Post count now applies to the TES General subforum!

[Avron the S'wit]

After many glorious struggles and a few arrows to the knee on your s'witty admin's part, the post count for the TES General subforum is now applicable! This means that each of your posts in this subforum going forward will attribute to your post count, located under your username and with the other information on your personal profile.

Please note this will not work on posts in the past, only posts going forward. Please also remember not to spam this subforum, the same as all others. If you're unsure what spam might look like, please browse through What Would Avron Do? for some ideas of how to make each of your posts here at UESP helpful and useful for others!

Remember: the post count number is just for fun. It means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things, so please don't obsess over it. Regardless of how many or few posts you have, I enjoy your company all the same! The prizes are only given out during the Competition of the Month, so participate in those, silly.

If you have any questions please let me know. Thank you!

[Andere]

Seems like a good and right thing to do. Hooray for common sense victory!

[Unionhack]

Good course of action, I say.

[Br3admax]

Great idea, although I do not make many post there anyway.

[DikaSmausha]

Next step is general threads.

[Avron the S'wit]

Never, sorry.

[Generalno1]

Most people would become instant champions.

[AddictedtoMorrowind]

Wait why TES general.

[Believe]

Cos technically it's an "on-topic" forum.

As in, this is a TES site, so all TES related topics/posts should count.

Except Redguard. And anything to do with "What character should I make/What should I name my orc thief who doesn't kill except in self defense or if he feels like it." threads.

[OblivionDuruza]

I don't want to be demanding, but I hope that this change sees an improvement in the quality of some of the threads and topics for discussion in the TES General forum. I think we've been perhaps a little lenient in what is permitted there in the past, although that may just be me.

[Musicman247]

Most people would become instant champions.

Most RPers would instantly become whatever this is:


@Duruza: If a topic seems too far off for TES General, be sure and report it as being off topic.

[OblivionDuruza]

Okay. I'll try and get some of my 'concerns' (for lack of a better word) down on paper and I'll PM. For example, we need to sort out, is the 'ban' on speculative TES VI threads outside the official sticky still in place, or has it been lifted. If it has, then can we perhaps have some more uniformity. There are several double topics on that subject in the forum. Additionally, there are lots of 'name' generation threads which could potentially be moved to Multimedia or merged into one multipurpose thread, and there are a lot of preference/favourite threads that tend to double up (e.g. 'Favourite 5 TES Games' and 'Worst TES Game')

[Deandra]

You have more than 6 thousand posts, and you're worried about some folks getting a couple of extra posts showing up in their post count for topics you consider to be unworthy? Really?

[OblivionDuruza]

I would hardly call it that Deandra. I just mean that we do have Forum Rules and that generally they are more enforced in some of the other Game Forums then they have historically been in the TES General Forum, as I've been raising for quite some time, even prior to any discussion of counting said Forum (if you want I can show you the posts). The issue isn't the worth of the topics, more that they double up on one another.

Duplicate/Pointless Topics - If you or someone else has accidentally or otherwise created more than one of the same topic, report it. Similarly, if a topic is posted that is just mindless drivel, tell us and we can judge if it's just racking up pointless post counts or not.

Perhaps we should relax the Forum Rules across the board, I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to that now you mention it, but I don't see how being inconsistent helps anyone.

Further, I do hope you're not insinuating anything by your comment. Many a sleepless night I have spent over the past year up on the forums engaged in deep discussion about the games we're all hear because we love . My Post Count, besides meaning next to nothing, didn't come magically overnight. And that's just the point, post count shouldn't mean anything, but the rules should be more than just things we are aware of but don't really stick to all that much.

[Stormborn]

I still say we should lose post count completely.

[Dark Spark]

*taps monitor glass*
Huh.
*walks away.*

[OblivionDuruza]

I still say we should lose post count completely and just keep coins and ranks.

Look this wasn't meant to reignite the debate on post counts, etc., although don't take this as me attempting to dissuade anyone from having that discussion; I simply intended to use the attention that the announcement placed on the TES General Forum to direct attention to an issue that has existed for some time.

Back when the TES General Forum was still only an idea being talked about, I remember making a suggestion about having a General TES Forum simply because I thought it was odd that in a TES Forums, my topic on 'The Future of the Elder Scrolls Franchise' didn't have a proper home and had to existed in Multimedia alongside a whole bunch of other non-TES related topics. I don't think anyone intended for it to become filled with duplicate and semi-duplicate topics like (from the first two pages of the forum):

• If you lived in Tamriel, what would you do?/If you had to live in Tamriel, where would you choose?/Favorite Tamriel continent/Your favorite provinces
• Names for a Thief/The names thread
• The Official TES VI Wishlist thread/ELDER SCROLLS VI: ALINOR/TES 6 Possibilities?
• LEAST favorite race? /Which race would you remove, and replace with what?/Who is the better beast./Races not used
• The Best Elder Scrolls Game./Top 5 Elder Scrolls Games?/Build the perfect TES game/what do YOU not like about TES/The worst elder scrolls game
• The time when you were a filly ingnorant/How/when did you get into TES?

Additionally, there are still some topics that might be better in other Forums, or may need reviewal by the Mod team, like (to name a few):

• if u could have a child in skyrim
• Let's Play Morrowind
• Sheogorath is President George W. Bush!!!
• morrowind on game fly

Again, I don't mean to make a big deal about this, but if nobody says anything, things will remain the same. If the Mod Team decides there's no problem, I'll abide by their decision, but my issue is I don't know if they're fully aware of the situation in there, as it has tended to be a bit of a backwater on the Forums, particularly with the rather hectic Skyrim Forum of recent times.

[Avron the S'wit]

Duruza, why don't you lead by example? UESPF is unique in that we have a lot of "self moderation." We do expect members to read the rules, the posting guidelines/suggestions (ie, What Would Avron Do?), and to follow the advice of other members here (who are usually the first ones to politely say, "Hey, we don't do that here!"). If you don't like something or think it could be done better, why not politely say so in the thread and help steer it toward a better discussion?

This is a pretty open community without barriers or censors; it's why we can talk about so many things. Every generation of members thinks the ones after it are posting "worse" content and "ruining" the forums. We have some standards for what we think is beneficial, and for the most part, everyone follows it more or less. But you are all welcome to gently nudge people in the right direction. Everything here is a delicate balance of trial and error, after all.

[Eltee]

In my oh-so-humble opinion, I think that the post count should indicate a poster's experience on the site itself, or be abolished. I understand that the argument is that a higher post count is supposed to imply higher credibility when dealing with ES topics...

I understand that Duru is basically THE ULTIMATE helper on the forums, and he entirely deserves his dizzying amount of coins, because I know a huge part of it was spent helping people.

But, there are plenty of posters, myself included, whose decent post count (most peoples being more decent than mine) includes little more than 'my favourite sword in Skyrim is Chillrend' or 'my character's name is Aromir, he was born in...' Assuming that last one wasn't in an RP, of course.

But, in any case, there are also those people whose three stars came in a large degree from the *drumroll* trivia threads. A much larger volume than the (counts) one person, the saint Duruza, who attained his coins though being a... Well, saint. (Three blessings, Duru.)

I know I have babbled inanely a bit, and implied that post counts that are mostly formed in trivia threads aren't legitimate, but, oddly enough, that's not what I mean. I mean that using the assumption that more TES posts = authority on the subject is usually simply wrong. On the other hand, coin count based on ALL POSTS may play a role in making the forum an easier to comprehend place for both regular users and newbies. Make all posts count. General, RP, whatever. They imply familiarity with the site, with the community in a real form, whereas the solely TES ones imply... Skill at TES trivia.

Or, in an eventuality I would be equally overjoyed with, get rid of the bloody coins, because as of right now their intended usage is being circumvented by all but Saint Duru.

[OblivionDuruza]

Duruza, why don't you lead by example? If you don't like something or think it could be done better, why not politely say so in the thread and help steer it toward a better discussion?

I would do so Avron, but I tend to like to do things through official channels. Too many times have I been, or seen other users be, told off, even on the UESPF, for 'back seat Moderating' when they've attempted to just that. Further, There really isn't, as I've said before, an issue with the quality of the posting, per se, more so that there are a swathe of duplicate topics (see list above), which frankly, we normal users can't do much about.

I entirely do not want this to become an old versus new debate, because you should all know that that is the very kind I despise the very existence of. I've copped a lot of flack for my 'ridiculously high' post count of the years and it eventually lead to me not posting nearly as much. I know first hand what that sort of criticism can do to a person's esteem and subsequently, although I have no real problem with the 'new generation,' for someone to imply that I might is actually rather upsetting because the thing that made the UESPF for me was the hugely warm welcome I received here, the one which made me stop and go, 'this is an awesome place to be' and which led me to try to be as welcoming as possible to members who followed after me in joining, so that they might feel the same way I did when ZombieMonkey and Goblin voice and all the rest welcomed me so wonderfully to the Forums.

As I have stated and restated, the issue is not about the quality of posts, nor is it about the quality of posters, it's about how the TES General Forum could use a little bit of work (it is certainly not in dire straits, I don't want to convey the wrong idea), and that perhaps it could do with some attention, maybe even some TLC, from us all as a community.

Now I apologise for sounding gruff, but this is an issue that bites right to the heart of me as a forumite and which I do feel passionately about. There is no war. We're all here because we love the TES Games and we love the UESP Forums. And please, if I'm wrong, and those topics aren't actually duplicates, for instance, then please, don't hesitate to say, Duruza, you're wrong.

P.S. Thanks for the kind words Eltee. I don't know I can say they're deserved, I just try to do what I can, but to be honest, your post put a huge smile on my face and really brightened my day .

[Frost Mage]

-snip-

Yeah, it's pretty easy to rack up your post count with a mass amount of 'Nope's.

[Br3admax]

-snip-

Yeah, it's pretty easy to rack up your post count with a mass amount of 'Nope's.

That and my border-line torret like responses.

[Avron the S'wit]

If it makes you feel better, at the end of the day your post count still means absolutely nothing and does not guarantee you cookies, trophies, prizes, moderator status, a free ride on the USS S'wit, a tour of the moderators' swimming pool, and so on and so forth. It says so in the contract. Very tiny print, n'at.

If you guys are worried about people not posting on par: lead the way. And coming from me, I'd call it an official channel. The truth is we moderators can't and won't see everything and it's a bit silly to think we will, but we do catch a great deal. Moderating does involve a lot more than sifting through every post, and in a forum with thousands of posts, it can be a bit tedious. (Most people know I used to actually read every post on the forum, but I will be honest, that takes an unreasonable amount of time for someone who also works, goes to school, and has a life outside of the unpaid volunteer position that is moderating. ) That, and with each new member base the forums are always changing. Skyrim really opened TES to a different genre of gamer, so you've got to keep that in mind, too.

Bottom line: if you see a dupe topic, a member who needs direction, or something of the sort, we do have the report button and we do expect you to use it. It's the red shiny ! at the bottom right corner of each post. Please make a description of why you're reporting it as well so we're not scratching our heads trying to figure it out. If you don't want to report it, you can always PM the staff or a moderator you feel comfortable with. We're here for you so go ahead and talk to us! We get lonely and bored otherwise.

Just remember:

We're all here because we love the TES Games and we love the UESP Forums.

[Br3admax]

Yeah, it jost shows how much of my time I have wasted here, since most post are Skyrim related it shouldn't matter.

[Deandra]

Please don't count RP posts towards post count--I'd be so ashamed of having everybody realize just how much time I've wasted here...