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/qa/ Discussions
Anonymous
No.6736
6739 6750 6767 6787 7052 7059
Why is it that when site aspects are changed quitely with little-to-no user input there's rarely any controversy, but when a user makes a thread here to voice legitimate concerns and hear the site's opinions or start conversations about potential changes a bunch of users are suddenly on edge about "subversion"?
Legit quastion. We weren't always like this; we used to talk about the present state and future of the site casually without this level of paranoia. How can we fix the increasingly hostile atmosphere on this board?
59 replies and 15 files omitted.
Anonymous
No.6900
1574940764845.png
>>6893
>queers
Just say faggot, you peaky blunders' nigger.
Lotus
## Admin
No.6901
6907 6957
45D37ED8DBB6E00CC98E5AA4F49AD754-600201.png
>>6891
>Detractor is an off-boarding faggot who doesn't actually use the site
Every fucking time. This is why I don't take drive-by criticism seriously
sapphire_star
No.6907
6908
>>6901
I wonder why I left.
Anonymous
No.6908
faggot.gif
>>6907
>poor victim
And yet, you're back.
Hot Mare Tail
No.6909
a3dxgsdg65.png

Anonymous
No.6957
6965
When it glows, its shows.png
>>6901
>every fucking time.
wasn't my idea to make these threads. these threads where almost certainly also made by regulars, or at least the first one was. I freely admit I am not one. I come here rarely, because I know that to create a world worth living in I need to do more than destroy, but to create. this is why the jews make it so hard to create. go ahead and keep crossing your arms and reeing over news articles though. that will teach those jews.
Anonymous
No.6965
>>6957
Youre surprised? The fish rots from the head
Anonymous
No.7044
>>6897
>miss /mlp/ style of vetting voters with quizzes of pone knowledge
This is actually a good idea, imo. I like how it was full of /mlp/ memes, to keep our the derpibooru tourists.
Anonymous
No.7052
7053
>>6736
I'll add another element to this initial query, and this is largely ubiquitous to site discussion/changes, other projects (such as the 4cc team), et al.
Discord
I make the case that there is too much reliance on discord in the discussion phase of many/most site-related activity. While the implementation phase makes sense, I propose that alot of anons don't want to have to become less anonymous when offering suggestions, opinions, or input, nor do they necessarily want to be part of a committee (which is what alot of the discords end up functioning as).
As a consequence of this, the 'outside-of-committee' discussion/threads can be (and readily ARE, as can be seen) maligned as insincere, lacking commitment/credibility/sincerity, and, and a whole host of others.
The end result is, 'committee'members can grow to resent 'casuals' (read: on-boarders only) and the anons can grow to resent the 'committee' for keeping everything on their 'super sekret discord'.
Neither perception of the other is either authentic or fair, of course.
Anonymous
No.7053
7054
>>7052
>there is too much reliance on discord in the discussion phase of many/most site-related activity.
Oh, certainly. It's not something that most Anons agreed to when this site was made, but it became the go-to medium out of convenience.
>alot of anons don't want to have to become less anonymous when offering suggestions, opinions, or input, nor do they necessarily want to be part of a committee (which is what alot of the discords end up functioning as)
I can agree with that too. I didn't even have a discord before /mlpol/, and I only made one because I eventually felt like it was necessary for site matters.
I think it's something that needs to be figured out.
Anonymous
No.7054
>>7053
Again, theres no conyest to its utility in implementation, but discussion should reasonably occur on site. Shit ideas will still be shit whether or not one is anonymous, as will good ideas, and screennames become irrelevant, as does any consequential exclusivity
Is It Time To Freak Out Yet?
Anonymous
No.7055
7056 7057 7058 7061 7084
0canyouhearthemnow.jpg
I dunno were to put this, potentially critic shitstorm

>>>/1ntr/3864 →
https://boards.4channel.org/g/thread/87026228
Anonymous
No.7056
>>7055
Noted. Thanks anon.
Anonymous
No.7057
>>7055
Everything begins to make sense now.
Saved.
Anonymous
No.7058
>>7055
This... changes everything.
Anonymous
No.7059
7060
img-1633937-1-3t7rhk.jpg
>>6736
With my most utter disgust.
Anonymous
No.7060
>>7059
Dude, what did I say to offend you? If you'd elaborate, I'd really appreciate that. All I actually want to to have /qa/ threads that don't devolve into shitflinging every time.
>OP, btw
Anonymous
No.7061
7062 7087
>>7055
So, the age of chans is over and we're going back to the age of private PHP forums?
Maybe a forum where you have to create an account to post, but every thread is anonymous, like no face attached to the post and users have no public post history, so only mods/admins can see who posted what.

And if glowies wanna join-in and spam the community, they simply can't because it's a private forum and you need to get an invitation to join.
And if they want to data-mine the users posts to draw some complex psychological profile or whatever...Just create a panic button that literally deletes everything from user's post history, so only the threads remain but users aren't linked to the posts.

I know it's easier said than done, but i'm just saying there are solutions.
Anonymous
No.7062
>>7061
>So, the age of chans is over and we're going back to the age of private PHP forums?
Fuck, I hope not. Private servers have swallowed enough of this fandom already.
Anonymous
No.7084
>>7055
>they spam CP all over your shit and use it as justification to seize the servers
I've been aware of this for a while. It's also why I'm so adamant about the importance of timely removal of CP spamposts.
Anonymous
No.7087
>>7061
The modern equivalent (kinda) you're looking for is ActivityPub (Mastodon, Pleroma etc)
Anonymous
No.7088
7089 7090
/mlpol/ was doing well until drama came back. That's poison and poners fled.
F
Anonymous
No.7089
>>7088
When did we not have drama?
Anonymous
No.7090
7092 7123
>>7088
Horseshit. The site has been slowly losing posters for years now. Whether those users could have been retained is an argument of hypothesis, as little/nothing was done in light of this slow bleed, and who knows if it's too late for anything to be done. Attention, focus, and effort went to projects (at the expense of the site) like Ponerpics which "seemed like a good idea at the time" but played out as one of a half dozen other opportunist sites that flooded the market with effectively the same content.
Its been 3 years since any changes were made to staff, because Pupper cant/wont update the code.
On the one hand this is/was due to Lotus demanding his attention for Ponerpics. See above.
On the other hand, Pupper (not exclusively) is experiencing what alot of individuals do when they find themselves in a position of control; the perception that any change or deviation from what they have come to see as normal/correct as causing a LOSS of control.
If one were to equate users/content with profit, /mlpol/ has been operating in the red for far longer than any responsible manager/administrator would have allowed without enacting corrective measures.
But we dont have those, and /mlpol/ doesnt operate from a profit motive, so from the viewpoont of staff:
As long as its comfy, who cares if it's bleeding out, right? Because if EFFORT is any gauge, the interest has NOT been to develop and gradually improve the site (ya know, an EMERGENT model), and instead has been focused on individuals maintaining their (unelected, unmandated, and without oversight) staff control/positions.
>/mlpol/ was doing well until the drama came back
And this is the user attitude that allowed it to go on for so long. Seriously, I'd love for (you) to go over site statistics and try to make the same argument.
Anonymous
No.7092
7114
medium.gif
>>7090
>but played out as one of a half dozen other opportunist sites that flooded the market with effectively the same content.
Not trying to justify my sperg out last year. But it was legitimately surprising to find users arguing about fash art being allowed at all on their collab. or whatever the fuck that was
Anonymous
No.7114
>>7092
>it was legitimately surprising to find users arguing about fash art being allowed at all on their collab
Really? That's surprising.
Anonymous
No.7123
7124
>>7090
>If one were to equate users/content with profit
Content more than users, tbh.
If you compare us to other obscure pony imageboards, there are a few boards with only a fraction of our userbase that still manage to generate consistent content every week (art, greentext, new pony threads, etc), just because they got the ball rolling for user engagement, and the ones who run them are not only content creators themselves but are also well-connected and invite ther friends consistently too. It could also be an organizational struggle that might discourage posters from posting the "low quality" threads that fuel /mlp/.
That being said, traffic is still important. /mlpol/ has always upheld the virtue of quality above quantity, but that comes with the risk of ending up with neither if content creators go away due to lack of engaged posters to see it.
Anonymous
No.7124
7125
>>7123
>there are a few boards with only a fraction of our userbase that still manage to generate consistent content every week (art, greentext, new pony threads, etc)
YES, there ARE! What do they have that we lack I wonder?
>because they got the ball rolling for user engagement, and the ones who run them are not only content creators themselves but are also well-connected and invite ther friends consistently too
You mean, its not the work of a few fags lording on discord? The hell you say!
>/mlpol/ has always upheld the virtue of quality above quantity, but that comes with the risk of ending up with neither if content creators go away due to lack of engaged posters to see it.
Or, creators go away simply because the site doesnt represent whag it purports to?
Anonymous
No.7125
7126
>>7124
>its not the work of a few fags lording on discord
Nah, it usually still is. It's just that often the fags are the main content creators, and the site only lasts so long as they're still willing to create content, usually with some ongoing project.
/mlpol/ has some of that too though. We all like Elway's Glimmerposts.
>the site doesnt represent whag it purports to?
It depends on what you mean by "purports to".
>What do they have that we lack I wonder?
That's a good question.
I would say organization + user engagement facilitated by community-driven decisions? It's just a guess though. I've only recently begun observing 'competing' boards to answer that question.
Anonymous
No.7126
7128 7129 7130
>>7125
Okay, thats a fair point. The 'fags' are on discord regardless of whether its site related or not.
But that begs the question of where the /mlpol/ fandom 'is', if its more on discord than on site.
>Wym it "purports to" precisely what is implied. The site does not authentically operate under the premist it did/has.
Tht premise being, that it is:
1. Alternative to 4chan
2. Community driven
3. Representative of what /mlpol/ used to be
None of those points are true.
Anonymous
No.7128
7130 7131 7132
File (hide): CADFF642D8A0C79D09EB72071C4BE139-435427.mov (425.2 KB, Resolution:1280x720 Length:00:00:01, 57ee.mov) [play once] [loop]
57ee.mov
>>7126
>But that begs the question of where the /mlpol/ fandom 'is'
Trying to pinpoint gathering points / poners location.
Try to be a bit more subtle.
Anonymous
No.7129
7130 7131
>>7126
Each of those are 100% true. It doesn't have to be to your liking to be an alternative. It is 100% community driven as the posts on the site come from the community, not bots. 4chan can't claim as such, reinforcing the alternative nature of /mlpol/. It is also representative of what /mlpol/ used to be in that it is ponies and politics, by definition what it was.

Your personal rating of how well these have been done can't speak to the truthfulness of these points as they are fully present as defined, just not to the standard that you approve of.
Anonymous
No.7130
7134
>>7128
>Trying to pinpoint gathering points / poners location.
What does that even mean?
>>7129
Eh, I wouldn't say 100%.
>100% community driven as the posts on the site come from the community, not bots.
This is indeed a strongsuit of /mlpol/. It doesn't distinguish us among other altchans, but it's definitely a strongsuit.
>It is also representative of what /mlpol/ used to be in that it is ponies and politics, by definition what it was.
I don't think that's what anon meant. I think he meant had the same feeling as the April 1st 2017 board, which might be a bit of an unrealistic ambition, but an ambition nonetheless. 4/mlpol/ was more than just ponies and politics; it was the fusion of ponies and politics in an neverbefore seen explosion of content and creativity, and a revival of old-tier 4chan humor on a scale that none of us had seen in years before. I always considered that to be what I was aiming for as a poster and community member, although it's not easy to come up with.
>>7126
>1. Alternative to 4chan
>2. Community driven
>3. Representative of what /mlpol/ used to be
>None of those points are true.
You could say that that's somewhat true, although it's really a matter of perspective. I do feel like the general atmosphere has changed in the past 5 years, although idk what exactly caused it.
Anonymous
No.7131
7134
>>7128
>paying attention is 'trying to pinpoint'
Lol, its been a couple years since that one (purported argument(. Keep on, it'll pan out, I promise
>>7129
Oh? And how is the site community driven? Please, indicate where community has been allowed to contribute?
4/mlpol/ had people jumping out of the woodwork to provide content. How long since a comparable level of content can be said to have been provided by mlpol?
>hurr, more people
Then it's different, and any attempt to do anything without adequately and accurately assessing the board is wishful thinking based on a previous and definitively different set of criteria, innit??
One can't progress where they want to go until they start with where they are.
>Your personal rating of how well these have been done can't speak to the truthfulness of these points as they are fully present as defined, just not to the standard that you approve of.
Its easier to say
<I disagree
(just saying, cant argue that)
Anonymous
No.7132
7133 7135
>>7128
>Trying to pinpoint gathering points / poners location.
>Try to be a bit more subtle.
See, this is exactly the paranoid, vitriolic attitude I was talking about in the OP.
Even if Anon is being a pessimistic/cynical/contentious faggot, his intentions are clearly no more insidious than that. You're responding as if he's some undercover glownigger trying to dox you, which he clearly is not. If you don't like him, just call him a faggot. There's no need to get all schizo about it.
Anonymous
No.7133
7136
>>7132
>You're responding as if he's some undercover glownigger trying to dox you
Well, as I said, anon should paraphrase his ideas better.
Anonymous
No.7134
7138
>>7130
You can't guarentee the spirit of a community to be present through policy. All you can do through policy is to allow for it in the policy, which /mlpol/ does. As for the community encouraging it, that is what needs work, but that has to be done by the people present. If you are looking for some leader to do it for you, it will be their show. This would damage the nature of the board being community driven. Simply, we each need to work on it.

>>7131
You post. That's the contribution to further posting. If you don't post, that takes away the potential for further posting. How is it not community driven? We have our own writing projects, video projects, fanfiction reviews, discussions, dives into history, religion, roleplaying games... this is community driven content and has shaped what the site is and does.

What is it that you desire to be added?
Anonymous
No.7135
7137 7138
>>7132
>You're responding as if he's some undercover glownigger trying to dox you, which he clearly is not.
There's no way you know that is not the case.
Better safe than sorry.
Anonymous
No.7136
>>7133
It was clear to anyone not being deliberately disingenuous (read: a liar) that I was drawing distinction between operating on board versus the 'necessity' of operating on discord.
Like, if one wanted to participate in and around tea time, fo example. Yes, discord is useful as an aggregator location. No, it was never, should never, and is never to be a centeal hub for /mlpol/.
Anonymous
No.7137
7138
>>7135
Shall I tell them your name?
Anonymous
No.7138
7139 7141
>>7134
>through policy
I don't think either of the other guys were talking about policy here yet, although I guess I did necrobump a weeks-old conversation. I think the other guy is moreso just generally disatisfied with the the staff, although I can't speak for him.
>As for the community encouraging it, that is what needs work, but that has to be done by the people present. If you are looking for some leader to do it for you, it will be their show.
You know, I've been one of the bigger posters on this site for a while now. I don't mean that in a bragging sense, but in an observational sense. For a while, there were often times where I was making more than half of the political threads and a quarter of the pony threads, and on months where I took breaks content just... dried up; as if nobody wanted to take my place.
Of course, I could always be doing more for the board, but sometimes I wish I had some dedicated partners to make content with me, so it didn't feel like I was posting to myself.

>>7135
How is that "safe"? Glowniggers don't go away just because you're rude to them. All that does is discourage people from civic engagement through discussions on /qa/. Chill the fuck out.
>>7137
And don't provoke him either. That's counterproductive.
Anonymous
No.7139
>>7138
>as if nobody wanted to take my place
Thank you very much poner.
I wish bread posters would have enough autism as Flat Earth's OP.
Anonymous
No.7140
Wow, back-handed compliments.
A wonder that all of former staff is adversarial to to the site
Anonymous
No.7141
7142
>>7138
There have been threads that have called for building teams to make content and they have largely fallen off, only interested in the results and not participation. This is simply the nature of most users. You don't get to summon replacements; they are encouraged to join or form out of being previously an observer. I can attest to this in my own failure of my video project. I am now stuck trying to do it myself as no one was going to volunteer as I need to prove the project and inspire participation. Until I can do that, no one will join.

This is the impact of community driven content. Since we aren't large, you don't get easy replacements because the reality is that only a tiny percent will make content, and a tiny percent of a tiny base means not many options.
Anonymous
No.7142
7143 7147
1456761.png
>>7141
Tbh, I don't make even one tenth as many posts/threads as I used to back in 2017, or even half as many as I did as recently as 2020. I could always get back to it, but I've had so much on my plate in meatspace lately and it feels like I'm tired all of the time...
I was never a huge content creator on 4chan, but i tried to be on /mlpol/ because I wanted to site to stay alive. At some point I was so desperate that I sockpuppeted entire conversations (yeah, it was super cringe in hindsight), or copy-pasted hundreds threads and distilled comments/arguments/jokes from 4chan, but I only ever wanted to get the ball rolling so that other anons would pick it up and I could finally be the lurker I wanted to be... It's a bit selfish, but I'm not the same tireless shitposter I was back in 2017...
If i felt like there were more posters making things themselves, i'd feel encouraged to pick things up, I guess.
I had that west marches pathfinder project I wanted to dedicate to this board, although posters didn't show as much initial interest as I hoped, and life got in the way of planning it... I'm still working on it, but it's slow.
Anonymous
No.7143
7144 7145 7146 7147
>>7142
It is perfectly understandable. You can't work at full steam all the time, and things have been discouraging as of late. However, I feel you have discounted the userbase too easily. Though they are slow to make more content, they come out of the woodwork when it counts. We just need to stick around for when they do.
Anonymous
No.7144
>>7143
You're not wrong.
Anonymous
No.7145
>>7143
>We just need to stick around for when they do.
At least post some more random ponies in the meantime.
Anonymous
No.7146
>>7143
>keep 'this' up until they 'do'
Assuming that when they 'do', their position has changed,(previously noted as "fuck /pol/, fuck /mlpol/' on the /mlp/ side, and 'fuck /mlp/, fuck /mlpol/' on the /mlp/ side)
what exactly are you waiting for?
Dont answer, it was rhetorical.
Anonymous
No.7147
8AEB7DEDB9BFF0FDB53603EF8441A286-190399.jpg
AF49FD97CAAAE403D1D32039BFD7A46C-688626.png
GottagetmystuffrightedE6472B53D351C3CC182CCA886D0625E6-356561.png
>>7143
I believe that to be true.
>>7142
>Everything
I feel those feels as well.