View Full Version : PLEASE VOTE: The Crap Shack
A major feature of this website once was a forum named the "Crap Shack". Its purpose was to allow members to have an open discussion in a similar form to a chat room with few rules. Some time ago a decision was taken by staff members to remove this feature of the site but with our recent expansion both in membership and in staff we've been discussing the possibility of opening the Crap Shack again.
There would be some differences this time. Previously, the Crap Shack created overlap between Off Topic and Unrelated and itself but with this new iteration we'd be introducing a rule where a topic which is serious or which would fit in another forum must be placed there rather than in the Crap Shack. This will put an end to topics in the Crap Shack with *nospam* in their titles and will also help to encourage discussion across the range of forums we offer.
A concern which arose during discussion about this was the possibility of new members being unfairly treated or otherwise excluded by more experienced members. We'd be monitoring this situation carefully if The Crap Shack did reopen and those who weren't playing by the rules would receive the normal warnings and suchlike.
Some staff members also felt that the forum created a juvenile atmosphere on the forums, while others felt that the "fun and entertainment" which the Crap Shack used to provide were in keeping with the "fun and entertainment" of the GTA series.
If you're still unsure about what the Crap Shack is like you can view three samples of its content by clicking the links below. These three threads were all originally made in the Crap Shack while it was open:
Sample: :( (http://www.gtagaming.com/forums/showthread.php?t= 79733)
Sample: Pie vs. Caek (http://www.gtagaming.com/forums/showthread.php?t= 106561)
Sample: Cat! (http://www.gtagaming.com/forums/showthread.php?t= 77775)
Staff opinion on the revival of the Crap Shack is divided, so we're opening up voting to every GTAGaming member for a period of three days.
All that's left for you to do now is cast your vote in this GTAGaming referendum.
PS: If you've got any thoughts on the issue, please reply to this thread after casting your vote.
If the subforum would have to be strictly moderated to keep it open, so be it. As long as i don't have to watch and rethink everything i might want to say without deviating from the original topic and getting warning points, it's fine for me.
Only if the [NS] trend is abolished so OT&U gets more use, but I vote yes.
The Shy Child.
08-13-2008, 04:26 PM
Please to god I hope it comes back and stays that way this time round.
scott
08-13-2008, 04:30 PM
i vote yes without reading the topic i vote yes a thousand times
Macey
08-13-2008, 04:32 PM
Personally, I think it should. It may draw attention from other parts of the forum though (notably the OT&U, though I suppose having the NS rule removed would keep that part alive still).
5tatic
08-13-2008, 04:33 PM
Yes, but I feel that the rules should be enforced. Moderators/Admins should take no shit at all and punish people if they go a little too far in threads.
~Schwab
08-13-2008, 04:36 PM
I voted yes, but only for a handful of reasons, the main one being so I can look back at threads that I so dearly miss. I know that if it opens, I probably won't get 2,000 posts for another couple of years, but that's too bad for me.
phreak
08-13-2008, 04:40 PM
What would be the definition of "too far"? It's the Crap Shack, a spam forum where there are no boundaries. Not saying it's way out like /b/ but still, we all know what CS was and for a lot of us, it was the main reason we came to this site. I'll tell you, when the CS was opened for all of about a day or so, that was more fun that I've had on this site in like a year, and other would say the same. I agree with with the moving "NS" threads over to OT but if there's going to be heavily enforced rules in the CS than it should just stay closed as it won't be the one we all know and love.
Besides, if Zidane doesn't want it back, are we really so sure it would if the votes passed?
Macey
08-13-2008, 04:40 PM
Question: What will our votes count towards with the opening of the Crap Shack? Would it not be 50%, with the other 50% coming from the staff?
Doubt it, but it's your patriotic duty to vote for YOUR COUNTRY/FORUM!
rappo
08-13-2008, 04:57 PM
Question: What will our votes count towards with the opening of the Crap Shack? Would it not be 50%, with the other 50% coming from the staff?
The greater majority of staff members have already voted to bring it back. Now members are voting in order to prove to the skeptical few staff that this is what members want or don't want. So yes, this poll has a lot of power.
What would be the definition of "too far"? It's the Crap Shack, a spam forum where there are no boundaries. Not saying it's way out like /b/ but still, we all know what CS was and for a lot of us, it was the main reason we came to this site. I'll tell you, when the CS was opened for all of about a day or so, that was more fun that I've had on this site in like a year, and other would say the same. I agree with with the moving "NS" threads over to OT but if there's going to be heavily enforced rules in the CS than it should just stay closed as it won't be the one we all know and love.
"Heavily enforced" is a bit misleading. Basically, we don't want to let it turn into a place where people bash new members and get away with insulting posts. If you're that sort of person (which phreak, you definitely aren't) then you may have a problem with the rules, but for everybody else it will not be that big of a deal.
Besides, if Zidane doesn't want it back, are we really so sure it would if the votes passed?
Yes we are sure. Zidane has taken part in the Staff Lounge discussion, and encouraged the making of this poll. We also have a more logical method of decision making now.
scott
08-13-2008, 05:09 PM
I prefer the idea of no *NS* in the CS, if it's not a spam topic it should be in OT&U.
SimonS
08-13-2008, 05:55 PM
Get rid of that *NS* crap and bring it back. This place is shit without it, I only come on to view the mugshots and see if anyones posted a fitness thread. With *NS* out of the CS, it should create a nice medium between activity in the crap shack and Off topic forum.
lenient forums create great communities, dictatorships create butt-hurt members who just leave or stick around being PC to the rules. Bring it back, bring it back
Др.хуй
08-13-2008, 06:05 PM
The crap shack was good fun, And its smart enforcing the removal of *NS* topics in CS, That way OT&U will still have some kick in it.
OT&U has been pretty empty lately come to think of it.
I hope this vote passes! And we get our lovely crap shack back.
Yam Trigger
08-13-2008, 06:33 PM
All I want is the CS to reopen and the *NS* threads to stop, so that OT&U doesn't become a deserted wasteland.
Have you been here with the CS open before? Minus that 12 hours.
Shadow Conception
08-13-2008, 06:40 PM
Oh and the whole nub-hate needs to be heavily-enforced. It seems that the presence of the Crap Shack only catalyzes disapproval towards outsiders, and that needs to be done away with.
However, I vote for.
Yam Trigger
08-13-2008, 06:42 PM
Have you been here with the CS open before? Minus that 12 hours.
I joined about a month and a half before the CS was closed.
Oh right. :)
I wasn't sure of the exact closure date, is all
phreak
08-13-2008, 06:43 PM
Sorry to go off-topic but what happened to that little forum that had "legendary" threads in it?
rappo
08-13-2008, 07:16 PM
It's still there, but you need to know the link to it, it doensn't appear on the forum lists. Here it is: http://www.gtagaming.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f =309
Mazzlow
08-13-2008, 07:31 PM
I voted "No"
But then I read the main post and now I vote for "Yes"
Thomas B.
08-13-2008, 07:42 PM
I have been part of the GTA Gaming community since about 2004, even though I never joined the forum until just recently. I always just went in the crap shack and laughed at some of the stuff. If you don't believe me, I know that Ash had his House signature and avatar for about 2 years now.
Ash_735
08-13-2008, 07:45 PM
3 years actually :P, after reading the other posts I have to agree on the getting rid of the *NS* topics and maybe put a sticky topic at the top for New Members to read so they can get the jist of the Crap Shack. Enough about that, I vote Yes.
Yam Trigger
08-13-2008, 07:52 PM
So are we getting the CS back or what because this vote seems pretty one sided.
rappo
08-13-2008, 08:12 PM
I voted "No"
But then I read the main post and now I vote for "Yes"
Thanks Mazz, if I'm not able to change your vote then we'll just make a mental note of it.
Also Yam: we've agreed to keep the poll open for three days, no matter what the immediate outcome is. After three days we'll figure it out.
Yam Trigger
08-13-2008, 08:18 PM
Thanks Mazz, if I'm not able to change your vote then we'll just make a mental note of it.
Also Yam: we've agreed to keep the poll open for three days, no matter what the immediate outcome is. After three days we'll figure it out.
Thanks rappo.
Thomas B.
08-13-2008, 09:31 PM
What is *NS*?
voodoo
08-13-2008, 09:31 PM
As Macey said, a thousand times yes.
Like Xan said, as long as we can do the whole casual chit chat thing, which is what this place does best, I'll be a happy guy.
edit:
What is *NS*?
It means no spam. It was put there to avoid less posts like "lol you got owned" if you had posted a thread where you needed help cause you have say a sex related problem.
zombienm
08-13-2008, 09:45 PM
I vote no.
Thomas B.
08-13-2008, 09:46 PM
Whats your reasoning for your answer, zombienm?
John JJ
08-13-2008, 09:51 PM
I really don't see why not.
cyrix
08-13-2008, 09:59 PM
Keep it closed unless it's going to be treated with a modicum of maturity. It gets out of hand each time it's opened after a short while.
Until people are mature enough to be given such a rather pointless privilege then keep it closed. It's not like they're really missing out on anything.
Or of course if an actual set of light rules are drafted and legitimately enforced....
My vote is no. Sorry guys. The lot of you have shown in the past that something so trivial was too much for you to handle, and I haven't really seen a reason to have it come back yet.
My two dicks....er....cents.
Johnny-Z
08-14-2008, 12:42 AM
Well I vote for yes, even though I only saw the crap shack for the first time for a couple of hours when it re-opened last month and even though I probelly woulden't post in there all that much but since many other members want to see it back than why not I say. :)
Tough. I want to vote no because of past experiences, but at the same time, I would like to use it.
I'll vote yes. Only because being an idiot is ok sometimes.
Remember how we'd openly make threads talking down on members who didn't actively post in CS? Yeah, please no more of that.
optik
08-14-2008, 01:00 AM
tbh, now that the CS is gone, I don't see a reason to bring it back. I mean, we've been doing fine since it closed, right?
Macey
08-14-2008, 01:58 AM
I have been part of the GTA Gaming community since about 2004, even though I never joined the forum until just recently. I always just went in the crap shack and laughed at some of the stuff. If you don't believe me, I know that Ash had his House signature and avatar for about 2 years now.
Was the Crap Shack viewable by non-members? I didn't think it was.
Yam Trigger
08-14-2008, 02:00 AM
Was the Crap Shack viewable by non-members? I didn't think it was.
I was just thinking that.
It was viewable by guests for a while.
Holster
08-14-2008, 04:30 AM
i easy vote yes. It's good that some staff will monitor it so that everyone gets treated fairly, and the no *NS* threads and serious threads in OT&U is good.
Yes it was, though before the last closing and maybe after the forum switch it wasn't.
Legham
08-14-2008, 05:14 AM
I voted no. It seems a lot of people want it back as long as there is a level of maturity in there. But isn't the crap shack with maturity just the OT&U forum? The one and only reason for the CS is so people can all post stupid threads yelling "PIEEEEE!!!" repeatedly. If it comes back all the threads that would normally be made in OT&U will be made in there, and because they will be in there, there will be absolutely no discussion in these threads, just spam.
Although, if there could be a way for the CS to not be included in the New Posts link i guess i wouldn't care because i wouldn't be forced to filter through all that garbage.
If you can't control yourself, you get banned.
If you can make yourself follow a set of moral rules in real life, I'm sure you could do the same here.
I voted no. It seems a lot of people want it back as long as there is a level of maturity in there. But isn't the crap shack with maturity just the OT&U forum? The one and only reason for the CS is so people can all post stupid threads yelling "PIEEEEE!!!" repeatedly. If it comes back all the threads that would normally be made in OT&U will be made in there, and because they will be in there, there will be absolutely no discussion in these threads, just spam.
Although, if there could be a way for the CS to not be included in the New Posts link i guess i wouldn't care because i wouldn't be forced to filter through all that garbage.
I bet you would be heartbroken if you lost quality OT&U threads like "Bush & The Olympics" to the CS.
I vote yes, because I want TLT back :(
seriously though, as long as we dont have those new member bashing threads, it's all good
scott
08-14-2008, 06:58 AM
I've had an idea. Is it possible to only make the crap shack accessable for say people with 50+ posts? That would stop the re-regers (DBD, UkX etc), and it would mean the first view of the forum isn't the CS.
rappo
08-14-2008, 09:42 AM
Scott, I understand what you're saying but that sort of defeats the purpose of making it a forum open to everybody, including new members. Also I wouldn't be surprised if something like that made UkX make 50 stupid posts elsewhere in teh forum just to get access - he seems so intent on returning to this forum I'd imagine he'd go to that length, too :p
Yam Trigger
08-14-2008, 09:50 AM
Scott, I understand what you're saying but that sort of defeats the purpose of making it a forum open to everybody, including new members. Also I wouldn't be surprised if something like that made UkX make 50 stupid posts elsewhere in teh forum just to get access - he seems so intent on returning to this forum I'd imagine he'd go to that length, too :p
Perhaps 200pts of reputation before you could gain access to the CS might work better.
rappo
08-14-2008, 09:57 AM
Whoa no way that limits it even more...
We have 16 staff members, I'm sure two idiots that reregister often isn't that big of a problem.
Yam Trigger
08-14-2008, 10:02 AM
Whoa no way that limits it even more...
We have 16 staff members, I'm sure two idiots that reregister often isn't that big of a problem.
I just thought new members could earn the right to spam freely.
rappo
08-14-2008, 10:06 AM
Yeah but rep is so iffy, though. Somebody can have 50 posts in the San Andreas forum and have below 200 reputation points. The ony real way to get big rep is to post some sort of GTA IV finding or post in the Off-Topic forum, and that limits it greatly.
Yam Trigger
08-14-2008, 10:12 AM
I just have this feeling that the CS needs some sort of restriction to keep new members from causing trouble in the CS.
I just thought new members could earn the right to spam freely.
Depends, took me months for 200 Rep :P , So a normal member could have it in a week or so if he was good on behavior
I just have this feeling that the CS needs some sort of restriction to keep new members from causing trouble in the CS.
Most of the problems came from Veterans, people that have been here for a semi long time at least
Yam Trigger
08-14-2008, 10:20 AM
What if the CS was given a trial for a couple of weeks. If everyone was well behaved it stayed open, however should members start acting up the CS is closed immediately.
Were already voting for it to be open or closed, and I'd guess anybody being a prick gets warning points and banned eventually.
Plus i can guarantee someone would come along and ruin it for everybody else.
rappo
08-14-2008, 10:25 AM
I have an idea on how to keep rereg's out, but I obviously don't want to share too much of it since this is a public forum :P The only downside is vBulletin doesn't support it by default, so I'd have to find a plugin for it somewhere...
The poll isn't done yet.
And I do think a post minimum for seeing and using the CS is a good idea, but more like 5 or 10 rather than 50 or more. It's only so people don't reregister and lurk the CS.
rappo
08-14-2008, 10:58 AM
It's only so people don't reregister and lurk the CS.
I really don't see a problem with that. Hell, the higher our usercount the better, right? :P I think the problem comes when they start posting. I'll explain my idea in the Staff Lounge later today and maybe you guys can help me see if it's a feature already or if we have to find a plug-in.
That's what I meant, to avoid registrees going straight for the CS to wreak havoc.
You don't have much to do in this situation. Just wait it out.
scott
08-14-2008, 12:05 PM
Any system is better than countless re-regs of the same old people coming to chat shit.
55 for the CS, 10 against. I can't see 46 people voting No and no more people voting yes. :P
Llama
08-14-2008, 01:02 PM
i don't think you guys are understanding our proposal very well. we're not aiming to make the crap shack more mature. in fact, the goal is the make it complete spam. any thread dealing with a non-spam topic will be moved out of there and into off topic. our goal here is to give you guys the spam playground you've been asking for while not killing Off Topic.
rappo
08-14-2008, 01:39 PM
No, posts will not slow down the site.
The way it's been handled since at least 2003?
Glanerd
08-14-2008, 02:07 PM
Don't forget about Mazz.
Llama
08-14-2008, 02:14 PM
how will you be able to handle all the post. i am not saying you wont. But it will be a big volume of it
it's not like the server is just a room with a monkey sorting posts, this is all quite manageable. drop it.
MisterBlanco
08-14-2008, 03:25 PM
Seeing as all the buzz around GTA 4 went down I think it would be good to open the shit shack to get people coming to GTAGAMING.
;) But be warned, if SS is open, prepare to see me there alot........
The first S stands for shit as he said Shit Shack in his post.
Yam Trigger
08-14-2008, 07:09 PM
Why would we want a Shit Shack? Crap Shacks are way better.
I loved the crap shack just for the epic lol threads, had alot of fun on it and I wish it to be reopened. What are all the rules of it though? its been so long since I used it and the only one I remember is like 5 threads a day or something like that.
Why would we want a Shit Shack? Crap Shacks are way better.
Sounds better to say too
Thomas B.
08-14-2008, 10:35 PM
If you reopen the shit shack, make it where when you post in it, it doesn't raise your post count.
rappo
08-14-2008, 10:57 PM
Oh for sure man, it's always been like that.
thenotsogoodtrickster
08-15-2008, 04:08 AM
On the subject or reregs going straight for the CS to wreak havoc, wouldn't that help you in spotting them? I know there's that bad times when they post the shit, but from my experience as a moderator the only realistic way of spotting a rereg is for the rereg to be a twat, you get your suspicions and run an IP check. Unless there's a plug-in you use that I'm not aware of.
Personally I think the CS gives that spam place that most people want, so then you don't get the useless threads in other places that just clog up the place. And as I've said, the oppurtunity to easily ID reregs. So obviously I've voted yes :)
LordLeverette
08-15-2008, 10:04 PM
I vote yes... and the reason? I've always wanted a place to ask pointless, mostly spam, questions.
Glanerd
08-16-2008, 10:35 AM
So, whats going to happen after this poll closes?
rappo
08-16-2008, 10:58 AM
It's going to be opened, as determined by the poll.
Oskar
08-16-2008, 02:42 PM
How long to go?
.:Mouldy Punk:.
08-16-2008, 02:53 PM
How longs a piece of string?
When we get around to it :p
We've still got some stuff to discuss before we actually open it. So don't expect it open within the hour or anything :p