The delicate balance of video game forums - DVDfile.com forum for DVD, Blu-Ray, and HD-DVD

Joe Michaels · 12-04-2002, 12:59 AM

Having posted at many online gaming forums and running this one I can easily tell you that participating in a forum is a great experience along with it's occasional problems. For some reason it seems that game forums are especially tedious because of the passsionate nature of gamers.

We ALL have our preferences. as much as we try to be impartial every member of a message board has his or her personal favorites. The important thing to remember is that no matter what another person thinks it is their opinion. What one person says or even a game reviewer writes does note mak your purchase any less valid. It seems as though if we do not get this validation we become angry and frustrated.

We will never ever convince one another that our console is better no matter how hard we try. So why bother?
The problem is that there are many less educated consumers and many outspoken gamers are all jockeying for position to set the record straight.

The most important things to remember when we post is that we do not attack the person posting. There really is no reason to. An argument has never been won or lost by name calling (YES, Even that time when LLoyd Bensten told Dan Quale he was no Jack Kennedy

).

A good debate actually occurs when facts or data is presented and another person challenges that data with more facts to back up their argument.

I would like to believe that we can acheive a forum atmosphere where there is very little agenda on the part of the poster and we become a community where it is not just about the games but how we feel about Game Systems with a Home Theater communites point of view.
We are here because we all love games, we want to talk about them, and get information that we don't already have.

So with that in mind, let's continue to maked this the best darned message board for Video Games on the web!

BeanBandit · 12-04-2002, 02:06 PM

Well spoken Joe. Maybe you should make this thread a sticky.
I think that most people on this board are pretty good in general at not being quarelsome children. I know exactly the kind of behavior you're talking about, and I've rarely, if ever, seen it here.

mbowen · 12-04-2002, 03:15 PM

Well said

sub780lime · 12-04-2002, 08:57 PM

definately well said, sometimes all of us get a little too excited

MooglePorn · 12-04-2002, 10:23 PM

I agree... and I think the only thing I could suggest about these forums is to make the "Your last purchase" thread a sticky, or create a "What are you playing now?" thread as a sticky... either way, everything else is great!

Prospero · 12-05-2002, 01:17 AM

It seems to me that the console "fanboy" thing got really big around last Christmas, when everybody was saying that only two consoles could survive in the market. Back then being dedicated to your console was a matter of hoping that your $200 or $300 investment didn't go in the crapper in a year. Now that it looks as if all three consoles will survive into the foreseeable future, and the majority of games are or will be on all three platforms anyhow (granted, all three consoles have exclusives, but they're only really a very small percentage of total games available), there's no longer any logic behind so-called "fanboy" behavior.

In short: yeah, what Joe said.

IKEA_boy · 12-05-2002, 03:20 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Prospero
Back then being dedicated to your console was a matter of hoping that your $200 or $300 investment didn't go in the crapper in a year.

I think 90% thats what makes a fanboy. If you could only pick one system and all your friends have an Xbox, most likely you're going to pick the Xbox. And since you can't regularly play the other systems you become 'loyal' to your Xbox and defend it like it was synonymous with your penis size.

I still see fanboys run rampant on other video game forums. I think the reason we're so 'civil' (although not always) is because we started small, under strict... uh... supervision. That supervision didn't stop after we continued to grow.

One example... mainly saying this because it's a tad humourous and I haven't had a chance to mention it yet. I get most of my news from one other gaming forum. It's probably about 20 times the size of ours here and there is no order what-so-ever. In fact they shut down all last weekend because an admin tried banning someone, accidentally making him an admin himself and he proceeded to ban all the mods/admins, delete post counts, remove language filters, etc.

MooglePorn · 12-05-2002, 04:15 AM

Quote:

And since you can't regularly play the other systems you become 'loyal' to your Xbox and defend it like it was synonymous with your penis size.

Exactly...

Quote:

One example... mainly saying this because it's a tad humourous and I haven't had a chance to mention it yet. I get most of my news from one other gaming forum. It's probably about 20 times the size of ours here and there is no order what-so-ever.

That's why I only post here mostly, despite our small numbers...

downhuman · 12-05-2002, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by IKEA_boy

One example... mainly saying this because it's a tad humourous and I haven't had a chance to mention it yet. I get most of my news from one other gaming forum. It's probably about 20 times the size of ours here and there is no order what-so-ever. In fact they shut down all last weekend because an admin tried banning someone, accidentally making him an admin himself and he proceeded to ban all the mods/admins, delete post counts, remove language filters, etc.

What, pray tell, board did this happen to?? I have to check this board this board out. It must be good for a few laughs.

Scourge · 12-05-2002, 05:33 PM

Yeah, what board was that IKEA? That's hilarious! I'm usually at TNL (the-nextlevel.com) Their forum is made up of a lot of people who work in the industry, at least the media end of it, such as magazine writers and contributors and the like. Even one of the editors and contributors for EGM goes there, and lemme tell you, a lot of the guys at that forum are dedicated GAMEFAN readers/staff of old who placed a lot of faith in GameGO!magazine or were writing for it to resurrect hardcore gaming in print, so they rag on EGM a lot! They are EXTREMELY knowlegeable, but they will argue and put down people to the nth degree if you err in some way. But for the most part they are console agnostic, even though it's fairly obvious there are those with their favorites. One thing they generally aren't is civil, and dvdfile is civil in spades.

Personally, I am an admitted Nintendo fanboy but strive on all counts to be objective about everything out there. I mean, it's not like I only own Nintendo systems, so good games are good games no matter what.

--Scourge .

IKEA_boy · 12-05-2002, 06:10 PM

The forum is at http://forums.xengen.com ... it's "fixed" now but for a few hours it was anarchy.

Joe Michaels · 12-05-2002, 08:09 PM

I actually did that by mistake once. It was just for a few minutes (Although Taxi says it was longer) that in the process of banning a member they actually became an admin because they are right next to each other on the drop down menu.

brian · 12-05-2002, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Joe Michaels
I actually did that by mistake once. It was just for a few minutes (Although Taxi says it was longer) that in the process of banning a member they actually became an admin because they are right next to each other on the drop down menu.

That would have been hell had the member noticed it...

Joe Michaels · 12-05-2002, 08:51 PM

Especially this particular member.

Joe Michaels · 12-15-2002, 10:49 PM

In my latest update to this thread which I think will become my public journal for problem solving and interpersonal relationships in a gaming forum, we have a thread involving the opinions of the value of a game

You have one person who is very passionate for a system and someone who thinks the other person may only be inclined to post positive things and avoid saying anything negative at the risk of hurting the general opinion of the system itself.

So who is right here? I cannot say without knowing the intent. I will say this, I have a brother that is very critical. Although he loves movies, it's tough to actually get him to say one is good because he is very tough on movies BECAUSE of his love for them.

I have another brother that seems to like damn near every movie that comes down the pike. I rarely hear him say that a movie sucked or it was even bad. At times I have actually said " I can't believe you liked that movie". Was he a schill for the studios? Did he work as a key grip on the film? Since he was my brother I knew that he was not.

In order to have proper balance in a forum I say that we WANT the man that likes something and defends it passionately EVEN if he is only playing devil's advocate. If another person feels that he is way off, challenge that member through debate. It is the obky way we can flesch out opinions and grow as a community.
And how much fun would it be otherwise?

Is the game in question truly a steaming pile? Why? is it bad because the other guy sucks personally? I have never heard an argument won or lost purely by insult alone.

What is incredible is that there is obviously a reason why we play games and that we meet at one place to discuss them. We like games. And as long as we keep that focus, we can enjoy our hobby with others to it's fullest.

Peace out!

Joe Michaels · 01-03-2003, 12:33 AM

Reaver · 01-03-2003, 02:19 AM

Joe, great thread. It is good to remind people that civility need not be dead, especially when we all strive toward a common goal of friendship.

That said, I apologize for any remarks I have made here that might have been seen as less than civil. I've only been here a short time, and I'd hate to start things off on the wrong foot. I never mean anyone any harm, and am usually the voice of reason and fairness, and if I ever do say something that might appear off-color or inflammatory, rest assured that I only mean it in jest. If I am ever angered and feel that I have to let someone know, then I will do so in a PM, and not in the middle of a thread. But, to keep things on an easy and even level, I'll try not to joke around in an aggresive fashion.

Okay. That is all. Nothing more to see here. Move along.

These... um... aren't the droids you're looking for.

12-04-2002, 12:59 AM	#1 (permalink)
Joe Michaels Join Date: Jun 2000	The delicate balance of video game forums Having posted at many online gaming forums and running this one I can easily tell you that participating in a forum is a great experience along with it's occasional problems. For some reason it seems that game forums are especially tedious because of the passsionate nature of gamers. We ALL have our preferences. as much as we try to be impartial every member of a message board has his or her personal favorites. The important thing to remember is that no matter what another person thinks it is their opinion. What one person says or even a game reviewer writes does note mak your purchase any less valid. It seems as though if we do not get this validation we become angry and frustrated. We will never ever convince one another that our console is better no matter how hard we try. So why bother? The problem is that there are many less educated consumers and many outspoken gamers are all jockeying for position to set the record straight. The most important things to remember when we post is that we do not attack the person posting. There really is no reason to. An argument has never been won or lost by name calling (YES, Even that time when LLoyd Bensten told Dan Quale he was no Jack Kennedy). A good debate actually occurs when facts or data is presented and another person challenges that data with more facts to back up their argument. I would like to believe that we can acheive a forum atmosphere where there is very little agenda on the part of the poster and we become a community where it is not just about the games but how we feel about Game Systems with a Home Theater communites point of view. We are here because we all love games, we want to talk about them, and get information that we don't already have. So with that in mind, let's continue to maked this the best darned message board for Video Games on the web!

12-04-2002, 02:06 PM	#2 (permalink)
BeanBandit Actor Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Toronto	Well spoken Joe. Maybe you should make this thread a sticky. I think that most people on this board are pretty good in general at not being quarelsome children. I know exactly the kind of behavior you're talking about, and I've rarely, if ever, seen it here. __________________ Dimpus Burger Guy: "Want me to dipa-size your meal for 25 cents?" Farva: "Want me to punch-a-size your face, for free?"

12-04-2002, 08:57 PM	#4 (permalink)
sub780lime Can't Spell Bilbo Join Date: May 2002 Location: A Galaxy Far Far Away	definately well said, sometimes all of us get a little too excited __________________ love comes and goes, but an avatar . . . that's forever. - Pirate

12-05-2002, 01:17 AM	#6 (permalink)
Prospero Actor Join Date: Mar 2001	It seems to me that the console "fanboy" thing got really big around last Christmas, when everybody was saying that only two consoles could survive in the market. Back then being dedicated to your console was a matter of hoping that your $200 or $300 investment didn't go in the crapper in a year. Now that it looks as if all three consoles will survive into the foreseeable future, and the majority of games are or will be on all three platforms anyhow (granted, all three consoles have exclusives, but they're only really a very small percentage of total games available), there's no longer any logic behind so-called "fanboy" behavior. In short: yeah, what Joe said. __________________ "US will commodify your discontent, sell it back to you on DVD." --Bruce Sterling

12-15-2002, 10:49 PM	#15 (permalink)
Joe Michaels Join Date: Jun 2000	In my latest update to this thread which I think will become my public journal for problem solving and interpersonal relationships in a gaming forum, we have a thread involving the opinions of the value of a game You have one person who is very passionate for a system and someone who thinks the other person may only be inclined to post positive things and avoid saying anything negative at the risk of hurting the general opinion of the system itself. So who is right here? I cannot say without knowing the intent. I will say this, I have a brother that is very critical. Although he loves movies, it's tough to actually get him to say one is good because he is very tough on movies BECAUSE of his love for them. I have another brother that seems to like damn near every movie that comes down the pike. I rarely hear him say that a movie sucked or it was even bad. At times I have actually said " I can't believe you liked that movie". Was he a schill for the studios? Did he work as a key grip on the film? Since he was my brother I knew that he was not. In order to have proper balance in a forum I say that we WANT the man that likes something and defends it passionately EVEN if he is only playing devil's advocate. If another person feels that he is way off, challenge that member through debate. It is the obky way we can flesch out opinions and grow as a community. And how much fun would it be otherwise? Is the game in question truly a steaming pile? Why? is it bad because the other guy sucks personally? I have never heard an argument won or lost purely by insult alone. What is incredible is that there is obviously a reason why we play games and that we meet at one place to discuss them. We like games. And as long as we keep that focus, we can enjoy our hobby with others to it's fullest. Peace out! Last edited by Joe Michaels : 12-15-2002 at 10:55 PM.

12-04-2002, 03:15 PM	#3 (permalink)
mbowen Actor Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Omaha,NE,USA	Well said

12-04-2002, 10:23 PM	#5 (permalink)
MooglePorn Actor Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Philadelphia, PA	I agree... and I think the only thing I could suggest about these forums is to make the "Your last purchase" thread a sticky, or create a "What are you playing now?" thread as a sticky... either way, everything else is great!

12-05-2002, 05:33 PM	#10 (permalink)
Scourge Actor Join Date: May 2001 Location: Austin, Texas	Yeah, what board was that IKEA? That's hilarious! I'm usually at TNL (the-nextlevel.com) Their forum is made up of a lot of people who work in the industry, at least the media end of it, such as magazine writers and contributors and the like. Even one of the editors and contributors for EGM goes there, and lemme tell you, a lot of the guys at that forum are dedicated GAMEFAN readers/staff of old who placed a lot of faith in GameGO!magazine or were writing for it to resurrect hardcore gaming in print, so they rag on EGM a lot! They are EXTREMELY knowlegeable, but they will argue and put down people to the nth degree if you err in some way. But for the most part they are console agnostic, even though it's fairly obvious there are those with their favorites. One thing they generally aren't is civil, and dvdfile is civil in spades. Personally, I am an admitted Nintendo fanboy but strive on all counts to be objective about everything out there. I mean, it's not like I only own Nintendo systems, so good games are good games no matter what. --Scourge .

12-05-2002, 06:10 PM	#11 (permalink)
IKEA_boy Director Emeritus ~~Persista~~ Persistent Student Join Date: Oct 2001	The forum is at http://forums.xengen.com ... it's "fixed" now but for a few hours it was anarchy.

12-05-2002, 08:09 PM	#12 (permalink)
Joe Michaels Join Date: Jun 2000	I actually did that by mistake once. It was just for a few minutes (Although Taxi says it was longer) that in the process of banning a member they actually became an admin because they are right next to each other on the drop down menu.

12-05-2002, 08:51 PM	#14 (permalink)
Joe Michaels Join Date: Jun 2000	Especially this particular member.

01-03-2003, 12:33 AM	#16 (permalink)
Joe Michaels Join Date: Jun 2000	bump

01-03-2003, 02:19 AM	#17 (permalink)
Reaver Metrosexual in Training Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Beyond the outer rim...	Joe, great thread. It is good to remind people that civility need not be dead, especially when we all strive toward a common goal of friendship. That said, I apologize for any remarks I have made here that might have been seen as less than civil. I've only been here a short time, and I'd hate to start things off on the wrong foot. I never mean anyone any harm, and am usually the voice of reason and fairness, and if I ever do say something that might appear off-color or inflammatory, rest assured that I only mean it in jest. If I am ever angered and feel that I have to let someone know, then I will do so in a PM, and not in the middle of a thread. But, to keep things on an easy and even level, I'll try not to joke around in an aggresive fashion. Okay. That is all. Nothing more to see here. Move along. These... um... aren't the droids you're looking for.

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