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[Hawks Eclipse]

Don't take this as a dismissal of your concerns, but instead as complete agreement.

I'm quite certain you wrote this because you're aware that the most well-intentioned text can still be misunderstood online unless it's coupled with just the right number and placement of emoticons.

And no I didn't read it as dismissal. I'm actually chuckling and smiling now cause we're sprouting a different branch off this obvious drama thread and I genuinely like the individual points and thoughts you've brought up, it's good stuff, you shouldn't be giving this away for free (lol)

- blogs are the best place for someone who wishes to speak their own long-form opinions, but there's no quality filter and often you're shouting into the void. In the past, blogs would hyperlink to one another and form community circles to get around this issue, which has not been solved and (arguably) has only worsened

I think they're great, but unless the blog has a lot of clout, which was easier back then, its outreach is going to be smaller in relation to all the other avenues so far. Btw, OutrageousFacts has a good, passionate blog, so he gets a shoutout here

social media like Facebook / Twitter / etc are not sufficient for meaningful longform conversation, partially because of the short length / attention span but also because the lack of anonymity means you will get fewer longform conversations when personal egos are visibly on the line.

I think there have been studies and whatnot, about how these particular avenues are hijacking our brains, that we're not suited to handle this much stimulation at a given time. I will always say that there are good things to be found on Twitter and FB, it's just that the relative amount of bad stuff is much higher and we've gotta wade through that.

- superforums like Reddit have some longform, but it is squelched by the upvoting, which means that groupthink will always slowly take over. Year ago, i was on reddit regularly like many IT employees and I hoped it could truly be the post-forum reality, but it is not.

Yea, even without downvotes, the upvotes result in mostly "low-brow" stuff being brought to the surface. Knowing when the top posts are mere entertainment vs actual good info is a mini challenge of its own. My main beef with Reddit was how transient it was: I didn't like that posts couldn't be edited after 6 months and that generally it wasn't very conducive if you wanted to make it a good post to disseminate good info over the long term.
But, if you could get a good conversation going there, it was almost always worth it.

- fully anonymous forums/boards like 4chan do not require you to put any skin in the game or ego on the line. A post made yesterday has no bearing on one made today, so you can easily skate between standpoints for the fun of it (trolling) instead of standing firmly behind your true beliefs.

Double-edged sword. It allows for the most unfiltered opinions (in all manifestations) but as a result your own filter has to be stronger than Conan. Have never been a channer though I've browsed some threads a few times looking for obscure, esoteric stuff in the past. Not my thing, unfortunately.

- Discord is one long scrolling conversation, nearly impossible to go back to old conversations or look up info. Long-form is contrary to the nature and design of chatrooms.

I have never used Discord. I imagine it's like ICQ or Skype? If so, great for small scale conversations (3-4 at max IMO), which can sometimes go heavily in depth. Probably loses potency exponentially once you add more people beyond that number. That's my speculation on it anyway.

- somewhat related: the ability to do podcasts means that someone can speak their mind without necessarily being able to write well, and if the opinion is entertaining enough, they'll gain attention.

I think due to its live and spontaneous nature, it needs the right balance of personalities. Sort of self-moderating amongst a small enough group. The spontaneity is great though; I sometimes don't write long posts because I'm too anal about all the details and whatnot, so I end up just not posting.

Even so, we have many examples here on GAF of users volunteering paragraphs to a thread, not because they got a ton of attention for it (usually just a few likes from the regulars in the thread) but because they're genuinely interested in the topic.

I'll have to visit the Community threads more then. I'm primarily active on Gaming side, lurk around in the other sections and just avoid drama as much as possible.

And as always, thanks for the quick delivery, lololol!

 

[Bonfires Down]

I don't visit Era often (once every few months?) but I remember that when I do, I see plenty of news I wouldn't see on GAF.

Recently I noticed r/pcgaming posts a lot of shit that I'm interested in.

Wouldn't mind finding some more subreddits that post news/patches/etc.

I visit GAF because I like posting here and feel like I can speak my mind.

We need less lazy people here to really make a difference hah. Myself included.

I like r/patientgamers too, though it’s not news but rather writings on older games but generally with effort put in. Metacouncil is great for everything PC and niche, but only the Steam thread is really active. They are Era refugees so politics are the same but they rarely come up in discussions.

 

[Rubik8]

Dunno. Seems like most GAF’ers hate games and everything gaming related.

 

[peronmls]

If you look closely it's mostly PlayStation and PC fans on GAF. Which is not a problem. Just not a whole lot of talk about other consoles.

 

[Allnamestakenlol]

What's an example of a non-enthusiast gaming forum?

 

[mansoor1980]

 

[Hawks Eclipse]

I could open some topics for some good indie games if you are okay with reading a shitty writed OT from a non-native english talker...

Would be great if you could shed some light on games that need them.

Actually, it might be a bit troublesome but maybe we could have a specific thread to send OTs for "editing", where volunteers can proofread and rewrite the text up to a certain standard, then have the OP edit it back in to the thread.

Edit: Removed extra letter.

 

[DESTROYA]

Not sure why anyone would willfully go to Reeeeeeee. in the first place.

 

[MeatSafeMurderer]

Some would say we are a crew of Nazis that dabble in the odd game.

Hans...are we the baddies?

 

[GymWolf]

Would be great if you could shed some light on games that need them.

Actually, it might be a bit troublesome but maybe we could have a specific thread to send OTs for "editing", where volunteers can proofread and rewrite the text up to a certain standard, then have the OP edit it back in to the thread.

Edit: Removed extra letter.

I was expecting something like " don't worry buddy, your english is fine"

 

[Hawks Eclipse]

JK Rowling is a transphobic bigot, and you shouldn't support her or Harry Potter.

Here's a new thread, with an OP of all her awfulness. Since an awful lot of Era seems like they don't care that Rowling is a bigot and just want to enjoy their Harry Potter video game. Also before someone asks, the definition of TERF TERF is an acronym for trans-exclusionary radical feminist...

www.resetera.com

I miss the thread here where we could slag them off. That thread i posted is just fucking unbelievable, and so many of them just blindly agree with each other on topics they know fuck all about. Mentally ill people gathered together to play the victim, such an unhealthy place. Its like the gaming equivalent of a FB anxiety group where nobody wants to get better, just revel in each others misery.

I know it's easy to get caught up in it...

Guess what I'm going to do after reading and replying to your post? I'm not clicking that thread, I'm not going to read it. I'm just going to keep talking about games (not sales, not wars, just games and what they do well).

Channel your time and energy elsewhere. This should be a gaming enthusiast forum, not a resetera enthusiast forum.

And apologies in advance if I sound patronising, I've been through your phase before, it's miserable as fuck.

 

[Gamerguy84]

I've asked my a couple friends if they knew who Ubisoft was and they looked at me like a dog tilts their head sideways. These guys are Madden COD people.

Yes GAF is an enthusiast forum.

As for all the system war stuff, yes it's irritating but after several comments from a user I ignore. There are a bunch of people that live for that. Honestly though I just can't argue with someone over a keyboard.

 

[Starlight Lotice]

Ask Danjin44 , as they have the ultimate answer.

 

[Hawks Eclipse]

I was expecting something like " don't worry buddy, your english is fine"

Oh, I can understand all your posts up till now, so yes your English is functionally fine.

And now I see my previous comment could have been read as a jab, I didn't mean for it to be that way.

Hope to see your OT soon anyway

 

[GymWolf]

Oh, I can understand all your posts up till now, so yes your English is functionally fine.

And now I see my previous comment could have been read as a jab, I didn't mean for it to be that way.

Hope to see your OT soon anyway

Dude i was joking, i know how bad my english is

 

[Derktron]

I would say it is only because you are freely allowed to say what you feel on the said topic and not get attacked from it when it comes to banning people. Because when it comes to ResetEra you have to be self conscious on what you put on there compared to NeoGaf. So I would say yeah it’s a place for that and more.

 

[Derktron]

What's an example of a non-enthusiast gaming forum?

ResetEra?

 

[Hawks Eclipse]

Dude i was joking, i know how bad my english is

For me bad English is when it makes it difficult to understand the meaning behind the sentence.

English is tricky even as a first language, so I try not to nitpick others' English unless it's really incomprehensible.

Anyway, we'll see how it goes when your OT is up. I'll offer to proofread it if I think it can make the OT better to read, otherwise I'll just discuss the game if I can, cheers!

 

[GymWolf]

For me bad English is when it makes it difficult to understand the meaning behind the sentence.

English is tricky even as a first language, so I try not to nitpick others' English unless it's really incomprehensible.

Anyway, we'll see how it goes when your OT is up. I'll offer to proofread it if I think it can make the OT better to read, otherwise I'll just discuss the game if I can, cheers!

I think that i'm just gonna copy some img, gif, videos from the steam page and just adding some personal comments on why i think that the game is good.

A proper gigantic OT with everything written by me would means like half a day working on it with how slow i am, and i really don't have the time

 

[carlosrox]

And you were a member there before you came here

Yes, and?

When I joined I literally had no idea it was gonna be a tard SJW fest, and I didn't even catch wind of all that til later. The forum was pretty good for a while. Then it became a race to be the biggest pussy you could be and I had to bite my tongue on many a topic. Of course the few times I spoke my mind I caught a ban.

Some people there are cool but the overwhelming majority are tripping over eachother to fake woke.

 

[OverHeat]

More like a playstation forum right?

 

[Insane Metal]

Reeee-ers are the worst thing to ever happen to web forums.

FTFY

 

[Hawks Eclipse]

I think that i'm just gonna copy some img, gif, videos from the steam page and just adding some personal comments on why i think that the game is good.

A proper gigantic OT with everything written by me would means like half a day working on it with how slow i am, and i really don't have the time

No worries, I know it takes a lot of time and effort too. Just shine a spotlight on the good games and hopefully enough people can keep it going

 

[Fake]

 

[Freeman76]

I know it's easy to get caught up in it...

Guess what I'm going to do after reading and replying to your post? I'm not clicking that thread, I'm not going to read it. I'm just going to keep talking about games (not sales, not wars, just games and what they do well).

Channel your time and energy elsewhere. This should be a gaming enthusiast forum, not a resetera enthusiast forum.

And apologies in advance if I sound patronising, I've been through your phase before, it's miserable as fuck.

I dont know why you assume i'm 'miserable as fuck' about it, if anything I find it hilarious!

 

[GymWolf]

Is he glad of being a cunt tho?!

 

[Soodanim]

At this point I've been using GAF as my news source for so long that I wouldn't know where to get new news to post here even I tried. I used to have a few RSS feeds, but they were 95% drivel so I scrapped it all.

 

[Animagic]

The type of games I like, as the years go by, there are less and less people online talking about them.

still, I’m happy to be here.

 

[AJUMP23]

Didn't Ghandi say something about liking games but not the gamers?

 

[MiguelItUp]

Sadly I feel like Era actually has a little more focus on low profile and indie games, while it’s all about AAA titles here.

I think it's primarily because a lot of devs choose to post there over GAF. It is what it is. Lord knows there are plenty of folks here that are into low profile and indie games.

For whatever reason GAF is hell, whereas that place is heaven in their eyes.

 

[Hawking Radiation]

It's supposed to be but half the time its comes across as a daycare center.

A lot of whiney little bitches running around here pretending to be gamers.

 

[Optimus Lime]

Gaming was so much better before anyone gave a shit about anything contained in the OP.

I mean, please. Who is 'an enthusiast' and who isn't? Get a life.

Get back to talking about whether Solid Snake could beat the Syphon Filter guy in a fist fight. That was much more fun.

 

[PleaseWaitStation4]

Everybody getting their shots in LOL!

 

[Dav-Kripler]

As for this thread? It's just the result of the Off-Topic Resetera thread being closed and someone wanting to stir up easy drama.

I won't lie, I do kinda miss it but sincerely I just wanted to show my appreciation for gaf after reading that depressing thread.

I don't think the question I parroted from there is really that relevant tbh. I love the forum where you can be yourself as long as you're not being a toxic asshole about it

Be kind to one another folks

As for the other place, it has its moments I guess, until the interesting convos get locked.

 

[Ladioss]

I suspect there are people on Gaf who enjoy playing videogames and who think fun things bring joy to the world. Not sure the same thing could be said for all gaming forums.

 

[CrustyBritches]

There's a difference between being a forum enthusiast and a gaming enthusiast. Because of the way smartphones, apps, and social media has evolved, forums are the new, old media. The way I see it, GAF is mostly centered around OTs and "super-threads". There's still plenty of niche threads like the recent AMIGA on Pi thread. Another is the RetroArch on Series S|X thread.

If you want that, you need to make it happen. Takes a lot of work to keep it going.

 

[Shai-Tan]

most indy games are too niche for any general gaming forum. the steam forums for most of those games are dead even if they sold decently enough.

 

[Danjin44]

Also... most of the people in this thread complaining about a lack of discussion of other topics and games don't seem to be going out of their way to start these discussions.

I often make topics about niche games but usually my threads quickly gets buried, most people here only wants to talk about graphics and tech more than actual games, I'm guessing they find it much more fun.

I personally find tech talk really boring and I'm not here to be Graphic/tech engineer, I like games and I want to talk about games. The problem is the games I usually like are really niche AA Japanese games that no one wants talk about.

 

[HaveButOneLife]

It's an extreme left circle jerk.

Era, that is.

 

[FrankWza]

The negativity enters quickly. Then, you feel like you should reply and it’s a cycle. There was a thread a while back for LG Oled deals and within the first page someone came in with their burn in, low light bullshit. It was a thread to give heads up on and what deals were available. Nope, had to be negative about it. It wasn’t an advice thread. They were already shopping.It’s more about justifying your purchase than helping.

 

[Rean no Kiseki]

Gaf is an enthusiast shitposting forum, and I am the emperor.

 

[PleaseWaitStation4]

Since they hijacked the attention of the gaming industry through lies and deceit, you can see for yourself the results. The industry has since become creatively bankrupt and changed to only serve the subset of the 3%. There is very little talent that could be mined from that forum beyond Tumblr - level artists and the lolz from seething mutants. Nothing you could bank on to any large amount. I like the gold, son!

 

[Thabass]

The biggest problem is the structure of this forum.

We have only one Gaming forum, that's it.
Of course more popular games will have more people talk about it.
Which in turn pushes these topics to the top of the list more often.
Which in turn pushes any topics about lesser-talked-about games to the bottom.
Which in turn makes nobody see these topics.
Which in turn makes even less people post in them...
Vicious cycle.

What this forum really needs is more sub-forums. It doesn't have to be overly detailed with every genre and sub-genre.
But at least splitting indie and AAA would do a lot of good, especially for people more interested in indie than AAA games.

Which then needs more moderators. I think the reason for their only being select # of forums, boards, ect is that they want to keep looking for more moderators low so that moderation does not become over bearing.

 

[HotPocket69]

I often make topics about niche games but usually my threads quickly gets buried, most people here only wants to take about graphics and tech more than actual games, I'm guessing they find it much more fun.

I personally find tech talk really boring and I'm not here to be Graphic/tech engineer, I like games and I want to talk about games. The problem is the games I usually like are really niche AA Japanese games that no one wants talk about.

I hear you brother. Nothing worse than pixel counters and framerate whores.

 

[TheSHEEEP]

Which then needs more moderators. I think the reason for their only being select # of forums, boards, ect is that they want to keep looking for more moderators low so that moderation does not become over bearing.

You don't automatically need more moderators just because there are more forums.
Instead, it would make moderators' lives easier as they, too, would have a much better overview than just one forum with huge amounts of threads.

It might increase the need for moderation only insofar as I'd suspect it would lead to more users posting / creating threads (since threads would no longer get buried so quickly).
But I'd argue that's someonething desirable, no? More users posting / users posting in & creating more threads.
Right now, it's pretty discouraging to create a new thread that you suspect would get buried in less than a day if it isn't really a mainstream topic.

I don't really believe there'd be a shortage of moderators - this place doesn't burn them out like ResetEra does
Especially not if new forums had moderators with an interest in the forum's topic.

 

[Bonfires Down]

I don't really think creating OTs for specific indie games is very meaningful as there are so many potential games and the threads will get buried. I think one thread for all kinds of indie stuff could work. But then I've tried posting stuff in the Steam thread and it always dies right away so I don't know.

 

[Fake]

 

[Night.Ninja]

The negativity enters quickly. Then, you feel like you should reply and it’s a cycle. There was a thread a while back for LG Oled deals and within the first page someone came in with their burn in, low light bullshit. It was a thread to give heads up on and what deals were available. Nope, had to be negative about it. It wasn’t an advice thread. They were already shopping.It’s more about justifying your purchase than helping.

 

[48086]

People on gaf generally play more hours of video games than people on era. The difference is that the number of people on era is greater so there is a higher chance that lesser known games will be discussed.

 

[Edgelord79]

I would be more specific and say it's a console gaming enthusiast forum.