Ethics of VEXForum - How We should Act

Chit-Chat / Rumor Mill
#1

Alright, I will first of all say I am just as guilty of these things and there is no reason to point blame for anyone, but I believe we should considerably re-evaluate the purpose of VEXForum as a whole.

What is the purpose of VEXForum: For students, teachers, and mentors to receive and provide help and aid using an online world-wide reaching service. This forum is meant to help robotics teams to get better and have questions answered.

Then if that is the purpose of VEXForum, then what is the purpose of the Chit-Chat/Rumor mill channel? To have productive discussions about STEM-related activities that can relate to the past, present, and future of VEX robotics or VEXForum.

What if I want to post memes or have lengthy conversations unrelated to STEM development? If I want to post memes or discuss in a manner that is similar to text messages, there are VEX-Community-based discord servers that are available and they provide the environment you’d like.

VEXForum is becoming more and more increasingly active, to a point where it is very dificult to catch up to all of the threads that pop up on the front page. And I believe the additional clutter of unproductive threads make VEXForum disorganized, and provides question as to “Is this the mature manner that is being asked of?”

How should we approach a VEXForum thread? First of all we need to read the title, and then double check the category as it may be VEX EDR or VEX IQ. After reading the post, then reply to their topic. I am guilty of this as well, but I have seen too many times where people respond expecting one category but it’s actually different.

How do we respond about old/dead threads?
If the thread is within a year old, and the question can only be asked in relevance to that season, then it really should be allowed as it’s relevant. But as soon as the thread exceeds a year of age from the last post, do not respond and let the thread stay dead.

How should we make a thread?
Before you make a thread, use the forum search bar or use the Google search engine using "question site:vexforum.com. " (ie. “how to act site:vexforum.com”). If nothing shows up, and/or you cannot find your question answered within the VRC game manual AND the RobotEvents Q&A, you are clear to make a post. Also, make sure you read the VEXForum Terms and Conditions so you are aware of the rules within the forum and the consequences if you break that rule.

How should we respond to posts already answered?
Nobody is capable of finding an answer with 100% accuracy through searching. Do not hate or have a grudge on someone if you were able to find an answer to their question from another thread and they did not, just link them to the answer and be there to answer additional questions to clarify. The only time you should tell someone to “use the search bar” is if there are so many threads made in regards to the topic.

I hope this can help us out as a whole, and make VEXForum a warm-welcoming environment for everyone. :slight_smile:

  • Connor
34 Likes
Scavenger hunt
#2

agreed lot of what was on memes thread should have been in a discord and Drow is probably tired of the off topicness. So i would like to add to that. NO RELENTLESS PINGING. dont ping people for the fun of it. Drow got pinged a ton in several threads for almost no reason.

18 Likes
#3

Lol. At this point forum admins must be so annoyed that you will get in trouble just for liking or replying to troll posts.

Let me try to channel DRow’s thinking here:

tenor

18 Likes
Scavenger hunt
#4

forums probably on thin ice rn maybe we should have a forums code of conduct like officialy on forums or something

1 Like
#5

This pretty much exists already:
https://www.vexforum.com/faq

5 Likes
#6

but do people see and read it?

1 Like
#7

Connor, you are correct in your assessment. This is something we need to work on as a community.

8 Likes
#8

maybe we can get a TLDR version on each board because that is the first time ive seen that

2 Likes
#9


This thread may be useful for reference.

I’ve personally noticed an increase in quality from a couple weeks back after the fallout of DRow’s return from vacation. (For those of you keeping track, it was around here that I became more active again, as threads became more useful.)

But it’s still steps back to the right direction.

I hate to try to do this, but I’m sure plenty of us remember all the drama last season between certain teams at certain events(more than just 1 team, so I’m not referencing anything particular), BO1, a few accusations, etc.

I’d hate to bring any of that back up, but at least with that stuff there was meaningful discourse. It was never just trolling for the sake of trolling.

[I personally stayed out of a lot of that drama, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t informed. The same way I half heartedly scanned through some of the more recent threads.]

We did lose a lot of insanely awesome members (and almost lost a few more) in this past year, but that doesn’t mean we should shake up what the forum stands for, as pointed out by Connor above.

I do hate to sound pretentious (that’s why I’m not that well liked locally), but we do need to get better as a community.

I read for a month before I even made my account. Every thread. So when I started, I had a better idea of what I was doing. These days, I hardly can scroll through my unread topic list in a reasonable amount of time.

I’ve thrown this prompt out to the SCA already, but what can we, as a community, do to fix this?

I’ve seen improvements. (Thanks to a few individuals in particular setting a good example as of late. You know who you are. :wink:) But we need to keep going.

The aforementioned thread above got locked due to getting way off topic. Let’s keep this one productive. Maybe we can even get it pinned if we’re lucky and this goes well.

16 Likes
#10

TL;DR of my post:

  • VEXForum is meant to provide VEX STEM-related help
  • Chit Chat/Rumor Mill is meant for productive discussions in regards to VEX, STEM, and Robotics
  • Do not fill the forum with unproductive threads
  • Read the title and category before responding to a thread
  • It’s okay to respond to threads that are old or dead, only if it’s strictly relative to the thread.
  • Don’t respond to threads that are older than a year
  • Search Google or using the search bar before posting a thread
  • Don’t criticize people if there’s a similar thread, unless it’s blatantly obvious they didn’t put effort into searching other threads before posting.

TL;DR of Q&A:

  • “remember to criticize ideas, not people”
  • “Let’s leave our community better than we found it.”
  • " If You See a Problem, Flag It" <- This doesn’t say “If there’s no problem, Flag It” for some of you
  • " Always Be Civil"
  • " Keep It Tidy"
  • “Rather than posting “+1” or “Agreed”, use the Like button.”

TL;DR TOS:
" You must use the forum in accordance with Acceptable Use and Content Standards."
More or less including the following:

  • “You may not submit content to the forum that is illegal, offensive, or otherwise harmful to others. This includes content that is harassing, inappropriate, or abusive.”
  • “You may not use or try to use another’s account on the forum without their specific permission.”
  • “You may not submit content to the forum as a mere placeholder, to hold a particular address, user name, or other unique identifier.”
  • The rest is common sense
13 Likes
#11

edit to rumor mill it is for anything that doesnt fit in other boards and stuff like dumbest thing you have done in vex

2 Likes
#12

Any meme ing should add to the conversation. Yes, it is possible to make a productive meme.
Most memes before the fiasco a few weeks ago did add to the conversation.
Also dont respond to memes, unless you really have a good idea based off of that meme, or you’re on the meme thread. Show your love with that like button!

5 Likes
#13

Yes. Over the past couple of months I have definitely noticed this trend. Myself, @Got_a_Screw_Loose, and @Xenon27 have tried to work it out before but nothing has been done. This is a serious issue that threatens the livelihood of helpful discussion on this very useful platform. We either need to moderate ourselves much more rigorously or have much stricter rules, which no one wants. Might I also remind everyone here that the VEX discord exists, and is run by @LegoMindstormsmaniac, @JustinM, @hotel, @tabor473, and a few others, and I’m sure they’d love to have your antics. The invite link is at http://gg.gg/vexedr. Have fun.

5 Likes
#14

What if the forums were separated to different categories? There could be one of IQ only, EDR only and one in general. Then they can be sorted for building/Designing category, Programming/Strategies, and then just general discussion about robotics and just other things the forum is for. Now I know is have posted on the "Chit-Chat/ Rumor Mill a lot but we all have once or twice. I believe there should just be a private thing so it doesn’t take up space on the actual forum but there should just be a spot just for this. This will allow all IQ to be in one spot, all EDR in one spot, and just general discussion in one spot. It will make the forum a little bit more complicated to navigate but it will allow easier ways to find what you are looking for. I also think that the thread could end by moderators AND the creator. We should stop @ a moderator unless it is serious or a question. Like I said before, I have contributed to a lot of the Chit-Chat/ Rumor mill forums and I’m sorry if anyone hates me now because of that. but this wasn’t created for memes and other stuff, it is supposed to ask and answer question about robotics and other stuff. Thank you for reading this.

#15

There are different categories, like you described. In settings, you can mute certain things and people. For example, I have IQ stuff muted,

6 Likes
#16

https://www.vexforum.com/categories

https://www.vexforum.com/t/lets-get-the-forums-back-on-topic/67950?u=barin

This would likely have quite a bit of collateral damage, almost defeating the point of the forum entirely. Hence it is not even a native feature of Discourse.

12 Likes
#17

Ok… Nevermind about the ideas then.

1 Like
#18

I have noticed a bit of intellectual return since DRow locked a few meme threads, which leads me to believe that we should only be allowed one active chit chat/rumor mill topic at a time.

6 Likes
#20

Honestly I’m guilty of most of the meme stuff, but I agree with most of this and honestly this thread needs to be pinned everywhere

1 Like
#21

tldr =)