs on obsolete code = we can't do anything
people are wasting time = no way to improve it

It is... I don't know people are acting like everything is perfect.
I ask, nobody answers. I have read old propositions - they were all ignored and dismissed (I do not say they should be adapted on the spot, simple consideration would be enough)
I said I would love to donor money to get new hardware and software - and people are laughing at me. Alex doesn't respond to anything. Nobody cares, nobody wants to improve anything.
I simply don't get it. Now if people say "it is great here, everything is perfect, there is nothing to improve" I would shut up. But it is not the case. I don't get it

Alex is currently working on a new WP site, so I've heard.

Yeah we've all heard... years of this golden calf. But I have not seen single announcement about how can members help, what is needed to be done, nothing from alex or mods whatsoever except this (year old) http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt177688.html

And take a look at this http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt105096.html
3 YEARS man, 3 Years
When our forum went down, it took us 2 or 3 days to hire new server, set it up (phpbb3), run test version and open it for people.
I really can't imagine what "working on a new WP site" means.

This site depends on alex.
Alex has made it clear several times that while he is working on this this isnt his number one priority.

He said that he´d change it on april(this year) we can only hope that he is actually working on upgrading the website soon.

Im glad that you were able to update the forum so quickly but apparently alex likes to take his time to make sure that things are implemented properly(not using standard phpbb2 and I doubt he´ll use standard phpbb3) and nothing we can say will change that