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

[Katuko]

Granted, the only reason we still have that is because the cool dude filter is hilarious.

No offense, but I've never found it particularly funny at all. It just breaks up an otherwise functional sentence and just becomes a synonym everyone knows the meaning of anyways, which then makes it pointless. I'd actually like it better if it was just blanked out.

The reason "darn" and "heck" are allowed but not the other versions is because, simply, those two are not considered swear words, and the other two are. We don't decide this, society does.

I've always found that part of the language ridiculous, because these two words are obviously used in place of specific "swear words", but in the process they become synonyms and thus swear words themselves. Where I come from, swearing is really a non-issue, in that most people do it casually, with no ill meaning behind it. The meaning behind the words are, after all, the most important part, that is what society near me has taught me. There's sort of a joke in Norway going around that northerners (those who live up north in the country) are the best at swearing because they have some rather uncommon expressions on hand; and also that if you give one a word, he can use it in a way that makes it sound like a swear. Usually just by screaming it at you, you gosh-darned cauliflower.

The short form of modification is because it was once a reference to a webforum that is no longer an issue.

If it's no longer an issue... mind telling me which? I'm curious.

And that other synonym that you mentioned is banned specifically because it was -the- insult of choice at one point in time on BZP and it got out of hand so it was simply filtered.

Cool dude should probably be banned too, then.

[Gatanui]

The short form of modification is because it was once a reference to a webforum that is no longer an issue.

If it's no longer an issue... mind telling me which? I'm curious.

It was an issue in the sense that it was much more popular back in the day and that the short form of moderator was often used to reference that forum. Nowadays, the short form of moderator is used for other purposes so using it is not an issue anymore, but the relevant site is still a forum so it can´t be mentioned with our current policy. The filter for it is possibly going to be changed when we update the word filter.-Gata Edited April 14, 2012 by Gatanui

[T.B.O.C]

I think we should at least be able to say the name of that video sharing site. Either way, cool dude is rather funny, I stuck with me very much.I think we should bring back the "Bored" messages when the server was busy, I had fun reading those and I totally forgot that I wasn't going where I want.I also think the Set Database should be edited a bit. I think when I checked, it said 2007 sets were a bit rare, but if you looked a bit, you could find them. I don't think so? Either way, it is a bit out of date, so I think an update would be cool.Another idea I had, but really wouldn't work, is be able to upload BIONICLE videos on BZPower, but I think that wouldn't work for various reasons.

[Lyichir]

And that other synonym that you mentioned is banned specifically because it was -the- insult of choice at one point in time on BZP and it got out of hand so it was simply filtered.

Cool dude should probably be banned too, then.

I've personally never seen cool dude used as a serious insult. Most of the time it's a tongue-in-cheek pseudo-insult used between members who in most cases get along pretty well. The only times I see it with any sort of malice behind it is when it's because the filter actually did replace a real swear word with that.

[dviddy]

I've always found that part of the language ridiculous, because these two words are obviously used in place of specific "swear words", but in the process they become synonyms and thus swear words themselves. Where I come from, swearing is really a non-issue, in that most people do it casually, with no ill meaning behind it.

You'll find no disagreement from me on this, but unfortunately that's not quite society's view in a lot of other places. While several of us are completely okay with removing the word filter entirely and just policing insults, there is a perception of sites that do that not being "family friendly" and parents will often not allow children as young as many of our members are on those sites, and we'd prefer to keep our fanbase and since we're based off of a children's toy, be a place kids can come and talk and hang out and their parents won't be grumpy about.

[Dralcax]

The short form of modification is because it was once a reference to a webforum that is no longer an issue.

If it's no longer an issue... mind telling me which? I'm curious.

It was an issue in the sense that it was much more popular back in the day and that the short form of moderator was often used to reference that forum. Nowadays, the short form of moderator is used for other purposes so using it is not an issue anymore, but the relevant site is still a forum so it can´t be mentioned with our current policy. The filter for it is possibly going to be changed when we update the word filter.-Gata

It can get pretty annoying, as in "I got Tahu Stars recently and I will moderator him!"

[Wrinkledlion X]

This is a really minor issue that occurred to me while posting this topic, but could we get rid of that little border around avatars? It's kind of just a personal favor for me, but it seems like a harmless enough request. (I'd really like my old avatar back, but it looks bad it it isn't free-floating.)

[fishers64]

This is a really minor issue that occurred to me while posting this topic, but could we get rid of that little border around avatars? It's kind of just a personal favor for me, but it seems like a harmless enough request. (I'd really like my old avatar back, but it looks bad it it isn't free-floating.)

I think that is an irrepairable forum software quirk.

[Jean Valjean]

Alright, I know what bothers me now. As in, it really, really bothers me. I was taking an hour to write out a post for an RPG when I accidentally went back to the last page. I fastforwarded, but the entire post was deleted. In the old forums, that wouldn't happen. Now, when I accidentally hit the back arrow key, the whole thing is lost. And I seriously want to see this changed.Your Honor,Tyrannosaurus Kraggh

[Ziko]

The board autosaves posts while you type them now (accessible in the bottom-left corner of the posting box). If you go back to a posting page after writing for a while, there should be a copy saved to restore.

[The Swimming Beard]

The short form of modification is because it was once a reference to a webforum that is no longer an issue.

If it's no longer an issue... mind telling me which? I'm curious.

It was an issue in the sense that it was much more popular back in the day and that the short form of moderator was often used to reference that forum. Nowadays, the short form of moderator is used for other purposes so using it is not an issue anymore, but the relevant site is still a forum so it can´t be mentioned with our current policy. The filter for it is possibly going to be changed when we update the word filter.-Gata

It can get pretty annoying, as in "I got Tahu Stars recently and I will moderator him!"

I agree, that can get annoying.

[fishers64]

The short form of modification is because it was once a reference to a webforum that is no longer an issue.

If it's no longer an issue... mind telling me which? I'm curious.

It was an issue in the sense that it was much more popular back in the day and that the short form of moderator was often used to reference that forum. Nowadays, the short form of moderator is used for other purposes so using it is not an issue anymore, but the relevant site is still a forum so it can´t be mentioned with our current policy. The filter for it is possibly going to be changed when we update the word filter.-Gata

It can get pretty annoying, as in "I got Tahu Stars recently and I will moderator him!"

I agree, that can get annoying.

Actually, wouldn't a better solution be to auto-change that particular abbreviation to "modify", seeing as that is the more common usage?

[Rama~Swarm]

Seems to me that the board needs a full blown makover. -I know BZP has been a Bionicle website for years. I spent many of my teenage years here and I enjoyed every minute of that time [even when dealing with the many Community Messages], but the simple fact is that Bionicle is gone and BZPower needs a new direction if it intends to stick around for another 10 years. I'm not saying get rid of the Bionicle aspect entirely, but set it aside in it's own catagory and focus on the new themes.-This skin is lacks the professional appearance of the BZP I remember and it strongly reminds me of the old BZP imitators. -The board index could stand to be slimmed down and rebuilt to be more intuitive.Of Course I've been innactive for years so what do I know?

Edited April 19, 2012 by Rama~Swarm

[Gatanui]

Seems to me that the board needs a full blown makover. -I know BZP has been a Bionicle website for years. I spent many of my teenage years here and I enjoyed every minute of that time [even when dealing with the many Community Messages], but the simple fact is that Bionicle is gone and BZPower needs a new direction if it intends to stick around for another 10 years. I'm not saying get rid of the Bionicle aspect entirely, but set it aside in it's own catagory and focus on the new themes.-This skin is lacks the professional appearance of the BZP I remember and it strongly reminds me of the old BZP imitators. -The board index could stand to be slimmed down and rebuilt to be more intuitive.Of Course I've been innactive for years so what do I know?

Look, it´s the legendary ST For Life! Welcome back! -Actually, we´ve already opened up for all LEGO themes in most forums and have shifted our focus to constraction in general.-The skin is supposed to be generic. The members will get the chance to make custom skins themselves in some point in the future.-The board index and the forum structure has only recently been re-organized to comply with our new focus and the end of BIONICLE. I think it´s pretty good now. -Gata

[Katuko]

Actually, wouldn't a better solution be to auto-change that particular abbreviation to "modify", seeing as that is the more common usage?

I can be both a noun and a verb (modification and modify), and since us gamers use both rather often, it's not really feasibly to just settle on one "replacement". It's better to just allow the word to be used, given that it has no reason to be censored; at least not anymore.

[Makaru]

Of Course I've been innactive for years so what do I know?

dfjksdhfkjsdfjkdfsAlso, thanks for volunteering to spearhead the "revitalize BZP" project. Such a noble act after being gone for so long!

[Click]

If I could change one thing, I'm stuck between the M-O-D automatic change (especially when I'm making a Minecraft M-O-D, it drives me crazy going back to change everything!), strict linking and site mentioning policy, and the skin. I guess it would be cool to customize it, but the old BZP look was so nice.

[Dralcax]

And now it makes us shun such mundane topics like pen-spinning. (Way too popular at my school.)

[Rama~Swarm]

Look, it´s the legendary ST For Life! Welcome back!

Thanks. I'll probably pop in every now and again to talk about Lego or post something I made. I'm just glad BZP is still alive and kicking, I came back a couple times during the great downtime and was worried this site had finally closed down.

-Actually, we´ve already opened up for all LEGO themes in most forums and have shifted our focus to constraction in general.-The board index and the forum structure has only recently been re-organized to comply with our new focus and the end of BIONICLE. I think it´s pretty good now.

I can see that a lot of changes have gone down over the years, but it just looks jumbled. The broader Lego focus looks like it's just been slapped over the old board layout. Not trying to be mean or start any arguments, just saying what I would do in the situation presented to me.

-The skin is supposed to be generic. The members will get the chance to make custom skins themselves in some point in the future.

That's a great feature, but a messageboard's default skin is the face it presents to the world. A professional skin makes a board look like its leadership is serious about providing a great community. This was one of the many strengths of BZP from my time and of Bionicle Zone way back in the day.The current skin looks like it could very well have come with the board software. It makes the board look cheap and simplistic.After thinking about it last night I did come up with another change I think would be of great benefit to BZP. CoT is and has been a mess since the days when I was active. All the RPGs and games have clogged the discussion up. I'd split the board into at least a CoT Discussion board and a CoT games & RPGs board if not even more boards. It'd look better, be easier to navigate and tt would be a great boon to those members who have long since lost interest in Lego but still stick around for the community

[fishers64]

After thinking about it last night I did come up with another change I think would be of great benefit to BZP. CoT is and has been a mess since the days when I was active. All the RPGs and games have clogged the discussion up. I'd split the board into at least a CoT Discussion board and a CoT games & RPGs board if not even more boards. It'd look better, be easier to navigate and tt would be a great boon to those members who have long since lost interest in Lego but still stick around for the community

It's not going to happen - the administration has said that they don't want CoT to become the focus of this place, so no CoT subforums. Could you clarify what you mean when you say the general focus is "slapped over" the current board layout? ***

Actually, wouldn't a better solution be to auto-change that particular abbreviation to "modify", seeing as that is the more common usage?

I can be both a noun and a verb (modification and modify), and since us gamers use both rather often, it's not really feasibly to just settle on one "replacement". It's better to just allow the word to be used, given that it has no reason to be censored; at least not anymore.

Have to agree with this, actually. But either word would be a better replacement than moderator. 

[Makaru]

After thinking about it last night I did come up with another change I think would be of great benefit to BZP. CoT is and has been a mess since the days when I was active. All the RPGs and games have clogged the discussion up. I'd split the board into at least a CoT Discussion board and a CoT games & RPGs board if not even more boards.

I'd be down with that.

[Neelh]

Redesign it back to the old skin. I'd be more comfortable that way.

[Dralcax]

The current skin looks like it could very well have come with the board software.

It did, trust me. It's the default skin, as I discovered after visiting another forum that actually had it's own skin.

[fishers64]

The current skin looks like it could very well have come with the board software.

It did, trust me. It's the default skin, as I discovered after visiting another forum that actually had it's own skin.

Hey, at least it has a unique banner at the top.

[The Swimming Beard]

The short form of modification is because it was once a reference to a webforum that is no longer an issue.

If it's no longer an issue... mind telling me which? I'm curious.

It was an issue in the sense that it was much more popular back in the day and that the short form of moderator was often used to reference that forum. Nowadays, the short form of moderator is used for other purposes so using it is not an issue anymore, but the relevant site is still a forum so it can´t be mentioned with our current policy. The filter for it is possibly going to be changed when we update the word filter.-Gata

It can get pretty annoying, as in "I got Tahu Stars recently and I will moderator him!"

I agree, that can get annoying.

Actually, wouldn't a better solution be to auto-change that particular abbreviation to "modify", seeing as that is the more common usage?

But then, what if someone really wanted to use it to mean moderator?

[fishers64]

The short form of modification is because it was once a reference to a webforum that is no longer an issue.

If it's no longer an issue... mind telling me which? I'm curious.

It was an issue in the sense that it was much more popular back in the day and that the short form of moderator was often used to reference that forum. Nowadays, the short form of moderator is used for other purposes so using it is not an issue anymore, but the relevant site is still a forum so it can´t be mentioned with our current policy. The filter for it is possibly going to be changed when we update the word filter.-Gata

It can get pretty annoying, as in "I got Tahu Stars recently and I will moderator him!"

I agree, that can get annoying.

Actually, wouldn't a better solution be to auto-change that particular abbreviation to "modify", seeing as that is the more common usage?

But then, what if someone really wanted to use it to mean moderator?

As Katuko said a few posts above me, the word should be allowed to be used. There's no reason to filter it anymore. Edited May 5, 2012 by fishers64

[Mushy the Mushroom]

(Removed, sorry.)

Edited September 21, 2020 by Mushy the Mushroom

[Cambion]

Hot topics list.That's all.

[Meiko]

The CSS for the skin. It's too... default. I know it's on the staff's list of things to do though, so I'm fine.

[The Swimming Beard]

There should be a report button for profile feeds. It would be a lot easier than PMing a Forum Assistant whenever you see something that breaks the rules.

[dviddy]

There should be a report button for profile feeds. It would be a lot easier than PMing a Forum Assistant whenever you see something that breaks the rules.

There's a "Report this member" link in the bottom left of all profiles. You can use that, just specify in your report what it's for.

[BenLuke]

More BZPRPG staff. Nuju is great and all, but he's still only one guy.

Edited June 21, 2012 by BenLuke-116

[Than the Moa]

After thinking about it last night I did come up with another change I think would be of great benefit to BZP. CoT is and has been a mess since the days when I was active. All the RPGs and games have clogged the discussion up. I'd split the board into at least a CoT Discussion board and a CoT games & RPGs board if not even more boards.

I'd be down with that.

I know this one is an older post, but I do want to speak as to why it is the way it is and won't change.BZPower's focus should be on Lego/Bionicle. It's the kind of site we are first and foremost. We don't want to devalue those themes by adding additional forums that are not focused on those at all. Hence COT remaining one forum. It may be a little messy at times because of this, but it's intent is to be a singular place to discuss other things outside of Bionicle/Lego and not a main focus of the site. We view it as a side attraction and thus we treat it as such. There are other forums out there that offer a more wide variety of things to discuss and we do not feel that is our role to fill.The RPG judge process is an attempt to limit the amount of RPGs that clog it up and I very rarely approve any games. Most of the ones there are just ones that were running before the forum upgrade ever took place.

[The Swimming Beard]

I don't think "cool dude" should be filtered. Everyone knows what it means, and there are plenty of synonyms for it. It also complicates writing and Rpgs.

[fishers64]

There should be a report button for profile feeds. It would be a lot easier than PMing a Forum Assistant whenever you see something that breaks the rules.

There's a "Report this member" link in the bottom left of all profiles. You can use that, just specify in your report what it's for.

I don't think you're supposed to use that for reporting profile feeds. 

When to PM a Forum Assistant:Even though signature reports are no longer directed their way, there are still reports for which you should send one of them a PM. They are as follows:[...]If you find an inappropriate profile comment or status update

I don't think "cool dude" should be filtered. Everyone knows what it means, and there are plenty of synonyms for it. It also complicates writing and Rpgs.

There was some idea out there to unfilter that word just for Library forums, but I guess the technology doesn't work for that. 

[Nuparu1995]

Hot topics list.That's all.

AMEN!!! I forgot about that.

[fishers64]

After many reports having to deal with this, I would like a banner on top of General Discussion declaring, "This forum is for things related to BZPower. All Bionicle in-general questions belong in Lego General Discussion. "Or something like that.

Edited June 27, 2012 by fishers64

[Athmos]

Remove the word filter. Why? Everyone here already knows what is taboo to say, and besides, certain words could be restricted to the Library Forum use only. Trolls aren't gonna want to fight past the 5 post limit JUST to spam. They normally give up after they see their posts need to be approved. After all, we have a very capable staff to take out rule-breakers in a flash anyways.

[The Swimming Beard]

Remove the word filter.Why? Everyone here already knows what is taboo to say, and besides, certain words could be restricted to the Library Forum use only.Trolls aren't gonna want to fight past the 5 post limit JUST to spam. They normally give up after they see their posts need to be approved.After all, we have a very capable staff to take out rule-breakers in a flash anyways.

About the word filter, I disagree (though indeed some words need to be removed from it), as people would just keep getting closer and closer to using inapproprate language regularly.

[Sumiki]

I see the filter has come up again. Let me take the time to finally clear the air on this:The reason that we still have the word filter in place is that BZP wouldn't function without it. I know a lot of folks think that the filter only targets things that are now outdated and vestigial, and I agree completely with anyone who thinks that the word filter is outmoded, because hey, it is. Will we get some of the more infamous (and completely ridiculous) filters removed? Unfortunately, probably not. However, after it is upgraded, the filter will make sense for today's BZP and today's Internet. I can call someone a "self-obsessed conky gleet-covered Nazi with garlic halitosis" and not say that someone's the equivalent of a moron. Because really, I'd much rather be called the latter than the former.I think the main issue here is not that there's a filter on it, it's that bypassing this filter is strictly enforced. Someone bypasses a particular filter and I have to send a PM to that member. I hate doing it, because I don't agree with the rule - it's like a police officer arresting somebody for doing something which he thinks shouldn't be illegal. Considering that worse insults aren't filtered, I don't see why one particular one still is. The three main arguments which I see for the continual implementation of the filter are 1) it's a part of BZPower, 2) it's funny, and 3) people abused it before so they will again. While those are espoused by the minority who think the filter should continue to exist, I don't think they are sound arguments. It also so happens that most of the people who like that filter are staff, so ... yeah.Do I think it's fair that sites with inappropriate content, such as Twitter, are allowed to be mentioned and even linked to while common words which barely contain any insulting sting to them are censored? Of course not; it's ridiculous. Before I was promoted, I made some borderline scathing posts criticizing the ostensible hypocrisy of the filter and BZP's current policies. The reason that the filter is outdated is simple: it hasn't changed in years, and years in Internet terms is an eon. Here's an example: when the forums came back, it was decided that Bricklink would be legal to mention. But the word filter contained versions of the site's name and was never updated to reflect this change in policy. If the filter was updated every time a policy that affected it changed, then we would not be in the predicament that we're in now with the filter in desperate need of a fix.Now, the subject of word filter updating is tied intricately into the advertising policy, as a lot of common sites are filtered and a lot of banned sites aren't filtered. It would be so much easier if the filter were expanded to include common social networking sites.As much as I don't like parts of the word filter, it's a very useful tool. This is why I will debate fiercely against anyone who wants to completely and utterly dismantle the filter. What are we, on the staff, supposed to do then? We already have enough work, and if someone wants to go and plaster horribly egregious expletives in every forum, then we have to deal with it. Of course, if that happened, then an admin would ban the member, but why go to such trouble if you can put in a word filter? If we didn't have the filter, then half the site would be staff trying to clean up the non-staff half. We do not "take out rule-breakers in a flash," actually, though I will admit that we're very fast. There's just no guarantee that a staff member is going to be on 24/7. If, say, a Blog Assistant, Reporter, or Reference Keeper was the only staff member online, and something happened horrible in the forums with a member breaking rules left and right ... well, you can see where that logic train leads.The reason that there's a filter is the same reason that we have staff and the same reason that governments exist: anarchy, while it may be a reasonable concept on paper, does not work in reality.(Also, one final point: one point of view anent the filter is the growing constituency which suggest allowing certain words for use in the Library and in the Library only. For one, I'm not sure that's even possible, and two, people review things in the library. If it's allowed in Library stories then it'll be allowed in reviews, and people review things elsewhere. It's not a middle ground fallacy per se, but it's not a permanent solution or compromise.)Anyway, I've been on this little makeshift soapbox for far too long now, and I had best step off of it.