Sticky Threads

[John FX]

I am the one who stickied those threads, not sumghai.

I thought it would be an interesting change of pace to rotate though various topics every week or two, giving people a chance to post their own thoughts an opinions about a new topic. I didn't realize people would interpret that as a rogue element, or some moderator gone awry. So to appease any concerns about corrupt moderators who might over-wield their powers, any and all non-official threads have been unstickied in this sub-forum, so as to not give the impression that some ideas are better than others. Please feel free to continue posting your suggestions and ideas.

My apologies for causing any confusion or concern. It was not my intent.

Cheers,

~Claw

Thanks Claw for your response, you have cleared up the confusion about how the posts got stickied but that does lead me to a train of thought.

The problem arose because the post was stickied without letting anyone know why there was a change in the policy behind sticky posts or who had stickied it.

To the average forum user, (like myself or raptor specifically it seems) there was just a decision to sticky a particular suggestion when suggestions had not been stickied before to my knowledge. Daze mentioned in the thread about one that had been stickied previously which was the first time I had seen another stickied suggestion. It seemed like the suggestion was promoted by a particular mod as no other mod had posted and the normal convention is a small post inside the thread when a mod stickies it saying why. This really seems like a good policy for wider adoption.

Had you stickied the suggestion as part of a new 'featured suggestion' section and actually posted that in the thread there would have been no discussion, disagreement or negative posts as there would have been no room for speculation.

There is no need to spit the dummy and not sticky suggestions, the description of your plan sounds actually good and would highlight suggestions but I must ask, why did you not use a similar format to 'threads of the month' on the main page if that was your plan?

I would hope that is is plain that just stickying things without explanation will obviously lead to speculation and (possibly intense) discussion and that any changes in the way things are done should come with a little note saying what has changed and why. For months now the forum has just been asking to be kept informed of changes. This is a very good example of a case in point.

It is natural in the absence of other information to ask 'why did X get treatment Y when Z did not?'. If the mod who stickies says 'This week/month I have decided to start featuring suggestions and stickying them for a bit' then pretty much everyone would go 'cool, I wonder what will be next'

I would have replied in the stickied thread about sticky threads but that is locked and just seems to be a 'name and shame' post (to me at least, being one of the named) when a couple of PM's could have let me and raptor know if that was the intention.

A generic post like

'Due to the recent intense discussion regarding stickied suggestions I have decided to not continue the policy. I thought it would be an interesting change of pace to rotate though various topics every week or two, giving people a chance to post their own thoughts an opinions about a new topic. I didn't realize people would interpret that as a rogue element, or some moderator gone awry. So to appease any concerns about corrupt moderators who might over-wield their powers, any and all non-official threads have been unstickied in this sub-forum, so as to not give the impression that some ideas are better than others. Please feel free to continue posting your suggestions and ideas.

My apologies for causing any confusion or concern. It was not my intent.

Cheers,

~Claw'

would have been just as effective.

John

TL;DR The stickies only seemed like a rogue element as there was no other explanation given in the thread, maybe that could have happened?

[Yukon0009]

Well said

[Capt Snuggler]

I'm totally in favor of Squad(mods) stickying threads in order to quickly get community feedback on topic.

[r4pt0r]

yeah I was a bit triggerhappy there. my bad

A weekly "featured suggestion" sounds neat. the more popular ideas need a spotlight so they can maybe see some inclusion in a post 1.0 world

[tater]

I thought it was pretty clear in context that they were being rotated, myself.

[Tex]

My mission report (link in my signature) was actually made Thread of the Month in the category by sal_vager, therefore stickied at the top of the Mission Reports subforum, and when I asked him why it was so he said it was to bring attention to threads that might've been overlooked.

I, personally, am really grateful and love how the forum heads will sticky threads that come from regular users if they feel they deserve some recognition, and please do not think I am saying so because it happened to me, but because the threads I've seen stickied usually are true masterpieces of player design, and show just what a dedicated KSP player can do given the inspiration and drive to show people what they can do in a game they are passionate about.

That's how I feel about it, anyway.

[Claw]

...but I must ask, why did you not use a similar format to 'threads of the month' on the main page if that was your plan?

I did explain my plan with a note when this all started: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/112068-Contracts-and-Administration-Strategies?p=1765125&viewfull=1#post1765125

I wanted to promote discussion in what is, quite frankly, an under utilized resource. I stepped away from the "sticky of the month" format because this particular sub-forum changes and morphs a lot. Four weeks on the same topic doesn't really fit. The flip side is that when I do post in threads like that, people also take that as a cue of official endorsement. Heck, even posting it as a sticky looks like an official endorsement. Also, the discussion in this sub-forum is different because it is primarily aimed at devs more than fellow players

However, I do understand your point. One small line in one post that's been buried does not inform everyone (or even anyone). Also, I was just returning home after a three month trip, and so was not able to address concerns earlier due to travel. Not because I was making some attempt to ignore the problem, if there was any concern about that.

Believe it or not, there is no hidden agenda here. I'm not mad, or hurt, or angry at anyone. It is just sometimes difficult to make everyone happy. Sometimes we try things on the forum, but not because we have some conspiracy in mind. We often struggle with deciding on any change at all, because we know that someone will interpret meaning where none is intended, no matter how big or small. And by "we," I am talking about the forum moderators, who are not squad employees but fellow KSP players like yourself.

Also, the process of informing becomes a challenge in itself, because some people look at every word and try to decipher some hidden clue. This often leads to posts that are very sterile and bland, which likely leaves people unsatisfied (but I suppose that's a bigger issue, beyond the scope of this sticky discussion).

That probably all sounds like whining, but I'm just trying to explain some of the background. I'm hesitant to post even this, because it isn't as bland and as sterile as I normally post. For all the reasons stated above.

For months now the forum has just been asking to be kept informed of changes. This is a very good example of a case in point.

Fair enough. I thought the informing had been done a month ago, but clearly I was incorrect.

I will also edit the "Sticky Threads" sticky. I don't wish to name shame, only be explicit in the concerns I addressed and which threads I was talking about. No hidden agenda, no angry stabs back at you. Just showing the concerns, and why I unstuck everything.

You are a good poster John FX, and I don't believe you need any name shaming. So again, I apologize for any concerns I caused you previously in regard to stickies, and for any perceived or real "name shaming" I might have committed.

Cheers,

~Claw

Edited March 26, 2015 by Claw
crazy typos

[John FX]

I did explain my plan with a note when this all started: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/112068-Contracts-and-Administration-Strategies

I wanted to promote discussion in what is, quite frankly, an under utilized resource. I stepped away from the "stick of the month" format because this particular sub-forum changes andmorphs a lot. Four weeks on the same topic doesn't really fit. The flip side is that when I do post in threads like that, people also take that as a cue of official endorsement. Heck, even posting it as a sticky looks like an official endorsement. Also, the discussion in this sub-forum is different because it is primarily aimed at def more than fellow players

However, I do understand your point. One post that's been buried does not inform everyone (or even anyone). Also, I was returning home after a three month trip, and so was not able to address concerns earlier due to travel. Not because I was making some attempt to ignore the problem, if there was any concern about that.

Believe it or not, there is no hidden agenda here. I'm not mad, or hurt, or angry at anyone. It is just sometimes difficult to make everyone happy. Sometimes we try things on the forum, but not because we have some conspiracy in mind. We often struggle with deciding on any change at all, because we know that someone will interpret meaning where none is intended, no matter how big or small. And by "we," I am talking about the forum moderators, who are not quad employees but fellow KSP players like yourself.

Also, the process of informing becomes a challenge in itself, because some people look at every word and try to decipher some hidden clue. This often leads to posts that are very sterile and bland, which likely leaves people unsatisfied (but I suppose that's a bigger issue, beyond the scope of this sticky discussion).

That probably all sounds like whining, but I'm just trying to explain some of the background. I'm hesitant to post even this, because it isn't as bland and as sterile as I normally post. For all the reasons stated above.

Fair enough. I thought the informing had been done a month ago, but clearly I was incorrect.

I will also edit the "Sticky Threads" sticky. I don't wish to name shame, only be explicit in the concerns I addressed and which threads I was talking about. No hidden agenda, no angry stabs back at you. Just showing the concerns, and why I unstuck everything.

Cheers,

~Claw

Then I must apologise. I misunderstood what was going on and spoke in haste. As you say, the post got lost among many others (maybe it could have been stickied? ) I thought this was something that just started with no preamble of any sort, now I realise that all the preamble happened and I just missed it so the blame lies with myself.

I can understand how difficult being a mod must be at times, you can't please all the people etc. I completely believe there is no hidden agenda of any sort and I do not want to suggest that. It is not easy even being just a user to keep up with all the posts n stuff and if a post is not on the first page for a week or two there is a good chance it may get missed.

No bad feelings, no conspiracy, no agenda.