# Sticky  What Do You Think Would Make SAS Better?



## Memories of Silence

After the recent threads about SAS "dying", being too negative or not being supportive enough, I thought it might be time to have a thread where people can say what they think would help make it better.

If everyone did what they could to help and could give some ideas and feedback, it could make SAS the place they would like it to be.

Not all of these have to be answered, and it's okay not to answer any of them. The answers can be as long as you want:

** What do you think would make SAS better?

* What type of threads would you like to see more of?

* What type of threads would you like to see less of?

* What would you change about SAS?

* What do you like least about SAS?

* Which new features would you like to see?

* Do you feel comfortable posting on SAS? If not, why?

* Do you think removing post count either completely or from certain subforums (Just For Fun is an example) would help to make a difference?

* Other thoughts:*

--

*These are the changes that have been made so far since this thread was created:*

* Maximum avatar size increased to 180 x 180 - March 28, 2017.


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## 629753

Add more memes for example :clap but famous memes like KTT


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## CloudChaser

** What do you think would make SAS better?

*Better moderation with more clear and consistently enforced rules about what can and cannot be posted. 
Give priority to topics in subforums geared towards support in the recent discussions box.
Featured discussions, chosen by mods, designed to promote open and reasonable discussion on current events.
* 
* What type of threads would you like to see more of?

*Fun threads where the purpose is to laugh. Laughter is the best medicine.
* 
* What type of threads would you like to see less of?

*The endless, pointless, basically spam threads about American ****ing politics.*

* What do you like least about SAS?

*That posts broadly insulting certain groups of people are not punished in the same way others would that insulted different groups of people.
* 
* Which new features would you like to see?

*Image board. Chat that works. Subforum for dickpics.
* 
* Do you feel comfortable posting on SAS? If not, why?

*Ignoring the obvious problems with posting in public when suffering anxiety, yes I feel comfortable but I can see why other people wouldn't when you read through some of the things that are posted.
* 
* Do you think removing post count either completely or from certain subforums (Just For Fun is an example) would help to make a difference?

*Post count helps spot trolls. Obviously not all trolls have under 10 posts but it's very simple to just ignore someone shouting about the jew apocalypse when they have 2 posts and created their account 10 minutes ago.
* 
* Other thoughts:*

More cute anime girls. Free cookies. Cuddles.


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## Virgo

** Which new features would you like to see?*

I personally would really, really like to see SAS groups improved upon. So many groups are just dead. And it's really hard to figure out certain things, like there's no "easy" way to notify group members of anything, there's no subforum related to SAS groups at all, no obvious dashboard that gives you group notifications or anything, and so therefore I'm not surprised majority of groups are completely inactive. Some groups seem they'd be very very interesting but then the last post is from like, 2013. It's hard to keep groups particularly active. I forget they exist too sometimes.
*
* Do you think removing post count either completely or from certain subforums (Just For Fun is an example) would help to make a difference?*

Hehehehehehe just laughing at how mad some people would be at that

Nah I don't think that's necessary. It's fine 
*
* Other thoughts:*

I'd really like to curse more

That's all from me. I really have no problems with SAS.


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## Kevin001

Hmm idk promoting the egroups would be nice I guess.


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## Virgo

Kevin001 said:


> Hmm idk promoting the egroups would be nice I guess.


Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssssss


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## Raies

After the recent threads about SAS "dying", being too negative or not being supportive enough, I thought it might be time to have a thread where people can say what they think would help make it better.

If everyone did what they could to help and could give some ideas and feedback, it could make SAS the place they would like it to be.

Not all of these have to be answered, and it's okay not to answer any of them. The answers can be as long as you want:

** What do you think would make SAS better?

* What type of threads would you like to see more of?

Problem threads or actual discussion regarding SA. Less politics, less games and less random stuff, but more threads actually related to the topic of the forum.


* What type of threads would you like to see less of?

Politics, games. Possibly complain threads with the "I am horrible, and I can't do anything about it but complain", although I understand that those are part of coping, and therefore I don't think they are completely bad. What I have a problem with is one person making multiple threads on the same topic, say "I'm so ugly", sometimes even weekly. Sure, venting and discussing events/thoughts is good, but keep it in one thread for crying out loud. 

* What would you change about SAS?

Generally more visibility to topics regarding SA.

* What do you like least about SAS?

Game threads - sure, they seem fun at first, but eventually they just seem to get spammy and fill the recent discussions section, so you have a harder time seeing threads where actual discussion can happen.

* Which new features would you like to see?

Idk if it's possible, I couldn't find the option, but "blocking" a mass of threads or making more personalized way to see recent discussion according to (see above). I understand that some people do like games etc, but not having to block the threads one at a time would be great.

* Do you feel comfortable posting on SAS? If not, why?

Sometimes, sometimes not. I guess this is more regarding to sa where things would get too personal so the fear of being recognized hits. So nothing to be done here at least in my opinion. 

* Do you think removing post count either completely or from certain subforums (Just For Fun is an example) would help to make a difference?

Could help, could make it show on ones profile page only instead of whenever posting. Or just show it privately (prepare for threads of "how many posts do you have", though)

* Other thoughts:*

-


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## Kevin001

Atheism said:


> Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssssss


:high5


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## truant

** Which new features would you like to see?*

It would be nice if there were some way to know whether or not anyone finds a post useful/helpful other than by a direct reply. I often feel like it's pointless to try to help, since most of my posts will get no reply; for all I know I'm talking to an empty room. If no one's reading my posts, I'd prefer to use my time in other ways, since my posts often take a long time to write. (I'm sure some other people would like me to use my time some other way, too. Lol.)

** Do you feel comfortable posting on SAS? If not, why?*

I actually don't really feel comfortable posting about most of my serious issues on SAS. For some reason, every time I try to post about something that actually bothers me a fight breaks out. So I just try to help other people instead, or stick to academic conversations.

** Other thoughts*

A little silly, but I wish they allowed larger avatar file sizes. I'd love to be able to use gifs like I do on my other forum.


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## Xenacat

Silent Memory said:


> After the recent threads about SAS "dying", being too negative or not being supportive enough, I thought it might be time to have a thread where people can say what they think would help make it better.
> 
> If everyone did what they could to help and could give some ideas and feedback, it could make SAS the place they would like it to be.
> 
> Not all of these have to be answered, and it's okay not to answer any of them. The answers can be as long as you want:
> 
> ** What do you think would make SAS better?
> 
> * What type of threads would you like to see more of?
> 
> * What type of threads would you like to see less of?
> 
> * What would you change about SAS?
> 
> * What do you like least about SAS?
> 
> * Which new features would you like to see?
> 
> * Do you feel comfortable posting on SAS? If not, why?
> 
> * Do you think removing post count either completely or from certain subforums (Just For Fun is an example) would help to make a difference?
> 
> * Other thoughts:*


I'm totally comfortable posting on here, it is probably their SA that makes them uncomfortable.


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## LonelyLurker

Silent Memory said:


> After the recent threads about SAS "dying", being too negative or not being supportive enough, I thought it might be time to have a thread where people can say what they think would help make it better.
> 
> If everyone did what they could to help and could give some ideas and feedback, it could make SAS the place they would like it to be.
> 
> Not all of these have to be answered, and it's okay not to answer any of them. The answers can be as long as you want:
> 
> ** What do you think would make SAS better?*


*

This isn't for me personally as I don't think I'm here for the same reason as many people, but I've noticed that some people are still afraid to engage even though it's fairly anonymous and there are lots of people who make threads saying that they need someone to talk to. Maybe these things could be combined in the form of a completely anonymous 1 on 1 chat free of any unique identifiers including usernames. If the 2 random people have a good discussion/experience they're free to identify themselves if they wish, but if they think what they've said was embarrassing or they just want to remain anonymous then they can just close the window and nobody will be any the wiser (unless of course they reveal specific personal details).

I don't know if anyone would actually find this useful but I wouldn't mind receiving anonymous requests while I'm browsing the forums, there are probably others too.*


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## Xenacat

CloudChaser said:


> ** What do you think would make SAS better?
> 
> *Better moderation with more clear and consistently enforced rules about what can and cannot be posted.
> Give priority to topics in subforums geared towards support in the recent discussions box.
> Featured discussions, chosen by mods, designed to promote open and reasonable discussion on current events.
> *
> * What type of threads would you like to see more of?
> 
> *Fun threads where the purpose is to laugh. Laughter is the best medicine.
> *
> * What type of threads would you like to see less of?
> 
> *The endless, pointless, basically spam threads about American ****ing politics.*
> 
> * What do you like least about SAS?
> 
> *That posts broadly insulting certain groups of people are not punished in the same way others would that insulted different groups of people.
> *
> * Which new features would you like to see?
> 
> *Image board. Chat that works. Subforum for dickpics.
> *
> * Do you feel comfortable posting on SAS? If not, why?
> 
> *Ignoring the obvious problems with posting in public when suffering anxiety, yes I feel comfortable but I can see why other people wouldn't when you read through some of the things that are posted.
> *
> * Do you think removing post count either completely or from certain subforums (Just For Fun is an example) would help to make a difference?
> 
> *Post count helps spot trolls. Obviously not all trolls have under 10 posts but it's very simple to just ignore someone shouting about the jew apocalypse when they have 2 posts and created their account 10 minutes ago.
> *
> * Other thoughts:*
> 
> More cute anime girls. Free cookies. Cuddles.


I can understand why you don't like the American political threads but it has very much affected many people's lives. It has definitely caused me a great amount of stress which directly affects my SA. I think that is what you are seeing on here. I don't want to go into all of it but it has greatly changed my environment. I need a place to talk about this so I would say stay out of the political threads.


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## TryingMara

* What do you like least about SAS?

The threads and posts that basically blame women for all of life's problems. I understand people are going through rough times and need to vent, but the snide, dismissive and nasty posts are not at all supportive to the female posters here.

Also, there are way too many trolls.

* Do you feel comfortable posting on SAS? If not, why?

I don't feel comfortable posting about dating or being relationship challenged due to male (not all ofc, but still too many) posters belittling my experiences.

* Do you think removing post count either completely or from certain subforums (_Just For Fun_ is an example) would help to make a difference?

I would like this. When I am at a particularly low point, I find it difficult to post in sections other than the Just for Fun section. I still want to be connected here and sometimes Just for Fun answers are all that I can muster. It would be nice to have that small bit of comfort without being cursed at or berated by other posters in that section as has happened in the past. I wouldn't mind seeing the post limit removed altogether.


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## Aribeth

You should only be allowed to create 1-2 threads per month in S&C. I'm sick of seeing the same 3 guys making dozens of anti-Trump threads every week.


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## CloudChaser

Xenacat said:


> I can understand why you don't like the American political threads but it has very much affected many people's lives. It has definitely caused me a great amount of stress which directly affects my SA. I think that is what you are seeing on here. I don't want to go into all of it but it has greatly changed my environment. I need a place to talk about this so I would say stay out of the political threads.


I understand that it has an effect on people in different ways, however there really is no way you can argue that 90% of the threads where there is literally just a news article and maybe some kind of comment on how all people in the right wing are nazis are helpful to anyone. It would be very easy to come here and feel like you are unwelcome to ask for advice because of your conservative views which is unfair as we all know that anxiety can effect anyone and everyone is deserving of help.

All the complaining pretty much boils down to one big circlejerk that would be better off in a single thread not several different ones per day.

By all means, if you want to post a thread detailing a policy or an event that causes you anxiety and ask for advice or opinions then feel free but that isn't what the majority of threads do.


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## doe deer

-fixing chat so it works normally
-the ability to actually block (they shouldn't be able to visit you, send messages or quote you) people, especially since obvious trolling is not moderated in any way
-less politics (aka trump) - those threads can be interesting and i do read them but not everyone is from the US and seeing multiple trump threads each day gets annoying after a while
-just for fun/games - probably the most pointless part of this site, less of that would be nice
-complaining - obviously the threads in the frustration section. it's usually littered with people who don't want advice or help. a lot of them are often by the same users. i know venting helps but the same user doesn't need to post a new thread about the same topic every day


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## Xenacat

CloudChaser said:


> I understand that it has an effect on people in different ways, however there really is no way you can argue that 90% of the threads where there is literally just a news article and maybe some kind of comment on how all people in the right wing are nazis are helpful to anyone. It would be very easy to come here and feel like you are unwelcome to ask for advice because of your conservative views which is unfair as we all know that anxiety can effect anyone and everyone is deserving of help.
> 
> All the complaining pretty much boils down to one big circlejerk that would be better off in a single thread not several different ones per day.
> 
> By all means, if you want to post a thread detailing a policy or an event that causes you anxiety and ask for advice or opinions then feel free but that isn't what the majority of threads do.


It's definitely affected me. I'm not conservative. I live in Texas. People need to discuss what is going on, that is why you see so much of it. Maybe true, it's a circle jerk but when it directly affects your life as much as it has mine-I totally get it.


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## Xenacat

Aribeth said:


> You should only be allowed to create 1-2 threads per month in S&C. I'm sick of seeing the same 3 guys making dozens of anti-Trump threads every week.


Lol, true....


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## WillYouStopDave

Aribeth said:


> You should only be allowed to create 1-2 threads per month in S&C. I'm sick of seeing the same 3 guys making dozens of anti-Trump threads every week.


 Actually, it's more like every day. I think it would be fair to set the limit at 3 per week. There are plenty of people here who almost never make threads at all and then we have people who abuse it and make 2-3 every day about the same thing.


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## TheInvisibleHand

NEW CHAT . I remember chats from 2001 that were better than what this site is offering.

the ability to actually block (they shouldn't be able to visit you, send messages or quote you) people, especially since obvious trolling is not moderated in any way.
When i block someone i don't want to see anything they do on this site.

No more than 2-3 Anti Trump threads a month from the same two guys in the S&C.That _Username removed_ guy and _Username removed_ have ruined the S&C section. 
* Other thoughts: 
I want to have real gif animation avatars.Now you can only have a 19.5 kb gif animation avatar which is so stupid ,there is no way to have a cool gif avatar that is so small. I would like the maximum size to be at least 70kb.


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## Scrub-Zero

** What do you think would make SAS better?

Some members shouldn't be banned at all. You guys ban members too quickly.

Same with certain threads. Some are kind of funny but because they're a bit spammy they get tossed. 

Also less tolerance for members putting other down, like saying "get over it" 
Especially in the frustration section of the forum. Can't even be frustrated in the frustration section? WTF.

A better block feature.

* What type of threads would you like to see more of?

More lighthearted threads and funny polls. 
More personal stories that aren't "i can't get laid."

* What type of threads would you like to see less of?

****ing Trump threads. 
Less virgins and i can't get a girlfriend threads. 
Make one for each and sticky it on top. People can post in there.

* Which new features would you like to see?

A larger avatar size and images in signatures.

* Do you feel comfortable posting on SAS? If not, why?

I'm somewhat comfortable. Don't really care if people like me or not. It's your block list. Use it when you need it.

* Do you think removing post count either completely or from certain subforums (Just For Fun is an example) would help to make a difference?

Couldn't care less about post count. But at each 5000 posts, you guys should send us some chocolate

*


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## Xenacat

WillYouStopDave said:


> Actually, it's more like every day. I think it would be fair to set the limit at 3 per week. There are plenty of people here who almost never make threads at all and then we have people who abuse it and make 2-3 every day about the same thing.


I don't know how to make a thread, lol!


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## Yer Blues

Free pizza


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## Xenacat

Yer Blues said:


> Free pizza


Sweet!


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## Virgo

TryingMara said:


> * What do you like least about SAS?
> 
> The threads and posts that basically blame women for all of life's problems. I understand people are going through rough times and need to vent, but the snide, dismissive and nasty posts are not at all supportive to the female posters here.


I second this.

I have nothing of substance to add... without going on a rant about angry virgins and why they are virgins. I just wanted to say I agree completely with this post.



Scrub-Zero said:


> More personal stories that aren't "i can't get laid."
> 
> ****ing Trump threads.
> Less virgins and i can't get a girlfriend threads.
> Make one for each and sticky it on top. People can post in there.


And this. Yessssss. All of this.


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## Yer Blues

Xenacat said:


> Sweet!


No, not fan of pineapple on pizza.


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## tehuti88

I echo much of what @*TryingMara* said.

My own ideas:

A bigger crackdown on "Who has it easier" posts. I've reported lots of "It's easier for women," "It's not so important for women," "It's not such a big deal for women," etc. posts, and quite a few are left standing/unedited. I try to report posts only when I'm at least 90-100% sure they're breaking the rules, so I'm pretty sure these are problem posts that are being allowed to stay up. This makes me feel discouraged about reporting very blatant rule-breaking posts if nothing is going to be done.

Many are from the same users, so perhaps a "Three strikes and you get a temp ban" rule would be good too, though I imagine I'm the only one who likes either of these ideas.

Also a crackdown on posts which call others "liars" when they give their *asked-for opinions* (usually happens in the type of threads mentioned below). This behavior isn't much different from "You don't _really_ have SA!" posts, which aren't allowed, so this and variants of it should not be allowed either. It's okay to challenge an opinion, but to just call somebody a liar for giving their opinion?--no. Especially not when the opinion was asked for.

I may have other ideas later but these are the ones that wear on me the most. These, and "What do women/men think?" threads in which the opposite gender starts answering for the intended gender, but I don't see how those threads could be properly monitored with so very few mods, especially when the OP usually isn't seeking the opposite gender's opinion at all. Those threads usually just devolve into "Liar!" posts anyway, so please see the point above.


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## JohnDoe26

* What do you think would make SAS better?

I think you guys have banned a lot of people who've made this place very interesting. Unless it's something outrageous like a death threat, I say get rid of the permanent ban and be lenient. Let people (even those without SA but with other mental problems) hang out here.

* What type of threads would you like to see more of?

Deep discussions about peoples hobbies and quirky interests.

More personal stories and updates from people who haven't posted in a long time.

* What type of threads would you like to see less of?

Trump threads. People complaining about women, virginity and "normies"

* What would you change about SAS?

The forum is only as good as the people who participate. Be more lenient on the permanent ban. Allow those, even without SAS--but clearly with other mental health issues-- to make their contributions to the forum, even if they're annoying. They make this place more interesting.

* What do you like least about SAS?

The lack of deep and meaningful interaction, with the exception of the PMs.

* Which new features would you like to see?

An ability to thumbs up or plus one posts I like. But I can see the draw back in that (people who don't any thumbs up or plus ones will get self-conscious and feel even more crappy about themselves).

I'm not sure if we have this, but an ignore list.

* Do you feel comfortable posting on SAS? If not, why?

It's alright. It's just a way to pass the time for me.

* Do you think removing post count either completely or from certain subforums (_Just For Fun_ is an example) would help to make a difference?

No. How do you figure that would even help?

* Other thoughts:

Keep in mind, it's not the functionality or the gimmicks of the forum that makes it interesting, *it's the people*. You have to attract a more diverse group. Even people who are normal, or who have other mental health issues, who even though they post annoying stuff, should be tolerated. Otherwise this places just becomes an echo chamber.


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## BlossomsToBones

I think the dull/washed out grey background with navy blue borders needs to be changed. The site needs to look more vibrant and colorful!


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## komorikun

If you don't want to see the spammy threads, you can do "Ignore Forum" under "Forum Tools " for *Just For Fun*.

I wanted to do that actually but there are a couple threads in there that I still wish to see. I wonder if these two threads could be moved to a different subforum.

http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/f31/type-what-you-re-thinking-about-right-now-544089/

http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/f31/random-thought-of-the-day-716633/


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## reese444

** What do you think would make SAS better? *
idk it's pretty awesome as i see it

** What type of threads would you like to see more of?*
uhhhhh

** What type of threads would you like to see less of?*
those stupid ones about how looks are everything

** What would you change about SAS?*
put kitty cat stickers on the forum

** What do you like least about SAS?*
those guys who think women are the source of their problems and not their own **** attitudes

** Which new features would you like to see?*
idk

** Do you feel comfortable posting on SAS? If not, why?*
ya
*
* Do you think removing post count either completely or from certain subforums (Just For Fun is an example) would help to make a difference?*
nah
*
* Other thoughts:*
none really


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## flyingMint

*Little tidbit about the Just For Fun section. 

I've made wonderful connections with people on this site through those same threads. Though it seems most people don't really like them. So if it is possible why not just remove that section from showing up on the "recent discussions" board? That way it doesn't have to go away, but it also doesn't bother everyone else.

*Do you feel comfortable posting on SAS? 
No I actually don't. The fact that there are people who are displeased with the Just for Fun section gives me anxiety about even posting there. Literally thats the only place where I feel okay to post. I'm not comfortable with making my own threads.


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## Kilgore Trout

JohnDoe26 said:


> I think you guys have banned a lot of people who've made this place very interesting. Unless it's something outrageous like a death threat, I say get rid of the permanent ban and be lenient.


This
I have been shocked several times seeing very interesting members get banned. Members who have been here for a long time and didn't have a history of trolling/insulting. I seriously have no idea what those members have done to deserve a permanent ban despite their long time of participation in the forum.
On the other hand there are people here who are *consistently *mean(least to be said) and don't get banned. Probably just because they are delicate enough not to break certain rules.

** What type of threads would you like to see more of?*
I think other than posts about SA and problems associated with it we also need posts about people. About our experiences. It doesn't have to be something terrible that happened the other day. Just some random thing.
Currently this forum has become a forum about social anxiety. But I think it should be a forum about socially anxious people.

** What type of threads would you like to see less of?*
Emotionally draining threads. Like venting and negative things. I know it's a support forum and I'm in no way suggesting that people should be limited about expressing their feelings. But I'm personally too emotionally drained already to be able to read strangers' vents and give support to them.
Also everything in S&C but the (only) good thing about that section is that you can block the whole of it(which I have) and get rid of all the scary things there. But I can't just block venting. Plus, I don't want to just block all venting. Maybe some friend posts some venting and I want to give them a hug.

** What would you change about SAS?*
I would change the way banning decision is made. I've already mentioned it and other people have also mentioned it so I won't get into details.

** What do you like least about SAS?*
Mean people.
Mobile site.
Blocking mechanism. I want complete block. When I block someone I want them to think I haven't had any activity since the moment I have blocked them.

** Which new features would you like to see?*
Like button could be nice.  I know it can have negative side effects but I think you should at least give it a try for a little while to see how things will work out.
A complete block that sends the blocked person to depths of oblivion.

** Do you feel comfortable posting on SAS? If not, why?*
Sometimes I feel like my SA or generally my situation is not as bad as some people on here so I refrain from posting some stuff. I feel obliged not to show off my happy moments.
On the other hand I try not to post venting threads either because there is already enough negativity in this forum, also there isn't an SA-related issue that there aren't tons of threads about already.

** Do you think removing post count either completely or from certain subforums (Just For Fun is an example) would help to make a difference?*
:O
Where did you get that evil idea?!!!

** Other thoughts*
I can give you a list of people who should be banned if you want. 8)
Also I see a lot of people complaining about game threads. If you ever decided to remove them from the "New Posts" section could you please add a filter function instead? Like add them to the default filter but let people unfilter them.


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## AceEmoKid

For the love of god. More moderation please. And kick off the moderators who are consistently bigoted. Hate speech doesn't belong here. You can say and discuss whatever you want on this forum so long as it's not sexist, homophobic, racist, transphobic, so on.

I left this site for a long time because I was so tired of not only the unchecked circlejerk of negativity, but the continued allowance of bigoted people in places of authority. I felt (and still feel) so unwelcome here. I shouldn't have to debate my human rights with people in charge. I notice someone in particular I had in mind was recently demoted from having any moderating power on this site, so that's a start. Please keep that trend. And please keep trying to employ moderators who have truly egalitarian mindsets. 

I think some of the more irrelevant parts of this site should be shut down, or better moderated. It's entertaining, sure, but it's so counter intuitive. It's what got me sucked up into the comfort of this site. I treated it like a home, a one-stop for all my thoughts regarding anything and everything. That's not healthy. This is an anxiety forum. It should be a place to vent, ask questions, get help, support each other, learn about each other and our problems. But when we start opening up the site to S&C, Atheism & Religion, Relationships, etc -- we have to keep it RELEVANT to anxiety disorders and the like, or shut it down altogether. Otherwise we leave this site open to chaos. It's simply TOO MUCH to moderate, to sift through and keep on topic. People treat it like it's a free for all because that's the way SAS has set the climate. We lose sight of what we came here for in the first place. And a lot of people end up just lost for years in this place & even worse for wear.


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## Persephone The Dread

** Which new features would you like to see?
*

I'd like to have the option to hide post count.

It also seems like the ignore feature for blogs (stopping people on your ignore list from seeing them,) doesn't really work properly so if that could be implemented so it works that'd be good. Or even just an option to block certain posters from seeing the blog. I don't really need or want to ignore everyone I don't want seeing blog entries.

Also you can't seem to make blog entries private after making them you can only 'soft delete' them, so you can continue to see them but as far as I know can't make them public again at a later date (or you can delete them properly so they're gone completely.) But having the option to change privacy settings on individual blog entries after posting them whenever you wanted would be good.

it would also be good to have a feature where you can block certain posters from pming you without having to make pms private or friends only. I'm not sure if the ignore list stops that, but it'd be better really if it's separate because I know previous posters here figured out when I had them on my ignore list (not 100% sure how, but I know there's a way people can figure it out and that just seems like it encourages drama.)

I also think the Trump threads should be moved/encouraged to stay in the election subforum since it doesn't make much sense to have that subforum when people post them everywhere, but then again people aren't posting much else right now in S&C so maybe that's pointless.

** Do you feel comfortable posting on SAS? If not, why?
*

It varies, and also varies depending on what I'm posting about. There are a couple of topics I always feel very uncomfortable talking about here and that won't change.

** Do you think removing post count either completely or from certain subforums (Just For Fun is an example) would help to make a difference?
*

Yes, I've had it brought up against me before and even before that happened I didn't like that it was displayed. I also think it creates an unnecessary hierarchy. Also if you try to change your username at any point to be less visible it's impossible if you have a large post count because it's an obvious clue. I'd like the option to hide it from others, though I'd like to keep it for reference for myself.



truant said:


> ** Which new features would you like to see?*
> 
> It would be nice if there were some way to know whether or not anyone finds a post useful/helpful other than by a direct reply. I often feel like it's pointless to try to help, since most of my posts will get no reply; for all I know I'm talking to an empty room. If no one's reading my posts, I'd prefer to use my time in other ways, since my posts often take a long time to write. (I'm sure some other people would like me to use my time some other way, too. Lol.)
> 
> ** Other thoughts*
> 
> A little silly, but I wish they allowed larger avatar file sizes. I'd love to be able to use gifs like I do on my other forum.


^ I agree with those. Especially the second one, the file size here is really low and I've been on many other forums even ones that are as active or more active than this one that have a larger file size. The file size here makes it almost impossible to have gif avatars.


----------



## shyvr6

A lot of this doesn't affect me since I'm not on here as much anymore so I'll keep it short.

*Remove the swear filter or give us an option to turn it on or off.* It's supposed to be a 'family site', but we all know that kids aren't coming on here with their families and most teens are exposed to curse words already. Make it allowable as long as expletives aren't being spammed in a post.

*Make the search feature go beyond 10 pages like it used to be.* I don't know why Helena changed it, but it makes looking up older posts a pain. It also helps the mods for various things.

So that's basically it for now. For the ones saying the mods ban too easily, a lot of times those people had plenty of chances assuming things haven't drastically changed.


----------



## Persephone The Dread

shyvr6 said:


> A lot of this doesn't affect me since I'm not on here as much anymore so I'll keep it short.
> 
> *Remove the swear filter or give us an option to turn it on or off.* It's supposed to be a 'family site', but we all know that kids aren't coming on here with their families and most teens are exposed to curse words already. Make it allowable as long as expletives aren't being spammed in a post.
> 
> *Make the search feature go beyond 10 pages like it used to be.* I don't know why Helena changed it, but it makes looking up older posts a pain. It also helps the mods for various things.
> 
> So that's basically it for now. For the ones saying the mods ban too easily, a lot of times those people had plenty of chances.


Yeah I agree about the swear filter, they have the option to turn it on/off on other forums I've been on and that makes more sense.


----------



## Aribeth

You guys need to stop it with the block feature. What are you SJWs or something? You need a "safe space" from people you don't like or what? I've never used the block thing, even though there's plenty of users that annoy me. Toughen up, jeez.


----------



## mt moyt

** What type of threads would you like to see more of?*

i quite like the trump threads, because i spend a lot of time here and its actually interesting, and something to think about. i would like more threads that are unique/interesting 

** What type of threads would you like to see less of?*

less threads where a really obvious/troll question is being asked, and people still reply, so that it keeps coming up in the recent discussions

** Which new features would you like to see?*

an updated chat, and it would be cool if i could choose to have a few of the just for fun threads not show up on the recent discussions.
and also an option to permanently change how many threads are shown when looking at the forums. right now, it seems to be stuck at 'last month' and you have to keep changing it to see older threads.


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## andy0128

I don't mind it how it is. I think it caters for a vatiety of interests. Some complain about there being too many threads about politics but they can be easily ignored and there's always topics across the other sub forums. I think people like a post count even if they are mostly short posts, they like milestones and crumbs of comfort. I tend not to prioritize quantity but it doesn't bother me if ithers see it differently. 

Having likes may on one hand be positive and encourage quality but its outweighed by the certainty of members not feeling popular. 

I wouldn't be against reducing threads per week per member to 3 or 4. Likewise i think we could crack down more on people posting similar threads all the time or a slight variant of the subject.


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## MCHB

For the most part things are awesome, but off the top of my head the forum could use:

-More Cowbell (Couldn't resist!)
-Minor gripe, but get rid of the "Setup Progress Bar" as mine's been at 60% forever and the reminder is always at the top of the forum for me. I do not want to add a custom signature nor do I want to subscribe to a thread!
-Have a separate section dedicated to political discussion (a lot of forums ban political discussion to keep the peace, but yeah)
-Implement some form of three strike rule for "personal attacks" or breaches of forum policy
-Likewise if someone breaks a rule, let them know


----------



## shyvr6

I forgot to add, but maybe turn the 'Election 2016' subforum into the Political forum and use the main S&C forum for everything else.


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## SofaKing

In addition to the ignore feature on the forum, I think an improved ignore feature for individuals.

And for the thread ignore, I'd like a way to ignore all the threads on a forum, except for ones I select. Kind of the reverse of what is there as well. So, if I like 99.9% of "Just for Fun", but I want to still see a particular thread in that forum, I'd prefer that instead of having to block every other thread.

Perhaps a keyword based ignore as well. It's nice to ignore the forum, but people will put stuff in the wrong place and I'd personally not even want to see the title in some cases.

Yeah, yeah...my problem, I know.


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## WillYouStopDave

shyvr6 said:


> I forgot to add, but maybe turn the 'Election 2016' subforum into the Political forum and use the main S&C forum for everything else.


I think it would be better just to lock the 2016 forum down. The 2016 election is over. There are Trump threads all over the place anyway. The 2016 forum didn't really do it's job.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

Basically, I think the biggest overall problem is the general coarseness of the behavior here. And I realize that I'm often as guilty of this as anyone else but I think the temptation is just there to just not care when everyone else is behaving badly. This isn't reddit and if people want reddit or facebook or whatever, they're out there and you can't breathe without hearing about them as it is.


----------



## Karsten

There is an entire subculture of SAS'ers who hangout primarily in the S&C Section. That is where most of the drama starts. The Frustration forums can be quite toxic as well.

I personally could give two ****s, it doesn't bother me, but those sections are where most of conflict/trolling in this place starts. 

I'm sure we'd lose a lot of members removing those sections, but what do they contribute to this community aside from drama anyway?

Perhaps structure the forums a little differently so that the 'Gatherings' section has a bit more emphasis and encourage productivity and triumph over SA than wallowing in it. Not that anyone who vents or had a rough day needs to be driven away by pitchfork, but I feel like there's a whole lot of whining and not enough action. I wish the community was more focused around actually recovering than discussing what Donald Trump was up to, or why 'Girls have it easier', etc.


----------



## Memories of Silence

There have been some good ideas. 



Scrub-Zero said:


> Some members shouldn't be banned at all. You guys ban members too quickly.





JohnDoe26 said:


> I think you guys have banned a lot of people who've made this place very interesting. Unless it's something outrageous like a death threat, I say get rid of the permanent ban and be lenient. Let people (even those without SA but with other mental problems) hang out here.





geraltofrivia said:


> I have been shocked several times seeing very interesting members get banned. Members who have been here for a long time and didn't have a history of trolling/insulting. I seriously have no idea what those members have done to deserve a permanent ban despite their long time of participation in the forum.
> On the other hand there are people here who are *consistently *mean(least to be said) and don't get banned. Probably just because they are delicate enough not to break certain rules.


Most of the time, when someone gets banned without a history of trolling/breaking rules, they got themselves banned on purpose by breaking one of the rules that leads to an immediate permanent ban. The post that they broke the rule in is always deleted, which means most people won't see what happened or why they have been banned. It can be sad to see people get themselves banned on purpose, and it is surprising sometimes.

The rest of the time, the person had been given a lot of chances to change the way they behaved, and they kept breaking the rules anyway.

Unless they broke the rule that leads to an immediate ban, have joined to advertise/troll or already have another account on here, no one can be permanently banned until all of the moderators and an administrator have voted "yes" for whether or not they should be permanently banned.


----------



## farfegnugen

I always feel like I'm censoring myself because lots of people seem to be in a sensitive or fragile state and I don't want to make them feel worse. Maybe, that should be the case for a message board that this one, but a subforum for users with "thicker skin" could keep some of the so called trash out of the main forum while letting those of us who would like to laugh at ourselves and our insecurities to do so constructively.

Other than that, I've noticed lots of adware/malware associated with this site when I'm using certain computers. I guess it's user beware, but I think it would be in the ownership's best interests to make their site safer for its users.

Also, possibly some user-based articles or pooled guidelines on things that have worked for them in dealing with anxiety or succeeding in the real world.
.


----------



## Twilightforce

Unban everyone.


----------



## andy0128

There seems to be three schools of thought regarding the future direction of the forum. The first one being keep it more or less the same as it is now. The second one that it should be less strict or somehow more mods or different mods would be a major improvement. The third one is to make it stricter and even eliminate the more negative and debating forums, so the goal is all about recovery. I prefer generally speaking the current setup but i can see good arguments as well for it becoming stricter and more recovery orientated. 

The second option just wouldn't work at all. People get banned for genuine reasons. All mods, ex mods and most experienced members know this. Saying the mods aren't doing a good job is by and large just a call for moderators that are going to run things in a way convenient "to you", which most likely involves showing favouritism to certain members. The mods can only enforce the requirements of the website so if there is a problem or something someone doesn't like, their issue is with the set up and principles of SAS.


----------



## tehuti88

farfegnugen said:


> Other than that, I've noticed lots of adware/malware associated with this site when I'm using certain computers. I guess it's user beware, but I think it would be in the ownership's best interests to make their site safer for its users.


THIS. I know the mods can't do anything about it, but maybe somebody in charge of the site can?--and SHOULD.

My tablet got hijacked by a ransom message yesterday. All I was doing was looking at a thread, and I had tried to stop the ads from loading--no luck, because half the time when I do that, the rest of the page (posts) stops loading as well--and then the ad keeps loading anyway!

Glad I was able to get rid of it (_knock on wood_), but for God's sake, *FIX THE BAD ADS*.


----------



## Folded Edge

I'll guarantee the Mods do a good job and will not be banning users without good cause. It's a mental health support forum, which leads to many people with multiple problems posting, not just SA, that is simply unavoidable but it does add to the difficult job of moderating.

There seems to be a lot of complaints about the amount of politics threads in the S&C section. It might be worth keeping in mind we have entered into an unprecedented period of world politics, if your younger that might not be as obvious simply because it's what you are used too. However it should be expected that people will want to discuss current political goings on considering the current political climate. 
If it bothers you, as mentioned you can block the section or users that you don't wish to read. 
Maybe a separate section for politics in the S&C section might be one way to go.

The idea of liking / voting up posts / threads on the face of it sounds good but in the long term will just lead to popularity contests and / or witch hunts and hate campaigns. Presuming you would have the ability to up and down vote. IMHO. 

No matter what the mods change the board is made of the content the users post on it.
There will always be cycles of new users that have just discovered SA or have just been diagnosed and they will always post the same types of questions / topics, just like we all did when we first joined a SA support forum, there is no escaping repetition of topics, it's just the way it works.


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## PhilipJFry

I don't think the site is dying. The forum is still very active, but I do think it's changed over the last couple years. It's become less of a community and less about support. Instead, it's become a place to rant and waste time.

I remember the first couple years I was here. The chat rooms were a lot more active which is partially due to different chat services. The rooms would often reach a daily high of around 35 to 40 people online at the same time. Now, you might see as much as 10 people online at the same time.

There was also multiple TinyChat rooms for members to video or voice chat with one another. Not to mention, active support groups, semi-active e-groups and more casual threads. Most of those have died off. As other older members have mentioned, the site is a little friendly.

I think targeting the Just For Fun and Society and Culture sections would be counterproductive. There are quite a few members that like to read and post in those subforums. Those subforums, along with the Entertainment subforum, is nearly half of the activity of the forum. The other active half is the Frustration and the General Discussion subforums, and the Frustration subforum usually consists of people just ranting.

I'm not sure what should be done to improve the forums. I would like to see a different chat room service, but that's been repeated numerous times by other posters and nothing has been done. I would also like to see the site become more moderated. I know there has always been complaints about the site being either moderated too little or moderated too much, but I'd have no issues with seeing trolls get banned. There's other features that I'm sure would improve the site, but those two are the ones I really care about.


----------



## sprinter

I used to think SAS would be better off without S&C but I remember when everyone used to just post about politics and controversial topics in the general forum and that's why S&C was created in the first place. Probably wouldn't work out too well to eliminate it. Limiting the amount of threads per week you can start there though might be a good idea because it tends to attract agenda pushers which used to be frowned upon more in the past I think.


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## eukz

Twilightforce said:


> Unban everyone.


A part of me really finds that option interesting.


----------



## Evo1114

* What do you think would make SAS better? 

Public call out and shaming of banned losers and why they were banned. This might help people avoid similar dillholes in the future. Such as 5 people talking to some loser...loser starts stalking one of them, user gets banned, other 4 posters feel bad for loser and get roped into their loser world. Etc.

* What type of threads would you like to see more of?

Threads worshipping me.

* What type of threads would you like to see less of?

Eh. Whatever. Anything is easy to avoid on here.

* What would you change about SAS?

Hmm. Not much. It's fine the way it is.

* What do you like least about SAS?

I can't think of anything right now.

* Which new features would you like to see?

Nothing. I don't utilize features.

* Do you feel comfortable posting on SAS? If not, why?

Yes, but it's usually difficult to find places to post. 

* Do you think removing post count either completely or from certain subforums (Just For Fun is an example) would help to make a difference?

Don't care about post counts. 

* Other thoughts:

Kitty meow meow


----------



## AllTheSame

Ffs I wonder who else has been banned....so sad....

~sent from my GalaxyS4


----------



## Paul

Requests: a decent chatroom and quicker banning of trolls and spammers (don't waste time giving them multiple chances when it's obvious what they're doing).

Perhaps the best way to solve the who-has-it-better and repetitive blaming posts would be to have a separate "Rants and Raves" forum for those kinds of posts whose content doesn't appear on the new posts page, and then when someone posts that kind of thing in the Frustration forum their privileges for posting in Frustration should be removed so they can only post in Rants and Raves. There's too many of them registering all the time to effectively ban them all, so I feel this solution would contain them where nobody has to involuntarily see them.

Do not under any circumstances allow truant and Persephone to use animated GIFs, or I'm gone. They are evil hell-spawn (GIFs, not pereph and truant).



Persephone the Dread said:


> it would also be good to have a feature where you can block certain posters from pming you without having to make pms private or friends only. I'm not sure if the ignore list stops that, but it'd be better really if it's separate because I know previous posters here figured out when I had them on my ignore list (not 100% sure how, but I know there's a way people can figure it out and that just seems like it encourages drama.)


It does, and that's probably exactly how they figured out you were ignoring them. Seems to work fine as-is, I'm ignoring ~30 posters and none of them have managed to bother me about it, no drama.



AceEmoKid said:


> And kick off the moderators who are consistently bigoted.


They're a lot better than they used to be back when the site was owned by a southern fundamentalist couple. Not sure who you mean who's bigoted now. Note green "mentors" aren't mods.



Evo1114 said:


> Public call out and shaming of banned losers and why they were banned.


Shaming is bad, but listing the reason (in vague terms, not citing the posts in detail) is good and would improve relations between admins and users by avoiding a lot of misunderstandings.


----------



## AllTheSame

Aribeth said:


> Uh like 3 years ago. She didn't last too long.


I know, was being sarcastic....

~sent from my GalaxyS4


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## Persephone The Dread

Paul said:


> Do not under any circumstances allow truant and Persephone to use animated GIFs, or I'm gone. They are evil hell-spawn (GIFs, not pereph and truant).


I had one as an avatar recently though XD (but it was really basic just hair blowing in the wind.)


----------



## Nitrogen

I generally try to avoid things that will bring me down in mood but it's very hard to get away from that on this forum - so in essence I agree with Paul about a separate forum for those sorts of 'discussions'. I do want to vent at times but going into the Frustration section to see the usual gets old, quick. I also really dislike S&C, if only because the lack of moderation creates such a hostile, uncontrollable environment. I generally ignore that subforum but, leading into the next part:

I also feel somewhat uncomfortable posting here, more so in the past year. It's just really nervewracking to be speaking openly about things in a space where many of users (including mods) here vehemently disagree with even my existence and persist in spreading their backwards agenda. It's why I've kept relatively quiet about some major things about myself - it wasn't worth it. Starting to get better but again, I don't feel particularly comfortable at all.

I have no issues with the Just for Fun sub and I'm glad it exists, but I would agree some threads there are a bit irrelevant and should be moved to 'general discussion' section I think.


----------



## truant

Paul said:


> Do not under any circumstances allow truant and Persephone to use animated GIFs, or I'm gone. They are evil hell-spawn (GIFs, not pereph and truant).


Nah, I'm hell-spawn. I'm making a special room for you down there. It's filled with GIFs. >


----------



## Paul

*Holds up garlic-laced silver smart-cross that has an anti-GIF extension installed on it*


----------



## SplendidBob

Silent Memory said:


> * What type of threads would you like to see more of?


Helpful threads, support threads, but that's largely down to the user base.



> * What type of threads would you like to see less of?


Trump.



> * What would you change about SAS?


1. Remove the malware in the ads. This has to happen asap.
2. Trump threads in a sub forum that can be ignored
3. Notifications on blog responses
4. Improved visibility of blog posts (its kinda weird to get to, it's a good feature but kinda under used)
5. Remove / rebuild groups, they are useless atm
6. Over 40's forum (not group)



> * Do you think removing post count either completely or from certain subforums (_Just For Fun_ is an example) would help to make a difference?


Sure, its pointless. Or just remove just for fun . Or make it hideable.


----------



## AllTheSame

* What do you think would make SAS better?
There has got to be more consistent moderation. While I understand the mods can't be everywhere and read every thread, what you end up with on this site are huge inconsistancies. Users being given warnings or banned for things that other users post every other day, all the time. That's what happens when you moderate based only, or mostly, just on what's reported. You end up with a kind of favoritism. TDK has even admitted as much. And...if it's not going to change, then oh well whatevs, but ffs don't pretend like you have the perfect mod system and there's no room for improvement, that's just hilarious. Based on the very limited feedback I've gotten from the mods and TDK, you seem to think it's a perfect system. This thread is surprising...maybe it can be the start of some much, much needed change.

* What type of threads would you like to see more of?
Support threads, advice, constructive criticism, positive feedback threads

* What type of threads would you like to see less of?
Political...not just anti Trump threads but pro Trump threads also

* What would you change about SAS?
See question one

* What do you like least about SAS?
See question one. Also, this site is plagued with viruses and pop up ads, this is the only site I'm on that gives me any problems (the same exact problems mentioned by dozens of other members)

* Which new features would you like to see?
The groups on this site are pretty much pointless.

* Do you feel comfortable posting on SAS? If not, why?
Absolutely. I come here to vent mostly, or to weigh in on an issue occasionally. The exception would be when guidelines that are clearly posted on this site are violated over and over and over again...the mods can be really slow to react, and sometimes they don't react at all, even when a user / troll is being openly hostile.

* Do you think removing post count either completely or from certain subforums (_Just For Fun_ is an example) would help to make a difference?
I really couldn't care less about post counts, I rarely even notice.

* Other thoughts
The swear filter on this site is just a joke, but, I mean...I guess someone at one time thought it was a good idea and now that it's in place I think the powers that be are afraid to get rid of it. Even though it's completely ignored, anyway. Ffs :grin2:


----------



## komorikun

** What type of threads would you like to see more of?*

Funny, sad, interesting stories. In general, just discussion about life events and life's ups and downs. Doesn't have to be related to social anxiety.

** What type of threads would you like to see less of?*

The troll threads. And some posters make way too many threads about dating, women, looks, status, etc. It has always been like that though. Some just get really obsessive about that sort of thing. I get the feeling that making lots of threads on here about it just makes the obsession even worse.

** What do you like least about SAS?*

SAS is like 70% friendly vibe and *30% hostile vibe*- angry at the world, angry at women, angry at everything. "Life sucks, it will always suck, I'm ugly, I'm stupid, no woman will ever love me, women are all *****es, I hate myself, I want to kill myself." It's just unpleasant and hard to ignore. I try to ignore it but not easy.

** Do you feel comfortable posting on SAS? If not, why?*

Not entirely. I would never feel comfortable talking about my own issues with dating and relationships. I don't think I'd get good advice. I'd probably be criticized and told to consider it from the male perspective.

** Do you think removing post count either completely or from certain subforums (Just For Fun is an example) would help to make a difference?*

I like the post count because it tells you how new someone is to the forum. I won't put much energy into replies to brand new posters since more than likely they won't stick around. And if someone with a low post count is making controversial or bizarre threads, then likely they are trolling.


----------



## The Dark Knight

AllTheSame said:


> * What do you think would make SAS better?
> There has got to be more consistent moderation. While I understand the mods can't be everywhere and read every thread, what you end up with on this site are huge inconsistancies. Users being given warnings or banned for things that other users post every other day, all the time. That's what happens when you moderate based only, or mostly, just on what's reported. You end up with a kind of favoritism. *TDK has even admitted as much.* And...if it's not going to change, then oh well whatevs, but ffs don't pretend like you have the perfect mod system and there's no room for improvement, that's just hilarious. Based on the very limited feedback I've gotten from the mods and TDK, you seem to think it's a perfect system. This thread is surprising...maybe it can be the start of some much, much needed change.


I have *NEVER* said anything about favoritism. While its true we do rely a lot on reports, its not the same people reporting things all the time. Its pretty obvious when someone reports the same person over and over again because they have some kind of personal grudge against them. You've done it yourself. And I've asked you repeatedly before how you expect us to moderate the forum if we're not supposed to rely on reports and you have dodged the question every single time.


----------



## AllTheSame

The Dark Knight said:


> I have *NEVER* said anything about favoritism. While its true we do rely a lot on reports, its not the same people reporting things all the time. Its pretty obvious when someone reports the same person over and over again because they have some kind of personal grudge against them. You've done it yourself. And I've asked you repeatedly before how you expect us to moderate the forum if we're not supposed to rely on reports and you have dodged the question every single time.


Lol....you *HAVE* in fact addressed the issue of favoritism, because I've brought it up before, and you jumped in (finally) waaaay into a thread where it was being discussed. But meh, I guess we can agree to disagree lmao.

And....in one breath you say "it's not the same people reporting things all the time".
And....in the next breath you say "It's pretty obvious when someone reports the same person over and over again...."
Lmao. Oh. Kay.

That's my concern. My concern is that the mods (and you) rely on reports from other users and I'd say that's how you moderate 90% of the time. Imo anyone that doesn't see how that could result in favoritism is either in denial or just doesn't care either way. Tbh, it doesn't matter to me much which one it is, because the end result is the same, and you're obviously very, very close minded imo about how to change things for the better. You seem to think the mod system as it is, is perfect

I have an idea, since you're on the admin team. Why don't you make a suggestion as to how the mod system could be improved? I mean, I've made plenty of suggestions before which were all ignored for the most part. But seeing as how you're on the admin team, aren't you in a better position, and don't you have a dog in this fight? I mean, other than just trying to prove me wrong, and stick to your guns no matter what arguments are brought up, that this mod system is "perfect"?

So....what suggestion would you have as to how it could improve? Or....is the system "perfect" as it is :grin2:


----------



## The Dark Knight

AllTheSame said:


> Lol....you *HAVE* in fact addressed the issue of favoritism, because I've brought it up before, and you jumped in (finally) waaaay into a thread where it was being discussed. But meh, I guess we can agree to disagree lmao.


Link please?


----------



## AllTheSame

The Dark Knight said:


> Link please?


Lol, so you're going to ignore the rest of my post.?

Can't say I'm surprised TDK. You're nothing if not predictable, my brother.

~sent from my GalaxyS4


----------



## AllTheSame

I think the fact that you didn't address the last half of my post speaks volumes. It's pretty obvious. 

~sent from my GalaxyS4


----------



## The Dark Knight

You're accusing me of something I never said. If you're going to make false accusations against me I have no reason to validate the rest of your post.


----------



## AllTheSame

The Dark Knight said:


> You're accusing me of something I never said. If you're going to make false accusations against me I have no reason to validate the rest of your post.


I wouldn't expect anything else in response from you lol. But I gotta be honest with you imo that's a pretty weak, pretty lame excuse.

You are predictable I'll give you that much.

~sent from my GalaxyS4


----------



## shyvr6

AllTheSame said:


> And....in one breath you say "it's not the same people reporting things all the time".
> And....in the next breath you say "It's pretty obvious when someone reports the same person over and over again..."
> Lmao. Oh. Kay.
> 
> That's my concern. My concern is that the mods (and you) rely on reports from other users and I'd say that's how you moderate 90% of the time. Imo anyone that doesn't see how that could result in favoritism is either in denial or just doesn't care either way.


I think you know what TDK meant. In my experience, numerous people reported things and on the rare occasion some people would go out of their way and look for any post to report even if it didn't break the rules because they're in a feud with them. The staff would deal with the post if it actually did violate the rules, but they would also deal with the people involved to try and minimize or stop their feuding.

I don't see how relying on reports would result in favoritism. I've given violations to people that regularly reported things and I've given violations to people that I like and so have other mods in the past. If you don't give violations to people because you like them or like what they're doing, then being mod isn't the job for that person. I should also mention that it applies to people you don't like as well. You can't give violations to people if they didn't break the rules just because you don't like them.


----------



## Persephone The Dread

Actually it'd be cool if you could edit your display name yourself (like have a display name + username, like on YouTube) but I know that won't happen because if multiple people decide to have the same one it would make things difficult. Although perhaps you could make it so you can't have the same display name either as long as someone else has it.


----------



## AllTheSame

shyvr6 said:


> If you don't give violations to people because you like them or like what they're doing, then being mod isn't the job for that person.


Absolutely, I couldn't agree more.



Shyvr6 said:


> I should also mention that it applies to people you don't like as well. You can't give violations to people if they didn't break the rules just because you don't like them.


uhmmmm, lol....no, sorry, but acrtually you can give violations just because you don't like them. I think it's incredibly nieve to think that's not possible. I actually read your post twice because I was afraid I was missing some sarcasm there, but I think you're actually serious.

I was given two infractions in error by this same moderator. And after one of those, she refused to reverse it, even though she admitted to me in a PM that it was issued by her by mistake. I had to go to the admin team to get it reversed. And, not that long ago I reported a post with a personal attack against me (by a user who has since been banned for personal attacks) and she ignored the report I sent in for hours even though I reported it twice. Once a new mod started watching the site the post was deleted and the user was given a warning.

So, yes, there most def can be favoritism, unless you choose to just stick your head in the sand and ignore it.


----------



## Folded Edge

Are the SAS moderators paid or are they voluntary?


----------



## probably offline

more goats


----------



## Folded Edge

probably offline said:


> more goats


Good gravy, we already have access to the wonderful goat simulator http://goat-simulator.com/, what more could you want for? :grin2:


----------



## probably offline

Folded Edge said:


> Good gravy, we already have access to the wonderful goat simulator http://goat-simulator.com/, what more could you want for? :grin2:


I will never be satisfied.


----------



## Folded Edge

probably offline said:


> I will never be satisfied.


Typical goats here, goats there, goats everywhere. There shall never be enough goats.

Though I do love watching them climb trees, I'm all like " how the da f*** did they get up there" :O


----------



## Persephone The Dread

Folded Edge said:


> Are the SAS moderators paid or are they voluntary?


They're voluntary. It's why they have trouble finding mods.


----------



## probably offline

Folded Edge said:


> Typical goats here, goats there, goats everywhere. There shall never be enough goats.
> 
> Though I do love watching them climb trees, I'm all like " how the da f*** did they get up there" :O


----------



## Folded Edge

Persephone The Dread said:


> They're voluntary. It's why they have trouble finding mods.


Thanks for the reply PTD. 8)

It would seem a great many of the moaning users in this thread seem to believe that the mods should spend every living moment reading and modding the site, never mind they do the job voluntarily and have lives of their own to live. 
I suspect a lot of the louder complainers here seem to think they know what goes on behind the scenes, when unless you have modded a mental health forum you simply don't have a scooby doo what really goes on.

Seems to be a combination of arrogance and a serious lack of appreciation. Until you have walked in mile in those shoes, maybe best to accept you don't really know how difficult a job it is.


----------



## Folded Edge

probably offline said:


>


Hahaha brilliant. a most impressive response but equally impressive is the speed of the reply and the number of goats in said tree:O.

Ive only seen one or two at a time before. I doth my cap :clap


----------



## tehuti88

Folded Edge said:


> It would seem a great many of the moaning users in this thread seem to believe that the mods should spend every living moment reading and modding the site, never mind they do the job voluntarily and have lives of their own to live.
> I suspect a lot of the louder complainers here seem to think they know what goes on behind the scenes, when unless you have modded a mental health forum you simply don't have a scooby doo what really goes on.
> 
> Seems to be a combination of arrogance and a serious lack of appreciation. Until you have walked in mile in those shoes, maybe best to accept you don't really know how difficult a job it is.


:ditto


----------



## shyvr6

AllTheSame said:


> no, sorry, but acrtually you can give violations just because you don't like them. I think it's incredibly nieve to think that's not possible.


I could've worded it a little better, but the point I was making was just piggybacking off of my previous sentence which was pointing out integrity in being a mod. Obviously, any mod can secretly give or not give violations to someone, but the staff can only hope that the people they recruit have enough integrity to not let their personal opinions of someone get in the way of their decision making.

For your examples that you continually bring up, I don't know the details surrounding them and there are usually a lot more details that aren't being said, so I can't say that it proves anything to me for those reasons.


----------



## AllTheSame

shyvr6 said:


> I could've worded it a little better, but the point I was making was just piggybacking off of my previous sentence which was pointing out integrity in being a mod. Obviously, any mod can secretly give or not give violations to someone, but the staff can only hope that the people they recruit have enough integrity to not let their personal opinions of someone get in the way of their decision making.
> 
> For your examples that you continually bring up, I don't know the details surrounding them and there are usually a lot more details that aren't being said, so I can't say that it proves anything to me for those reasons.


I understand. Fwiw, I've mentioned countless times that I agree the mods have a pretty thankless job. And I think most of them do a really awesome job, seriously.

My issue is with the discrepancies, the issues that come up. And trying to sweep it all under the rug. And that's what's happened in the past. And TDK is trying to sweep things under the rug too, that's pretty obvious imo.

The same mod that gave me two infractions "by mistake" somehow also told me I shouldn't worry about getting them reversed. She didn't want the other mods or the admin team to know about it, and TDK would rather sweep it under the rug too imo. Look at his responses in this thread :smile2:


----------



## The Dark Knight

Lmao. Ok chief. Keep telling yourself that. I'll take your word for it since you obviously have access to information here that others don't.


----------



## AllTheSame

The Dark Knight said:


> Lmao. Ok chief. I'll take your word for it since you obviously have access to information here that others don't.


I don't need "access to information here that others don't"...I just see what's pretty obvious to anyone lol.


----------



## komorikun

truant said:


> ** Which new features would you like to see?*
> 
> It would be nice if there were some way to know whether or not anyone finds a post useful/helpful other than by a direct reply. I often feel like it's pointless to try to help, since most of my posts will get no reply; for all I know I'm talking to an empty room. If no one's reading my posts, I'd prefer to use my time in other ways, since my posts often take a long time to write. (I'm sure some other people would like me to use my time some other way, too. Lol.)
> 
> .


I appreciate your posts. It would be nice to upvote posts. The only problem is that during fights, one poster will tell the other that they are a piece of crap, etc. Some people will upvote that comment.

We did have Likes enabled for one day on this forum, and that did happen. Happened to this one poster that I really hated. He would start fights with everyone. Just a general dickhead. Anyways, one poster said he was an a-hole and whole bunch of people liked that comment. These were people who never got into fights with him or anyone else. He saw that and I think that upset him.


----------



## LonelyLurker

komorikun said:


> I appreciate your posts. It would be nice to upvote posts. The only problem is that during fights, one poster will tell the other that they are a piece of crap, etc. Some people will upvote that comment.
> 
> I think we did have Likes for one day on this forum, and that did happen. Happened to this one poster that I really hated. He would start fights with everyone. Just a general dickhead. Anyways, one poster said he was an a-hole and whole bunch of people liked that comment. These were people who never got into fights with him or anyone else. He saw that and I think that upset him.


I've been thinking about this, what if only the person who made the post could see how many times a post was liked (without the names of who liked it)? Similar to the way that only you can see the edit button on your posts.

That way the likes would be less about social capital (as no one else gets to see them) but simply a symbol of personal appreciation.

What do you think?


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

* What do you think would make SAS better?

I am still always surprised that we have just four mods on a forum of this size. It works well enough, but is not ideal really. Nor is the gender imbalance, or maybe that (apart from TDK) there are no longer any mods who live in North America, even though so many members are from that region. Perhaps more users might be interested in moderating if they were (optionally) allowed to moderate just one or a few sections for a while, before becoming global moderators?

* What type of threads would you like to see more of?

* What type of threads would you like to see less of?

* What would you change about SAS?

* What do you like least about SAS?

* Which new features would you like to see?

A calendar to (optionally) display members' birthdays might be nice. vBulletin should have this feature built-in, but TDK once said he couldn't find it in the admin panel.

The chat really needs avatars added somehow, the old one used to have a huge selection.

The dead-end link to the old chat at the top of the screen in classic mode, really should be removed.

Would a _slightly_ larger avatar size be possible?

* Do you feel comfortable posting on SAS? If not, why?

* Do you think removing post count either completely or from certain subforums (_Just For Fun_ is an example) would help to make a difference?

Some other forums I know do hide post count, one says "2000 posts or more" for all users over that number. But I don't think it's much of an issue on here.

* Other thoughts:


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

AllTheSame said:


> Absolutely, I couldn't agree more.
> 
> uhmmmm, lol....no, sorry, but acrtually you can give violations just because you don't like them. I think it's incredibly nieve to think that's not possible. I actually read your post twice because I was afraid I was missing some sarcasm there, but I think you're actually serious.
> 
> I was given two infractions in error by this same moderator. And after one of those, she refused to reverse it, even though she admitted to me in a PM that it was issued by her by mistake. I had to go to the admin team to get it reversed. And, not that long ago I reported a post with a personal attack against me (by a user who has since been banned for personal attacks) and she ignored the report I sent in for hours even though I reported it twice. Once a new mod started watching the site the post was deleted and the user was given a warning.
> 
> So, yes, there most def can be favoritism, unless you choose to just stick your head in the sand and ignore it.


Having your report of a personal attack ignored for hours, sounds like a bit of a dubious accusation TBH. The mods don't _always_ agree on issues, and all except Silent Memory now use invisible mode, so you can't always tell when they are browsing the forum. How did you know the user was given a warning anyway?


----------



## SparklingWater

Needs blog comment notifications.

Proper ignore function. I don't want to see that they posted, I don't need them to see anything I've posted or that I have posted.


----------



## gnomealone

LonelyLurker said:


> I've been thinking about this, what if only the person who made the post could see how many times a post was liked (without the names of who liked it)? Similar to the way that only you can see the edit button on your posts.
> 
> That way the likes would be less about social capital (as no one else gets to see them) but simply a symbol of personal appreciation.
> 
> What do you think?


 I'd want the mods to be able to see them as non-binding evidence when
deciding whether to ban a poster or not. Tough to qualitatively judge a poster's overall value to the forum in the heat of the moment.


----------



## Ai

LonelyLurker said:


> I've been thinking about this, what if only the person who made the post could see how many times a post was liked (without the names of who liked it)? Similar to the way that only you can see the edit button on your posts.
> 
> That way the likes would be less about social capital (as no one else gets to see them) but simply a symbol of personal appreciation.
> 
> What do you think?


I like this idea.


----------



## LonelyLurker

gnomealone said:


> I'd want the mods to be able to see them as non-binding evidence when
> deciding whether to ban a poster or not. Tough to qualitatively judge a poster's overall value to the forum in the heat of the moment.


I suppose that wouldn't affect the spirit of my suggestion, the potential problem would be the argument from popularity. Bans should probably be based on the infringement of rules instead of popularity, but if they thought it would help them I wouldn't necessarily oppose.


----------



## shyvr6

AllTheSame said:


> And TDK is trying to sweep things under the rug too, that's pretty obvious imo.
> 
> The same mod that gave me two infractions "by mistake" somehow also told me I shouldn't worry about getting them reversed. She didn't want the other mods or the admin team to know about it, and TDK would rather sweep it under the rug too imo.


I wouldn't agree with that. I know you've been bringing this issue up for maybe a year now (not sure) in various threads in the past and I've seen the mods try to give you answers about it even if you didn't agree with their answers. If they were trying to sweep it under the rug, you wouldn't get any responses at all. My guess is TDK and the other mods are probably just tired of trying to explain their reasoning about it when they already have numerous times.

You can't hide bans when they're documented in multiple areas of the mod section and every mod can see the post that got the person banned. If the ban was an issue, it would've been discussed amongst the mods which it likely was in those two cases.



LonelyLurker said:


> I've been thinking about this, what if only the person who made the post could see how many times a post was liked (without the names of who liked it)?


That still leaves the issue of people knowing that their posts aren't getting likes. The only difference is it's not public. I wouldn't mind a private version, but I'm sure there are people here who would be sensitive to that stuff.



gnomealone said:


> I'd want the mods to be able to see them as non-binding evidence when
> deciding whether to ban a poster or not. Tough to qualitatively judge a poster's overall value to the forum in the heat of the moment.


I don't think members should get free passes based on their popularity or value. Going off of a previous post talking about mod bias, doing it that way would definitely create bias and problems about unfair banning.


----------



## LonelyLurker

shyvr6 said:


> That still leaves the issue of people knowing that their posts aren't getting likes. The only difference is it's not public. I wouldn't mind a private version, but I'm sure there are people here who would be sensitive to that stuff.


That is definitely true, but you'll always have people that feel left out. I think it might be good for people who may be wondering if anyone even bothers to read their posts etc. but actually have a few secret admirers.

It might be one those situations where "perfect is the enemy of good".


----------



## probably offline

LonelyLurker said:


> I've been thinking about this, what if only the person who made the post could see how many times a post was liked (without the names of who liked it)? Similar to the way that only you can see the edit button on your posts.
> 
> That way the likes would be less about social capital (as no one else gets to see them) but simply a symbol of personal appreciation.
> 
> What do you think?


That would be nice. I often want to show appreciation for someone's post without adding anything something useless like "^ this". Sure, people could still think "noone is liking my posts", even if noone else sees it but them, but how would they know if anyone else ever got any, anyway? Also, people probably already feel the same way about quotes/mentions and your suggestion seems like less of a popularity contest in comparison, since it's not public. Maybe you should make a poll about this :>


----------



## shyvr6

There is a version of the like feature on the forums, but I'm not sure if it's even possible to make it private. Helena would have to inform us on that.


----------



## SofaKing

1/2 price drink specials.


----------



## LonelyLurker

probably offline said:


> That would be nice. I often want to show appreciation for someone's post without adding anything something useless like "^ this". Sure, people could still think "noone is liking my posts", even if noone else sees it but them, but how would they know if anyone else ever got any, anyway? Also, people probably already feel the same way about quotes/mentions and your suggestion seems like less of a popularity contest in comparison, since it's not public.


I often feel the same, sometimes I'll even have the reply window open and just decide that there isn't anything I could add, or I don't want to interrupt someone else's conversation so just close it again.



probably offline said:


> Maybe you should make a poll about this :>


Maybe I will... I won't.


----------



## LonelyLurker

shyvr6 said:


> There is a version of the like feature on the forums, but I'm not sure if it's even possible to make it private. Helena would have to inform us on that.


How does the version that exists now work?


----------



## shyvr6

You click 'Like post' or something like that and a heart shows up with the number of likes. It's been a good while since it's been turned off so it might be slightly different from what I remember.


----------



## truant

LonelyLurker said:


> I've been thinking about this, what if only the person who made the post could see how many times a post was liked (without the names of who liked it)? Similar to the way that only you can see the edit button on your posts.
> 
> That way the likes would be less about social capital (as no one else gets to see them) but simply a symbol of personal appreciation.
> 
> What do you think?


^ I like this idea.

If I wanted to be popular I wouldn't post the things I post. But it would be nice to know if anything I'm posting were of any use or interest to anyone. It's extremely hard to tell. Many of what I consider my best posts have received no responses whatsoever, and I've invested a good deal of time in some of them. (I'm thinking about helpful posts here, btw, not protracted arguments.) The posts that get the most attention are the ones where I make outrageous generalizations out of sheer frustration at the outrageous generalizations being made by others. :laugh:

There are a lot of people who lurk, and random people stumbling in through search engines. Maybe people are making posts that those people find helpful? But without any feedback, there's no way of knowing. A lot of other sites provide feedback, which gives the people who use the site some incentive to contribute. The ironic thing about SAS is that there's practically no incentive to be helpful; the only actions that get rewarded on this site are trolling and conflict (the only posts that get any replies). Call me crazy, but I'm guessing there's a relationship between reward and outcome.



shyvr6 said:


> That still leaves the issue of people knowing that their posts aren't getting likes. The only difference is it's not public. I wouldn't mind a private version, but I'm sure there are people here who would be sensitive to that stuff.


I understand this, and I'm really not interested in causing any conflicts or making anyone feel bad. If it's going to detrimental as a whole, so be it. But I have a feeling I'm not the only person who feels discouraged by the lack of any kind of reward for effort. Most of the time I feel like I'm just throwing pencils at the ceiling tiles to see if they stick. I could (and probably should) be doing something more productive than trying to assist people on a forum. How many long-time users here started out full of good intentions and wore themselves out on that wall of apathy?


----------



## shyvr6

truant said:


> But I have a feeling I'm not the only person who feels discouraged by the lack of any kind of reward for effort.


Perhaps a sitewide poll could be made by the admins asking people if they'd want a private 'like' feature if it's available.


----------



## Paul

The private likes is definitely a great idea. Unfortunately VerticalScope doesn't hire any actual developers, so we'll have to find them a vBulletin mod that does it already in order to have any chance (unless we have a poster here who's worked with vBulletin's mods system?). I found http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?threadid=243510 but it doesn't seem to over the private only-visible-to-poster aspect as an option.


----------



## tea111red

a different and better chat.


----------



## LonelyLurker

realisticandhopeful said:


> Needs blog comment notifications.
> 
> Proper ignore function. I don't want to see that they posted, I don't need them to see anything I've posted or that I have posted.


I don't know if this would help you with your blog comment issue but I decided to post one as people in this thread seem to like them and I'm not the type to ever be short of thoughts. Before I posted the blog I looked through the options and there was one called "Blog Entry Subscription", I chose "Instant email notification" and someone was kind enough to comment on what I had posted. I received an email with the response similar to what happens when you get a private message.

If that's what you're after, the option also appears if you edit blog posts you've already made.


----------



## CNikki

More active and diverse groups.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

Is there any way that we could view everyone who has ever visited our profiles even if they were using invisible mode? Like I think the invisible mode is very good in general (other people don't really need to know what threads you read or whatever) but if someone has been on my profile, I think I have a right to know it. If I go on someone's profile, it probably means I was at least curious enough to click. I wouldn't blame them for also wondering who that was.

As it stands I don't think this feature is very useful at all.


----------



## SparklingWater

Also, please lock threads between 6-9 months after they started. Things don't need to be bumped from 2006 or 2011. New fresh threads are the life blood of forums. If it's on a similar topic, they'll make a new thread and have a new conversation.


----------



## Kevin001

realisticandhopeful said:


> Also, please lock threads between 6-9 months after they started. Things don't need to be bumped from 2006 or 2011. New fresh threads are the life blood of forums. If it's on a similar topic, they'll make a new thread and have a new conversation.


Some old threads have better advice than the new ones and I don't like starting threads we've already had before.


----------



## komorikun

There are certain posters (dark....) that keep bumping threads.


----------



## KILOBRAVO

a weekly raffle drawing a random number from a hat where the first prize is $250... theres a thing called paypal apparently nowadays. THAT would make SAS better. All in agreement?

Aye.

Motion approved.


----------



## Moxi

I don't know if it's something that can be "fixed", necessarily. Forums in general are seeing much less traffic, and the type of people who go to social anxiety forums are generally either looking for venting (which they eventually get tired of), support (which is limited online), or friendship (which they're not skilled at, and is difficult to make over forums). In order to keep people together online, they need to have a bond that's _healthy_, not just shared misery.

I would say that I'd welcome a kind of no-nonsense, general life help section that's neither frustration nor specifically SA-related. Kind of like peripheral struggles, or Secondary Disorders except they don't have to be actual conditions. A place to bounce around ideas or get personalized feedback and experiences, and can benefit from each other's experiences or bond. Maybe a place with threads on certain topics that are more detailed than the games or daily updates ones, like a thread for new workplaces, new social circles, or living on your own for the first time where people can just add and discuss stories or tidbits.

I don't really care about venting or complaint threads, because in some cases where else is someone going to post it? The primary reason I don't really share my own struggles is because I feel like very few people want to give lengthy, serious input versus silliness, short comments, or complaining about how women have it easy, etc. Why spend an hour writing and formatting a post if so little is going to come from it when I could, at the very least, just talk to an online friend or go outside for a while.

As it is, seriousness on SAS is kind of like shouting into the night. And ****posting only does so much for loneliness and the need to grow as a person.


----------



## Xenacat

The fixing is making things worse. I notice some of the more colorful members are leaving so it is more boring. People on this site have issues-give some a break.


----------



## Grog

SofaKing said:


> 1/2 price drink specials.


:yes :yes :yes

And maybe some snack vouchers as well .


----------



## nubly

Getting rid of the bugs.


----------



## 2Milk

The use of more memes.


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

2Milk said:


> The use of more memes.


IIRC there did used to be rather more memes posted on here. I don´t generally mind them as long as they´re not downright offensive, but personally find some very annoying, and too many of them can clutter threads.


----------



## cybernaut

*Can we please have a like/thumbs up sysyem here???Ive been on this site too long for that not to happen.*

It's always about sensitivity issues when it comes to that.If no one likes your post, then who cares. Ive been on forums where there was both a thumbs up and thumbs down option. We can just do a 'thumbs up/like' option and that's it. Lots of forums have thay these days..I even know of this mental health/personality forum that has it. It's nothing special.

Sometimes I just dont feel like quoting people or just dont care to do so.


----------



## SwtSurrender

*very angry*

I'd like to reply to old threads be it 10 years or just 6 months old without being devalued and called a troll, stalker or told to grow up. Me replying to any thread has nothing to do with being immature or a troll or a stalker - if anything else the person who calls me those names is and also a bully! People here need to have the freedom to reply to any thread they please any time they want! I'm sure the majority of people here want to reply to some threads but can't due to what others will think of them. This is a reason why people never reply to your threads folks and a reason why you go 10 years or forever without a reply! People are scared to reply! Does it look like I am scared? Does it look like I get hurt when someone talks **** about me being a thread digger? Yeah. Those people who reply with "thread digger" sh!t don't even reply to the topic of the thread - all they care about is to bully someone who really cares to show it. Some people here are sad and jealous and bullies, what the hell is wrong with them? Is social anxiety really that bad that you can't reply to old threads or feel the need to bash those who can? **** you.


----------



## Memories of Silence

SwtSurrender said:


> I'd like to reply to old threads be it 10 years or just 6 months old without being devalued and called a troll, stalker or told to grow up. Me replying to any thread has nothing to do with being immature or a troll or a stalker - if anything else the person who calls me those names is and also a bully! People here need to have the freedom to reply to any thread they please any time they want! I'm sure the majority of people here want to reply to some threads but can't due to what others will think of them. This is a reason why people never reply to your threads folks and a reason why you go 10 years or forever without a reply! People are scared to reply! Does it look like I am scared? Does it look like I get hurt when someone talks **** about me being a thread digger? Yeah. Those people who reply with "thread digger" sh!t don't even reply to the topic of the thread - all they care about is to bully someone who really cares to show it. Some people here are sad and jealous and bullies, what the hell is wrong with them? Is social anxiety really that bad that you can't reply to old threads or feel the need to bash those who can? **** you.


Some old threads are good, and as long as it isn't to try to help someone who hasn't been here for a few years who won't see it, it's not a lot of threads at once or only to post one word in them, there's nothing wrong with posting in them. It keeps SAS interesting because it brings back an old thread people used to like so it can be posted in again.


----------



## AllTheSame

Infraction-free Tuesdays.

Anything goes. Like The Purge.


----------



## SofaKing

AllTheSame said:


> Infraction-free Tuesdays.
> 
> Anything goes. Like The Purge.


Lmao...

And Mod-for-a-day when you get to ban one person without cause.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk


----------



## AllTheSame

SofaKing said:


> Lmao...
> 
> And Mod-for-a-day when you get to ban one person without cause.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk


I think it could work.....the infraction-free Tuesday thing, I think it's a brilliant idea, we just have to remember to be nice to each other again at 12:01am Wednesday.

The mod-for-a-day-ban-anyone idea is pretty good too. There just wouldn't be anyone left on this site.

There are about a million little side jokes and jabs that I could throw in here but......

it's not infraction-free Tuesday.


----------



## rdrr

safe spaces


----------



## Kevin001

AllTheSame said:


> I think it could work.....the infraction-free Tuesday thing, I think it's a brilliant idea, we just have to remember to be nice to each other again at 12:01am Wednesday.


:laugh:


----------



## SwtSurrender

Silent Memory said:


> Some old threads are good, and as long as it isn't to try to help someone who hasn't been here for a few years who won't see it, it's not a lot of threads at once or only to post one word in them, there's nothing wrong with posting in them. It keeps SAS interesting because it brings back an old thread people used to like so it can be posted in again.


But what if someone who is inactive has an interesting thread and I wish to reply or I wish to add a more thorough explanation to my aged reply? Just because someone is inactive and they still have an interesting thread doesn't mean I can't reply! Even if they're inactive - other active members here can benefit from their interesting thread as my reason of replying isn't for the benefit of the inactive user.


----------



## komorikun

*Redundant Forums*

I don't really see the point of having sub-forums such as in *Frustration*.










We already have *Relationships*, *Students*, & *The Work Place* forums.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

AllTheSame said:


> Infraction-free Tuesdays.
> 
> Anything goes. Like The Purge.


 I'm assuming you're joking (but I can't tell, TBH). This sounds like a terrible idea. What would be the point of having moderators at all then? They might as well not even bother.


----------



## Worried Cat Milf

karenw said:


> Vodka


I'm down


----------



## Worried Cat Milf

karenw said:


> :smile2: I had to look that saying up as in the UK that means I'm upset, feeling low etc.


Lol! You know that's funny because right after I posted it, I thought "what if she thought I meant I'm sad?" Which would also call for some vodka, jk


----------



## Persephone The Dread

free cake


----------



## Persephone The Dread

komorikun said:


> I don't really see the point of having sub-forums such as in *Frustration*.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> We already have *Relationships*, *Students*, & *The Work Place* forums.


I like the relationship frustration section at least, and it seems more active than the other frustration subforums, but it keeps some of the frustrated relationship stuff out of the main frustration subforum and also the relationship section. It doesn't work 100%, and it's not as necessary now as it used to be when people were posting stuff every five minutes, but it's still quite helpful.


----------



## komorikun

SAS is okay after a couple drinks but once you are drunk, it's quite boring.


----------



## shyvr6

I don't mind those sub-forums. I think people would still post a lot of their frustrations for those subjects in the main Frustration forum if we didn't have the sub-forums. It also helps prevents those subjects from getting buried or taking over the main forum.


----------



## komorikun

It's just annoying. If I want to read threads about school, I have to click on 2 separate forums. If I want to read threads about relationships, same thing. Work, same thing. 

I think Friendships and Family should be their own forums, rather than sub-forums of Frustration.


----------



## AllTheSame

WillYouStopDave said:


> I'm assuming you're joking (but I can't tell, TBH). This sounds like a terrible idea. What would be the point of having moderators at all then? They might as well not even bother.


:grin2:


----------



## shyvr6

komorikun said:


> I think Friendships and Family should be their own forums, rather than sub-forums of Frustration.


I never really paid much attention to that, but it is the only sub-forum that doesn't have its own main forum. Maybe it should get one. I guess it could fall into Relationships, but that's mainly about dating stuff.


----------



## A Void Ant

Add a new mood:_ Triggered._


----------



## Persephone The Dread

Stronger said:


> Add a new mood:_ Triggered._


The evolution of that word has been kind of ironic. Initially it was used by people with PTSD and similar conditions to describe things that triggered their mental health issues/flashbacks and such. Then overtime people started using it for more and more casual things unrelated to mental health disorders which annoyed people with serious mental health conditions because they felt it was belittling. Many people without mental health issues also criticised the usage for being overdramatic, yet at this point in time many of those same people use the word to describe people who have gotten a bit upset over something. Kind of like a gender neutral 'man up' equivalent, and they've further undermined the original definition. And I'm pretty sure nobody uses it in reference to themselves anymore.


----------



## Ai

Persephone The Dread said:


> Many people without mental health issues also criticised the usage for being overdramatic, yet at this point in time many of those same people use the word to describe people who have gotten a bit upset over something.


That definition is still in line with that usage, though, really. When utilized as a weapon or accusation, it's hardly ever to say, "yo, you've gotten a bit upset over something." It's to say, "yo, you're _overreacting_ to something that doesn't even matter, lulz."


----------



## Persephone The Dread

Ai said:


> That definition is still in line with that usage, though, really. When utilized as a weapon or accusation, it's hardly ever to say, "yo, you've gotten a bit upset over something." It's to say, "yo, you're _overreacting_ to something that doesn't even matter, lulz."


Yeah but people were complaining about them stealing a word that meant something else like when people would list 'triggers' on stuff, I remember it a while back but now tons of people, including people that would complain before, are using it in a more casual way.


----------



## komorikun

The advanced search function has bugs. I wanted to look at my threads and sort the results by number of replies and number of views. Doesn't work.


----------



## zonebox

I don't think there is very much you can do, the place is still great. 

The thing is, forums are becoming outdated by social media now. There is nothing you can really do about it, that is just the way it is unfortunately. We could all grab our torches and pitchforks, take down all of the bigger social media sites, and bring more people back here. Web 2.0 in general sucks, it is looking more like cable TV than the Internet I have always loved, so I'm game!


----------



## zonebox

Please, don't implement a thumbs up system. It has destroyed the web enough as is, eventually people stop posting what they want, and instead seek out validation through the status driven thumb.. we have enough of that on the Internet. Keep SAS a safe place from the thumbs and thumb culture.


----------



## A Void Ant

Persephone The Dread said:


> Yeah but people were complaining about them stealing a word that meant something else like when people would list 'triggers' on stuff, I remember it a while back but now tons of people, including people that would complain before, are using it in a more casual way.


I think the internet allowed the term to be discovered outside the lexicon of mental disorders and in combination with social media it became a good word/tool to use to describe anyone reacting dramatically to what someone said/did. But I think the original usage of the term is still valid and relevant.


----------



## A Void Ant

zonebox said:


> I don't think there is very much you can do, the place is still great.
> 
> The thing is, forums are becoming outdated by social media now. There is nothing you can really do about it, that is just the way it is unfortunately. We could all grab our torches and pitchforks, take down all of the bigger social media sites, and bring more people back here. Web 2.0 in general sucks, it is looking more like cable TV than the Internet I have always loved, so I'm game!


Social media is a joke. A money scheming joke the masses flock to like sheep. I've always felt, from the onset of social networking, circa 2004, that it was a simpler version of internet message boards designed for the masses. Basically, message boards were around since, well, the days of usenet, if not earlier, but those kinds of forums (sadly) weren't simple enough for the general population to catch on to it. It was too "geeky" for them. Then came social networking, which drew upon the functions of message boards, stripped it down of any advanced settings, and made it something extremely personal.


----------



## Ai

zonebox said:


> Please, don't implement a thumbs up system. It has destroyed the web enough as is, eventually people stop posting what they want, and instead seek out validation through the status driven thumb.. we have enough of that on the Internet. Keep SAS a safe place from the thumbs and thumb culture.


I disagree. People seek out validation regardless of platform, especially the socially anxious. They're doing it now. That's not going to change with the implementation of a "like" system.



A Void Ant said:


> Social media is a joke. A money scheming joke the masses flock to like sheep. I've always felt, from the onset of social networking, circa 2004, that it was a simpler version of internet message boards designed for the masses. Basically, message boards were around since, well, the days of usenet, if not earlier, but those kinds of forums (sadly) weren't simple enough for the general population to catch on to it. It was too "geeky" for them. Then came social networking, which drew upon the functions of message boards, stripped it down of any advanced settings, and made it something extremely personal.


You're using social media right now... to complain about and insult people who use social media...? Lol


----------



## SofaKing

Self banning...self-destruction of accounts and posts.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk


----------



## Persephone The Dread

A Void Ant said:


> I think the internet allowed the term to be discovered outside the lexicon of mental disorders and in combination with social media it became a good word/tool to use to describe anyone reacting dramatically to what someone said/did. But I think the original usage of the term is still valid and relevant.


I wasn't saying the original meaning had no place, not sure what I was actually saying got across at all now, but it doesn't really matter and I cba now lol.



zonebox said:


> Please, don't implement a thumbs up system. It has destroyed the web enough as is, eventually people stop posting what they want, and instead seek out validation through the status driven thumb.. we have enough of that on the Internet. Keep SAS a safe place from the thumbs and thumb culture.


lol thumb culture.


----------



## zonebox

Ai said:


> I disagree. People seek out validation regardless of platform, especially the socially anxious. They're doing it now. That's not going to change with the implementation of a "like" system.


Nah, it is different. I can tell you exactly what will happen, people are going to argue on this site, some people will get a ton of thumbs ups, or some other rating measurement - others will not. Those who constantly see people they are disagreeing with, getting high ratings while they get little to none will leave the site because they will feel they are trivialized, or unwanted. Other people who see those ratings, will stop posting their views, as to not get the same treatment - and instead they will start to conform to those who get higher rated posts.

And then we get a mess, such as youtube, yahoo, and all of the other great sites out there, where people are always trying to out do one another, creating sock accounts, etc.. Human nature sucks, it really does.


----------



## zonebox

Persephone The Dread said:


> lol thumb culture.


I think it is an original


----------



## Ai

zonebox said:


> Nah, it is different. I can tell you exactly what will happen, people are going to argue on this site, some people will get a ton of thumbs ups, or some other rating measurement - others will not. Those who constantly see people they are disagreeing with, getting high ratings while they get little to none will leave the site because they will feel they are trivialized, or unwanted. Other people who see those ratings, will stop posting their views, as to not get the same treatment - and instead they will start to conform to those who get higher rated posts.
> 
> And then we get a mess, such as youtube, yahoo, and all of the other great sites out there, where people are always trying to out do one another, creating sock accounts, etc.. Human nature sucks, it really does.


But all that stuff already happens, just in a less streamlined and more actively participatory fashion. Folks already routinely gang up against those with unpopular opinions, members already feel unwanted and underappreciated. People already witness negative reactions to certain kinds of responses and either avoid emulating them or do so disingenuously just to stir the pot. And we already have a ton of sock and troll accounts perusing the forums, largely unchecked.

It's not a mystery, even now, that certain members are more popular or more well liked. There is no way to shield people from that reality.

Most people do genuinely suck, though. We can agree on that. :/ lol

[Edited to add]: This does not mean I support a "thumbs down" option. That, of _course_, would be a terrible idea no matter how you spin it.


----------



## AllTheSame

The thumbs up / thumbs down idea is a really bad idea.


This conversation, this thread has already happened on SAS before, this is like...a duplicate of that thread almost. Or at least, of a lot of those posts.


It's a bad idea and I'd be very surprised if it ever, ever happened on this site.


(*** waits for TDK to implement a thread rating system now ***)


----------



## HenDoggy

Please add a like system.


----------



## A Void Ant

Ai said:


> You're using social media right now... to complain about and insult people who use social media...? Lol


LOL, No.

You are thinking of the term "social media" as though it is a substitute for the word "socializing" in general. I am not against socializing. Hell, that's why I am trying to get better at it and suffer every day from social anxiety. The term "social media" does not traditionally include message boards like this. Sure, you can look up the definition and technically a forum like this meets the criteria, but it is not considered social media in the applied usage of the word. Forums like this have their roots to the days of usenet/newsgroups. I'm talking early 80s here. Social media? We're talking 2004 at the earliest onset, not becoming mainstream until circa 2008.

But the date of inception is besides the point. Social media is populated by shallow, gullible sheep, who have no clue they are literally handing money over to the owners of the social media companies. Every bit of data you transfer is cash in the bank for them. Every time you "like" something or give a status update, their algorithms are calculating your personality and catering your online experience to monetize you further. It's completely corrupt and the general masses are completely oblivious to the scheme.

But...at the end of the day, aren't their apps fulfilling your social desires, so what's it matter if you pay a little bit...? Well, it matters, because it affects those who _are_ awake, those who _do_ refuse to believe these leeching hordes of vampiric executives. It funds them. It feeds them. And so.. they continue to grow and grow.... Ask yourself, do you_ really_ want your grandchildren to be machines whose sole purpose is to hand over money-or energy, or work, or ergs-or whatever it is they_ need_ that can be any quantifiable sum of _something_- to some great master, some designers of their world?

Well, I suppose if your the type who actually puts money in the buckets of those beggars who approach at the red light, who pretend to be firefighters or homeless vets, then it's hopeless and you'll continue to use your "social media".


----------



## tehuti88

Allow posting in ALL CAPS. Once in a while I'd like to type an entire sentence (not an entire post, just a sentence) in all caps and I can't even do that. For some weird reason, though, I occasionally see other users do it, somehow. :con

Afraid that users will abuse this and post EVERYTHING in all caps? Then either allow such posts to be reported as Spam, or else allow all caps posting only after a user has made a certain number of posts and has established that they're not going to make a habit of abusing this feature.

Yeah, it's a small thing, but I hate it when I want to emphasize something with just one sentence in all caps and I can't do it. It's already inconsistent since as I said, occasionally users can work around it. :/


----------



## AllTheSame

Porn free Wednesdays. I'm serious about this one.


----------



## zonebox

AllTheSame said:


> Porn free Wednesdays. I'm serious about this one.


Does this mean we can bring back all those people from that one absolutely hilarious night? God, that was crazy.


----------



## Ai

@A Void Ant: Oh, I know. I understand this all too well. I majored in communications, a curriculum heavily steeped in "media studies," as it were. We simply disagree on the definition of social media, it seems. In any case, you supply this data simply by logging on to the internet. You are providing this free service to companies by posting on this forum, which is funded by ad revenue. Every time you use Google, every time you click on a news article, every time you share details containing key phrases on your favorite forums, someone is getting paid for your free labor. That, unfortunately, is just the way things are now. Playing within the system provided doesn't necessarily make someone a "sheep," but I do agree that it's a little bit alarming how little transparency there is and how few people fully understand what they're signing away each and every time they click. But c'est la vie.

Anyway, sorry. Didn't mean to further derail. lol


----------



## AllTheSame

zonebox said:


> Does this mean we can bring back all those people from that one absolutely hilarious night? God, that was crazy.


Yeah, we should welcome them back.

That a truly insane night but what I remember it went on for days. There was no moderation on this site, at all. Zero. None.

It really was like that movie "The Purge".


----------



## Ai

tehuti88 said:


> Allow posting in ALL CAPS. Once in a while I'd like to type an entire sentence (not an entire post, just a sentence) in all caps and I can't even do that. For some weird reason, though, I occasionally see other users do it, somehow. :con
> 
> Afraid that users will abuse this and post EVERYTHING in all caps? Then either allow such posts to be reported as Spam, or else allow all caps posting only after a user has made a certain number of posts and has established that they're not going to make a habit of abusing this feature.
> 
> Yeah, it's a small thing, but I hate it when I want to emphasize something with just one sentence in all caps and I can't do it. It's already inconsistent since as I said, occasionally users can work around it. :/


... Wait, what? We're not allowed to post in all caps? But, like you've said, I've totally seen people do it... That's strange. lol Is it an automatic detection sort of thing, like using too many characters or emoticons?

I kind of want to try it now. lol


----------



## AllTheSame

zonebox said:


> Does this mean we can bring back all those people from that one absolutely hilarious night? God, that was crazy.


And the reason I say we should welcome them back is because....a lot of them were just being silly, they were just posting under the pretext that now it's OK to post anything and everything.

Now...that may not seem like a good reason. But, consider this. If someone is just throwing insults at you all night, and there is not even any moderation on this site to stop it....and.....then everyone realizes, there is no moderation on this site.....and anything goes....

Heh. WWYD.

But. Some people got banned that night.

Because there were no mods here.


----------



## zonebox

AllTheSame said:


> Yeah, we should welcome them back.
> 
> That a truly insane night but what I remember it went on for days. There was no moderation on this site, at all. Zero. None.
> 
> It really was like that movie "The Purge".


:lol

While looking for all of our fallen brothers and sisters I found an archive of it online, it only goes for 11 pages, but I'm pretty sure the original went on for many more than that. I remember eventually having to go to bed, we lost a few good people that night. (Not hating on the mods here)


----------



## tehuti88

Ai said:


> ... Wait, what? We're not allowed to post in all caps? But, like you've said, I've totally seen people do it... That's strange. lol Is it an automatic detection sort of thing, like using too many characters or emoticons?
> 
> I kind of want to try it now. lol


Once in a while it works, most of the time it doesn't, at least when I try it. I can do maybe a few words, but if I try a sentence or anything longer, it auto-converts it to all lowercase. Really annoying. :/

One time all I wanted to type was, "Oh my God. Gimme," only in all caps and it was changed to "oh my god. gimme." Totally lost the intended impact. :roll

...I'll try it now and see how it goes.

LAH DEE FREAKIN' DAH ALL CAPS GERSH DERNIT LABLABEEDAHDAHDOO!!
THAT WAS IN ALL CAPS!
AND SO WAS THAT!
TESTING LA!

ETA, yeah, somehow I _knew_ it'd make me look stupid right now. :roll :lol


----------



## zonebox

I'm gonna have to test it now.

IT'S MY MONEY AND I WANT IT NOW!!!!!


----------



## AllTheSame

zonebox said:


> :lol
> 
> While looking for all of our fallen brothers and sisters I found an archive of it online, it only goes for 11 pages, but I'm pretty sure the original went on for many more than that. I remember eventually having to go to bed, we lost a few good people that night. (Not hating on the mods here)


Lol.

The hypocrisy was....and I'm sure you'll remember this...it started out with just videos of D's going into V's, (or was it just a D about to go into a V, I can't remember) and....everyone was like, OK...someone's about to get banned. Two or three people. This is bad.

And nothing happened.

And then more people posted hard core porn. And then more. And then more.

Then people started getting really ugly, really nasty with each other because they realized there was no moderation on this site. And they were right. There was none.

But then they came back...as if they'd been here all the time and started banning people lmao.


----------



## Ai

:lol :lol :lol


----------



## zonebox

phew, site went down there for a while.. thought they were enabling a rating system.


----------



## tehuti88

zonebox said:


> phew, site went down there for a while.. thought they were enabling a rating system.


I was in the middle of posting when it went down. :mum Fortunately it went through...eventually.

This is the perfect occasion to post in all caps, but I bet the site would choose this minute to put it in lowercase!

*posts before site crashes again* :um


----------



## zonebox

You found a glitch in the system Tehuti, and you brought it all down!


----------



## A Void Ant

Ai said:


> @*A Void Ant* : Oh, I know. I understand this all too well. I majored in communications, a curriculum heavily steeped in "media studies," as it were. We simply disagree on the definition of social media, it seems. In any case, you supply this data simply by logging on to the internet. You are providing this free service to companies by posting on this forum, which is funded by ad revenue. Every time you use Google, every time you click on a news article, every time you share details containing key phrases on your favorite forums, someone is getting paid for your free labor. That, unfortunately, is just the way things are now. Playing within the system provided doesn't necessarily make someone a "sheep," but I do agree that it's a little bit alarming how little transparency there is and how few people fully understand what they're signing away each and every time they click. But c'est la vie.
> 
> Anyway, sorry. Didn't mean to further derail. lol


Sure, we can agree to disagree on the definition of social media.

As for the web trackers, which are now ubiquitous, you are right, they collect private data to customize ads. They, too, are a problem. I suppose the reason it doesn't bother me as much is because I literally see none of it due to ad blockers and tracker disabling add-ons. I hope I don't get banned for admitting that. Also, I understand websites need to make their money somehow, so it bothers me less for that reason.

When it comes to the big social media giants however, it's quite a different story. Their apps are being integrated into peoples lives more and more and it's not far from apps being built into our heads. 30 years give or take. A simple microchip brain implant will do the trick. Are they going to monetize our thoughts too? Hopefully society wakes up before then and focuses its efforts on expanding outwards into space instead of expanding inwards into this closed system of social networking, which, truly, has no purpose for the progress of mankind.

I don't want to be a part of some collective mind like the Borg. That's not to say the Borg weren't successful in their space endeavors, but let's face it, they were completely devoid of life as we would define it, and of individuality...


----------



## Persephone The Dread

tehuti88 said:


> Once in a while it works, most of the time it doesn't, at least when I try it. I can do maybe a few words, but if I try a sentence or anything longer, it auto-converts it to all lowercase. Really annoying. :/
> 
> One time all I wanted to type was, "Oh my God. Gimme," only in all caps and it was changed to "oh my god. gimme." Totally lost the intended impact. :roll
> 
> ...I'll try it now and see how it goes.
> 
> LAH DEE FREAKIN' DAH ALL CAPS GERSH DERNIT LABLABEEDAHDAHDOO!!
> THAT WAS IN ALL CAPS!
> AND SO WAS THAT!
> TESTING LA!
> 
> ETA, yeah, somehow I _knew_ it'd make me look stupid right now. :roll :lol


I think it turns them into lowercase if it's the entire post, at least that's happened to me before, but if it's just part of it it seems usually OK. Yeah it seems that if there's even one lowercase letter it won't turn all the letters into lowercase.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

I believe a rule needs to be added that makes it against forum policy to accuse someone of not trying to get better.

Also there needs to be some kind of rules about repetitive probing/accusatory/insinuating questions. Like if a particular user appears to be on a crusade repetitively asking people questions that insinuate they shouldn't be posting here if they're not trying to overcome their anxiety. That is harassment. There is no forum policy here that says you have to be trying to overcome your anxiety or you can't or shouldn't post here. Not as far as I know anyway. It makes people feel unwelcome and sets a hostile, aggressive tone. Many of the people who have SA have to deal with enough unfriendly, aggressive people in real life. They come here to talk about stuff in a setting where they won't be treated that way. I can't really speak for everyone else but if I want to be bullied I don't need to come here to get it.


And just generally. Aggressive and probing questions should always be subject to moderation if a complaint is made. I have long noticed that it almost seems like you're being interrogated when you post here. What kind of a support forum is that? If people want to share very specific private details about themselves they will. To have someone just ask how often you masturbate is a very aggressive and unfriendly thing to have happening on a forum like this one. And this happens all the time. It just goes on and on. It's not like it's a once in a while thing that slips notice. A complete stranger has no business asking you how often you masturbate or insinuating you shouldn't. Especially when that is completely unsolicited. 

First of all, if that is going to be discussed at all there should be a specific place you have to go where everyone is there for that. The entire forum should not be peppered with probing masturbation questions and accusations. Ridiculous. 

Half the threads in the support section should not be implying that you should have one specific reason for being here or you have no business being here. That's about as unsupportive as it gets. Some people just want to talk to other people who have social anxiety. They should not be getting attacked for being here by people who think they don't have a right to post here. Really. I'm just tired of it. I see it all the time. I have kind of done it too a few times but there really needs to be some kind of intervention when someone is doing it all the time. If there is someone who should not be posting on this forum, it should be up to the mods and the admins to tell them that. Not some random person


----------



## tehuti88

WillYouStopDave said:


> I believe a rule needs to be added that makes it against forum policy to accuse someone of not trying to get better.
> 
> Also there needs to be some kind of rules about repetitive probing/accusatory/insinuating questions. Like if a particular user appears to be on a crusade repetitively asking people questions that insinuate they shouldn't be posting here if they're not trying to overcome their anxiety. That is harassment. There is no forum policy here that says you have to be trying to overcome your anxiety or you can't or shouldn't post here. Not as far as I know anyway. It makes people feel unwelcome and sets a hostile, aggressive tone. Many of the people who have SA have to deal with enough unfriendly, aggressive people in real life. They come here to talk about stuff in a setting where they won't be treated that way. I can't really speak for everyone else but if I want to be bullied I don't need to come here to get it.
> 
> ...
> 
> Half the threads in the support section should not be implying that you should have one specific reason for being here or you have no business being here. That's about as unsupportive as it gets. Some people just want to talk to other people who have social anxiety. They should not be getting attacked for being here by people who think they don't have a right to post here. Really. I'm just tired of it. I see it all the time. I have kind of done it too a few times but there really needs to be some kind of intervention when someone is doing it all the time. If there is someone who should not be posting on this forum, it should be up to the mods and the admins to tell them that. Not some random person


:agree

I think some of the above might fall under the "Who really has SA" rule, though I'm not sure. A while back there was a very unsupportive/accusatory post about users on SSI and even though I found it highly offensive, I didn't report it because I didn't think it was breaking the rules; but it ended up deleted later on. So now I don't know. :/ I _do_ know that I've grown very leery of mentioning I'm on SSI or of offering help to other users on it because of such posts. Because I'm on government support and am not in treatment _right now_, I've sometimes been treated like a lazy parasite who hasn't done a single thing to improve my situation, which is so far from the truth it's ludicrous. (The "hasn't tried" part, at least; I do often feel like a parasite. But it's nobody's place on this forum to say such things about others.)

Even if a user _isn't_ seeking help, that doesn't mean they don't belong here. Maybe this forum is the only resource they have. At the moment, it's the only resource _I_ have.


----------



## IzzyWizzy

Not sure if its been mentioned before there's too many sub-forums here. 
You get lost. I don't know what to post where. Why so many?


----------



## Xenacat

One thing I think would make SAS better is if there was a way that you could meet people in your local area without having to post to the whole world your local area. I know some people with SAS aren't good at meeting people but I'm not scared of meeting new people - the biggest problem is distance. Some people on here say they wouldn't need anybody from the SAS - I would. I just don't want to post I'm so-and-so from so-and-so but if there was a way to match users with similar interest in the same area I think that would be helpful.


----------



## LonelyLurker

Xenacat said:


> One thing I think would make SAS better is if there was a way that you could meet people in your local area without having to post to the whole world your local area. I know some people with SAS aren't good at meeting people but I'm not scared of meeting new people - the biggest problem is distance. Some people on here say they wouldn't need anybody from the SAS - I would. I just don't want to post I'm so-and-so from so-and-so but if there was a way to match users with similar interest in the same area I think that would be helpful.


That's a good idea, I wonder how it would work.

Maybe you could give your location in your profile (just the town or city would probably be safer just in case the site got hacked), how far you're willing to travel (not everyone drives or can afford to travel etc.) and whether you would be interested in meeting others. If so it could match up people with overlapping geographical areas and perhaps send messages to those people providing the opportunity to chat/message anonymously (there's no guarantee you'd want to actually meet them and it would make it less awkward).

It would still introduce more rejection onto a site with many people who might not be that great at handling it but you can't remove risk completely can you? Plus, it would increase the would be the opportunity to make some real life friends or maybe even more (which by the looks of things some people have managed to do anyway ).

Were you thinking of something like that?


----------



## Xenacat

LonelyLurker said:


> That's a good idea, I wonder how it would work.
> 
> Maybe you could give your location in your profile (just the town or city would probably be safer just in case the site got hacked), how far you're willing to travel (not everyone drives or can afford to travel etc.) and whether you would be interested in meeting others. If so it could match up people with overlapping geographical areas and perhaps send messages to those people providing the opportunity to chat/message anonymously (there's no guarantee you'd want to actually meet them and it would make it less awkward).
> 
> It would still introduce more rejection onto a site with many people who might not be that great at handling it but you can't remove risk completely can you? Plus, it would increase the would be the opportunity to make some real life friends or maybe even more (which by the looks of things some people have managed to do anyway ).
> 
> Were you thinking of something like that?


Nah, I was thinking something more high tech.. Like a place if you want to meet friends you sign up and privately you see people in your area from SAS. I'll leave the hard stuff to the techies.


----------



## LonelyLurker

Xenacat said:


> Nah, I was thinking something more high tech.. Like a place if you want to meet friends you sign up and privately you see people in your area from SAS. I'll leave the hard stuff to the techies.


Like a Tinder type of thing for friendship on SAS?

Only problem there is it could lead to people you wouldn't want to meet being able to find you.


----------



## Persephone The Dread

Something very annoying actually is the fact that you have to enter poll categories after posting a thread. For short polls this may not matter too much but for long ones it's a pain and people often post before the poll appears and then just don't vote.


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

IzzyWizzy said:


> Not sure if its been mentioned before there's too many sub-forums here.
> You get lost. I don't know what to post where. Why so many?


The layout may be a bit confusing for new members, and we do get some threads posted in the wrong area, which the mods will move if they're aware of it (which probably doesn't alway happen). But I should think most regular posters will get used to it. That's just the way this site is designed, I'm sure there are other sites with even more subforums.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

Persephone The Dread said:


> Something very annoying actually is the fact that you have to enter poll categories after posting a thread. For short polls this may not matter too much but for long ones it's a pain and people often post before the poll appears and then just don't vote.


 Yes. Very annoying!


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

Persephone The Dread said:


> Something very annoying actually is the fact that you have to enter poll categories after posting a thread. For short polls this may not matter too much but for long ones it's a pain and people often post before the poll appears and then just don't vote.


Interesting, I've not thought or heard of that one before but see what you mean. I very much doubt that could be changed, it's just the way vBulletin is designed.


----------



## eukz

Persephone The Dread said:


> Something very annoying actually is the fact that you have to enter poll categories after posting a thread. For short polls this may not matter too much but for long ones it's a pain and people often post before the poll appears and then just don't vote.


I once typed the 20 options on a Notepad, made the thread, and then copy/pasted.


----------



## Persephone The Dread

CharlotteLydea said:


> Interesting, I've not thought or heard of that one before but see what you mean. I very much doubt that could be changed, it's just the way vBulletin is designed.


That sucks, but I think you're right.



eukz said:


> I once typed the 20 options on a Notepad, made the thread, and then copy/pasted.


Yeah that's what I usually do, but sometimes people still post too quickly.


----------



## komorikun

I notice that many people will just not vote in the poll, period. Annoying.


----------



## estse

Waterfalls and pretty birds.


----------



## LonelyLurker

komorikun said:


> I notice that many people will just not vote in the poll, period. Annoying.


I'm one of those people.

Persephone's is the first one I've bothered to vote in (at least as far as I can remember), from now on if I think it's worth responding to I'll vote too.


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

AllTheSame said:


> Yeah, we should welcome them back.
> 
> That a truly insane night but what I remember it went on for days. There was no moderation on this site, at all. Zero. None.
> 
> It really was like that movie "The Purge".


That notorious thread did _not_ go on for days (hyperbole), just a few hours one night. All the then mods just happened to be in bed or otherwise occupied (including me, I think) but quickly afterwards the main offenders were all very severely dealt with.


----------



## AllTheSame

CharlotteLydea said:


> That notorious thread did _not_ go on for days (hyperbole), just a few hours one night. All the then mods just happened to be in bed or otherwise occupied (including me, I think) but quickly afterwards the main offenders were all very severely dealt with.


Lmao, we must be talking about two different threads. The porn thread I'm thinking about most definitely DID go on for days. And it was during a period of time when there was a lot of turnover wrt the mods, and if I'm not mistaken, it was before your join date. It didn't go on for hours, it went on for days.

Just because it didn't happen while you were moderating this site doesn't mean it didn't happen :grin2:

And tbh, in my opinion, it's quite pathetic to say that the pornographic thread you're thinking of went on "for hours" and then they "were quickly dealth with". I find that to be just a hilarious statement at the same time, too. And also....not surprising at all to me, in a way though.


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

zonebox said:


> :lol
> 
> While looking for all of our fallen brothers and sisters I found an archive of it online, it only goes for 11 pages, but I'm pretty sure the original went on for many more than that. I remember eventually having to go to bed, we lost a few good people that night. (Not hating on the mods here)


No, the original does only have 11 pages.



AllTheSame said:


> Lmao, we must be talking about two different threads. The porn thread I'm thinking about most definitely DID go on for days. And it was during a period of time when there was a lot of turnover wrt the mods, and if I'm not mistaken, it was before your join date. It didn't go on for hours, it went on for days.
> 
> Just because it didn't happen while you were moderating this site doesn't mean it didn't happen :grin2:
> 
> And tbh, in my opinion, it's quite pathetic to say that the pornographic thread you're thinking of went on "for hours" and then they "were quickly dealth with". I find that to be just a hilarious statement at the same time, too. And also....not surprising at all to me, in a way though.


Sorry but you must be rememembering it wrongly, assuming we are talking about the same thread! It happened not long after I started moderating, in early summer 2015. And it looks like the porn thread went on for just under four hours, all the staff were indeed absent for that period. But when it was discovered, TDK in particular was really annoyed. Several previously regular posters were immediately permabanned, and the guidelines were altered to include encouraging others to post porn as well.


----------



## zonebox

CharlotteLydea said:


> No, the original does only have 11 pages.


My memory is so fickle, it seemed like it went on forever. Regardless, it was nearly two years ago, it is rare thing to behold and you guys do a good job at moderating the board - especially seeing that it is entirely voluntary. I hope I have not stirred any ill feelings.


----------



## AllTheSame

CharlotteLydea said:


> No, the original does only have 11 pages.
> 
> Sorry but you must be rememembering it wrongly, assuming we are talking about the same thread! It happened not long after I started moderating, in early summer 2015. And it looks like the porn thread went on for just under four hours, all the staff were indeed absent for that period. But when it was discovered, TDK in particular was really annoyed. Several previously regular posters were immediately permabanned, and the guidelines were altered to include encouraging others to post porn as well.


I don't think so....porn threads that have gone on for quite some time have happened more than once on this site. Despite the outstanding, superior, second-to-none moderation here 

~sent from my GalaxyS4


----------



## AllTheSame

Also....


CharlotteLydea said:


> ....when it was discovered, TDK in particular was really annoyed.


I find this information you offered up to be kind of funny also. Considering that in my previous conversations with TDK, he always insisted the mod system here is perfect, and couldn't be improved. Wonder why he would be annoyed with a "perfect" system. Could it be that the "perfect" system failed??

Nah. That's just silly. No way that could've happened.

~sent from my GalaxyS4


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

AllTheSame said:


> Also....
> 
> I find this information you offered up to be kind of funny also. Considering that in my previous conversations with TDK, he always insisted the mod system here is perfect, and couldn't be improved. Wonder why he would be annoyed with a "perfect" system. Could it be that the "perfect" system failed??
> 
> Nah. That's just silly. No way that could've happened.
> 
> ~sent from my GalaxyS4


Erm no what I meant was that he sounded rather annoyed with the various members who posted porn in the thread, and also those who didn't post porn, but encouraged others to carry on posting it. AFAIK that very long porn thread was unique, at least in my time on SAS. I can't think of any porn that has stayed up for terribly long, because it _usually_ gets reported by someone and will be removed as soon as a mod shows up. Though think I have noticed one or two instances myself before, that weren't reported.


----------



## AllTheSame

CharlotteLydea said:


> Erm no what I meant was that he sounded rather annoyed with the various members who posted porn in the thread, and also those who didn't post porn, but encouraged others to carry on posting it. AFAIK that very long porn thread was unique, at least in my time on SAS. I can't think of any porn that has stayed up for terribly long, because it _usually_ gets reported by someone and will be removed as soon as a mod shows up. Though think I have noticed one or two instances myself before, that weren't reported.


Like I already said a few posts ago, the thread I'm talking about was before your join date. And, like I've already said also, just because it didn't happen while you were a moderator on this site, doesn't mean it hasn't happened lol.

Me and a few other members were joking about that thread and you jumped in and insisted it had never happened, even though it happened before you were a member here. Guess mods are all seeing and all knowing lmao? Even before they were on this site, they knew what was going on, on this site.....that's funny, but once again, the arrogance there imo is not surprising.

~sent from my GalaxyS4


----------



## shyvr6

It could be possible that there was a porn thread that lasted for a long time if it happened when all the mods quit. I didn't see it if it did happen, but it probably wouldn't be that hard to find in Storage with a little bit of searching if you know the time period.


----------



## Persephone The Dread

Who got banned? I often see people talk about lots of people who were banned but the only poster I can think of was _Username removed_, but I wasn't viewing the site when that thread was around.


----------



## SilentLyric

more active, new threads. seems like the old ones just get dug up or the same thread is posted in all the time.


----------



## zonebox

Ultimately, I think we just need to mass clone _Usernames removed_ find out wherever _Username removed_ went off too, I miss hanging out with him in the drinking thread, find _Username removed_ she used to crack me up, and bring _Username removed_ back. I know I'm missing a few, there are more out there - if ya didn't make the list it is just a clerical error!


----------



## AllTheSame

@*CharlotteLydea*

I appreciate the PM you sent to me, and the apology. I wonder why you didn't just respond to this thread, instead of sending me a PM, but then, you were doing some serious, serious back-pedaling in the PM you sent me so I guess that's why. You even admitted that some of the assumptions you made in this thread were "a bit stupid"....your words, not mine.

You went on to wonder why I've "seemed to attack you in particular" in the past but in the same sentence you admit that it was not without reason. Seriously?? Lol, first of all I wasn't attacking you, I was attacking the way you conduct yourself on this site as a moderator. Specifically, by giving me two infractions and a warning...all in error, all by mistake.

And you questioned why "I singled you out". I singled you out because in the more than seven years I've been on this site, you're the only one that's issued me infractions (two of them) and warnings, by mistake. Who else am I supposed to single out lmao???

Anyway, I just want to remind you that YOU started this whole dialogue by insisting I was wrong about a conversation that had absolutely nothing to do with you. Not you as a mod, or as a user, in any way shape or form. I even explained that what I was referring to happened _*before you even joined this site*_. And in your next post, you continued to say I was wrong lol. So it would appear if anyone is instigating anything, it's clearly you. It's not me....I've only responded to your accusatory posts toward me with explanations. Twice now. And I have no idea why you'd bring up past discussions between us in a PM. Unless you wanted to instigate or bring up old discussions and old issues again.

Makes me wonder what you were thinking, and why you sent that PM at all, in the first place, tbh. And, again, I wonder why you sent it as a PM, not to be read by other members. Would love to your thoughts on that.


----------



## zonebox

Charlotte!! You violated my post!! :lol

How could you?!?!? 

Is nothing sacred anymore?

Oh gods, I'm sorry, it is sorta funny though, I hope behind the moderator shield you got a laugh out of it as well.


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

AllTheSame said:


> @*CharlotteLydea*
> 
> I appreciate the PM you sent to me, and the apology. I wonder why you didn't just respond to this thread, instead of sending me a PM, but then, you were doing some serious, serious back-pedaling in the PM you sent me so I guess that's why. You even admitted that some of the assumptions you made in this thread were "a bit stupid"....your words, not mine.
> 
> You went on to wonder why I've "seemed to attack you in particular" in the past but in the same sentence you admit that it was not without reason. Seriously?? Lol, first of all I wasn't attacking you, I was attacking the way you conduct yourself on this site as a moderator. Specifically, by giving me two infractions and a warning...all in error, all by mistake.
> 
> And you questioned why "I singled you out". I singled you out because in the more than seven years I've been on this site, you're the only one that's issued me infractions (two of them) and warnings, by mistake. Who else am I supposed to single out lmao???
> 
> Anyway, I just want to remind you that YOU started this whole dialogue by insisting I was wrong about a conversation that had absolutely nothing to do with you. Not you as a mod, or as a user, in any way shape or form. I even explained that what I was referring to happened _*before you even joined this site*_. And in your next post, you continued to say I was wrong lol. So it would appear if anyone is instigating anything, it's clearly you. It's not me....I've only responded to your accusatory posts toward me with explanations. Twice now. And I have no idea why you'd bring up past discussions between us in a PM. Unless you wanted to instigate or bring up old discussions and old issues again.
> 
> Makes me wonder what you were thinking, and why you sent that PM at all, in the first place, tbh. And, again, I wonder why you sent it as a PM, not to be read by other members. Would love to your thoughts on that.


The main reason I sent you a PM is because I didn't want to mention the names of some banned users in public, note that I have edited two posts above to remove all usernames for similar reasons. Though as you say, I guess the content was more appropriate in private as well.

At first it seemed like you were referring to the 2015 porn thread, and I just wanted to rebut such blatant untruths about THAT one and how it was moderated. So yes it did have something to do with me.

It's gradually become clear though that you do seem to be talking about some other incident, completely unconnected to me. So I guess it was just a silly misunderstanding really.

Maybe it wasn't actually neccessary to bring up past discussions, but of course I know you weren't attacking me personally. And for the record, once again, yes I gave you two infractions and a ban by mistake, but the warning was NOT unjustified. I know you have major issues with the mod team as a whole, not just me anyway. Out of interest, have you found the modding on other forum(s) better than here?


----------



## caveman8

Aribeth said:


> You should only be allowed to create 1-2 threads per month in S&C. I'm sick of seeing the same 3 guys making dozens of anti-Trump threads every week.


LOL yep.


----------



## The Dark Knight

AllTheSame said:


> Also....
> 
> I find this information you offered up to be kind of funny also. Considering that in my previous conversations with TDK, he always insisted the mod system here is perfect, and couldn't be improved.
> 
> ~sent from my GalaxyS4


Oh hi again sunshine  I see once again you're making false claims about things I have never said. Dare I say you're "predictable"?


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

zonebox said:


> Charlotte!! You violated my post!! :lol
> 
> How could you?!?!?
> 
> Is nothing sacred anymore?
> 
> Oh gods, I'm sorry, it is sorta funny though, I hope behind the moderator shield you got a laugh out of it as well.


Oh that's ok! But we just don't allow members to be called out by username, or mentions of permanently banned users hence why I removed them (of course that's not the same thing as the mention function). :lol


----------



## AllTheSame

CharlotteLydea said:


> The main reason I sent you a PM is because I didn't want to mention the names of some banned users in public, note that I have edited two posts above to remove all usernames for similar reasons. *Though as you say, I guess the content was more appropriate in private as well./*


I never said the content of your private message was more appropriate in private, Charlotte. At times, imo, you really seem to either have problems with reading comprehension, either that....or you just make up the facts as you go along lol. I think, once again, it's obvious why you chose to send me a PM all of a sudden rather than continue the conversation in this thread. It's because you apologized, you said yourself that you made some rather stupid assumptions in this thread, and you were backpedaling like crazy. That's what I said. What you just said is I thought it was more appropriate to say in private. No, lmao, I never said that. YOU decided that.


The Dark Knight said:


> Oh hi again sunshine  I see once again you're making false claims about things I have never said. Dare I say you're "predictable"?


Hey there my brother!! Long time no talk again lol. I see you're still the only forum leader without a link next to your name on the site leader page. Trying to talk to you....I feel like I need to get a Ouija board and turn down the lights, it's kind of like summoning an evil spirit > 
So....did you jump into this thread to try to rescue one of your mods again because they're once again falling on their face trying to defend themselves? Or did you jump in at the 11th hour again just to make some pointless jabs again this time? Either way, good to hear from you at last, again. As someone who reviews every mod decision you sure do enjoy hiding in the shadows lmao.


----------



## zonebox

ATS, I love you dude, I love your posts, whenever I see one I think to myself it is gonna be good. But you gotta lay off the mods here a bit, they are just following protocol, they are more or less members, who are just as devoted as you are and care a great deal about this site. Sure we don't always see eye to eye with them, but we are not following the same rules.

Just think of previous mods we had, one was driven nearly to the brink of suicide, while she still tried to maintain the forum for us. It is a tough job man, and in no way am I trying to make you feel bad, but these are people facing the same issues we are. I hope I'm not pushing a sense of hate your way, I think you are awesome, but you gotta stop hating on these people dude. They are just trying to keep the place going.

It would be like going to chickfela and treating the cashier like crap, due to the company's policies. The thing is, if the company sucked so much, we should just boycott them right? With that said, you better not leave, I like seeing you around here!


----------



## AllTheSame

zonebox said:


> ATS, I love you dude, I love your posts, whenever I see one I think to myself it is gonna be good. But you gotta lay off the mods here a bit, they are just following protocol, they are more or less members, who are just as devoted as you are and care a great deal about this site. Sure we don't always see eye to eye with them, but we are not following the same rules.
> 
> Just think of previous mods we had, one was driven nearly to the brink of suicide, while she still tried to maintain the forum for us. It is a tough job man, and in no way am I trying to make you feel bad, but these are people facing the same issues we are. I hope I'm not pushing a sense of hate your way, I think you are awesome, but you gotta stop hating on these people dude. They are just trying to keep the place going.
> 
> It would be like going to chickfela and treating the cashier like crap, due to the company's policies. The thing is, if the company sucked so much, we should just boycott them right? With that said, you better not leave, I like seeing you around here!


Hey man, I understand. And I agree with a lot of what you just said. But look at what just happened in this thread.....

~ I was commenting along with some other users about a pornographic thread that was left up for way, waaay too long
~ Charlotte jumped in and basically called me a liar, I responded by saying, no, all this happened before you even joined SAS
~ Charlotte continues to call me a liar, basically.
~ Then she sends me a PM, apologizing, but she doesn't do it in this thread she does it in a PM
~ Then she brings up past conversations from as long as a few years ago
~ Then TDK comes in at the 11th hour to throw in a bunch of wisdom I'll commit to memory for the rest of my life

So.....who instigated here?? Seriously? I'm commenting on something along with other users, and these two mods jump into the conversation. Take a look again at what happened, at the points I made above. And tell me how I'm instigating anything. I'll tell you how the Charlotte and TDK are instigating and trying to start conflict though lol. I just did.....


----------



## Just Lurking

I haven't been active here for a few months, and the state of the site was the primary motivator in my breaking away from it. I feel like I could get back involved, and I probably will. For a lot of people who leave, though, they leave and they don't come back. This is a problem, and the state of the site (or that it has 'lots of room for improvement') is undoubtedly an aggravating factor.

First of all, let's acknowledge the root problem here, shall we. It isn't the moderation. It's not the membership. The problem is the site's management. S*** has a way of rolling downhill, you know? You can keep shovelling it out of the way, but if you don't address the root problem, the s***'s just going to keep flowing.

The management of this site seems not caring or interested or devoted enough, and seems too out of touch with the site's needs to even recognize that this problem exists (which, in and of itself, suggests there is a problem with their management). The chronic problems here are reflective of this inefficient leadership.

That said, in no particular order --

- The S&C section should be brought under better control. It's not enough to say "just put the forum on ignore". The hostility seeps out of it and into other parts of the forum, and I suspect it's one of the reasons why the site doesn't feel as friendly or supportive as it once did. There are a number of reasons for the 'negative feel' on the site (the state of the internet and society in general -- unfriendliness and hostility is growing everywhere), but there are some things well within the site's control, and it seems like the S&C forum is one of those things. It's been out of hand for some time now.

- Troll control. If it looks like a troll and smells like a troll, then ban the thing. There are members here (some of whom with hundreds of posts or more) who are clearly just here to stir up s***. People need the benefit of the doubt, but when they're displaying this kind of dubious behaviour, they should have a short leash.

- Similarly, duplicate accounts that stir up s***. You don't need a literal match. They out themselves. When this happens, get rid of them on the spot. When the month-old member with 56 posts is getting into arguments, making trollish posts, referencing another member's post history, or referencing things that happened on the site months or years ago, get rid of them. If they're not causing any trouble, then by all means, look the other way and pretend they're a new member, but if it's obvious enough that they're just stirring up s*** and they openly admit to being a duplicate account, then show them the door.

- Trim down the spam threads. They're an off-putting eyesore for any would-be new user considering joining the site. If people complain about it, stand by what you're doing and tell them to post more in on-topic threads. Those threads serve no purpose to the forum, and if that's all a member contributes here, well... Go for the greater good here. Cutting these ones, for instance, would reduce the "Today's Posts" clutter by half:

--- GUYS vs GALS
--- Last one standing 2
--- Name a song (Alphabetically)
--- Name a city alphabetically
--- The yum or yuck game
--- Post your current temperature where u live!
--- Keep one, Drop one
--- Alphabetical toys,games,books etc
--- Food & Beverage Alphabetically
--- Word Association 2 (and if 1, 3, & 4 are still out there, cut those as well)
--- Post your mood as a smiley
--- Post some random lyrics
--- Names...alphabetically
--- Alphabetical Tv Series/drama/comedy etc
--- City and country game
--- Last post wins thread
--- Last Letter Game
--- Second Letter game

- There are guidelines that need to be relaxed. I recall, before taking a break from here, a thread where a member had posted some pictures he'd had on a dating site and was looking for feedback on which pictures he should use and what could be improved upon, and it was shut down for -- I don't even remember what guideline was cited ("spam" or "looks rating" or some such) -- but could we get real here? There are dozens and dozens of "just for fun" junk threads cluttering up the site, but a real member's real thread looking for real advice about his real dating site profile is dismissed. That doesn't add up.

- I've also seen posts deleted, edited, etc. for "member shoutout" rules or some such. Yeah, you don't want this to be overdone, but the 'iron fist approach' really isn't doing the site any good, either. If someone wants to post a thread acknowledging the contributions of a particular member, then just let them do it. It's these members who keep the site alive, so let them have a moment. *Priorities*.

- Speaking of guidelines, these are not "commandments". They are not "the constitution". They are guidelines, as in 'general rules'. They don't need to be blindly enforced right down to the very letter.

- The silence in response to the SSL thread on the Feedback Forum posted however many days ago. What's up with that? Something as important as site security, and it doesn't even get so much as an acknowledgement? I suppose that goes towards management that just doesn't care. The level of neglect here is utterly staggering.

- Another Feedback thread I see there, seemingly deleted, is about adding a subforum for girls. What happened there? The male-to-female ratio on this site is noticeably skewed and I would guess that has to do with the bitter tone that female members have to endure here from the site's male population. Assuming it hasn't been done already and that there's a reasonable level of interest in it, just go ahead and add a closed subforum for them. Worst case scenario, it doesn't get used much (oh well, no harm done). Or it gets 'infiltrated' (so what? remove the member and life goes on).

- I said this before. I'll repeat here. Major contributors to the site should not be permanently banned for anything short of extraordinary circumstances. Temporary bans should be more than sufficient enough to handle most problems. There is nothing a permanent ban can solve that isn't solvable with escalating temporary bans. The reply to this was "we only temp-ban up to a month". So, start doing multi-month, then. I know it was possible years ago on vBulletin. Have they taken that feature away?

- Stop deleting threads of substance. Lock them instead. On multiple occasions, I've spent 20 or 30 minutes or longer on a post only to have the entire thread deleted a few hours later. Poof. Gone. There's 30 minutes of my life I'll never have back. If such a thread devolves to a point where it needs to be shut down, then just lock it. When you delete a thread, you are also deleting the time and effort the members spent posting in it. When this involves a thread with substance to it (ie. not just a troll thread or a thread full of one-liners), it's dismissive, inconsiderate, and off-putting towards the members who contributed to it. More often than not, there's nothing in the thread that is "just so offensive that it can't be seen", but even if there is, then just delete those specific posts rather than the entire thread. If you were ready to delete the whole thing without saying a word to anyone about it, then deleting a few specific posts and locking the rest, instead, shouldn't be an issue.


----------



## zonebox

AllTheSame said:


> Hey man, I understand. And I agree with a lot of what you just said. But look at what just happened in this thread.....
> 
> ~ I was commenting along with some other users about a pornographic thread that was left up for way, waaay too long
> ~ Charlotte jumped in and basically called me a liar, I responded by saying, no, all this happened before you even joined SAS
> ~ Charlotte continues to call me a liar, basically.
> ~ Then she sends me a PM, apologizing, but she doesn't do it in this thread she does it in a PM
> ~ Then she brings up past conversations from as long as a few years ago
> ~ Then TDK comes in at the 11th hour to throw in a bunch of wisdom I'll commit to memory for the rest of my life
> 
> So.....who instigated here?? Seriously? I'm commenting on something along with other users, and these two mods jump into the conversation. Take a look again at what happened, at the points I made above. And tell me how I'm instigating anything. I'll tell you how the Charlotte and TDK are instigating and trying to start conflict though lol. I just did.....


I brought up that one porn thread, she probably went through my post history and found it, the one I was talking about is from 2015, and was correct because I remember ((user name not allowed )) being banned..

Due to the thread in question was based upon my original reply to you, it is likely what she went with, I being the typical worm I am did not interject and disagree with you along the lines of it being days old, I just liked the moment of comradely. This is really my fault dude, I was having a bit of fun, and unintentionally instigated the whole thing without thinking of the repercussions it would have along the thread. Don't hold resentment toward them, this is my fault.

It wasn't even intentional, I'm sorry dude. Don't have bad blood towards them.


----------



## AllTheSame

zonebox said:


> I brought up that one porn thread, she probably went through my post history and found it, the one I was talking about is from 2015, and was correct because I remember ((user name not allowed )) being banned..
> 
> Due to the thread in question was based upon my original reply to you, it is likely what she went with, I being the typical worm I am did not interject and disagree with you along the lines of it being days old, I just liked the moment of comradely. This is really my fault dude, I was having a bit of fun, and unintentionally instigated the whole thing without thinking of the repercussions it would have along the thread. Don't hold resentment toward them, this is my fault.
> 
> It wasn't even intentional, I'm sorry dude. Don't have bad blood towards them.


I disagree though....it's not your fault. It's not about having bad blood towards them.

I didn't even bring up any issues with the mods....I didn't mention Charlotte....I'm not the one that started this, not this time lmao. This was 100% Charlotte, and I even got an apology from her (in a private message, ffs). So she clearly was out of line, she even admitted she was.

So. Let me prove to you real quickly that it has nothing to do with being your fault, and it's not about bad blood.

All you did was bring up that thread, and pornographic threads (there have been dozens, and dozens since I've been a member here) a lot of times get brought up and joked about and laughed about even years later. That's really not a big deal, at all on this site. Happens all the time.

Remember also....the same mod that issued me two infractions by mistake and warnings by mistake....the same mod that did that also jumped in on this thread and started having issue with something I said....that had NOTHING to do with her, or the way she moderates. Nothing whatsoever, nothing implied, at all.

So I clarified it had nothing to do with her, and she continued to instigate, continued basically saying I was lying. Then apologized.

It has nothing to do with bad blood....it has everything to do with being clearly harassed by one mod. Over, and over, and over again. Otherwise, why would she have apologized over and over and over again. Yet she continues to do it.

Someone mentioned once it'd be a really good idea if you have this much conflict and mixups and infractions issued by mistake between one user and one mod....it'd be a really good idea to have the other mods handle any posts by that user. If she can't keep it professional and she has to make it personal, and she keeps tripping over her own two feet, as she does, over and over again maybe that's a good idea lmao.


----------



## Ai




----------



## AllTheSame

Ai said:


>


Lmao. My thoughts exactly. If you have it in you though, AI, read a little of the above. I can't even post on this site anymore without being targeted by a certain mod.


----------



## Amphoteric

Just Lurking said:


> - The silence in response to the SSL thread on the Feedback Forum posted however many days ago. What's up with that? Something as important as site security, and it doesn't even get so much as an acknowledgement? I suppose that goes towards management that just doesn't care. The level of neglect here is utterly staggering.


They touched on that subject briefly in this post


> The Not Secure warning IS firefox, as the site is not HTTPS (yet) Chrome and firefox have taken to flagging the sites that don't have SSL/HTTPS, chrome is more subtle and Firefox is acting in the good old Firefox way, being obnoxious and trying to stir panic, note I say that as an avid FF fan and Mozilla user, i.e. creating a popup notice on the page that makes it seem like the site's been compromised or a phishing scam. We are going to be SSL-ing our login systems across the network but it's a slow process


"_being obnoxious and trying to stir panic, note I say that as an avid FF fan and Mozilla user, i.e. creating a popup notice on the page that makes it seem like the site's been compromised or a phishing scam._" luckily this site has never for real been compromised... oh wait


----------



## SofaKing

Run it on a server more powerful than an Atari 2600.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk


----------



## moloko

It's good to see improvement wanting to be made. I don't visit often anymore, but I have some suggestions. They are based on problems I saw were common before I left (1 or 2 years ago), so I don't know if this will be of any use.

First of all, listen to the older members of this site and their suggestions. They know what they're talking about (not including myself in this group).

- Prevent any type of post/expression that contributes to the perception many people have in this site that they are not fit for society. Anything that reinforces that misconception should be fought. It becomes toxic if everyone is feeding each others insecurities.

- Very short tolerance to any hate towards the other gender, both ways, but especially against women. If you notice a trend in a user that keeps showing that, I believe a ban should be used quickly. Temporary, then permanent.

- End the rule (if it's still in place) of no special mentions to specific users or what was called back in the day "popularity contests". Let people express their admiration towards other users. Those were the best and most positive types of threads some years ago.


----------



## estse

Free chocolate.


----------



## SuperMetroid

More hot chicks making posts in the 'Post a photo of yourself' thread.


----------



## Twilightforce

More ads. We love ads. I love seeing **** I don't care about.


----------



## Uniqueme

** What do you think would make SAS better?

Encouraging improvement.

* What type of threads would you like to see more of?

Threads about therapies and exposure therapy , encouraging members to give things a go . No one seems to look at the improvements thread so merge that with the coping with anxiety thread so people see it.

* What type of threads would you like to see less of?

' gilrs only like x ' girls are so mean to me'

* What would you change about SAS?

Group chats helping people develop social skills. Groups are dead..

*


----------



## Just Lurking

To reply to a moderator PM about this: That you guys posted this thread suggests to me that you are each aware that the site needs improving upon; however, it seems that basically every suggestion in here (many of them very valid) has been dismissed.

Do you want to see the forum improved, or not?

And if you don't think it needs any improving, then why is this thread here?


----------



## Memories of Silence

Just Lurking said:


> To reply to a moderator PM about this: That you guys posted this thread suggests to me that you are each aware that the site needs improving upon; however, it seems that basically every suggestion in here (many of them very valid) has been dismissed.
> 
> Do you want see the forum improved, or not?
> 
> And if you don't think it needs any improving, then why is this thread here?


We are still looking at the ideas in this thread and deciding which ones we can use. 

There have been some very good ideas, and I hope we will be able to use most of them.


----------



## Just Lurking

Silent Memory said:


> We are still looking at the ideas in this thread and deciding which ones we can use.
> 
> There have been some very good ideas, and I hope we will be able to use most of them.


Well, it's good to hear that not everyone is drinking the Kool-Aid.


----------



## Tymes Rhymes

** What do you think would make SAS better? *

A genuine ability to actually DELETE your account. It's seems as though users have to get permanently banned in order to leave this place.

I have been using this site less and less as of late. I would like an option to delete any and all reference to me here always leaving the door open to come back rather than be permanently banned and have any subsequent accounts get banned and yet people still have the ability to visit my account.

Other message boards offer this, I know someone detailed that it would be hard to do here but still, I don't see why it is not an option.


----------



## alenclaud

I think being able to laugh at yourself helps a lot. It helped me a lot at least.
Also, going out there into the world and forcing yourself to interact with others. It's a horrible and ghastly thing for us to do, but it may be a thing we need to practice if we want to be part of society.


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

alenclaud said:


> I think being able to laugh at yourself helps a lot. It helped me a lot at least.
> Also, going out there into the world and forcing yourself to interact with others. It's a horrible and ghastly thing for us to do, but it may be a thing we need to practice if we want to be part of society.


All that is true, but this thread is not about SA itself. It's for suggestions of how to improve the site.


----------



## slyfox

The ability to start topics anonymously. You would need to be still linked to your account so that mods or admins could see who you are if you abuse this ability. The ability should probably be given after you reach a certain post count(ex 500 posts) or a combination of post count and time as a member(100 posts and 6 months as a member). Not sure if any of this is possible with the forums software.

Another option would be having just a forum where you can post anonymously. It could be like the 18 plus forum where you need to request permission to post there. This would keep any potential problems restricted to one forum. Not sure if the sites software would allow people to post anonymously but still be linked to their regular accounts.

Sometimes you just have questions you are less comfortable posting with your main account. For example, a lot of members have made lasting friendships on here(some offline as well) and they might have questions that they are embarrassed to ask or that they might consider too personal.

Of course, I would prefer mods not be able to see your identity unless your posts have actually been reported. I just know this is unlikely to happen and whatever we can get towards the ability to post anonymously is better than nothing.

Edit: Made a bunch of edits


----------



## Persephone The Dread

slyfox said:


> The ability to start topics anonymously. Ideally, it would still be linked to your account so that mods or admins could see who you are if you abuse this ability. The ability should probably be given after you reach a certain post count(ex 500 posts) or a combination of post count and time as a member(100 posts and 6 months as a member). Not sure if any of this is possible with the forums software.
> 
> Another option would be having just a forum where you can post anonymously. It could be like the 18 plus forum where you need to request permission to post there. Not sure if the sites software would allow people to post anonymously but still be linked to their regular account for in case mods need to take action.
> 
> Sometimes you just have questions you are less comfortable posting with your main account.


Yeah I wanted to request that too but forgot, I've seen the option on other forums.


----------



## Persephone The Dread

Could we get back the ability to wrap youtube urls around text and post url links to youtube without the auto embedding?


----------



## UltraShy

Aribeth said:


> You should only be allowed to create 1-2 threads per month in S&C. I'm sick of seeing the same 3 guys making dozens of anti-Trump threads every week.


Bow down and worship at the alter of Hillary, for she is the great one.


----------



## mj123

Develop a dating app


----------



## Xenacat

mj123 said:


> Develop a dating app


 I agree &#8230;


----------



## rdrr

mj123 said:


> Develop a dating app





Xenacat said:


> I agree &#8230;


But then you would get people who dont have anxiety on the app. You already have people using this site strictly for romantic pursuits anyways. Why cant people have safe spaces where they can just post random stuff snd it not being all about dating?


----------



## Xenacat

rdrr said:


> But then you would get people who dont have anxiety on the app. You already have people using this site strictly for romantic pursuits anyways. Why cant people have safe spaces where they can just post random stuff snd it not being all about dating?


If you're not interested in dating you don't have to participate. Just like you're not required to have to post on every topic. I do have social anxiety but am aware some have it much worse than I.


----------



## Crisigv

If I disappeared.


----------



## funnynihilist

404 Webpage Not Found

Just kidding...


----------



## Tuan Jie

I'd like to see the "just for fun" department split from the rest somehow. If I want to view the most recent posts, the titles from this category almost always dominate the page. It doesn't work intuitively for me.

I also think the layout could help to stimulate more of a conversation/discussion. I don't know what you call that, but like it's on youtube would be better I think. This way the overall thread remains intact and some discussion between x amount of members can from sort of a side branch while all remains visible for all. Am I making any sense here?


----------



## Kevin001

Xenacat said:


> I agree &#8230;


I agree too :grin2:


----------



## komorikun

Get rid of this. It's uber-irritating.



> *This forum requires that you wait 15 seconds between searches. Please try again in 12 seconds.*


----------



## tehuti88

komorikun said:


> Get rid of this. It's uber-irritating.
> 
> *This forum requires that you wait 15 seconds between searches. Please try again in 12 seconds.*


Especially when you accidentally click "Find all posts by" twice, or when it gives you that error that either says sorry, there are no results (when you KNOW there are) or *"expected searchd protocol version 1+, got version '0'."* :/


----------



## uziq

dump bbcode imo, transfer user accounts into new database and forum software

i think the look is really dated and cluttered


----------



## iAmCodeMonkey

Aribeth said:


> You should only be allowed to create 1-2 threads per month in S&C. I'm sick of seeing the same 3 guys making dozens of anti-Trump threads every week.


You do realize that you can ignore the entire S&C subforum instead?

Check my attachments for a screenshot of how to do this.


----------



## iAmCodeMonkey

mj123 said:


> Develop a dating app


I would never use it personally but whatever floats your boat lol.


----------



## regimes

CloudChaser said:


> .Subforum for dickpics.


i second this! :lol


----------



## iAmCodeMonkey

omgummybears said:


> I haven't been here very long, but I've noticed some things. People ranting about stuff they don't like. Like just ranting. And people saying disturbing stuff. One example is someone said they're ok with infanticide! In the "unpopular opinion" thread. I read about 18 pages into the thread and had to stop because of the things I was reading. How is that fun?


YouTube comments are much worse than anything I have seen on here in my 7 years of being a member, personally. At least people in general here do not go around telling others to go and kill themselves or post racist or anti-Semitic comments willy-nilly.

Oh, and here is some good advice from me: http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/1089500577-post252.html

^ You can ignore entire threads and specific users here if you really do not like their content. It is easy enough to do if anything legitimately triggers you.

Seriously though, this place is NOTHING compared to the rest of the Internet.



omgummybears said:


> Some people need to be checked on their messed up comments. That's what I'd like to see.


You are pro-censorship? Or am I misunderstanding you?


----------



## komorikun

omgummybears said:


> I haven't been here very long, but I've noticed some things. People ranting about stuff they don't like. Like just ranting. And people saying disturbing stuff. One example is someone said *they're ok with infanticide!* In the "unpopular opinion" thread. I read about 18 pages into the thread and had to stop because of the things I was reading. How is that fun?
> 
> Some people need to be checked on their messed up comments. That's what I'd like to see.


Oooops. :teeth


----------



## Post_Punk_Proclivity

Xenacat said:


> If you're not interested in dating you don't have to participate. Just like you're not required to have to post on every topic. I do have social anxiety but am aware some have it much worse than I.


There is already a section about dating and relationships? That's a topic, so what you are requesting is different.

I agree with rdrr, most people can connect without something exclusive like that and it keeps the whole process kind of sacred rather than out in the open for all to see. It would be a waste of effort and resources as such a forum mechanism wouldn't really bring much more to the table than what already occurs without it. In a nutshell, if you want to find a romantic partner on SAS, simply try messaging them and befriending them first. All else will stem from that.


----------



## iAmCodeMonkey

omgummybears said:


> Eh I was just bothered by what I read. Not pro-censorship.


Just making sure.


----------



## UltraShy

** What do you think would make SAS better?*

SAS is already the very best forum for social phobia.

** What type of threads would you like to see more of?*

Intelligent and mature discourse.

** What type of threads would you like to see less of?*

Donald Trump's real name is Satan and he was sent from hell to destroy America, voted into office by "angry white men" (like my best friend Patty, who is a really sweet grandma & not at all angry. Though she is white.)

Now intelligent and mature discourse on various issues & positions of Trump, would be fine.

** What would you change about SAS?*

Have a more inclusive community that doesn't suffer from a *SEVERE* case of group-think, where you either think Hillary is a god (and Trump is Satan) or you're a brain-dead, gun-toting red neck entirely devoid of any intellectual capacity.

I am regularly attacked for expressing views that are in the minority, though the vast bulk of those attacks are entirely devoid of any reasonable dialogue where the issues is actually discussed.

Instead I get nonsense like some utterly insane & outright insulting caricature of a Hillbilly wearing a dozen guns. (I never worn any more than one firearm.)

Is that supposed to be intelligent discourse on the issue of firearms? I am more than happy to discuss the issue seriously, and respectfully express my views and why I hold those views, but ridiculous mockery is used by those evidently devoid of the intellectual capacity to seriously discuss an issue.

As a "gun nut" I do indeed know vastly more about guns & gun laws than those with no experience in this area, so I am fully capable of intelligently discussing gun issues with those who wish to have an actual dialoge.

** What do you like least about SAS?*

Group think, where it's us against them.

** Which new features would you like to see?*

Can't think of any.

** Do you feel comfortable posting on SAS? If not, why?*

Yes. Despite my unpopular views and the regular mockery directed at me, I am not the least bit intimidated by immature brats who hide behind their computer screen.

** Do you think removing post count either completely or from certain subforums (Just For Fun is an example) would help to make a difference?*

Some people do have stunningly high post counts, largely due to one word posts. My post count is largely made up of much more detailed posts.

** Other thoughts:*

Nope.


----------



## Xenacat

UltraShy said:


> ** What do you think would make SAS better?*
> 
> SAS is already the very best forum for social phobia.
> 
> ** What type of threads would you like to see more of?*
> 
> Intelligent and mature discourse.
> 
> ** What type of threads would you like to see less of?*
> 
> Donald Trump's real name is Satan and he was sent from hell to destroy America, voted into office by "angry white men" (like my best friend Patty, who is a really sweet grandma & not at all angry. Though she is white.)
> 
> Now intelligent and mature discourse on various issues & positions of Trump, would be fine.
> 
> ** What would you change about SAS?*
> 
> Have a more inclusive community that doesn't suffer from a *SEVERE* case of group-think, where you either think Hillary is a god (and Trump is Satan) or you're a brain-dead, gun-toting red neck entirely devoid of any intellectual capacity.
> 
> I am regularly attacked for expressing views that are in the minority, though the vast bulk of those attacks are entirely devoid of any reasonable dialogue where the issues is actually discussed.
> 
> Instead I get nonsense like some utterly insane & outright insulting caricature of a Hillbilly wearing a dozen guns. (I never worn any more than one firearm.)
> 
> Is that supposed to be intelligent discourse on the issue of firearms? I am more than happy to discuss the issue seriously, and respectfully express my views and why I hold those views, but ridiculous mockery is used by those evidently devoid of the intellectual capacity to seriously discuss an issue.
> 
> As a "gun nut" I do indeed know vastly more about guns & gun laws than those with no experience in this area, so I am fully capable of intelligently discussing gun issues with those who wish to have an actual dialoge.
> 
> ** What do you like least about SAS?*
> 
> Group think, where it's us against them.
> 
> ** Which new features would you like to see?*
> 
> Can't think of any.
> 
> ** Do you feel comfortable posting on SAS? If not, why?*
> 
> Yes. Despite my unpopular views and the regular mockery directed at me, I am not the least bit intimidated by immature brats who hide behind their computer screen.
> 
> ** Do you think removing post count either completely or from certain subforums (Just For Fun is an example) would help to make a difference?*
> 
> Some people do have stunningly high post counts, largely due to one word posts. My post count is largely made up of much more detailed posts.
> 
> ** Other thoughts:*
> 
> Nope.


So you want to hear only viewpoints that agree with your own? People have different opinions, lol.


----------



## iAmCodeMonkey

Xenacat said:


> So you want to hear only viewpoints that agree with your own? People have different opinions, lol.


I know, right?!? :lol :haha

I kind of agree with him about the groupthink, though. But hey, that is just me.


----------



## iAmCodeMonkey

crisigv said:


> if i disappeared.


awww!


----------



## Crisigv

iAmCodeMonkey said:


> awww!


More like make the world better. I don't belong here and I'm reminded every day.


----------



## iAmCodeMonkey

^ If you mean what I think you mean, please get help.


----------



## jealousisjelly

Nothing, this forum has been destroyed beyond repair. Dumb mods, banning all the fun people.


----------



## ScorchedEarth

More easily reachable ignore function, ideally right next to the report button. Don't know why it's hidden away like that, really.


----------



## harrison

They have this thing on the bipolar one I was looking at that allows you to give hugs or say thanks at the bottom of each post. I think that's a good idea.


----------



## Williamsmith17

I think If you need to make SAS Better you could make an APP of SAS. So that SAS lover could easily access their account with smartphones.


----------



## Memories of Silence

Williamsmith17 said:


> I think If you need to make SAS Better you could make an APP of SAS. So that SAS lover could easily access their account with smartphones.


SAS doesn't have its own app, but the Tapatalk app is what it might be like if it did, and it's free. It lets you use SAS on your smartphone or tablet.


----------



## Twilightforce

SAS t-shirts


----------



## Scrub-Zero

Twilightforce said:


> SAS t-shirts


Pretty sure SAS used to sell coffee mugs, back a few site owners ago.


----------



## Ai

It'd be nice if the post history in our profiles didn't top out and disappear at 250. Sometimes I like to go back and reference things or even just reflect back on posts past, and that's not particularly useful if one posts even relatively often. :blank


----------



## Kevin001

Ai said:


> It'd be nice if the post history in our profiles didn't top out and disappear at 250. Sometimes I like to go back and reference things or even just reflect back on posts past, and that's not particularly useful if one posts even relatively often. :blank


You can always use the advance search feature


----------



## waterfairy

WAY less politics. More positivity and respect for other members. Enough with the "women only care about money and looks" threads.


----------



## Ai

Kevin001 said:


> You can always use the advance search feature


That only appears to extend 250 posts as well. :/ I mean, I could use a specific search query; but I don't even always know what I'm looking for. Shrug. :stu


----------



## Kevin001

Ai said:


> That only appears to extend 250 posts as well. :/ I mean, I could use a specific search query; but I don't even always know what I'm looking for. Shrug. :stu


Hmm true. I guess for me I'm like I remember I said this so I try to search for the words or thread I might of posted it in. But yeah everything is limited.


----------



## shyvr6

Ai said:


> That only appears to extend 250 posts as well. :/ I mean, I could use a specific search query; but I don't even always know what I'm looking for. Shrug. :stu


Picking a specific forum to search instead of the broad search can help bring up posts from farther back, but it won't help much in the main forum that you post in if you have more than 250 posts in it.

I agree that it would be nice to go back to the old system. Not sure why they changed it.


----------



## Williamsmith17

Silent Memory said:


> SAS doesn't have its own app, but the Tapatalk app is what it might be like if it did, and it's free. It lets you use SAS on your smartphone or tablet.


Indeed but why not build your own APP for Smartphone... An APP could help you to get more user easily... I think so...


----------



## railcar82594

** What do you think would make SAS better? 
*More subcategories in the over 30+ section. 
Expanded review section of paid services and support products. 
* * What would you change about SAS?
*Two versions of SAS. One for mild SA for those who are just dissatisfied but otherwise have a normal life and relationships. Another for severe debilitating SA i.e. severe symptoms such as no friends,never had a SO, hard to keep a job, anxious in public, or shut-in, etc. *
* What do you like least about SAS?
*Too easy for banned members to start a new id. Mods don't care so I suppose that's the "policy". 
* * Do you feel comfortable posting on SAS? If not, why?
*Not completely comfortable but fine for the most part.
* * Do you think removing post count either completely or from certain subforums (Just For Fun is an example) would help to make a difference?
*post count seems meaningless. maybe a system where members could give a poster some "positive" "rep" like some other forums.


----------



## Scrub-Zero

railcar82594 said:


> [/B]More subcategories in the over 30+ section.
> 
> Another for severe debilitating SA i.e. severe symptoms such as no friends,never had a SO, hard to keep a job, anxious in public, or shut-in, etc.


That's something I would like also. It's hard to make a thread and talk about real dark feelings when the main complaint on this forum are the depressed members posting too many negative threads and not being positive enough.



railcar82594 said:


> [/B]Too easy for banned members to start a new id. Mods don't care so I suppose that's the "policy".


Yep. One VPN a day keeps the mods away.


----------



## tehuti88

Looks like I'm one of the few who thinks a "severe SA" subforum would be a bad idea, because there's simply no way to dictate who would have the "right" to post there. People would ALWAYS complain, "Your SA isn't that bad, you don't belong here!" That's sure helpful. :|

An inactive user--who had a job and, as far as I'm aware, at least a limited social life and some friends--once suggested the same type of subforum. They also made it clear that I--somebody who's never been able to work, and who hasn't had a social life or friends since that other user was a little kid--wouldn't be welcome there, mainly because of my gender. (It's an extreme viewpoint, but it's been suggested here more than once that women "can't REALLY suffer from SA.")

Even when gender doesn't enter the equation, I've seen too often that if a user is really struggling _right now_, some others will still grouse that their SA "isn't THAT bad" because they're attractive (even if they're too anxious to return any attention they get, or even if all they get is negative attention), or they have a significant other (never mind if their SO also has SA or they've never met yet or it's an abusive relationship) (I can't count how many times I've seen users have ALL their problems dismissed solely because they have a boyfriend/girlfriend, even if that boyfriend/girlfriend is a manipulative jerk), or they had one relationship in the distant past (even if it ended because of their SA and they've been unsuccessful since), or they're not a virgin (even if they haven't been sexually active in years) (there are a lot of users here who seem to believe that being a virgin is the primary or worst sign of severe SA), or they have a cruddy job which is close to triggering a breakdown ("Hey, at least it's a job"), or they're able to go out in public (even if they don't interact with anyone), or they have a friend or two (even if those friends are family members or they made them before they had SA), or they're able to post their picture or a YouTube video, or they weren't born with SA, or they haven't had SA "long enough," or they have a bunch of "friends" here or on Facebook (even if they never communicate with them), etc. etc. etc., I could go on and on...in short, *any arbitrary and sometimes ridiculous criterion which rules out anybody but the most isolated shut-in, and even most of those isolated shut-ins would be ruled out just because "My SA is worse than yours!"*

There have even been users who seemed to take a strange sort of pride in being the "biggest loser on SAS!"

Tl;dr--there's just no way to have such a subforum without breaking one of the site's biggest rules. If such a subforum existed, somebody would ALWAYS find a way to exclude even other users with crippling SA because somebody always "has it worse" than somebody else. The utter randomness of "severe SA" criteria (criteria which have little, if anything, to do with the _actual_ SA criteria)--as well as how those criteria are constantly changing--is ludicrous. A user would end up just posting to themselves because they've excluded everyone else. Then they'd wonder why nobody is replying to them. :roll

:blah I expect I'll get some hate for this...which is kind of ironic because as I've said, I'm one of those "severe SA" users (though definitely not the worst). Will avoid this thread for a while.


----------



## SplendidBob

don said:


> They have this thing on the bipolar one I was looking at that allows you to give hugs or say thanks at the bottom of each post. I think that's a good idea.


A thanks feature seems like it might be a good way around the problem of people not knowing they are making valuable posts, without turning it into a weird popularity contest. Many posts I would like to thank the person for posting, but end up not doing as quoting or saying "good post" would seem weird. Maybe it would end up as a popularity contest though (unless the thanks were only visible for the user, though presumably any addons wouldn't have that kind of functionality).
@tehuti88 I agree with you re a severe SA sub. It is obvious that SA varies in severity, and indeed assuming that it is linear (and there is a nice clean cutoff point) is silly. The people in the severe sub would then want a "super severe" sub, and so on :lol.


----------



## scarpia

tehuti88 said:


> An inactive user--who had a job and, as far as I'm aware, at least a limited social life and some friends--once suggested the same type of subforum. They also made it clear that I--somebody who's never been able to work, and who hasn't had a social life or friends since that other user was a little kid--wouldn't be welcome there, mainly because of my gender. .


The guy who suggested that got banned and then killed himself. I don't remember the part about banning women though.


----------



## Persephone The Dread

It does suck that there are various topics I and others can't talk about, because people with less severe SA/different circumstances frequently will put us down. But I don't see this site as a support site, it's just a general discussion forum for people who happen to have SA. If this site ever became a genuine support site, most people would leave and it would become a lot more inactive like every other SA site out there, so nothing will change.


----------



## komorikun

Persephone The Dread said:


> It does suck that *there are various topics I and others can't talk about*, because people with less severe SA/different circumstances frequently will put us down. But I don't see this site as a support site, it's just a general discussion forum for people who happen to have SA. If this site ever became a genuine support site, most people would leave and it would become a lot more inactive like every other SA site out there, so nothing will change.


What sort of topics?


----------



## truant

komorikun said:


> What sort of topics?


 @Persephone The Dread










Lol, sorry komorikun. It's not meant to be a jab at you. I'm just cynical about SAS in general.


----------



## Persephone The Dread

komorikun said:


> What sort of topics?


A couple of different topics I don't feel comfortable talking about most of the time, one I basically never go into. So don't want to say 



truant said:


> @Persephone The Dread


heh


----------



## komorikun

Persephone The Dread said:


> A couple of different topics I don't feel comfortable talking about most of the time, one I basically never go into. So don't want to say


So if it were only posters with severe SA you would be able to post about it?


----------



## Persephone The Dread

komorikun said:


> So if it were only posters with severe SA you would be able to post about it?


I wasn't really arguing for a separate section (this forum can already be pretty divisive,) just saying it would be nice to be able to post about certain things without worrying.


----------



## shyvr6

I think a severe SA subforum would just bring more problems like tehuti pointed out. I would say that it would be better to just make an eGroup so you could invite anyone that you wanted, but the eGroups aren't very good on here either.


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

Persephone The Dread said:


> It does suck that there are various topics I and others can't talk about, because people with less severe SA/different circumstances frequently will put us down. But I don't see this site as a support site, it's just a general discussion forum for people who happen to have SA. If this site ever became a genuine support site, most people would leave and it would become a lot more inactive like every other SA site out there, so nothing will change.


A severe SA sufferers' section has been suggested and rejected in the past, but like Shyvr6 said, I guess you could start an eGroup? Members who have been here far longer than me or (in some cases) even you, have often said that SAS was once a purer support site, but it probably has become a bit more of a general discussion forum. All the other SA sites have (or had) lots of general discussion as well. Of the two I know well, one (sadly) just doesn't have the critical mass of members to have hardly any activity at all any more. I don't know why the other one has suffered a similar though not quite as severe decline, migration to facebook groups and other social media may be part of it.

Anyway, even though I don't really use SAS chat any more, I would still REALLY like to see avatars reinstated in there. Have suggested that before, to no avail.


----------



## thomasjune

I don't agree with that severe SA subforum either. I mean who gets to decide who's SA is severe enough to get to post on this special subforum? 
What if you have no friends and no SO yet you're able to hold down a job. Is that severe SA or not?
What if you have one friend and a SO but your SA is too overwhelming for you to hold down a job. Is that severe SA or not?
What if you're a virgin and a member of this severe SA club but one day you finally get laid. Will you get kicked out of this special severe SA subforum because you're no longer a virgin?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## scarpia

Persephone The Dread said:


> I wasn't really arguing for a separate section (this forum can already be pretty divisive,) just saying it would be nice to be able to post about certain things without worrying.


I did suggest a safe space, but people seemed to misunderstand the purpose. http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/f51/create-a-safe-space-1666977/
See this reply:


> Yes, i need a safe space because i hate people disagreeing with my opinions and want them removed from existence.


and:


> I think it sounds a little silly - but, if this means places like the society and culture board can be less moderated as a consequence, then I'd be ok with it.


Here's the request for a severe SA section from a couple of years ago:
http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/f51/severe-anxiety-sub-forum-1598634/


----------



## komorikun

Persephone The Dread said:


> I wasn't really arguing for a separate section (this forum can already be pretty divisive,) just saying it would be nice to be able to post about certain things without worrying.


Oh okay. So not so much SA related but more that some people are jerks. Yeah, there are certain topics I won't post on here. Some because they are sensitive topics that I think could be used against me. Others because I'm paranoid someone will try to figure out my identity.


----------



## komorikun

scarpia said:


> I did suggest a safe space, but people seemed to misunderstand the purpose. http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/f51/create-a-safe-space-1666977/
> See this reply:
> 
> and:
> 
> Here's the request for a severe SA section from a couple of years ago:
> http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/f51/severe-anxiety-sub-forum-1598634/


So many permabanned users.


----------



## Overdrive

Soundclouds links that actually work and do no fukery.


----------



## LilMeRich

A chat function with people ordered by their proximity to your location.


----------



## Rollergirl6

Scrub-Zero said:


> ** What do you think would make SAS better?
> 
> Some members shouldn't be banned at all. You guys ban members too quickly.
> 
> Same with certain threads. Some are kind of funny but because they're a bit spammy they get tossed.
> 
> Also less tolerance for members putting other down, like saying "get over it"
> Especially in the frustration section of the forum. Can't even be frustrated in the frustration section? WTF.
> 
> A better block feature.
> 
> * What type of threads would you like to see more of?
> 
> More lighthearted threads and funny polls.
> More personal stories that aren't "i can't get laid."
> 
> * What type of threads would you like to see less of?
> 
> ****ing Trump threads.
> Less virgins and i can't get a girlfriend threads.
> Make one for each and sticky it on top. People can post in there.
> 
> * Which new features would you like to see?
> 
> A larger avatar size and images in signatures.
> 
> * Do you feel comfortable posting on SAS? If not, why?
> 
> I'm somewhat comfortable. Don't really care if people like me or not. It's your block list. Use it when you need it.
> 
> * Do you think removing post count either completely or from certain subforums (Just For Fun is an example) would help to make a difference?
> 
> Couldn't care less about post count. But at each 5000 posts, you guys should send us some chocolate
> 
> *


Armageddon


----------



## iAmCodeMonkey

If I left. 

Barely anyone cares about my posts here at all, no matter how much I try to make others happy...

Death would be easer.


----------



## TheInvisibleHand

iAmCodeMonkey said:


> If I left.
> 
> Barely anyone cares about my posts here at all, no matter how much I try to make others happy...
> 
> Death would be easer.


I care about you.


----------



## iAmCodeMonkey

@doe deer
@TheInvisibleHand

Thanks. Pretty sure that I just need to blast a heavy metal album and I will feel better, even with my hearing loss and constant tinnitus.


----------



## iAmCodeMonkey

doe deer said:


>


hehe, I actually own this on CD.


----------



## iAmCodeMonkey

doe deer said:


> that's great >


My current collection is pretty crazy.


----------



## iAmCodeMonkey

doe deer said:


> i'm sure i'd be jealous. although mine would be nice too if i had enough money


I could send you a PM with the artists I listen to if you want.


----------



## HenDoggy

doe deer said:


>


Yes I agree, they should def make this mandatory background music while you surf sas(esp in dark background). It would def make sas better :lol


----------



## iAmCodeMonkey

doe deer said:


> metal makes everything better. fact. :b


/m\

Your taste in music is turning me on, woman. 

Excuse my lame attempts a flirtation. :lol :haha


----------



## iAmCodeMonkey

doe deer said:


> that's only normal. listen to metal and you're already an 8/10 :lol


If I play metal does that make me a 9/10? :lol :haha


----------



## iAmCodeMonkey

doe deer said:


> oh definitely 8) :lol


YEAH BABY!!!!! :lol :haha

http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/1090046545-post4060.html

>


----------



## iAmCodeMonkey

doe deer said:


>












I should try and record something for you guys, somehow. :wink


----------



## TheInvisibleHand

@iAmCodeMonkey @doe deer
i think its time for you two to get a room.


----------



## TheInvisibleHand

doe deer said:


> wanna join?


----------



## iAmCodeMonkey

doe deer said:


> you know you want to


:lol

I giggled.


----------



## shyvr6

Just curious, but have any of these ideas been discussed or are they currently being discussed at all in private yet? It might've changed, but I know that sometimes suggestions in various threads that aren't really a priority can get forgotten about so that's why I asked.


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

shyvr6 said:


> Just curious, but have any of these ideas been discussed or are they currently being discussed at all in private yet? It might've changed, but I know that sometimes suggestions in various threads that aren't really a priority can get forgotten about so that's why I asked.


Yeah there is a general sticky about this in the mod forum, but I admit it never got many posts or that much thought, and has been forgotten for months now. Maybe we should look at it again. :um


----------



## shyvr6

Alright, good to know. Well I know things can be slow, but I hope the good or plausible ideas would get discussed at some point. I'd hate to see this thread up for a year for example and the discussions are at the same spot that they are now.


----------



## Lohikaarme

A feature that saved your unfinished PMs as drafts like in email clients would be useful, I think. For instance, I might want to type up a lengthy response but become preoccupied with something else in the meantime and have to come back to it later. Creating a Word document just for that purpose gets somewhat tedious after a while :b
I wouldn't care if that would simultaneously mean sacrificing the messaging limit, eg 1,000 instead of 1,500 in order to accommodate server restrictions (not an expert on how website bandwidth works... please don't hit me :b).


----------



## WillYouStopDave

It would be so nice if quoting worked so that you can follow a conversation without having to try and go back and figure out who is talking to who or who said what or what the post you're reading is responding to. Really irritating. 

As it is you have to work at it to make it easy to follow a conversation that goes on for more than a couple of posts on more than one page.


----------



## shyvr6

WillYouStopDave said:


> It would be so nice if quoting worked so that you can follow a conversation without having to try and go back and figure out who is talking to who or who said what or what the post you're reading is responding to. Really irritating.


If you click the blue arrow next to the quoted person's name, it will take you to their original post. Unless you meant the feature where you get a bunch of quote boxes with one conversation?


----------



## WillYouStopDave

shyvr6 said:


> If you click the blue arrow next to the quoted person's name, it will take you to their original post. Unless you meant the feature where you get a bunch of quote boxes with one conversation?


 Right. Clicking those arrows over and over to follow a conversation is very irritating and it's hell if you're trying to follow the conversation back to a certain place and quote more than one post for context so the people reading it will know what the hell you're talking about.

You quote someone who quoted someone else without quoting both of them and the context is often lost for anyone who hasn't read the entire thread and doesn't want to click back and back and back to find it.

I don't know. It just seems very messy the way it is and seems to tend to cause conversations to abruptly stop as soon as there's more than a couple of replies.


----------



## shyvr6

I think you can do the multiple quotes in one big quote box on here, but you have to multi-quote the conversation and move around the quote boxes which could probably get complicated. That quoting feature would be a convenient thing to have on here although I'm not a fan of them myself.


----------



## mt moyt

i think PMs would be better if they worked like in email. If you reply to someones message in PM and they send another in response, it would be nice to see the first two messages when you click on the latest one. even more so for long conversations in PMs. 
Like in emails, you can see what you wrote previously to them, and what they wrote before, etc. all in one page

theres probably a clearer way to say that but i can't seem to find a way lol


----------



## Kevin001

mt moyt said:


> i think PMs would be better if they worked like in email. If you reply to someones message in PM and they send another in response, it would be nice to see the first two messages when you click on the latest one. even more so for long conversations in PMs.
> Like in emails, you can see what you wrote previously to them, and what they wrote before, etc. all in one page
> 
> theres probably a clearer way to say that but i can't seem to find a way lol


You can already do that....just hit the view history button below the reply box.


----------



## mt moyt

Kevin001 said:


> You can already do that....just hit the view history button below the reply box.


oh you're right, never noticed it before lol, thanks!


----------



## Kevin001

mt moyt said:


> oh you're right, never noticed it before lol, thanks!


Np


----------



## GibberingMaw

I'd like a subforum about paranormal stuff and the like.


----------



## SofaKing

A voting method for identifying trolls so they can be banned even if they aren't breaking forum rules.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

SofaKing said:


> A voting method for identifying trolls so they can be banned even if they aren't breaking forum rules.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk


I don't know exactly what you mean by that, but we cannot ban trolls until they start breaking forum rules! That would be totally unfair and entering creepy Minority Report like territory.


----------



## Amphoteric

LydeaCharlotte said:


> I don't know exactly what you mean by that, but we cannot ban trolls until they start breaking forum rules! That would be totally unfair and entering creepy Minority Report like territory.


What's the purpose of letting users who have no other intentions for their account but trolling hang around?


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

Amphoteric said:


> What's the purpose of letting users who have no other intentions for their account but trolling hang around?


Of course whatever appropriate action is frequently taken against trolls, though admittedly there are so many of them on here now that's it's something of a moving target. It may not always be as quick as you would like, but I don't think we want to be quite as authoritarian as the moderation policy probably is on some other forums because fairness is very important.


----------



## Kevin001

LydeaCharlotte said:


> That would be totally unfair and entering creepy Minority Report like territory.


Yep lol.


----------



## Witchblade

On the internet there are plenty of unsavory "pickup" sites that suggest treating women like **** in order to get laid. Unfortunately, some of the bitter men on this site seem to be repeating this advice around here, creating a hostile atmosphere. I think this should be regarded as inappropriate, that we shouldn't be advising each other to treat people poorly, especially not half the userbase.


----------



## Lonesomebutgrateful

Sas and better
Two words
Good joke.


----------



## Persephone The Dread

Stop notifications for ignored forum sections/threads. Not sure if that's possible technically speaking, but if it is that'd be great.


----------



## mt moyt

i can't remember, but do new users have to register an email address when creating an account? if not, i think implementing this, plus an email confirmation link, would help to deter trolls.

also, since VPNs are used to evade IP bans, I've read online about cookie-based and browser-based tagging to help identify trolls:



> Butt-tagging the browser is almost certainly the least-worst way of identifying abusive people who are in that narrow band of "smart enough to change usernames / IPs but not smart enough to switch browsers and/or clear their cookies". Whether that band contains enough people to make it worthwhile to build that tracking into core (or even provide it as a plugin, which would go some way to alleviating the privacy implications, because it wouldn't be on-by-default) is another question...
> 
> The more advanced (and much more tricky, technically) approach is to use "browser fingerprinting" (as demonstrated by the EFF's Panopticlick project9), which prevents the abusive person from clearing their cookies to avoid being tracked across their accounts, but doesn't prevent switching browsers.
> 
> Either way, the way I'd approach it is that when a new user is registered whose signature (either the same cookie value, or browser fingerprint) matches a currently suspended/banned/whatever user, mods are notified (and, optionally, the user is temporarily blocked, if you're under sustained troll attack). The user can then be whacked or paid close attention to, as appropriate.


either way, i believe there needs to be steps taken to identify and remove trolls beyond the standard IP ban.


----------



## acidicwithpanic

Witchblade said:


> On the internet there are plenty of unsavory "pickup" sites that suggest treating women like **** in order to get laid. Unfortunately, some of the bitter men on this site seem to be repeating this advice around here, creating a hostile atmosphere. I think this should be regarded as inappropriate, that we shouldn't be advising each other to treat people poorly, especially not half the userbase.


It has always been pretty bad on here, but when I first joined SAS **** was worse than it is now.

I don't think there's much the mods can do about it as long as they aren't personally attacking/harassing other users for fear of becoming too authoritarian.


----------



## Deaf Mute

Extending the character limit of private messaging lmao.


----------



## zonebox

A new sub forum called "Echo Chamber"

Within this sub forum, no one is allowed to debate or disagree with what the OP has stated. Of course, standard forum rules will apply, but it gives some of the members on this site a place to go, to just put out their thoughts without any form of disagreement. 

After seeing multiple instances of people just wanting to state their views without any resistance, it would make sense to give them a section to make a thread that they can feel safe in. 

Every time I reply to someone and disagree, I feel sort of guilty.. and entirely unsure if they want that sort of dialogue or not. In fact, there are a lot of times I don't even reply to threads, because I don't know if what I have to say is even wanted. If we had this sub forum, it would make it a lot more clear to me and others as to how we respond to others. If a person does not wish to have their thoughts to be argued with, they could simply make a post in the sub forum, and talk with others who agree with them.

What do you guys think?


----------



## Grog

^ having a different opinion here is considered trolling lol , it's offensive lol and will not be tollorated lol . 
Having a discussion about a difference of opinion is considered a conflict and will not be tolerated lol . 
Having a sense of humour is considered trolling and is also offensive and will not be tolerated lol . 

What I think would make sas better is ..... f it it doesn't matter what I think . 

Sort the pop up adds out , that would make it better .


----------



## zonebox

That is the beauty in it. If someone genuinely desires such a thread it would be easier on the moderators and the people posting. This is a mental health form, people really should be provided a place they can post to.. and the rest of us will have clear guidelines as to the intent of people's threads.

I for one, do not want to be stepping on other people's toes.


----------



## jealousisjelly

Less terrible, uptight mods who take everything too seriously and seem to love to be in control, It´s the reason I rarely come here anymore and I was pretty active for over two years. They reallllyyy overdo the ¨Support¨ aspect of the site and pretty much allow no fun threads or even funny comments if they are too aren't PC enough (Which btw their definition of PC is pathetic.) This site has just become a whine fest and it´so annoying. I even told someone they should put their ´depressed, life is hopeless´ thread in the frustration section, instead of General discussion...No one in the thread agreed, mods didn't move it. So, Basically that´s what the site has become, No Sections or Sub-sections, You can just complain about how unfair life is anywhere on the site. I blame the mods for not controlling it and any knew person that comes in just goes along with what they see and do it too. This site is full of Negativity. If it´s not the mods fault, it´s the rules that they are told to go by and those need some serious changes...You guys aren´t some professional mental health institution that have to follow strict rules to save your patients. Let people do more than: Complain. Support. Repeat. Although I don't really care since I hardly ever come here but the old SAS was pretty fun and nice.


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

jealousisjelly said:


> Less terrible, uptight mods who take everything too seriously and seem to love to be in control, It´s the reason I rarely come here anymore and I was pretty active for over two years. They reallllyyy overdo the ¨Support¨ aspect of the site and pretty much allow no fun threads or even funny comments if they are too aren't PC enough (Which btw their definition of PC is pathetic.) This site has just become a whine fest and it´so annoying. I even told someone they should put their ´depressed, life is hopeless´ thread in the frustration section, instead of General discussion...No one in the thread agreed, mods didn't move it. So, Basically that´s what the site has become, No Sections or Sub-sections, You can just complain about how unfair life is anywhere on the site. I blame the mods for not controlling it and any knew person that comes in just goes along with what they see and do it too. This site is full of Negativity. If it´s not the mods fault, it´s the rules that they are told to go by and those need some serious changes...You guys aren´t some professional mental health institution that have to follow strict rules to save your patients. Let people do more than: Complain. Support. Repeat. Although I don't really care since I hardly ever come here but the old SAS was pretty fun and nice.


The mods are not uptight, and I don't think any of them like to be in control for the sake of it. I remember from school what _genuine_ control freaks (not so much teachers, but one or two of the senior pupils with authority over others, could be like when doing their duties). And I think you'll find there are some online forums with much stricter and _more_ uptight moderation than SAS. Anyway, we don't want spam cluttering the site and there's often a fine line between that and "fun" threads. I know what you mean by that, and IMO it's just annoying garbage. There's always the games in just for fun. We do not consciously push any PC agenda, but honestly, no-one should want bigoted comments, misogny, and the like. There is no "whine fest", it's fine to complain lots about the unfairness of life if it doesn't breach the guidelines.

You're right, a thread of that nature should have been in frustration not general discussion. But presumably no mod saw it, and no-one reported it. The mods will often move threads when they are aware of them, but I'm afraid it's an ad-hoc thing. There are so many sub-sections that we can't neccessarily catch everything. Oh and unlike some other sites (I think), about the only circumstances when posting something in the wrong section could be an offence is if someone was to keep on deliberately posting 18+ content elsewhere after being asked not to.

True, there can be an awful lot of negativity, but this is a social anxiety forum with many people who aren't too happy with their life. You can be as negative as you want here, as long as it's within the rules. The rules are (of course) there to maintain a reasonably pleasant, supportive and ordered atmosphere, even though you think they are too strict. What do you mean by "Complain, Support, Repeat"? :um


----------



## Chevy396

Tighter security on the registration page. Maybe even a psych test to weed out psychopaths. If this were a mental hospital you wouldn't let the psychopaths in with the ones who are easily abused by them.


----------



## tehuti88

Echoing @finallyclosed , I've heard that a valid e-mail address isn't required when joining here? PLEASE somebody contact somebody else who can make it *a requirement to validate a legitimate e-mail address *when joining. It's amazing to me that a new user doesn't even need one, if this is in fact true. Especially on a mental health support forum which seems to attract...well, psychopaths. Or more likely, edgy _wannabe_ psychopaths, as sad as that sounds.


----------



## TheInvisibleHand

finallyclosed said:


> Tighter security on the registration page. Maybe even a psych test to weed out psychopaths. If this were a mental hospital you wouldn't let the psychopaths in with the ones who are easily abused by them.


That is bigotry against psychopaths and sociopaths.


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

Aribeth said:


> Yeah well what do you expect when half of the mods (or more) are transgender... they will always shove their agendas in people's face and abuse their power.


I'm sure you remmber that there used to be a mod who did directly identify as transgender, she quit for personal reasons just before I became one. I could be classed as transgender yes, but don't talk about it much on here and prefer just to use the Female label. One of the other current mods also seems to be ambiguous about her gender. But whatever gender we identify as, it does not make us biased in any way. There are no abuses of power or shoving agendas in peoples' faces!


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

tehuti88 said:


> Echoing @finallyclosed , I've heard that a valid e-mail address isn't required when joining here? PLEASE somebody contact somebody else who can make it *a requirement to validate a legitimate e-mail address *when joining. It's amazing to me that a new user doesn't even need one, if this is in fact true. Especially on a mental health support forum which seems to attract...well, psychopaths. Or more likely, edgy _wannabe_ psychopaths, as sad as that sounds.


I don't know/remember whether e-mail addresses have to be validated or not when joining. But yeah it's really weird if they don't need to be. Only an admin can answer that question.


----------



## Witchblade

LydeaCharlotte said:


> I don't know/remember whether e-mail addresses have to be validated or not when joining. But yeah it's really weird if they don't need to be. Only an admin can answer that question.


They don't have to be validated, they don't have to even be real email address or even point to a real email service. I've been talking about this ever since I had to make that other account to get in touch with you.


----------



## Chevy396

TheInvisibleHand said:


> That is bigotry against psychopaths and sociopaths.


Just against psychopaths. I'm pretty sure I'm a sociopath. Most of us are simply really good at business, or being doctors. Psychopaths have a desire to harm innocent people.


----------



## jealousisjelly

LydeaCharlotte said:


> The m so much teachers, but one or two of the senior pupils with authority over others, could be like when doing their duties). And I think you'll find there are some online forums with much stricter and _more_ uptight moderation than SAS. Anyway, we don't want spam cluttering the site and there's often a fine line between that and "fun" threads. I know what you mean by that, and IMO it's just annoying garbage. There's always the games in just for fun. We do not consciously push any PC agenda, but honestly, no-one should want bigoods are not uptight, and I don't think any of them like to be in control for the sake of it. I remember from school what _genuine_ control freaks (notted comments, misogny, and the like. There is no "whine fest", it's fine to complain lots about the unfairness of life if it doesn't breach the guidelines.
> 
> You're right, a thread of that nature should have been in frustration not general discussion. But presumably no mod saw it, and no-one reported it. The mods will often move threads when they are aware of them, but I'm afraid it's an ad-hoc thing. There are so many sub-sections that we can't neccessarily catch everything. Oh and unlike some other sites (I think), about the only circumstances when posting something in the wrong section could be an offence is if someone was to keep on deliberately posting 18+ content elsewhere after being asked not to.
> 
> True, there can be an awful lot of negativity, but *this is a social anxiety forum with many people who aren't too happy with their life. You can be as negative as you want here, as long as it's within the rules. The rules are (of course) there to maintain a reasonably pleasant, supportive and ordered atmosphere, even though you think they are too strict. What do you mean by "Complain, Support, Repeat"? *:um


It is a whine fest, throughout the whole forum, not just in the appropriate sections. 
It´s a social anxiety support for adults, there´s always been plenty of support when I first joined and now it´s like you can´t say anything at all unless it´s something supportive, same old cliche ****. UMMMMMM Idk how you got confused by ¨Complain, Support. Repeat.¨ Since thats all that seems to be going on here. There is no ¨Reasonably pleasant atmosphere¨ When everyones so sensitive and gets their way.

Do you think people just come here to be supported? Alot of people used to come here to joke, talk to people, make connections, participate in fun threads, Its supposed to be more of a hangout for like 'minded people. Why do you think the site has been dying so bad? Im just giving constructive criticism and your´e just ignoring it and saying I´m completely wrong. And if it´s just mods following rules, then the rules need to change.


----------



## TheWelshOne

finallyclosed said:


> Tighter security on the registration page. Maybe even a psych test to weed out psychopaths. If this were a mental hospital you wouldn't let the psychopaths in with the ones who are easily abused by them.





tehuti88 said:


> Echoing @finallyclosed , I've heard that a valid e-mail address isn't required when joining here? PLEASE somebody contact somebody else who can make it *a requirement to validate a legitimate e-mail address *when joining. It's amazing to me that a new user doesn't even need one, if this is in fact true. Especially on a mental health support forum which seems to attract...well, psychopaths. Or more likely, edgy _wannabe_ psychopaths, as sad as that sounds.


These. I have a friend with social anxiety who could potentially benefit from this forum. But in its' current state, there's no way I can recommend this place to her.


----------



## harrison

finallyclosed said:


> Just against psychopaths. I'm pretty sure I'm a sociopath. Most of us are simply really good at business, or being doctors. Psychopaths have a desire to harm innocent people.


But how could anyone possibly guard against that on a website? A questionnaire or something would easily be manipulated.

As far as the registration thing and emails etc. is concerned - someone from admin or the actual owners needs to get some advice from a web-developer or someone that actually knows about this stuff.


----------



## Chevy396

harrison said:


> But how could anyone possibly guard against that on a website? A questionnaire or something would easily be manipulated.
> 
> As far as the registration thing and emails etc. is concerned - someone from admin or the actual owners needs to get some advice from a web-developer or someone that actually knows about this stuff.


A psychopath test would be complicated, but not impossible. I've seen them before online. Best if you don't know it's happening.

Is there no web developer contracted for this site? Not even the owner? Admins can edit the code? I'm confused now.


----------



## harrison

finallyclosed said:


> A psychopath test would be complicated, but not impossible. I've seen them before online. Best if you don't know it's happening.
> *
> Is there no web developer contracted for this site? Not even the owner? Admins can edit the code? I'm confused now.*


No idea - but I might start looking into it. All these trolls and returning users are a pain. And obviously it's not just a problem here - far bigger problems elsewhere, must be people looking at it somewhere and developing new software or programs.


----------



## Aribeth

LydeaCharlotte said:


> But whatever gender we identify as, it does not make us biased in any way.


How would you know if you were actually biased or not lol


----------



## Eternal Solitude

Aribeth said:


> How would you know if you were actually biased or not lol


This is a pretty valid point Aribeth. A person can not be his or her own judge and be impartial at the same time.

I am fairly new to the forum. But who or what decides who should be a Mod?

*On What Could Make SAS Better:*

I don't know if this has been suggested before, nor do I know if it is even viable. But it would be if we could somehow open up a new section ran by volunteer counselors/psychologists. Often times you come in here asking for honest advice and you are automatic bombarded with a plethora of non-helpful hateful comments and ****ty advice that can't be used in real life situations.

It be nice if we could have some sort of leader to guide us. He or she would have to be empathetic without being overtly sentimental and tolerant without being too permissive.


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

Aribeth said:


> How would you know if you were actually biased or not lol


Well mistakes can and do occasionally happen, but we try to be as correct and unbiased as possible


----------



## TheInvisibleHand

Eternal Solitude said:


> I don't know if this has been suggested before, nor do I know if it is even viable. But it would be if we could somehow open up a new section ran by volunteer counselors/psychologists. Often times you come in here asking for honest advice and you are automatic bombarded with a plethora of non-helpful hateful comments and ****ty advice that can't be used in real life situations.
> 
> It be nice if we could have some sort of leader to guide us. He or she would have to be empathetic without being overtly sentimental and tolerant without being too permissive.


That sounds like an amazing idea.


----------



## Grog

If the techs that run this site could remove the daily sweep stake pop up that comes up ever 1 to 5 minutes . 
It skyrockets my anxiety about coming on this site and prevents posting and reading just about every thing . 
. 
Get your **** together . 

Some days I can't even log on before being redirected . 

Not sure if it's healthy to keep trying or just give up on this site . 

I think I'll give up and try else where until the problem is fixed by the obviously not good at their job techs . ..


----------



## Chevy396

Grog said:


> If the techs that run this site could remove the daily sweep stake pop up that comes up ever 1 to 5 minutes .
> It skyrockets my anxiety about coming on this site and prevents posting and reading just about every thing .
> .
> Get your **** together .
> 
> Some days I can't even log on before being redirected .
> 
> Not sure if it's healthy to keep trying or just give up on this site .
> 
> I think I'll give up and try else where until the problem is fixed by the obviously not good at their job techs . ..


That sounds like you have malware on your computer. I would look for a reputable anti-malware app and see if that takes care of it.


----------



## Grog

finallyclosed said:


> That sounds like you have malware on your computer. I would look for a reputable anti-malware app and see if that takes care of it.


I just had all my devices checked and updated and it still *only happens on this site  would that be my iPad or this site that is the problem ? It's driving me crazy .*


----------



## tehuti88

finallyclosed said:


> That sounds like you have malware on your computer. I would look for a reputable anti-malware app and see if that takes care of it.





Grog said:


> I just had all my devices checked and updated and it still *only happens on this site  would that be my iPad or this site that is the problem ? It's driving me crazy .*


*

This site has a bad history of redirecting people on tablets/phones, so much so that I started my very own thread on the issue. :smile2:

*game show voice*

It's The Browser Hijacking/Redirect Report Threaaaaaaaaad!*


----------



## Chevy396

tehuti88 said:


> This site has a bad history of redirecting people on tablets/phones, so much so that I started my very own thread on the issue. :smile2:
> 
> *game show voice*
> 
> It's The Browser Hijacking/Redirect Report Threaaaaaaaaad!


Eww... That's pretty gross to do anywhere, let alone a social anxiety support site. Times have changed since I was developing websites. Even a small text ad back then was a tossup on whether it lost you too many visitors to be profitable. I feel like this generation has started to actually like these intrusive forms of advertising, for the most part. I don't think they understand what it does to your psyche over time either.


----------



## Ai

Grog said:


> I just had all my devices checked and updated and it still *only happens on this site  would that be my iPad or this site that is the problem ? It's driving me crazy .*


*

I use an Adblocker. The site is just barely functional without it. :blank I haven't had any problems since, though.*


----------



## harrison

Grog said:


> I just had all my devices checked and updated and it still *only happens on this site  would that be my iPad or this site that is the problem ? It's driving me crazy .*


*

Do you have adblocker installed? I never get any ads or anything.

Edit: sorry, just saw @Ai's post.*


----------



## BackToThePast

The ability to create a new account with a new identity, so long as you've been a rule abiding member for a while and the mods have a history of your aliases. People change as they get older, and I think it would be helpful for those who have changed for the better and would rather not let their past behaviors affect the way others currently view them.


----------



## Scrub-Zero

Grog said:


> I just had all my devices checked and updated and it still *only happens on this site  would that be my iPad or this site that is the problem ? It's driving me crazy .*


*

On the PC, if you're using Chrome, install Ublock Origin and Adblock. Both will block things that the other won't. There are no script addons that you can get too, but if you're not used to them, they can block content you don't want to block(like youtube videos for example) But they're still useful and I recommend you get used to using one.*


----------



## Maslow

This site at one time was owned and run by people who had SAD. Now it's owned by the Canadian company VerticalScope, Inc. and exists purely to make money. They're not going to do anything that might negatively affect the website traffic because that's their revenue generator.


----------



## Fanta can

BackToThePast said:


> The ability to create a new account with a new identity, so long as you've been a rule abiding member for a while and the mods have a history of your aliases. People change as they get older, and I think it would be helpful for those who have changed for the better and would rather not let their past behaviors affect the way others currently view them.


I agree. And I think that it's creepy how they won't let you delete your account.

I also think they have way too many sections and should consolidate some of them. For example, "Friends and Connections" could probably be combined with "Gatherings".


----------



## Chevy396

It would be nice if the site didn't keep cockblocking me for posting too much. Why can't I just go until I pass out from exhaustion?


----------



## shyvr6

shyvr6 said:


> A lot of this doesn't affect me since I'm not on here as much anymore so I'll keep it short.
> 
> *Remove the swear filter or give us an option to turn it on or off.* It's supposed to be a 'family site', but we all know that kids aren't coming on here with their families and most teens are exposed to curse words already. Make it allowable as long as expletives aren't being spammed in a post.
> 
> *Make the search feature go beyond 10 pages like it used to be.* I don't know why Helena changed it, but it makes looking up older posts a pain. It also helps the mods for various things.


Still this. Doesn't seem like it's been over six months already since I made that post.


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

shyvr6 said:


> Still this. Doesn't seem like it's been over six months already since I made that post.


I think a swear filter that individual members can turn on/off is just not possible, unfortunately. Think it was discussed ages ago when you were a mod, in the mod forum, but not sure. The issue apparently was that in this version of vBulletin, the swear filter can only be turned on or off for the entire board; It can't be set on a per usergroup basis. You need a newer version for that. Back when SAS phpBB, I've heard that it was possible there as well. 
As for the search changes, have no idea why it was done. The mods were not consulted at all.


----------



## shyvr6

LydeaCharlotte said:


> I think a swear filter that individual members can turn on/off is just not possible, unfortunately.


Then I guess just removing it would have to do. :wink


----------



## ScorchedEarth

Being able to block someone right from any of their posts, rather than having to go on your profile and manually enter their name. I mean come on, I think forums from 15 years ago had that functionality. Also, not seeing threads created by blocked users, nor quotes by them in other posts.


----------



## firestar

ScorchedEarth said:


> Being able to block someone right from any of their posts, rather than having to go on your profile and manually enter their name. I mean come on, I think forums from 15 years ago had that functionality. Also, *not seeing threads created by blocked users*, nor quotes by them in other posts.


For the bolded, this is possible. The forum has to be in full mode, though. Not classic. It's a setting under "Ignore Manager."

I like the idea of being able to ignore someone from a post.


----------



## TomCat4680

It'd be nice if we didn't have to have post 15 messages on the forums to send a PM.

Also if you'd let us edit our forum posts indefinitely after we post them that'd be great.


----------



## Sus y

I'm going to dare to reply this despite (1) I have only used one forum mostly and others social networks (2) I'm pretty much a newbie here.

** What type of threads would you like to see more of?*
JJF :clap

** What type of threads would you like to see less of?*
I don't care about this, I can avoid all the threads I dislike by not reading them, I don't even need to hide them (if the function is available).

** What would you change about SAS?*
Some days ago I was "how can I get an edit button? :afr, how can I get an edit button? :afr", I was getting a little insane about it, I prob would have left the site before, but I was urged for an edit button, so I kept around and posted insanely times to see when or how I was going to finally get to see the edit button.

** What do you like least about SAS?*
As I'm new I'll keep more of what I think for myself yet, but I'm telling something for now, when I was very active in the other Forum, I was worried to welcome the newbies (I'm not talking about my thread that receive zero welcome hahah, Ok, I guess I deserved it, sometimes I'm just too honest and say things that maybe I shouldn't?), but I think that welcoming the newbies help to insert them in the community. What if someone feel rejected for this? :O

** Which new features would you like to see?*
There are many, I guess, but for now I just want to say: having a _like button_. I don't know if the software allows it. Maybe status update too? :clap

** Do you feel comfortable posting on SAS? If not, why?*
I have posted a lot so far since I joined, so...

** Do you think removing post count either completely or from certain subforums (Just For Fun is an example) would help to make a difference?*
I think that's irrelevant, at least to me. But I see so many sub-forums that I just avoid them all, it's overwhelming, to me, or maybe it's not the amount but the way they are organized? named? I just see Recent Discussions or Last activity, at least this leads to the active threads and this helps me not to incurs in thread-necromancy. Also do I have to go to my profile to read the notifications or is it that I haven't find the easy way yet?

I don't know if this was discussed before but I'm so not going to read all the past posts.


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

TomCat4680 said:


> It'd be nice if we didn't have to have post 15 messages on the forums to send a PM.
> 
> Also if you'd let us edit our forum posts indefinitely after we post them that'd be great.


The 15 posts requirement was only introduced recently, basically to hinder trolls because we have had an increasing problem with them. But it's always been the case that you need a certain amount of posts (more than 15) to edit your posts. That (I believe) was mostly to hinder advertisement spammers. Once editing is enabled, you can do it indefinitely, and delete your posts.


----------



## TomCat4680

LydeaCharlotte said:


> The 15 posts requirement was only introduced recently, basically to hinder trolls because we have had an increasing problem with them. But it's always been the case that you need a certain amount of posts (more than 15) to edit your posts. That (I believe) was mostly to hinder advertisement spammers. Once editing is enabled, you can do it indefinitely, and delete your posts.


How do I edit my own posts? I'm not seeing anything to click to do so.


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

TomCat4680 said:


> How do I edit my own posts? I'm not seeing anything to click to do so.


Sorry, but you need _more_ than 15 posts to do that, but not a huge amount. Just keep on posting, and eventually the edit button will automatically appear.


----------



## TomCat4680

LydeaCharlotte said:


> Sorry, but you need _more_ than 15 posts to do that, but not a huge amount. Just keep on posting, and eventually the edit button will automatically appear.


It's there now. Thanks for the replies.


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

TomCat4680 said:


> It's there now. Thanks for the replies.


Oh right. Actually it's hardly ever mentioned, but the ability to edit is also apparently enabled for anyone who has been a member for long enough, even if they don't have the required number of posts.


----------



## jromito4

It would be helpful if they made it easier to understand for newbs. I have no idea how to navigate this site and I get a pop-up every time I switch pages. I've never contributed to a blog or forum before. Honestly, I don't even know how they work lol


----------



## Chevy396

More horny women who have given up on serious relationships.


----------



## Pokabu72

** What do you think would make SAS better?*
Making it easier to use and navigate. There are way too many components to the site, and for someone new like me, it makes the whole experience overwhelming. If everything was organized and simplified, that would be great!
SUGGESTIONS:
--> Choosing how many posts you want to see under a certain thread per page.
--> Being able to directly reply to people. (And by that, I mean that you can reply and be certain that they have been notified about it.)
--> Being able to edit and delete your own posts. (I know this may be already applicable to some users, but all the same. I know this option would be great for users like me because I literally have to switch between 'preview post' and my text 1,000 times before submitting to make sure it's just right.)

** What type of threads would you like to see less of?*
Although General Discussion and Just and for Fun are for people's entertainment, it would be nice if they didn't overshadow the posts about SA since that's what the forum is mainly about.

** What would you change about SAS?*
Maybe this seems a little too critical, but if it was up to me, I would definitely change the overall layout of the site. There are posts dating back to the early 2000s, and it shows. Like I said about there being too many components to the site, it's generally hard to find what you're looking for. Perhaps the forum should take a more simplified approach?
*
* Which new features would you like to see?*
People have mentioned this already, but bigger avatars _pleasssssssssssssse_!


----------



## Pokabu72

Also, if this isn't already a thing, it would be nice if we could make drafts of things we want to post so we can go back to them and make changes before finally submitting.


----------



## onthespectrum

Get rid of the mass threads like the Ban The Person Above You and things like that. Nothing to do with SAS or community building


----------



## cinto

I'm so tempted to ban the person above lol where's Amon


----------



## Memories of Silence

jromito4 said:


> It would be helpful if they made it easier to understand for newbs. I have no idea how to navigate this site and I get a pop-up every time I switch pages. I've never contributed to a blog or forum before. Honestly, I don't even know how they work lol


I don't know if there is already an FAQ/how to use SAS thread anywhere, but I couldn't find one. I'll try to write one.


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

There is the built-in vBulletin FAQ, which the software has always had: http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/faq.php


----------



## Memories of Silence

LydeaCharlotte said:


> There is the built-in vBulletin FAQ, which the software has always had: http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/faq.php


Thanks.  I thought I had seen one, but couldn't remember where.


----------



## calimerc

Newer, more modern chatroom.

Also, having a tiny tab on the lower left part of the screen makes it hard for people to see. I think more people would go on if they even knew it was available.

Also, make me chat mod :nerd:


----------



## Chevy396

Having no chat room at all.  It was a big source of anxiety when I first noticed it.


----------



## tehuti88

Pokabu72 said:


> Also, if this isn't already a thing, it would be nice if we could make drafts of things we want to post so we can go back to them and make changes before finally submitting.


Ooh. Seconded.


----------



## TheWelshOne

Pokabu72 said:


> Also, if this isn't already a thing, it would be nice if we could make drafts of things we want to post so we can go back to them and make changes before finally submitting.





tehuti88 said:


> Ooh. Seconded.


Thirded. Especially PMs. Sometimes I'm not in the right headspace to write a whole one.


----------



## Memories of Silence

Being able to save drafts would stop the post disappearing while you're still typing it when the page reloads itself.


----------



## komorikun

Actually my drafts are often saved. Think it's related to cookies.


----------



## tehuti88

komorikun said:


> Actually my drafts are often saved. Think it's related to cookies.


I notice it saves my post if I'm typing it in the quick reply box at the bottom and then leave the page and come back. It's only on that exact page, though (if the thread has multiple pages it won't appear on those), and it doesn't save on the "Go advanced" page, and the "saved draft" doesn't extend across different devices (I've had different "drafts" saved on my laptop and tablet in different browsers).


----------



## WillYouStopDave

komorikun said:


> Actually my drafts are often saved. Think it's related to cookies.





tehuti88 said:


> I notice it saves my post if I'm typing it in the quick reply box at the bottom and then leave the page and come back. It's only on that exact page, though (if the thread has multiple pages it won't appear on those), and it doesn't save on the "Go advanced" page, and the "saved draft" doesn't extend across different devices (I've had different "drafts" saved on my laptop and tablet in different browsers).


 It's saved on your computer somewhere. Cache or something. If you have your browser set to clean on close it will wipe it out (or it does mine, at least).


----------



## Sus y

So after reading the thread: http://www.socialanxietysupport.com...s-productive-for-the-purpose-of-this-2083417/

Could it be possible to just have JJF out of the "Recent Discussions"? (that section on the right part of the site). Maybe that way real recent discussions have less chance to get lost while the member can still enjoy posting in the JFF forum instead of having to ignore it. Yes, I know there are other ways to see new threads, but I'm talking about the most immediately that my eyes see when I open the site.


----------



## HiddenFathoms

if we could choose a song and insert it (via youtube) on our profile pages, so it would play when visitor's came to see the page.


----------



## Overdrive

Adding a desperate and miserable virgins section.


----------



## Scrub-Zero

A pay2win shop where I can buy SAS beer mugs and T-shirts with quotes like "i'm shy, say hi"


----------



## SplendidBob

Increased mod power in general to deal with potential / probable trolls or multi accounters. Evidently there are two choices with the multi accounters since IP addresses aren't particularly useful in catching them given proxies etc (and I don't know of a technical solution):

a) Leave it as it is, keeping the high burden of proof
b) Take more mod risks and ban the _low post count_ suspected multi accounters

I lean in favour of b). When the poster is of a trolly / confrontational nature, has a low post count, makes suspicious / negative posts, there is little to be lost by banning those incarnations. So potentially a poor quality but real poster gets banned every so often, it's not much of a loss, but there is a real gain in removing the multi account trolls early. I don't know quite how this would be set as a rule, something like giving greater mod power / discretion to ban low post count users early on.

Multi account trolls aren't going to spend the effort to make a bunch of useful / friendly posts before they start their up****ery, and cleaning out the low post count trash (be them multi accounters, or just trolls) wouldn't be a bad thing.


----------



## Paul

HiddenFathoms said:


> if we could choose a song and insert it (via youtube) on our profile pages, so it would play when visitor's came to see the page.


A million curses and an eternity in hell to anyone who implements this. Let myspace stay dead. SAS already tries to hijack browsers (via ads) enough without adding the curse of autoplaying video.


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

Paul said:


> A million curses and an eternity in hell to anyone who implements this. Let myspace stay dead. SAS already tries to hijack browsers (via ads) enough without adding the curse of autoplaying video.


Yes I detest any kind of autoplay on the internet, and also immediately thought of the long-gone old myspace, although I have no actual memory of autoplaying music/video on peoples' profiles there. I hate this idea as well TBH!


----------



## WillYouStopDave

There is a slight privacy issue with this site. If you play a Youtube video on this forum while you're signed into your youtube account, it saves that video in your watch history. Could potentially be embarassing for someone who does not want everyone knowing they come to this forum. If the video happens to be SA specific it stands out like a sore thumb in your watch history. 

Is there anyway to make that not happen without turning off your youtube history altogether or signing out of Youtube while you browse this forum?


----------



## HiddenFathoms

@Paul @WillYouStopDave @LydeaCharlotte

i mentioned it because in another forum i have used, a music vid will subtley play (IF that option is chosen) in a small box on the left side of the page. i enjoyed this "window" into people and sometimes found great new music.

i have never used myspace and my lack of computer knowledge is enormous... thus, the practical concerns you mentioned would have never occurred to me :con


----------



## Maslow

WillYouStopDave said:


> There is a slight privacy issue with this site. If you play a Youtube video on this forum while you're signed into your youtube account, it saves that video in your watch history. Could potentially be embarassing for someone who does not want everyone knowing they come to this forum. If the video happens to be SA specific it stands out like a sore thumb in your watch history.
> 
> Is there anyway to make that not happen without turning off your youtube history altogether or signing out of Youtube while you browse this forum?


Open it in an incognito window.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

Maslow said:


> Open it in an incognito window.


 It still happens if you sign into your youtube account in the same window for some reason. An incognito window doesn't stop youtube from working as it normally does. The watch history is stored on their end.

I have signed into youtube in the incognito window before not realizing it and then saw videos I watched on this site in my history. Fortunately I don't share my youtube with anyone.


----------



## shyvr6

My advice would be to either use fake info or have a second account for Youtube.


----------



## Paul

WillYouStopDave said:


> Fortunately I don't share my youtube with anyone.


Why would anyone share access to their youtube account? You can't see someone's watch history through their public channel, only by using their login, which is normally also the google login and gmail account etc and pretty much you've given up everything to the person you're sharing that login with.



HiddenFathoms said:


> @Paul @WillYouStopDave @LydeaCharlotte
> 
> i mentioned it because in another forum i have used, a music vid will subtley play (IF that option is chosen) in a small box on the left side of the page. i enjoyed this "window" into people and sometimes found great new music.


If it doesn't load automatically (slowing down the browser) or especially play automatically (causing sudden unwanted shocking sound and potential social awkwardness for people who are in public) then it could be good, but I think that purpose can be served by people putting last.fm links in their profile like I already have.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

Paul said:


> Why would anyone share access to their youtube account?


 Why does it matter? If it can happen, it will. It could expose people to a lot of embarrassment, which is the last thing people who post here need.



> You can't see someone's watch history through their public channel, only by using their login, which is normally also the google login and gmail account etc and pretty much you've given up everything to the person you're sharing that login with.


 Right. But, the point is that it happens. If you are logged into youtube when you watch a youtube video on this forum, it shows up in your watch history. If someone you know sees your watch history for any reason (Obviously, that means that even if they just walk by you when you're on the computer with your watch history on the screen), they will see whatever you have watched on this forum. Some people might not be aware of that. Some people might not care. Some people might not even know there is a watch history on youtube. The point is it's a social anxiety forum and a lot of the videos people watch on here are about things of a sensitive and personal nature.

Look. I know people who have never cleared their browser and didn't even know you can clear it. That's the reality of things these days. Not everyone knows everything about the internet.

I don't care why anyone would share a youtube account. Maybe some people just don't know any better. Is it wrong to suggest maybe there should be something to prevent that small error from ruining their life? I'm just asking if there's anything they can do about it to make it not happen. If not, fine. It was a simple question.


----------



## thomasjune

It would be nice if we could cut down on members here calling for other members to be banned. I mean if its an obvious troll then get rid of them but is not right to label others as trolls (especially if they have been here for years) just because they have a low post count,or a large post count Or whatever.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## komorikun

I don't even want to see larger avatars or avatars that move. Moving stuff is distracting when you try to read. And large avatars mean you have to scroll more. I know people are real big on branding themselves and putting out some sort of image. The reality is no one really cares much at all about other people's avatars/profiles.


----------



## shyvr6

I've never seen avatars that are bigger than what they already can be here. Not sure what the point would be to make them bigger.


----------



## Xenacat

Is there a way to mark a favorite thread? When I first joined there was a thread someone had made that had some really good information that helped me out. I haven't seen it since and wish that I could find it again. Kind of like a bookmark.


----------



## Kevin001

Xenacat said:


> Is there a way to mark a favorite thread? When I first joined there was a thread someone had made that had some really good information that helped me out. I haven't seen it since and wish that I could find it again. Kind of like a bookmark.


You can subscribe to a thread and it'll show in your options menu under subscribed threads I think.


----------



## harrison

It would be good if when we have someone on our ignore list - we can't still see what he/she has said when they're quoted. It's very annoying and comes close to defeating the purpose of the ignore feature.


----------



## wmu'14

A Like Post feature like Facebook. 

When accessing the site by phone, the site opens up to the web browser viewing and not the mobile site viewing.


----------



## Lohikaarme

The three most popular threads in General Discussion (How are you feeling, Random Thought of the Day, Type what you're thinking) have been pinned for easier access.


----------



## zonebox

This forum needs some aspartame. It is 300 to 500 times sweeter than sugar, and very popular. Just sprinkle some on top of the servers, I'll do a little incantation, and all will be well.


----------



## Chevy396

zonebox said:


> This forum needs some aspartame. It is 300 to 500 times sweeter than sugar, and very popular. Just sprinkle some on top of the servers, I'll do a little incantation, and all will be well.


Aspartame is a neurotoxin. I think there is enough of that here already.

I think it would be nice to have a view count feature on threads. It would help you know how many people you are actually talking to.


----------



## Persephone The Dread

finallyclosed said:


> Aspartame is a neurotoxin. I think there is enough of that here already.
> 
> I think it would be nice to have a view count feature on threads. It would help you know how many people you are actually talking to.


In real time? They display total views. Not within the thread though, next to lists of threads.


----------



## Chevy396

Persephone The Dread said:


> In real time? They display total views. Not within the thread though, next to lists of threads.


Ah, I see. I guess I tuned that part out.


----------



## SofaKing

A button (with a confirmation) that would shoot lightning out of screen terminating user's life function.

The Kevorkian button.


----------



## Chevy396

WillYouStopDave said:


> There is a slight privacy issue with this site. If you play a Youtube video on this forum while you're signed into your youtube account, it saves that video in your watch history. Could potentially be embarassing for someone who does not want everyone knowing they come to this forum. If the video happens to be SA specific it stands out like a sore thumb in your watch history.
> 
> Is there anyway to make that not happen without turning off your youtube history altogether or signing out of Youtube while you browse this forum?


You can just use a second browser for this site. That way you won't be logged in to anything plus this site won't show up in your cookies.


----------



## Ai

WillYouStopDave said:


> It still happens if you sign into your youtube account in the same window for some reason. An incognito window doesn't stop youtube from working as it normally does. The watch history is stored on their end.
> 
> I have signed into youtube in the incognito window before not realizing it and then saw videos I watched on this site in my history. Fortunately I don't share my youtube with anyone.


You don't have to sign in. Just right click and select "open in incognito window." So long as it isn't flagged for inappropriate content (therefore requiring proof of age), it shouldn't be an issue. You'd just have to actually watch the video on Youtube, in that new incognito window, rather than in the thread...


----------



## coldmorning

Use ssl.


----------



## Scrub-Zero

A hired DJ and a big spiked punch bowl.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

I've said this before but I think it would be really nice if there was a way to read all the posts by a particular user within a given thread on the same screen. And by that I mean a simple link that finds all posts by that user in the same thread. You can do it by using the search function but it's a lot of trouble for a simple thing like this.

This feature could be misused by stalkers but it would also be very helpful when you're attempting to participate in one of those long threads where there are a bunch of pages. If you're trying to respond to someone who has made 30 posts in that thread over a number of days or weeks, how the heck are you supposed to know what has and hasn't been discussed unless you read the whole thread?

How ridiculous is that if you're dealing with a thread that has 20 pages? 

I know I mentioned this somewhere before and a lot of people were against it but really. If you have made 30 posts in a given thread, you should actually WANT people to read what you've written before they respond to one post you made yesterday on the 30th page.

I want to know if I'm judging people unfairly or taking a single post they made out of context. I don't want to misjudge someone for a single post that may or may not be consistent with everything else they've posted in that thread.


----------



## tehuti88

WillYouStopDave said:


> I've said this before but I think it would be really nice if there was a way to read all the posts by a particular user within a given thread on the same screen. And by that I mean a simple link that finds all posts by that user in the same thread. You can do it by using the search function but it's a lot of trouble for a simple thing like this.
> 
> This feature could be misused by stalkers but it would also be very helpful when you're attempting to participate in one of those long threads where there are a bunch of pages. If you're trying to respond to someone who has made 30 posts in that thread over a number of days or weeks, how the heck are you supposed to know what has and hasn't been discussed unless you read the whole thread?
> 
> How ridiculous is that if you're dealing with a thread that has 20 pages?
> 
> I know I mentioned this somewhere before and a lot of people were against it but really. If you have made 30 posts in a given thread, you should actually WANT people to read what you've written before they respond to one post you made yesterday on the 30th page.
> 
> I want to know if I'm judging people unfairly or taking a single post they made out of context. I don't want to misjudge someone for a single post that may or may not be consistent with everything else they've posted in that thread.


You mean like this? On forum pages, on the right next to each thread there's a column telling how many replies there are. Click on the number and it brings a popup (for this reason I prefer right-clicking and opening in a new tab) with a list of usernames of who posted, and the number of times they posted in that thread. Click the number next to the relevant username and it takes you to a search listing of all their posts in that thread.

Apologies if you already know all this and are looking for something quicker/more direct. ops


----------



## Chevy396

Not allowing any religious threads, or any other type of institutionalized bigotry.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

tehuti88 said:


> You mean like this? On forum pages, on the right next to each thread there's a column telling how many replies there are. Click on the number and it brings a popup (for this reason I prefer right-clicking and opening in a new tab) with a list of usernames of who posted, and the number of times they posted in that thread. Click the number next to the relevant username and it takes you to a search listing of all their posts in that thread.
> 
> Apologies if you already know all this and are looking for something quicker/more direct. ops


 Well, that's a way to do it but as far as I know that cannot be done from within a thread. IOW, you have to get out of the thread and do it from the forum list view. Which is very inconvenient if you are already inside the thread and you've just read a certain post and you'd like to see all of that user's posts within that thread without losing your place.

As far as I know you can't do that. It would be nice if there was a link right there on every post so it would be quick and simple to reference all of their posts in that thread.

It is possible this already exists and I just don't know it. I miss obvious stuff all the time. :lol

EDIT - When you click someone's user name in a thread, you get a drop down menu with a number of quick links. That would be a nice place for this kind of a link. I'd rather see their posts in this thread than a link that shows all their recent posts.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

finallyclosed said:


> Not allowing any religious threads, or any other type of institutionalized bigotry.


 Political views are basically the same as religion in my opinion. And, in fact, anything that isn't a scientifically proven fact could be seen as a sort of religious view. If you have any strong opinions, they're essentially based on faith. Since you cannot be persuaded otherwise by hearing someone else's opinion.


----------



## gthopia94

Finding an actual cure *cough* cannabis *cough* rather than bothering with these so called "medicines" that big pharma puts out.


----------



## The Notorious D.B.L

An influx of Brits!


----------



## Overdrive

More french people


----------



## Maslow

It would be nice to be able to filter posts by poster's age so we could look at posts by people in our own age group.


----------



## iAmCodeMonkey

Less incels polluting the relationship discussions.


----------



## Megaman

Silent Memory said:


> After the recent threads about SAS "dying", being too negative or not being supportive enough, I thought it might be time to have a thread where people can say what they think would help make it better.
> 
> If everyone did what they could to help and could give some ideas and feedback, it could make SAS the place they would like it to be.
> 
> Not all of these have to be answered, and it's okay not to answer any of them. The answers can be as long as you want:
> 
> ** What do you think would make SAS better?
> 
> * What type of threads would you like to see more of?
> 
> * What type of threads would you like to see less of?
> 
> * What would you change about SAS?
> 
> * What do you like least about SAS?
> 
> * Which new features would you like to see?
> 
> * Do you feel comfortable posting on SAS? If not, why?
> 
> * Do you think removing post count either completely or from certain subforums (Just For Fun is an example) would help to make a difference?
> 
> * Other thoughts:*
> 
> --
> 
> *These are the changes that have been made so far since this thread was created:*
> 
> * Maximum avatar size increased to 180 x 180 - March 28, 2017.


not limiting posts, my threads aren't even showing


----------



## BlackHorse

Bringing back the old chat interface.


----------



## Sus y

Do I write too long pms or the space for writing is too little? :um I would like the space for writing was larger so I can read it all without having to be scrolling.



iAmCodeMonkey said:


> Less incels polluting the relationship discussions.


 I'm all for more liberty but I guess not allowing a person to write 10000 threads about the same topic could help, for their on sanity and for the sake of the forum. Maybe just a pined thread where they can ran 100000000000000000000000 about the same topic and that's all.


----------



## komorikun

Sus y said:


> Do I write too long pms or the space for writing is too little? :um I would like the space for writing was larger so I can read it all without having to be scrolling.


Put your mouse icon here and pull down.


----------



## Sus y

komorikun said:


> Put your mouse icon here and pull down.


Thank you!
*Feels silly now*  lol


----------



## Fomorian

I'm new so maybe it's not my place, but would it not be best to have just one introduction thread.


----------



## alienbird

The ability for users to delete their own threads. Because then I'd probably make threads, knowing I'd have the option to delete them later. And people could have their fun with the threads while they were open. 

But I know that won't happen.


----------



## Maslow

Get rid of some of the bugs. I tried to post a few nights ago and got a "page not available" error.


----------



## Evo1114

komorikun said:


> Put your mouse icon here and pull down.


Awesome! Never knew that was there.

:nw


----------



## Sus y

Can we get added emoticons for holidays such as Christmas or Halloween? That would be nice :clap


----------



## love is like a dream

"like post" feature, so i can let people know that i like their posts without awkwardness.

click to send hugs feature , so at least people know that other people read their rant/sad posts, esp when people read your post and want to support but don't know what to say.


----------



## Sus y

Make an I'm forevervinginthatwilldiealone thread and pin it. Everybody who's wanting to talk about that topic could go there and post their stuff, so there is no need to open a new one of those? Not so sure if that would work.


----------



## shyvr6

My suggestion would be to try not to put redirects on threads going to Storage. When people click it, all it says is we don't have permission to view it and the title can still be viewed which wouldn't be good if it was something bad.



Coincidence said:


> "like post" feature, so i can let people know that i like their posts without awkwardness.
> 
> click to send hugs feature , so at least people know that other people read their rant/sad posts, esp when people read your post and want to support but don't know what to say.


The like feature has been discussed a lot on here, but it's one of those things that always gets denied. I haven't seen a hugs feature before, but it sounds interesting.


----------



## Maslow

Make the page links at the bottom (First < 1 | 2 | 3...) bigger so they're easier to select when using a mobile device.


----------



## Ai

Coincidence said:


> click to send hugs feature , so at least people know that other people read their rant/sad posts, esp when people read your post and want to support but don't know what to say.


Like a feature that sends a notification via private message or something, instead of being displayed publicly? I think that would be cool... Gets the job done without the risk of making other people feel ignored/inadequate.


----------



## Persephone The Dread

Grand said:


> *The ability for users to delete their own threads.* Because then I'd probably make threads, knowing I'd have the option to delete them later. And people could have their fun with the threads while they were open.
> 
> But I know that won't happen.


This would be good yeah, but I don't think it will be implemented like you say. People have brought this up before I think.


----------



## peace_love

I would say more genuine people. When I first came to this site waaaay back then before it was SAS, everyone just talked about their anxiety and tried to help one another. Some even becoming friends in real life. There was no trolling whatsoever. I felt more comfortable sharing things over there. But it turned into a meanspirited place that shocked me. The compassion needs to come back, otherwise people won't want to share anything. For some people, a site like this is all they have.


----------



## Persephone The Dread

I've just realised there's no way to delete your comments on other's blogs (unless I'm missing something.) So having a feature that allows you to do that would be useful I guess.


----------



## shyvr6

How about doing more site wide polls to get a consensus of a suggested idea instead of automatically approving or denying something based on limited responses in a thread?

This is mainly an issue from Helena forwarding everything for approval or automatically implementing something based on a few thread responses.


----------



## Hutetu

I would really like it if they made an app of this forum it would make it a lot easier to write.


----------



## CabecitaSilenciosa

There should be a thread with exposure exercises and self-help tips we all can try as a collective every day. Is there anything like that here?

Sent from my Z981 using Tapatalk


----------



## forever in flux

Bring back some of the legends of SAS and pay them a basic salary to stick around.

There are people who used to post on here many years ago when I was just a lurker. It's good that they've moved on for their own sake obviously but I dunno how many people using this site now have even heard of them. Some of them produced tons of helpful threads. Some of them were very witty. Others clownish. Others argumentative and trolling but nothing nasty. Some really stupid people too lol but it'd be cruel to bring them back.

Everything changes I guess. I've just got my memories and saved threads as bookmarks to comfort me now


----------



## forever in flux

peace_love said:


> I would say more genuine people. When I first came to this site waaaay back then before it was SAS, everyone just talked about their anxiety and tried to help one another. Some even becoming friends in real life. There was no trolling whatsoever. I felt more comfortable sharing things over there. But it turned into a meanspirited place that shocked me. The compassion needs to come back, otherwise people won't want to share anything. For some people, a site like this is all they have.


I don't know how they could do this unless the mods became very authoritarian and shut down anything even remotely troll-like. I personally think it would suck here if there was no banter. Whatever caused the changes is likely a culture / societal thing with the rise of social media generally than just SA.

I've no idea what the numbers were like for people using the site then Vs now but that's what would surely influence how's run because it's run for profit now whereas when Drew? originally set it up I don't think it was. It think it was his forum that he sold on.

What I dislike about this site is it often just appears like people shout out their opinions and rant with little personalised advice, or back and forth between members. Perhaps that's going on more in the PMs and GMs, but that's not much use to most people. I'm guilty of shouting out opinions or writing crap too so will hold my hands up as a hypocrite. My sh!t doesn't smell though so it's fine...


----------



## thomasjune

If I don't want to see what a member here has to say then as soon as I see their user name I'll just pass by whatever they have to say. Don't need an ignore function. No one is forcing me to listen to these people who I don't care about.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## HiddenFathoms

An icon (to the left of the YouTube one) that would have code to wrap spoilers around highlighted text when pressed, instead of having to manually insert it.


----------



## In a Lonely Place

thomasjune said:


> If I don't want to see what a member here has to say then as soon as I see their user name I'll just pass by whatever they have to say. Don't need an ignore function. No one is forcing me to listen to these people who I don't care about.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Some people aren't able to do that, god only knows how they will ever cope in the real world.
Very sad.


----------



## thomasjune

In a Lonely Place said:


> Some people aren't able to do that, god only knows how they will ever cope in the real world.
> Very sad.


Lol. Yes it is sad. &#128522;
Some people just need to make things way more complicated than they need to be.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## komorikun

Maybe these threads should be combined. They seem identical to me:

http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/f24/type-what-you-re-thinking-about-right-now-2031289/

http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/f35/what-s-bothering-you-right-now-2053185/

http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/f24/random-thought-of-the-day-716633/

http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/f24/how-are-you-feeling-142375/


----------



## crimeclub

komorikun said:


> Maybe these threads should be combined. They seem identical to me:
> 
> http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/f24/type-what-you-re-thinking-about-right-now-2031289/
> 
> http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/f35/what-s-bothering-you-right-now-2053185/
> 
> http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/f24/random-thought-of-the-day-716633/
> 
> http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/f24/how-are-you-feeling-142375/


Keep 'What's bothering you right now' separate, a lot of people try to avoid that thread, and the frustration section all together.


----------



## Kilgore Trout

Let us host our avatars elsewhere!!!
I've been trying to set a gif as my avatar since morning but 125kb is ridiculously small. Just let us host our avatars elsewhere so they can be whatever size(file size) and you can save your precious space.

PLEAAASE!


Sent using Tapatalk because SAS post limit is utterly stupid


----------



## komorikun

I don't like gif avatars. They are distracting.


----------



## Kilgore Trout

komorikun said:


> I don't like gif avatars. They are distracting.


:wife

Sent using Tapatalk because SAS post limit is utterly stupid


----------



## Chevy396

I made a post a couple days ago in "What's bothering you", and it seemed to get support from some people who agreed. Basically I think there should be a feature added that makes a post be marked as read if you view it other ways than directly from the alert link, which would prevent the site from leaving up your notifications that someone replied to your post when you've already came across that post on your own.

I would be willing to write the code for it if I have to. I would need to have a direct line to the admin though.


----------



## shyvr6

So have any of the ideas in this thread been implemented at all? This thread has been up for over a year now. I hope my example below didn't come true.



shyvr6 said:


> Alright, good to know. Well I know things can be slow, but I hope the good or plausible ideas would get discussed at some point. *I'd hate to see this thread up for a year for example and the discussions are at the same spot that they are now.*


Here are my original ideas again, but are updated since my last interaction about them.



shyvr6 said:


> *Remove the swear filter.* It's supposed to be a 'family site', but we all know that kids aren't coming on here with their families and most teens are exposed to curse words already. Make it allowable as long as expletives aren't being spammed in a post.
> 
> *Make the search feature go beyond 10 pages like it used to be.* Ask Helena about why it was changed and see if it can get changed back if it's possible.


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

shyvr6 said:


> So have any of the ideas in this thread been implemented at all? This thread has been up for over a year now. I hope my example below didn't come true.
> 
> Here are my original ideas again, but are updated since my last interaction about them.


I'm afraid that there has still really been very little discussion of the ideas in this thread, in the mod forum. Not quite sure why that is  Actually, I suppose that could have been one advantage of having an effective group of users with a mentor-like status as I wanted (that idea is _never_ going to happen, though). IMO it would have been nice to have some people with whatever non-mod title who are not primarily focussed on upholding the rules, would not potentially be disliked because of that, and instead just help the site in various other ways.

As for the swear filter, I don't really disagree with you. But I don't know if TDK would agree to turn it off altogether (remember, like I have said before you cannot have per-usergroup swear filter settings with the software, unfortunately). And if SAS wasn't owned by a large company, you might have more luck with that. Somehow I can't see VS being very happy about it. I'm still as mystified by the search change as you are. Why not PM Helena or start a board help and feedback thread about it? And it was Silent Memory who originally started this thread, the other mods were not consulted beforehand. If you PM her, she may be willing to try and stimulate some more discussion in the mod forum.


----------



## Memories of Silence

shyvr6 said:


> So have any of the ideas in this thread been implemented at all? This thread has been up for over a year now. I hope my example below didn't come true.
> 
> Here are my original ideas again, but are updated since my last interaction about them.


I have posted in the thread in the moderator section again to see if any of the ideas are still possible.  I hope they can start being added soon.

I'm not really sure why there hasn't been much discussion about it, either. When an idea is posted in Board Help and Feedback, there is usually a discussion thread about it in the mod section, which is how some of those have been added. The only thing I can think of is that it's a lot of ideas at once, instead of only thinking of one at a time.

--

The search feature confuses me because when I use it, it only shows that there are nine pages, but it still has the same number of results as it did when there were still ten pages.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

The swear filter thing - IMO, it's not an SAS thing. It's a cultural thing. Trying to allow swearing is still one of those things where you're basically beating your head against tradition. 

It never bothered me that much, TBH. 9 times out of ten people can still make a pretty good guess what was said anyhow. It's kinda funny in that way that a woman not wearing a shirt is. You can see everything but the boobs and you know that the censors are hiding boobs so what is the point of hiding it? People apparently can't imagine what a boob looks like. :lol


----------



## The Dark Knight

LydeaCharlotte said:


> As for the swear filter, I don't really disagree with you. But I don't know if TDK would agree to turn it off altogether (remember, like I have said before you cannot have per-usergroup swear filter settings with the software, unfortunately). And if SAS wasn't owned by a large company, you might have more luck with that. Somehow I can't see VS being very happy about it.


At one time years ago we had the option to turn the swear filter on or off ourselves depending on personal preference. It was on by default but if someone wanted to turn it off on their end they could. I believe the board was running phpBB software at the time. If it were possible to do that again with vbulletin I wouldn't have any problem with allowing it, but I'm afraid disabling it completely would cause more problems because not everyone here is comfortable with profanity.


----------



## Kilgore Trout

I'm totally pro-profanity.


----------



## shyvr6

I made a thread about the search, but I realized something about it that changed from the last time I used it. When you search for posts on someone's profile or through the drop-down menu, it only goes to 8 pages, but when you do it through the normal search it goes back to 67 pages now. When did that change? It used to be 10 pages. Still not as far as originally, but it's a lot more. Alright, so I guess I won't worry about that issue then.

For the filter, what about doing a site wide poll to see what people think about it? Should the swear filter be removed? Yes/No


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

shyvr6 said:


> I made a thread about the search, but I realized something about it that changed from the last time I used it. When you search for posts on someone's profile or through the drop-down menu, it only goes to 8 pages, but when you do it through the normal search it goes back to 67 pages now. When did that change? It used to be 10 pages. Still not as far as originally, but it's a lot more. Alright, so I guess I won't worry about that issue then.
> 
> For the filter, what about doing a site wide poll to see what people think about it? Should the swear filter be removed? Yes/No


It won't neccessarily be an exact yes/no. But i am thinking about some kind of poll on the swear filter, it will be in board help and feedback.


----------



## Sus y

The Dark Knight said:


> At one time years ago we had the option to turn the swear filter on or off ourselves depending on personal preference. It was on by default but if someone wanted to turn it off on their end they could. I believe the board was running phpBB software at the time. If it were possible to do that again with vbulletin I wouldn't have any problem with allowing it, but I'm afraid disabling it completely would cause more problems because not everyone here is comfortable with profanity.


Those are reasons why I'm not learning to swear in English :crying:, I wish I could read all the profanity but I can't.


----------



## SplendidBob

Sus y said:


> Those are reasons why I'm not learning to swear in English :crying:, I wish I could read all the profanity but I can't.


You need an English swearing teacher. My rates are excellent and I am incredibly well versed in the art of ****ing swearing.


----------



## Sus y

splendidbob said:


> You need an English swearing teacher. My rates are excellent and I am incredibly well versed in the art of ****ing swearing.


Funny thing is that every time I'm reading the *** I'm like what does it say and I try to put words until it somehow the phrase makes sense and if I can't I change the ** for any word I like. :nerd:

I'm been searching for English swearing teachers: frown2:, also a British humor one too, I'm so clueless when it's about British humor :crying:


----------



## komorikun

Let me think of the Spanish swear words I know.


hijo de puta
pendejo
*******
carajo
mierda
cabron
culo


----------



## Sus y

@komorikun
Good job!


----------



## Evo1114

komorikun said:


> Let me think of the Spanish swear words I know.
> 
> hijo de puta
> pendejo
> *******
> carajo
> mierda
> cabron
> culo


You forgot joder! Que te jodan! (Just kidding).


----------



## Evo1114

I have a Mexican coworker friend who like whispers with her coworker friend (also Mexican) saying 'chingado <whatever>', so like a tourettes sufferer, I will loudly say 'chingado' even when customers are standing right near me. And she always tells me to be quiet. For whatever reason, this made me realize that it's probably not a good idea. Swear words in other languages I guess just don't feel like 'swear words' to people who don't speak the language.


----------



## komorikun

pinche ******


----------



## Evo1114

:laugh:


----------



## SplendidBob

Sus y said:


> Funny thing is that every time I'm reading the *** I'm like what does it say and I try to put words until it somehow the phrase makes sense and if I can't I change the ** for any word I like. :nerd:
> 
> I'm been searching for English swearing teachers: frown2:, also a British humor one too, I'm so clueless when it's about British humor :crying:


You seem to do pretty well understanding British humour.:smile2:

So in essence then, what the ****ing swear filters do, ***, is make you think of many many swear words rather than just the single one intended. That makes the filter entirely couterpro***ductive. :wink2:

*** endlessly ** manteats *********** ****.


----------



## Sus y

splendidbob said:


> You seem to do pretty well understanding British humour.:smile2:
> 
> So in essence then, what the ****ing swear filters do, ***, is make you think of many many swear words rather than just the single one intended. That makes the filter entirely couterpro***ductive. :wink2:
> 
> *** endlessly ** manteats *********** ****.


:laugh: I had fun reading that, so much I could imagine haha.


----------



## Kilgore Trout

I'd like to share my own experience in regards to the matter of profanity: A few days ago a member mistakenly thought that I was going to suck dick while all I was going to do was to defecate. This emotionally devastated me. Please un**** profanity to prevent such tragedies in the future.


----------



## Limmy

It being 2013/14


----------



## RelinquishedHell

Stop giving the trolls and whiny crybabies that think everything is an outrage attention and validation and they'll go away.


----------



## iAmCodeMonkey




----------



## bipolar92

Indica Maryjane is good, at least for me.


----------



## 65438455

If the world was a friendlier place, where everyone accepted everyone else, no judging ect


----------



## foggydream

drugs drugs drugs

or

confident


----------



## Alpha Tauri

Jumping to the last page of a thread when clicking it from the _Recent Discussions_ side bar


----------



## Persephone The Dread

Vines
























































or free pizza


----------



## Kilgore Trout

More me.

One of SAS's greatest shortcomings is that it only has one me. More copies of me would definitely make SAS better. 
Also more of my SAS crushes. Either copies of them, or them posting more. Would definitely make SAS better.


----------



## Ms kim

More laughter and less stress.


----------



## Sus y

geraltofrivia said:


> More me.
> 
> One of SAS's greatest shortcomings is that it only has one me. More copies of me would definitely make SAS better.
> Also more of my SAS crushes. Either copies of them, or them posting more. Would definitely make SAS better.


If you discover how to clon people tell me, I have some I want to clon, also control their mind, tell me when you achieve that as well.


----------



## Kilgore Trout

Sus y said:


> If you discover how to clon people tell me, I have some I want to clon, also control their mind, tell me when you achieve that as well.


Sure 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Nekobasu

I wish it had Lucky Charms with only marshmallows.


----------



## alenclaud

Teaching helped me a lot with dealing with social anxiety.


----------



## Slacker

Bingo Night


----------



## SplendidBob

Slacker said:


> Bingo Night


In on this.


----------



## Scrub-Zero

More Cannon Group pure 80s action and a lot less twilight teenage dark drama.


----------



## SamanthaStrange

Cake and ice cream.


----------



## Sus y

Slacker said:


> Bingo Night


Don't know how an online bingo night works, no idea, although you could make a thread for gathering people to play games and such? maybe? If anyone is on it, I'll like to play scrabbles and I claim a right to play both Spanish and English at the same time, also I claim a right to invent words, take more time that it corresponds and break any other rule that would lead me to win, I don't cheat, that's horrible, I just modify the games. :grin2:


----------



## Slacker

splendidbob said:


> In on this.


:boogie



Sus y said:


> Don't know how an online bingo night works, no idea, although you could make a thread for gathering people to play games and such? maybe? If anyone is on it, I'll like to play scrabbles and I claim a right to play both Spanish and English at the same time, also I claim a right to invent words, take more time that it corresponds and break any other rule that would lead me to win, I don't cheat, that's horrible, I just modify the games. :grin2:


If Spanish words were allowed, you could make up all the words you want because I wouldn't know any better. lol

Might get suspicious when you keep using all your tiles ever turn though.


----------



## Mabel Pines

More pictures of puppies and kittens.


----------



## funnynihilist

Put everyone with over 10k posts on the payroll


----------



## SplendidBob

Mabel Pines said:


> More pictures of puppies and kittens.


*YES.* Fighting to the death


----------



## Mabel Pines

splendidbob said:


> *YES.* Fighting to the death


Nah. Preening and cleaning and grooming each other. Have you seen the video of the mama otter preening her baby? It was sooooo adorable. :heart


----------



## Sus y

Slacker said:


> If Spanish words were allowed, you could make up all the words you want because I wouldn't know any better. lol
> 
> Might get suspicious when you keep using all your tiles ever turn though.


I have a word for you: nwurzarigiurtvrijewifru. I won and we aren't even playing. >



funnynihilist said:


> Put everyone with over 10k posts on the payroll


Only if they are funny but not nihilistic and are added also those who have fewer posts but are female and Spanish speakers.



splendidbob said:


> *YES.* Fighting to the death


So many great ideas by now! :O :O you won't stop surprising me! >



SamanthaStrange said:


> Cake and ice cream.


And cookies!!


----------



## Scrub-Zero

funnynihilist said:


> Put everyone with over 10k posts on the payroll


haha. Yes, please.


----------



## Evo1114

karenw said:


> Less bs


Less b.o.


----------



## Daxi004

Is there no random gif thread?


----------



## Sus y

I have seen some threads where users attempt to celebrate something get filled with weird interchanges between users. Is it possible to fix this situation? Like celebrating threads to have a rule for not posting stuff contrary to the celebrating reason (or spamming them) or mods deleting those comments that have nothing to do with it? Just wondering, don't know if either thing could work.


----------



## Mabel Pines

Sus y said:


> I have seen some threads where users attempt to celebrate something get filled with weird interchanges between users. Is it possible to fix this situation? Like celebrating threads to have a rule for not posting stuff contrary to the celebrating reason (or spamming them) or mods deleting those comments that have nothing to do with it? Just wondering, don't know if either thing could work.


That would disrupt the natural course of how threads go, lol, which is that a topic gets posted and it devolves from there.


----------



## tehuti88

Sus y said:


> I have seen some threads where users attempt to celebrate something get filled with weird interchanges between users. Is it possible to fix this situation? Like celebrating threads to have a rule for not posting stuff contrary to the celebrating reason (or spamming them) or mods deleting those comments that have nothing to do with it? Just wondering, don't know if either thing could work.


You can try reporting the exceptionally obnoxious posts for violating the "Conflicts" or "Baiting" rule (depending on the context), which has to do with users derailing threads with their personal/offtopic conflicts and/or attempting to bait somebody into an argument. Not sure what the chance of them getting deleted is, but maybe if enough people complain it'll work.



> *Conflicts*
> If you have any issue or problem with material posted in this forum, or with the behavior of another community member, please make a report or email or PM the staff for a confidential discussion of the issue. Inciting (such as through baiting) or engaging in conflict (e.g. fighting or quarreling beyond a civil exchange; publicly calling out/discussing another member) is not permitted.


----------



## SamanthaStrange

Something that stops insane people from making multiple accounts.


----------



## Sus y

tehuti88 said:


> You can try reporting the exceptionally obnoxious posts for violating the "Conflicts" or "Baiting" rule (depending on the context), which has to do with users derailing threads with their personal/offtopic conflicts and/or attempting to bait somebody into an argument. Not sure what the chance of them getting deleted is, but maybe if enough people complain it'll work.


Oh! Thanks for the information, I'll keep that in mind, tho I'm not too sure if I'll be the one reporting, I hope it's someone else :b. I feel with some of those celebration threads that sometimes people want to just get derailing them for there not be any celebration, party poopers, I guess.


----------



## Rebootplease

SamanthaStrange said:


> Something that stops insane people from making multiple accounts.


Who do you think has multiple accounts? Use our secret code language to tell me.


----------



## Sus y

SamanthaStrange said:


> Something that stops insane people from making multiple accounts.


Can you notice them? I mean as an specific user?


----------



## WillYouStopDave

SamanthaStrange said:


> Something that stops insane people from making multiple accounts.


 Well, we're all a little bit insane when we have to be. But there's a special category of "insane" for the SAS trolls. I mean, at least it makes sense for people who have been banned to make another account and pretend it isn't them. But there's something scary wrong with people who need to have like ten accounts going at one time just because they get off on it. :um


----------



## Persephone The Dread

Like is this person psychotic or something or just ****ing around?


----------



## justforthrill

Sure let's talk.


Rebootplease said:


> The only person I saw that got banned started with a o and ended in a c. But reverse that.
> 
> Imagine if everyone that just posted here was the same person ? Creeeepy
> 
> Anyone want to talk on the phone. I got some justalk app lets u call international too . I am bored also nervous but hey aren't we all?


----------



## Rebootplease

justforthrill said:


> Sure let's talk.
> 
> 
> Rebootplease said:
> 
> 
> 
> The only person I saw that got banned started with a o and ended in a c. But reverse that.
> 
> Imagine if everyone that just posted here was the same person ? Creeeepy
> 
> Anyone want to talk on the phone. I got some justalk app lets u call international too . I am bored also nervous but hey aren't we all?
Click to expand...

Pm'ed.


----------



## Rebootplease

karenw said:


> A hangover cure


We know who went out last night


----------



## Post_Punk_Proclivity

Less tolerance for negative behaviour towards others.


----------



## Protozoan

The chat-room could do with some moderation, I feel like some users are probably scaring others off from wanting to engage in discussion with generally toxic & backwards comments or behaviours. Sexism as an example, seems relatively common, unfortunately.


----------



## Fruitcake

I would like this forum a lot more if the user Fruitcake would talk about sexual harassment less and focus on more positive topics, like bunnies. Oh wait bunnies are killing New Zealand's native wildlife. Umm positive topics like native wildlife (but not talking about how the native wildlife will all be extinct in 200 years) and uh... what's something that can't be bad for you? Leafy greens? Walnuts! Those are good for you. Are walnuts going to be extinct within 200 years? Damn it. I will think on this and get back to you.

Oh I see you have a template for me to fill out.

*What do you think would make SAS better? 
More censorship of *******ry (including if I'm being an *******)

* What type of threads would you like to see more of?
Threads about interesting studies or people talking about creative/silly ideas.

* What type of threads would you like to see less of?
Men complaining about women. Complain about bunny rabbits instead, do you know what those *******s are doing to New Zealand birds? As a native kiwi bird I can tell you they're doing almost as much damage as kiwi men are doing to New Zealand birds.

* What would you change about SAS?
More birds.

* What do you like least about SAS?
It gives me the chance to complain about sad things which just makes me sadder. But I can choose to post more nice things, just you wait. I'm gonna post about bunnies RIGHT NOW OHHH BUNNIES ARE SO CUTE AND SOFT I LOVE TO PAT THEIR LITTLE TUMS well I haven't patted a bunny in a while. You know what? I'm gonna go to the pet store TOMORROW!! Thanks SAS you CHANGED MY LIFE!!

* Which new features would you like to see?
Pat a bunny through the screen.

* Do you feel comfortable posting on SAS? If not, why?
No because there are too many sexist guys who tell me what to think and feel. Make the sexist guys stop please. Is there a women's forum yet? Not group but forum?

* Other thoughts: bunnies are soft, why do they have to be our enemies? It's such a soft, cruel world out there.


----------



## Rebootplease

Notifications when someone responds to your posts.


----------



## Sus y

Rebootplease said:


> Notifications when someone responds to your posts.


That exists already.


----------



## Rebootplease

Sus y said:


> Rebootplease said:
> 
> 
> 
> Notifications when someone responds to your posts.
> 
> 
> 
> That exists already.
Click to expand...

Oh where do I find this? I use the mobile version of this site, maybe that is why I don't see ?


----------



## Sus y

Rebootplease said:


> Oh where do I find this? I use the mobile version of this site, maybe that is why I don't see ?


Possible, I don't know, I have used both laptop and phone and get the notifications, tho I open the full version when using it on the phone.


----------



## Evo1114

Fruitcake said:


> I would like this forum a lot more if the user Fruitcake would talk about sexual harassment less and focus on more positive topics, like bunnies. Oh wait bunnies are killing New Zealand's native wildlife. Umm positive topics like native wildlife (but not talking about how the native wildlife will all be extinct in 200 years) and uh... what's something that can't be bad for you? Leafy greens? Walnuts! Those are good for you. Are walnuts going to be extinct within 200 years? Damn it. I will think on this and get back to you.
> 
> * What type of threads would you like to see less of?
> Men complaining about women. Complain about bunny rabbits instead, do you know what those *******s are doing to New Zealand birds? As a native kiwi bird I can tell you they're doing almost as much damage as kiwi men are doing to New Zealand birds.
> 
> * What would you change about SAS?
> More birds.
> 
> * What do you like least about SAS?
> It gives me the chance to complain about sad things which just makes me sadder. But I can choose to post more nice things, just you wait. I'm gonna post about bunnies RIGHT NOW OHHH BUNNIES ARE SO CUTE AND SOFT I LOVE TO PAT THEIR LITTLE TUMS well I haven't patted a bunny in a while. You know what? I'm gonna go to the pet store TOMORROW!! Thanks SAS you CHANGED MY LIFE!!
> 
> * Which new features would you like to see?
> Pat a bunny through the screen.
> 
> * Other thoughts: bunnies are soft, why do they have to be our enemies? It's such a soft, cruel world out there.


I wholeheartedly agree with all of this. Except I do not care about bunnies destroying New Zealand, since I don't live there. They can do what they want as long as they continue to be fluffy.


----------



## BlackHorse

Remove the adds *they're annoying af* and not relevant to me personally. I remember a time where there were no adds, but then SAS suddenly became a corporate site, and the values of the site degraded, as with the management.


----------



## Fun Spirit

What I least like about the forum is the fact that the Group are inactive. 
I found some cool SAS groups here but when I join I see that it had not had any activity for a few years.
This is not really the Forum staff fault. People aren't just on I guess.

I would change how one can customize their Profile Page. Make it more easier to customize. 
The Preview option doesn't show enough because you think you have your colors all figured out but once you click saved and go to your profile page you notice you have to change your color again because it doesn't coordinate with a background color.


Do I feel comfortable posting on the forum?
If I wasn't I wouldn't had join the forum.
There are certain form sections I have blocked because it is either too negative or it goes against my belief.


----------



## BlackHorse

Looks like they did something about the ads... Instead of removing them, make them more appealing to the target audience to keep that funding I guess.


----------



## greentea33

The option to delete your own account would be nice. 



Just changing your password to something you cant remember seems like bad advice on a site that gets hacked regularly.

I hate feeling like I'm forced to stay somewhere. I will never join any site again unless I'm given the option to delete.


----------



## shyvr6

greentea33 said:


> Just changing your password to something you cant remember seems like bad advice on a site that gets hacked regularly.


Did I miss something? I haven't heard of this place getting hacked regularly. Only time I know of is from a couple years ago when VS had a data breach and got all their info stolen from the websites they own.


----------



## BlackHorse

Make SAS great again!!!


----------



## GeomTech

*sigh* Yep. Not going to happen, and would impinge upon the freedom principle, but yes, it would be nice if this talk about relationships and women/men relations were dialed back quite a bit (perhaps even a GREAT, GREAT deal). 

And yes, more posts on odd, creative stuffs or random ideas. 

Controversial topics are a bit spooky (yes, the ghosts of the ideas are out to get me)/scary, but they can stay. 

Oh well. Either going to have to look for new forums or continue viewing this gunk. More than likely, I'm probably just going to hang around here for another 6 months - 1 year or something.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

It would be nice if they would make it so that it's impossible to make a post that contains nothing but a photo or a mindless looping gif. The gifs are especially obnoxious because they slow down load times. more than pics.


----------



## SamanthaStrange

WillYouStopDave said:


> It would be nice if they would make it so that it's impossible to make a post that contains nothing but a photo or a mindless looping gif. The gifs are especially obnoxious because they slow down load times. more than pics.


You can change your settings to turn off images. Avid gif user here, my apologies. :b


----------



## Evo1114

SamanthaStrange said:


> You can change your settings to turn off images. Avid gif user here, my apologies. :b


Yeah, why don't you gif us a break with all those images???

Get it?


----------



## SamanthaStrange

Evo1114 said:


> Yeah, why don't you gif us a break with all those images???
> 
> Get it?


----------



## Persephone The Dread

On another forum I used to post on they said before registering to create a username that you don't use anywhere else and have rules against posting identifiable info. Just thinking that if there isn't already you could create a warning so people don't use the username they use for this site anywhere else. Since one reason offsite stalking happens is because people use the same username in multiple places and that seems like an easy one to avoid by warning people not to do that when signing up.


----------



## komorikun

Persephone The Dread said:


> On another forum I used to post on they said before registering to create a username that you don't use anywhere else and have rules against posting identifiable info. Just thinking that if there isn't already you could create a warning so people don't use the username they use for this site anywhere else. Since one reason offsite stalking happens is because people use the same username in multiple places and that seems like an easy one to avoid by warning people not to do that when signing up.


Yeah, I've googled certain usernames here and sometimes you find their profiles not only on other forums, but also on dating sites. Bad, bad idea.


----------



## Memories of Silence

I think that would be a good idea. One of the most common reasons people ask for a username change is that it was the same as a username they had somewhere else, and they didn't want to be found on here.


----------



## Chris S W

By making it so members can embed YouTube videos like before, instead of the embed method creating a link (which doesn't even work for me). That would be much appreciated.


----------



## In a Lonely Place

Fixing it


----------



## komorikun

I hate how you can't swear on this forum. Can't even say ***. Arse is okay for some reason though. 

Ludicrous. Who are we trying to protect? Are there any 8 year olds on this forum?


----------



## In a Lonely Place

Arse


----------



## tehuti88

Silent Memory said:


> I think that would be a good idea. One of the most common reasons people ask for a username change is that it was the same as a username they had somewhere else, and they didn't want to be found on here.


Could be given as an opt in/out advisory when signing up (something along the lines of, "Sensitive information you share on a mental health forum may be viewable to the general public, so it's advised that you use a name different from that on other sites, use the same name at your own risk, yadda yadda"--and maybe a link to the "stalker" thread), rather than a rule. I actually prefer using the same/similar username on most sites and would be bothered if I couldn't use my "regular" one. This name is now "me."

It makes me easier to stalk, yes, but so does everything else about me (my writing, my posting style, my personal details, my physical/psychological description, my anecdotes); literally the only way I could avoid being stalked is to not post anything, period. :/ It also makes it a bit more difficult for people to impersonate me (yeah, it's happened -_- ...) since I'm pretty transparent.

The _one_ time I left a site as Tehuti and then returned with a different name, the very moment I shared a small personal anecdote, a regular there promptly outed me. Meanwhile I did sign up with a different name on Wrong Planet, but never felt comfortable sharing *anything* there since I would end up outing myself. I really suck at aliases.


----------



## shyvr6

komorikun said:


> I hate how you can't swear on this forum. Can't even say ***. Arse is okay for some reason though.
> 
> Ludicrous. Who are we trying to protect? Are there any 8 year olds on this forum?


Yeah, I also want to get rid of it. The youngest person I remember seeing on here was a 12 year old and they likely already seen every swear word on the Internet by now. I think it was decided to not censor every variation because there are so many and people will just add in a letter in order to keep it uncensored anyway. It was basically just easier to edit or enforce something if you saw it.

Edit: Also for VS, let's try not plan big updates right before an extended holiday...


----------



## girlyone1

Giving Blackhorse another chance.


----------



## Lonely Hobbit

A shoutbox would be nice. I've been on forums much less active than SAS that had very active shoutboxes.


----------



## Suchness

Give Impedido another chance.

Honestly, I think the perma bans are a bit harsh. I would warn someone three times and then temporarily ban them a couple of times before a perma ban.


----------



## SamanthaStrange

Suchness said:


> Give Impedido another chance.
> 
> Honestly, I think the perma bans are a bit harsh. I would warn someone three times and then temporarily ban them a couple of times before a perma ban.


He's only temp banned, and I'm pretty certain they do give people several chances before a permaban.


----------



## Suchness

SamanthaStrange said:


> He's only temp banned, and I'm pretty certain they do give people several chances before a permaban.


Thanks, Samantha. That wasn't a strange reply but it made sense.


----------



## Memories of Silence

Suchness said:


> I would warn someone three times and then temporarily ban them a couple of times before a perma ban.


That is what happens, but sometimes there are exceptions because the person has made a new account after being permanently banned. Some people who are banned fast are trolls or stalkers. They might seem like normal members, but anyone who has seen them before will usually know who they are. These people keep joining, which makes it look like it's easy to get banned.


----------



## Suchness

Silent Memory said:


> That is what happens, but sometimes there are exceptions because the person has made a new account after being permanently banned. Some people who are banned fast are trolls or stalkers. They might seem like normal members, but anyone who has seen them before will usually know who they are. These people keep joining, which makes it look like it's easy to get banned.


Yeah, makes sense.


----------



## BackToThePast

Would love to see this site transfer ownership to a company whose focus isn't divided into 600 separate forums, but that ain't gonna happen so...a shadow ban feature for repeat offenders could be effective. Have them retain their ability to post, but their posts (and PMs) would only be seen by the moderators and admins thus isolating some of the oblivious to one, easy to track account.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

BackToThePast said:


> Would love to see this site transfer ownership to a company whose focus isn't divided into 600 separate forums, but that ain't gonna happen so...a shadow ban feature for repeat offenders could be effective. Have them retain their ability to post, but their posts (and PMs) would only be seen by the moderators and admins thus isolating some of the oblivious to one, easy to track account.


 Well, there are things that could be done that would make it much more challenging for repeat offenders. Things such as making it a requirement to be a member for a certain amount of time before you're allowed to make any threads (or limiting new users to one thread per week or something). Most of the trolls do their trolling by making tons of new threads will all sorts of trollish subjects to reel people in. They do this until they get banned and then they do it again.

If you had to have like 500 posts before you could make a thread, there would still be trolls but they'd have to work much harder.

The mods probably would be willing to do things differently but I think it's the site owners who are preventing them from developing more creative anti-trolling methods. The owners are just not that engaged with any one forum. I'm sure there are more trolls on here than there are on many of their forums. It's simply the nature of the subject matter. There probably just aren't that many really dedicated trolls on a Toyota forum, for example, as there are on a mental health forum (I don't know that for a fact but I would guess there aren't.

Anyway, the nature of this place is that it attracts people who have a few screws loose. Most sane people just aren't going to join the same forum over and over for years on end just to cause trouble.

I don't think the shadow ban thing is going to appeal to many people because everyone is thinking "Well, it would suck if I got banned and didn't know it". At any rate, if the trolls knew there was a policy of shadow banning, they'd eventually figure it out.

Really, what needs to happen is just something to slow them down and make the process of making a ton of duplicate accounts more trouble than it's worth to the vast majority of would be trolls.


----------



## BackToThePast

everything


----------



## andy0128

It would be a shame to punish all new members to curb the behaviour of a few determined trolls. Since they are above the law it seems the only solution is to not reveal too many personal details .


----------



## Memories of Silence

I feel like if everyone was punished for it, it would mean the trolls have got what they wanted and won. They would be happy if things were changed because of them, and that might make them want to stay so they can see what else they can do to be annoying.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

BackToThePast said:


> I'm not a huge fan of stricter requirements for new members because it'd be punishing the innocent new members way more than the culprits.


 Considering the length of time people tend to stay on this forum once they have established themselves, a requirement to wait a few months before you can make a whole bunch of new threads every day isn't really a punishment. They would still be able to post. Just not make ten troll threads every day right off the bat for a month until they get banned.



> More effective than shadow bans? Sure, but I'm positive the site owners have it as their top priority to keep new members here and avoid anything that might drive them away.


 Frankly, anyone who has been on this forum for a while would know that (unfortunately) any new user here is just as likely to be a previously banned troll as they are to be anything else. That is the unfortunate reality that makes this conversation even necessary to be having.



> There's really no easy solution to people trying to evade the mod police without drawbacks.


 What could be easier than spending a few weeks getting acclimated on a brand new forum before being allowed to just run wild until someone figures out you're that guy who's been banned 50 times in the last 5 years?


----------



## BackToThePast

WillYouStopDave said:


> Considering the length of time people tend to stay on this forum once they have established themselves, a requirement to wait a few months before you can make a whole bunch of new threads every day isn't really a punishment. They would still be able to post. Just not make ten troll threads every day right off the bat for a month until they get banned.
> 
> Frankly, anyone who has been on this forum for a while would know that (unfortunately) any new user here is just as likely to be a previously banned troll as they are to be anything else. That is the unfortunate reality that makes this conversation even necessary to be having.
> 
> What could be easier than spending a few weeks getting acclimated on a brand new forum before being allowed to just run wild until someone figures out you're that guy who's been banned 50 times in the last 5 years?


I don't see how preventing them from creating threads prevents them from being disruptive. People can still troll through posts and harass people through PMs. We could go further and prevent them from posting or PMing entirely for months, but then we're already far past the point where it's more about doing whatever it takes to rid this forum of trolling than doing what's best for everyone.

I disagree with your second point, unless you have the statistics to back that up. For every troll account I'm sure there's dozens of more new accounts of people who genuinely don't have ill intentions.

The easiest solution is not always the best solution.


----------



## Kilgore Trout

A Cyberpunk theme which plays Linkin Park in the background.


----------



## Persephone The Dread

geraltofrivia said:


> A Cyberpunk theme which plays Linkin Park in the background.


Synthwave (or any kind of dark industrial music really,) probably fits the theme better:











or this track that soundtrack is so good it's almost better than the film (but no it's not better than the film because the film is so good but it's a really good soundtrack):






or my all time favourite creepy ancient Japanese wedding chant:


----------



## Kilgore Trout

Persephone The Dread said:


> Synthwave (or any kind of dark industrial music really,) probably fits the theme better


I listen to synthwave when I workout. It feels like I'm getting ready for the AI apocalypse. (I'm with the AI obviously).



> or my all time favourite creepy ancient Japanese wedding chant


@[email protected]


----------



## Evo1114

andy0128 said:


> It would be a shame to punish all new members to curb the behaviour of a few determined trolls. Since they are above the law it seems the only solution is to not reveal too many personal details .


Yep. Problem is, the more persistent people (usually those who fall under the 'stalker' category) can probably pry people enough for them to reveal personal info eventually. Yes, if 2 people are exchanging messages forever and never know any personal details about each other, the convo will burn out rather quickly. Hopefully people can just abstain for a while and be able to notice warning signs.

The annoying trolls don't bother me too much. If it gets too bad, people really should use the 'ignore' feature. Of course, there are A LOT of no-life losers trolling this place so not banning them will cause it to be out of control.

If you ARE talking to somebody and are feeling uneasy about whether or not they are legit, send a message to a mod or somebody trustworthy (I think most long-term members would fall into this category, for example) and ask. There are a lot of good people here who aren't going to like judge anybody or blow crap up between 2 people.


----------



## 0589471

an actual block option would be nice, would make users feel more secure posting if their stalkers can't follow their posts in the forum. Ignore is a useless option imo. I'm having a tough time as it is and feel pushed out of this place lately.


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

A Toxic Butterfly said:


> an actual block option would be nice, would make users feel more secure posting if their stalkers can't follow their posts in the forum. Ignore is a useless option imo. I'm having a tough time as it is and feel pushed out of this place lately.


As I have said before, that is not going to happen, sorry. I don't think it's even technically possible with this forum software. A forum is different from Facebook or Twitter anyway. IMO it wouldn't be appropriate on here because the whole point of the site is for everyone to follow each other's posts, the ignore feature doesn't totally block that as you say. I suspect too many people would abuse a genuine block feature just because they don't especially like someone who isn't doing anything really bad, instead of maybe being tempted to respond to their posts. The number/quality of posts would suffer. It's a shame you're feelkng pushed out of this place, but there is only so much that can be done about the harassment problem, unfortunately.


----------



## 0589471

LydeaCharlotte said:


> As I have said before, that is not going to happen, sorry. I don't think it's even technically possible with this forum software. A forum is different from Facebook or Twitter anyway. IMO it wouldn't be appropriate on here because the whole point of the site is for everyone to follow each other's posts, the ignore feature doesn't totally block that as you say. I suspect too many people would abuse a genuine block feature just because they don't especially like someone who isn't doing anything really bad, instead of maybe being tempted to respond to their posts. The number/quality of posts would suffer. It's a shame you're feelkng pushed out of this place, but there is only so much that can be done about the harassment problem, unfortunately.


got it. didn't see it mentioned earlier thanks.


----------



## In a Lonely Place

A reason given for permanent bannings so folks can see what gets you booted from here. At times the moderation is inconsistent regarding bad language etc... so it woul be nice to see which mod banned so and so and for what reason.


----------



## Memories of Silence

In a Lonely Place said:


> A reason given for permanent bannings so folks can see what gets you booted from here. At times the moderation is inconsistent regarding bad language etc... so it woul be nice to see which mod banned so and so and for what reason.


The reasons for a permanent ban can't be given, but none of the bans you might have seen in this thread were for bad language.

Permanent bannings (other than for trolls) are most likely to happen for repeatedly breaking the rules after the person was given plenty of chances to change their behaviour. These bans need to be voted on by most of the moderators and one administrator before they can be issued.

A very common reason for permanent bannings is the creation of duplicate accounts, especially after the original account was permanently banned. No vote is needed for these bans, or for the banning of trolls/spammers. If the original account was not permanently banned, then the person may be asked to choose which account to keep. The account they do not choose will then be permanently banned. If they would like to swap the usernames of their accounts, they are free to do so.

All permanent bans were initially added to the first post of the Recent Permanent Bannings thread by the mod who issued the ban, but this has changed, and now the mod who issued the ban will usually post it as a new post.


----------



## shyvr6

My only suggestion would be to only list the original account of established members in that thread who have been here for a good while. Most people probably aren't going to recognize or care about a duplicate account or newer member and it keeps the thread from getting huge if the banned members decide to continually make them. If you decide against that, then just listing duplicate would help since it's probably the least invasive and most straightforward reason for a ban.


----------



## roxslide

Can we designate one thread for all the "do women like _______" discussion? I realize there is a thread "Ask women anything"... can we close all applicable threads and forward all discussion there?

Of course we can apply the same rules to the opposite scenario ("do men like ____"), fairness and all that etc


----------



## Persephone The Dread

Someone with money who knows what they're doing could buy the site of the incompetent people who currently own it, for a start.


----------



## Just Lurking

Persephone The Dread said:


> Someone with money who knows what they're doing could buy the site of the incompetent people who currently own it, for a start.


OK, well... I've typed out the answer to this many times over the years, but for whatever reason, I've always decided against posting it. Time for a change?

Yes. It would take someone with a LOT of money who is willing to buy the site at what would basically be a total loss (and a big one at that).

Problem #1: A website is generally priced using a multiple of its monthly income (or annual, but here, let's say monthly). For newer sites, that multiple will usually be in the single digits. Sites that are a few years old, maybe a multiple of 10-15. Older than that, the multiple is into the 20s. Even older, it can balloon into the 30s and 40s. SAS is about as old as internet sites get (18+ years), so the starting point of its price is going to be 40-48x its monthly income. (There are other factors as well, which I'm including in the 40-48x figure.)

Problem #2: They have pumped this site so full of advertising, so full of adware, scripts, etc. that it's making a LOT more income than it should be (and showing as much, on paper). As of a few years ago, the site (if it was properly monetized) should have been pulling in around $1,200 to $1,500 per month. In reality, because of its over-monetization, it was likely pulling in around $4,500 per month.

Problem #3: This is no doubt a flagship site for VerticalScope. A corporation that runs a mental health support site? How noble of them. We know the truth of the matter, but outsiders do not. To the untrained eye, this site reflects very well on their image.

Problem #4: It's not for sale. If you want to buy a website, go over to flippa.com and you can find yourself some deals. But want to buy a website where the owner isn't looking to sell it? You're on the wrong side of the deal. Plus, this is a corporation. The only things that matter are their public image and the bottom line.

Problem #5: VerticalScope is reputed for letting sites completely die rather than selling them, even when given inflated offers.

The site's real value is only around $40,000 to $70,000 (I'm not pulling these figures out of my a**, by the way -- I'm quoting dollar figures from when a friend and I had the site valuated a couple years ago), but if you take into consideration all of the above (let's estimate 48x its inflated monthly income, plus 20% for Problem #3, plus 10% for Problem #4), that would put it at around $285,000 (or over four times its maximum actual worth). As for Problem #5, who knows how much that would add to the price. 20% more ($342,000)? 25% ($356,000)? 30% ($370,000)? More than that? (now we're just getting ridiculous)

The forum's traffic is not what it once was. After the relatively basic costs involved with running the site, and assuming the buyer has the decency to return its monetization to what it once was, what is it going to earn? Maybe around $1,000? At $1,000/month, it would take just shy of 24 years to see their purchase price returned (using the $285,000 figure). They could put some actual work into the site and make it more visible and trafficked, but it still can't (shouldn't) earn anywhere near $4,500/month -- not if they care about the user experience. Even if they somehow managed to get its income up above $2,000/month, it would still take over 10 years just to recover the purchase price.

These figures may be slightly lower, now, as the site's value continues being thrashed by VerticalScope's neglect, but the difference will be negligible in the overall picture.

The purchase of this website can only really be seen as a charitable donation. In terms of net worth, a buyer is probably going to have to be worth north of $3,000,000 (and preferably more than that).

Do you personally know any celebrities or philanthropists who are sympathetic towards mental health who have money to burn (and who could appreciate why a support site would have dozens of virgin threads, Donald Trump threads, spam counting threads, and all the other unpleasantries seen here in addition to its so-called "support")? If so, you might have an answer for us. Otherwise...


----------



## JerryAndSports

Being able to edit and delete your posts...... I really need don't get how those things aren't on this website


----------



## andy0128

I think it's pretty clear that SAS is on the verge of extinction. Drew (god rest his soul) sold us out big time. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who'd beg to differ.


----------



## shyvr6

If I had money to burn, I'd buy it and get rid of all the ads, but I'd have to hire someone to help run it since I'm a novice in that department.



JerryAndSports said:


> Being able to edit and delete your posts...... I really need don't get how those things aren't on this website


I believe you need 50 posts to do what you're asking.


----------



## a degree of freedom

@Just Lurking -- very informative analysis ... very cool!


----------



## Persephone The Dread

Just Lurking said:


> OK, well... I've typed out the answer to this many times over the years, but for whatever reason, I've always decided against posting it. Time for a change?
> 
> Yes. It would take someone with a LOT of money who is willing to buy the site at what would basically be a total loss (and a big one at that).
> 
> Problem #1: A website is generally priced using a multiple of its monthly income (or annual, but here, let's say monthly). For newer sites, that multiple will usually be in the single digits. Sites that are a few years old, maybe a multiple of 10-15. Older than that, the multiple is into the 20s. Even older, it can balloon into the 30s and 40s. SAS is about as old as internet sites get (18+ years), so the starting point of its price is going to be 40-48x its monthly income. (There are other factors as well, which I'm including in the 40-48x figure.)
> 
> Problem #2: They have pumped this site so full of advertising, so full of adware, scripts, etc. that it's making a LOT more income than it should be (and showing as much, on paper). As of a few years ago, the site (if it was properly monetized) should have been pulling in around $1,200 to $1,500 per month. In reality, because of its over-monetization, it was likely pulling in around $4,500 per month.
> 
> Problem #3: This is no doubt a flagship site for VerticalScope. A corporation that runs a mental health support site? How noble of them. We know the truth of the matter, but outsiders do not. To the untrained eye, this site reflects very well on their image.
> 
> Problem #4: It's not for sale. If you want to buy a website, go over to flippa.com and you can find yourself some deals. But want to buy a website where the owner isn't looking to sell it? You're on the wrong side of the deal. Plus, this is a corporation. The only things that matter are their public image and the bottom line.
> 
> Problem #5: VerticalScope is reputed for letting sites completely die rather than selling them, even when given inflated offers.
> 
> The site's real value is only around $40,000 to $70,000 (I'm not pulling these figures out of my a**, by the way -- I'm quoting dollar figures from when a friend and I had the site valuated a couple years ago), but if you take into consideration all of the above (let's estimate 48x its inflated monthly income, plus 20% for Problem #3, plus 10% for Problem #4), that would put it at around $285,000 (or over four times its maximum actual worth). As for Problem #5, who knows how much that would add to the price. 20% more ($342,000)? 25% ($356,000)? 30% ($370,000)? More than that? (now we're just getting ridiculous)
> 
> The forum's traffic is not what it once was. After the relatively basic costs involved with running the site, and assuming the buyer has the decency to return its monetization to what it once was, what is it going to earn? Maybe around $1,000? At $1,000/month, it would take just shy of 24 years to see their purchase price returned (using the $285,000 figure). They could put some actual work into the site and make it more visible and trafficked, but it still can't (shouldn't) earn anywhere near $4,500/month -- not if they care about the user experience. Even if they somehow managed to get its income up above $2,000/month, it would still take over 10 years just to recover the purchase price.
> 
> These figures may be slightly lower, now, as the site's value continues being thrashed by VerticalScope's neglect, but the difference will be negligible in the overall picture.
> 
> The purchase of this website can only really be seen as a charitable donation. In terms of net worth, a buyer is probably going to have to be worth north of $3,000,000 (and preferably more than that).
> 
> Do you personally know any celebrities who are sympathetic towards mental health who have money to burn (and who could appreciate why a support site would have dozens of virgin threads, Donald Trump threads, spam counting threads, and all the other unpleasantries seen here in addition to its so-called "support")? If so, you might have an answer for us. Otherwise...


Yeah I didn't think it was likely, I know this site is screwed. It was just really a comment on VerticalScope since nobody knows what they're doing, the communication between admins is bad, and the recent pop up add that European posters have to put up with on every page reload that they still haven't gotten rid of or properly addressed except to say 'it's the law' (what every page reload?) Even though this site probably won't last another year because nobody's posting much anymore, and forums in general are probably dying, I still think the way they just generally run the forum is terrible anyway.


----------



## mt moyt

^ wow thats really interesting about the prices of websites. I wonder if its viable to learn how to make websites, using wordpress or squarespace, and then sell them. 

maybe i could host a manga website and make money off ads. Most of them are pretty bad in terms of navigation and front page options, so i think its possible to make a better one. Only problem is getting the manga and storing them somewhere, which would take a lot of space.

I think to help keep SAS alive, vertical scope needs to make it more visible on google. I think thats how many people would have found this place. But all i see is quora, which isnt great as it rarely has many answers for a question


----------



## In a Lonely Place

A brief reason given for the ban on the permanent bannings thread


----------



## BeautyandRage

Ban all “women only like _____” threads.


----------



## In a Lonely Place

Justification for temp/permanent bans


----------



## Nekobasu

I think it needs more DAKKA! Burn the heretic, kill the mutant, purge the unclean. The Emperor protects!

Seriously this site needs a vs debate forum. Superman vs ultra instinct Goku type thing.


----------



## Suchness

Needs more Saiyans.


----------



## Overcast

Larger avatars


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

Overcast said:


> Larger avatars


Sorry, you're not going to get that. The maximum avatar size allowed is already much larger than it used to be.


----------



## Maslow

TinyFlutter said:


> I wish the "Like" feature for blogs could be brought back. It was nice to simply "like" someone's blog post even if you didn't have a comment to leave.


People would feel bad if nobody "liked" their post.


----------



## Nick Attwell

I like SAS as it is

It was over a year I hadn't logged in. That was because the lappy I was using, wasn't displaying the correct format, for this website

It kept showing the basic HTTML page. But now I'm on a faster HP DT which is just a monitor, with the hard drive built into the monitor, which is 26 inch. The only separates are my mouse & keyboard, both wireless

So now I actually spend more time here in SAS, than a nostalgia forum I used to be in all the time

The fact we have the Society & Culture & 18+ sub forums make SAS much more interesting & takes your mind of your SA

The only thing I would suggest is re the 18+ sub forum

I appreciate posting porn pics/vid's is obviously not permitted for obvious reasons

The question I have to site admin is, for example, my BDSM thread

How explicit can I be?

How do you find the dividing line between porn & sex/relationships?

I have been quite explicit, such as banding & my partner sitting on my lap and the releasing the banding, thus filling her& her much appreciating my doing so (before I was physically castrated; that is)

Other than that I would like to say thankyou to the site primary admin for spending your hard earned money, providing this website

I am aware of the monthly hosting fee's (Proboard?) so I was wondering

Is there a PO Box or street address or employer's address I could send a cheque donation to?

If there is please pm me either of those addresses

Thanks

Nick (Twocky61)


----------



## komorikun

Maslow said:


> People would feel bad if nobody "liked" their post.


I saw that one thread about reddit on here. After seeing that, I know for sure people here would get totally bent out of shape over not getting likes.


----------



## Atargatis Oorial

I'd like this website to receive lots of regular visitors, because that would certainly make SAS better! :yes

How is SAS doing these days in the Google/Bing/Duckduckgo/(insert your favourite search engine here) rankings? I'd also like SAS to be easily found, in a prominent position, on the first page of web search results.

I say that this website's staff should prioritise improving SAS's position on the rankings of various popular internet search engines. :whip


----------



## Memories of Silence

This thread will be looked through again to find out which ideas can be used and which ones can't be. Thanks for the ideas, everyone.  Sorry they have taken so long to be added. Hopefully they can start being added soon.


----------



## tea111red

Condense the forums. All those smaller forums in the Frustration forum seem useless now. That section should be how it used to be....just one big Frustration section.

It'd make the section look less dead and less depressing if it were condensed, I think.


----------



## Blue Dino

Type what you're thinking about? Write Anything in this Thread. Random Thought of the Day. How Are You Feeling? threads should potentially be merged into one. 

Guys vs Gals, gals should be given much more points per post.


----------



## catcharay

Trust me to muck my muffins up, which apparently is the best baking category for novice cooks :/. Even the dog looked visibly unsure what to make of it as I did not want to waste the screwed effort. However my second batch was semi-palatable that got eaten up BUT received a "what did you put in there, I feel weird":/

Sent from my TA-1024 using Tapatalk


----------



## Nekobasu

Suchness said:


> Needs more Saiyans.


lol thanks for posting this, made me laugh, and I needed a good laugh today. More Saiyans is always a good idea!>


----------



## anonymoususer2

Better Mods, who don't just do things because they're mods.


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

anonymoususer2 said:


> Better Mods, who don't just do things because they're mods.


Sorry but that's just not true. If a mod here ever started abusing power like that, they would certainly not be allowed to continue.


----------



## Karsten

komorikun said:


> I saw that one thread about reddit on here. After seeing that, I know for sure people here would get totally bent out of shape over not getting likes.


You'd also get a sort of 'fishing for likes' culture which is abhorrent to me.


----------



## anonymoususer2

LydeaCharlotte said:


> Sorry but that's just not true. If a mod here ever started abusing power like that, they would certainly not be allowed to continue.


 @LydeaCharlotte There are threads I've started that have vanished into thin air without any type of prompt or mention as to why. So, a mod had to of been deleting them.


----------



## SunshineSam218

You could create new threads to post in or different subjects in chat rooms.

Create group chats to discuss. I think we could take a vote and see if we could find some mods to moderate certain sections. So everyone feels welcomed. It's just an idea though.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## shyvr6

The first post in the new members FAQ thread might need updating. I don't know if it's just me or not, but I can't see the pics on how to change the forum style that Helena provided. The thread is below.

https://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/f25/new-members-faq-1499410/


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

shyvr6 said:


> The first post in the new members FAQ thread might need updating. I don't know if it's just me or not, but I can't see the pics on how to change the forum style that Helena provided. The thread is below.
> 
> https://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/f25/new-members-faq-1499410/


Think that might actually just be you. I can see the pics in my usual browser.


----------



## Paul

It's not just shyvr6. The URLs of the images in that post are https://www.socialanxietysupport.co...66d1433773098-site-update-style-chooser-1.jpg and https://www.socialanxietysupport.co...6658d1433772900-site-update-style-chooser.jpg which are both the vB no permission page:


SAS said:


> Paul, you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:
> 
> Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?
> If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation.


Probably you have to be in the mods/admins usergroup to have permission. Or maybe you have to be friends with Helena if it comes from her album.


----------



## komorikun

I can't see those images either. I checked on both Safari and Chrome.


----------



## Memories of Silence

I saved the images and re-uploaded them with Imgur. They should work now.


----------



## tea111red

Maybe members w/ less than 50 (maybe more) posts shouldn't have access to the pic forum?


----------



## tehuti88

tea111red said:


> Maybe members w/ less than 50 (maybe more) posts shouldn't have access to the pic forum?


Was just thinking this.


----------



## Memories of Silence

That does sound like a good idea, as well as needing to be a member for at least two weeks.


----------



## blue2

tea111red said:


> Maybe members w/ less than 50 (maybe more) posts shouldn't have access to the pic forum?


....I was thinking more like 1000, it would separate the wheat from the chaff & help stop pictures being used in dishonest ways, cause only genuine people would see em : /


----------



## shyvr6

I like that. Kind of like the 18+ forum requirements.


----------



## Memories of Silence

tea111red said:


> Maybe members w/ less than 50 (maybe more) posts shouldn't have access to the pic forum?





tehuti88 said:


> Was just thinking this.





blue2 said:


> ....I was thinking more like 1000, it would separate the wheat from the chaff & help stop pictures being used in dishonest ways, cause only genuine people would see em : /





shyvr6 said:


> I like that. Kind of like the 18+ forum requirements.


Access to the Member Photo Albums forum is gong to be restricted for members with over a certain amount of posts.

It is likely to be between 75 and 100. Does this sound okay, or should it be higher?


----------



## Evo1114

I think it should be higher. But any limit is much better than no limit.


----------



## wmu'14

*The Spiritual Subforum needs to be private like the 18+ subforum ASAP*


----------



## wmu'14

shyvr6 said:


> I like that. Kind of like the 18+ forum requirements.


They needed that for the Spiritual Section 10 years ago.


----------



## Fun Spirit

I think SAS should allow people to bring back certain old threads back to life. Maybe give it a year extension.

_Sent from Daft Punk who is playing at my house using Tapatalk_


----------



## Mondo_Fernando

At least 100 post's instead of 50 post limit per day that I read about someone complaining about.


----------



## Paul

No more than 25 posts per day instead of 50 post limit per day that lets the same 5 people make half the site's posts.



Fun Spirit said:


> I think SAS should allow people to bring back certain old threads back to life. Maybe give it a year extension.
> 
> _Sent from Daft Punk who is playing at my house using Tapatalk_


I thought there was just a warning and it'd still let you confirm that you want to revive a thread?

There should be a rule that an individual cannot revive more than 1 old thread per week. It's the people who necromance 10 threads at once who make it a problem.


----------



## Fun Spirit

@Paul I believe if someone bought it back a Moderator would give a warning about bringing it back and then they lock the thread on the spot. I'm not sure about the last past. I didn't know SAS did that. {Probably for the Thread Starter}

_Sent from Daft Punk who is playing at my house using Tapatalk_


----------



## nosystemd

50 post limit is good like it is. i tripped it the first couple days, havent since. 25 is just too conservative.

if you have to change it at all, go for 100.


----------



## Mondo_Fernando

nosystemd said:


> 50 post limit is good like it is. i tripped it the first couple days, havent since. 25 is just too conservative.
> 
> if you have to change it at all, go for 100.


They complain about people not posting, forum being inactive. But noticed most reach that post limit quickly.

Never seen post limiting like that on other forums.

I think the post limit is there because if trolls get loose, they post lots of post's which takes a while for a mod to clean up.

Would be easier to just delete the account.

I'm thinking they don't delete accounts to stop trolls creating the same account with same forum name again.

Would be easier just to reject the forum name in the first place upon registration (already taken notice and have a list of blocked names instead of keeping the accounts). That is if the software allows for this feature.

In addition, have verification it is not a robot.


----------



## Suchness

That’s why you don’t post as much aye Paul? So it gives other people the chance post.


----------



## nosystemd

Uniman said:


> Never seen post limiting like that on other forums.


agreed. thats probably a vbulletin feature thats not on by default (ive fiddled with related settings on other forums) which at some point they decided was helpful to dealing with spam problems of the day-- and they figured 50 was easy enough to clean up and not likely to be a problem for most people. all guesses. but that feature isnt one you typically find on a forum.

on the other end of the spectrum, i find discourse forums pretty ridiculous. way too much noise, confusion, top-down micromanagement of conversations. if youre trying to run a forum with all the rules of something like wikipedia, then perhaps its not bloated and overengineered. i avoid forums that use it. its not a direction i like to find forums going in-- gamification to access basic features. but this forums settings in particular are pretty easygoing.


----------



## Mondo_Fernando

nosystemd said:


> agreed. thats probably a vbulletin feature thats not on by default (ive fiddled with related settings on other forums) which at some point they decided was helpful to dealing with spam problems of the day-- and they figured 50 was easy enough to clean up and not likely to be a problem for most people. all guesses. but that feature isnt one you typically find on a forum.


If haven't already, they should try 100 for a little while. Throttle back to 25 post's as @Paul mentioned as well.

Or a holiday or two day special, 100 post's if find all the hidden presents (they do this with some forums which allows different level of access). Makes people get more involved with using the forum.

Or for older members, put them on a 100 post a day and a special colour like mods have. I have seen this with some vbulletin forums, where can rank by post count or join date from new to old members (order is named something else, rookie to expert or something līke that).

Anyway just some idea's.


----------



## tehuti88

Fun Spirit said:


> @*Paul* I believe if someone bought it back a Moderator would give a warning about bringing it back and then they lock the thread on the spot. I'm not sure about the last past. I didn't know SAS did that. {Probably for the Thread Starter}
> 
> _Sent from Daft Punk who is playing at my house using Tapatalk_


That usually doesn't end up happening, as far as I know. In this case, that particular user was bumping a thread created by a banned alt account of his (alt accounts aren't allowed), plus, he has a habit of repeatedly necrobumping LOTS of his own threads at a time (like @*Paul* mentioned), for no discernible reason (often they'd already gotten plenty of replies, and/or there are more current threads about the same subject--his own bump usually never contributes anything more than "bump" or he just repeats what he's already said).

I'm not positive but I'm thinking that was more likely the reason why the thread was locked.


----------



## nosystemd

Uniman said:


> Or a holiday or two day special, 100 post's if find all the hidden presents (they do this with some forums which allows different level of access).


the more forums do stuff like that, the more i hate them. on the other hand if the goal is to keep me away, thats the best way to do it.

theres an interview with people who worked for facebook and found it absolutely loathsome, who said the biggest problem is that their job was never to maximise the usefulness or quality of the platform, *just the engagement*. engagement is a metric that you can maximise in all sorts of horrible ways. sometimes bad corporate ideas like that filter into small communities, who think "hey, heres a way to get more interaction"-- wait, does it raise quality, or just raise engagement? a lot of this stuff lowers the quality of the platform.

one take on facebooks response: https://revive.social/facebook-engagement-bait/

basically: "lets not do all the dumb stuff we did to increase engagement." theyre still a terrible platform, but now they will be a slightly less annoying, supposedly "more authentic." (i think thats impossible, zuckerberg is one of the least authentic people alive, he has all the charm of an austin powers fembot.)

but their goal (if realistic at all) is to become less full of the cheap tricks they spent years engineering to maximise "engagement."

a possible problem: they have a complete network full of people addicted to bull****.

imagine you own a bar. instead of kicking out drunks and addicts and troublemakers-- or even trying to spend your time resolving conflicts, you simply try to get as many into your bar in a day as possible. then one day you say "you know what? from now on, its just coffee and gospel music."

whats that community going to be like? lets not gamify and maximise engagement, and just focus on the quality of the platform, not the metrics like fb did before they had this problem as a result.

only stated in this fashion because i hate what has happened to the web, how corporate and contrived it is, not to be a jerk about it.


----------



## komorikun

100 posts per day would be awful. It's already annoying as is when people post 50 times a day. Or even worse when they quote everyone compulsively for attention.


----------



## Mondo_Fernando

@nosystemd

Good points there.
@komorikun

So you agree with 25 post's?


----------



## harrison

I think we should take away the limit for the number of posts - who cares how many posts someone wants to make, not me that's for sure. 

And maybe start paying people to post too - this place needs all the help it can get.

(just kidding on the last one there obviously)


----------



## Mondo_Fernando

:lol


----------



## Suchness

Should be like 5 posts a day, you know quality over quantity.


----------



## harrison

Suchness said:


> Should be like 5 posts a day, you know quality over quantity.


I think yours are quality mate - you should be the first one we start paying.

(then it's me and Uniman obviously)


----------



## SparklingWater

Suchness said:


> Should be like 5 posts a day, you know quality over quantity.


Lol this place would really die if pple were limited to 5 posts a day.

What is the post limit anyway?


----------



## Suchness

harrison said:


> I think yours are quality mate - you should be the first one we start paying.
> 
> (then it's me and Uniman obviously)


Gotta love Universe Man.



SparklingWater said:


> Lol this place would really die if pple were limited to 5 posts a day.
> 
> What is the post limit anyway?


Haha, I think it's 50.


----------



## Memories of Silence

Even when SAS was busier than it is now, I could never make 50 posts a day. I've never known how anyone can, especially when it's quiet here. 50 should be enough. 

A lot of old threads were good, so it can be nice to have some of them brought back. Too many at once is annoying.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

I have hit the 50 limit a few times. But very few times. And that was years ago. But if you got involved in several mega threads at the same time where lots of people were debating politics or something, it would be pretty easy to hit 50. At least it used to be. Especially if you don't multi-quote. I never liked to multi-quote because the notifications don't always work when you multi-quote several people in one post. I have been included in multi-quotes many times and never got the notification. Wouldn't have known it if I hadn't remembered what I posted and checked back.


----------



## Mondo_Fernando

WillYouStopDave said:


> I have hit the 50 limit a few times. But very few times. And that was years ago. But if you got involved in several mega threads at the same time where lots of people were debating politics or something, it would be pretty easy to hit 50. At least it used to be. Especially if you don't multi-quote. I never liked to multi-quote because the notifications don't always work when you multi-quote several people in one post. I have been included in multi-quotes many times and never got the notification. Wouldn't have known it if I hadn't remembered what I posted and checked back.


Same, hit that 50 post limit too. It usually happens for me if post in more than one thread. If post in one thread only, then hard to hit thät 50 post limit.

Interesting about the multi quote (helps to put in one post, so don't hit the 50 post limit). Didn't know the multi quote did that. Noted for future posting.


----------



## Canadian Brotha

I’d like to be able to embed tracks from SoundCloud like you can from YouTube...it’s an option on other forums


----------



## Fun Spirit

Allow us to upload an image for our signature. Also let have the option to use BB code. Just a plain text on our signature isn't cuting it. It is stale and boring. lol.


----------



## komorikun

If there were images or videos in the signature then I'd change my setting to not see any signatures. Just makes pages too busy and an eyesore. Similar to gif avatars.


----------



## 0589471

komorikun said:


> If there were images or videos in the signature then I'd change my setting to not see any signatures. Just makes pages too busy and an eyesore. Similar to gif avatars.


ughhh yeah I always hated videos and gifs in signatures. I've seen them in forums and it feels crowded and slows down the page.

I don't mind images as long as they're not too big or there aren't too many. I like reading people's signatures though, so a simplified signature option would be pretty cool if the other ever became an option.


----------



## andy0128

I remember on another other forum where it caught on to upload a huge custom picture to members signature. It was awfully slow, as at home i still only had diallup and i eventually had to disable stuff like sigs and avatars. Otherwise I think its a pretty pointless addition.


----------



## SunshineSam218

Maybe make a discord chat room for all the members to come in and chat with others. Make different channels. Set up a voice chat.

I think it will help people become social and everyone could meet some new friends.


----------



## Fun Spirit

Something to CONSIDER: The Notice of Permanent Ban Thread at the Management Section should be closed off for registered members to view. I don't think it is nice of SAS to display the members' username who have received a permanent ban to be out in the open for all to see on a thread.

The Permanent Ban phrase under a member's username along with an empty profile picture is enough and different. The thread though should be kept private among the mods of SAS. They may have broke the rules but it isn't necessary for SAS to have a "Hall of Permenant Bans" wall for all to see both well known and not so well members who have "fallen from Grace." Would you want your name to be display openingly on a thread dedicated to permenant bans?

This is something to just consider and to think about.

_ Spirito Bambito_


----------



## Memories of Silence

Fun Spirit said:


> Something to CONSIDER: The Notice of Permanent Ban Thread at the Management Section should be closed off for registered members to view. I don't think it is nice of SAS to display the members' username who have received a permanent ban to be out in the open for all to see on a thread.
> 
> The Permanent Ban phrase under a member's username along with an empty profile picture is enough and different. The thread though should be kept private among the mods of SAS. They may have broke the rules but it isn't necessary for SAS to have a "Hall of Permenant Bans" wall for all to see both well known and not so well members who have "fallen from Grace." Would you want your name to be display openingly on a thread dedicated to permenant bans?
> 
> This is something to just consider and to think about.
> 
> _ Spirito Bambito_


The only way to change which people can see a thread is to change the settings for the whole subforum it was posted in. The thread was created partly because many members thought the mods were unfairly permanently banning people who they thought didn't deserve it, and the thread shows that is not true because bans are rarer than people think. It can also help prevent people discussing the ban.

A lot of warnings and chances are given to each member before the ban becomes permanent, but they have continued to behave badly, despite knowing that they will eventually be banned and people will see it below their username. I don't think they care who sees that they were banned. Some banned members I've seen afterwards have even been proud of it and have seen it as some sort of achievement.


----------



## Fun Spirit

Silent Memory said:


> The only way to change which people can see a thread is to change the settings for the whole subforum it was posted in. *The thread was created partly because many members thought the mods were unfairly permanently banning people who they thought didn't deserve it, and the thread shows that is not true because bans are rarer than people think. It can also help prevent people discussing the ban.*
> 
> A lot of warnings and chances are given to each member before the ban becomes permanent, but they have continued to behave badly, despite knowing that they will eventually be banned and people will see it below their username. I don't think they care who sees that they were banned. Some banned members I've seen afterwards have even been proud of it and have seen it as some sort of achievement.


Oh I see now. That make a lot of sense.

It seem that people who get banned aren't very sorry or could careless about being displayed. 
{Stupid of me to care about them. Ha}

Thank You for the feedback: )

_ Spirito Bambito_


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

I have never hit the 50 post limit, but suppose I can understand how some people quite often _used_ to. I can't picture it now, but it seems the site basically always used to be updated very quickly on most days, at least in the peak hours. That just doesn't really happen anymore, and you'd surely have to make quite an effort in order to hit it now.


----------



## CNikki

This is a nice place to post for those who think that the site's dying.


----------



## GermanHermit

Maybe less subforums.


----------



## RelinquishedHell

Fixing the bugs. Also, why has the search function literally never worked?


----------



## GermanHermit

Here's a tough one. Sorry, if it comes across the wrong way. Hope, it doesn't start a nasty discussion! 

This is a support forum and everyone needs a good rant and whine. Some more, some less. 
And we know, some are having a really tough time! No doubt! 

But, there's way too many constant inflationary expressions of self-hate and resignation etc! 
Often just thrown in on any occasion!

It can have a negative domino effect and be a negative trigger to others!
And it's a real turn off for people looking for advice and support or just comfort!

Or people won't even start certain threads out of fear of someone dropping a depressing remark again. 

With the increasing repeats, I admit, I just don't take them seriously anymore and ignore them!

But often the spirit or development of a good thread is spoiled. (Maybe that is even the inadvertent intention.) 

Please, don't start a nasty discussion now, rather offer possible solutions for this issue, or these people! 

Or just ignore this post, if you don't agree!


----------



## SamanthaStrange

This thread is 3 years old, and I don't think any of the suggestions have been implemented. Just saying.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

GermanHermit said:


> Here's a tough one. Sorry, if it comes across the wrong way. Hope, it doesn't start a nasty discussion!
> 
> This is a support forum and everyone needs a good rant and whine. Some more, some less.
> And we know, some are having a really tough time! No doubt!
> 
> But, there's way too many constant inflationary expressions of self-hate and resignation etc!
> Often just thrown in on any occasion!
> 
> It can have a negative domino effect and be a negative trigger to others!
> And it's a real turn off for people looking for advice and support or just comfort!
> 
> Or people won't even start certain threads out of fear of someone dropping a depressing remark again.
> 
> With the increasing repeats, I admit, I just don't take them seriously anymore and ignore them!
> 
> But often the spirit or development of a good thread is spoiled. (Maybe that is even the inadvertent intention.)
> 
> Please, don't start a nasty discussion now, rather offer possible solutions for this issue, or these people!
> 
> Or just ignore this post, if you don't agree!


 I'm not sure what you're suggesting that we do about this? We already have rules and people can always report anything that bothers them. They may or may not be successful in getting the moderators to agree with them but the report button is there and it works.


----------



## GermanHermit

Yeah, I know, that is the big question!
😕

But thanks for pointing out that button.

Might consider that.


----------



## Cool Ice Dude55

Too. Many. Sub-forums.


----------



## lily

*Random thoughts and comments about the forum*

I see that the Recent Discussions list is longer than before and looks more complicated rather than a simple showing of 10 recent discussions/messages


----------



## WillYouStopDave

lily said:


> I see that the Recent Discussions list is longer than before and looks more complicated rather than a simple showing of 10 recent discussions/messages


What's complicated about it?


----------



## Memories of Silence

lily said:


> I see that the Recent Discussions list is longer than before and looks more complicated rather than a simple showing of 10 recent discussions/messages


I read the What Do You Think Would Make SAS Better? thread, and a lot of people didn't like that threads in Just For Fun were showing on the Recent Discussions list, so I made the list longer to show more threads to try to get more people posting in them. 10 doesn't seem like enough, so I lowered it from 20 to 12.

If anyone has any ideas for anything else that could make SAS better, you can let me know.  No one posts in that thread anymore.


----------



## lily

WillYouStopDave said:


> What's complicated about it?


it looks complicated, not simple lol



Silent Memory said:


> I read the What Do You Think Would Make SAS Better? thread, and a lot of people didn't like that threads in Just For Fun were showing on the Recent Discussions list, so I made the list longer to show more threads to try to get more people posting in them. 10 doesn't seem like enough, so I lowered it from 20 to 12.
> 
> If anyone has any ideas for anything else that could make SAS better, you can let me know.  No one posts in that thread anymore.


it looks fine now


----------



## WillYouStopDave

*Random thoughts and comments about the forum*

Moved these posts from a random thread elsewhere to here. This thread can be for making constructive comments and suggestions but keep it respectful.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

OK. I merged these threads because I realized they are more or less the same thing.


----------



## Memories of Silence

There were some very good ideas in this thread, but we weren't able to implement some of them until now. Some changes have been made:

_* Positive Thinking and Goal Setting have been merged into Positive Thinking and renamed to Positive Thinking and Goal Setting._ 
_* Frustration > School and Students have been merged into Students and renamed to School and Studying._

_* The Frustration > Friendships and Frustration > Family subforums have been merged into a new forum I named Family and Friends. _

_* Frustration > Work will be merged into The Workplace._

_* I created a Hobbies and Interests subforum._

_* Profile pictures have been increased from 100 x 100 pixels to 150 x 150 pixels._

_* Avatars have been slightly increased from 180 x 180 pixels to 190 x 190 pixels._

_* Member photo albums on profiles have been increased from 100 photos to 200 photos._

_* More forums will be merged soon._

_* Two new violations were added to avoid confusion. _

_* The Recent Discussions sidebar has been increased to show 12 threads instead of 10 to encourage more posts to be made._

_* New threads per day have been limited to 5 instead of 15 to prevent spamming behaviour._


----------



## iAmCodeMonkey

Silent Memory said:


> There were some very good ideas in this thread, but we weren't able to implement some of them until now. Some changes have been made:
> 
> _* Positive Thinking and Goal Setting have been merged into Positive Thinking and renamed to Positive Thinking and Goal Setting._
> 
> _* Frustration > School and Students have been merged into Students and renamed to School and Studying._
> 
> _* The Frustration > Friendships and Frustration > Family subforums have been merged into a new forum I named Family and Friends. _
> 
> _* Frustration > Work will be merged into The Workplace._
> 
> _* I created a Hobbies and Interests subforum._
> 
> _* Profile pictures have been increased from 100 x 100 pixels to 150 x 150 pixels._
> 
> _* Avatars have been slightly increased from 180 x 180 pixels to 190 x 190 pixels._
> 
> _* Member photo albums on profiles have been increased from 100 photos to 150 photos._
> 
> _* More forums will be merged soon._
> 
> _* Two new violations were added to avoid confusion. _
> 
> _* The Recent Discussions sidebar has been increased to show 12 threads instead of 10 to encourage more posts to be made._
> 
> _* New threads per day have been limited to 5 instead of 15 to prevent spamming behaviour._


These changes look good! >


----------



## aqwsderf

What are the two new violations?


----------



## WillYouStopDave

aqwsderf said:


> What are the two new violations?


 "General Misbehavior"

"Repeated Violations"


----------



## alwaysrunning

If there were more emojis then we could play a game called Guess The Song / film/ book from the emojis. So for Titanic you use an emoji of a big ship and and ice berg or something.


----------



## tehuti88

alwaysrunning said:


> If there were more emojis then we could play a game called Guess The Song / film/ book from the emojis. So for Titanic you use an emoji of a big ship and and ice berg or something.


It'd be neat if the standard emojis available on whatever device one is using would display here properly. (Granted, they'd display differently depending on operating system, and a few might be broken, but most would convert properly.) I see some users apparently already using them but they just display as strings of numbers/characters.

Test. ��������

EDIT, they're showing up for me right now, but in my experience editing a post often messes them up, plus I don't know how they're displaying for others. I'm calling out a user here as an example, the emojis in @blue2 's posts are always borked on my end. :/ (Sorry, Blue2.)

Here's an example:



blue2 said:


> ^^ I hope you both have success &#128578;


All I see is ampersand-hashtag-x-one-f-six-four-two-semicolon. Googling that tells me it's "slightly smiling face."

EDIT, ah yep, now all I see are a bunch of question marks. Bleh.


----------



## tehuti88

Silent Memory said:


> * I created a Hobbies and Interests subforum.


Eeeee!!

I wonder if my thread belongs better in Arts or in there. :con


----------



## aqwsderf

WillYouStopDave said:


> "General Misbehavior"
> 
> "Repeated Violations"


Where do I see these, I can't find &#128542;


----------



## WillYouStopDave

aqwsderf said:


> Where do I see these, I can't find &#128542;


 The rules will be updated but these two are pretty self-explanatory if you ask me. There are not going to be any new penalties for violating these. It will still be just a normal warning or infraction. These have just been added to make the existing rules easier to enforce and less confusing for the person who receives the warning.

The most recently updated version of the rules is HERE


----------



## Memories of Silence

iAmCodeMonkey said:


> These changes look good! >


I'm glad you like them >


WillYouStopDave said:


> "General Misbehavior"
> 
> "Repeated Violations"


These don't make SAS stricter, but they should be helpful for when someone breaks more than one rule at a time or they are behaving badly in a way that somehow avoids breaking a current rule. Repeated Violations is for members nearing a ban, or who have had a warning or infraction and continue behaving as they had been.


tehuti88 said:


> Eeeee!!
> 
> I wonder if my thread belongs better in Arts or in there. :con


I'm thinking of combining The Arts with Hobbies and Interests. Would anyone think that was a good idea? A lot of people say we have too many forums and that it's confusing, especially for newer members. The forum categories made sense when SAS was busier, but they don't have as much of a purpose anymore.


----------



## blue2

tehuti88 said:


> I'm calling out a user here as an example, the emojis in @blue2 's posts are always borked on my end. &#128533; (Sorry, Blue2.)


Yup I'm using my phone for this since my laptop broke & I can't be bothered fixing it, the emojis don't transfer well, I probably should just stop using them : /


----------



## aqwsderf

^ People have said I'm writing in code or in gibberish on here because the phone emojis don't transfer well to desktop version. Idk if anything can be done about this.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

You probably can just use Chrome or Firefox on a phone but I honestly don't know how that would impact your experience. I have used Chrome on a 7" Kindle to view and browse this forum. But I have maybe made one or two posts that way.


----------



## CNikki

aqwsderf said:


> ^ People have said I'm writing in code or in gibberish on here because the phone emojis don't transfer well to desktop version. Idk if anything can be done about this.


Yes, I've seen this with multiple users.

I think it's similar to how emojis appear differently depending on what phone you use (iPhone or Android). I still manage to use the classic mode on my phone but try to rely on the emoji options here because of this.


----------



## aqwsderf

CNikki said:


> Yes, I've seen this with multiple users.
> 
> I think it's similar to how emojis appear differently depending on what phone you use (iPhone or Android). I still manage to use the classic mode on my phone but try to rely on the emoji options here because of this.


Yeah it happens with even simple emojis like ": )" or ": /"


----------



## Euripides

Silent Memory said:


> There were some very good ideas in this thread, but we weren't able to implement some of them until now. Some changes have been made:
> 
> _* Positive Thinking and Goal Setting have been merged into Positive Thinking and renamed to Positive Thinking and Goal Setting._
> _* Frustration > School and Students have been merged into Students and renamed to School and Studying._
> 
> _* The Frustration > Friendships and Frustration > Family subforums have been merged into a new forum I named Family and Friends. _
> 
> _* Frustration > Work will be merged into The Workplace._
> 
> _* I created a Hobbies and Interests subforum._
> 
> _* Profile pictures have been increased from 100 x 100 pixels to 150 x 150 pixels._
> 
> _* Avatars have been slightly increased from 180 x 180 pixels to 190 x 190 pixels._
> 
> _* Member photo albums on profiles have been increased from 100 photos to 150 photos._
> 
> _* More forums will be merged soon._
> 
> _* Two new violations were added to avoid confusion. _
> 
> _* The Recent Discussions sidebar has been increased to show 12 threads instead of 10 to encourage more posts to be made._
> 
> _* New threads per day have been limited to 5 instead of 15 to prevent spamming behaviour._


Ouh. Sounds marv!


----------



## CNikki

Silent Memory said:


> _* New threads per day have been limited to 5 instead of 15 to prevent spamming behaviour._


Yes. Thank you.


----------



## tehuti88

I use Brave browser, which I believe is based on Chrome, on both laptop and tablet. The emojis usually display well (though differently, Android/Samsung vs. Windows) on Reddit and Tumblr (with rare exceptions), but not here. :/

(I don't post on enough other sites to compare.)


----------



## Memories of Silence

Photo albums have been increased to 200.  I can't do anything with emojis, but maybe I could ask for permission so I can try to fix them. No HTML is enabled anywhere, and I'm wondering if that would make a difference.


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

WillYouStopDave said:


> You probably can just use Chrome or Firefox on a phone but I honestly don't know how that would impact your experience. I have used Chrome on a 7" Kindle to view and browse this forum. But I have maybe made one or two posts that way.


Yeah you can use Firefox on an Android phone or tablet (the iOS version has no addons due to Apple's restrictions, which rather defeats the purpose of using Firefox perhaps). But setting it up to browse SAS easily in permanent desktop mode like I do (except when the site occasionally switches itself to mobile), is only for more tech-minded people, IMO. I personally wouldn't recommend installing or using Chrome on Android, think it was the browser that gave my phone a nasty browser hijacker! Since I restored from backup, and uninstalled Chrome, the hijacker is hopefully gone.


----------



## Memories of Silence

I've been using Opera Touch on my iPad whenever I use SAS so that I can block ads. I don't like it much because it does annoying things when I try to post, especially if I paste something I copied, but I don't trust Safari for SAS anymore after it kept getting hijacked last week, which is why I found a different browser.


----------



## alwaysrunning

tehuti88 said:


> It'd be neat if the standard emojis available on whatever device one is using would display here properly. (Granted, they'd display differently depending on operating system, and a few might be broken, but most would convert properly.) I see some users apparently already using them but they just display as strings of numbers/characters.
> 
> Test. ��������
> 
> EDIT, they're showing up for me right now, but in my experience editing a post often messes them up, plus I don't know how they're displaying for others. I'm calling out a user here as an example, the emojis in @blue2 's posts are always borked on my end. :/ (Sorry, Blue2.)
> 
> Here's an example:
> 
> All I see is ampersand-hashtag-x-one-f-six-four-two-semicolon. Googling that tells me it's "slightly smiling face."
> 
> EDIT, ah yep, now all I see are a bunch of question marks. Bleh.


This is a good point about devices and the technology as when my supervisor messages me a laughing face from her mobile it comes back on my mobile as question marks


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

Silent Memory said:


> Photo albums have been increased to 200.  I can't do anything with emojis, but maybe I could ask for permission so I can try to fix them. No HTML is enabled anywhere, and I'm wondering if that would make a difference.


No, VBulletin doesn't enable HTML by default anywhere because it's a potential security risk from hackers. BBCode is the substitute for HTML, it displays links in posts and so on. Personally I hate emojis, but guess they are important to some. There are so many traditional emoticons available on here though, isn't that enough?


----------



## either/or

Not sure if this is possible or not just a suggestion but you might want to consider adding a "politics" or "political leanings" option in the about me section. This could be free format or a drop down list i.e. right, left, libertarian, independent, etc.


----------



## either/or

Also, wondering if these two threads should be merged or one closed? I keep meaning to post in one but post in the other by accident. One is more active than the other.

Social Anxiety Forum > Discussion > Entertainment > What are you listening to right now? 

Social Anxiety Forum > Discussion > Just For Fun > What Are You Listening To?


----------



## WillYouStopDave

either/or said:


> Also, wondering if these two threads should be merged or one closed? I keep meaning to post in one but post in the other by accident. One is more active than the other.
> 
> Social Anxiety Forum > Discussion > Entertainment > What are you listening to right now?
> 
> Social Anxiety Forum > Discussion > Just For Fun > What Are You Listening To?


 Actually, I did merge several threads like that in Entertainment a day or two ago but I didn't know there was another one outside of the Entertainment section. Thanks for pointing that out. That one has also been merged and there should now be a redirect there for the one in Just For Fun. You're right. That was really annoying


----------



## lily

I like the Just For Fun section and I thought it was fine that there were two What are you listening to's since 1 was 'What are you listening to right now?' and the other was 'What Are You Listening To?'. The title is still a little different and also different-looking but anyway... I also was fine with the Friendship and I think Family subforums being in the inside of the Frustration section rather than there now being an extra Family and Friends section


----------



## Memories of Silence

I've started moving threads from Nutrition, Supplements and Exercise to Health, starting with the oldest threads first. This is so the two sections can be merged.


----------



## either/or

It would be cool if you could "like" someone's post. I think I've seen that with other vbulletin forums. Not sure if that is some kind of add in though.


----------



## Memories of Silence

either/or said:


> It would be cool if you could "like" someone's post. I think I've seen that with other vbulletin forums. Not sure if that is some kind of add in though.


There is a like feature, but when I tried to enable it as a test, nothing happened.

A lot of people have said that it could make some people feel bad about themselves if they didn't get any/many "likes," especially on a social anxiety forum, so if this was ever able to work, it would be better if there was a way to change the settings so the only person who can see the "likes" is the person who has received them and no one can try to compare and then feel bad.


----------



## coeur_brise

Maybe less permanent bans? I just never know why people disappear after so little time.


----------



## Memories of Silence

coeur_brise said:


> Maybe less permanent bans? I just never know why people disappear after so little time.


Permanent bans are always for a good reason, and everyone is given a lot of chances to improve their behaviour before it happens. Unfortunately, most people here choose not to improve after being given chances to and continue causing problems, leaving us with no choice.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

coeur_brise said:


> Maybe less permanent bans? I just never know why people disappear after so little time.


99% of the people who "disappear" (get banned) shortly after joining are either people who have duplicate accounts or they are spammers. I'm assuming you do not want more spammers on SAS? I have probably banned 6-7 (would be) spammers in the last week (maybe more). And I might have even missed a few. I could not tell you how many spammers I have banned since I was a mod but it would be a large number. And yes. I am sure they were all spammers (SAS spammers are usually not subtle).

There are relatively few permabans of legitimate users unless they have duplicate accounts and that doesn't really count because we (usually) let them keep one of their accounts and ban the others. The only time when that is not the case would be if it was someone who was banned for bad behavior and sneaked back in and was not caught right away. In that case if they managed to make two or more accounts before getting caught, all of them would be banned.

Anyway, generally, most of the permanent bans you see are duplicate accounts or spammers. Lately, it has been probably 99% spammers. And sometimes we get the same spammers over and over and have to keep banning them before they finally stay gone.


----------



## Memories of Silence

WillYouStopDave said:


> 99% of the people who "disappear" (get banned) shortly after joining are either people who have duplicate accounts or they are spammers. I'm assuming you do not want more spammers on SAS? I have probably banned 6-7 (would be) spammers in the last week (maybe more). And I might have even missed a few. I could not tell you how many spammers I have banned since I was a mod but it would be a large number. And yes. I am sure they were all spammers (SAS spammers are usually not subtle).
> 
> There are relatively few permabans of legitimate users unless they have duplicate accounts and that doesn't really count because we (usually) let them keep one of their accounts and ban the others. The only time when that is not the case would be if it was someone who was banned for bad behavior and sneaked back in and was not caught right away. In that case if they managed to make two or more accounts before getting caught, all of them would be banned.
> 
> Anyway, generally, most of the permanent bans you see are duplicate accounts or spammers. Lately, it has been probably 99% spammers. And sometimes we get the same spammers over and over and have to keep banning them before they finally stay gone.


All of this is true, and at least a quarter of all new members are spammers.

We also have a lot of trolls. There aren't as many as there used to be, but this could help to explain why some new people "disappear." Some people have been trolling SAS for a few years and have had hundreds of accounts. It used to be so bad that they would join faster than we could ban them, with 20 accounts a day.


----------



## Myosr

Silent Memory said:


> There is a like feature, but when I tried to enable it as a test, nothing happened.
> 
> A lot of people have said that it could make some people feel bad about themselves if they didn't get any/many "likes," especially on a social anxiety forum, so if this was ever able to work, it would be better if there was a way to change the settings so the only person who can see the "likes" is the person who has received them and no one can try to compare and then feel bad.


That would be a cool option. Often I can read some post and want to tell whoever wrote it I liked it without having much to say beyond that. I think there are probably others who feel the same, and possibly users who don't even write / participate that much.


----------



## Barakiel

^ Same.


----------



## Fun Spirit

-I think there should be a thread that list who is currently a moderator and administrator. Color usernames doesn't quite help. It would help to see a list along with how long their are in their active duty. {And ranks}


----------



## tehuti88

Sunshine Lady said:


> -I think there should be a thread that list who is currently a moderator and administrator. Color usernames doesn't quite help. It would help to see a list along with how long their are in their active duty. {And ranks}


View Forum Leaders link near bottom of the main forum page (desktop):

https://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/showgroups.php


----------



## Tetragammon

Can we maybe get actual notifications or messages or something when we do something wrong? I must have several strikes against me but I have no idea how deep I am because I never get any notifications... I don't want to get banned with no notice.


----------



## iAmCodeMonkey

Tetragammon said:


> Can we maybe get actual notifications or messages or something when we do something wrong? I must have several strikes against me but I have no idea how deep I am because I never get any notifications... I don't want to get banned with no notice.


There is a setting you might need to change for that.


----------



## Fun Spirit

tehuti88 said:


> View Forum Leaders link near bottom of the main forum page (desktop):
> 
> https://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/showgroups.php


Wow! I did not know this page was around. What other SAS pages I not know of? LOL Thank You. 
{I think this link should have a thread on the Management Section though. Title: "Current Moderators List." Nobody would think to search for this page. They would go to Management.
______________________________

I think some of the forums sections should be reorganize, renamed and/or omitted.

For example under [Forums] there are 5 main sections. 
[Recovery] 
[Discussion] 
[General] 
[Controversial Discussion]
[Management].

I think [Recovery] should be renamed [The First Step] while [The First Step]

could be renamed something for "Newcomers." {Which ever new name it may be.}
Under [The First Step] {which is another section} could be [Coping with Social

Anxiety] because that is where people post their personal issues with SA.

[Secondary Disorders] can be under [Coping with Social Anxiety]
* * * *

I think adding another main section {a 6th section} could help. A Health section

under [Recovery]. This is where topics like [Medication], [Therapy], [Nutrition

Supplements and Exerise] can go.

[Recovery] or [The First Step] <---- New name
[Health] -----> [Medication] [Therapy] [Nutrition Supplements and Exerise]
[Discussion]
[General]
[Controversial Discussion]
[Management]

______________________________

I can go on and on but I won't. I just feel like SAS could reorganize some of their sections. Some sections should go in categories. Make it more easier to navigate.

  :yes


----------



## coeur_brise

@WillYouStopDave, thanks. That explains it better than i could've thought of.


----------



## kesker

More participation from East Moluccans. East Moluccans are under-represented.


----------



## Memories of Silence

Tetragammon said:


> Can we maybe get actual notifications or messages or something when we do something wrong? I must have several strikes against me but I have no idea how deep I am because I never get any notifications... I don't want to get banned with no notice.


If you do something wrong, you might get a warning or infraction for it, which is a PM telling you what the problem was. If you have either of these, you will see another tab on your profile that says "Infractions," and you can check them there.  Unless you do something very bad, you will always get warned about a ban before it happens, especially a permanent one.


Sunshine Lady said:


> Wow! I did not know this page was around. What other SAS pages I not know of? LOL Thank You.
> {I think this link should have a thread on the Management Section though. Title: "Current Moderators List." Nobody would think to search for this page. They would go to Management.
> ______________________________
> 
> I think some of the forums sections should be reorganize, renamed and/or omitted.
> 
> For example under [Forums] there are 5 main sections.
> [Recovery]
> [Discussion]
> [General]
> [Controversial Discussion]
> [Management].
> 
> I think [Recovery] should be renamed [The First Step] while [The First Step]
> 
> could be renamed something for "Newcomers." {Which ever new name it may be.}
> Under [The First Step] {which is another section} could be [Coping with Social
> 
> Anxiety] because that is where people post their personal issues with SA.
> 
> [Secondary Disorders] can be under [Coping with Social Anxiety]
> * * * *
> 
> I think adding another main section {a 6th section} could help. A Health section
> 
> under [Recovery]. This is where topics like [Medication], [Therapy], [Nutrition
> 
> Supplements and Exerise] can go.
> 
> [Recovery] or [The First Step] <---- New name
> [Health] -----> [Medication] [Therapy] [Nutrition Supplements and Exerise]
> [Discussion]
> [General]
> [Controversial Discussion]
> [Management]
> 
> ______________________________
> 
> I can go on and on but I won't. I just feel like SAS could reorganize some of their sections. Some sections should go in categories. Make it more easier to navigate.
> 
> :yes


I'm trying to do something similar to this.  Changing the order each forum shows in is hard because a lot of them share the same order number, so you have to keep trying different numbers until you get the right one.

Merging forums is done by going through each page of the forum you want to merge with another and selecting all of the threads from that page. Only 200 threads (10 pages) can be moved at a time, and there is no "Merge All" option. This means merging busy forums would be very difficult. Nutrition, Supplements and Exercise will be merged with Health before anything else is done.


----------



## lily

Silent Memory said:


> If you do something wrong, you might get a warning or infraction for it, which is a PM telling you what the problem was. If you have either of these, you will see another tab on your profile that says "Infractions," and you can check them there.  Unless you do something very bad, you will always get warned about a ban before it happens, especially a permanent one.
> 
> I'm trying to do something similar to this.  Changing the order each forum shows in is hard because a lot of them share the same order number, so you have to keep trying different numbers until you get the right one.
> 
> Merging forums is done by going through each page of the forum you want to merge with another and selecting all of the threads from that page. Only 200 threads (10 pages) can be moved at a time, and there is no "Merge All" option. This means merging busy forums would be very difficult. Nutrition, Supplements and Exercise will be merged with Health before anything else is done.


I still see Nutrition, Supplements and Exercise above and separate from Health section. I like how descriptive the Nutrition, Supplements and Exercise section is, it reminds us of the different natural ways we can help ourselves w/ and sounds nice rather than if it was just named under Health. Health is widely general unless it's like how Sunshine Lady talked about.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

Tetragammon said:


> Can we maybe get actual notifications or messages or something when we do something wrong? I must have several strikes against me but I have no idea how deep I am because I never get any notifications... I don't want to get banned with no notice.


 This does not happen. A "strike against you" is called an infraction. Well, technically, there are two levels of it. There are warnings and infractions. Warnings only count insomuch as if you get more than a couple of warnings, you will eventually start getting infractions (which can lead to temporary or permanent bans but usually takes quite a few before that happens), which are more serious than warnings.

At any rate, you will get a PM if you get a warning or an infraction. You do not just get secret strikes against you here. I just looked at your profile and you don't have any warnings or infractions. Generally speaking, bans are not done without multiple warnings. We do try to give people a chance to change whatever behavior it is that is causing a problem. So you generally do not need to worry about that on this forum.

Edit - and I just noticed that @Silent Memory also answered this. :doh :lol


----------



## WillYouStopDave

Sunshine Lady said:


> -I think there should be a thread that list who is currently a moderator and administrator. Color usernames doesn't quite help. It would help to see a list along with how long their are in their active duty. {And ranks}


Mods are red and admins are purple. It's pretty simple, actually. There used to be a category called Mentors. I mean, the usergroup still exists but it isn't used anymore so it's pretty simple. Red names are always mods and there are no ranks among mods.


----------



## Memories of Silence

WillYouStopDave said:


> This does not happen. A "strike against you" is called an infraction. Well, technically, there are two levels of it. There are warnings and infractions. Warnings only count insomuch as if you get more than a couple of warnings, you will eventually start getting infractions (which can lead to temporary or permanent bans but usually takes quite a few before that happens), which are more serious than warnings.
> 
> At any rate, you will get a PM if you get a warning or an infraction. You do not just get secret strikes against you here. I just looked at your profile and you don't have any warnings or infractions. Generally speaking, bans are not done without multiple warnings. We do try to give people a chance to change whatever behavior it is that is causing a problem. So you generally do not need to worry about that on this forum.
> 
> Edit - and I just noticed that @Silent Memory also answered this. :doh :lol


You explained this better than I did.


----------



## Fun Spirit

WillYouStopDave said:


> Mods are red and admins are purple. It's pretty simple, actually. There used to be a category called Mentors. I mean, the usergroup still exists but it isn't used anymore so it's pretty simple. Red names are always mods and there are no ranks among mods.


Ok


----------



## XebelRebel

The Hobbies and Interests forum is a great idea! It is a very nice addition to the website.


----------



## Memories of Silence

I made some changes to some forums and the layout.

* The First Step has been renamed to Introductions and Welcomes.

* Exercise, Supplements and Nutrition has been merged with Health and renamed to Health, Nutrition, Exercise and Supplements.

* Gatherings and Social Anxiety Friends and Connections have been merged with Support Groups and renamed to Support Groups, Friends, Connections and Gatherings.

* Sports Beat has been merged with Hobbies and Interests.

* The Arts has been renamed to Arts and Crafts and moved to Discussions.

* Just For Fun, LGBTQ+, Teens and 30+ Members have been moved to General.

* Agnosticism, Atheism and Religion has been moved to Controversial Discussion.

* Testing Forum has been moved to Management.

* Some forum descriptions have been edited to remind members to be careful with health advice and personal information.


----------



## Memories of Silence

XebelRebel said:


> The Hobbies and Interests forum is a great idea! It is a very nice addition to the website.


Thanks.  I'm glad you like it.


----------



## lily

I feel that Nutrition, Exercise and Supplements should be back at the top under 'Recovery' and after Therapy with the relevant picture before the title and Health can stay under 'Discussion'. The reason is it's too jumbled. under 'General', teens should come first and then 30+ Members and then lgbtq+, it just looks like it should be in that order.


----------



## Memories of Silence

lily said:


> I feel that Nutrition, Exercise and Supplements should be back at the top under 'Recovery' and after Therapy with the relevant picture before the title and Health can stay under 'Discussion'. The reason is it's too jumbled. under 'General', teens should come first and then 30+ Members and then lgbtq+, it just looks like it should be in that order.


Health was merged with Nutrition, Exercise and Supplements because there was no need to have two forums when everything could go in one place, which helps stop clutter as well as confusion about where to post threads. That's why other forums were merged, too.

When SAS was more active, it made more sense than it does now to have them separate. With how quiet it is now, some forums can look like they aren't being posted in much, which might make people less likely to post there. If you go through this thread, you'll notice a lot of people saying that some sections should be merged or renamed. They said the same in some polls I made about it.

Once forums have been merged, it can't be undone. The forum where the posts were moved from is deleted once all of the posts have been moved across, which also deletes the picture that was next to the name.


----------



## lily

Oh that's too bad, Nutrition, Exercise and Supplements should definitely be at the top under Recovery, there should've been a poll on this important move. what about the order of teens and then 30+ Members and then lgbtq+


----------



## Memories of Silence

lily said:


> Oh that's too bad, Nutrition, Exercise and Supplements should definitely be at the top under Recovery, there should've been a poll on this important move. what about the order of teens and then 30+ Members and then lgbtq+


I made a poll, but not enough people replied to it, so I moved it to a part of the forum that is like a recycle bin for only mods to see. Merging Nutrition, Exercise and Supplements with Health only had "Yes" votes.


----------



## lily

Silent Memory said:


> I made a poll, but not enough people replied to it, so I moved it to a part of the forum that is like a recycle bin for only mods to see. Merging Nutrition, Exercise and Supplements with Health only had "Yes" votes.


oh, it's ok, it just looks like it lost its foundation when Nutrition, Health and Supplements wasn't at the top anymore, what about the order of teens, 30+ Members and lgbtq+ and under lgbtq+ there should be a space and then the word 'gay'


----------



## Fun Spirit

Reorganize and add forum sections. I think there should be more sections under [Recovery]. There is only 5. There's too many sections in [Recovery]. Way too many. It doesn't quite flow if you ask me.

It is strange how SAS' organization seem to be an a small issue. lily had mention something about moving some of the sections around. O think if people take a look at the sections and read them they may notice that some of the titles should be put move or below another or in another category. What you don't want to have is too many categories.


----------



## nubly

I don't think there's any chance to save this website. Just look at all the constant banning that goes around. When you ban long term members, some permanently, then you're banning the people that kept up the forum. These are the people that interacted with each other, that made the forum fun and interesting. I know they broke the 'forum rules' but maybe the censorship on this forum is too strict because I've never seen any other forum that has banned their members as constantly as SAS does.


----------



## iAmCodeMonkey

nubly said:


> I don't think there's any chance to save this website. Just look at all the constant banning that goes around. When you ban long term members, some permanently, then you're banning the people that kept up the forum. These are the people that interacted with each other, that made the forum fun and interesting. I know they broke the 'forum rules' but maybe the censorship on this forum is too strict because I've never seen any other forum that has banned their members as constantly as SAS does.


I fail to see what your issue is with this. At least the moderators here actually enforce their own rules, I remember when they were more lenient, and it wasn't as nice to be honest. When people don't follow the rules, they get an infraction. If they keep doing it, they get banned, sometimes for good. That's the way the cookie crumbles, just like real life. Not sure why this is so hard for people to understand. Maybe they shouldn't have been on an Internet forum if they can't follow the rules properly.


----------



## blue2

I know this forum is for people with specific mental health issues the problem is rarely do people like that fall into neat little brackets or any people for that matter, like a moth to a flame the chance of hope draws all varieties in. 

They might express themselves in less than desirable ways as a result of unique nurture/nature issues, but I trust the banned had to go for the overall good of others here, at the cost of variety of insight of course.

A free for all would likely go to hell very quick, the origins of the universe is chaos, which we were created from, in adverse situations we're inclined to regress very quickly to the origins of our being.


----------



## zonebox

I'm glad I'm not a mod, it doesn't sound like a very fun position to be in. Perhaps an extended ban for a period of time such as a month, and leave permanent bans for people who are really going out of their way to cause harm to others - I don't know, I haven't a clue of the process involved with a permanent banning. If it is a particular subforum where the user is repeatedly getting in trouble, then maybe lock them out of it permanently. I can imagine it is a lot of work, and other ways have been investigated - I can only imagine some of the people who have banned were even liked by the mods.. Sorry for being part of the topic of banning, I know that is something that probably weighs heavily on you guys and I don't want to lay on a guilt trip.


Meh.. I dunno.


----------



## gnomealone

Yeah, what they said. Some pigs ARE more equal than others and the content has just been gutted.
Progressively longer bans and temp self bans might help and maybe the owners /employees of the site
could be responsible for perma bans. Sucks that member moderators are placed in a no win situation .


----------



## WillYouStopDave

gnomealone said:


> Yeah, what they said. Some pigs ARE more equal than others and the content has just been gutted.
> Progressively longer bans and temp self bans might help and maybe the owners /employees of the site
> could be responsible for perma bans. Sucks that member moderators are placed in a no win situation .


 All of these things have already been tried and permanent bans of long term members require a majority vote from the mods.

The majority of long term member bans have been the last resort after a person has been through multiple warnings/infractions, progressively longer temporary bans (complete with more warnings that their chances are running out).

This is already the way things are done and it does not really make a difference because some people get upset when they get moderated for any reason and refuse to move on afterward.

And of course people who eventually get permabanned for fighting with the mods often come back. Because a permaban is not really a permaban like it used to be. And that is also part of the decision making process. We actually know there are ways around a permaban and anyone who actually wants to be here will probably be back and we won't be able to stop them unless they start trolling or something.

So basically, a permaban is a ban on the person's behavior when it goes so far over the line that there is no point in trying to reason with them anymore. If they come back (and they often do) they will have to fly under the radar. Which means they will have to be civil. Which some of them still can't manage even after they have gone through all the trouble to avoid detection. So that means the moderation system works. Albeit in a roundabout way. People are given more than a fair shake here and some of them just don't listen and are unreasonable and choose to fight with us. We might be a bit stricter than some mods were in the past but we are still a lot more lenient than we have to be.

The reality of it is that if you let people run all over the mods, they give up and quit and you end up with a chaotic disaster where anything goes. Which is what some of the people who have been banned probably want.

I have had people send me like 5 abusive PMs in the space of 20 minutes after I sent them a warning or locked a thread. I warned them to stop sending me abusive PMs and they kept doing it and or started trolling. So they got temp bans. Which after the temp ban, we are more than willing to let bygones be bygones and they can go right back to posting as usual (as long as their usual posts aren't really out of line). But that often doesn't happen and things eventually get to the point to where we have done everything we can with them and they're not changing their behavior and just getting worse.

Hypothetically, we could just keep giving them temp bans but it is pointless beyond a certain number. And people still complain if they see someone they like is temporarily banned and they don't bother to consider that people who are temporarily banned have usually chosen to ignore multiple warnings. So it's all the same to us. Temp banning a popular member might as well be permabanning them because people are still not going to like it and people are still going to side with their friends and get upset about it. And/or some people have a "censorship" mentality and they will complain about anything the mods do because they see it as censorship. Joining a moderated forum is an agreement to to cooperate with the mods. Or at the very least not get in their face when they have to do what they have to do.


----------



## Memories of Silence

We can't not ban people and allow them to keep breaking the rules just because they are popular, regular posters. The rules apply equally to everyone, including me and the mods.

We have been trying longer temporary bans (three or four weeks long), but they don't seem to be helping to improve members' behaviour so far.

Permanent bans have happened regularly for as long as I have been here. They might seem more frequent now because we are posting about them publicly when they happen, and maybe also because the forum has become more quiet, as most forums have.

What @iAmCodeMonkey and @WillYouStopDave said is true. It's much harder to be banned here than most people realise. By the time someone is permanently banned, it seems like they wanted to disobey the rules and didn't care about a ban. We give a lot of chances (sometimes too many).

Being more lenient in the past might have allowed more people to post, but that's not a good thing if it means harmful people are allowed to stay. A lot of people here might seem "nice," but they aren't. Some of you would probably be very surprised if you could see what they say in posts that are deleted fast or you see how many infractions or warnings they have. Not everything they do is what they posted publicly, either. Sometimes things happen through private messaging or outside of SAS, where they might have been harassing other members. That is not allowed for reasons that should be obvious.


----------



## aqwsderf

Silent Memory said:


> Not everything they do is what they posted publicly, either. Sometimes things happen through private messaging or outside of SAS, where they might have been harassing other members. That is not allowed for reasons that should be obvious.


I don't think people are aware that matters that happen privately and outside of SAS (away from the forum) can get you permanently banned from SAS forum as well.

I think it's important since many people continue conversations through other means.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

aqwsderf said:


> I don't think people are aware that matters that happen privately and outside of SAS (away from the forum) can get you permanently banned from SAS forum as well


 It's in the rules though. It's not an arbitrary thing.



> Harassment
> 
> Posts or messages to other members that are intended to cause discomfort or intimidation are not permitted. This includes repeatedly contacting or referring to other members after being asked to refrain, and repeatedly targeting other members without naming them. Individual incidents may also constitute harassment if judged by staff to be serious enough. Anyone found to be using SAS in ways that are inappropriate, such as harming others for their own personal or monetary gain, or stalking or harassing other members will immediately be permanently banned even if this behavior occurs outside of the forums. These offenses are serious, and as a result, they will be dealt with accordingly. As many members of SAS are vulnerable, this rule will be strictly enforced.


 It has rarely gone that far. This rule rarely has to be enforced because most people do not do things like this. And most people would not do anything like this.


----------



## zonebox

This is not a thing that will bring new life into SAS, but it would be pretty convenient, and keeping up with the times. Video sharing platforms have started to gain more traction in the recent past, and it would be nice to be able to share videos from other sources outside of youtube. My own current preference is DTube, but there are plenty of others out there as well. I think outside of youtube, Vimeo is one of the more popular choices and should be a natural choice, but it would be even better to have more options available. I think it would be beneficial for users here, that don't want to use youtube to be able to share videos from other platforms - and it is also beneficial to a lot of us to be able to see videos that are unable to view them due to geographic restrictions that have been put in place on youtube. 



I understand that we can share a link, and that is great, but embedded video with a title screen is a significant improvement. In addition to that, I feel people might be uncomfortable with simply clicking on a link without any idea of where it may lead them to - if they had a video embedded they would likely feel more comfortable in watching it.


----------



## XebelRebel

Support for posting videos from a wide variety of video sharing websites, so that the videos play within the threads that they are posted in, is a very good idea for SAS -- and for similar websites as well!

Good idea!


----------



## Reality Sucks

I think the forum could benefit from moving to a more modern forum such as XenForo. It's a bit easier on the eyes and might attract more people perhaps?

Although I do like the simplistic look of this forum. It is more old school.


----------



## Memories of Silence

Reality Sucks said:


> I think the forum could benefit from moving to a more modern forum such as XenForo. It's a bit easier on the eyes and might attract more people perhaps?
> 
> Although I do like the simplistic look of this forum. It is more old school.


We were told that there would be an upgrade to XenForo, but that was in November/December 2018, and it has been over a year since we have heard anything about it. A newer version of VBulletin would be just as good because then we would have better features.


----------



## Reality Sucks

Silent Memory said:


> We were told that there would be an upgrade to XenForo, but that was in November/December 2018, and it has been over a year since we have heard anything about it. A newer version of VBulletin would be just as good because then we would have better features.


Damn, that was a while ago. I hope it comes eventually. A new forum software would be cool. Not just for the users, but you guys too. It's apparently much better to work with and gets more updates.

Eventually, right?


----------



## Equity

.


----------



## Memories of Silence

Equity said:


> If I could delete my posts in locked threads I would probably use the forum


You can ask a mod to do that for you.  I tried to find out how to let people delete their own posts in locked threads, but I don't think you can.


----------



## aqwsderf

Still cannot use mobile site


----------



## WillYouStopDave

aqwsderf said:


> Still cannot use mobile site


 @Helena_SAS


----------



## Cool Ice Dude55

If there were less sub-forums.


----------



## Memories of Silence

Does anyone have any more ideas now we are getting new forum software?


----------



## zonebox

@Silent Memory

Oh sweet  That is awesome, I'm gonna stick with the different sites to share videos from  I haven't really been on newer forums, so I am not sure of what newer features there are now.


----------



## harrison

Silent Memory said:


> Does anyone have any more ideas now we are getting *new forum software?*


I don't have any ideas - but will the new format still be user-friendly for senior citizens?


----------



## Memories of Silence

harrison said:


> I don't have any ideas - but will the new format still be user-friendly for senior citizens?


I don't know much about it yet, but it should be easier than it is now.


----------



## harrison

Silent Memory said:


> I don't know much about it yet, but it should be easier than it is now.


Oh okay - will be interesting to see what it's like.


----------



## Memories of Silence

harrison said:


> Oh okay - will be interesting to see what it's like.


It will probably look similar to this:
https://xenforo.com/community/threads/whats-new-in-xenforo-2-0.133426/

That version is from 2017, and the one we're getting has been customised.


----------



## zonebox

I know this is the wrong thread for this, as my response is not related to improvements so I apologize for asking this here. I'm just curious if all of our PMs, and prior posts will move over to the new forum software - also if there will still be a blogging section, and if people's older blogs will move over as well.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

zonebox said:


> @Silent Memory
> 
> Oh sweet  That is awesome, I'm gonna stick with the different sites to share videos from  I haven't really been on newer forums, so I am not sure of what newer features there are now.


I'm not sure about newer features. The main problem with the forum as it is, is that the software it's running on is ancient and it is always breaking down. I guess whenever they have problems with it, there isn't any support in fixing them so they're on their own.

More or less (I think) the new software will probably be the same (or fewer) features and will just work better and not break all the time. Like for example, we do not yet know if things like the blogs and egroups will survive the transition.

My main concern is that I hope we don't lose much of the functionality that we already have. I suspect the egroups might be going away but those are not super active anyway I guess. The loss of the blogs might be something some people would really hate but I don't know. Maybe they will be able to keep those.

Also, things like visitor messages. Though they're not necessary, would be nice to keep.


----------



## Memories of Silence

zonebox said:


> @Silent Memory
> 
> Oh sweet  That is awesome, I'm gonna stick with the different sites to share videos from  I haven't really been on newer forums, so I am not sure of what newer features there are now.


When they were telling the mods about this a few years ago, they said this:



> Please keep in mind that one of the reasons why we are converting is there are no support for VBulletin and our end goal is to have the best community for the members.
> 
> 1. As you can see from the example I have provided there is a dark option for the community.
> 
> 2. pop up notifications will work
> 
> 3. Gallery will stay in tact
> 
> 4. mention will function
> 
> 5. blogs will function


The only thing I'm not sure about is visitor messages and eGroups, but they should both still be part of the new software, and I hope they will be.

Some forum sections might be changed, and I'm not sure if profiles will still have as much information as they do now.


----------



## Barakiel

Undoing this piece of **** update before the forum completely dies would be nice, unlikely as that would be.

Was it really that important for VerticalScope to advertise their other forums on here?


----------



## zonebox

I've noticed some people's names don't quite fit right under their profile picture, it is not a major thing - but perhaps if there is a way to automatically lower their font size when one string of characters exceeds a line, so they fit in one line. @WillYouStopDave has a lonely 'e', just sitting by itself.. isolated from the rest of his name.. I demand justice for that poor 'e'


----------



## EmotionlessThug

Barakiel said:


> Undoing this piece of **** update before the forum completely dies would be nice, unlikely as that would be.
> 
> Was it really that important for VerticalScope to advertise their other forums on here?


The update is really bad.


----------



## Shredder

I dont give a flying **** about how images align and trivial **** like that but it looks like there are some serious privacy issues going on the blog.


----------



## CeltAngel

Shredder said:


> I dont give a flying *** about how images align and trivial *** like that but it looks like there are some serious privacy issues going on the blog.


The whole blog section is a clusterfrig to say the least....


----------



## WillYouStopDave

Shredder said:


> I dont give a flying *** about how images align and trivial *** like that but it looks like there are some serious privacy issues going on the blog.





CeltAngel said:


> The whole blog section is a clusterfrig to say the least....


It looks like the site admin has gone offline for the time being. A temporary solution might be to soft delete your blog entries (if you're concerned about the privacy thing). That's assuming you still have the ability to soft delete them. I could do it but obviously, there could be a whole bunch of people wanting me to do it for them and I'm just one person. But if you have the ability, you could soft delete the ones you want private temporarily until you can sort things out with the admins.


----------



## Shredder

WillYouStopDave said:


> It looks like the site admin has gone offline for the time being. A temporary solution might be to soft delete your blog entries (if you're concerned about the privacy thing). That's assuming you still have the ability to soft delete them. I could do it but obviously, there could be a whole bunch of people wanting me to do it for them and I'm just one person. But if you have the ability, you could soft delete the ones you want private temporarily until you can sort things out with the admins.


Cant delete soft, hard or in-between but also cant edit because >>> 


You may not edit more than 10 different post(s) within 7 days
bloody hell ... who rolled this out without testing properly???????????????????????


----------



## WillYouStopDave

Shredder said:


> Cant delete soft, hard or in-between but also cant edit because >>>
> 
> 
> You may not edit more than 10 different post(s) within 7 days
> bloody hell ... who rolled this out without testing properly???????????????????????


 Oh I think they meant for it to be this way. I have read before that they wanted a limit on edits and deletes. Also, the blogs on this forum were I guess pretty unusual and maybe kind of hard to integrate into a different format. Just my guess. I never saw a blog section on a forum like the one SAS had.


----------



## zonebox

WillYouStopDave said:


> Oh I think they meant for it to be this way. I have read before that they wanted a limit on edits and deletes.


 I'm an editholic, I probably change a post half a dozen times throughout the day after I make one. This is bad mojo, not trying to be a chronic complainer here - but do you and other mods think we could convince the higher ups to change this policy and allow us to delete posts too? I'm not sure how much pull any of you have here, or if you are like the rest of us shaking our fists at the sky lol.


----------



## CeltAngel

WillYouStopDave said:


> Oh I think they meant for it to be this way. I have read before that they wanted a limit on edits and deletes. Also, the blogs on this forum were I guess pretty unusual and maybe kind of hard to integrate into a different format. Just my guess. I never saw a blog section on a forum like the one SAS had.


I used to maintain a blog on another forum many years ago that was integrated into the forum, a bit like this version we have now, but it was easier to navigate. Unfortunately, I can't exactly remember how it was setup because of memory problems I have connected to that period of my life. I think it involved individual subforums within the overarching framework of the main blog section.


----------



## CeltAngel

zonebox said:


> I'm an editholic, I probably change a post half a dozen times throughout the day after I make one. This is bad mojo, not trying to be a chronic complainer here - but do you and other mods think we could convince the higher ups to change this policy and allow us to delete posts too? I'm not sure how much pull any of you have here, or if you are like the rest of us shaking our fists at the sky lol.


Me too. I have a tendency to re-read my blog entries a lot out of self-consciousness and make a lot of edits when I notice spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. I feel the way of doing things that feels comfortable for me could run afoul of the new limitations.


----------



## truant

You may not edit more than 10 different post(s) within 7 days
^ This is a horrible idea. People are already anxious about posting here. A rule like this is just going to discourage people even more. I edit my posts all the time.


----------



## Starcut83

zonebox said:


> I'm an editholic, I probably change a post half a dozen times throughout the day after I make one. This is bad mojo, not trying to be a chronic complainer here - but do you and other mods think we could convince the higher ups to change this policy and allow us to delete posts too? I'm not sure how much pull any of you have here, or if you are like the rest of us shaking our fists at the sky lol.


I edit quite a bit as well. I tend to write quickly then post and another thought on the topic will come to mind and I edit it in. Sometimes several times in a row. Now I guess I either let it go or make another post which feels like spamming and I don't like to do that.


----------



## Shredder

WillYouStopDave said:


> Oh I think they meant for it to be this way. I have read before that they wanted a limit on edits and deletes. Also, the blogs on this forum were I guess pretty unusual and maybe kind of hard to integrate into a different format. Just my guess. I never saw a blog section on a forum like the one SAS had.


[sarcasm]OK well that's comforting to know it was planned that way! [/sarcasm]
I don't use the forum too much and tend to be drawn towards the "unusual" things like the blog.
Thank for your feedback. Ive sent a message to site admin... now I just need to take some deep breaths .. and maybe a bottle or two of vodka and wait to see what comes of things.


----------



## zkv

Shredder said:


> Cant delete soft, hard or in-between but also cant edit because >>>
> 
> 
> You may not edit more than 10 different post(s) within 7 days
> bloody hell ... who rolled this out without testing properly???????????????????????


Horrible. Just horrible.


----------



## Orb

truant said:


> You may not edit more than 10 different post(s) within 7 days
> ^ This is a horrible idea. People are already anxious about posting here. A rule like this is just going to discourage people even more. I edit my posts all the time.


Yikes! I edit my posts multiple times, even small things like grammar or to add something etc. This is really bad.


----------



## Shredder

The edit limit seems to be different for forums and blogs.
I've exceeded my limit for blogs but I can still make edits on forum posts.


----------



## harrison

I'm not so concerned about editing - although I do it to tidy things up or correct typos etc a bit. My main thing is deleting posts. If there were a bulk-delete facility on this I would have deleted everything I've ever written on here a few times over by now.

I guess that's the reasoning - forum makers and owners want to keep posts on their forums. It sort of defeats the purpose of having one otherwise. I just need to try and be more careful what I post on here. Difficult sometimes when I'm not feeling well though.


----------



## Ventura

*Blog posts should have been transparent they were being turned into threads that were now out of their control (eg can’t edit, restrict to certain group of people, hide to self, delete, delete comments if wished) huge change for the bloggers here. 

*Post edits - VS You do realize this is an anxiety forum with people that over think and edit a lot and or have OCD?

*Albums it should of been transparent we couldn’t delete images of ourselves.


----------



## Shredder

harrison said:


> I'm not so concerned about editing - although I do it to tidy things up or correct typos etc a bit. My main thing is deleting posts. If there were a bulk-delete facility on this I would have deleted everything I've ever written on here a few times over by now.
> 
> I guess that's the reasoning - forum makers and owners want to keep posts on their forums. It sort of defeats the purpose of having one otherwise. I just need to try and be more careful what I post on here. Difficult sometimes when I'm not feeling well though.


My concern with editing is because I have no control over deleting. And now all my blog edits have been used up and my content that was previously private is now publicly viewable by anyone at all.
I agree with what you say. Thanks to depression and generally not giving a sh1t about much at all, I got lazy and trusted my content was OK on this site. I should have known better.
It's very concerning about the decisions that govern the running of this forum. It takes me a great deal of effort to try to convince myself daily that we are not a means of commodification and that we actually do have control and ownership of our own personal content.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

Shredder said:


> The edit limit seems to be different for forums and blogs.
> I've exceeded my limit for blogs but I can still make edits on forum posts.


 I _think_ that you have unlimited edits for the first 24 hours after something is posted and then the limit kicks in. So blogs you made more than a day ago would be more limited than posts you made today. Note I might have that rwong


----------



## WillYouStopDave

While I agree that it is a bad idea to put strict limits like that on an anxiety forum, I have seen worse. I have seen forums where you can't edit anything after a couple of hours and you can't even request for your posts to be deleted.


----------



## Shredder

WillYouStopDave said:


> I _think_ that you have unlimited edits for the first 24 hours after something is posted and then the limit kicks in. So blogs you made more than a day ago would be more limited than posts you made today. Note I might have that rwong


You are correct. I can edit a post that I just made now but I can't edit a post that I made a day ago (must be over 24 hours ago)
Sorry for my potty mouth but this is SERIOUSLY ****ed up.
BTW Please correct your typos as they are adding to my stress levels


----------



## Persephone The Dread

Couple of thoughts (haven't read all the recent posts in this thread yet.)

1. Where are the blogs now (can't find a link just curious because of the top post on this page talking about privacy.)

2. Why is there a gallery section now with a bunch of posters photos on? Is it just public photos people put in their albums here? Still a bit weird. (Also glad I only ever uploaded to image sharing sites now.)


----------



## Persephone The Dread

WillYouStopDave said:


> Oh I think they meant for it to be this way. I have read before that they wanted a limit on edits and deletes. Also, the blogs on this forum were I guess pretty unusual and maybe kind of hard to integrate into a different format. Just my guess. I never saw a blog section on a forum like the one SAS had.


Wait does that apply to posts too? I may have to stop posting entirely lol.

They can pay me if they want me to create content for them. Otherwise I edit/delete posts constantly.


----------



## Persephone The Dread

Yeah the blog section is kind of a disaster, they need to remove the limits there. I'm pretty sure there's stuff I soft deleted to make it private, that has come back now. At least have the option to privatise stuff.


----------



## truant

WillYouStopDave said:


> While I agree that it is a bad idea to put strict limits like that on an anxiety forum, I have seen worse. I have seen forums where you can't edit anything after a couple of hours and you can't even request for your posts to be deleted.


Can we get clarification about this ASAP? I want to know exactly how many posts I can edit, how long I have to edit them, how long I have to delete them, etc. Blog posts and forum posts (if there's any difference).

Foolish or not, my continued use of this site has always sort of hinged on the understanding that I can go back and edit and delete stuff later, even if I have to do it manually. I understand that they're a business and they like to capitalize on our free labor, and that forum owners are naturally incentivized to restrict editing and deleting posts, but this is a forum for people suffering mental illness; people who are vulnerable, who are not always able to exercise good judgement, who talk about incredibly personal and painful subjects, who occasionally say things they will later regret, and it seems a bit insensitive and, shall we say, _mercenary_ to subordinate their concerns to ad revenue.

The number of people who will actually go back and edit and delete posts is relatively small (has it ever really been a serious issue?), and it seems like a small concession to make for people who are already struggling just to make it through the day and who are already incredibly anxious about posting. If anything will kill this forum, this is the sort of thing that will do it.


----------



## Memories of Silence

truant said:


> Can we get clarification about this ASAP? I want to know exactly how many posts I can edit, how long I have to edit them, how long I have to delete them, etc. Blog posts and forum posts (if there's any difference).
> 
> Foolish or not, my continued use of this site has always sort of hinged on the understanding that I can go back and edit and delete stuff later, even if I have to do it manually. I understand that they're a business and they like to capitalize on our free labor, and that forum owners are naturally incentivized to restrict editing and deleting posts, but this is a forum for people suffering mental illness; people who are vulnerable, who are not always able to exercise good judgement, who talk about incredibly personal and painful subjects, who occasionally say things they will later regret, and it seems a bit insensitive and, shall we say, _mercenary_ to subordinate their concerns to ad revenue.
> 
> The number of people who will actually go back and edit and delete posts is relatively small (has it ever really been a serious issue?), and it seems like a small concession to make for people who are already struggling just to make it through the day and who are already incredibly anxious about posting. If anything will kill this forum, this is the sort of thing that will do it.


From the FAQs:

_Members have unlimited editing of new posts for the first 24 hours after posting. Up to 10 existing posts (older than 24 hours) may be edited per week. More editing will be allowed as each of those 10 edits expires every 7 days.
Only moderators and admins are able to delete a post, as needed, for situations such as duplicate posts. Simply report the post for staff assistance. 

Special Note: If a thread is deleted, it then deletes all the responses and thus other people’s posts too. Or, when deleting a post, people may respond. Then, if you delete one post, the following posts will not make sense - because one is missing it, it destroys the understanding and flow._

If anyone wants something deleted, please feel free to ask me or one of the mods (as long as it is only a few posts at a time). Everyone should feel comfortable on here, and I don't want anyone to feel anxious about posting because they know they can't delete it later on.

My own suggestion - A way to view the forum in a layout very similar to the old style so that this doesn't feel like such a big change.


----------



## truant

Memories of Silence said:


> From the FAQs:
> 
> _Only moderators and admins are able to delete a post, as needed, for situations such as duplicate posts. Simply report the post for staff assistance. _
> 
> If anyone wants something deleted, please feel free to ask me or one of the mods (as long as it is only a few posts at a time). Everyone should feel comfortable on here, and I don't want anyone to feel anxious about posting because they know they can't delete it later on.


Thanks. Since the changes are new, I wasn't sure if I could trust the FAQ. I didn't know if it was boilerplate or customized for SAS.

To be frank, if I can't delete posts myself, I'll have to think harder about whether or not I reply to a thread, and it will probably mean I post less overall. They'll probably get fewer posts out of me with the restriction than without it. Though I suppose I can null edit a post without deleting it.

I'm not trying to be difficult, I just don't want to get a mod involved every time I want to get rid of a post. I don't like inconveniencing people and I don't like having to ask permission for that kind of thing. That's my personal issue and isn't intended as a reflection on the mods. I just wanted to voice my position.


----------



## Memories of Silence

truant said:


> Thanks. Since the changes are new, I wasn't sure if I could trust the FAQ. I didn't know if it was boilerplate or customized for SAS.
> 
> To be frank, if I can't delete posts myself, I'll have to think harder about whether or not I reply to a thread, and it will probably mean I post less overall. They'll probably get fewer posts out of me with the restriction than without it. Though I suppose I can null edit a post without deleting it.
> 
> I'm not trying to be difficult, I just don't want to get a mod involved every time I want to get rid of a post. I don't like inconveniencing people and I don't like having to ask permission for that kind of thing. That's my personal issue and isn't intended as a reflection on the mods. I just wanted to voice my position.


I would feel the same way if I was a normal member, and it’s very understandable - I think everyone would agree with you. I hope this is something that can be reversed.


----------



## Shredder

..


----------



## nodamecantabile

I'm really liking the new upgrade on this forum. Keep it up! I am an old member of this forum, mostly a lurker. Love that you've eliminated the 'Frustration' subforum because I feel like people focus too much on negative posts.


----------



## KILOBRAVO

Omg. This new forum format is awful. :-( Is there an option to put it back to classic legacy like it was before? This all looks terribly sterile....


----------



## Shredder

KILOBRAVO said:


> Omg. This new forum format is awful. :-( Is there an option to put it back to classic legacy like it was before? This all looks terribly sterile....


Welcome to the "Brave New World" where sterile is good! Clean and uncluttered so there is more room to feed ads into our pleb faces. Ohh... umm... I mean; all in order to make our online experience more enjoyable! Gotta correct those "negative thoughts"!


----------



## lily

KILOBRAVO said:


> Omg. This new forum format is awful. :-( Is there an option to put it back to classic legacy like it was before? This all looks terribly sterile....


I hear you. For this reason I don't think I'm ever posting again after this post. it's too bad.


----------



## zonebox

On a positive note, I am only seeing three trackers in ghostery whereas before I used to see over ten 😨😱 Plus on my android, this site finally loads properly on all of the browsers I have used on it. Before, it would only partially work through chrome and even then when I would start reading a thread it would stop loading while scrolling through the replies. 

But yeah, this place needed an overhaul, I think it may have been getting to the point of being a security risk. I think on some browsers at a point in time, you would get a warning that this site was not safe 😆


----------



## Memories of Silence

nodamecantabile said:


> I'm really liking the new upgrade on this forum. Keep it up! I am an old member of this forum, mostly a lurker. Love that you've eliminated the 'Frustration' subforum because I feel like people focus too much on negative posts.


All of the sections are still here.


----------



## Ape in space

I don't understand the hate for this new format. The formatting feels much nicer and cleaner and more modern, and things like embedded youtube videos look much better and the functionality for adding images and doing text formatting seems much more intuitive and easier to use. They've also updated the emojis to standard ones that look better. And the search function has been upgraded from utter garbage to not garbage. There's a few things I'm still figuring out how to do, but overall the format is a major improvement.

Of course, I'm mainly just talking about the formatting. I still hate the changes they've made regarding not being able to delete posts and the limited editing, and whatever's going on with the blogs. If they just let us edit and delete normally again (and maybe a couple of other more minor things), I would give this overhaul a very good grade.


----------



## zonebox

Ape in space said:


> I still hate the changes they've made regarding not being able to delete posts and the limited editing, and whatever's going on with the blogs.


The main complaints I have are due to editing, deleting, likes, and the blogs. Otherwise I also like the format, but I'm using dark mode which imho, looks really good. I was not impressed with the look of the previous version of SAS, and preferred the classic one which came before it - but the functionality did not work very well. The way it is now, reminds me more of how it used to be back then.

I was playing around with a firefox extension the other day, and got the forum to look different, it changed the font, it widened out the posts, and reminded me a bit of the previous version. I forget what it was called, because I removed it after - but it was pretty cool in that you could modify a page to look how you wanted it to. There were a few existing formats for forums already. I removed it, because I think it looks fine how it is, and was going to suggest it to others but did not look to far into it.

Edit:
It was called stylus, for anyone interested. If you want to use it, please research a little before enabling it, I'm not sure how secure it is and only used it to experiment around on.


----------



## Paul

zonebox said:


> I was playing around with a firefox extension the other day, and got the forum to look different, it changed the font, it widened out the posts, and reminded me a bit of the previous version.


A simpler way to get rid of the useless sidebar on the right in threads is to use your adblocker on it. At least with ublock origin it was easy to eliminate, thus making the posts wider.

It's amusing that they tout eliminating the sidebar as a benefit of paying for premium. Intentionally bad design for profit.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

@zonebox 

I actually don't mind having likes. They are actually useful. You can use them to acknowledge to someone that you read their PM (for example) without typing a response. Same for a post. If someone responds to your post or mentions you in a post, you can like their post to let them know you appreciated their effort and you saw the post.


----------



## zonebox

@WillYouStopDave

I just get uncomfortable with them, I'm overthinking it all to be honest and making it more difficult than it need be. It is implemented better here than on other sites, like on reddit how it is used as karma and people are dropped at the bottom of a thread, or other places where people can get thumbed down. I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually and stop my belly aching 😅


----------



## WillYouStopDave

@zonebox 

Yeah. I like reddit better than I used to but I don't pay much attention to the karma thing. I just read everything that I find helpful and give them a thumb. I only give thumbs down on reddit for people who are abusive or mean.


----------



## Ventura

Thanks to the staff who are trying their best during this change. We know you are trying! The Mods and Silent Memory want whats best for the forums too and trying to advocate for our needs. We should be thanking them for knowing how we feel. They aren't who owns the site and so I'm sure there is a lot of back and fourth going on to try to get everyones needs sorted.


----------



## lily

KILOBRAVO said:


> Omg. This new forum format is awful. :-( Is there an option to put it back to classic legacy like it was before? This all looks terribly sterile....


Sorry to see your sad face expression and thanks to the mods


----------



## Memories of Silence

Scattered Pieces said:


> Thanks to the staff who are trying their best during this change. We know you are trying! The Mods and Silent Memory want whats best for the forums too and trying to advocate for our needs. We should be thanking them for knowing how we feel. They aren't who owns the site and so I'm sure there is a lot of back and fourth going on to try to get everyones needs sorted.


Thank you.  We are trying to being back the features everyone will miss. Some might slowly return, and others might never.


----------



## Shredder

Scattered Pieces said:


> Thanks to the staff who are trying their best during this change. We know you are trying! The Mods and Silent Memory want whats best for the forums too and trying to advocate for our needs. We should be thanking them for knowing how we feel. They aren't who owns the site and so I'm sure there is a lot of back and fourth going on to try to get everyones needs sorted.


Absolutely! Shout out to @WillYouStopDave for helping me during my moments of crisis!


----------



## Persephone The Dread

Ape in space said:


> I don't understand the hate for this new format. The formatting feels much nicer and cleaner and more modern, and things like embedded youtube videos look much better and the functionality for adding images and doing text formatting seems much more intuitive and easier to use. They've also updated the emojis to standard ones that look better. And the search function has been upgraded from utter garbage to not garbage. There's a few things I'm still figuring out how to do, but overall the format is a major improvement.
> 
> Of course, I'm mainly just talking about the formatting. I still hate the changes they've made regarding not being able to delete posts and the limited editing, and whatever's going on with the blogs. If they just let us edit and delete normally again (and maybe a couple of other more minor things), I would give this overhaul a very good grade.


Yeah I don't mind it stylistically and it doesn't seem sterile to me, at least dark mode. It's kind of cozier I guess and things have shrunk down. I'll kind of miss some of the animated emoticons and also have minor nitpicks in regards to a couple of things but I'm mostly concerned about the privacy and editing issues.

It is very different from the old legacy theme, but I stopped using that ages ago in favour of dark mode since after they updated those themes ages ago the new version of legacy they added had some other issues I think for me, so just switched over to dark mode and generally prefer dark themes with everything. The new social media embedding seems useful too especially since linking to specific tweets is often a pain and it doesn't necessarily highlight what you're trying to quote. I also wonder if it contributes to word count, if not that's even better. 🤔


----------



## Blue Dino

Add more reactions besides "like". I assume if someone vents about something sad, and one wants to acknowledge their vent, liking it with a thumbs up seems a bit distasteful. An issue they had and poked fun at a lot with facebook back then. Maybe add like a "hug" reaction as well. Or a pool of available reactions like with the smiley faces.


----------



## Memories of Silence

Blue Dino said:


> Add more reactions besides "like". I assume if someone vents about something sad, and one wants to acknowledge their vent, liking it with a thumbs up seems a bit distasteful. An issue they had and poked fun at a lot with facebook back then. Maybe add like a "hug" reaction as well. Or a pool of available reactions like with the smiley faces.


I’ve been thinking the same thing about people using the like feature for sad posts. I don’t have a way to remove them, but if there was a hug reaction, it would be nicer. A dislike reaction would never be a good idea.

What does everyone think of the trophies and their names? I can remove them or change the names of them.

We have a new feature that lets you choose a prefix for your thread. If anyone thinks it would be a good idea, I could add some like “Advice needed,” “Trigger Warning,” “Helpful,” “Funny” and “Question.”


----------



## Persephone The Dread

Does anyone know how to change our titles now? I can't see an option to do this anymore anywhere. My title only made sense with my last avatar (well not even then to most people probably.)

Also I can't delete posts at all anymore (even ones I've just made,) only edit them so I miss that.

@SAS Admin


----------



## Crisigv

I don't know if I'm missing it, but I wish there was the icons on the threads letting us know if we posted there or not. Sometimes I have a bad memory.


----------



## Memories of Silence

I have noticed that we haven't had any reported posts since the forum upgrade. For anyone who needs to report a post, you can do it by clicking on the three dots on the right side of the post you would like to report. There should be a drop-down menu where you can click Report. 

You can also report posts you would like removed. We can do this for you, but please don't ask for more than two or three at a time. For help with your custom member title, or username changes, please send me a PM so I can help you.


----------



## Alpha Tauri

I’m on Safari for iPad and clicking any of the options in the screenshot I’ve included doesn’t do anything. Kindly fix it.


----------



## Persephone The Dread

Persephone The Dread said:


> Does anyone know how to change our titles now? I can't see an option to do this anymore anywhere. My title only made sense with my last avatar (well not even then to most people probably.)
> 
> Also I can't delete posts at all anymore (even ones I've just made,) only edit them so I miss that.
> 
> @SAS Admin


Please remove my user title/give us the option to change it back. (I'd prefer the latter option since registered sounds boring and unnecessary when some people have their own personalised ones left over, but if for some reason we're not allowed to do that then please at least remove my current one.)

I mean I feel like the idea behind why it's unchangeable now was so you could distinguish administrators and moderators from other posters? So maybe just make it so those words are not allowed in the titles for regular posters since at this point regular posters have a variety of titles anyway left over from before + the registered one.


----------



## Memories of Silence

Persephone The Dread said:


> Please remove my user title/give us the option to change it back. (I'd prefer the latter option since registered sounds boring and unnecessary when some people have their own personalised ones left over, but if for some reason we're not allowed to do that then please at least remove my current one.)
> 
> I mean I feel like the idea behind why it's unchangeable now was so you could distinguish administrators and moderators from other posters? So maybe just make it so those words are not allowed in the titles for regular posters since at this point regular posters have a variety of titles anyway left over from before + the registered one.


I changed it to SAS Member for you.  I think the biggest way to distinguish staff members from regular members was our coloured usernames, but we don’t have those anymore. A lot of people will miss having and changing customised user titles.


----------



## Persephone The Dread

Memories of Silence said:


> I changed it to SAS Member for you.  I think the biggest way to distinguish staff members from regular members was our coloured usernames, but we don’t have those anymore. A lot of people will miss having and changing customised user titles.


Thanks!  Yeah I guess we can customise moods now instead to use as titles, but I was using mine as a location field since they removed that on posts lol and only have flags. I guess I'll have to decide between the two in the future.


----------



## valina

(edit: I posted this in wrong thread)


----------



## zonebox

Members having the ability to hide/ignore sections of this forum would improve the overall experience dramatically.. Well, at least for me 🙃 I've looked for extensions that might be able to do that for me, but haven't found any specific for XenForo and the only alternative I can think of is to block each section through AdBlocker, which would be fine but then I would need to do so for the new posts as well which takes away a lot of the functionality of the forum.

If XenForo supports such a feature, can we please get it?


----------



## movingbee

I am happy with this forum site. It may be quiet for a while but a few are still active. And it is a great platform being managed by our administrators - kudos to your continued effort to keep this site insightful, and helpful.


----------



## MCHB

Full liquor bar! 😄😅


----------



## Blue Dino

Is the function to delete our own posts ever going to be made available?


----------



## Memories of Silence

Blue Dino said:


> Is the function to delete our own posts ever going to be made available?


I have been trying to get it brought back, but it doesn’t look like it will ever happen. 😔


----------



## Black jesus

A little more understanding for people with mental health issues.


----------



## Fun Spirit

Yeah, turn it back to the old SAS. 
:lol :rofl {Wait.....where is the old emojis?}


----------



## Blue Dino

Memories of Silence said:


> I have been trying to get it brought back, but it doesn’t look like it will ever happen. 😔


What was the reason for that feature to be disable? Just curious. (Not sure if you can say without getting in trouble..)


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

Blue Dino said:


> What was the reason for that feature to be disable? Just curious. (Not sure if you can say without getting in trouble..)


I don't like the new editing restrictions at all either (doubt any users or mods, do, really!). But not sure if I should publicly say why they were introduced, either. The chatroom had got a terrible reputation for abuses and no-one really used it any more, so probably no great loss. But on a social anxiety forum, at least a one-to-one live chat system would be good to have again.


----------



## harrison

Nice new banner picture btw - if that's what it's called.


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

I like the new banner picture as well. The previous one wasn't good at all, really.


----------



## Memories of Silence

Blue Dino said:


> What was the reason for that feature to be disable? Just curious. (Not sure if you can say without getting in trouble..)


The reason wasn’t fully explained to us besides what the FAQs say about it ”disrupting the flow of the forum,” but it seems like all of the forums owned by VS have the same policy, so it could be to keep things easier instead of having too many different policies to have to keep track of. I could be wrong.


----------



## Persephone The Dread

I recently saw a thread where multiple people had just replaced their post with a . which seems to disrupt the flow more than just deleting it lol.


----------



## Memories of Silence

If anyone wants anything removed, it’s okay to ask me or one of the mods as long as it isn’t any more than about four posts/threads at a time. 🙂


----------



## Blue Dino

Persephone The Dread said:


> I recently saw a thread where multiple people had just replaced their post with a . which seems to disrupt the flow more than just deleting it lol.


I swore I saw you did it to a few of your posts too. 😅


----------



## Persephone The Dread

Blue Dino said:


> I swore I saw you did it to a few of your posts too. 😅


Oh I do it all the time now since we can't delete them and I'm always deleting my posts especially in certain threads. I just found it funny that the admins think that threads full of people replacing their posts with dots doesn't break the flow more than just deleting it outright but I don't think they're going to budge on it.


----------



## Scrub-Zero

This new banner is pretty sweet, I like it. You sail peacefully on the sea thinking life is good and then Jaws shows up to wreck your boat.


----------



## Anisha112

An icon (to the left of the YouTube one) that would have code to wrap spoilers around highlighted text when pressed, instead of having to manually insert it.


----------



## Memories of Silence

Anisha112 said:


> An icon (to the left of the YouTube one) that would have code to wrap spoilers around highlighted text when pressed, instead of having to manually insert it.


Welcome to SAS. 🙂 Is this what you were looking for? 







Next to the emoji button, there is “...,”which is a dropdown menu with more buttons to choose from.


----------



## spurs13

I'd love to see the chatroom again. They were great to talk to people naturally without any pressure.


----------



## Memories of Silence

spurs13 said:


> I'd love to see the chatroom again. They were great to talk to people naturally without any pressure.


We were told that this won’t be coming back, but now I’m wondering what a thread would be like that can be used as a chatroom. It could be called The Chat Thread, and people could talk in there without pressure. The only difference would be that it is posts and that it isn’t as instant. 

It would be easier to moderate than the chatroom was because we wouldn’t have to go right back through the history to check on things, and posts can be reported, unlike how it was in the chatroom. That would make it a nicer place where everyone can feel comfortable.


----------



## Sainnot

Blogs


----------



## fire mage64

Sainnot said:


> Blogs


Yes, this. I haven't logged in for awhile but when I came back I noticed the blogs were gone? How can I view what others have posted? Right now I only see my own... To me blogs were a highlight of the site.


----------



## Memories of Silence

fire mage64 said:


> Yes, this. I haven't logged in for awhile but when I came back I noticed the blogs were gone? How can I view what others have posted? Right now I only see my own... To me blogs were a highlight of the site.


When the forum software migration happened in April, all blog entries were turned into forum posts. For privacy reasons, they can only be viewed by the people who posted them. We have been told that the blog feature won’t be returning.


----------



## harrison

posted in the wrong place


----------



## macky

This has never applied to me personally - but for SAS members who ask for their accounts to be deleted or locked, I think SAS should respect and fulfil their wishes. Reasons I've heard for not doing so do not seem to be in the best interests of the person and probably the only option for them is to basically try to get themselves banned through their conduct. The fact the latter strategy is usually successful not only undermines the reasons SAS disallows voluntary banning, but also disrupts other users in the process. I don't think any other avenue would keep someone's account open against their wishes. Particularly in a forum on mental health, I think it's unfair to rely on their willpower to not log in. So my suggestion is to allow voluntary bannings on the basis the benefits probably outweigh the cons.

But if SAS has decided that's not an option then it's their forum and they can do what they want.


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

Memories of Silence said:


> We were told that this won’t be coming back, but now I’m wondering what a thread would be like that can be used as a chatroom. It could be called The Chat Thread, and people could talk in there without pressure. The only difference would be that it is posts and that it isn’t as instant.
> 
> It would be easier to moderate than the chatroom was because we wouldn’t have to go right back through the history to check on things, and posts can be reported, unlike how it was in the chatroom. That would make it a nicer place where everyone can feel comfortable.


It would be pretty simple (at least if you're somewhat tech-savvy), to set up a traditional IRC chatroom on whatever network (there are lots):









Internet Relay Chat - Wikipedia







en.wikipedia.org





There's another social anxiety forum that still uses IRC for it's (very nice) chatroom, I know it very well. The downside is that it's strictly text-only (no avatars or anything like that), and you really need to know at least a few text commands to use IRC! I prefer to access IRC through an app on phone or computer, but setting that up is probably a little complicated for anyone who's not tech-savvy. Mibbit, though, is a convenient IRC portal that could be used to access an SAS chatroom:






Mibbit.com - Easy and fast Webchat in your browser


Mibbit is a fully featured IRC Client. Allowing you to interact realtime with your friends. Chat, play games, colaborate on projects together and more.




mibbit.com





Of course such a chatroom would be entirely separate from the forum, not integrated like the old one was. It would need moderating, but there would be no reporting of posts, obviously. There would have to be mods (OPs in IRC parlance), chosen, who would perhaps not all be the same people as the forum mods.

TBH I'm not sure a chat thread would really work as a substitute, because chat is meant to be instant.


----------



## Socialmisfits

I wouldn't mind a delete posts or thread option 😛


----------



## WillYouStopDave

I don't understand why people come to a forum to ask for a chatroom?


----------



## Socialmisfits

Because people can’t ask for a chatroom if there isn‘t a forum.


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

WillYouStopDave said:


> I don't understand why people come to a forum to ask for a chatroom?


Well instant chatting online is not for everyone, but it's good for anyone (such as me), who likes it. As great as traditional forums are, they obviously can't match the immediacy of chat. I think it's good how on the other site (don't want to name it any more because naming rival sites on here seems to be against the TOS), their chatroom has always been run and moderated entirely separately from their forum, it's just affiliated with it. The former SAS in-browser chat (CometChat), wasn't very nice to use from a tech angle. Many users disliked it's design.
Even though they don't provide a chatroom on here any more, I don't know if VS would like an IRC chatroom being promoted on here, if one was created. I would make one if I could be bothered with the complications of it.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

macky said:


> This has never applied to me personally - but for SAS members who ask for their accounts to be deleted or locked, I think SAS should respect and fulfil their wishes. Reasons I've heard for not doing so do not seem to be in the best interests of the person and probably the only option for them is to basically try to get themselves banned through their conduct. The fact the latter strategy is usually successful not only undermines the reasons SAS disallows voluntary banning, but also disrupts other users in the process. I don't think any other avenue would keep someone's account open against their wishes. Particularly in a forum on mental health, I think it's unfair to rely on their willpower to not log in. So my suggestion is to allow voluntary bannings on the basis the benefits probably outweigh the cons.
> 
> But if SAS has decided that's not an option then it's their forum and they can do what they want.


Most of the time it seems they claim they want to stop posting here but can't. Which banning them will not fix that because they will simply be unable to stop themselves from creating a new account and then they will be back under a different name, sneaking around, probably behaving badly and eventually asking us to ban them again. And in fact, they will probably make a new account within a week or two.

That someone cannot stop posting here is not something we can help them with. We could actually ban them but we couldn't stop them from coming back. And they always come back. How is it any more fair to rely on their willpower to not make a new account? Bans are not what they used to be and most people can easily figure out how to get around them.

Personally, if it was up to me, I'd give them their ban if they wanted it but only if I could be sure it was truly permanent. That's not possible anymore. I mean, there were always ways around a ban but it's easier than ever now so banning someone now is just banning their behavior. If they come back, we will likely not catch them unless they continue to behave badly.


----------



## coeur_brise

Could we have a separate forum where each thread belongs to whomever wants to "blog" in it, kind of like the "Chat thread"? I would make a "coeur_brise's blog of self-absorbed thoughts" but don't want to refresh it to the top of say, Coping with anxiety forum. Just a thought. Also, we could make it restricted to members only for privacy reasons.


----------



## Memories of Silence

coeur_brise said:


> Could we have a separate forum where each thread belongs to whomever wants to "blog" in it, kind of like the "Chat thread"? I would make a "coeur_brise's blog of self-absorbed thoughts" but don't want to refresh it to the top of say, Coping with anxiety forum. Just a thought. Also, we could make it restricted to members only for privacy reasons.


I like this idea.  I can’t add new forums anymore, so we would have to ask VS to add it if enough people want it.


----------



## Ventura

WillYouStopDave said:


> I don't understand why people come to a forum to ask for a chatroom?


Chat was the first thing I used on SAS in 2009. It was a staple here. And I do miss it (despite some not loving it). Was the only form of instant social interaction I had. Chat was still here until the update. With COVID and all -- people are needing a little bit more social interaction than normal.


----------



## zonebox

Perhaps a discord for members in good standing, each person would have to file a request with a mod (or a trusted volunteer - it doesn't have to be affiliated with SAS) after a number of posts to be added to it. It would be extra work, but there would be little need for moderation in such a setting. I've only recently used discord myself so I haven't a clue of most of the functionality - the only reason I have even touched it is to get mods for games. But I believe people can be invited to a group, at least that is how it works in telegram which I am more familiar with.

A sticky could inform users that such a feature was available, and after such criteria was met they could request an invite. I would set one up myself, but I really am not into the chatting scene - I like to type something out, edit it, read it a couple of times, submit it.. then go back to it, edit it again, resubmit it, and do so repeatedly.


----------



## ShyVegan

If they had an app for iPhone users! I've tried looking for it in the App Store, but I can't seem to find it.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

zonebox said:


> It would be extra work, but there would be little need for moderation in such a setting.


  

Well, one would think not but I have taken a leisurely stroll through some of the old reports of trouble in the chatroom that still exist in the moderator section and well.....it was kind of like the Springer show if the Springer show was about 20 times worse than it was.


----------



## zonebox

WillYouStopDave said:


> like the Springer show


Oh gads, I can imagine the horror 🤣 I never touched the chat here, I remember seeing it at the bottom of the screen but being that I am not a great chatter I kept away from it.


----------



## The Phantom Pain

Is the frustration forum gone? I know it was very negative, but nuking it altogether? If it wasn't done in 2013 it probably shouldn't have been done now.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

The Phantom Pain said:


> Is the frustration forum gone? I know it was very negative, but nuking it altogether? If it wasn't done in 2013 it probably shouldn't have been done now.


 No. Frustration is still there. I don't know if there are any settings you might have changed to make it not show up but you might want to look at your configuration settings for your account. Other than that, @Memories of Silence might be able to tell you more.


----------



## Memories of Silence

Memories of Silence said:


> I like this idea.  I can’t add new forums anymore, so we would have to ask VS to add it if enough people want it.


I have added a Blog forum.  I found out that I can still add them myself. I also brought back the Teens forum, which had been hidden within the moderator section since the software migration. 

Posts in the Blog section won’t count towards member post counts, and threads won’t show in New Posts. I can change the settings to show them in New Posts, but it seems more private for them not to, which I think is what most people would want.


zonebox said:


> Perhaps a discord for members in good standing, each person would have to file a request with a mod (or a trusted volunteer - it doesn't have to be affiliated with SAS) after a number of posts to be added to it. _It would be extra work, but there would be little need for moderation in such a setting._ I've only recently used discord myself so I haven't a clue of most of the functionality - the only reason I have even touched it is to get mods for games. But I believe people can be invited to a group, at least that is how it works in telegram which I am more familiar with.
> 
> A sticky could inform users that such a feature was available, and after such criteria was met they could request an invite. I would set one up myself, but I really am not into the chatting scene - I like to type something out, edit it, read it a couple of times, submit it.. then go back to it, edit it again, resubmit it, and do so repeatedly.


In 2019, I created a Discord server for this purpose. Even though I only invited people who were in “good standing,” there were a lot of problems. Some “well behaved” members I invited went on to invite people they knew who weren’t from SAS or who had barely posted on here, and then once we found out they were not from SAS and banned them, the ones who invited them/knew them would attack us and call us names.

Some members refused to follow the rules and would break them on purpose to annoy me and the other mods on the server. We eventually had to ban some of them. This unfortunately led to some of the remaining members attacking us, harassing us in private and making up lies about me and the other server administrator to try to turn people against us. No one would believe our explanations and kept believing the people who were lying. It got bad enough that we began to feel unsafe (someone made a joke about finding one of our houses, which obviously isn’t something to joke about). 

One member who is now permanently banned from the forum was trusted enough to become a moderator on the Discord server, and they added an untrustworthy member as a moderator to enable them to read the moderator posts, even after we warned them to be careful of the member they gave the moderator role to. They claimed it was an “accident,“ but this “accident“ happened twice in one day, and was something that could only be done by clicking on five different things.

Some of the problems on the server led to the permanent bans of about ten people altogether, which included someone who was a moderator on the forum at the time. People who seem well behaved on a forum aren’t always well behaved in a chat-type setting. The server is still open, with about 40 members, but barely anyone who is a member there is active on Discord anymore.

For the reasons I mentioned in this post, I would rather not create a new dedicated chatroom like the ones suggested recently. I know how to use Discord and would rather use that as I know how it works and because the server already exists. 



The Phantom Pain said:


> Is the frustration forum gone? I know it was very negative, but nuking it altogether? If it wasn't done in 2013 it probably shouldn't have been done now.


I checked your settings, and you should be able to view it. All members and guests should be able to, so I’m not sure why some people are unable to view it. There are no limits on post count or anything else.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

Memories of Silence said:


> I checked your settings, and you should be able to view it. All members and guests should be able to, so I’m not sure why some people are unable to view it. There are no limits on post count or anything else.


 Is it possible that it is somehow marked NSFW? I think there is a setting that hides stuff that is NSFW if it is checked.


----------



## zonebox

@Memories of Silence 

🤯 I remember being invited to a discord a while ago, it was probably that one - I had assumed people just lost interest in it. I'm glad I was too timid to join 😰Another reason for me to stay away from chat, that sounds pretty crazy.


----------



## firelight

Frustration forum is hidden if you're not logged in, maybe that was it.


----------



## Memories of Silence

There are no NSFW boxes for it, and it looks like this:


----------



## aqwsderf

zonebox said:


> 🤯 I remember being invited to a discord a while ago, it was probably that one - I had assumed people just lost interest in it. I'm glad I was too timid to join 😰Another reason for me to stay away from chat, that sounds pretty crazy.


Aw I wouldn't stray away from chats. I actually have gotten to know and have made some nice friends from this community through chat. I would say the good outweighs the bad


----------



## The Phantom Pain

It was probably the mobile browser. Frustration was always suggested to be removed, for a moment, I thought it actually happened 😂


----------



## mt moyt

ShyVegan said:


> If they had an app for iPhone users! I've tried looking for it in the App Store, but I can't seem to find it.


Tapatalk is great for mobile, much better than mobile website. also can access many forums from it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Socialmisfits

I don’t even know what discord is


----------



## Memories of Silence

To answer a post that was deleted, blog posts can be posted here but they are forum posts instead of the usual type of blog post we had in the past, which aren’t possible on the new forum software.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

Socialmisfits said:


> I don’t even know what discord is


 It apparently has the right name.


----------



## Whatswhat

My suggestion is to make a feature that lets you block certain other users from viewing any of your activity on SAS.


----------



## Unforgiven17

I'm lost with this thread - discords, IRCs, stickys.... That's all I can remember as I have no idea what any of them are. 

I probably only use 10% of the features this forum currently has, if you add more things I won't find them. Only just worked out how to post a picture that didn't appear miniscule so nobody could actually see it a few months back.


----------



## Socialmisfits

@Unforgiven17 same here, I’m hopelessly lost in the digital age lol
it actually took me a couple of days to figure out how to quote posts 😊


----------



## Persephone The Dread

Nevermind. This post was deleted so please don't respond.

On that note admins please bring back proper post deletion thanks.


----------



## Memories of Silence

Persephone The Dread said:


> Are we really not allowed to talk about social norms or feeling attractive/unattractive now? I'm very confused about the rules here now. I also feel like we're not allowed to discuss rules at all. I know I should have left this forum ages ago I'm only here because I haven't found an equivalent general discussion forum and I like a few people here but I feel incredibly uncomfortable on this forum.


These things are still allowed, which won’t be changing. The reason we couldn’t allow the thread to stay open a few weeks ago was that some people could feel offended by some of the posts in there. When you ask a question like ”Are ugly people inferior?” you probably won’t get many nice replies, and all of the mods agreed that it was a very negative and inappropriate thread for a forum where most people view themselves as ugly and/or inferior. If a person lists what parts of themselves they see as being that way, other members with similar features would be likely to feel insulted.

The Board Guidelines are going to be rewritten very soon, to help clarify this. They were removed with the forum migration, so I’m going to write them again and post them as a sticky or an announcement. Right now, the rules are only what VS have written, and they’re not as easy to find.

Rules can be discussed as long as they are not an attack on the staff. It’s okay to ask questions about them.


----------



## Persephone The Dread

That's not what I meant there was a thread that was locked earlier today as well. I don't understand the rules here anymore in general, and I think realistically I'm just too poor a fit for this forum since I don't want to talk about social anxiety most of the time and I post too often etc (I've known this a long time the only reason I haven't left is that general social media doesn't give the same vibe as a forum, and there are/were people here I liked,) so I'll start a blog instead off site to avoid being permanently banned (also it's giving me a lot of anxiety.)


----------



## LydeaCharlotteGirl

Whatswhat said:


> My suggestion is to make a feature that lets you block certain other users from viewing any of your activity on SAS.


I've no idea if that would even be possible. Anyway, we've been over this enough in the past. A forum is not the same thing as Facebook or whatever. IMO it wouldn't be appropriate to have a total block feature on here. You can always use the ignore function.



Persephone The Dread said:


> Nevermind. This post was deleted so please don't respond.
> 
> On that note admins please bring back proper post deletion thanks.


All the mods would like to see that return, but I don't think VS want unrestricted post editing or deletion like there used to be. Think they said a while ago (before the change to the new software) that it was (a bit ironically perhaps), something to do with complying with the GDPR EU privacy regulations.


----------



## Memories of Silence

I have looked through all of my settings to see if it was even possible to allow members to delete their posts, and I don’t have anything available to change it. I wanted to see how everything works, and there is nothing at all like it that can be changed.


----------



## zonebox

I think the showcase section would be great for blogs, but I think some people feel uncomfortable posting on it due to it being open to the public. Therefore, I think a great improvement for the site would be to lock it down so only SAS members can see it. It feels more like a blog section, and I think offers more tools for those wanting to keep a blog on SAS. In addition, perhaps just renaming it from showcase to blogs, so more people would be willing to join in on blogging here again 🙃


----------



## mt moyt

Theres actually a forum more active than this one but its an NSFW one lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Persephone The Dread

mt moyt said:


> Theres actually a forum more active than this one but its an NSFW one lol.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


There are a bunch including an autism forum that are still more active than this one. I don't post there but I went over to one the other day to check how it was doing due to the discussion about how dead this place is, and someone was complaining that some section of their forum was dead when it wasn't a central aspect of the forum and it still had maybe 10+ new threads in the last month.


----------



## mt moyt

Persephone The Dread said:


> There are a bunch including an autism forum that are still more active than this one. I don't post there but I went over to one the other day to check how it was doing due to the discussion about how dead this place is, and someone was complaining that some section of their forum was dead when it wasn't a central aspect of the forum and it still had maybe 10+ new threads in the last month.


Thats true, there is a local forum that might be more active as well come to think of it. i relate to this forum a lot more though, miss the days when it was a lot more active. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Memories of Silence

It might not help much, but it might be worth looking for old threads to bump so they can be posted in again and give everyone somewhere to post. Anyone who wants to could bump about four (good) old threads each week, but not all on the same day.


----------



## WillYouStopDave

I think one thing that might be dragging this forum down is that there might be a perception that it is easy to get banned here or that the rules are too strict.

The fact of the matter is it's more complicated than that. There have been (unfortunately) a significant number of long-term users just since I have been a moderator who did not initially do anything near bad enough to justify a ban. And I say that it is unfortunate because I did not have any personal beef with most of them.

But equally unfortunate was the fact that they took things quite personally and the instant a moderator would ask them to tone things down, they would become hostile and combative and (sometimes) disruptive. Occasionally things even tipped to the point of harassment of the moderators.

Now very few of these people were what I would call career trolls. Otherwise they would not have resided on this forum for as long as they did. They would usually be helpful and friendly or (at worst) just present. But I guess it is the nature of a mental health forum that some have periods of wonky behavior. Sometimes they go too far and mods are supposed to step in at that point. In the past (sometimes) mods either did not step in or probably (more likely) provided gentle guidance. Which usually, I suppose the issues would eventually blow over and their behavior would become peaceful again.

But unfortunately, many do choose to go the way of the troll whenever they are asked to chill. They were not trolls but they behaved in a way that was what I'd call "trollish". They would get upset over having a post edited or removed or a thread locked. Even something as silly as having an inappropriate signature removed unfortunately set a chain of events into motion that ended with that person being banned. Such things are not the goal of moderation. We're here to provide a clean, safe environment for people to utilize in the manner in which it was intended with some pretty tried and true basic rules that have been the norm on the internet for ages.

We do not edit posts or give warnings or whatever hoping the person will go haywire and force us to ban them. We hope they will take a breather and realize something they said or did was a bit much and try to not do that.

In the end, I think a lot of the people who did get banned were people whose interest in this forum was not exactly benevolent (not that it is even easy to define what that is). Or maybe even there was a part of them that wanted to be but they also had some aggressive tendencies and tended to thrive more on conflict than anything else. Certainly, they provided a huge amount of activity and interaction and even entertainment. And certainly now that many of them are probably gone for good (or choosing to lurk) the level of activity is way down. I think a lot of people do come to forums with some kind of bone to pick and it also happens to be against the rules in many cases when the person is actively instigating and then engaging in heated arguments that never end and continuously spawn new threads for the same arguments.

And of course, that is possibly a sad reality of human interaction. People do not necessarily thrive on positive interaction and certainly many seem highly averse to peaceful interaction. So yes. This forum was very active at one time but it was also mostly full of people either openly fighting with one another or taking inappropriate jabs at one another. Which sometimes was not even taken seriously by the other party. But is that all there is to hope for? Is open hostility and making an ugly and crude environment really the point of a social anxiety forum? I don't know. What am I missing?

Anyway, the bottom line is this. Most of those people would still be here if they had chosen to move on from a minor incident with an edited post or a locked thread or even possibly a misunderstanding that blew up when they were not forthcoming and their behavior confused the staff and then they became hostile, aggressive and confrontational. Unfortunately, it is difficult to be more specific and we do not name names. But the point I'm trying to get across here is that it is not easy to get banned but a person can end up getting banned over something that starts small if they don't handle it in an intelligent and respectful way.

We don't know everything we need to know in order to make perfect decisions every time.


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## Mishoni

I'll take a note.


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## XebelRebel

I think Memories of Silence had a good idea, suggesting that people bump good threads -- to restart previous discussions that are still relevant, or interesting enough to get people talking. It's a way for people who want to help the forum, but who are struggling to think of ideas for starting their own threads, to still do _something_ to keep this place active. 

Here is a thread I posted before, basically suggesting that people post threads in the form of a question, to get people talking -- as I noticed that was very effective for garnering replies.

A Way To Make SAS Popular

Also: I think it is a very good idea for people who use more than one traditional web forum to put a link to SAS in all their forum signatures/profiles. That way, whenever they post or receive profile views at the other websites, they will be advertising SAS.

I remember someone saying that the administrators of other websites might not like people advertising SAS -- so don't ask them!  Just do it. If the other websites don't like it, they can let you know about it.


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## Memories of Silence

XebelRebel said:


> Also: I think it is a very good idea for people who use more than one traditional web forum to put a link to SAS in all their forum signatures/profiles. That way, whenever they post or receive profile views at the other websites, they will be advertising SAS.
> 
> I remember someone saying that the administrators of other websites might not like people advertising SAS -- so don't ask them!  Just do it. If the other websites don't like it, they can let you know about it.


The problem with this is that we don’t know what other websites people from here use or what types of people are on them. This is a social anxiety forum and not a general forum, so if someone who also goes on a forum about pet snails (for example) tried to get people from there to join SAS, we would suddenly have a lot of threads that no one really wants here, like “Do You Think My Snail Misses Me When I’m Not Home?” and “What Colour Should I Paint My Snail’s Shell?”

Besides snail forums, some people could be on worse ones where people discuss illegal things. We definitely don’t want to have people from there on here.


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## Persephone The Dread

I used to make more threads but these days I can't really think of as many thread ideas or anything I'm interested in talking about that others are also interested in talking about. It has to be very generalised questions really to attract more responses.


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## Ventura

WillYouStopDave said:


> I think one thing that might be dragging this forum down is that there might be a perception that it is easy to get banned here or that the rules are too strict..


I think the thread listing banned members and basically shaming them should go. It's really bad on an anxiety forum to have that public. Even if they behaved badly on the forum people with social anxiety shouldn't have a 'black-list' and it would likely cut down on the banning complaints because it's not going to be seen as much.


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## WillYouStopDave

Scattered Pieces said:


> I think the thread listing banned members and basically shaming them should go. It's really bad on an anxiety forum to have that public. Even if they behaved badly on the forum people with social anxiety shouldn't have a 'black-list' and it would likely cut down on the banning complaints because it's not going to be seen as much.


 Hmmm. That thread has existed for a long time. I am not sure exactly when or why it was created but I doubt it was intended to shame anyone. 

I have no strong opinion on whether it should or shouldn't be there.


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## Ventura

WillYouStopDave said:


> Hmmm. That thread has existed for a long time. I am not sure exactly when or why it was created but I doubt it was intended to shame anyone.
> 
> I have no strong opinion on whether it should or shouldn't be there.


A moderator created it because another site they used had it. However it seems if details of someones ban isn't public then the ban itself should likely be private too. People go through depression and dark times which leads to poor decisions. A black-list of people who are barred from the site to someone with social anxiety is like a public shame book and lots of gossip and anxiety goes around it. Despite their behavior on SAS; knowing they likely have mental health issues; I don't think anyone intended or thought that would be the case. But it's just something to think about.


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## Memories of Silence

The reason I thought it could be a good idea was so that people would know why a member has suddenly disappeared, and how long they have been gone, as well as to show that permanent bans aren’t as frequent as some people thought they were. With less people posting now, permanent bans are probably obvious enough that other members would notice them without the thread.

A lot of people still seem to think that it is very easy to be permanently banned, even when we have explained that it isn’t. I hoped that by seeing how rarely it happens, they would have felt better about it, but it hasn’t helped in the ways I thought it would. Some people still think they can be banned from only doing one thing wrong.


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## aqwsderf

It's kind of weird to have the "like" option in the banned thread though.


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## WillYouStopDave

aqwsderf said:


> It's kind of weird to have the "like" option in the banned thread though.


 I don't know if it's even possible to turn it off for one thread.


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## Fever Dream

Free ice cream with every post.


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## Blue Dino

I'm upset that gif avatars no longer work.


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## XebelRebel

Information about how to contact the company that owns SAS with your suggestions for how to improve this website:

VerticalScope Inc. (the company that owns SAS) can be contacted very easily, here:

Contact Us – VerticalScope Inc.

Perhaps if enough SAS members write to VerticalScope, to show them that there is still interest in this website regardless of its place on the search rankings, then the company will do something to bring in more visitors to SAS. Also -- you can let them know what website features you want to be added or restored.

The company also has its address on its website, so you can mail them (literally).

VerticalScope Inc. Headquarters
111 Peter Street, Suite 901
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5V 2H1

I previously posted this info in that thread I bumped, recently:

A Way To Make SAS Popular


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## Memories of Silence

XebelRebel said:


> Information about how to contact the company that owns SAS with your suggestions for how to improve this website:
> 
> VerticalScope Inc. (the company that owns SAS) can be contacted very easily, here:
> 
> Contact Us – VerticalScope Inc.
> 
> Perhaps if enough SAS members write to VerticalScope, to show them that there is still interest in this website regardless of its place on the search rankings, then the company will do something to bring in more visitors to SAS. Also -- you can let them know what website features you want to be added or restored.
> 
> The company also has its address on its website, so you can mail them (literally).
> 
> VerticalScope Inc. Headquarters
> 111 Peter Street, Suite 901
> Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5V 2H1
> 
> I previously posted this info in that thread I bumped, recently:
> 
> A Way To Make SAS Popular


Some features are slowly being restored, like member profiles with fields you can edit, so there is still a chance for new features.

Everything is listed here as it is added:








Release Notes







www.socialanxietysupport.com


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## LydeaCharlotteGirl

Scattered Pieces said:


> A moderator created it because another site they used had it. However it seems if details of someones ban isn't public then the ban itself should likely be private too. People go through depression and dark times which leads to poor decisions. A black-list of people who are barred from the site to someone with social anxiety is like a public shame book and lots of gossip and anxiety goes around it. Despite their behavior on SAS; knowing they likely have mental health issues; I don't think anyone intended or thought that would be the case. But it's just something to think about.


That's right, the public ban list was originally my idea. Copied from another social anxiety forum. I think the main aim was to reduce gossip and so on about banned members, with a central list. Not sure whether that has really worked out or not. In any case, anyone who reads through old threads a lot, will likely quickly realise just how many people used to get banned from SAS for whatever reason (it's rather less now that the forum is much less active). I use other forums, albeit mostly very small and peaceful ones. But while of course there is a very strong nice side to this site, and numerous good posters, I did used to be really struck by the sheer amount of unpleasantness and of users that needed to be banned. The (now removed) chat was quite often the very worst cesspit, back when it was busy. I really don't know why the forum has traditionally attracted so many troublesome users.


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## Ventura

LydeaCharlotteGirl said:


> That's right, the public ban list was originally my idea.


I thank you for trying to help moderate and try new things to help SAS. Although I don't personally agree with the list it was done in well intent. It was just a prospective.


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## WillYouStopDave

Almost everyone who gets banned now is a spammer who has already posted spam on the forum or who has posted spam on their profile trying to sneak their spam in. So that is why you might see a lot of new members getting banned right off the bat. I am pretty sure the public list was only for long-term members who got banned and not for spammers.


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## M0rbid

the old days with flash chatroom


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## Memories of Silence

M0rbid said:


> the old days with flash chatroom


We can’t have a chatroom with the new forum software, so I have created this thread as a replacement. The last chatroom we had before the software changed about a year ago had been dead and very laggy for the last few years, and no one used it anymore. The thread is also easier to moderate.


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## Memories of Silence

We have had a lot of returning members lately. I'm sure SAS has changed a lot since you were last here. Do any of you have any ideas or suggestions that you think would improve SAS? We are always wanting to improve it.


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## M0rbid

Nostalgic related


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## Dan the man

Maybe a section for physical health. Unless I'm missing it.

I just posted that thread because my good friend is having her appendix removed. 

Obviously this site is all about mental health but we can't ignore other aspects of ourselves


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## Memories of Silence

Dan the man said:


> Maybe a section for physical health. Unless I'm missing it.
> 
> I just posted that thread because my good friend is having her appendix removed.
> 
> Obviously this site is all about mental health but we can't ignore other aspects of ourselves


We have always had a section for physical health:

Health, Nutrition, Exercise and Supplements.


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## Dan the man

Memories of Silence said:


> We have always had a section for physical health:
> 
> Health, Nutrition, Exercise and Supplements.


Thanks









A quote by Confucius


The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.



www.goodreads.com





Lol.


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## Dissonance

community events? so we can get to interact more closely with active members by playing a game, just chatting, etc.


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## Blue Dino

Dissonance said:


> community events? so we can get to interact more closely with active members by playing a game, just chatting, etc.


I think it would be this?








Support Groups, Friends Connections and Gatherings


Are you looking for a support group or know of a good one in your area? You can also find new friends here.




www.socialanxietysupport.com


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## Folded Edge

Is there a chat room or a Discord channel these days?


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## Memories of Silence

Folded Edge said:


> Is there a chat room or a Discord channel these days?


No, but I made this thread to replace those: 








The Chat Thread


This is the busiest I have seen SAS for a while. :)




www.socialanxietysupport.com





I think most people forget it is there.


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## Socialmisfits

Memories of Silence said:


> No, but I made this thread to replace those:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The Chat Thread
> 
> 
> This is the busiest I have seen SAS for a while. :)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.socialanxietysupport.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I think most people forget it is there.


No wonder people forget it , it is not a chat but a forum thread  
Anyway maybe you should make it a sticky, instantly visible somewhere if you want it to get more attention but imo it serves the same purpose as threads like post your dull and unexciting news or the random thoughts thread.
It is a well intended thread though, I'm not diminishing your effort in trying to create an alternative at all!


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## Memories of Silence

Socialmisfits said:


> No wonder people forget it , it is not a chat but a forum thread
> Anyway maybe you should make it a sticky, instantly visible somewhere if you want it to get more attention but imo it serves the same purpose as threads like post your dull and unexciting news or the random thoughts thread.
> It is a well intended thread though, I'm not diminishing your effort in trying to create an alternative at all!


I stickied it.  

When I made it, my idea was that people would be able to have conversations in there like they could in the chatroom, which makes it different to the other threads. It might not be as instant, but should still be close enough for it to have been more popular than it is, which is why I’m not sure if most people understand its purpose.

The Dull and Unexciting News thread is for people to post things like “I just saw a tree walking around outside,” and the Random Thoughts thread is for things like “I wonder what the food in the fridge does when the door is closed, and if it all quickly goes back to its spot once the door is opened.” Those aren’t really the types of threads where you can have conversations and talk about almost anything you want like you could in the chatroom.

The Discord server I made in 2019 is still open and anyone on it can post whenever they want to, but I don’t really want to accept new members because some people caused a lot of trouble on there two years ago and I don’t want a repeat of that.


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## WillYouStopDave

Socialmisfits said:


> No wonder people forget it , it is not a chat but a forum thread


 Huge surprise that on a forum, there are threads and not chat rooms, I guess. 🤷‍♂️


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## Folded Edge

Memories of Silence said:


> No, but I made this thread to replace those:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The Chat Thread
> 
> 
> This is the busiest I have seen SAS for a while. :)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.socialanxietysupport.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I think most people forget it is there.


Thank you for the reply. I was just wondering, as I know of another support forum that has an additional official chat room and a linked Discord channel.


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## M0rbid

Never used discord.... Sounds ghetto


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## alifb8

I have yet to find a *delete account* option.


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## Memories of Silence

alifb8 said:


> I have yet to find a *delete account* option.


There isn’t one.


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## WillYouStopDave

alifb8 said:


> I have yet to find a *delete account* option.


 Why would this make SAS better?


----------



## alifb8

WillYouStopDave said:


> Why would this make SAS better?


For example, earlier today I accidently selected the wrong google email at sign in and then SAS almost instantly made an entire account from it and I couldnt find a way to delete it. But even more so, users should always have an option to delete their account.


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## WillYouStopDave

alifb8 said:


> For example, earlier today I accidently selected the wrong google email at sign in and then SAS almost instantly made an entire account from it and I couldnt find a way to delete it. But even more so, users should always have an option to delete their account.


In this specific case, you could have simply PMed a staff member to report the problem. Even we don't have the ability to delete an account but there is an alternative.

At any rate, we're aware of the other account so we'll have @Memories of Silence fix it (the accounts can be merged).


----------



## Memories of Silence

alifb8 said:


> For example, earlier today I accidently selected the wrong google email at sign in and then SAS almost instantly made an entire account from it and I couldnt find a way to delete it. But even more so, users should always have an option to delete their account.


I merged the accounts for you.  We were told that there are a lot of reasons why we don’t have an option to delete accounts, and that was a policy that was created a long time before myself or any of the moderators joined SAS. If you post something you regret, we can delete that for you, but we can’t delete your entire posting history or your account.


----------



## acstar

Bring the Chatroom Back!!! It randomly disappeared a few years back, it’s a more instant communication function that allows people to participate without committing to having the text saved for everyone to see. That gives me anxiety tbh. Keep it moderated, and be weary of trolls. Members could be mods.

If a thread is super old and the creator hasn’t been active don’t let it resurface. No one is going to read ALL those posts. Create new threads with a whole new conversation on the subject, let it burn bright then die out.


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## WillYouStopDave

acstar said:


> Bring the Chatroom Back!!! It randomly disappeared a few years back


I really have no idea why it was removed but I highly doubt it was random.

At any rate, it has been said over and over by Verticalscope that bringing it back is not being considered.


----------



## Folded Edge

What about a Discord channel, as an option?


----------



## Humesday

I'd be down for an SAS Discord channel


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## Memories of Silence

Folded Edge said:


> What about a Discord channel, as an option?





Humesday said:


> I'd be down for an SAS Discord channel


I made one a few years ago, and some people started causing a lot of trouble on there which they eventually had to be banned from the forum because of. We don’t want a repeat of that. They seemed like well behaved people until that happened. I have been told that the same thing always happens in similar groups that people from here make.


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## Folded Edge

Memories of Silence said:


> I made one a few years ago, and some people started causing a lot of trouble on there which they eventually had to be banned from the forum because of. We don’t want a repeat of that. They seemed like well behaved people until that happened. I have been told that the same thing always happens in similar groups that people from here make.


That's a shame, but it is what it is. Thanks for the info.


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## SilentLyric

chat with other members.


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## WillYouStopDave

SilentLyric said:


> chat with other members.


Did you not read the posts directly above yours? This has been mentioned repeatedly and thus, has been addressed many times.

The Chat Thread


----------

