# Did I miss something here? Mod rant in The Game Room **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [September 30, 2014, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-miss-something-here-mod-rant-in-the-game-room/699969 "2014-09-30T13:43:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-miss-something-here-mod-rant-in-the-game-room/699969/81 "2014-10-01T12:05:34Z")
The moderators or administrators or whatever the hell they are called are missing the point so thoroughly here that I can’t decide whether to attribute it to stupidity or malice. What is wrong with you people? ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-miss-something-here-mod-rant-in-the-game-room/699969/82 "2014-10-01T12:21:31Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > The problem with labeling everything is that you cannot simply scan for threads based on label vs no label. You have to read and decode (sport, discussions about games, games) each thread. > > If the problem was needing an easy way to separate game threads from everything else, the solution should be easily scannable by eye. > > Too much information can be as muddling and too little information. Barring the creation of a sub forum, I think \*\*Dex’s \*\*solution was the easiest and most elegant: only label the game threads. I believe the sticky suggesting the labeling etiquette should reflect that original idea. This. This. This. This. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-miss-something-here-mod-rant-in-the-game-room/699969/83 "2014-10-01T12:27:52Z")
You know how IMHO automatically parses in “Poll:” at the beginning of any thread that engages the polling system, but doesn’t mark everything else as “Opinions:” or “Not a Poll:”? Yeh, The Game Room needs to work like that but only marking Thread Games. In short what **SenorBeef** and all the other non-mods have been saying. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-miss-something-here-mod-rant-in-the-game-room/699969/84 "2014-10-01T12:31:09Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > You know how IMHO automatically parses in “Poll:” at the beginning of any thread that engages the polling system, but doesn’t mark everything else as “Opinions:” or “Not a Poll:”? > > Yeh, The Game Room needs to work like that but only marking Thread Games. In short what **SenorBeef** and all the other non-mods have been saying. Well, that was Dex’s original suggestion and the brief time it was in place seemed workable. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-miss-something-here-mod-rant-in-the-game-room/699969/85 "2014-10-01T12:34:26Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Well, that was Dex’s original suggestion and the brief time it was in place seemed workable. I think **cmyk** was trying to break it down into such simple terms that the handful of people on earth who don’t understand it will see the point. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-miss-something-here-mod-rant-in-the-game-room/699969/86 "2014-10-01T12:36:15Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Well, that was Dex’s original suggestion and the brief time it was in place seemed workable. Well, it still didn’t address the core problem that the game threads are a virus clogging up the Game Room, but it was indeed better for identifying the actual game threads as opposed to whatever the hell it is the mods have going on in there now. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-miss-something-here-mod-rant-in-the-game-room/699969/87 "2014-10-01T12:40:43Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Well, that was Dex’s original suggestion and the brief time it was in place seemed workable. Right. I was merely pointing to a forum where this type of labeling is already a great example of thread legibility that’s _already implemented_. I see that. You see that. Most everyone else does, too. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-miss-something-here-mod-rant-in-the-game-room/699969/88 "2014-10-01T12:42:15Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > FWIW, I fully support the Sr. Beef proposal to only tag thread games and not tag discussion threads about sports, games, etc. Another vote for only labeling thread games with a [GAME] tag. The Game Room regulars seem to be in favor of this plan, and it was Dex’s original intention, so I say let’s go with it. Also, Beef and I agree on something Game Room-related, don’t let this once-in-a-lifetime spirit of brotherhood die. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-miss-something-here-mod-rant-in-the-game-room/699969/89 "2014-10-01T12:46:15Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Right. > > I was merely pointing to a forum where this type of labeling is already a great example of thread legibility that’s _already implemented_. > > I see that. You see that. Most everyone else does, too. I was responding to the part about all non-mods seeing that- Dex is a mod and got it too. I wanted to make sure he got his props! 🙂 Otherwise your point was spot on. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-miss-something-here-mod-rant-in-the-game-room/699969/90 "2014-10-01T12:56:17Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Another vote for only labeling thread games with a [GAME] tag. +1 for the idea. The tag could instead be \*\*GAME: \*\* which is easier to type and thus easier to comply with. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-miss-something-here-mod-rant-in-the-game-room/699969/91 "2014-10-01T12:56:36Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > We’re convinced subforums don’t build traffic – they destroy it. People don’t see them, skip over them, don’t know about them. We need more traffic, not less. In all honesty, I have to contend this notion. While labeling only Thread Game threads with [GAME] or **GAME:** is a good solution, I think a sub-forum is the far superior one for reasons already cud-chewed to oblivion. Why? Because thread games are a unique thread-type on this board and are of only novelty interest. It’s not the kind of thread that draws in the uninitiated masses from a Google search. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-miss-something-here-mod-rant-in-the-game-room/699969/92 "2014-10-01T12:57:54Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > I was responding to the part about all non-mods seeing that- Dex is a mod and got it too. I wanted to make sure he got his props! 🙂 > > Otherwise your point was spot on. No prob, it’s all good, man. **Dex** had it nailed for the most part fer sure. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-miss-something-here-mod-rant-in-the-game-room/699969/93 "2014-10-01T13:32:12Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Why? Because thread games are a unique thread-type on this board and are of only novelty interest. It’s not the kind of thread that draws in the uninitiated masses from a Google search. Agreed. Is it really a contention from admin that putting threads like “SIX-Letter Word-Change one or two letters make a new word” into a sub-folder is going to hurt our numbers? I really can’t imagine that’s the case. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-miss-something-here-mod-rant-in-the-game-room/699969/94 "2014-10-01T13:40:35Z")
Also agree with **cmyk** & **Johnny B**. I originally came here from a Google search on an interesting topic, and joined 2 years ago. Most of my posts have been for a few \*\*GAME: \*\* threads. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-miss-something-here-mod-rant-in-the-game-room/699969/95 "2014-10-01T13:55:24Z")
Okay, it’s back to discussion in the mod loop. We will of course take your comments into consideration. What we came up with involved using the “SEARCH THIS FORUM” feature. But apparently that’s not a workable solution for most of you. Like we said, it’s an experiment; we learn from what we try and we try again. Please be patient as we move through this. Not all moderators are on board all the time or reading their email and it takes some time to get everybody on the same page. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-miss-something-here-mod-rant-in-the-game-room/699969/96 "2014-10-01T14:06:15Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > What we came up with involved using the “SEARCH THIS FORUM” feature. Is this a non-sensical sentence to anyone else? What did you come up with that required using the “SEARCH THIS FORUM” feature? And for the record, I prefer **[GAME]** versus **GAME:** as the brackets are more noticeable. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-miss-something-here-mod-rant-in-the-game-room/699969/97 "2014-10-01T14:13:41Z")
To my knowledge, absolutely no one asked for anything that invovled the “SEARCH THIS FORUM” feature. And even if someone did, how the frak are you supposed to search for a GAME without getting all the [GAME]s as well? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-miss-something-here-mod-rant-in-the-game-room/699969/98 "2014-10-01T14:16:07Z")
I only started this thread so somebody would explain what was going on, but I see we’ve moved a bit beyond that. Anyway, if anybody wants my two cents it seems blindingly obvious that playing games in a thread and talking about sports and games generally are essentially unrelated things, and that they should be in different fora. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-miss-something-here-mod-rant-in-the-game-room/699969/99 "2014-10-01T14:47:39Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Another vote for only labeling thread games with a [GAME] tag. > > The Game Room regulars seem to be in favor of this plan, and it was Dex’s original intention, so I say let’s go with it. Also, Beef and I agree on something Game Room-related, don’t let this once-in-a-lifetime spirit of brotherhood die. It seems clear that whatever solution is ultimately decided upon, it will be up to the members of the board, rather than the administration, to implement it. That is, the thread starters will need to properly tag their threads; the moderators are not going to do it for them. That being the case, it does seem that we’re free to implement any solution we collectively see fit. I think the discussion so far has made it clear that the overwhelming majority (of those who actually care, anyway) would like to see it that only ‘game threads’ are tagged, and all discussion threads be left alone. Now, I haven’t checked, but I’m willing to bet that the vast majority of game threads are started by the same small handful of posters, so all that’s needed is a consensus among that group, and the solution presents itself. Personally, I prefer **GAME:** as a prefix, but I don’t really have a problem with **[GAME]**, or **[Game:]**, or even **{g@mE!** if we’re feeling particularly whimsical… The point is that we, the creators of all of the content on this board, have the tools needed to solve this problem ourselves…and the administration has made it clear that they don’t see this as a problem that needs to be solved (actually, I don’t personally have a problem with the status quo myself, but I can appreciate that many of you do, and any ‘solution’ isn’t going to make things worse for me so I fully support the effort). So let’s just start implementing the solution. Sure, it would be nice if we had an ‘official thread naming convention’ that we would compel everyone to use, but that’s not likely to happen without many, many hours of debate…in far less time we can implement two or three competing naming conventions and wait for popular use to decide the ‘winner’ for us. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-miss-something-here-mod-rant-in-the-game-room/699969/100 "2014-10-01T14:47:41Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > [Show **Dex** some love.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735961) _Or:_ Buoy C K! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-miss-something-here-mod-rant-in-the-game-room/699969.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-miss-something-here-mod-rant-in-the-game-room/699969.md?page=6)