Messages

I've updated the forum software to the current version.

If you see anything amiss, please let me know.

OK, I'm removing a bunch of off topic posts.
They don't need to be in the thread.

Best wishes at your gathering.

You want to tone that down, chief?

[Civic Auditorium]

Getting an error "Badge Information Does Not Match" so I just emailed you guys. I assume by the time this gets sorted through, all of the spaces will be gone? Double checked everything and it should all be good, so not sure what the deal is.

We're looking into it.
If you're already at Step 5, your space is saved while this gets worked out.

The check-in information on step 7 says that check-in is at the staff table at the entrance to the Civic Auditorium. It should be South Hall, right?

This has been fixed.

If they want to have a subforum, and they reach out to me, then we'll make it happen.

Thank you for the valid and important question.

I would need someone from Clockwork Alchemy to monitor and administer that subforum.

If someone on CA staff with sufficient experience is willing to do so, then they should reach out to me.

Much like many others, I have been a forum member for quite a few years now and I still receive updates in my "Show new replies to your posts." link from forum topics I have long since stopped caring about.

My question is, how would I go about removing those topics from that link so I can stay more up to date on the topics I am actively watching. Thanks!

Profile > Modify Profile > Notifications

You'll see everything you are subscribed to, and can remove whatever notifications you would like.

Well, two people both post identical text promoting their voice acting website.

That's a little suspicious

People are annoyed by homestu Homestuck are mad that poee are annoyed by them. Why don't we try to come up with a way to make both sides happy. That is my point.

I'm in too feisty a mood to say what I really think about this idea.

Instead, I'll just say, let this go.  Find some other thread to comment in.

Admin edit: everyone can continue this discussion if they wish; just not Yuu- pon.

Did you have a point you were trying to make?

I guess I attracted a bad person ? lol I was just sharing my likes and dislikes, I could care less ill just deal with it untill next time but dont call homestuck an anime please

Nah, man, you're cool, and you raise reasonable points.

For other people in the thread, like Yuu- chan, remember there's a forum rule called "Don't be hating"

When you come to the table

A table?  That's awesome.

I didn't know you got to set the table and determine what things were allowed and not allowed.

Good lord, this topic again?

[don't do it in your hotel room]

Just to make this also excruciatingly clear: if you're going to smoke anything, don't do it in your hotel room, unless your room is specifically a "smoking" room.

Most of the rooms in all of the Fanime blocks are listed as non-smoking, and that is not an optional rule.
It's typically a $250 cleaning charge from the hotel if you've been caught.

This applies to tobacco, marijuana, hookah, signalling a new pope, and bonfires in your room.   Just don't.

Here's an idea, let's not talk about drugs on this forum.

This may not have been an explicit rule, but now it is.

If you want to talk about marijuana with friends, please do it elsewhere.

Thanks.

This is a challenge in any location with tens of thousands of people in one spot.

For attendees using some of the public internet available on the concourse, this will be shared with everyone on the concourse with a wifi smartphone.
For attendees using hotel internet, this will be shared among all the hotel visitors.
For attendees using internet through their mobile phone provider, this is shared among everyone with that carrier.
That kind of internet can get sluggish during peak periods.

On top of that, a few people think that using public/hotel/mobile internet is the best time to torrent the latest episode of whatever, and bandwidth gets even more contentious.

As MPLe states, it would be nice to stream things, but the only proper way to do that is with a separate dedicated connection, which is not cheap.

Purging inactive accounts
Maybe you could send an email warning about that. If you get no reply by a deadline you specify, then go ahead and purge as needed.

Maybe.  It depends on the age of the account.  If someone hasn't logged in for two years, I don't think it matters to delete.

Auto-locking all topics once they reach 400 days without a reply.
How about 365 days, just for the sake of having a solid year deadline.

The idea is to round off to 400, so that the cutoff is a little over 1 years.  Salient topics posted in May 2012 are often relevant in May 2013, but not necessarily June 2013.

I like the new features and it would be cool if we can have a theme for this forum instead of the SMF default.
Would the creative department be able to do something like that ?

This is planned as the eighth bullet point in the list.

SMF 2.0 supports an Ignore List.
If someone is getting on your case, use it.  It might just be the best way to defuse a situation.

Each post has a "Report This User" option.  Click it, and they are added to your ignore list.
It's easy to undo if you think there's a problem.
You can add anyone you want by ignore list, and their posts and private messages will become hidden by default.

You can also modify this list in your profile.  One of the choices is "Modify Profile".  There is a link for "Buddies/Ignore Lists"


If a situation is really bad, there is also the "Report to moderator" option.  Just make sure that your reports are above reproach when you use it.

There are some other things I am thinking about:

• Refactoring the individual boards to better reflect the user experience
• Turning on enforcement of people with too large of a signature. (Hint: read the rules for the limits)
• Magically blessing forum accounts of FanimeCon Staff members.
• Purging spam accounts
• Purging inactive accounts
• Auto-locking all topics once they reach 400 days without a reply.
• Auto-deleting all topics once they reach 800 days without a reply.
• Having a convention theme template for the forums
• Making visited links purple again

One of the problems with a forum of this size is that it is a target for spammers.

While the total at the bottom of the main page says we have nearly 13000 accounts, I reckon over 11000 are spam accounts.
Some of them actively spam the boards, and are caught and disabled and/or banned.
Others simply leave links in their profile and signature, and try to use that for search engine ranking.

To that end, there have been some changes with the new software:

• We now use reCAPTCHA as the captcha for registering.
• If you have fewer than 5 posts to your credit, you must also use reCAPTCHA to verify that you aren't a bot.
• All links to websites have been disabled in all profiles.  Sorry.
• You may not have links or images in your signature, unless you reach 5 posts
• Posts in "Forum Games" do not count for this.

We also use Bad Behavior, Project Honey Pot, and Stop Forum Spam.  There are three sets of mods that seem to help things.

Hopefully, I will not have to spend more time chasing spammers.