VIP Loung

[Todd]

Please Note:
The VIP Lounge forum and all associated posts has been folded into the OKC Underground forum.

[Easy180]

Hey mods...Is the nosebleed forum still up in the air?

[Martin]

^
i was wondering the same thing. i was out of pocket the last couple weeks and then i come back... and no nosebleed. what's the beef? was there a big stink in my absence? -M

[Easy180]

mmm...They shut it down because it was getting too personal...Said they would meet and discuss whether to put it back in

[Martin]

i see... while i kinda liked the 'gloves off' idea, it did get a bit personal in recent history. -M

[Todd]

I will admit some of the threads were very entertaining, however, for the casual visitor or new members most of the threads came across as very abrasive. We've lost countless new and potential members because of the past abrasiveness that was allowed to continue unabated on the site.

Average Joe's coming here to talk about OKC or learn about our great city and state were turned off by subjects that in reality had no connection to Oklahoma City. So at this point I'm really undecided how to handle the Nosebleed forum.

[Martin]

sounds like you've answered your own question. while entertaining, the nosebleed section is counterproductive to promoting your site. -M

[Easy180]

Anyone else noticed the dramatic reduction in posts since the site became kinder and gentler

Not necessarily a completely bad thing, but I've noticed large chunks of time with fewer than 5 posts when I return

Just wondering if anyone else has noticed this over the past week or so since all the shizznit went down

[sweetdaisy]

Glad I'm not the only one who has observed that, Easy180.

[Spartan]

I thought that the flamer forum was pretty fun. I think others liked it too. Why don't we just make 300 posts or so a requirement for being able to access the forum? That way, yer already addicted before you see it, and you can't help it once you realize what's going on behind scenes...

[Intrepid]

I would like to see it back myself. Did a few posters get out of hand, absolutely. But that's what the mods are for (don't hate me mods...lol).

Just because there are sometimes controversial topics, doesn't mean they should be censored.

I agree with Spartan in that there should be some sort of qualifier before one can view/post in the nosebleed section. Or better yet, some sort of entrance Ts & Cs that pops up (not necesarily a pop-up per se) that a user must click on I AGREE before gaining entrance.

Any other thoughts?

[Keith]

Since the above questions need to be answered by Todd, I have sent him a PM, requesting that he address this issue, and reply in this thread.

By the way, in case you haven't noticed, we are now called "Community Liasons." We still moderate the forum and we still watch for violations of the TOS....just our titles have been changed.

Once a post is reported, we investigate the complaint, and then the community liasons discuss it amongst each other. We give our thoughts on the post violation to Todd, and then a decision is made. Todd makes the final decision on who gets warned and who gets banned (if any).

So, if you have any questions that have to do with the direction that okctalk is heading, and about the changes that are being made, they need to be addressed to Todd by PM or todd@okctalk.com.

Thanks.

[Spartan]

Actually, isn't it a "Community Liason's" job to offer directions?

So, can you point me to the nearest Noseblead, Thanks!

[SoonerDave]

For what it's worth...

I've noticed that there have been a general slowdown in posts; however, I don't think that's necessarily related to administrative and/or content changes.

For one, it seems that things tend to go in cycles; a few days, it's quiet, then a flurry of posts comes in. Second, we're breathing down the neck of the holidays, and I would kinda expect fewer posts as we get closer to Thanksgiving. Lastly, I think people may be taking a break now that the election has passed.

Some threads remain pretty active, such as the Warren Theater thread, and that's because there have been actual new developments on that theater.

As for me, I don't really care if the nosebleed section returns. Most of the time, the debates are just people reasserting their own positions repeatedly, and that just turns into arguments and, sometimes, hard feelings (whether justified or not). In terms of promoting Oklahoma City, I guess I would lean toward not having it return, because despite its segregation, fallout from some of those threads would leak over to others...

Just a few thoughts.

-SoonerDave

[Keith]

If you will re-read my post above, I edited it to correct some information that I gave.

[Lauri101]

Guess I'll throw in my 2 cents, FWIW.
I've been trying to have a positive attitude on the changes made to this forum and give things a chance to settle.

First, I miss nosebleed. Yeah, some of the posts were gratuitous and some posters obnoxious, but, overall, the forum did serve a purpose of allowing opinions to be aired and like or diverse minds to recognize each other.

Second, I hate the "folding in" of the forums such as VIP lounge. Too many posts get lost in the shuffle and it's more time consuming to find the threads that might be personally interesting. I'm not only posting less, I'm visiting the site less often. I just don't have much disposable time and I like to optimize what I do have.

These are just my personal opinions and may not even be worth the aforementioned pennies. I still find the site to be of value, simply for the volume of information available here that is not found elsewhere!

[Spartan]

http://www.okctalk.com/search.php

This may help you to better utilize this forum, Lauri...

[Lauri101]

Searching for a known is not the issue, Spartan - it's looking for topics that interest me.

Fewer forums = more threads to wade through in each forum.

[Patrick]

Most of the posts that were made in the Nosebleed forum were really against the rules of this forum, and were personal attacks against members. Calling others used material, idiots, jerks, jack asses, etc. is not what we're trying to promote here. The reason activity may have bneen more than was the old adage that people love to see a fight. Personally, I didn't want this site to become a brewing grounds for continuous fights. We actually lost a few members, some VIP's, because they grew tired of wading through the bickering, name-calling, etc.

Activity may be less, but members logging in every day, and page views has actually increased since we eliminted the Nosebleed Forum.

I'd rather have 2 city leaders and 48 serious people that are here to discuss real issues, than 100 trolls.

With the Nosebleed Forum, this was becoming more of a debate site, which isn't what we ever envisioned when this site was created. It was meant to be a place for citizens of OKC to come and talk about various issues.

[Patrick]

First, I miss nosebleed. Yeah, some of the posts were gratuitous and some posters obnoxious, but, overall, the forum did serve a purpose of allowing opinions to be aired and like or diverse minds to recognize each other.

You can still express your opinions in the Politics forum and the Religious forum, and all of the others. The only thing the Nosebleed Forum did was allow users to break the rules here, and call anyone or anything what they wanted. Debate is still allowed here, within the rules of the site.

I hate the "folding in" of the forums such as VIP lounge. Too many posts get lost in the shuffle and it's more time consuming to find the threads that might be personally interesting. I'm not only posting less, I'm visiting the site less often. I just don't have much disposable time and I like to optimize what I do have.

The VIP forum was designed for city leaders to come and express their opinions. Much of the acitivity in the Nosebleed Forum ran off our city leaders. So there was no need for it any longer. The only think going on in the VIP forum was the same thing going on in OKC Underground.