board policies

[voltaire]

i'm a regular, if not daily reader on this board, and i post rather seldomly. i love this board for its (mostly ;) intelligent and complex discussion. i also understand the financing issues the board "managers" have in terms of costs vs. number of posts/views.

nevertheless, the posting policies on this board are becoming very annoying. why close both the general and the theories board for 24 hours? wouldn't it be sufficient to lock all but ez-supporters simply from posting, but not from viewing? after i have seen each latest episode, next thing i usually do is enter the board and see how the discussion is going on. if i am limited to viewing and not being able to post for some hours, that's fine. but if you want to make this your vip club, why have an open board anyway?

dear mods, please do not understand this as a harsh complaint, but rather an expression on how deceived i am that you exclude your users. i find this the wrong sign.

also, concerning the double posting / threads issue: why not do the following: new threads opened by non-ez supporters or rather "new members" (maybe with less than a certain number of posts, say 20 or 50 or whatever) can open new threads, but these threads will be made public only after being reviewed by a moderator. thus, if the new thread is a duplicate, the moderator can move its contents into the appropriate thread. that would greatly reduce the number of new threads and also prevent newbies from being frowned upon follwing their very first post...

an on another note: are there no possibilities to seek further refunding of the site through ads? if the site is this well frequented, it should be attractive to a number of industries such as merchandising, dvd labels and such.

just my humble opinion...

[cinderellabop]

Voltaire,

These are some nice ideas. Unfortunately, EZ Board's limited abilities do not allow us to do everything we want. If we lock out EZ Supporters, it's all or nothing. We can't let them view but not post. I wish we could, but we can't. And we can set it to approve all posts, but I think that would mean that posts by ALL members would need to be approved. Which would be a massive amount of work for us mods.

I agree that shutting out all but EZ Supporters isn't fair. But we're desperate to control the flood of duplicates we get each week, and we've frankly run out of ideas that work with the limited technology EZ Board can give us. After a new episode, we have to archive General Discussion several times a day, because EZ Sucks limits us to 20 pages per forum. This is why we want to move. But until we are able to raise the funds and come up with a definite plan to move, we are forced to find ways to make this board manageable. Right now, it is not, because of the new posters who completely refuse to read, search, or even scan the first page before they post. If you have any ideas on how to make people actually READ before posting, we'd be willing to hear them.

[The Central Scrutinizer]

I'm with Voltaire, where people that have less than a certain number of total posts wouldn't be able to create threads, or their thread would be subject to review by a moderator before it becomes visible.

I realize this probably isn't compatible with ezBoard's way of doing things, so I sympathize with the mods. Whatever you guys have to do to reign in some control...I'm all for it. I'm just happy to have a place to discuss the show.

[voltaire]

cinderella, thanks for the quick reply. pity my ideas are incompatible with the board structure...if i can think of anything else i'll let you know. anyway i think it's impossible to get rid totally of "unnecessary" posts. it's just the way people are....

[Dread Pirate Yukon]

So the root of the problem is...EZ-board has limitations.


Cure the problem don't put a bandaid on it. You already have an offer for someone to give the $1500 to move away from EZ board.

Always remember people this is not the only LOST discussion board there are others and pretty soon people are going to start leaving this board because of its overly cliquey personality and the shutdown of section to paying members.

Make it a private board then you can all bask in each others glory. Or will the lack of newbies to criticize and bully ruin all the fun?

[mnchick]

First of all, if the problem is duplicate threads, I have to say that by closing certain boards so that ONLY Supporters can post or read, you are only delaying the inevitable. Duplicate threads will still be made on the board. Why is it that the thinking is that ez-supporters and contributors are not capable of making a duplicate thread? Because they pay? That's a little silly. It will not stop the problem (if you want to call it a problem..it is really just more of an annoyance) of duplicate threads.

As a newer board member I have to say that I have never been on a board with so many restrictions nor have I been on a board where the owner/admin/whoever so blatantly (basically) makes those of us who have not contributed to the Community Chest or EZ-Supporter sound ane mayve feel like lowlifes....you may as well call us that. At least you would be being straight forward with your words and what you seemingly are thinking.

Being new to a board, I like to be certain that I actually like being a member first before contributing money..that means any board..not just this one. Why contribute to something you are not sure you'll even like?

I realize that with so many members that the cost is sky high. But did you really think that with a TV show as popular as "Lost" that you would have just a few die-hard members? Especially considering that Lost-tv.com has national media attention? I mean, I heard about the site on a local radio station here in Minnesota. *shrugs*

Also, not everyone on the board can afford to contribute. Has that ever been thought of? That perhaps not everyone can afford to contribute to the pot even though they may want to?

It just seems that each day...well, each week rather...I have read something about "This forum is closed to non contributors." That's not really fair and is really just a bullying tactic so that people pay up. Not a good way to get what you want from people (in this case money) IMO.

I like it here. I think that everyone is really smart and has some great ideas about the show. However, I don't necessarily like the way certain things are gone about.

[NokomisIsABadRobot]

But we're desperate to control the flood of duplicates we get each week, and we've frankly run out of ideas that work with the limited technology EZ Board can give us.

How about the mods simply delete all the duplicate posts? I know that sounds harsh, but an ''edited by Mod, already been posted. Please read before posting.'' in place of whatever 'repeat' people put up might serve as a deterrent to future 'what I have to say cannot wait until I read what you had to say' posters.
Also, to save bandwidth, How about keeping it a policy written out in bold letters on the main page that if people want to start a new thread, they could PM the Mods with their idea, and only the Mod can start new threads?
One more thing... I'd cut out signatures. They waste alot of space if you add them all up each time people post. That includes banners, and avatars.

Personally, I'm in a total financial bind right now, and if I could afford gas for my car...I wouldn't spend even this much time here....LOL If I get things straightened around, I'd love to contribute. But I don't love being made to feel like a leach until then.

How about I'll open up a freebie msn message board for tonight for us po- folk? I can reopen one every Wednesday night to help you guys out with being crashed after the Ep airs.

Here, I threw this together quickly...
The Luggage Compartment (http://groups.msn.com/Lost-TVLuggageCompartment/welcome.msnw)

[Jesilu]

Every board I've ever been to has problems with newbies, duplicate threads, and not-so-newbies getting sick of rehashing/reexplainging the same stuff over and over because newbies keep bringing up old sh!t, as Chris T. would say.

It's true that the search isn't stellar here, but it's also dependent on the keywords and specifics the user enters.

I'm not sure if requiring a certain number of entries before allowing thread posting would be that great a solution. I could see lots of nonsense posts so newbies could reach the next level to post a thread.

I definitely feel for the mods, cause I've kind of gotten fed up with duplicate posts lately. I don't even bother to read half the threads that are posted in any given section. And last time I tried to suggest doing a search I got flamed in a most juvenile way. And I thought I was asking nicely.

I can only speak from my own perspective and that is, newbies should tread lightly no matter what board they're on, but non-newbies should try to be patient and civil.

I've seen a lot of warm welcomes here, but I've also seen a lot of defensive newbies, so there must be a reason for that.

~Jesilu

[I like to listen]

One more thing... I'd cut out signatures. They waste alot of space if you add them all up each time people post. That includes banners, and avatars.

Somebody will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe ezSupporters don't bump cost with sigs or avatars.

[BooneWasABoar]

Problem here is that users that duplicate posts only get warned after the fact, not before.
This is probably impossible, but is there a way to link the NEW TOPIC button to the search function? And then only after the search function was used a user could post?
Or ive seen before on other boards a page come up saying something akin to "Yes ive searched the boards, i agree" and then are presented with a button "Continue to New Post".

[Noav Sigless]

Why is it that the thinking is that ez-supporters and contributors are not capable of making a duplicate thread? Because they pay? That's a little silly.

They do make duplicate threads but their threads don't cost anything.

[minnesotaadvocate]

Being new to a board, I like to be certain that I actually like being a member first before contributing money..that means any board..not just this one. Why contribute to something you are not sure you'll even like?
I actually was an ezSupporter BEFORE coming to this board. If you pay for ezSupporter, it works on ALL boards, not just this one. I'm sure there is one board, somewhere, that you'll think is worth $7 (if you decide that this one isn't worth it in the end). I think this is an important point that people might not know.

Or ive seen before on other boards a page come up saying something akin to "Yes ive searched the boards, i agree" and then are presented with a button "Continue to New Post".
I actually like this idea a lot! I've started a total of one new thread ever on this board and I wouldn't mind even jumping through more hoops to do that.

I wouldn't mind clicking on an "I agree" button to post ANY post (even additions to existing threads) if it will save money and save the pain of reading "Did you know that the numbers add up to 108?" even one more time.

[catbertz]

I would like to echo the sentiments of others that the restrictions on this board are counter-productive and off putting. I visit many forums with active mods, and they have always been successful at weeding out problems/duplicate threads without punishing the general readership.

I am a supporter of some other boards that I frequent, but they have little private areas for special chats. They don't restrict the main area of conversation and community interest.

If you can't envision a policy of active thread management, then restict nonpayers to "view only" status during this 12 hour window. That seems much more sensible without driving visitors to other forums.

[minnesotaadvocate]

If you can't envision a policy of active thread management, then restict nonpayers to "view only" status during this 12 hour window. That seems much more sensible without driving visitors to other forums.
They would if they could. They can't. See above.

[catbertz]

These are some nice ideas. Unfortunately, EZ Board's limited abilities do not allow us to do everything we want. If we lock out EZ Supporters, it's all or nothing. We can't let them view but not post. I wish we could, but we can't. And we can set it to approve all posts, but I think that would mean that posts by ALL members would need to be approved. Which would be a massive amount of work for us mods.

I agree that shutting out all but EZ Supporters isn't fair. But we're desperate to control the flood of duplicates we get each week, and we've frankly run out of ideas that work with the limited technology EZ Board can give us. After a new episode, we have to archive General Discussion several times a day, because EZ Sucks limits us to 20 pages per forum. This is why we want to move. But until we are able to raise the funds and come up with a definite plan to move, we are forced to find ways to make this board manageable. Right now, it is not, because of the new posters who completely refuse to read, search, or even scan the first page before they post. If you have any ideas on how to make people actually READ before posting, we'd be willing to hear them.



well I didn't read this post, so you can disregard my suggestion, but the active mod point still stands.


Got duplicate threads..warn and lock/delete as they develop. As you know this is standard practice on other forums.

[BooneWasABoar]

oohhh Lilly...

[lasdlt13]

You know, EZboard is great for small communities. Once you get as many posters and lurkers as you do here, it's time to move up into the big leagues.

PHPbb is a great way to go. It's free, and all you need is a host that provides PHP hosting. Now, most free hosts do not, but there are a few. The thing you'll have to worry about most is bandwidth. There are lots of good hosts that guarantee lots of bandwidth.

It may cost more than this board does (I've heard $1,300 a month, which is more than a good site would be, though), but it's worth it. It really is.

And have you considered that now you'll be guaranteed double posts? Since all the non supporters will be posting their theories here and the supporters will be doing so in the main forum?

EDIT: Out of curiosity, how much bandwidth does this site use per month (or can you not tell)?

[NokomisIsABadRobot]

Why not just delete the repeat posts? That would punish the ones who need it, and not make the rest of us sit here dying for a jar of bloody peanut butter!

[Aaron's Mum]

The whole purpose of not letting us view is because they pay based on views, not posts. I am assuming by the low # of posts here that newbies are simply waiting until 9am to go to the "Real" thread. I think it might be a good idea. Look at how big the episode discussion thread gets becasue you have a hundred people posting the same ideas and questions before they stop to read. So by really limiting access then maybe only one person will post that idea thus making less for everyone to readbefore posting in the morning. Maybe then people will ACTUALLY read the posts first. I am much more willing to read 3 pages than 30.

[mariodiclerico]

Wow!

Holy power trip, Batman!



You guys are <snip> morons for doing this.




There are dozens of better ways to solve your problem. The easiest would be to open a new ezboard for each of what is now a "forum". Then link them all from the main site. It would disperse all the traffic significantly. But, I guess, that wouldn't let you feel elite and special.....

Edited for language. -TPTP

[lhorg]

You obviously did a very bad choice by choosing ezboard, and now you are alienating the avererage posters.

If you look at the list of people who have paid, it is mostly operators.

[lhorg]

YOU really suck.

[tampadelphian]

I'm disappointed, too, as I've made it a point in my 15+ years to never pay for any membership to any site. But I understand that the "Wise ones" who run this board are more than likely "takin' it up the tailpipe" in out of pocket expenses. So, I will attempt to find another board who has intelligent, if a little bit elitist, and interesting posters like this site.

[HokieStone]

As a newer board member I have to say that I have never been on a board with so many restrictions nor have I been on a board where the owner/admin/whoever so blatantly (basically) makes those of us who have not contributed to the Community Chest or EZ-Supporter sound ane mayve feel like lowlifes....you may as well call us that.

Couldn't agree more. I think I posted once or twice here in the past to ask a question, but I'm mainly a lurker. I've never seen a board come close to being as newbie-unfriendly as this one. The mods seem laughably anal about everything.

In fact, if you want a good laugh, try going to the forum called "the basement" (although I'm not sure if it exists anymore - may just be archives). The one time I went and looked around in there, it seemed to exist for the sole purpose of about 10 or so people to pat each other on the back and completely ridicule and slam anybody else who dared make a post. You had to be approved by the clique before you were allowed to post anything. I don't know what was more ludicrous - the high and mighty clique members, or the folks apologizing and grovelling for acceptance. I think I decided that day that this board is run by high schoolers.

Like others, despite the uber-restrictive nature of the board, I've found good discussion and theories here. (And the anal-ness of the board made me laugh more than angry, because as I said I tend to be a lurker - I don't need to post 1000 messages. But I guess they're going over the top now. I'll probably still check in, just to see how well this new "plan" works, but I'm sure I can find other "Lost" message boards as well.

[salem2005]

but I'm sure I can find other "Lost" message boards as well.

Actually, once I found out this one was closed to us tonight....I went over to ABC.com's official LOST message board...and they have some really good posts going on over there....also, there is always The Fuselage, the JJ Abrams official message boards...just thought I'd pass that info along.

It's sad that this board had to come to this....there are so many people with great minds here....it will be interesting to see how many "duplicate" posts they get just by their paying customers....I'll bet there will still be a lot. Anyway, it's a free country...and the site administrators can do whatever they want with this board...as noted, there are other boards out there that we can visit and when they unlock here, we can always visit here too.

[CipherBIF]

I don't understand how locking non ezsupporters out of the main discussion thread is going to keep your costs down. They are still here just posting in this forum and still running up the views. When I clicked on the discussion I wondered where in the hell everyone went because there is very little discussion going on. There is more here than the main discussion thread.

I am also a member on a phBB board and with great mods its easy to manage. Several forums are restricted as to who can post new topics and a linear discussion thread is managed. Once the main thread reaches 80 pages, we nominate new thread titles and an admin starts a new thread. Other areas of the board allow anyone to post new topics but there are very clear rules about posting in the appropriate forum and staying on topic in a thread. Seems like there has alwyas been much less trouble than any ezboards that I have visited.

[wachtourak]

If Ezboard costs you so much, why don't you use a free alternative like PHPBB (a much much better forum system IMO), or just go to the free Ezboard, and set up an IRC chatroom or something?

[123 Blink]

I've got to add my two cents worth here. As soon as LOST began to air tonight I went to this message board as usual, and at first I couldn't figure out what was going on. During commercials though, after fumbling around the board and finally ending up on this page, I figured it out. (And yes, I read all the posts first.) My reaction was of surprise, disgust, and insult.

Most of my time on this board is as a lurker. Alot of smart people post there ideas here and I enjoy reading them. So excuse me if I'm not a "paying guest" and not a member of the clique. I kind of feel like Arnst. And as I recall, it did him no good to complain to Hurley about the clique on the island either.

I guess I'll be moving on to other LOST forums if these guys don't figure out some other way to do this.

[Jaffa420]

"But we're desperate to control the flood of duplicates we get each week, and we've frankly run out of ideas that work"

Thanks for finally saying the REAL reason. I'd had enough of the bandwidth and cost issue nonsense.

This site doesn't save money for locking us out. If it was page views that was the concern then we wouldn't be "Allowed" to view and post here would we.

Thanks for your candor.

[LostInWilderness]

The number of posts and undoubtly page views that kill us after a new episode this season is way down tonight. Also, GD, T&S, and these new forums are all readable tonight, which they haven't been yet this season. I hope everyone sticks around and buys 6 months ezsupporter (for $7, or 1/2 the cost of a pizza) to help keep our costs down until we can move to a system that supports our size.

[MrLocke23]

TV.COM has a great LOST board.

[Brian]

TV.COM has a great LOST board.
Thanks for the heads up! That said, if you truly believe what you just said, why are you here? :|

[jackfalstaff]

I would like to echo the sentiments of others that the restrictions on this board are counter-productive and off putting.

agreed. i'm looking at this forum and seeing poor moderating and a bad case of oldbie-ism. i WOULD be seeing interesting, intelligent posts, if i were not barred from the boards that contain them.

the old boys club of this board needs to realize that while they may be veterans of the Lost fandom, they're very obviously newbies to television fandom in general. in a large forum for an active tv show (i run one, thanks), you're going to have new stupid people coming in ALL THE TIME. and most of the time, they don't mean any harm, they're just new. so deal with it in a way that is effective, weans them quickly from their newbie-ignorance, and does not inconvenience your other members rather than this ridiculous arrangement that cripples the forum on the most important night of the week and alienates legit posters.

post your policy and rules clearly (ie: duplicate posts will be deleted), then follow through on it. all you have to do is delete those duplicate posts. you don't have to scold the poster, or lock them and write a witty explanation, or write any explanation at all. just delete them and those who make them will either learn to become productive members of the forum, or leave. those who are already productive members of the forum won't even notice.

places on the internet that house great masses of people ought to be run smoothly, not bashed with a sledgehammer. that is, if you want your place to be enjoyable for the general public. if you only want it to be enjoyable for a select few golden kids, keep going.

[wharf rat]

Interesting developments on this board. Being in Hawaii we get the episode last. So I don't look at stuff about the show from about 3:00 p.m. on ... And since the "others" have had hours to post stuff it is rare I have any new insights on the episode. Usually I post something related to filming in Hawaii. But it is "their" board and what they do with it is OK by me I guess. I enjoy reading all the posts and posting tid bits about filming here. Whatever. Check my "Sawyer got robbed" post. Now that is a "Hawaii unique post"....

[momorx7]

id call myself an average user, and im not comin back till its free. you shouldent have to pay for anything on the internet. people can always try to make money, but there is ALWAYS someone willing to do it for free.

the users of this board make it what it is. locking them out is going to dramatically smash this forum. hope you guys figure out an alternative soon, as for me

im off to www.abc.com

[mrman505]

Go to freakin runboard.com, make a forum exactly like this.

[cajdb]

I understand that this situation must be very frustrating. I just want to remind everyone that you can also get an EZSupporter account through the Metareward program. If you use the Metareward program you don't have to pay for your account.

I haven't done this myself because I already have an account, but I have included a post below from soundthetoll.

soundthetoll wrote:

Found one of the offers that doesn't require credit card info ( or even your address for that matter).

Accept the "tickle.com" offer for a 12 month ezsupporter. You don't have to buy anything or give out your address. I'm still waiting on confirmation, but this looks to be the best way for people who are unwilling to use credit cards or for those that don't have credit cards.


I don't know if this particular offer is still available, but I if you don't want to buy an account, I encourage you to take a look and see if you can get one for free.

I'd also like to say that my newbie experience on this board was met with nothing but kindness. I made stupid newbie mistakes (couldn't figure out for the life of me how to post my avatar at first and didn't see the Help board in front of my face) but the mods took the time to explain and point me in the right direction.

I'm feeling a bit battered and bruised by all the complaining, and can only imagine how the people who devote a significant portion of their time to this board must feel.

I know we're all virtual here on the internet, but there are people on the other end of these connections...

[Gumballr11]

I was surprised and dissapointed too, but I'm not going to bother subscribing because I'm in Australia, and I have to download several hours after the US shows the episode anyway.
It is kind of stupid, though, and this board is bound to lose regulars, but I still think this is a great board to discuss thoughts, theories and what not (just not repetitively)!

On the upside I am kind of glad I don't have toll through eighty pages of the episode discussion.

[NokomisIsABadRobot]

On the upside I am kind of glad I don't have toll through eighty pages of the episode discussion.

But you will. As soon as the General board opens up, there will be tons of people copying their posts here over there. This could have been handled so much differently. Last week I believe we had a Mod so excited about the show that they actually asked for an 80 page discussion (or something like that) this week.........we get thrown out on a raft without so much as Sawyer to keep us company. All of this could be handled by making the Mods the only ones who can start new posts (you have to PM them with ideas) and if the Mods would simply delete the repeats.

[Gumballr11]

NokomisSplash - your right.
Now I'm annoyed.

[LostMyWetsuit]

whining and moaning, quitcher bit***ng and cough up a measly 7 bucks, I'm just waiting for my paycheck to clear my bank account, and I'll buy easy supporter, yeah, ezboards is a pain, but I don't know how many of you have ever dealt with VBullitin, just as much of a pain. Honestly, if you cant come up with a feasable alternative, you have 2 choices put up or shut up. If it's not worth 7 bucks to hang around here for 6 months, then maybe you should leave, and if you cant put out 7 bucks for six months, then you need a new job, either that, or maybe mommy just doesn't want you spending so much time on the internet and not doing your homework, so she won't give you 7 dollars, in which case, you probably have bigger issuses than "ez board sucks"

[HokieStone]

It's not the money for most people, I'm guessing - it's the principle of the matter. Take for example - I wasn't allowed to post or even read messages on the general board (like most other folks here) - but that didn't stop the admins from copying my post about the milk carton over the general board. Just a wee bit hypocritical, don't you think? Not to mention, it would seem like they would have saved themselves some work if I had just been able to post it directly in the general forum in the first place.

[tony43221]

Just my 2 cents, but if I read correctly the whole reason for not moving to a free or less expensive ez-board for the time being simply because of the chatroom? Now I have barely used the chatroom and I definitely don't go in during the episodes, I'm busy watching, but I did go in last night after invasion. There were 10 people in there. During the day there are between 1 and 7 or 8. There are 4 in there right now as I write this. Is it really worth it?

I spent most of my time at the fuselage last season and lurked here occasionally. I posted a few times under another login name. The first episode, the fuselage was overwhelmed and I couldn't post or read there so I came here and haven't really looked back. After this I'm more than likely just going to go back there. Apparently I won't be missed since I'm not a paying customer, at least that's the vibe I get.

[sawyerhasbestlines]

This board is paid for by the 2% of the people who has an EZ supporter.

That means EZ supporters are subsidizing everyone else.

The board needs around $5,600 to operate for the next 6 months.

Lurking is not free, each page per view is a charge.

When this board was created, it was very small. Right now it is huge, one of the biggest and most popular sites. The fuselage is funded by the owners.

Right now the mods have been paying a lot of the costs to maintain this board out of their pockets.

If you find yourself here a lot, lurking or posting, then either sign up for a free ez supporter, or fork over a meager $7. Do you get more out of 2 cappicino's or months on the board lurking???? It's up to you to decide, and do the right thing.

Planning to move this site to a *free* place is in the works. But it requires planning, and a lot of work by the mods. And we may lose certain perks that we have here, like chat. So in the meantime, if those of you who have gotten more from this site than you've put, in how about forking over $7 to keep the place going for the next 6 months.

[mnchick]

actually was an ezSupporter BEFORE coming to this board. If you pay for ezSupporter, it works on ALL boards, not just this one. I'm sure there is one board, somewhere, that you'll think is worth $7 (if you decide that this one isn't worth it in the end). I think this is an important point that people might not know.

I am not talking just about EZsupporter...I too was an EZsupporter until just a month or so ago when my subscription ran out. I was talking about contributing to the community chest of a board...I should have been more specific. I know that EZsupporter goes across all boards you post on on the network but the Community Chest is a separate donation..

[mnchick]

They do make duplicate threads but their threads don't cost anything.

If they are an EZsupporter they don't cost anything...I realize that. But they are still duplicate threads, know what I mean? That seems to be a pet peeve around here. My point was that paying for EZsupporter or contributing to the Community Chest doesn't cut down on duplicate threads which seems to be one of the main issues here as well as the fact that not everyone contributes to the money pot (Community Chest) or is an EZsupporter.

And yes, I am still here and posting here because I like it here. I just don't agree with all of the restrictions. But then again, when is everyone going to agree with everything all the time right? ;)

I'm just waiting for my paycheck to clear my bank account, and I'll buy easy supporter. If it's not worth 7 bucks to hang around here for 6 months, then maybe you should leave, and if you cant put out 7 bucks for six months, then you need a new job, either that, or maybe mommy just doesn't want you spending so much time on the internet and not doing your homework, so she won't give you 7 dollars, in which case, you probably have bigger issuses than "ez board sucks"

If you can not "put out" $7.00 because you are waiting for your paycheck to clear the bank then I don't think you need to be b****ing at people who can not afford the extra money for EZsupporter or the Community Chest eh? You obviously can't afford it right now if you can't spend the $7.00 (an amount EVERYONE should be able to afford according to your post or else we MUST have "bigger issues" according to you.) until your paycheck clears the bank. Quit being so judgemental and nasty when you don't even seem to have that money to purchase EZsupporter or give to the Community Chest until by your own words "your paycheck clears the bank."

The number of posts and undoubtly page views that kill us after a new episode this season is way down tonight. Also, GD, T&S, and these new forums are all readable tonight, which they haven't been yet this season. I hope everyone sticks around and buys 6 months ezsupporter (for $7, or 1/2 the cost of a pizza) to help keep our costs down until we can move to a system that supports our size.

This is how it should have been approached in the first place. :) I think that the response would have been better. :)

[lhorg]

Well, this forum would cost much more, if they don't take the chatroom.

In fact, if you pay for this board, you are paying for the chatroom used by 2% of posters.

I really don't understand why they don't just use a damn free irc chatroom, instead.

[Suil Liath]

Using an IRC chat room is possible -- we'd have to get that set up, have a link put it somewhere, that kind thing thing. Something I'm not against. Someone want to help me with that?

I want the board to be entirely free and self supporting. If we're on a dedicated server etc. we can do that.

The chat room is believe it or not a big draw. If I have certain chat room software that I want, it can have unlimted membes.

[tony43221]

The chat room is believe it or not a big draw.

Not trying to argue or anything, you are the one in charge here and have more insight than anyone, but are you sure about this? I have never seen more than 10 or 12 people chatting at once and right now as I post this 6 people are chatting out of 1038 currently on the boards. Is it better to inconvenience the .005% that are using chat or the vast majority that are not ezsupporters?

[deeprivergal]

If anyone's interested a few of us started a new forum over at invision. It's free and will stay free for everyone. We even have a radio personality that mentioned us on the air today. You're all welcome to join us

www.flight815.hereweb.com (http://www.flight815.hereweb.com)

[LostMyWetsuit]

If you can not "put out" $7.00 because you are waiting for your paycheck to clear the bank then I don't think you need to be b****ing at people who can not afford the extra money for EZsupporter or the Community Chest eh? You obviously can't afford it right now if you can't spend the $7.00 (an amount EVERYONE should be able to afford according to your post or else we MUST have "bigger issues" according to you.) until your paycheck clears the bank. Quit being so judgemental and nasty when you don't even seem to have that money to purchase EZsupporter or give to the Community Chest until by your own words "your paycheck clears the bank."

personal attacks? Lets just say that I can more than afford it, but why spend money when I get paid at midnight? I don't like hanging transactions between pay periods. Oh yeah, and I'm not known for being a tactful person, actually I get in trouble for being blunt occassionally.

ahh well c'est la vie pour la morte.

[LoveRiot]

Being new to a board, I like to be certain that I actually like being a member first before contributing money..that means any board..not just this one. Why contribute to something you are not sure you'll even like?

I agree. Add to that--why do I want to pay for 6 month or yearly subscription when it sounds like this board isn't going to be here for that long.

[LoveRiot]

post your policy and rules clearly (ie: duplicate posts will be deleted), then follow through on it. all you have to do is delete those duplicate posts. you don't have to scold the poster, or lock them and write a witty explanation, or write any explanation at all. just delete them and those who make them will either learn to become productive members of the forum, or leave. those who are already productive members of the forum won't even notice.

Amen!

[LoveRiot]

Can you tell me when exactly are you going to move? What's the point of asking all the visitors to pay here when you are planning to move to a bigger, better, site with more functionality--then you'll ask for more money for that site???

[LawL]

I am an affiliate to this site, through www.thelosties.com (http://www.thelosties.com) ; Now I have been watching this for several days, and the main reason I made my site was because of whats going on over here..., I am currently experiencing 2k+ hits a day just from here due to the problems on this site.. I know the 7.00 sounds like a lot, but if you not satisified then dont go here go to a completly free site, there are many including my page thelosties.com; and it will stay 100% free forever, you have my garuntee.

They can only do so much here, and until they move...its going to be like this...sad but true.

[voltaire]

seems i started quite some discussion. inspired by the "OFFICIAL all backwards/mirrored thread", i'd like to make another suggestion: during the time the boards are closed for non-ez supporters, would the ez supporters have the discipline to set up a number of "official topic xyz" threads for the most obvious of the new stuff to be discussed after each new episode?

to make it clearer: after s02e04, we have new topics such as

- the official second hatch thread
- the official milk carton thread
- the official bernard thread

and stuff like that. assuming that most posters, even newbiews, enter the general discussion or t&s and take a look at the topics on the very first page of each subforum, this might prevent them at least a little to open up the 30th milk carton thread. since one of the problems obviously is that people are to lazy to use the search, would it help to stick topics in people's faces if those topics were the most current one's after re-opening the forums? i know this would cause some work for the mods, and is not a perfect solution. but maybe a step in the right direction...

[RogsAngel1198]

There are some other great boards out there that are FREE to anyone who wants to post/lurk.
Lost fever (http://www.lostfever.com/forums/index.php?) is one of them.
Come on over!

[sawyerhasbestlines]

I dunno Rogs, I just checked out the lost fever site.

I'm not impressed for a few reasons. Theories only has 4 theories total, which were all were stolen from here. (at least credit was given) But it's a mere imitation of this place. Why date a clone, when you can have the real thing?

[LawL]

not impressed either...shotty graphics, crap banner on default skin...



www.thelosties.com (http://www.thelosties.com)

[LawL]

also a measly 5 users online today....big volume :P more people signed up just to win a dvd and never come back.

[Dread Pirate Yukon]

I dunno Rogs, I just checked out the lost fever site.

I'm not impressed for a few reasons. Theories only has 4 theories total, which were all were stolen from here. (at least credit was given) But it's a mere imitation of this place. Why date a clone, when you can have the real thing?

One of the four was taken from here with permisison from the original poster and I might add that its the best theory out there. So its not suprising. Besides it deserves to be published rather then lost in the archives here. Also there are only 4 topics because others have not been touched in so long. Its not a fault of the board its mostly becuase of the lack of members. And everyone has to start somewhere right?

Why date clone? cause the clone isn't a bitch.

not impressed either...shotty graphics, crap banner on default skin...
also a measly 5 users online today....big volume :P more people signed up just to win a dvd and never come back.


I personally think the colors on this site are the most god awful choice available in fact I almost quit coming because of the colors... 5 users on line today? hmm thats pretty good were at 6% of our user base, and today this site is only at 3% so we are doing twice as good as this site.

For crying out loud you can't compare this site to a fans site that started at the end of last season. Of course this place has more content and more posts its because it has 1000 times more members.

Remember when you give 10000 monkeys a keyboard they are bound to come up with at least one good lost theory.

[Suil Liath]

We'll move as soon as we come up with a server etc. At this point, unless someone steps forward to help format and migrate posters and posts (phbb, for all it's woes seems to be the one which can do that), and generally ASSIST, we lumber, not speed forward. We know what we want to do however, require some HELP from web savvy folk.

So far about three people other than the mod staff have offered any suggestions or assistance.

At this point phbb is the only forum software where we can map over the ezboard stuff. As far as I know, vbulletin does not and I have asked invision but haven't gotten a reply.

And why am I wanting to do this? So that people don't have to re register. They'll still have to reenter passwords BUT they won't have to sign up again.

We don't want to create more of a hassle for frequent posters in getting to a new board than possible.

We need a dedicated server capable of handling upwards of 300 g of bandwidth a month.

Currently the site uses 100 g a month. No fooling. This includes the innumerable page views by registered, non posting members AND people who don't post at all or register, but just read. I have no more of a desire to lock them out than the rest of you.

Any of you who are willing to participate in solving the moving problem, feel free to IM me.

BUT: here's the kicker. Someone is going to be unhappy no matter what we do. It's inevitable.

Regarding a chat room: whoever of you would like to help me with that, again, feel free to pm me. Should we not be able to engineer our move by the time the renewal is due, I want to accomodate the chatters.

[LoveRiot]

Good idea, Voltaire!

[NokomisIsABadRobot]

I'm happy to see that you guys are taking steps to solve the problem. I don't know how much experience you require to help with the move, but I'm volunteering. Although, I might be more of a burden than a help..lol.
Right now, I can offer a freebie MSN chatroom that you can link to until you find the kind you want. All you'd have to do is put a link up to it from here. Of course with MSN, you'd have to have the net passport to use it, but thats about 3 minutes of your time. Let me know.

I also would be willing to help copy stuff over. My knowledge is pretty limited on websites and how they are run, but if you can give me simple directions, I could follow that.

[Suil Liath]

whoever posted before Lewtuan (pardon me while I go bleach my eyeballs)

thank you for the offer. We're going to try one of two things, and one of them would be using IRC or SOMETHING so that people don't have to get an msn or yahoo account, and they don't have to download software or something like that.

BTW: No need to respond to Lewthan. He's gone.

[NokomisIsABadRobot]

Okay, let me know if you need some help moving posts or whatever..

[Suil Liath]

Nok: if you know thing about web design, html, css or ezboard, pm me please!

[LoStMyMiNd]

LostFever sucks. I tried it and its really super boring. Hardly anyone posting there, and very little interesting things being posted. I'd rather lurk or post around here.

I think this forum is good for all you newbies so that you can test your T&S ideas over here before you graduate to actually posting things that haven't been discussed before. After you've been posting on this site for awhile, I am willing to bet that you will get annoyed by the new posters that post before thinking too. Everyone's time is valuable and its just plain irritating to come to GD or T&S when I have a bit of a break and just read tons and tons of garbage that has been hashed and rehashed over and over again.

The owner of this board and the mods have made a special place for you to post. I have never read so much garbage and disrespect from their guests in my life. You are all a bunch of whiners as far as I'm concerned.

I am here to see if anyone has anything new to say about the show, but all I am seeing is a bunch of whining babies. If you don't like it here, go somewhere else!

[I like to listen]

^^^^Ditto^^^^^

[NokomisIsABadRobot]

But this board wasn't created for newbies to learn how to post. It was created for anyone who doesn't pay to use this site to post during the show day. Big difference.
It could be people who have been on this board for a year that are now being told to go sit at the kids table.

I learned on a different (much stricter) board that you read and pay attention before you post in a thread..After reading several posters remarks to those who don't, I figured out on my own that you shouldnt post a bunch of repeat things. Yes everyones time is valuable, but this has very little to do with the amount of time you've been on this site. It does have alot to do with whether you have paid for it.

I understand that the large problem with newbies not reading exists, but blocking out everyone who doesn't pay wasn't a fair way to deal with the members who can follow board etiquette.:)

[LoStMyMiNd]

As I understand it, its for people that are non ez supporters because non ez supporters cost money in posts and views. If the mods let everone run amock in GD and T&S then the people that post valid fresh ideas would be forced out due to the ungodly amount of newbies posting ideas that have already been discussed ad nauseum.

So they made this section for the new posters who are not ez supporters and non contributers ie lurkers so that they would have a place to practice their ideas without their posts being locked or deleted or redirected.

I think its a win win but I realize not everyone is going to be pleased. There will always be the complainers and the whiners and IMO they can go somewhere else if they don't like the rules here. Unfortunately, there is not much out there that has as interesting ideas as there are here.

Its too bad that a few newbies has forced the hand of the mods but I think it had to be done

[NokomisIsABadRobot]

I still disagree. Yes..there were many newbies that were coming in on Wednesday nights. Yes they were posting the same things over and over....and whether thats the group the Mods wanted to keep at bay...it's not the only group that this decision kept at bay. (There have also been numerous old timers who felt they were above reading the threads before throwing their own ideas out there.)
For this board to go from an occasional ''hey, support us if you can'' to ''if you dont pay you dont read or post'' overnight was harsh. So I fully understand the angry sentiments that were thrown about last week. You can't expect people to be happy or understanding with a board changing it's policy within 1 day of that policy changing. People will get used to it or they will leave. It isn't really up to you to force the issue and possibly cost this board members and future members.
Seriously, it looks like you and I are the only ones still discussing this 5 days after the fact. Me defending our position, and you telling us to get lost cause we're whiners. I'd say the people who were complaining, have already made their choice.;)

[I like to listen]

NokomisSplash said;
Seriously, it looks like you and I are the only ones still discussing this 5 days after the fact.
Ditto saves keystrokes and time so I can go on to other threads that are relative to Lost. I do not have alot of time since I am earning $7 to pay for my ezSupporter.

ODammet said;
So they made this section for the new posters who are not ez supporters and non contributers ie lurkers so that they would have a place to practice their ideas without their posts being locked or deleted or redirected.

NokomisSplash replies;
...it's not the only group that this decision kept at bay. (There have also been numerous old timers who felt they were above reading the threads before throwing their own ideas out there.)
Seems like a parallel observation. ;) Killing two birds with one stone.

NokomisSplash said;
You can't expect people to be happy or understanding with a board changing it's policy within 1 day of that policy changing. People will get used to it or they will leave. It isn't really up to you to force the issue and possibly cost this board members and future members.
Here is a thought. Things change. EzSupporters are not costing the board with their posts. Redundent or not. They usually understand locking if they do.
They paid their real $7 to support the board then the methaphorical 2cents to post about fairness and harshness and what may happen in the future.

I realize that some non-ezSupporters have offered their time and services. That is a good idea, one can also use time and services to gather 700 pennies so their HELP doesn't cost the board money when they add their 2cts.

This may be a radical idea, but sometimes paying customers/supporters usualy get a different treatment. This is not elitist, it is supporting patronage. Membership has it privileges it has been said, hence no sitting at the kiddie-table, waving fist at the sky because it is unfair.

[Suil Liath]

This board was NEVER free. It was always a Gold community. Duplicate posts were always locked or moved. There is not change. What has changed is the sheer volume and the number of people who think the guidelines don't apply to them.

What the board is now is HUGE. And whether we announce policy changes or not SOMEONE WILL BE UNHAPPY.

Simple as that.

Now we have changed the landscape AGAIN because of excessive trolling and now people have to apply to the board which pisses me off to no end because now I gotta send PM's to people to ask them a couple of things and this is NOT how I want to do business.

In all seriousness, you buy a newspaper if you want to read it. You pay for cable service. If you don't want to buy a book, you go to the library but you can't keep the book longer than two or three weeks.

Why people bitch so loudly about supporting a forum --and the forum owners and mods aren't making a salary off of this the way the cable company is -- is just beyond me.

Having said that and despite the bitching and complaining we get from mostly new people -- yes mostly new people -- we are working on a way to keep the board free and keep all the little fun things that we like.

What this will mean is that if you are not an ezsupporter you will have to look at ezboard ads. Do not complain to me if this bothers you.

Duplicate threads will be locked. Threads in the wrong forum will be moved. This is not going to change. And yes, we are going to moderate activity on Wednesday nights.

We will do whatever we can to minimize chaos so that people who DO want to participate in the community can enjoy it. And some people will be unhappy. Some people won't.

[Brian]

While I hesitate to do so, I can only offer, in regard to Suils comments: You can make some of the people happy all of the time and all of the people happy some of the time!

Regardless of the path we choose, someone's going to be upset. What we have to do is make the best possible choice for the majority here and the board in general. Suil, being the owner of the board, has a Herculean task on her shoulders. I've said that before and I can only hope you all appreciate what that really means in regard to this board. Would I say that if I weren't in the position I'm in? Abso-freaking-lutely! I've done it for months! Those of you who know me know that I never lie to anyone at any time.

If you have relevant tech info relating to this, PM Suil! I know she'd love to hear what you have to say! She's put out the call before, and since she has to do it over and over again, obviously she hasn't gotten the answers she's looking for/ relevant information.

Suil's the owner, but we are all a part of what she's created here; what we've all created here. Have a better idea? Speak up! Not necessarily here in this forum, but PM Suil Liath and let her know what you're thinking! This board is what it is because of you, me, Suil, the other mods, and everyone else here. It's not a single person operation, trust me on that! You do have a voice in the way this goes. Feel free to speak up. Suils name is at the top of every forum here. She isn't that hard to find. :)

[Suil Liath]

LOL. You know when you're trying to win someone over, user their name a lot!!!!!

Master Xander created the board back in March, 2004. Let's not forget that. I just assumed the helm in June of this year.