Topic

"Sage" Feature

If anyone is familiar with futuba-style imageboards (the most popular north american one is 4chan, but there are many others), you'll no doubt be acquainted with the "sage" feature. Sage is something you can type into the email field when you post so that the thread is not bumped when you post in it.

I believe every slow-moving imageboard and forum should have this kind of "sage" feature, and this one is no exception. There's times when you want to say something but not bump the thread, particularly if it is dying or if what you want to say might start a flame war. It's a nice, convenient feature to have.

(Also, I posted this in another thread, but the irony is I had to make a new topic so that thread wouldn't keep getting bumped)

Posted 22 months ago by Aldaris Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • +1
    Posted 22 months ago by RobotGymnast Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I'd rather see a bump feature.
    Posted 22 months ago by Tingly Claus Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I've seen that before, it gets abused too easily. Even if there was a limit to how much you could bump a thread, people still manage to have it constantly on the top page.

    Also, if worst comes to worst you could always just post saying "bump"
    Posted 22 months ago by Aldaris Subscriber! | Permalink
  • ...you could always just post saying "bump"

    That's what all of 4chan does, and it works pretty well. Plus, then it's very clear how much and by whom it's been bumped.
    Posted 22 months ago by RobotGymnast Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Threads get put to the top more frequently with 'bump' as the default.

    A third way to go is not bumping any thread. I love that style when the membership tends to run threads into the ground. It gets them to move on faster.
    Posted 22 months ago by Tingly Claus Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I love when that happens too tingly. Problem is it's impossible with a large community, and sometimes people want to say things in the thread. I've been to some forums where people post the most unrelated or stupid things, and yet everyone agrees with them in the thread because the people who don't are too afraid of bumping the thread.
    Posted 22 months ago by Aldaris Subscriber! | Permalink
  • i don't think the forum is really that important or worthy of much development.

    it will also see less use and be less relevant once the game is continuously open.
    Posted 22 months ago by striatic Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +1 aldaris
    Posted 22 months ago by Cupcake Subscriber! | Permalink
  • what striatic said. forums are dead when the game is on.

    also, maybe I am just not hanging out on the right (wrong?) parts of the internets, but I just have to say that I find this idea really bizarre, that one would ever find themselves afraid of triggering the default action for 'hey, this thread has been updated recently', especially when that is the only way to see new activity in a forum.

    my 2 currants worth..,
    Posted 22 months ago by katlazam Subscriber! | Permalink
  • lol... right now they are, but take most any online multiplayer game (wow being the extreme example, but many came before it) and forums are quite active even when game is up 24/7. People keeping up with news, talking about improvements, discussing strategy or game play.

    point being I can't imagine this place suddenly going "dead" - exactly the opposite.

    though that has nothing to do with thinking they should be the focus of improvements over other goals, which at this time I don't.
    Posted 22 months ago by Another Chris Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Another Chris-I completely agree. While the importance of the forums as a tool for giving devs ideas will definitely diminish, off-topic conversations will grow steadily in importance as the game progresses. More people means more general discussion, which means more forum use. These forums aren't going anywhere.
    Posted 22 months ago by Aldaris Subscriber! | Permalink
  • "People keeping up with news, talking about improvements, discussing strategy or game play."

    "off-topic conversations will grow steadily in importance as the game progresses."

    that is what groups are for.

    glitch is not a game of "forum", and jut like the global chat will never be able to sustain the full scope of "off-topic" conversations, neither can the general forum sustain the full scope of "off-topic" communications outside of the game interface, sage feature or not.

    and so i repeat, though your primary use of glitch right now seems to be forum posting, it will not alway be so .. and though such features seem vitally important to you, they are not.
    Posted 22 months ago by striatic Subscriber! | Permalink
  • So people won't want to talk about Glitch in a lazier, more permanent fashion?

    I agree with you that developing features for groups/forum shouldn't be a priority, but I do see a desire for people to talk about Glitch in groups, and a need for a Forum to report bugs. Why wouldn't Glitch want that discussion to take place here, when they've already built it? Not to mention the fact that it is precisely this model that Flickr adopted?

    They've said that groups will replace the Help Channel for in game chat, so we will join numerous groups for numerous reasons. There will be lots of people to make friends with. The groups give you the ability to plan activities with the people in your group, to leave a record of helpful information, or whatever.

    (Unless you think that they've been talking about the Forum and not the forums (Forum & groups), cos I think they were being more general)
    Posted 22 months ago by shhexy corin Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Well for me the forums are part of the whole glitch experience. I don't like the idea of just playing in game. I'm a chatter box by nature and really enjoy reading and joining in the forums. For me anyway I have made about equal amount of friends by posting here and by adds during game play. I do not want to see the forums disappear. I also think the reason they go silent during game time, is because we all know were on the clock as to when God says time over. Once we are up and running 24/7 I think people will be taking their time more and will also still want to post here.
    Unless things change I can only join seven groups. I have to remove my self from them just to comment in another or even take a peek at it.
    I'm not sure I like the sage idea, but also bumping a topic that probably should be laid to rest, is not helpful either. Maybe in the distant future the forums could be moderated in some way. I'm sure as time goes on and more people play Glitch there will be someone just waiting to abuse, bully or even try advertising something totally irrelevant to Glitch. Won't that need addressing at some point? :)
    Posted 22 months ago by Misha Subscriber! | Permalink
  • It's just an opinion of striatic's. He's been spectacularly wrong and dead right in the past as most of us have been. If the forum continues to be good for general game conversation, it'll stay and develop. If not, it won't.
    Posted 22 months ago by Tingly Claus Subscriber! | Permalink
  • They're all just opinions.

    :)

    Except for anything I say, that's 100% of FACT
    Posted 22 months ago by shhexy corin Subscriber! | Permalink
  • ok, fair enough that the forums won't continue to be dead when the game is on all the time, i shouldn't have emphasized that point. because yes, there will definitely need to be forum moderation at some point. but a good moderator can address bad behavior, so i don't think there's necessarily a need to make the forums that complex in terms of adding such a weird layer of non-transparency that's designed to address a problem that i'm not sure actually exists...
    Posted 22 months ago by katlazam Subscriber! | Permalink
  • "that is what groups are for." - striatic

    not the way I've ever experienced a multiplayer game (or web site communities, like for some unnamed photo site for that matter).

    There may be groups or topical forums as an aside, but the reason players keep coming back is because (a) that's where the global news or strategy is discussed and (b) it's where they think the developers are so their praises/complaints/bugs will get heard (c) new players haven't gotten comfortable yet to have that feel of the community to learn where those more focused places are.
    Posted 22 months ago by Another Chris Subscriber! | Permalink
  • "(a) that's where the global news or strategy is discussed"

    not on a certain unnamed photo site you describe. there are group discussions, sure .. but the forums are specifically for bug reports and help requests, not general discussion.

    i'm also interested in where i've been "spectacularly wrong". isn't it a little bit early in the game for anyone to be spectacularly wrong about anything?
    Posted 22 months ago by striatic Subscriber! | Permalink
  • well, you know, there was that time you tried nibbling that pig and nibbled the wrong bit "by accident"...
    Posted 22 months ago by shhexy corin Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Yes, and also there was that time he started that cult with the chickens, but then figured out he couldn't buy a fleet of Rolls Royces with all that grain he got from them.
    Posted 22 months ago by Nanookie Subscriber! | Permalink