Why Are We Only Allowed One Thread A Week On The "Deck Help" Forum?
TappedOut forum
Posted on June 5, 2014, 8:59 p.m. by InnerFlame
I just had a thread deleted from the "deck help" forum because I had already posted a thread on it this week. I'm not trying to stand up to the site managers or call anyone out here, and yes I should have read the forums guidelines first, but does this annoy anyone else? And why is this a rule?
In my mind tappedout, and the deck help forum specifically, are supposed to help players build decks. How are they supposed to get help to fix everything in their deck if they can only ask one question? What happens if a new problem arises and they need an answer. Waiting a week isn't exactly something wants to, or can, do.
I understand that it may lead to a crowded forum, but some answers are better than none. And the forum feed is based of last comment so it will cycle on its own. It just bugs me cause it seems like it makes the forum almost useless.
Can somebody change my mind on this and offer a better explanation? Does anyone agree?
It's just because there are so many users that allowing any more would be absolutely ridiculous. In fact allowing more volume would be worse because it would mean that threads would be quickly pushed to the bottom instead of read. By decreasing the amount that people can post each thread gets more attention. If we allowed any more then it would increase the likelihood that you'd get no replies at all.
June 5, 2014 9:08 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #4
Imagine what the Deck Help forum would look like if a single user posted a new thread every day. Now multiply that by a hundred (or more, depending on activity that week). Better yet, take every post that was in the Advertise Your Deck thread and make all of them their own threads.
The rule exists to prevent the forums from becoming a mess and to make sure threads don't get instantaneously kicked off the front page because everyone on the site has to post once per day to compete for attention.
It may seem slightly unfair to you, but remember that we have to manage thousands of users. We have to make the decisions that make the most sense for community function. If that means people post a little less often, I don't think that's too steep a cost.
June 5, 2014 9:13 p.m.
InnerFlame says... #5
I could live once a day. Once a week I just think is too strict. A lot of people probably want to buy their deck within a week. They'll want it to be best available. I understand that it will be a lot busier and some poeple may not get answers. But the chance of getting answers seems better than no chance of any answers.
June 5, 2014 9:20 p.m.
You know what you can do if you're desperate? Comment on other people's decks and ask for a comment in return. I do that often.
June 5, 2014 9:22 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #7
Again, once per day would produce a mess. You need to think about the scenario on a scale larger than just yourself. One thread per week is far from unreasonable. The problem is a lot of people just post a few words and a link to their deck. Most people don't bother helping when they see threads like that.
June 5, 2014 9:23 p.m.
InnerFlame says... #8
Managing I guess sis another story too. Have you ever considered bringing it down a few days or allowing two post, though? one question a week just seems like too little for a struggling deck or new player.
June 5, 2014 9:24 p.m.
If you really need help, your best bet is to look at similar lists on this site. You can take ideas from those, and you can also ask those builders for help with your deck. I would strongly recommend, however, that you try to provide a piece of useful help or advice on those decks first, as it will make it much more likely that that user will take the time to help you in return.
Forums are not the only way to get help on your decks. Deckcycling helps, and forming relationships with other users and soliciting advice from them can be extremely helpful.
June 5, 2014 9:27 p.m.
InnerFlame says... #10
I just hate soliciting for help haha. I feel annoying when I do it. But I can give it a try.
June 5, 2014 9:31 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #11
You're soliciting for help every time you post a thread. Same as the tens of other users who post in DH every day.
June 5, 2014 9:32 p.m.
The thing is, if you make sure that you're soliciting help from users who have similar decks, and you leave them feedback too, its not a huge deal. I usually don't mind it if someone asks me to take a look at something they're working on that's similar to one of my decks, especially if they've helped me in the past. It only becomes annoying when you spam people who don't have similar decks, don't have knowledge about your deck's format, style, etc. or who you haven't ever helped before yourself.
June 5, 2014 9:34 p.m.
InnerFlame says... #13
Except I'm not crowding other people's decks for it and they don;t have to look at it if they don't want. I'm not trying to argue or turn the site against you guys. I know you all work very hard for the site and it's your site so you can do whatever, I just wanted to see if it was possible to get like to times a week or shave some days.
June 5, 2014 9:36 p.m.
You can also post on the walls of users you know quite well. I'd be happy to help, as would many others.
June 5, 2014 9:46 p.m.
vampirelazarus says... #15
I didn't even know there was a limit.....
But yeah, commenting on decks similar to yours, and asking for help is a great way to get around that rule. Most people will return the favor, or arty last be happy to explain their card choices.
June 5, 2014 10:09 p.m.
Nigeltastic says... #16
My thought is this: why do you need a separate thread for each question you have? Can't you reply to your own deck thread and get a back and forth going on? If you format your thread in a better way than the majority of threads I see (a title, a few words, and then <
June 5, 2014 10:54 p.m.
i think too many people on this site only think about what might benefit themselves, but they fail to take into account the thousands of people on this site everyday. you don't even know how many times i've thought of an idea, and just as i'm about to post it, i think " well, if everyone did this..." just sayin haha
one other thing is that many people see a DH forum and they automatically skip it. i know i'm guilty of this sometimes but it leads to situations such as this. posting one forum might only get one comment, or even worse (or better) just an upvote. so, personally, i think the entire community can participate more on helping others.
just food for thought
June 5, 2014 11:36 p.m.
InnerFlame says... #18
Thank you ChiefBell. We may be in contact down the road. I could definitely try to recomment on a thread and see if anyone looks at the thread again, Nigeltastic. Thank you for the suggestions.
tempest, before you condemn me for being selfish and not looking at it from the view of others, maybe you should take your own advice at looking at it from another view and see it from mine. Yes, I would like to be able to post more than once myself, but as you can read above, I am also considering those new to magic and need a lot of help. I like to think I don't that much help (not being stuck up, I still enjoy advice), but new players may need a lot more help than I do and realize a new question after they posted once. I made this thread to see if I could help others, not just myself. I'm not that selfish. Although, I see that I am in the minority and accept that, that's why I'm not going to try and push any further for an extension.
June 5, 2014 11:48 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #19
From a utilitarian perspective, which is the philosophy I use most of the time I'm managing this community, anything that only considers a small subset of the community can be considered selfish. I'm interested in what will make this site usable for more people, and that means that individuals activity - regardless of who the individual is - will need to be slightly restricted.
There are plenty of ways to get advice or help without flooding the forums. These tools are available to every user, regardless of how long they've been playing.
June 5, 2014 11:58 p.m.
WhiteEyesCloudedbyH8 says... #20
I don't use TO as my ONLY resource for deck building/editing, surely there are other ways for you to get feedback or even deck help than just this website. As Epoch has been re-explaining multiple times, the site is the way it is for a reason, if that means the site is ill-equipped to satisfy your deck help needs, it may mean it's time to branch out and look into other sources for help. Just my 2 cents.
June 6, 2014 12:39 a.m.
As far as a person posting a DH thread and then another question popping into their head a minute later, I've seen plenty of people immediately post a comment on their own thread asking that question in addition to what was stated in their initial post.
June 6, 2014 12:52 a.m.
Hello, I'm yeago and I created mostly everything that happens here :P When I created this site I absolutely meant it to be a factory that pumps out deck feedback and advice to all who join. If I had it my way no deck would go unnoticed and uncommented on.
I am certainly open to changing things. I'm always interested to hear new ideas as to how we can solve the dilemma of the fact that attention and help is a scarce resource. Given the fact that most people who buy feature tokens are repeat buyers, I think that's a pretty good avenue to pour rocket fuel in to the attention your deck will get. That said, I'm always open to new possibilities.
June 6, 2014 10:04 p.m.
InnerFlame says... #23
Thank you yeaGO for the feedback! It is good to know that the site founder is open to changes. And that's what I meant this thread to be. I didn't mean for it to be bash on you guys, and I'm not legit mad about it. I was just looking to see if you guys were open to change.
You're view does make a lot of sense. This is you're site, you want to make money for your hard work. The best features and advice isn't free on other sites so why should yours be different. You work hard, and I love the site. Thank for creating it. I should buy feature tokens, not just to get deck help, but to support you.
June 6, 2014 11:23 p.m.
The issue isn't money--feature tokens don't really bring in that much (they don't cover site costs). But feature tokens have the handy advantage of creating a situation where, since its not free, you've got to really consider whether you want to participate (rather than spam). Then again, its only a dollar :P
I'd like to think that this site can be judged by the deck-to-comment ratio. If there are more comments created per deck, the better. All Epoch has done in enforcing a once-per-week policy in the Deck Help forum is ensure that your deck post doesn't become flooded. If someone has data or suggestions that this isn't effective, I'm all ears. Other features? I'm all ears. But letting everyone post as much as they want, sadly, is a Tragedy of the Commons.
June 6, 2014 11:30 p.m.
_Xenagos_, not sure why my post didn't post initially, but if you read me first post, i was extremely careful in the way i worded it. i was not implying that you were doing that, i was just stating something i've found is pretty common on this site. sorry if there was any misconception
omnipotato says... #2
Probably for the same reason you can only deckcycle 3 times a day, and only once per hour: to prevent people from spamming their decks asking for rates. Maybe once a week is too strict, perhaps once a day would be better?
June 5, 2014 9:07 p.m.