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Scandalous ideas for tomorrow's barbelith

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15:00 / 12.03.02

quote:Originally posted by Tom Coates:
Any more thoughts on board improval while there's still time?I hope there's still time, my 'Lith reading dipped substantially and has started to return.

This is a vague, and possibly unnecessary, idea, but: In the Magick, Civus Rex made this index of the various rune threads. Very handy if you're trying to keep track of them, but because of the way messageboards work, the index thread itself requires the occasional bump to remind everyone that it exists, and that the rune threads exist.

Some threads stay at the top of the list for a while because there is lively debate on a topic, and then they float away when the topic dies down. That's great. But there are also "project" threads that exist to accumulate semi-permanent information which unfairly vanish. (I'm sure they're archived one way or another, but they may as well be gone if they are no longer visible. Out of sight, out of mind.)

Might there be a way to have some sort of library section for such project threads? It could be as simple as a read-only forum with similar index posts, or something more complex like an itty-bitty sidebar with a listing of those threads. The middle of the screen has a standard thread listing and then off to the left in teeny type, "Barbalith Tarot," "Chaos Magic FAQ," and so forth.

It just seems a shame that some of our longer-term info-gathering threads falter, just because they no longer draw a post every 10 minutes.

(Oh, unless this is still the "taking the piss" thread. In which case, I think we just need a fairly basic quiz on the Anarchist's Cookbook, to ensure our community is free from The Man and The Pigs.)

Less searchable M0rd4nt

16:16 / 12.03.02

Actually, I was hoping to get a small column in the webzine, dealing with (ahem) applied chemistry questions for the under-12's.

Me am Bizzaro World Valerie Singleton.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

07:28 / 13.03.02

quote:Originally posted by Tom Coates:
ii) A barbelith test - 50% required, including questions like "Who wrote 'No Logo'?"

Sorta like this?

quote:Cordelia: Well, you'll be okay here. If you hang with me and mine, you'll be accepted in no time. Of course, we do have to test your
coolness factor. You're from L.A., so you can skip the written, but let's see. Vamp nail polish.

Buffy: Um, over?

Cordelia: So over. James Spader.

Buffy: He needs to call me!

Cordelia: Frappaccinos.

Buffy: Trendy, but tasty.

Cordelia: John Tesh.

Buffy: The Devil.

Cordelia: That was pretty much a gimme, but... you passed!

Buffy: Oh, goody!

[ 13-03-2002: Message edited by: Mordant C@rnival ]

Wrecks City-Zen

18:18 / 14.03.02

quote:Civus Rex made this index of the various rune threads. Very handy if you're trying to keep track of them, but because of the way messageboards work, the index thread itself requires the occasional bump to remind everyone that it exists, and that the rune threads exist.Some threads stay at the top of the list for a while because there is lively debate on a topic, and then they float away when the topic dies down. That's great. But there are also "project" threads that exist to accumulate semi-permanent information which unfairly vanish.Might there be a way to have some sort of library section for such project threads? It could be as simple as a read-only forum with similar index posts, or something more complex like an itty-bitty sidebar with a listing of those threads. The middle of the screen has a standard thread listing and then off to the left in teeny type, "Barbelith Tarot," "Chaos Magic FAQ," and so forthIt just seems a shame that some of our longer-term info-gathering threads falter, just because they no longer draw a post every 10 minutes.

Should I start a petition? This is a fantastic idea...who do I have to sell my soul to make this a reality?

I'll be quiet now...

18:32 / 14.03.02

How about new members need to be invited by existing members with over 50 posts. And if the new member starts trolling the sponsor gets temporarly suspended along with the new member (who gets the permanent version). You bring in two troll and you're out for good. It would make barbelith open by invitation. The 50 posts thing is just so person A doesnt let person B in and ten minutes later person B lets troll C in. Just a thought.

19:35 / 14.03.02

That's the way I was thinking too...

02:05 / 15.03.02

Tom,

The idea of making it difficult for fly-by-nighters and the impatient-just-wanna-troll-for-trouble types by imposing a time limit on starting a thread sounds good.

Also, you may want to delegate some of your moderator tasks to some of the long term, more consistent and trusted suits and give them power of attorney and exection (counsel/edit/warn/ban ability) for their particular section. Seems to work well in other boards.

Barbelith is a bigger city now. You can't expect to Police it on your own for much longer and expect to keep your motivation up to do so. It has taken a 'troll-toll' on you.

The question you may want to focus on is what direction do you want to take Barbleith now? You don't seem to be making any money off it. What do you want to
generate with it? What will you consider motivating enough to keep going with it?

You're 'da man. You done good you have.

<//You should feel proud of what you have accomplished with Barbelith thus far//>

IAO

Less searchable M0rd4nt

02:05 / 15.03.02

What Iao said. You need to spread the load a bit.

Also, I think the idea of a time limit is way better than sponsoring/mentoring. Like a lot of people I didn't know anyone on the board when I started.

Keep your pecker up- you're doing a great job.

22:38 / 15.03.02

Also, you may want to delegate some of your moderator tasks to some of the long term, more consistent and trusted suits and give them power of attorney and exection (counsel/edit/warn/ban ability) for their particular section. Seems to work well in other boards. – Iao Adonai

I think Tom's doing something like this on the new board, but his idea is to have the moderators for each forum voted in by the peeps that frequent each particular place. I like both ideas, but I think to get the multiple-moderator ball rolling, Iao Adonai's idea of Tom picking people he trusts is the way to go. I don't think the Clique Patrol need to get too nervous about it because it will only be for a set period of time and then people can start voting moderators in or out.

The other Policy thread on Membership is now locked (working two jobs is such a drag...I missed the cutoff

), but I did want to say that Lothar's idea of

Close membership except for at certain times of the year (every 4 weeks, every three months, etc.) when a period of new blood is allowed in. This way, the board can continue to grow but the surges are controlled to some degree.

Is really good, better than sponsorship in my opinion. If people are worried that potential new blood won't wait X amount of weeks/months, we could open it up every few days for a few hours (That might not be so difficult if it can be arranged with multiple moderators in different parts of the world having the ability to open and close the joint – each cycle a different time zone can have open admissions, so to speak.)

[ 16-03-2002: Message edited by: Ierne ]

22:42 / 15.03.02

Eh go away for a few days and the whole world changes...

But if we're going for a test to get onto Barbelith lets make it a TEST. None of this IQ related malarkey. To enter the hallowed halls you must defeat our brightest and best in MORTAL COMBAT...

I can see it now, Discuss the merits of 18th Century Dutch poets with Haus while engaged in a fencing duel on top of Canary Wharf.
Follow Flyboy, Sleazenation and others on a race through the drinking pits of old london town
Fight you're way through the Vinyl emporiums of Soho vs Opalfruit, Mordant Carnival, Rizla (and anyone else who I haven't mentioned and gets annoyed about it)

Action, Adventure, Eye catching locations, who wouldn't want to play BARBELITH.
Consider it a cross between Button Man, The Game, The Adventure Game and It's a Knockout. But with Tom as the end of game boss as opposed to a potted plant, in a gold lame suit.

And if we're being serious, yes to posting limits, thread starting limits and the like.
I'm against invites because I would never have made it here if this had been true then. But you're right that the bandwidth growth can't continue unless someone gets that lottery funding they've all been trying for. Delay between posting and joining seems to be the best method so far.

And that's me once again with my 'Yay Tom' flag fluttering in the breeze.

14:56 / 17.03.02

Having to post this here because of the closure of the 'Barbelith Membership' thread, and also because it's not really worth a thread in its own right.

WRT to the idea of an enforced lurking period for new members, where they can read but not post until a certain length of time is up, thus forcing them to actually take some of the feeling of the site on board. In theory it's a fine idea, but in practice anyone who's going to join up simply to cause some hassle will just sign on, then wait for the day that they allowed to contribute. Most of us lurked here before we dared to say anything, and we did it without being forced to. This wouldn't really change anything.

This solution to the above problem comes from the silent Ellis: "How about a minimum amount of logins before posting?"

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