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I realise that if I am lucky, only a few of you will actually bother to read my opinion because it is rather large. But I hope at least a few of you do.

Is spam really all that important to a forums community? This goes out to a few of you in particular, namely Limey. Basically, what you've shown me in this topic is that you really have no other reason to come here other then to spam (when you threatened to quit if it was removed). Is there nothing else here that you come for?

Up until now Ive never really been that bent on removing spam. But I am starting to think otherwise just based on some of the opinions and comments in this thread. There is absolutely no harm to our community in removing spam, other then a lack of active members, if you consider the fact that a good handfull of you seem to live for spam.

Don't think that I don't understand the heart of spam. Ive had my fair share of spam in the past as well. But the very bare truth of it is it is unneeded in a forum like this, and if you absolutely need to blow of somesteam by acting like a complete retard there is literally thousands and thousands of places to do so on the internet. Don't think that if we ever came to the decision of removing spam that we are a bunch of Nazi forum staff, or what some of you would call "serious business". But we do however care about the livelyhood of the forum itself. Some of you strongly underestimate how much the staff actually want to help. Some of us have been around since the beginning, and have seen both the very best, and the very worst of zfgc. Of course we want you're opinions on all matters we deal with, which is why this is a great topic, but I fail to see any valid "community-benefiting" reasons why we need spam other then being a place for a good handfull of you to come to let out all of you're pent up issues. I see it happen to other forums too. (dsr anyone?) The fact is, this forum was, and is created for a certain reason, and that never was, or should be simply housing a bunch of lunatics. Ive never had a problem with joking around, and being crazy on forums, and zfgc has always been very loose, since the very beginning. But we should never divorce the forum from it's purpose. It's ok to screw around. But making it priority number one is not. And it shouldn't be the reason people come here.

For that reason, and other like it, Ive been rethinking my opinion on spam, and really don't see the point in having it anymore if this is the way people use it. I don't want this place to end up like some kind of straight, boring ugly place to be, so don't start to get the impression that the staff are trying to remove all t he fun form the forum, when we discuss things like this. None of us would ever let that happen. We are trying to improve it, and if that means we have to get rid of spam for a while, or for good, then we may just have to do that. However it may be as simple as some minor adjustments, or new rules laid down, or some new features installed. But unless that is the only reason you come here, you shouldn't have a problem with it, because that in no way means you can no longer spam. Because there are endless amounts of places to do so.

Just take into consideration what I am saying. I am not 100% against, or for spam. I just want to bring some logic into the discussion, and remind people why we are here, and that the staff are more then willing to discuss things like this with you, and find answers to these problems through you. Or why we should be here. I hope in the future this place can get to an even playing field where we have jokes, and screw around, and spam is allowed, but we don't take it for granted, or replace the forum itself for that board. Yet at the same time, have a serious, enjoyable place to hang around, and make, and discuss fan games, and all sorts of stuff, like we used to. That's what we all are trying to achieve. Don't forget that when you start thinking we just want things to be serious and boring all the time. That would be extreme. But just like hot and cold, both sides of this argument can be taken to extremes which hurt us in the long run. And right now we are in one extreme. We are currently thinking of many different aspects of the forum that need a rethinking, and we will always keep the community first, at all costs.

I know right now, I could respond to nearly every comment in this topic so far with an opinion of my own, but the point is to get everybodies opinion, not argue over them. But one I would like to address was the fact that possibly removing spam would result in eventually removing Community speak, and other boards like it. I can't remember who made this comment, but I just want to clarify. That would not be the case. Our job as staff of this forum, isn't just to delete bad posts, and move topics, but to better the community, and when we consider deleting boards like spam, we are considering them only for the right reasons, and not simply because we find it annoying, or dislike the boards. We wouldn't go to such extrems to ever delete boards like community speak, and to relate the two as if they are equally important to a communities well being is highly inaccurate, because in truth, spam is in no way needed like community speak and other boards are. It is merely a place for goofing off, and acting like an idiot to get out some pent up issues. And as Ive repeated several times in this post, there are forums out their specifically for this, and this is not one of them. It's ok to have some, but not to divorce the forum form it's true purpose.

Finally, let me just re-clarify once again. I am on the fence. I am not 100% for, or against the spam board, nor am I trying to apply that we have had any decisions made on the matter yet as staff, (We've made plans to discuss it in the next meeting, but haven't done so yet) It is still all up in the air. However I do stand by a point Ive been trying to make throughout the post. It is not something that we absolutely need in the forum. And when it reaches an extreme, and is in turn, hurting the community and the forum is being divorced from it's purpose, then something has to be done. I just want to bring my thoughts to the discussion. This was a rather long post, so I hope that it all came out like I wanted to. I hope some of you actually took the time to bother reading my opinion.

DSR dosen't have a spam forum anymore I don't thing so anyways, but I dont have an member account.

I still think it should go away though.

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Feedback / Re: Suggestion to Mods about SPAM

« on: June 22, 2006, 05:39:38 am »

Get rid of spam for good, then the fangame part will improve. it's the only way.

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Feedback / Re: Suggestion to Mods about SPAM

« on: June 22, 2006, 05:21:31 am »

Then they get warned/banned.

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Feedback / Re: Suggestion to Mods about SPAM

« on: June 22, 2006, 05:10:24 am »

Spam is Pointless. it's Simple.
Members joined just to post in Spam. Pointless.

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Feedback / Re: Suggestion to Mods about SPAM

« on: June 22, 2006, 05:00:56 am »

It would clear up the database a little. that would take a little off the server, but it would also cause some of the members that are here to spam to go to IRC, so the databse and server would not have as much stress on it.

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Feedback / Re: Suggestion to Mods about SPAM

« on: June 22, 2006, 04:53:11 am »

I and many others came here to talk about Zelda Fan Game and Zelda. Some of us came here to spam. Right now I feal as this place is 99% spam and it makes me want to leave, but I and a few others want it to change. I see it start to overflow at times into Zelda Fan Game's topics. It is annoying triing to help or post a question and then never get it answered because of spam!

Quote

I am not fighting to get rid of Spam, I am just seeking a better place for it

same here. A place that it dosen't make this place a mess.

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Feedback / Re: Suggestion to Mods about SPAM

« on: June 22, 2006, 03:24:45 am »

I forgot about that. IRC would be best. My computer is to old to even run IRC ^_^

I don't want much more downtime here.

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Feedback / Re: Suggestion to Mods about SPAM

« on: June 22, 2006, 03:18:17 am »

If the admins (Max or someone) would upload SMF 1.1 Rc2 (create a folder on the server something like '/spam') and install it and make it Spam Central and get rid of it here all together off topic and Spam. Have like a redirect URL here to take it to Spam Central. So ppl that want to talk about Zelda and (Zelda) Fan Game Could with the Spam!

Edit: and terminate all members who signed up just to spam!

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