actually, I honestly think the user-inserted tags were the best bit of this forum in recent times - they got a bit petty at times but overall I thought they were good fun and (if modded a bit) would offer a judgement of a thread rather than a user. The forum has lost a lot of the banter that it had ages ago, presumably intentionally and permanently but the tags were a means to recover a bit of that IMO
Or else the mods could put up tags for particular threads - "beware, tit for tat political pointscoring" etc
(I know "P" members can put up tags, but it seems only when making a post and TBH they're not so much fun that way; you might as well just remove the option if they have to stay like this )
Admittedly when they first changed it I did sometimes post just in order to add a tag 😉
I always liked volvo for sale ! - never really got why though
Tom, as it's late August not early April 😉 I can only assume that you have a wicked and highly developed sense of humour. You guys must be having such a giggle.
I have to say that I'm in full agreement with Cougar on the idea of exponential bans for trolling and over-arguing.
As I'm also teh awesums with algorithms I suggest using base pi, so from first to tenth ban you would have (approximately):
1 day
3 days
10 days
1 month
3 months
10 months
2 years 6 months
8 years
25 years
80 years
I reckon some of the big-arguers on here just spent too much time here, and a month doesn't enable them to reengage with the real world. Exponential bans give a better idea to people that they're on thin ice and need to self-moderate their behaviour if they want to remain.
To help the moderators we are adding various reports and warning signals to identify suspect troublemakers. You won't get to see these...
Why are you even telling us this? Is it to scare us?
Regarding the rest of the thread; I consider myself to be reasonably savvy but I'm utterly confused. I can only side with THM in assuming the whole thing is an elaborate joke.
Mods/STW doing the tags ...nice touch 😆
For those not up early - the number of Spam Sales posts is growing. Being on the same side of the world as the spammers I see (and report) a lot. The last couple were nearly in context.
Member Since would be a good stat or at least "It's my First Day", 1st Week/Month etc.
Would allow new users to see who is who and allow people to spot trolls/spam a little quicker.
As much as it could be a p*ssing contest a Banned List or at least a post in the offending thread would let people know what was going on.
Also a "Warning" score against a user would let people know they were a trouble maker.
Sorry, just back from the pub, so not in a great state to digest this thread, but can I have 'crocodile fighter' next to my name please. That sounds fantastic!!.
D'you know what? I actually quite like things the way they are. The recent bannings seem to have stabilised things, the mods aren't actually too "in your face" and there have been loads of excellent threads. Of course there are some characters that annoy me, some are over-eager to jump in on a discussion, some are frankly bizarre, but that's just like life off the forum too.
I'm on another forum which has user tags, swearing and lots of general piss-taking but that works as it's a small community where most members have met - and ridden with - most of the others. That level of informality can never be replicated on something as large as STW.
Is it still good value to be a Premier member? I reckon so. I only ever really subscribed to the mag to support the forum so the option of only being an electronic subscriber works out really well.
So - to the mods - just leave things the way they are.
Just read quickly through, and I'm totally, 100% with druidh ^^ on this, and, as GrahamS said,
but it's worth considering you also have a very strong core of users who have been here for longer than they care to remember and generally love the place, but probably don't send you emails saying so. Me for one!
Referring to Member Since, I quite like that, as someone who was on here at the time of the Badger Thread that was posted the other day. 2003; damn, who'd a'thunk it, all those years... 😯
That level of informality can never be replicated on something as large as STW.
It used to be
[quote=zokes ]That level of informality can never be replicated on something as large as STW.
It used to be
I'll take your word for it. I've only been a member since 2005.
I'll take your word for it. I've only been a member since 2005.
Perhaps it's sarcasm like this they're trying to get rid of? 💡
referring to Member Since, I quite like that, as someone who was on here at the time of the Badger Thread that was posted the other day. 2003;
Pfft noob!
from the man who cimments on every thread? 😯. Of course there are some characters that annoy me, some are over-eager to jump in on a discussion
Refreshing to hear even you find your over-eagerness annoying
I think it's fine as is, a post count beside each user would only encourage the usual suspects to post even more to achieve a "big hitter" post count.
It ain't broke....
'member since...' and 'post count' alongside the username might be useful; can't quite see the rationale or usefullness of any of those 'hilarious' different types of poster categories.
I'm increasingly coming to the conclusion that this was the modz messing around. Bloody hilarious bunch they are.
I enjoyed Pete's "Troll" tag, and would find identifying but amusing tags, just that.. amusing.
Being able to see at a glance if some-one is a newbie (without using that "word" as the tag) would be useful to divert the bores from picking on them for etiquette mistakes (or for posting the same old question again).
Post counts are rubbish and become targets for the competitive, along with tags that rank you for the same reason (I'd ask the newbie one be the only exception).
Maybe implement it with an option to ask for a re-assignment for those tender souls who feel they've been insulted might be useful, but would probably be more unnecessary work for the mods
I've been around a while (not from the beginning), though like most, lurked for probably a year or so before posting regularly (due to being a newbie to the sport). There too many ppl with rose tinted specs, the old days were as bad as of late, with the big hitters/cliques ruling the roost and new ppl being too scared to offer an opinion for fear of derision. The less of that the better, though to me this forum is refreshing & attractive for it's lack of post counts, ranks, signatures, & numerous sub-forum.
D'you know what? I actually quite like things the way they are. The recent bannings seem to have stabilised things, the mods aren't actually too "in your face" and there have been loads of excellent threads.
+1
Good job guys.
Can we have the old tag functionality back though please? It ws nice to be able to bully people in a less in-your-face way than just posting on their threads.
Can we have the old tag functionality back though please? It ws nice to be able to bully people in a less in-your-face way than just posting on their threads.
Agreed. I rather liked the tags, even though I was often the target of many! Obviously, if there's tag-abuse, it should be treated just like any other forum transgression.
My thoughts:
I enjoyed the tags too.
I don't want post count [You can see their forum history if you're [i]that[/i] interested]
I don't want rep or thanks.
If user type tag were to exist, it should be a choice the user makes from a selection.
Premier users can have custom ones.
Oh boy!!
From what I perceive to have been started as a genuine and well intentioned proposal and subsequent request for feedback, it now seems that, 5 pages in, to have become rather unwieldy and fraught with upsetting certain sensibilities. Come on people!!
I was one of the VERY first members here, back in whenever it was, my username then was TimB. I rejoined a year or so ago and for some reason or other (I think the site and forum was re-launched), couldn't use my original log-in. I cant honestly remember how the forum was back in the early days, except to say that I met and rode with a number of peeps on here and thoroughly enjoyed your/their company both in the real world and on here. I suspect that that has not changed and I'm sure I would be welcomed to join a ride as much now as I was 10 years ago.
That said, I sense that not much has changed within the forum, there are still ego's that need to be massaged and strokes to be given and received. Our one main point of reference is that we all LOVE our bikes - ne c'est pas?
Why not have tags? I like some of the suggestions and reading through this thread last night and this morning has had me at times in stitches of laughter - thank you!
But why fear change? It is after all the only thing we can be sure of (thanks to Mr Ford). What if we give it a go and feedback suggests it's liked or not and appropriate action taken as to whether the additional info remains?
For those who are opposed to the proposal, what have you to fear by it?
That you might be found out with several aliases? That your propensity for devils advocacy is found wanting?
Generally speaking, I suspect that we are all intelligent enough to work out who is who after a short while and we as individuals can choose whether to take the bait or treat it as someone's desperate attempts to become a big cog in a little cassette.
I vote for trying something new/ish and I'm not going to suggest what the additional info might or could be - after all there are plenty of excellent suggestions so far.
Strikes me though that not to utilise the experience of other forum mods who also use this forum, would be daft. Colournoise seems to be able to contribute to this process particularly well IMO.
Anyway, keep up the humour folks and remember - it's just an internet forum, worse things happen at sea yadda yadda
Peace out.
Disliked the tags as it was away for cowards without the nerve to stand up for their own views to just post abusive stuff [ they even seem to accept it was used for bullying on here]. How can you be so timid that you are too scared to post using a nom de plume on an anonymous Internet website.
If tags come back how about displaying the posters name ?
They were often funny though
Please don't show our post count, I really don't want to know.
Finding it difficult to have an opinion one way or the other... thinking hard.. hmmm, tea.... still thinking... boil kettle.... unwrap biscuits.... what were we talking about?
I wasn't being sarcastic. I reckon that, even by 2005, it had passed that level of "cosiness".zokes - Member
I'll take your word for it. I've only been a member since 2005.
Perhaps it's sarcasm like this they're trying to get rid of?
GW - Member
> Of course there are some characters that annoy me, some are over-eager to jump in on a discussion
from the man who cimments on every thread?
[i]Every[/i] thread? I just had a look at a couple of pages of threads and did a count. On the three pages I looked at, I reckon I'd posted on 5 out of 45 threads. That would indicate that you are either just very lucky in being able to spot the threads I post on or you are stalking me. It's not like you to indulge in hyperbole GW.
PS - [i]That[/i] was sarcasm.
On balance, I like the simplicity of this place. You could never please everyone with what might be added.
Tags were funny. fair enough some thought they ended up as bullying, when they were directed at me I just tagged back. TBF if you argue etc as much as I did/some do you can't really complain too much.
I joined in 2003, there may not have been as much arguing then, but there were "big hitters" like theprawn who would bully folk, and for some inexplicable reason, were fawned over.
From twitter:
@singletrackmark: Site analytics reveal almost a 10% increase in unique users in the last month. Now 879k uniques/month. How long till we reach a million?
😕
Is that just different ISP when we use our phone, work , home computer or are they claiming each one is an actual different person visiting?
STW do seem keen on getting as many as possible.
Those figures will be for the whole site, not just the forum. Junkyard - I think you have it right, individual IP addresses, though you can do stuff with cookies which gets it closer to individual devices.
When i was at sea, the old hands used to say that you had to do three years before the mast before you could be considered a proper seaman, that was and is ballocks, when i first joined a 'debate' on here i was pulled up by some for being 'new' --- what right did i have to question their 'status/opinion'-- surely you want to make a site egalitarian as possible, inclusive not exclusive, keep things simple, --- or as yossarian hints are there commercial considerations lurking behind these ideas
Okay, we already have our Premier [img] 
[/img] signs by members names.
So why not just add an "L" plate for new members (so they get treated more gently AND more warily on classifieds and possible spam)?
And maybe a "Yellow Card" symbol for folk who are currently on a warning? 😀
when i first joined a 'debate' on here i was pulled up by some for being 'new'
Your alias is similar to an old alias used by a member who was repeatedly banned. Some people thought you were that person returning with a new alias - that's all. 🙂
when i first joined a 'debate' on here i was pulled up by some for being 'new'
One of the most notorious, now lifetime-banned, Big Hitters on here had the username "[url= http://singletrackworld.com/members/rudeboy/ ]rudeboy[/url]" (amongst many others).
You can understand why some were a little suspicious of "rudebwoy" - don't take it personally.
Interesting "How can we [s]increase our advertising revenue[/s] improve things for you guys" thread
I struggle with long sentences so not sure if it's already been suggested or if it's possible but can we have our own notes section? So when logged in we can put notes against a user, so those of us with crap memories can remind ourselves who we're talking with. Just for our own info, not publicly displayed.
DOnk, tall hairy northerner rides a hemlock
Junkyard, witchfinder general on a 5
troutie creator of awesome lightage
Lowey, lord of rivington manor
Just an idea
Yer go away on t'holibobs and this happens.
It ani't broke's like sar dunnaie fix it.
But do bring back the Tags, they were hilarious and very witty indeed.
I believe mine was witchfinder general of the left rather than just witch finder. is that a promotion or a demotion before I decide how upset I am ?
Moderator: thought police 😉
was rudeboy a professional antagonist, the W in mine gives a whole different connotation,how the name arose is another story......
The mods/admin can suss these things out pretty quickly, can't see the need to involve all hands in subjective tagging, there's enough of that unofficially anyhow
Is it April fool already?
FWIW I think the mod crackdown is probably a good thing.
Before it was like some arguing was allowed, but it was a grey line as to what would get you a ban. Now it's much clearer, and nicer.
Still not sure how GW gets away with it tho.
I foresee a lot of goading of yellow card holders 🙂 but could be interesting.And maybe a "Yellow Card" symbol for folk who are currently on a warning?
