The Lockable Ramble

[Li'l Lemmy]

With Japs411988 as the latest example, I call to everyone's attention the bizarre influx of new people who post willy-nilly with absolutely no regards to fitting in. Is it just me, or does that make anyone else uncomfortable?

Mind you, I'm not trying to play moderator. I don't go out of my way to correct anyone or to hit them over the head with the rules, because it ain't my board; I don't at all want to be responsible for other people. However, as someone who is trying his best to be responsible for himself, I feel suddenly as though I have the need to comment aloud.

I haven't been here forever like some of you nice people. I'm not a Zakarotto or a Jerseymilk or a Deus_Ex_Machina; hell, I'm still working under the title of "Not-So-Newbie". I've been here just under six months and haven't even made my 100th post yet . . . and as such, maybe I haven't quite earned the right to gripe. It's only because I love this place where we try to be a cohesive, comprehendible forum that I speak out in defense of it, and with no small admiration for the administrators and moderators who are so driven to work towards that goal.

And so I pose the question: Why the hell don't some people get it?

To be honest, the problem as I see it isn't necessarily so huge or unwieldy that let's everybody panic and bring forth the stakes . . . it's just damned annoying. I simply cannot understand how anyone can stumble over the Forum Rules without giving them a thorough read. Not only does it display a gross ignorance on their part, it also serves to (slightly) insult those of us who appreciate the mission of this board and go through the trouble to read and follow the rules.

I'd go so far as to suggest posting a Sticky along the lines of "To All New Members: Please Read," but that may be asking too much of a person who is already prompted to read the rules on the way in and doesn't anyway.

And so with every holier-than-thou attitude, every mindless topic, every unpunctuated, randomly capitalized post that finds its way in . . . I wonder, can anything get through to these people?

Thinking: I saw this nice little trick on a non-DBZ board that comes to mind, wherein the set of rules was followed at the bottom by a choice which read, "If you have read and agree to these rules, click the red button to proceed." The "Enter Board" button was green, and the other "real" button was the correct red color. The people who hit the green button were typically of the sort who scrolled to the bottom to avoid a read-through and were brought to a page along the lines of, "You weren't paying attention, were you?" and were barred from trying again for thirty days.

Not that I'm suggesting anything like that for this board . . . but still. To EX and the moderators: I do not envy you your tasks. If I can't beg that every new person would take the time to assimilate as best they can, then I would plead instead that you have the patience to deal with those who don't bother to try. I know I couldn't.

(Li'l Lemmy, who arrived at a time after the Wall of Bans.)

EDIT: I meant to post this in the other General Discussion forum (the one for discussing DaizenshuuEX). If it doesn't get locked or deleted, perhaps it could be moved there?

[Rocketman]

I personally like the ones that say somewhere in the rules, "If you agree to these rules, click here to enter", with 'here' being a link to the forum, but not visible as a link.

[*PINHEAD*]

It's simple: they're either ignorant, lazy, or both. Ignorance and laziness go hand in hand.

Even if there was a sticky for every new member, the fact that they're stupid enough to disregard the rules shows that they'd have no intention of reading the sticky.

[tarsonis]

Perhaps the link to the board at the top of http://www.daizex.com/interaction/board/ could be removed. Then people would be forced to scroll down before entering. Of course, this doesn't mean people will still read it, as maybe they think the rules aren't enforced, but it might cut down on the number of people like this.

[B-kun]

(Li'l Lemmy, who arrived at a time after the Wall of Bans.)

Shame, too. Fact I supported it (was talking to Deus on AIM when he mentioned it) has nothing to do with why I was upset at its lock.

I can't blame Mike, though. As annoying as it is to admit, the assholes of the world probably took it as a challenge.

[Li'l Lemmy]

Realistically, there's probably nothing EX or any of the moderators can do that hasn't already been done. Perhaps it's just the way of things. Why I felt compelled to complain all of a sudden, I'm not really sure . . . wow, was I pissed.

Shame, too. Fact I supported it (was talking to Deus on AIM when he mentioned it) has nothing to do with why I was upset at its lock.

I can't blame Mike, though. As annoying as it is to admit, the assholes of the world probably took it as a challenge.

Ah, the Wall of Bans. I'd heard so much about that when I was first settling in that I thought it was still in operation. I can remember when my first priority as a board member was to keep my name off of that damned wall no matter what, even though I hadn't even actually seen it. Now that's a reputation worthy of legend.

(Li'l Lemmy, ever the newbie.)

[lost in thought]

moderators

To my knowledge, there are no moderators on the board, short of the administration of Ex, and SaiyaJedi. But be that as it may, they do what they can.

Anyway, like as said earlier, it comes down to people being lazy, or ignorant. Can't do much for the stupidity of the world. It's like a disease. In fact, it's so much like a disease that some of us tend to become symtomatic from time to time, and do stupid shit.

[Duo]

At least stupidity doesn't last long in this particular message board. Heck, take a trip over to MFG. Now THAT'S a gathering of idiots. There's maybe...4 or 5 actually well informed and intelligent DBZ Debaters over there, including myself. I find myself closing over half of the threads not long after being started.

Having a Grammar Standard is brilliant for getting rid of them though, and generally not tolerating it. All the staff over there are so...sympathetic.

I guess you just have to take it with a grain of salt and just try to get along, until you can actually do something about it. Meh.

And aren't the only two "Moderators" on here Mike and Julian?

[*PINHEAD*]

Ah, the Wall of Bans. I wish it was still up, but EX's got his reasons.

Well, if you look under every forum section, the Moderator is "Daizenshuu EX Staff," a group with EX and SaiyaJedi. Hopefully this message board doesn't turn into a forum that needs more than two.