The SDMB is dandy, but here are some site recommendations to make it even dandier:
Contest (s):
Everyone likes contests, even Dopers. I propose a separate forum named, “Contests”. What sort of contests could be run? Some ideas:
Purely statistical: The winners are the OP’s whose threads from each forum garnered the most views and or replies each week. Perhaps an overall winner, as well.
Weekly Voting Poll: for the most profound/ most interesting/silliest/funniest/etc. OP’s and/or replies.
Grab bag: Dopers could post any number of one-time-only contests.
Prize: Some version of a SD gold star could be attached to your profile for a period of time (I think that I deserve a gold star for this particular OP).
Benefit: Win-win. Being showcased, the best threads would garner even more exposure, therefore fighting ignorance more effectively. Contests are fun; Dopers like to have fun. Positive buzz would propagate throughout the Internet resulting in unprecedented membership for the SD: Cecil et al get put into the same tax bracket as Bill Gates. Dr. Poopiepants gets thrown a few crumbs for his efforts, thereby allowing him to feed his children something besides gruel.
De-sterilize online communication. I understand the desire for anonymity, but I believe it may be effectively maintained while still sharing a little more about ourselves
Ideas:
I wish that more Dopers would consider at least listing their nationality on their profiles. Whenever I read a post, I look up to see where the poster is from and I’m often disappointed to find that they have left “Location:” blank or with a silly answer. You won’t entirely blow your cover by revealing your nationality (well, unless you live in a really tiny country).
Photos: Wouldn’t it be nice to have a forum, or a link from your profile specifically for photographs (maybe under 50kb jpegs). Those not too concerned about maintaining complete anonymity could post photos of themselves (it’s nice to have a picture in your mind of whom you are engaged in conversation). Others could post photos of things that tell a little about themselves (a pet, a landscape, a bottle of beer…anything at all). You would need a policy of no obscenity, punishable by banning. Dopers do, of course, already link to photos, but it would be nice to have a centralized, navigable area to do so properly.
Make Moderators Happy: Lets lobby for all SD moderators to be paid a large salary with good benefits!*
What do you think, Dopers? Do you have any recommendations of your own?
Just joshing. I just have a psycological need for their approval.
This stuff has been proposed in the past and I wouldn’t be surprised you got an e-mail telling you that you are banned, not only from this board, but from the entire internet as well as cable TV and Ipods just for thinking about it more than once. Official “contests” do not go over well at here at all and it actually contradicts much of the philosophy of the board HARD. If you don’t understand why then you are not capable of understanding why and therein lies the problem.
But please don’t change their style! I like our simple, understated smileys. The SDMB’s brief experiment with more “3D”-looking smileys was ill-advised.
And let’s not even consider animated smileys on this board!
Despite a pronounced lisp, yeth I can.
I give Dopers more credit than to waste time padding posts in order to win a gold star for a week, maybe I’m wrong.
Again, I find it difficult to believe that Dopers would get agitated over an informal contest meant for fun with the only prize being a valueless temporary icon. If adults become enraged over the prospect of a gold star being affixed to their names, I suggest they have misplaced priorities and self-worth issues.
What is that, a really tiny country?
You do, but do others? Having three Doper photo albums suggests to me that there is, indeed, an interest in viewing fellow Dopers. Having a centralized and navigable place for them to be located would simply be a nice touch. Anyone have the links to those albums?
According to my…meh, forget it, your post is just too silly to respond to.
Funny, Massachusetts is listed as his “Location:”, but the post sure seems to be written by a Louisianian. :rolleyes:
I like your smileys idea. I’d like to include a flabbergasted smiley, an ennui smiley and a milk-coming-out-of-the-nose-funny smiley.
Well, no. Aldebaran was a poster who claimed he was in the Middle East, both by his Location: entry and (apparently) by things he said. (I say apparently because I never really followed his stuff, me being totally apolitical and all.)
Lynn Bodonicalled him on it and said he was really posting from Belgium. Apparently, this made him flame out, and he was subsequently banned .
I’m not entirely sure how this connects, but I just wanted to explain who Aldebaran was.
I was wrong, it’s four albums–two of which are no longer active, one seems to have lost all its pics, and the fourth has just a few pics of Dopers from when they were teenagers. Does that sound like there’s a real interest in viewing fellow Dopers?
