Testing Limit of Autodelete

[MKSheppard]

Since we've removed apparently the 3 page thread for testing, lets prevent testing from becoming too cluttered up by implementing a much more throrough autodelete schedule.

Something along the lines of one hour?

[Starglider]

Something along the lines of one hour?

We already have an SDN chatroom.

[MKSheppard]

We already have an SDN chatroom.

So what is the point of testing?

[Starglider]

So what is the point of testing?

People live in different timezones, yet still want to talk nonsense at each other.

[MKSheppard]

People live in different timezones, yet still want to talk nonsense at each other.

That's called email. There's no reason to clutter up SDN's server with that garbage when you can take it off-board.

And if you want to discuss a topic that sort of does not fit in any of the other subforums, there's *GASP* off-topic.

[Starglider]

That's called email. There's no reason to clutter up SDN's server with that garbage when you can take it off-board.

Then your thread should be called 'should Testing be for actual testing only' - and as noted in the last thread we had on this, we don't actually need a Testing for testing with the new user profile editor. A one hour flush would kill more interesting threads than utterly worthless ones - if you want to kill Testing, just propose deleting the forum.

[MKSheppard]

Then your thread should be called 'should Testing be for actual testing only' - and as noted in the last thread we had on this, we don't actually need a Testing for testing with the new user profile editor.

So again, what *IS* the point of testing?

A one hour flush would kill more interesting threads than utterly worthless ones.

They're all utterly worthless. Why else would they be in testing?

[rhoenix]

People live in different timezones, yet still want to talk nonsense at each other.

That's called email. There's no reason to clutter up SDN's server with that garbage when you can take it off-board.

And if you want to discuss a topic that sort of does not fit in any of the other subforums, there's *GASP* off-topic.

By that logic, why have an Off-Topic forum, or even any non-SciFi forums here at all? As you said, we all have email.

EDIT: To run with it a bit further, there is equally a lack of justification for all the specialty private forums too - like the HAB. They're all low-traffic, off-topic forums, undeserving of forum bandwidth and disk space, right?

[Havok]

Uh, it's not cluttered because it gets auto-deleted?
And fucking really. SDN has hundreds of pages of thousands of active threads. (i.e. not locked) I don't think that 10 threads that are going to be off the server in a day or two is cluttering up anything.

Really, Shep, if you want to get in on the board drama, you don't need to go all Duchess/Bean with new threads. Just go join in some of the new threads in the HoC.
Stop being a douche.

[Starglider]

So again, what *IS* the point of testing?

Supposedly, because without it people would either be frustrated or spamming other forums (the 'blowing off steam argument'). I don't have much sympathy for that argument, there's been a seepage of Testing-style spam into proper forums which IMHO is because certain people are habituated to posting that crap on SDN (via Testing), and if you want to post huge volumes of crap you can get an account on 4chan.

They're all utterly worthless. Why else would they be in testing?

However, there are also plenty of interesting threads in testing, and that proportion has been increasing recently. They are there to escape dogpiling, psycho moderation or some other issue in OT/NP/OSF/G&C etc. Until we find a better solution for that, I am prepared to put up with the crap.

[Junghalli]

However, there are also plenty of interesting threads in testing, and that proportion has been increasing recently. They are there to escape dogpiling, psycho moderation or some other issue in OT/NP/OSF/G&C etc. Until we find a better solution for that, I am prepared to put up with the crap.

I'm thinking of the Armageddon criticism thread here. You had a lot of giant outpouring of legitimate opinions there that nobody posted to the actual story thread, probably because they didn't want to end up being dogpiled.

[Stark]

What is 'clutter' in the context of a webforum and how does ...

Oh wait, sorry, I thought this was a serious thread and not Shep just grinding his fucking juvenile axe again.

probably because they didn't want to end up being dogpiled.

Alternately they just didn't give a fuck. I have no interest in Armageddon whatsoever and if someone can make a thread where people can talk about it without everyone trying to be a Big Man by Defending The Fanfic or flaming the shit out of each other, how is this bad? Who would want to stop it? Except Shep, I mean. The very hostility of the tryhard brigade against Testing is an amusing argument for it's existence.

[General Zod]

People live in different timezones, yet still want to talk nonsense at each other.

That's called email. There's no reason to clutter up SDN's server with that garbage when you can take it off-board.

And if you want to discuss a topic that sort of does not fit in any of the other subforums, there's *GASP* off-topic.

By that logic, why have an Off-Topic forum, or even any non-SciFi forums here at all? As you said, we all have email.

EDIT: To run with it a bit further, there is equally a lack of justification for all the specialty private forums too - like the HAB. They're all low-traffic, off-topic forums, undeserving of forum bandwidth and disk space, right?

Why have a message-board at all? We can just go back to doing things on ASVS style groups!

[Oni Koneko Damien]

That's called email. There's no reason to clutter up SDN's server with that garbage when you can take it off-board.

And if you want to discuss a topic that sort of does not fit in any of the other subforums, there's *GASP* off-topic.

By that logic, why have an Off-Topic forum, or even any non-SciFi forums here at all? As you said, we all have email.

EDIT: To run with it a bit further, there is equally a lack of justification for all the specialty private forums too - like the HAB. They're all low-traffic, off-topic forums, undeserving of forum bandwidth and disk space, right?

Why have a message-board at all? We can just go back to doing things on ASVS style groups!

Technically we have a fully functional postal system and a decent telephone network, why even bother with the internet?

[Stark]

They're all utterly worthless. Why else would they be in testing?

Can I see some support for the claim implicit here?

[Havok]

This is all just a big troll on Shep's part anyway. He posts in Testing often and doesn't have any problem with being silly there.

[Shroom Man 777]

Technically we have a fully functional postal system and a decent telephone network, why even bother with the internet?

Shep is totally into the postal system and I think he should post graphs showing how stupid liberals/McNamara/Cliton/Obamamang are for aborting that proposal to use Regulus cruise missiles to ship parcels while allowing socialists to put telephone wires - that aren't even hardened against the eventuality of thermonuclear war initiated by goddamn subhuman Soviets - all over the country, thus decreasing the strategic redundancy of Murrican command control and communications because due to a lack of failsafes the telephones will inadvertently melt in your hand when the bombs start falling!

Though, seriously. WHY should Testing be gimped in any way at all? People have fun posting in Testing and it does no objective harm to the forum, has no great negative effect, so this fuzz is totally pointless. I think Shep is just being a big fat MCNAMARA by imposing severe cuts and restrictions to the Strategic Air Command/XB-70 Valkyrie/Nike-Hercules/Civil Defense/Curtis LeMay Testing and we should post graphs to rebuke his penny-pinching Ford Edsel-ing.

[MKSheppard]

Hmm, Seems like someone liked this idea.

I approve.

[chitoryu12]

So, does this mean that we can post all the stupid, pointless spam we want in Testing now, since it'll all be deleted by the time I go to check the thread for new posts anyway?

[Knife]

So, does this mean that we can post all the stupid, pointless spam we want in Testing now, since it'll all be deleted by the time I go to check the thread for new posts anyway?

I get the feeling that you can post just about anything in there, minus what the rules say you can't. I just don't think you should expect it to be there long.

[Grandmaster Jogurt]

If the "the good threads in Testing don't count because they shouldn't have been in Testing in the first place" is an actual argument in this situation, why exactly is the solution of "prevent any good threads from popping up in Testing" better than the previous "punt threads into Off Topic/whatever if they turn out to be good"? After all, we do have a discussion going on at the moment on how to increase the active membership of the forum. Do people think that "good" topics in testing come up because people forget that N&P is there and now will remember? I can't speak for others, but I'm pretty sure it comes from the idea that a thread might be too spammy or pointless, so why not put it in an area where that's okay? Those concerns still exist unless standards are openly lowered on the real forums (and hey, there's another discussion right now on cutting down on spammy non-debating in the real forums, so, nope), so the threads just won't be made now, I would think.

If the idea is "it's too much of a spammy place", who thinks the solution is to openly make it spammier, except now easier to ignore, possibly. Why not put some rules in place for "no imagespam posts" or "use correct capitalisation and punctuation" and so on and then crack down on that specifically?

If this is an actual policy change and not just a joke/one time "crackdown", I honestly can't see how this change is supposed to do anything productive. Well, it does probably bring Testing back towards the "actual testing and some other nonsense that doesn't matter" idea it originally was meant for, if that's considered an improvement. And if it is a joke, then whoops!

[Knife]

If the "the good threads in Testing don't count because they shouldn't have been in Testing in the first place" is an actual argument in this situation, why exactly is the solution of "prevent any good threads from popping up in Testing" better than the previous "punt threads into Off Topic/whatever if they turn out to be good"?

I'm going to guess that not doing an end around the rules with the testing forum and instead go to OT or other appropriate forum, if there is one. If you have a good topic to talk about, plenty of places to put it. If you just want to fuck off, I think some mods just told you no. I'm not staff, but that's the message I got with today's events.

[Lord Relvenous]

Knife, there were plenty of thread topics that were interesting to discuss, but most likely would have been locked for their content if in the respective forum. There is a place between the main forums' standard of posting and spamming. Testing filled that gap, allowing people to post humorous or slightly less serious threads that still led to debate and discussion. I'd bring up some examples, but seeing as how they are all deleted now, kind of hard to. Because the staff took this action without any warning, there was no possibility of those in support of Testing arguing it's worth, and now that all the threads that were created before this auto-delete was implemented are gone, there is no supportable way to do so now.

[Stark]

Jogurt also notes that the very idea of 20m/1h/whatever short time simply makes testing spammier. We're assured the problem 'got worse', but all the evidence is gone and I don't remember an increase in stupid spam threads, but several sensible threads.

Frankly, if the policy - extremely poorly commnuicated by gloating obsessed mods - is to use OT for those testing threads about actual things, I say go with it. When they end up locked, it'll be a laugh, and if they're actually serious it'll be business as usual and nothing will have changed.

[Knife]

Knife, there were plenty of thread topics that were interesting to discuss, but most likely would have been locked for their content if in the respective forum. There is a place between the main forums' standard of posting and spamming. Testing filled that gap, allowing people to post humorous or slightly less serious threads that still led to debate and discussion. I'd bring up some examples, but seeing as how they are all deleted now, kind of hard to. Because the staff took this action without any warning, there was no possibility of those in support of Testing arguing it's worth, and now that all the threads that were created before this auto-delete was implemented are gone, there is no supportable way to do so now.

See, I have a problem with this attitude. If you have a topic to discuss, your saying there isn't a place for it here. Why? The whole, Testing isn't spam, but we can't post it any where but Testing just rings hollow.