Topic: Ideas for the site.

@Jaz007 Yeah it's a shame, there are some pretty single minded people that post on there just to troll it feels like. I rarely comment on articles any more. I don't even read any articles which i feel can sometimes be a bit click baiting, like any of the PS4 censoring ones.

@Jaz007 The only thing I can say is use the ignore button if a particular user is bothering you. Other then that I am not use what else there is that can be done

@Tasuki I don’t like he ignore button and frankly feel it’s a poor solution to use, but it’s the community rules being violated that bothers me. The name calling isn’t allowed. I think about it and realize I haven’t reported as I should, but I feel an addres would be good. Especially because as you say, there’s no way for you to look over every little comment. You don’t live here and do so much, but can’t catch everything

And to clarify, I think an article not a forum thread would be what’s needed.

@Jaz007 I understand and agree with you. I will have to see what @get2sammyb says.

Well this is one of the reasons we've introduced the downvote button. While it's not technically doing anything at the moment, we would theoretically have the opportunity to "shadowban" members that get a considerable number of downvotes.

This in theory means they'd still be able to post, but their comments may not necessarily display.

There are no real easy solutions to these problems, but we're as eager as everyone else to see the community maintain its generally positive vibes even as it continues to grow.

@get2sammyb I think it should be announced as a sort of “report” button then. Because no regulars that I’ve seen like the downvote or think it should be there. You mentioned we don’t know all the serials, but you never told us any either. Which kind of make it like they don’t exist in a way. I still don’t fully underhand abt we have one don’t use it because of that. No matter how much I hate a comment (even for name calling), I don’t feel like downvoting is a good thing right now.
I also don’t want it ignoring people specifically for me he had I clicked on a down vote. So now I’m a little scared of using the downvaote button.
And I think telling people who name call and such to stop or beat it would be a good idea.

@Jaz007 Let me say I understand where you are coming from, as far as I am concerned those who don't want to follow the rules shouldn't be allowed in the community but I also see @get2sammyb point as well. Regardless if they deserve it for not following rules and such we can't always go banning people and what not. We want the community to grow and thrive but we don't want to scare potential members away with a reputation of banning people even if they deserve it. It's about finding a balance really. Hopefully with steps in place the problem people trolls, spammers etc. just get bored and leave on their own after all they just seek a reaction and if they don't get one they will get bored and move on.

The comments section of some of these more controversial topic articles lately is actually an interesting read, and I see some decent points being brought up, but there are a few that just attack or troll. For that reason, I’ve not felt inclined to contribute to the conversation because I think all it will end with is a few people with an opposing position downvoting me and then flaming my opinion with ad hominems, taking my words out of context, straw-manning, circular arguments, and hasty generalizations. Any type of politics tends to bring out the worst in people, and although I sometimes feel like I have a perspective to add, it’s not worth it to me in this environment of gaming and leisure. It’s too bad because I honestly like hearing opposing views that are presented in a peaceful way, akin to what’s done in the forums everyday. I’ve noticed a lot of the forum regulars also avoid these article comments sections as well. It ends up being about 4 or 5 users going back and forth for 100 comments. Maybe a limit to the number of comments per article? I don’t know .. just an idea.
Since it’s what we have for now, I have used the downvote button on the trolls and those clearly attacking an individual for his or her opinion. If a user presents a well thought out and informative position that is not attacking or patronizing, I tend to upvote those, even if I disagree with their premise.
And if someone comes in and diffuses the tension with a joke, that gets an upvote too 😄

@Th3solution Yeah I've downvoted a few people like that too.

If someone is being a troll or straight up abusive, the worst thing to do is engage with them which I have seen some people from the forums do. One of the reasons there are doing it is to get attention, don't respond to them as it will most likely make them worse. Ignore them, report them if needs beand let the mods handle them. They won't last that long if they continue being a troll/abusive.

@Jaz007 It's a tricky one, and I don't really have all the answers right now. We need to just keep trying to find solutions I think. Appreciate your feedback — it's definitely taken on board.

@antdickens @get2sammyb The forum links don't appear to take you to the latest post in that thread, it seems to take me to a comment a couple of pages before the latest. Also is it possible for the page numbers in threads to appear at the top of the screen as well as the bottom for better and easier navigation?

@Simon_Fitzgerald which links are you talking about? The thread titles will take you to the last post you saw on that thread, to always go to the latest you can click the "last post" date.

@antdickens Oh right, it must just be the links taking me to the last post I saw in that thread. I don't visit the forums regularly so I forget what I've read and haven't so I was a little confused the links took me to what seemed like a random post.

An "illicit" early look at DMCV.

I'm not sure how I feel about site reviews having a short headline in the title. I've noticed the last few months you guys have changed the format a bit and I think it makes it look a bit messier now.

I think I preferred it before when it was just a simple "Review - Red Dead Redemption 2", rather than "Review - Red Dead Redemption 2 - Rockstar's Best Game", particularly given that you have subheaders underneath where you can add a few comments too.

Just my 2p.

you know what i would like added, a Video upload system after all they wont let us share videos from our youtube pages because they say it's "self advertising" but a video can be a great way to show off our games or to help other gamers or even just to share something funny that happened while we was playing

@FullbringIchigo The problem with a video upload systems is spammers will use it to spam their junk. And besides you can use your signature and put a link there.

@roe Yeah fair feedback. We wanted to make them a bit grabbier. To be brutally honest with you, reviews are the worst performing aspect of the site, which is unfortunate considering they're the most time consuming.

@Tasuki I agree about Video's - I think that people can access video's on youtube or share video's with friends on their consoles so don't need to have video uploads.

@get2sammyb There is a LOT of competition as far as reviews go - not just from the traditional gaming sites but also a lot of more general media too. A lot of the big sites have 'video' reviews too so you can watch (or even just listen) to a review rather than read which is not always the easiest to do on mobiles. I know reviews take a LOT of work - not just the writing and editing - but also the time spent playing objectively too - not always fun... Its much easier to right an article on a news story, a twitter comment etc...

Then of course you have the 'interest' factor - whether a game is of interest and therefore someone will read it. I must admit, I won't bother looking at a review of a game I have little/no interest in. The reviews I am most likely to read are for those games I am on the fence about - but in fairness, I tend to watch/read multiple reviews to get a more general verdict so timing of PushSquares reviews is a factor. By that I mean if they are one of the first reviews up, I am more likely to read but if others have convinced me to buy, wait or leave, then I may not need yet another review. I don't always bother reading reviews on games I have pre-ordered/bought because I have already had enough information to decide whether I want to part money.

That being said, I do at least look at the summary and score PushSquare gives on a lot of their reviews but I can understand why review traffic isn't that high - certainly not proportional to the effort that goes into writing them. Its not that PushSquare reviews don't align with my opinions or that they aren't well written or fair. I just think that the competition is much greater, there are 'easier' options - like video reviews - often with game-play in the background which makes it more 'entertaining', and that people aren't going to read a review on a game they have little/no interest in. VR games, for example may only appeal to a very small group of people - those with (or interested in) a VR headset.

I would suggest making video reviews to generate more interest as they are 'easy' viewing on any device and could generate more youtube views too but I appreciate that they take a LOT more work, time and effort that may not pay off. I am sure you are aware of the reasons why reviews may not be as 'high traffic' as you would like or as much as they deserve - given the time and effort but I still enjoy reading them in general - at least the ones I do read...