NationStates Jolt Archive

Hi. I'm Academe, a relative newbie here (read n00b if you wish).

Yesterday I started the godmodder's Playpen. I started it in General, realizing it might not be the best fit there. It was moved to II for a while, then to spam.

I agree that Spam is probably the best place for this thread, because it just doesn't fit in either with RL discussions or with RP-ing. I'm also happy to see that a number of players with much more experience than I have are remaining active there.

So far, I don't regret the decision to create the thread. Only one person has overtly expressed annoyance (although that person's a mod, so his/her annoyance gets extra weight), and there are some players who are clearly having fun there. I say "so far," though, because there may turn out to be a lot more people who are annoyed but keeping their opinions to themselves.

My question is this: Would it have been better (or at least, less bad) had I posted the thread on Spam right from the start and perhaps just put up an ad for it elsewhere? Do people do that sort of thing?

Rest assured, I am not planning on starting any new spam-ish threads (or any threads at all for the time being; I need to spend more time just watching and learning). I just want to know if that would have been better protocol.

Thanks
Academe

No. That would basically be the equivalent of posting the thread here.

If you find it absolutely necessary to post an ad somewhere (which I personally don't get), put it in your sig.

I am not a mod, so that is not an official response, but I'm fairly certain that's what the mods will say when they show up.

Thanks.

The reason I thought maybe I'd have posted an ad somewhere is because I imagine a thread started in Spam without some kind of pointer to them would never, ever get any traffic.

But I absolutely see your point about putting an ad in a forum being just as problematic, since it would be a spam itself...

Perhaps a single post in the thread (godmod Store) that inspired the Playground would have been ok? After all, I don't think it would have been off-topic in that context, it would have targeted the interested parties (and not those who find the whole thing offensive), and the playground had the moral support of the shopkeeper.

Like I said, I'm not planning on doing this sort of thing again, but having done it, I'd like to know how I could have done it better (less badly).

Thanks again.

No. That would basically be the equivalent of posting the thread here.

If you find it absolutely necessary to post an ad somewhere (which I personally don't get), put it in your sig.

I am not a mod, so that is not an official response, but I'm fairly certain that's what the mods will say when they show up.

I'm surprised - I didn't think ads were even permitted in signatures.

There are many godmod (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Godmode) threads in the two RP forums. Some are started by newbs (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Newb), others by n00bs (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/N00b), and some by players who just never seem to learn, but are somehow exempt from the n00b appelation. They often end up filled with smiley spam and flamewars, and are frequently locked. They also have a tendency to attract anti-n00bs (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Anti-N00bs), which adds fuel to the incipient fire.

The idea that someone would create one of these for the express purpose of inviting this sort of play struck me as pointless and annoying, as we seem to have plenty on hand already. As promised, I have been checking on the thread (or was, until I lost track of it), and respondents seemed to be reacting in a reasonably calm manner. It's actually a parody n00b-war, and so far I can't really complain.

I'm actually responsible for a sort-of anti-n00b thread (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=359039) myself, though I think I didn't so much encourage n00bish behavior as poke gentle fun at it in an attempt to teach. Obviously, as a moderator, I'm all for encouraging people to observe the site rules to a) make this a better place and b) reduce my workload so I can play here too. That's the real reason I don't like this sort of encouragment.

To answer your questions:

No, you shouldn't create this in Spam. NationStates threads belong in NationStates. Why should we inflict our POV on the rest of Jolt? When a thread starts up that is only spam ("I'm bored", or "Let's count to one million"), we'll move it. Something that is intended as nation play stays here. If it breaks rules, we're more likely to lock it or delete it.

Putting a link to a NS thread you want to promote in your sig is a perfectly legal approach, unless the thread in question is a rule-breaking thread. Linking to rulebreaking is considered the same rulebreaking. See this recent thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=405160) for an example.

ElleDiamonique's comment is correct when referring to advertising that is intended to make somebody pay for something, or for links that are intended for the personal gain of the poster (free ipod to the poster if you click his link, that sorta crap). "Advertising" NS threads, regions, etc, is fine as long as you don't use huge fonts or many lines.

~ Frisbeeteria ~
NationStates Forum Moderator

Thank-you, Frisbeeteria
Sorry to have wasted your time
Regards,
:] Academe

Sorry to have wasted your time
I don't ever consider it a waste of time when somebody learns from their mistakes.