Topic: Top rated games Pushsquare users

https://www.pushsquare.com/forums/online_gaming_and_communitie...

Two things:

1. Why is it not allowed to post in old threads. Especially when it's a thread that you'd expect only to be posted in near the end of every year. I wanted to post the updated list, but it was locked already. Makes no sense to have a subject and say "it's forbidden to talk about this subject after x months". It would if the topic at hand would be a temporary one, like Game of the Year 2014.

https://www.pushsquare.com/games/browse?sort=rating

2. While we are talking about this thread.... @antdickens thanks to this thread I found out Push Square has its own user rating aggregate, which is a great feature actually. I also like the list, but I would like to request an extra filter: a minimum number of votes. Would help improve this list a lot.

I did the math, and adding the filter (minimum = 10) the list would look something like this:
1. Final Fantasy VII
2. The Last of Us
3. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine
4. God of War
5. Uncharted 2
6. The Last of Us Remastered
7. Metal Gear Solid
8. The Witcher 3
9. Bioshock Collection
10. Bloodborne: The Old Hunters

And who knows how the lists for PS3 would look, or with an even higher minimum.

@Kidfried And it contradicts the rule that we are not allowed to post duplicate topics and we are to use the search function instead... so what are we supposed to do?

Don't make new threads ever, duh!

@Kidfried The reason is that necroposting is looked down upon is that we will get people.just dragging up old threads or bumping threads just to do it for the lolz. The general rule is after six months a thread is considered dead and it's ok to make a new one. If you noticed I never say use the search function if someone posts in a thread less then six months old.

@JohnnyShoulder Again as I stated many times before if it's older then six months old make a new one it doesn't contradict anything. No reason to be a wise guy about it.

Maybe @antdickens can add something to the Forums that automatically locks and/or archives threads that have not seen any action for 6months (or more) so that threads are not able to resurrected.

I do think though that in some cases, its perhaps beneficial to have some threads be open for longer. If for example, PS+ offered a game which hasn't been discussed for more than 6months, surely its better to have the old OT thread (if there was one). Another situation that may well crop up is things like top rated games as these may only be updated once a year and its also good to see how peoples opinions have changed after a year of new releases. For newbies to PS, these can also help those who maybe wondering what older games to look out for and this thread can help show what games people considered the 'best' from the early days too. In some cases, some of these articles may also provide information or lead to new questions from new members - an example may well be someone asking how they got on with a HDD and whether its let them down after more than 6months later because they may now be in a position to purchase or how to do something in a 'game' that's now years old rather than start a new thread just to ask.

Point is, there is sometimes a good reason that people may want or need to open up 'old' threads and I do think that some common sense can be used. If we had a 'new years resolution thread or a predict the year ahead in gaming thread, you may get a flurry of activity for the months leading up to the new year, maybe a week or two into the new year before activity dries up, and then people commenting again a year later about peoples prediction or whether they managed to achieve their resolutions and also predict the next year and make their new resolutions. It would be a shame to lock these after 6 months and not be able to discuss how accurate predictions were etc.

I do agree though that some posts are perhaps better to be archived - things like Game of the Year or Black Friday deals from years gone by are certainly not needed beyond a certain point in time but I do think that it shouldn't be quite so black and white either - not every thread should be locked off after 6months of inactivity and some threads can be locked off within a couple of months - Black Friday deals, Christmas 2018 Plans, Forum votes - all of these can effectively be locked a month after they have finished.

@BAMozzy We generally allow threads to be revived if it's a game-specific or system-specific thread. No reason to start a new one just because people haven't posted in it for a while. An automated system would also lock those threads. None of that is stated in the Community Rules, so it's definitely a bit of a grey area.

@Tasuki I wasn't being a wise guy about it, I was just asking a question? I'm a little bit offended by that tbh.

@Octane My point precisely...

Honestly I am put off making new topics and (I believe) I haven't done in a long long time unless it's something like an OT for a game I'm sure doesn't have its own thread. As I'm conscious it might just get closed and get told to take it elsewhere. I've been around for a while, and still don't fully get the rules in that regard, so new posters are not going to have much luck.

Not having a go at anyone, just some feedback. As mentioned above it does seem like a bit of a grey area.

Rock on, squares!

I honestly don't understand why it's hard to understand, I am not being sarcastic or a jerk just trying to understand why so many people are confused by it. It's actually pretty simple

1). If a thread is more then six months old it is considered dead and any posting afterwards is considered necroposting.

2). The exception is game --OT-- threads for example, Red Dead 2 --OT-- or Fallout 76 --OT--. Those are free to post in as long as it's relavant to the thread. Digging up a 2 year old Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare thread just to say "I like this game" is considered necroposting. But digging up a 2 year CoD thread to ask " How do I get the third objective in the hanger stage?" Is fine.

That's all there is too it

It's not as complicated as everyone makes it out to be.

I think the reason most people get confused by is it is cause right away they take offence or get upset or think that they are in trouble when they get a thread locked. It's not any of those reason (unless it truely is spam or something vulgar or such). It's just a form of forum maintenance we use. I am sure you all can imagine on the launch day of a hot game like Red Dead 2 for example how many freakin RDR2 threads we would have just asking the simplest questions or the same questions over and over by having one main thread it keeps the forums neat and organized.

I hope that clears it up.

I always thought necroposting was something to do with ghostly mail couriers but you live and learn.

@Tasuki I don’t understand the necro logic for old game threads. So if you just wanted to say you loved the game you’d need to make a new thread? But a question post is fine to “necro” it?
I didn’t know bring back old OT game threads was okay until now either. I think a forum announcement to clarify might be good as not very one will see it here and even the regulars get confused about this.

I can't say that cleared things up. I can understand that some things - like games, may well be exempt from 'necro-posting' if they are used 'responsibly' and not just to 'bump' the thread and have little to say but why is that different from a thread like Top Rated games or a resolution/prediction thread which may be revisited on a yearly basis? If you can apply common sense to Game OT threads, then surely it can be applied to threads like the original 'Top Rated' thread as that is something that may go for more than 6 months without any activity - especially if there hasn't been a lot of big releases - and of course allowing time for people to play. There was 5months between God of War and Spider-Man for example and not many big games in between that would cause people to revisit. Some may only post once a year in a thread like this - see how their opinions have changed after the years new releases and its pretty pointless having a new thread 'every' year for something like this and for some, me included, its good to see how peoples opinions have changed - whether their top games are still their top games or not. Not so easy when you have multiple threads because people only post in these around the end of a year.

Part of the fun of threads like this, resolution/prediction threads etc are coming back to them after a while, see whether things have changed, whether peoples predictions came true and predicting the next year, whether people stuck to resolutions and what resolutions they are making for the next year. Things like this are not 'dead' because someone hasn't posted for 6months, they are in limbo, waiting for the end of year to revisit. If someone had come in and not really contributed to the subject thread, just wrote 'Bump' or something like that, I can understand, but actually contributing to a thread in a positive way - like listing their Top PS4 Games in a Top PS4 Games thread, even if it hasn't had any posts for 6months or so, then I could understand it - its better than starting a new thread when one exists. Its tidier too than having multiple threads.

Again, I think Common Sense has to apply - in the same way that common sense applies to Game OT threads. I totally understand that some threads that are started could belong in one of the existing threads, which would get messy if they were allowed, but if a thread exists, and someone is actively seeking out the thread and posting something relevant to the thread, then surely that is better than creating a new thread.

@Jaz007 Most regular users don't post I love this game and that's it in a thread. Most post a post that starts a discussion. Like how do I get the collectible in stage 5 or hey I just picked up this game and need some tips. That's ok.

Very relevant topic for me. I recently created a post that was locked because OT was available. I was fine with that. It was my own fault for not reading the community rules on it. As long as the discussion/thought the user wants to get out can, the original heading shouldn't matter. If it's just for research on a topic the user should be able to look at locked content and start a new topic if that content doesn't provide the answer they are looking for. So what Pushsquare offers seems fair.

I like it when someone necroposts. It's usually in an old thread I participated in so I get a notification. Nostalgia mmmmm.

Tasuki does a great job at maintaining the site. Of course there are grey areas but it's not as if Taz won't take feedback on board or rescind a decision if we give a viable reason to keep a thread open.

Also play a game with Tasuki and you will find out he's a top bloke who performs the role for his love of games. He will never please everyone and can sometimes come across as cutthroat - that's just the nature of having to make a quick decision.

Maybe extending the period of necroposts to 12 months as Kratos said is a good idea. The community has increased in size so that's probably a sensible idea.

To be honest, I've been wanting to change this for quite a while. I've read the feedback and had a think about what is most practical.

Therefore I've implemented a change.

1) Topics that have not had a reply for 12 months will now automatically get locked.
2) Topics that locked and have not had a reply for 18 months are then automatically archived (appears in search, but not the forum topic list).
3) Sticky topics are exempt from these rules.

Therefore the concept of "necroposting" is no longer an issue, you can "revive" a thread within a 12 month period. Mods can of course still lock/archive threads at any time for other broken rules. They can also unarchive/unlock an old thread if we needed to for whatever reason.

Hopefully everyone can see the pros/cons here, if anyone has any major objections to this please let me know

Cheers!

@antdickens What about the console/game specific threads?

Any way to give them a special status without making them sticky? Like an official "Official Thread" button?

@Octane we could add a setting to make certain threads exempt from the rule... but even if an official thread is over a year old, is there an issue locking/archiving it?

@antdickens I've seen plenty of people revive old game threads on NLife because they recently bought the console and only got the games now for example. It's not a huge deal, but I think it would be neat to have everything in one thread. Makes it easier to read other people's impressions, thoughts, etc.