Clearer topic titles

[Vandlys]

I was once surprised to see how quickly a mod jumped on me posting in a different language without translation (a rule I had overlooked, and agree with, no criticism, just an example), so I'm aware there is strict moderation on forum rules.

Since there are many topics with vague titles such as "one more thing" or "they missed something" or topics with redundant characters such as multiple exclamation marks, I wondered if there isn't a rule out there to create topic titles that are indicative of the thread content.

If there is a rule on this, could it be moderated better? If not, could a rule for it be established?

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I realize that you're referring to threads in the Civ forums, but there are times when we have similar issues in the Off-Topic section of the Colosseum. The rule has long been that if you're going to post in a foreign language, you must also provide a translation.

Sometimes this gets ignored, because "hey, we're a bunch of smart people on a Civ forum, so everyone knows Latin, right?"

Everyone has encountered Latin in our lives; it's impossible not to. But we didn't all study it, so of course we don't all know it.

I also sympathize with your wish for clearer titles. Titles need to give a good indication of what the thread is about, and they should not use words that only the OP understands (unless the OP explains in post #1 what it means - as I did with the thread title of "FUDDLE-DUDDLE" in one of the Random Rants threads; you have to be familiar with a particular Canadian Prime Minister to get that reference). The words in the title should be pronounceable (there's a thread in OT that has me stumped in how to pronounce one of the words in the title).

Have you mentioned this problem to any of the moderators overseeing the subforums you're active in?

 

[Noble Zarkon]

I wondered if there isn't a rule out there to create topic titles that are indicative of the thread content.

If there is a rule on this, could it be moderated better? If not, could a rule for it be established?

It's a good point, interested in other views.

 

[The_J]

It's a good point, interested in other views.

Yes, please.


To address the question: Right now there are no rules. Moderators are free to use their discretion though, and we have renamed threads if we deemed it necessary. As there is no rule, we don't do that regularly.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Yes, please.


To address the question: Right now there are no rules. Moderators are free to use their discretion though, and we have renamed threads if we deemed it necessary. As there is no rule, we don't do that regularly.

Do you rename it after speaking to the OP, or do you just go ahead and do it anyway, regardless of what the OP might want?

 

[The_J]

Right now the OP can always rename a thread (that is different under Xenforo now than it was during the vb times), so if someone wants to rename a thread themselfs, they can already.

Otherwise unclear thread titles are normally caused by people either not knowing what they really want to ask (e.g. technical problems), or because they are not great communicators. E.g. nobody really wants to name a thread "help", but it's rahter so that people sometimes don't have a clue what their question is. In this cases it's probably not the most productive thing to ask the OPs, since that might be a complicated conversation, and it's often just easier to rename the thread, since we have a way better idea due to our civ experience.
So no, for convenience we normally don't ask.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

That's fine for tech help in the Civ forums, or tech help in general. A lot of the threads I've started here are for tech help and I don't have the inclination to wade through a bazillion posts in the FAQ thread to see if anyone else has the same problem.

How about in the Colosseum? I've seen threads renamed, split, posts moved around, and people suddenly becoming OPs when they never wanted to. That's when the staff should say something to the OP before they do something. Ditto for moving things where they don't actually belong. I ended up deleting a post because it got moved to an inappropriate place and my objections weren't listened to.

 

[The_J]

We're tasked to organize the forum, and these things are sometimes necessary to have it all more-or-less neatly organized .

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Not asking someone if they want to suddenly become the OP of a thread they may only have posted in once and aren't that invested in, is discourteous. Even if that post seems the obvious jumping off place to create a new thread, you should still ask.