changes to Guide sections thread format and a few other miscellaneous things

[thazestyburrito]

These are a few things I think we could add/improve on the site most of these would be affecting guides more then anything else the suggestions are as follows:

Listed rules for the posting of guides and preferred format
so as the title says this would be a list of rules about creating a guide this would cover BPs definition of a guide, rules when posting them (this would mainly just be saying prompt removal if plagiarism is involved and the sources are not listed) and a suggested format for easy reading (something along the lines of this: http://buypoe.com/how-guides-do-your...han-davee.html or this: http://buypoe.com/how-guides-do-your...per-guide.html it would be called the BP "format" it would not be required to make one with this format but highly suggested) this would provide uniformity among guides making it easier on the reader and give the writer a basic outline if they are new to this I understand most current active users understand the rules about plagiarism and how to write a proper guide I just think it would be good to have a solid set of rules available to newer members for reference.
this would be stickied and placed in each separate guide section we have on the forums not just in one select area.

Change default thread order in guide sections
This would mean for each guide section the default thread order when you select that section would descend by rating this thread order already exists but it is not set as the default and I have no idea how it determines rating because while looking in the pp guides section I see some quality guides yes but then I see stuff like Abhis complaint about losing vip on GI 4th on this list so this would also constitute a change in the way threads are rated which would mean either it tallies up the number of thanks the guide has recieved or making an option where each user viewing the guide thread can assign it a number of stars 1-10 based on how good the guide is.

More prominent thanks/rating button
This correlates with the previous suggestion if threads are going to be ordered by rating or number of thanks we need more prominent buttons for these actions currently the thanks button is just a little dark orange thing on the bottom of your post I cant begin to count the number of times in a thread I see people posting stuff like "great guide thanks!" but then you look at the OPs post and no thanks was given from that user I would assume this is because this never crosses their mind so I suggest adding a more brightly colored thanks/rating button and possibly placing it at either the top of your post or the top of a thread that specifically asks if they found this thread helpful this would encourage threads to be rated properly.

Multiple format options for posting threads
This would allow you to change the format of your thread to something similar to the way it is shown as an article with a giant OP and all replys are tiny comments the purpose of this being to keep the focus on the main post this could be used in sale threads stat raising threads or just about anywhere else the OP deems necessary.
Also automatically making the opening post in a thread larger then any normal post I believe would help too.

Ability to add a title to links
This would give users the ability to add a title to a link they post similar to on YPPs main forums you would enter the URL then after having done that another box would pop up asking if you would like to enter the text to be displayed so I would provide a URL such as this:http://buypoe.com/search.php?searchid=209969 but instead of displaying the pages title it would display whatever I had entered in the second box so the link could be consolidated into the word AWESOME clicking on it would take you to the URL.

Any thoughts about these suggestions?

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[Sobo]

I think this is a great idea honestly, I also like how you used my guide as an example, and ordered it before Davee's XD

[Snipes12]

These are a few things I think we could add/improve on the site most of these would be affecting guides more then anything else the suggestions are as follows:

Listed rules for the posting of guides and preferred format
so as the title says this would be a list of rules about creating a guide this would cover BPs definition of a guide, rules when posting them (this would mainly just be saying prompt removal if plagiarism is involved and the sources are not listed) and a suggested format for easy reading (something along the lines of this: http://buypoe.com/how-guides-do-your...han-davee.html or this: http://buypoe.com/how-guides-do-your...per-guide.html it would be called the BP "format" it would not be required to make one with this format but highly suggested) this would provide uniformity among guides making it easier on the reader and give the writer a basic outline if they are new to this I understand most current active users understand the rules about plagiarism and how to write a proper guide I just think it would be good to have a solid set of rules available to newer members for reference.
this would be stickied and placed in each separate guide section we have on the forums not just in one select area.

Making separate rules for separate sections doesnt always work, the main rules should just be updated to accommodate the guide rules.

Change default thread order in guide sections
This would mean for each guide section the default thread order when you select that section would descend by rating this thread order already exists but it is not set as the default and I have no idea how it determines rating because while looking in the pp guides section I see some quality guides yes but then I see stuff like Abhis complaint about losing vip on GI 4th on this list so this would also constitute a change in the way threads are rated which would mean either it tallies up the number of thanks the guide has recieved or making an option where each user viewing the guide thread can assign it a number of stars 1-10 based on how good the guide is.

For most forum goers the most important thing is following threads, so it would be most important to keep newest threads to the top, it would be better to make people aware the feature of sorting by rating is there rather then defaulting it.

More prominent thanks/rating button
This correlates with the previous suggestion if threads are going to be ordered by rating or number of thanks we need more prominent buttons for these actions currently the thanks button is just a little dark orange thing on the bottom of your post I cant begin to count the number of times in a thread I see people posting stuff like "great guide thanks!" but then you look at the OPs post and no thanks was given from that user I would assume this is because this never crosses their mind so I suggest adding a more brightly colored thanks/rating button and possibly placing it at either the top of your post or the top of a thread that specifically asks if they found this thread helpful this would encourage threads to be rated properly.

I agree, the rate feature is rather hidden, but it also doesnt have such an effect on the thread as say a Thanks does. Now if it said something like currently ranked #1 in this section or something that would make it a bit more worth it.

Multiple format options for posting threads
This would allow you to change the format of your thread to something similar to the way it is shown as an article with a giant OP and all replys are tiny comments the purpose of this being to keep the focus on the main post this could be used in sale threads stat raising threads or just about anywhere else the OP deems necessary.
Also automatically making the opening post in a thread larger then any normal post I believe would help too.

I think the current forum layout is fine, not everything is an article so not everything should have the ability to be treated like one.

Ability to add a title to links
This would give users the ability to add a title to a link they post similar to on YPPs main forums you would enter the URL then after having done that another box would pop up asking if you would like to enter the text to be displayed so I would provide a URL such as this:http://buypoe.com/search.php?searchid=209969 but instead of displaying the pages title it would display whatever I had entered in the second box so the link could be consolidated into the word AWESOME clicking on it would take you to the URL.

Its a good idea but its still possible even without the helpful button that OOO provides. I like it better with the link, alot of people can get fooled by someone typing in this:www.google.com (which that links you to google) or someone typing in www.google.com (which if you clicked you would see it isnt google.

[wastedbro]

I disagree completely I'll write guides my own way. If the guide is small and insignificant then i don't need boldface text and color and all kinds of un needed formatting. Ill just bold and underline main ideas and write a paragraph below it.

Now lets take a look at my crew building guide if your V.I.P. Honestly, I think it is at least one of the best formatted guides, if not the best, on this site. I have a table of contents. I have it color coded. And i have a tips section to review. I write guides based on their potential. If I know that my guide won't be popular, then i won't try to make it popular. So the type of formatting depends on the guide.

EDIT: my bad i misunderstood

[thazestyburrito]

thx for the feedback snipes

firstly in regards to the forum rules I think its helpful to have a set of rules that directly pertain to that specific area instead of saying oh the rules of this forum are in some huge post you have to read through the entire thing and decide what applies and what doesnt and if you are wrong people will be pissed it also helps people decide whether the information they are considering turning into a guide is enough I never even thought of writing a guide a while back because i thought it required so much more then I knew.

in regards to your comment about thread format options either there seems to be some misunderstanding about this either i am reading it wrong or you misunderstood my point so here is my original post in a different and simpler manner this would just be an option to make the main focus of the thread on the OP so when a person clicked on the thread it would place the first post of the thread at the top allowing the user to view the post offering the services/goods every other part of the thread would remain the same the most recent posts would be placed directly beneath the main post this just allows for people to not have to shift through the pages to get to the main part of the thread and of course the OP would be larger then the other posts

other then this i do not have much more to say on this topic again thanks for the feedback

edit: just noticed wastedbros comment
to repeat this would be a suggested format as a reference for any newer members wondering how a guide should be made in no way would it be a requirement for you to use this format the entire purpose of the rule section is for newer users to reference it gives them a solid idea of what is expected in a guide

[wastedbro]

Okay, I see what your point is. I just saw rules about guide format and didn't feel like reading through all of it. My bad :/ I'm kinda impatient. Anyway i think these are good ideas but i still don't a "preferred format". But thats probably because I'm a guide writer and I'm opinionated about it. Other than that i think it will help.

And might i add when seeing the thread link in the forums, There should be a different colored text saying "Guide" that can be set when created the thread.

That idea can also be applied to glitches, hacks, releases, and more

[thazestyburrito]

so is there any chance even just one of these changes can be implemented?

[Snipes12]

I will throw the thread at davee, I don't think there is anything I can do with my access.

[thazestyburrito]

Bump
I really really think that changes to the visibility of the thanks button is necessary along with a better rating system and wastedbros suggestion of the ability for a columnist to alter the colors of a guides title that they have made
I have contacted Davee about this and havent really gotten any feedback from him but I really do think these changes will make a difference

[Snipes12]

Bump
I really really think that changes to the visibility of the thanks button is necessary along with a better rating system and wastedbros suggestion of the ability for a columnist to alter the colors of a guides title that they have made
I have contacted Davee about this and havent really gotten any feedback from him but I really do think these changes will make a difference

Davee has a lot on his plate, I push him ideas as I think he has time for them. So both of us bugging him is rather pointless. When he gets to it he gets to it but I didnt forget about it XD.