Who wants to follow my yellow brick road?

[ScottyGEE]

Ok, I have two suggestions for files.halomods.com, argue with them all you wish as its more about what I'd like to see rather than what everyone wants atm...

Anyway, this suggestion I think has been brought up a few times but I want to suggest it better than them if it has been . Basically, files.halomods (although the name suggests) is only about files...You have to have a file to upload in order to discuss a topic. You'll see that sometimes people will upload a picture of something they want in the pictures section just to talk about that. So basically to get to the point, I would like to see a halo2 modding discussion section...Not like the normal halomods halo2 discussion section, that is more like a questions section...Everytime I go there, its filled with random people just asking questions like "how do I do projectile swaps?" or "Please help me". No offence to the people over there, but usually the people that I'd like to discuss things with are over on the files forum. Because of this lack of discussion area I find myself heading off to another forum, haloplugins, to discuss issues, ideas and other things that I may come up with. But even there there is not always the people from halomods that I would like to have them be part of such discussion
There is the problem that yes, it will just turn into the same as the user forums section, in that it'll just be questions and that its another forum to moderate.

The other thing I would like to see implemented is the return of the animated signature...The problem though is that it is a potentially larger burden on admins and moderators because of this because it seems the files section of halomods is fully of rule breakers...Animated signatures are allowed in the user section. To get around most of the animated signature problems would be having more rules, as in "no flashing 2 frame signatures". I would still think the same rules now should apply with sigs..ie 75kb and 500x120...So it still won't kill xbox7887's bandwidth and all others with dialup and all people who are concerned with their usage.
I just want it to be able to add a bit more sophistication and flair to my signatures...Sure I understand that this is a halomodding forum, which doesn't need to be associated with signature creation and such but I still believe it would be a nice (re)addition.

Anyway, they are my two suggestions, I ask you to please take them into some consideration and not just lock my thread no questions asked...However if you were to do that, I wouldn't be one to cry for a bit and cause an uprising, leading to my ban.

[Veegie[Temp]]

I think the 'roos are getting to Gee.

[ScottyGEE]

I'm such a'roo's man.

[smacktalker]

well seeing the AI stickied topic, there's no such thing as discussion possible.. random people throw up suggestions and make random comments which have got nothin to do with the topic, or sometimes they don't even know what they're talking about.
they ask questions, clutter the topic, and many more stuff. i think its kinda funny tho, people all saying i am in teh project, but i dont know shit about it and most likely never will, resulting in absolutely nothing that adds to the project.
i suggest for that reason, a forum that can only be participated by somewhat more experienced forumusers, so there's actually a discussion possible.

[Iron_Forge]

IMHO files is for files...Always has been...There are a few forums which don't follow this rule, but the users forum is there for what you speak of...There was some talk of ideas that would cater to your concern, but at this point they're dead...However, I think the joy you find in talking with people on those other sites simply wouldn't work here...The point is people go out of their way to those sites if they want to speak to people of their "own kind" so to speak...If such a forum was opened here, it would be easy for all the files people to get there, and most of them would go...Just have a glance at the AI thread, and see how many people posted there, who simply wouldn't have bothered in an AI thread on other sites, and how many of those people you would have wanted to...

As for restricting some new forum to just experienced modders never works...It requires someone be in charge of who's considered experienced, and make that decision based on their own biased beliefs...Innovation does tend to come every rare occation from some new user who happens to be intelligent, and is interested in joining the community...If these people can't contribute on the basis that they haven't established themselves on their own, they'll likely get frustrated and never contribute...

Animated signatures, I am obviously against bringing back...First, by doing so you create a gray area of rules...Which animated sig is considered "annoying" and thereby against the rules, and which is not...For example, you have to create lots of new rules such as "no flashing 2 frame signatures", followed by someone making something else annoying, and having to add it to the list of things...Otherwise people play the ignorance card, and claim they didn't consider it annoying, and didn't know it wasn't allowed...Second of all, I can only be bothered reading about two of the forums here now...I come here to read, and possibly comment...Trying to read while monkies jump around below or above the text is quite annoying...

[Ketchup_Bomb]

The Users forum is running animated signatures, and there doesn't seem to be too many problems stemming from it.. maybe we could try that.

I still think 500x120 is plenty large, and so is 75 KB, even for animations if you know what you're doing.
I think we could talk about it.

Annoyance is totally a personal factor, though, as I_F said. Annoying to him, is something completely different to me.
So, there is still that grey area to fill in, but other than that I am for bringin' animations back. It would be a nice change.

[r0tten]

can't you just add a filter to the forum for turning off sigs? i've seen it on a million (literally) other forums. it saves peope with dial up and everyone who wants to see it is happy.

[shadowkhas]

can't you just add a filter to the forum for turning off sigs? i've seen it on a million (literally) other forums. it saves peope with dial up and everyone who wants to see it is happy.

We don't want to turn off sigs. I for one think Scotty's idea is good, as long as they are under 75kb, but there's always that one bad person who will ruin it. It's not a perfect world.

[GametagAeonFlux]

Um...guys. People have enough trouble making non-animated sigs under 75kb. Animated sigs wouldn't last long, and in my opinion, don't need to come back.

[ScottyGEE]

Iron_Forge, as always you make some good points on the animated signature topic. I was honestly expecting comments from moderators jst going "I just don't want more reported posts" similar to AeonFlux's post, so your post filled me in on things I didn't really consider. Considering the amount of annoying non-animated sigs now, I could only imagine the amount of dancing banana's on my screen when it is put back in....So, a way around that is only allow me to have animated signatures, anyone who follows suit, gets perma banned

As for your point on the discussion forum, unless its because its early in the morning before work, I can't seem to fully gather if your for or against. Well, apart from your opening comment "Files is for files".

And as for the "experienced" user forums, I've always shared that point, it'd be too hard. If lets say it was to work on the rain emblem in how many chirvons you had, then you yourself Iron_Forge could possibly be excluded, yet you possibly have alot more stuff to discuss rather than people with the second or third chirvon emblem.

[GametagAeonFlux]

I was honestly expecting comments from moderators jst going "I just don't want more reported posts" similar to AeonFlux's post

I'm not complaining about the reports persay...heck, they don't bother me, I can't do anything about 'em. I'm saying that so many people can't get a single frame image under 75kb...how can they expect to get an animation under that limit? More would be removed than allowed, so they'd be pretty much useless.

[ScottyGEE]

Unfortunatly that is true, I go to an effort to make sure they are within all rules before I upload them (except that one time like 5 months ago ), so naturally the same precautions would apply for me. But yeah as you said many others can't get that idea in their head so its looking like a no

[TunesRus90]

Yes, I agree allowing animated sigs would just be too much of a hassle. People have a hard enough time following the concrete rules they have now, and rules with such debatability (real word?) as "No Annoying Sigs" could become a problem. You could end up with a million sigs like this

As far as an experienced members only forum, I also think that would cause problems when it comes down to deciding who makes it and who doesn't. And like Iron_Forge said, it would probably discourage newer modders.

Sorry ScottyGEE, but I'm not with you on this one.

[theycallmechad]

I'm okay with the non-animated sigs, but I think it would be fun to "earn" the right to use pre-approved animated sigs, within certain bounds. I'm not sure what I feel the requirements should be, but I personally think earning the right to beaer an animated sig would be about as cool as earning an emblem.

Problems with this: New people will start seeing those who have earned the right to have animated sigs and think that it is allowed for them to also have animated sigs. People here just don't read the rules, and that would spoil it like everything else.

[Iron_Forge]

I suppose what it really comes down to is the pros vs the cons...There might be a few cool animated sigs...But they will be few and far between, just like cool sigs in general are few and far between...And in return for enabling them, there are more rules to enforce, more complicated rules to follow, more rules people don't bother reading, and lots of people breaking them...More work for the (apparently) overworked staff...And nobody wants that...

As for the forum, I'm against it...Not so much because it's a bad idea, but because users exists for that reason...You can't just keep making new forums on the files forum because that happens to be where people go...And in the end, it sounds great on paper, but would fail in practice...There is no way to filter out who you don't want to speak to, and let in those you do...

In a perfect world, users and files would be merged into one board, and then categorized with sub forums...So you had a halo 2 section, then within it had sub forums for general discussion, downloads, skins, technical/high level discussion, utilities, tutorials, outstanding mods...And repeated for HCE/HPC/Halo 1...Thus you could have your little separate area where people are less likely to ask silly things (since the general discussion will be pretty prevelant), you would have the same userbase for discussion and mods, and you could tell which version of halo a question/mod/utility/outstanding mod was in reference to, which at times can be difficult in the grouped forums...

Course, thats just my opinion, and I wouldn't hold your breath for it to ever happen...In the end, we have what we have, life goes on...

[SHOUTrvb]

I'd personaly like having animated signatures. Just small ones. I'm on 52k and they never bothered me any, so it shouldn't hurt other people that much as long as the sigs are reasonable. There are pros and cons to everything. This in my opinion is no big deal. We could try it for while, and if no one liked, we stop. It'd give me a chance to use my lemon sig.

[Veegie[Temp]]

What is 52K?

[drewboi]

its for people that cant afford 56k or higher

[SHOUTrvb]

Veegie knows what it is. And I can afford better, but we're out of service range for anything other than satellite.

[ScottyGEE]

Tune's remember I never did bring up the idea that their should eb a forum for established members or whatever only...That was smacktalker, I am the one that usually tries to shoot down that suggestion...