VIP Discussion
 

I haven't been here that long, but I'm learning when 'VIP's' want to discuss something that they would like to be kept from public access, they post those threads in the 'Members Playground,' where the caption reads, "Have fun! You've earned it." So far, I've seen a thread announcing the death of a family member and a thread entitled 'do you know of any murderers' posted here. These topics don't really seem to fit in a section called 'Playground.'

How about a sort of 'Members Discussion?' An extra spiff for those who've 'earned it?'

Plz proceed to blow off my suggestion now tyvm. :o

if you dont want your post to be found in google searches, people usually post in forums that aren't crawled by google. these posts are posts that usually would go in General Discussion or Life. guess it gives some sort of privacy from the ensuing eyes of the interwebs.

we've also introduced and merged many forums because they were stagnant. i dont see the need from our members to make another forum that will sit idle for most of the year. nothing worse from this side than seeing a forum that hasnt been touched in a few months.

i say nay

No matter what it's called, Member's Playground serves the purpose of keeping sensitive threads out of Google.

I've said it a million times: This place has too many sections as is. If anything, we need to downsize a bit.

Before any new forums are created, there needs to be a place for all pet owners to share stories about their pets where non-pet owners can't participate and spoil it with their incessant euthanasia posts.

Please give pet owners their own forum before adding another members-only forum.

Then maybe the caption needs to be modified? Or change the name? *gasp*

I was under the impression that 'Members Playground' was just that - another goofy area like 'Nonsense' but for VIPs, or whatever we're called. I mean, "Have fun! You've earned it," doesn't really suggest that it's an area where members can post sensitive information that won't be accessed by the public.

*hides*

WooDs, why does it have to be ONE thing? Why can't it be many things? It's a place to keep things safe from a google crawl. It's a place to post nonsense things among friends who will get the joke. From the staff perspective, Members Playground is what the members want it to be. And if that changes from thread to thread, so be it.

As you've seen, we're not really into creating new forums. JJ is referring to an experiment we tried a few years ago called "Tilted Pets" that was an abject failure after about 3 months. Once folks ran out of cute dog/cat/hamster/fish/worm stories, it dried up on the vine.

I do get your point, but I don't think that separating MP into two different forums would create more threads and posts. Actually I think it would do the opposite. If you don't agree, I'd love to hear the reasons why.

I'm really pissed I didn't get the chance to post my cute worm stories. Maybe I'll put them in tilted sexuality.

Changes have happened here and there for the better of the board. It's not like TFP is EL CID, stamped on the net in big stone letters.

Playgrounds as I remember held a great deal of fun, as well as intrigue, defiance, team building, and back stabbing. Anything pretty much can be fit into monkey bars and tire towns.

Given the type of worms you have, Poppinjay, I would have moved whatever story you have about them over to Sexuality anyway. :thumbsup:

I'm totally with you on not creating a separate forum like I originally suggested. Not a good idea at all. But like I was saying, once I was inducted into VIP land, I questioned why people were posting about such serious issues in a silly section of the board. I think adjusting the caption would be a good idea at minimum. Like, "These grounds are for VIP eyes only! Silly as well as serious content welcome here - you've earned it!" or some poop like that.

I'll talk about it with Hal and the others and see if we can figure something out. I'm not sure we can come up with wording that's short enough to do what you want, though. I'm not saying it's not a bad idea, just that it may be an unworkable one given the space constraints.

You kids do what you feel is right. I'm just some member with suggestions :o.

And it's not 'what I want.' I just think it would clear things up for members.

ahahahhahahahhahahhahahahahhhahaha

woodsie,

i just want to say that if we decide not to make a change someone suggested here, dont let it stop you from making more suggestions in the future. We value peoples suggestions, and its a way that members can help us evolve into something better.

"There's no sex in the champagne room!"

That's really kind and classy of you to say. Thanks :o.

Truth be told, I'm not a n00b when it comes to forums and / or running them. So when making new suggestions, the threads I start often end with my foot in my mouth. And I apologize for that stafferz.

Woods, the reason why it was like this is that it changes from time to time. The place itself evolves. At one point in time, the ONLY things being posted in MP was happy birthday threads, at another point in time it was a place for people to get a bit more intimate with each other knowing that it was reserved for members only (this is pre-google crawl).

Here's what I recall from the basics, if you make a thread in General Discussion, there's a good chance that if it could be moved into another section, it will be. In Members Playground, it doesn't matter if it's nonsense, sexuality, living, or motors, a member put it there, and it stays there. While it's not a no rules space, it is a space that is mostly devoid of moderation.

---------- Post added at 05:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:57 PM ----------

I know right?

Alrighty. So 'Member Playground' is basically the junk drawer in the kitchen then. The caption needs to reflect this imho lol. Because as of now, it says to me that it's party-time-woo-hoo area. Yet there's a rather lengthy thread posted about a member's father dying in there.

Don't make no sense!

---------- Post added at 06:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:23 PM ----------

I shall now take a step back and allow you folks to do your thang. I made my point / suggestion, as unworthy as it may be lol. :p

Just put that info in a sticky, and carry on as normal. Problem solved.

A new set of trained eyes always notices unexpected, protocol-shattering things.

examples:
- A quality control consultant reviewing a factory's assembly line and making a couple of small recommendations to improve the number of functional units produced

- New statistics-trained post-doc challenging the principal investigator to no longer use T-tests when ANOVAs and regressions are the only things appropriate for the data

- Woods noticing the caption for Member's Playground isn't presently reflecting the board's culutre


My first thought when I read this thread? "But it has always said that. I was so excited to see that phrase when I finally gained access to MP. Why would we change it?" I guess I'm more resistant to change than I realized. Thanks, woods, for the moment of introspection.

The forum's been around for a good while. As well as the staff, I'm assuming. I've gotten the impression you folks aren't open for much change at all when it comes to suggestions. And I don't mean that in a nasty way. It's just that you're all comfortable with the way things have been running and changing anything would disrupt the flow of what you've become accustomed to. Some members (me, lol) feel there are some things that could make the place more user-friendly. I've made several recommendations so far that have been essentially shot down on the spot, so I probably will lay low in the future when it comes to my $.02. I've kinda been made to feel I'm just blowing hot air for the hell of it which has NOT been my intention at all. And I definitely don't want to insult upper management when I feel there are improvements that could be made. Moving forward, I shall reserve my thawts for mah own brainz. :o

I hope you (and everyone else) continues to make suggestions, woods--TFP has been around for as long as it has do to its dynamic nature. Forums that become stagnant wither and eventually die; the tubes are full of graveyards. Don't assume that your suggestions are being disregarded off hand. The staff here at TFP are as diligent as any forum staff I have come across, and there have been quite a few. I haven't been here that long myself, but I am approaching a thousand posts; I generally lose interest in a forum long before I reach that milestone.

Could just be me, but I feel like the folks are solidly set in their ways. But I could just be ASSuming.

Thanks :)

woods (or anyone else for that matter), all requests are carefully considered and are brought back to modland for detailed discussion between mods and admins.

i think i must reiterate that all suggestions made by members no matter how big or small are discussed and a colllective agreement reached before a decision is made. all decisions obviously are made in the forums best interests and not in the interests of any mod or individual.

if you feel like you want to discuss our policies further or have other suggestions, please send me a PM, ill be happy to discuss any issues you have.

Please don't get me wrong dlish - I'm not irritated or upset by any means. It just appears instead of the discussion including the members, it's just staff who considers the suggestions at hand and it is they who come to the final decision. I'm used to including all members when it comes to changes to the forum, as it's the members who really make the forum after all. Staff just moderates and ensures all runs smoothly. But that's how I dealt with things when I had my own gig going. And you guys do it differently here. It's just something I need to adjust to. Promise - not pissed or anything! We don't need to talk about this anymore. I'm ok with it :).

I would very much object to incorporating "VIP" terminology into the description of Member's Playground. We're not more important than people who just registered, and definitely not VERY important. We're just members who have been around long enough to be vetted as not trolls or bots.

I agree with you there. No one here's more important than the other - we're all here for entertainment. I just vaguely used that 'VIP' term as I'm not sure what we're considered once we've earned that right to the hidden parts of the board.

My main point was the idea of separating the serious content from nonsense silly stuff.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm Very Impotent.

"Private Talk"?

Sumfin like that I guess.

But I think the idea's been butchered lol.

Butchered? Naw, it's still being discussed. Something that has been a certain way forever can't be changed so quickly. As I hinted earlier, there are odd emotional ties involved.

Oh that's cool. Very nice to know - wasn't aware thoughts were still up in the air. Thanks for the head's up :).