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What Needs To Improve On Bzp The Most, If At All?


fishers64

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I would:A. Fix the Archive Log-Out issue (If I could)B. Make several new skins that change the entire look of the forum. One to look like the old forums, one for each year of BIONICLE and Hero Factory, and one for each major character color. (Eg., a skin with a bunch of Tahu's, Jallers, Vakamas, and Furnos, one with Kopaka, Stormer, and the rest of the white ones, etc.)C. Adjust the word filter. Some words such as the abbreviation for moderator don't need to be changed. And in my opinion, the word that gets changed to "cool dude" could be posted too. I wouldn't go all out removing every single one, but I would fix the absolutely ridiculous ones (that the mods are trying to fix now.)D. Instead of simply not allowing other sites to be linked, I would set up a gateway system like LEGO.com has before you go to the shop section. "Warning! You are about to go to a site outside of BZPower. We can't control anything out there, so be sure to check with your parents before heading out!" Or something like that.

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There's so much to do on BZP...I doubt one thing an admin would do in one day would solve half the stuff I'm thinking of. And besides, some things are probably better left untouched in the long run.But if I were admin for a day...I'd probably end up making more incentives for people to visit the TB BRPG Forum. So many people on BZP say they want to keep Bionicle alive. To them I say: Come to the RPG Forum. We hold host its spirit in several of our games.So many people on BZP say they are merely here for games, CoT. To them I say: Come to the RPG Forum. We anthromorphize and throw away canon more often than people think.So many on BZP say they like being with online friends and wasting time together. To them I say: Come to the RPG Forum. We do that all the time.XXXXXPIt's honestly sad that it doesn't get very much attention. It's a great communal way to have fun building stories; everyone contributes to a massive one with many plotlines in the end, not to mention contributes to their BZP social life, yeah?-The Fearless Leader

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I would make a complete redesign of all front page sections to look more progressive and fitting to the forums (seriously, it´s all almost ten years old).I would also implement a disclaimer pop-up warning visitors that they are leaving BZPower (and all that) when clicking a link so linking to other sites wouldn´t be so restricted anymore.~Gata. ;)

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- Gata

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Please don't use my avatar or signature without permission, thanks! ^_^

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Remove the wordfilter.When I say "remove", I don't mean "lighten"I mean "remove".Altogether.For the sole reason of wanting to see what'll happen.

It wouldn't be pretty. As soon as word got out, the trolls would take advantage of every obscenity under the sun."Wanting to see what'll happen" ≠ "What needs to improve".

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Remove the wordfilter.When I say "remove", I don't mean "lighten"I mean "remove".Altogether.For the sole reason of wanting to see what'll happen.

It wouldn't be pretty. As soon as word got out, the trolls would take advantage of every obscenity under the sun."Wanting to see what'll happen" ≠ "What needs to improve".
Whoops. Misread the first post. Didn't see the word "improvement", and altogether forgot to think of the topic's title when I was writing my post.Anyway, if seriously, I'd unfilter those two very, very light words, namely the synonym of heck and that verb that starts with the letter D, that seem to be the biggest source of irritation for me whenever I want to post a story.-Dovydas Edited by Dovydas the Nerevarine
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Remove the wordfilter.When I say "remove", I don't mean "lighten"I mean "remove".Altogether.For the sole reason of wanting to see what'll happen.

It wouldn't be pretty. As soon as word got out, the trolls would take advantage of every obscenity under the sun."Wanting to see what'll happen" ≠ "What needs to improve".
Whoops. Misread the first post. Didn't see the word "improvement", and altogether forgot to think of the topic's title when I was writing my post.Anyway, if seriously, I'd unfilter those two very, very light words, namely the synonym of heck and that verb that starts with the letter D, that seem to be the biggest source of irritation for me whenever I want to post a story.
And not the "cool dude" filter?I agree that the expletives you are inferring are relatively minor, but this is BZPower. The euphemisms are there for a reason, and they can be substituted with any form of the swears that you referenced. A lot of younger folks are on here (yeah, I know, shocking, isn't it?), and there are a lot of strict parents out there. I don't think any of us want parents posting on their child's account, taking them off of BZPower permanently, due to a few swear words that could be avoided. That's why they're filtered.Even if that wasn't an issue, changing the word filter seems to be a hassle for the admins, from what I've been able to infer. Who would use them? I could name maybe four people who would, and two of them have been banned. It's not worth it.

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I would make a complete redesign of all front page sections to look more progressive and fitting to the forums (seriously, it´s all almost ten years old).I would also implement a disclaimer pop-up warning visitors that they are leaving BZPower (and all that) when clicking a link so linking to other sites wouldn´t be so restricted anymore.~Gata. ;)

But linked images would be incredibly annoying. Especially if it's a lesser known hoster, or just came from a random place on the web.

Remove the wordfilter.When I say "remove", I don't mean "lighten"I mean "remove".Altogether.For the sole reason of wanting to see what'll happen.

It wouldn't be pretty. As soon as word got out, the trolls would take advantage of every obscenity under the sun."Wanting to see what'll happen" ≠ "What needs to improve".
Whoops. Misread the first post. Didn't see the word "improvement", and altogether forgot to think of the topic's title when I was writing my post.Anyway, if seriously, I'd unfilter those two very, very light words, namely the synonym of heck and that verb that starts with the letter D, that seem to be the biggest source of irritation for me whenever I want to post a story.-Dovydas
For the first one, just say "Karzahni". It's more Bionicle and appropriate.

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Remove the wordfilter.When I say "remove", I don't mean "lighten"I mean "remove".Altogether.For the sole reason of wanting to see what'll happen.

It wouldn't be pretty. As soon as word got out, the trolls would take advantage of every obscenity under the sun."Wanting to see what'll happen" ≠ "What needs to improve".
But no Sumiki, the community is mature enough to handle that stuff!Dovydas's comment was clearly tongue-in-cheek. However, taking the word filter might prove the point of why it's in there in the first place.
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Get rid of members with negative, confrontational attitudes who seem to only post in threads in the hope of derailing them.- Tilius

If only that was possible...Anyways, I'd love to see Hapori Tohu next to the BZP logo. It would give me a sense of nostalgia.

Looking for a Voya Gold Kraahkan!

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Remove the wordfilter.When I say "remove", I don't mean "lighten"I mean "remove".Altogether.For the sole reason of wanting to see what'll happen.

It wouldn't be pretty. As soon as word got out, the trolls would take advantage of every obscenity under the sun."Wanting to see what'll happen" ≠ "What needs to improve".
Whoops. Misread the first post. Didn't see the word "improvement", and altogether forgot to think of the topic's title when I was writing my post.Anyway, if seriously, I'd unfilter those two very, very light words, namely the synonym of heck and that verb that starts with the letter D, that seem to be the biggest source of irritation for me whenever I want to post a story.-Dovydas
For the first one, just say "Karzahni". It's more Bionicle and appropriate.
"It's more Bionicle..."... no.That is not a legitimate argument in favor of it.Most of my stories are non-Bionicle.-Dovydas
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What, really, is the distinct advantage in using curse words over often-used and completely synonymic euphemisms? "What the Karzahni" just sounds kind of silly, honestly, and has no real place on the forums aside from the occasional humorous comment and in BIONICLE-based stories.

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I would make a complete redesign of all front page sections to look more progressive and fitting to the forums (seriously, it´s all almost ten years old).I would also implement a disclaimer pop-up warning visitors that they are leaving BZPower (and all that) when clicking a link so linking to other sites wouldn´t be so restricted anymore.~Gata. ;)

yes.aviAnything to get rid of the external site policy.

Every moment gives us a chance to become more than what we are.

-Ryu, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike: Fight for the Future

Not luck. It's what you do that makes you a hero.

-Kopaka Nuva, MoL

I have but one destiny.

-Takanuva, MoL

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  • 2 weeks later...

It wouldn't be pretty. As soon as word got out, the trolls would take advantage of every obscenity under the sun.

Although I really wouldn't want the word filter removed, I find it curious that you seem to be suggesting the only thing keeping trolls at bay is the word filter, never minding the fact they could bypass the word filter whenever they wanted to or simply troll another way. Basically, where are these trolls that would sprout from the woodworks as soon as the word filter got removed? I mean, I can see issues with it arising, don't get me wrong, but I should think the Moderating community has more than handled most of the trolls that lurk around here. If anything, removing the word filter would simply make them easier to spot and systematically purge.

What, really, is the distinct advantage in using curse words over often-used and completely synonymic euphemisms?

"Synonymic euphemisms" is an oxymoron. The thing that makes them euphemisms and therefore acceptable is that they patently do not represent the same meaning or tone of the words they supplement. That's why "Gosh darn it to heck" will never have quite the same flavor as the alternative. So the distinct advantage in using them would simply be saying what you actually mean.Like you said though, I don't think that many people here really have to bend over backwards to compensate for the word filter's presence (although in fairness it's difficult to properly gauge how many people would use these words when they can't). The only reason I would have to be particularly bothered by it (and Dovydas mentioned it as well) is that some stories call for "slightly off color" words, and euphemisms do little to blend together with the story's sense of self-consistency. The more serious curse words can be reasonably replaced, but replacing the smaller of the breed just leaves you with watered-down drivle with no meaning at all. And normally one would expect to be able to replace the strong words with the weaker ones, but those are censored as well, so that leaves a prospective writer in something of a knot.But to speak on topic... what would I improve about the forums? I... wouldn't? Honestly, I don't care much about the medium, I'm just interested in the topics themselves. That's why I don't really care about the choice of skin or the presence/absence of Hapori Tohu... it's just makeup to me, though I understand others feel differently. If we were including forum rules (as I initially thought) and thus the management of the method of this interaction, then I might have more to say.~QMark

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Talking Over an Ocean - Hahli and Amaya are best friends.

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"It's more Bionicle..."... no.That is not a legitimate argument in favor of it.Most of my stories are non-Bionicle.-Dovydas

If the issue of the filter is that it dampens your ability to write a story, which I can relate with, why not write the story as it's intended anyway and post it elsewhere? (Perhaps linking friends to it through IM or something?) The BZPower age range starts pretty young (like, seven years old), so this website wouldn't really be a good demographic for a story that would use expletives of any sort. Otherwise, if you really want to post it here, then you could have a version as you originally intend to have it (and keep hold of it), but then edit out all of the BZP-inappropriate language to make it work here. (Some novels do replace cuss words with other day-to-day words, and from reading them, it doesn't seem to aversely affect the tone or narrative of the story).More on the topic, I would probably just... perhaps lessen the Bionicle focus a tad more? I understand having the Tohu images, and a lot of the stuff on the front page, but renaming some of the forums so it's more inclusive of other Lego themes would be an example of what I'm shooting for. It'd possibly attract a lot more general Lego fans, and probably attract a healthy dose of construction-action figure people. *shrugs*
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It wouldn't be pretty. As soon as word got out, the trolls would take advantage of every obscenity under the sun.

Although I really wouldn't want the word filter removed, I find it curious that you seem to be suggesting the only thing keeping trolls at bay is the word filter, never minding the fact they could bypass the word filter whenever they wanted to or simply troll another way. Basically, where are these trolls that would sprout from the woodworks as soon as the word filter got removed? I mean, I can see issues with it arising, don't get me wrong, but I should think the Moderating community has more than handled most of the trolls that lurk around here. If anything, removing the word filter would simply make them easier to spot and systematically purge.
I never even suggested that trolls weren't on BZPower. Every site has its share of them. They would take advantage of words that, quite honestly, should not be utilized on this site. Removing the filter would make the site inappropriate for a lot of the audience.

What, really, is the distinct advantage in using curse words over often-used and completely synonymic euphemisms?

"Synonymic euphemisms" is an oxymoron. The thing that makes them euphemisms and therefore acceptable is that they patently do not represent the same meaning or tone of the words they supplement. That's why "Gosh darn it to heck" will never have quite the same flavor as the alternative. So the distinct advantage in using them would simply be saying what you actually mean.Like you said though, I don't think that many people here really have to bend over backwards to compensate for the word filter's presence (although in fairness it's difficult to properly gauge how many people would use these words when they can't). The only reason I would have to be particularly bothered by it (and Dovydas mentioned it as well) is that some stories call for "slightly off color" words, and euphemisms do little to blend together with the story's sense of self-consistency. The more serious curse words can be reasonably replaced, but replacing the smaller of the breed just leaves you with watered-down drivle with no meaning at all. And normally one would expect to be able to replace the strong words with the weaker ones, but those are censored as well, so that leaves a prospective writer in something of a knot.
I have to agree with the point that euphemisms do not equal the words they replace - but, for all intents and purposes, they mean the same thing. For example, "apparent", "seeming", and "ostensible" are essentially synonyms, even though they mean slightly different things. It's the same with curse words. I respect the writer who does not resort to common obscenities, but can have his or her characters insult or swear in other fashions.Plus, one has to remember the appropriateness - or rather, lack of it - of having stories like that on BZPower. If characters have to curse, BZP isn't the place to post the story. Edited by Sumiki

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I have to agree with the point that euphemisms do not equal the words they replace - but, for all intents and purposes, they mean the same thing. For example, "apparent", "seeming", and "ostensible" are essentially synonyms, even though they mean slightly different things. It's the same with curse words. I respect the writer who does not resort to common obscenities, but can have his or her characters insult or swear in other fashions.Plus, one has to remember the appropriateness - or rather, lack of it - of having stories like that on BZPower. If characters have to curse, BZP isn't the place to post the story.

Actually, I would consider all three of those words to have very different implications, but that's besides the point I suppose. My point was simply that the writer may have the luxury of being able to "clean up" his character's language, but doing that while remaining true to that character's "character" can prove difficult in some situations, sometimes irreconciliable. Of course, so goeth the rule, so obviously that's something the writer will have to deal with regardless, or like you said, post somewhere else.But I find it strange that you use the term "common obscenities" when we are discussing words of varying degrees of magnitude. I wouldn't really be for obscenities in stories or out of them, at least not here, but I wouldn't really regard all of the words being filtered at present as being "obscene". So basically, yes, stories that use any of those words wouldn't be appropriate for BZPower (unless the words were taken out or replaced, of course), but it's a function of BZPower to decide what can or cannot be appropriate in the first place, rather than something set irrevocably in stone. That's why other members were bringing it up.~QMark Edited by QuestionMark

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Talking Over an Ocean - Hahli and Amaya are best friends.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Find a way to bring back the top 10 Hot Topics. I like that, it really encouraged topics and discussion in order to one day make it to the front page.


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Bionicle: ANP aims to create narrated versions of all the Bionicle books, with voice actors for each character, and music taken from various media to enhance the story. Check here if you're interested in voicing a character, and here for the chapters that've already been released!

Formerly: Tahu Nuva 3.0

Looking for a Bionicle Beanie. Black one with the symbol on it. Contact me if you are willing to sell

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'd:

  • [*]Replace the current forum theme with something more Bionicle-ish[*]Migrate the website to a more powerful server farm[*]Loosen up on moderation a little

1. You've got to remember, if you want BZP to continue growing and continue on, it's going to have to start leaning more towards other LEGO Themes. Bionicle has ended, people aren't as interested anymore. At this rate, BZP is headed towards abandonment. I'm not saying that will happen anytime soon, but 2-3 years from now, people will have moved on. At least most people.2. A more powerful server would cost much more money and considering the BZP Administration makes absolutely no money off of the forums whatsoever, besides Premier Membership and donations, and are working other jobs besides this. Less and less members are using the forums nowadays, so a more powerful server really isn't necessary. And with few people donating to BZP and getting PM, there isn't enough money to use a server more powerful than the one we have currently. On a side note, there is no real problem with the server we have currently. If BZP loads slowly for you or something around those lines, it's not BZP that has the problem, it's most likely that you have a slow computer or slow internet connection.3. I find no problem with BZP's moderation at all. Do you think the staff are too strict? If so, you've got to remember, if they weren't strict at all, BZP would be in chaos. No one would listen to the rules or do what they were told because they wouldn't be afraid of being punished. The BZP staff have to be balanced. They can't be extremely nice and merciful to everyone, or BZP wouldn't be under control. Although they are strict at times, if you really get to know them, they're actually really nice people. If you're breaking the rules or are getting warnings from the staff, it's not their fault for being strict. If you weren't reprimanded for your wrongs, you wouldn't learn anything. You have to think of the staff almost like your parents. When you do something wrong, your parents reprimand you, right? Yet they still love you and you love them. They reprimand you because they care. That's how the staff are. Just keep this in mind before you say that the moderation needs to be less strict. ;)Anyways, even though BZP may have a few flaws here and there, I find it just perfect at the moment. I like it the way it is, but like a few have said, I would like to see the Member Spotlight back up. I wouldn't mind the Hot Topics back up either, but I didn't use them that much when they were up anyways. -Rez
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i'm not sure what can be done about this, but if you get a link to the archives, you have to log back in to see the new forums again, and that gets kinda annoying for me, idk about anyone esle

There are two ways around this, actually. The first is to simply access the archive via another browser. The second option involves turning off your browser's ability to accept cookies without deleting the ones it already has.

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TOHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUOh yeah and I would probably make the word filter less asinine. It's there for a good reason but when I can't quote lines from the series this site is based off, and yet can say things arguably more explicit than said series could get away with, something's wrong.-Canama

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man remember when no one would dream of making a forum site without signatures

 

 

that was tight

 

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i'm not sure what can be done about this, but if you get a link to the archives, you have to log back in to see the new forums again, and that gets kinda annoying for me, idk about anyone esle

There are two ways around this, actually. The first is to simply access the archive via another browser. The second option involves turning off your browser's ability to accept cookies without deleting the ones it already has.
Either that or run the archive in an incognito window on Google Chrome. It has to do with tracking and browser backlogs, because incognito windows on Chrome do not save things to your browsing history, accept cookies, etc. That's got to be the way to a technical solution; I'll think on it.Wait a minute. See, when you log into the new forums, you are not logged into the old forums. When you switch to the old forums, the old forums register you as not being logged in, which clears your log in information. The log in information from the new forums is saved in the same cookie as the old forums. The solution would be to create simultaneous logins, which won't work for new members, or simply to make one login cookie different from the other (probably the new one :) ). Don't ask me how that might be done, I have no idea. Another thing that has been getting to me is that to use the old forum's search engine, which is rather helpful on the OGD research I do, you have to be logged in. New members, logically speaking, would not have an account on the old forums and will never be able to search them. Minor league thing, but it kind of nags at me a bit. What if a new member wants to search the OGD? It's possible, however remote.
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The one major pet peeve I have now is that the talkback links on front page news stories don't directly link to the forum topics, but only to the general talkback forum page. I'm not certain why this is the case, but if we can't expect an actual overhaul of the front page any time soon, fixing this would be satisfying enough. :)

I have slept for so long. My dreams have been dark ones. But now I am awakened. Now the scattered elements of my being are rejoined. Now I am whole. And the Darkness can not stand before me.

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