The MLP Arena

Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: FlickaFriend on August 30, 2017, 11:35:38 AM

Title: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: FlickaFriend on August 30, 2017, 11:35:38 AM
I was aware the FiM sub forum was due to be closed and I was sorry to read about the issues leading up to the decision. It looks as though that has happened now?

I wasn't active in the forum but enjoyed reading some of the threads and I'm surprised to see everything seems to have been deleted apart from one or two threads that have been moved over to the corral. Is there a plan to make an archive available? E.g. I was enjoying the "your worst character" and the movie threads.
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Loa on August 30, 2017, 03:13:46 PM
Not at this stage.
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Carrehz on August 30, 2017, 03:30:14 PM
The threads were locked, not deleted, so if you have them in your history you should still be able to read them :)
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Loa on August 30, 2017, 03:38:35 PM
The threads were locked, not deleted, so if you have them in your history you should still be able to read them :)
Not presently. :)
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Carrehz on August 30, 2017, 03:41:34 PM
The threads were locked, not deleted, so if you have them in your history you should still be able to read them :)
Not presently. :)

Huh, that's odd, it still works for me o.O Maybe I've got it cached or something like that.
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: lonewolf on August 31, 2017, 04:49:50 AM
So when will they become available?
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: sd_dreamcrystal on August 31, 2017, 06:22:50 AM
I didn't even know the subforum was archived, now I'm curious as to why (I hardly went there anyway xD)
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Archer on August 31, 2017, 02:43:32 PM
The FiM subforum was like the only one i went on regularly. How come it's been closed?
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: lovesbabysquirmy on August 31, 2017, 03:12:46 PM
The FiM subforum was like the only one i went on regularly. How come it's been closed?

here is the actual announcement:

http://mlparena.com/index.php?topic=387544.0

Good grief I thought it was a stickied post - it should not have taken me so long to find it!  :)
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Zapper on August 31, 2017, 03:33:50 PM
The threads were locked, not deleted, so if you have them in your history you should still be able to read them :)
Not presently. :)

Huh? I can see mine when I go to my posts and they lead me to the old threads.
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: LadyMoondancer on August 31, 2017, 03:53:18 PM
Wow, locking the forum / existing threads while leaving them viewable would have been a better solution.  Very sad to see so much pony history (and yeah, five years worth of threads definitely count as pony history, even if this is the most recent generation) go down the drain.
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: lonewolf on September 01, 2017, 09:21:20 AM
So it was just completely deleted? :pout:
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Skeen on September 01, 2017, 10:59:54 AM
No, they weren't deleted lonewolf. 
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: kestral_kitsune on September 01, 2017, 03:44:46 PM
saw the reason it was taken down, and i'm not really surprised about it. the forum topics did tend to get toxic very very fast. members getting vile with those that didn't agree with them, or being vile about the show itself because it didn't conform to what 'they' wanted. was one of the reasons i barely went on it anymore the hate radiating off threads just put me off.
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Zapper on September 02, 2017, 04:20:56 AM
saw the reason it was taken down, and i'm not really surprised about it. the forum topics did tend to get toxic very very fast. members getting vile with those that didn't agree with them, or being vile about the show itself because it didn't conform to what 'they' wanted. was one of the reasons i barely went on it anymore the hate radiating off threads just put me off.

And yet some of us who just wanted to discuss the show without name-calling and getting pissy are rightfully wondering if our convos are still intact.

Right now they can all still get accessed, but I understand that some regulars are afraid they might just disappear.
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: FlickaFriend on September 02, 2017, 09:39:09 AM
Right now they can all still get accessed, but I understand that some regulars are afraid they might just disappear.

I can't access them...?  Perhaps because I never contributed so don't have any links in 'my posts'?

Presumably they are still "there" but the mods have adjusted permissions so no one can see them anymore?

I'm surprised by how the removal of the subforum has affected me actually.  I am very new to collecting and to the forum but as well as being a very nostalgic and enthusiastic collector of G1, I have been loving watching FiM season one with my children (and alone!) and I'm feeling like maybe that isn't valid anymore? I didn't join any threads in the FiM forum but I liked reading it, and I liked reading it and seeing G1 collectors commenting on the show, and just knowing FiM fans were part of the community.  I feel like the FiM show is unwanted and by extension so are its fans.  I know it's more complicated than that but for example I wonder if people are judging me for my Pinkie Pie avatar? But obviously I understand this is primarily a collector's forum and so the current cartoon is kind of off topic (is that right??).  Confusing!!!!
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Bekuno on September 02, 2017, 09:56:34 AM
We aren't going to be removing the discussion of FIM completely, just limiting it to a few threads that can be monitored better. Please be patient while we work on this  :)
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Zapper on September 02, 2017, 10:07:11 AM
Right now they can all still get accessed, but I understand that some regulars are afraid they might just disappear.

I can't access them...?  Perhaps because I never contributed so don't have any links in 'my posts'?

Sorry I didn't think of that. I just wanted to stress that they are still there to see if you can get ahold of a link.

About the judgement thing... I have never encountered this here. I mean... look at my avatar XD
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: FlickaFriend on September 02, 2017, 11:55:50 AM
About the judgement thing... I have never encountered this here. I mean... look at my avatar XD

 :drunk: I love your avatar!
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: BlackCurtains on September 02, 2017, 12:25:29 PM
Unicorn Man is Best Pony.
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Archer on September 02, 2017, 03:05:13 PM
Such a shame that it was closed down :( It was rather nice to have somewhere to go to talk about the latest FiM episodes
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: FlickaFriend on September 02, 2017, 03:14:35 PM
We aren't going to be removing the discussion of FIM completely, just limiting it to a few threads that can be monitored better. Please be patient while we work on this  :)

Thanks Bekuno.  Working on my patience skills!
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Baby Sugarberry on September 02, 2017, 07:07:29 PM
About the judgement thing... I have never encountered this here. I mean... look at my avatar XD

 :drunk: I love your avatar!

Unicorn man always makes me smile. Rock on!
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: lovesbabysquirmy on September 03, 2017, 07:34:55 AM
*fist pump to the mods*  Y'all work to maintain the best pony community on the 'net IMHO.  :)

 I am sure that the FiM section will return and conversations will resume  as soon as you can work out things!
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: KahRistAhn on September 03, 2017, 09:10:02 AM
Well, I guess I just have to be done with this website now, considering that was really the only sub forum that I came here to read. Quite enjoyed it, too. Closing it down seems a bit extreme and uncool, but alright.
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Dragonflitter on September 03, 2017, 05:36:29 PM
Well, I guess I just have to be done with this website now, considering that was really the only sub forum that I came here to read. Quite enjoyed it, too. Closing it down seems a bit extreme and uncool, but alright.

Agreed. Thankfully I just have to wrap up a few swap things before I can move on. Too bad, since I've been here since August 11, 2004. Yes, I've been here for almost one and a half decades, and now I'm moving on. But I don't feel welcome here anymore, and it's obvious certain people in charge don't care about how some of us feel.
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: kestral_kitsune on September 03, 2017, 06:06:25 PM
saw the reason it was taken down, and i'm not really surprised about it. the forum topics did tend to get toxic very very fast. members getting vile with those that didn't agree with them, or being vile about the show itself because it didn't conform to what 'they' wanted. was one of the reasons i barely went on it anymore the hate radiating off threads just put me off.

And yet some of us who just wanted to discuss the show without name-calling and getting pissy are rightfully wondering if our convos are still intact.

Right now they can all still get accessed, but I understand that some regulars are afraid they might just disappear.

oh yeah its more the actions of the few ruined a good thing as happens most often.  its not like they're saying that the Arena is only for G1-G3 discussion only. look at the corral's main page, there are threads of G4 topics. I do hope that in some way the FiM board gets opened back up revamped and stuff but, like I said, I kind of saw and understood why the lock down happened.
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: lunar_scythe on September 03, 2017, 07:35:39 PM
As far as I know and have seen, if the threads in the subforum were going to be deleted, they would come out and say so; they would not keep repeating the threads will be archived. 
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Loa on September 03, 2017, 09:34:49 PM
Well, I guess I just have to be done with this website now, considering that was really the only sub forum that I came here to read. Quite enjoyed it, too. Closing it down seems a bit extreme and uncool, but alright.

Agreed. Thankfully I just have to wrap up a few swap things before I can move on. Too bad, since I've been here since August 11, 2004. Yes, I've been here for almost one and a half decades, and now I'm moving on. But I don't feel welcome here anymore, and it's obvious certain people in charge don't care about how some of us feel.

I'm sorry, but we've been over this. The vitriol was just too much for us.
It's not the first time we've shut down a forum, I mean, when I shut down the FB group I got death threats. When we shut down the Role Playing forum people were upset, but founded their own little forum and are happy.

It's not that I or WE don't care. It's entirely the opposite. Do I sacrifice my Mods' mental and physical health? The fact that people who have been here since '03 are feeling how you are now? We made a choice and the right one for the Arena as a whole. It might not be your best choice but that's kinda tough, sorry.

The threads are archived, but as the Arena has been having a bit of a tantrum this week, we're having issues with it too.
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Taffeta on September 06, 2017, 04:29:26 AM
@ Flickafriend, it's been politicised to make it about FIM bashing, but it's really I think about forum etiquette and I think any forum or subforum that caused that amount of bother for the mods would probably wind up in the same situation.

Just as a parallel, we have the unpopular opinions thread on the corral. In this thread everyone is posting all the things they dislike about any generation of MLP. It hasn't been shut down for flaming or incidents because for the most part people are respectful of each other's opinions. I suspect (though am guessing a bit) that the mods hope that by bringing FIM discussion into the main area it will be easier to manage but also that there might be more discussions like the unpopular opinions thread where people say what they think but don't end up arguing about it.

I would like to hope that eventually we'll have a FIM subforum again or something dedicated to MLP media from all generations which would be nicer - but I imagine it won't be until the mods are absolutely satisfied that it won't go nuts again.

Anyone who's been here from the really old days of when G2 was introduced has already experienced a genuinely toxic community divided between those who loved and those who hated G2. There's been absolutely nothing of that level in the Arena either before the FIM forum was closed or since it has been. I don't think this is a generational rift or about G4/FIM because a lot of people who post in the corral also collect G4 or are interested in FIM. It's literally just about a subforum becoming too much work for the mods because of all the people on active moderation.

And if the mods had wanted to eradicate FIM from the Arena, they wouldn't have kept the subforum for 5 years. If they wanted to drive members away, they would have banned them, not kept them on moderation to allow them to continue posting at the mods' expense.


Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Zapper on September 06, 2017, 04:47:03 AM
Where is the new RPG forum? I always wondered where it went.
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Ponyfan on September 06, 2017, 05:32:13 AM
I did like the episode discussion threads in the FIM forum but I think Taffeta has hit the nail on the head that a lot of the threads ended up dissolving in to arguments over things and not agreeing to disagree. I'm not saying that everyone that posted in the FIM section did that but some did and even after warnings from the mods to keep things polite. 

To keep going with Taffeta's example, I posted in the Unpopular Pony Opinions thread that Twinkle Eye ponies are not my favorite type of pony. Everyone was very respectful and no one posted after me saying things like "How could you not like Twinkle Eye ponies?"

Ponyfan
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Malicieuse on September 09, 2017, 04:14:06 PM
I never considered the discussions in the FIM section to be that bad. Maybe i'm used to discussions that get a lot less polite. Either way i'm very dissapointed to see the FIM forum close. This was the only place where i enjoyed talking about the show and it just seems weird to me that such an important part of MLP is getting ignored now. Ah well.
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Tulips on September 11, 2017, 01:19:12 PM
I never considered the discussions in the FIM section to be that bad. Maybe i'm used to discussions that get a lot less polite.

I occasionally had a read in there, it was certainly a lot more 'spirited discussion' than other sections of the forum. I guess I never realised just how bad it really was because the mods were constantly working to keep it under control - if several users were on moderated status and each of their posts had to be checked and approved before being posted, then I suppose the mods saw way more impolite rebuttals than a casual reader would.
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Stormness_1 on September 11, 2017, 04:44:01 PM
This is so true. The whole reason no-one saw anything wrong with the forum is because of all the work the mods have done! But the fact that they have to do that work in the first place is wrong, and if the workload of the forum is causing the mods stress, and having to go above and beyond just to keep this place pleasant, then the forum should be archived. The arena is more than a place to talk about FIM, it's our pony home for a lot of us. If the unpleasantness in one sub-forum spread to other areas of the forum because it was tolerated in there (or a few comments got past tired, frustrated mods) then it could ruin the entire forum.
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Malicieuse on September 12, 2017, 08:24:10 AM
To me it would make more sense to ban those members instead of removing an entire part of the forum. That way everyone is getting "punished" for the actions of some.
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Carrehz on September 12, 2017, 08:30:06 AM
I think the problem was that the presence of the FiM forum was continually attracting troublemakers :( So even banning them would just be a temporary fix.

It is a shame but honestly yeah, I'd rather lose one board than all of them.
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: FlickaFriend on September 12, 2017, 08:56:58 AM
I think the problem was that the presence of the FiM forum was continually attracting troublemakers :( So even banning them would just be a temporary fix.

It is a shame but honestly yeah, I'd rather lose one board than all of them.

This makes sense, and I agree. It's sad that we can't have a subforum and have everyone just be nice, but I understand about attracting troublemakers. FiM fandom is a strange phenomenon.
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Taffeta on September 12, 2017, 09:33:02 AM
I think the problem was that the presence of the FiM forum was continually attracting troublemakers :( So even banning them would just be a temporary fix.

It is a shame but honestly yeah, I'd rather lose one board than all of them.

This makes sense, and I agree. It's sad that we can't have a subforum and have everyone just be nice, but I understand about attracting troublemakers. FiM fandom is a strange phenomenon.

It's also a really hard job to be a moderator, as you get blamed for finding a solution to members who abuse the system or behave badly. You're damned if you do or damned if you don't. The forum I moderated was worse than this for stuff like that, because we had PM abuse, rep abuse to deal with as well as the stuff going on on the forum (and it was a much bigger forum, which the admin had abandoned and so much of which we were not able to change anyway).

I think that to all the FIM fans who weren't on mod status and weren't pushing the limits, its kind of up to you guys to create discussion about FIM in the Corral that doesn't go into those territories, get back the Arena's FIM credibility and maybe encourage other people to join in. THe one thing with the forum being separate is that it creates a restricted and cliqued environment where a lot of the same people can clash over a lot of the same issues. In a broader forum that isn't possible, and maybe that's the aim of the mods overall, because forum etiquette is not too bad in most other areas of the site as far as I can tell.

Not that I think it's important to know who is on mod status nor to point fingers or cast blame, but maybe if the discussions are in the wider forum, more people who didn't like posting in the FIM forum might join in discussions. And maybe some of the people on mod status will also be able to discuss in a more relaxed way. I do genuinely still hope the forum will one day be back with a general intergenerational media discussion emphasis, but that isn't going to be right now. I feel like the FIM fans have been a bit tainted by association because of the troublemaking issue, but all these discussions kind of proves that there are a lot of FIM fans not involved in that, so going forward I guess it's for those people to reestablish FIM's reputation? If that makes sense?
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Carrehz on September 12, 2017, 04:08:22 PM
Makes perfect sense Taffeta, I couldn't agree more :) Maybe someone could make an episode discussion thread or something (is the show on hiatus atm or not? I don't watch it so idk, heh) - I'd make one myself but I don't know what I'd say since I'm not a FiM fan XD
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Bekuno on September 12, 2017, 04:26:29 PM
I'm going to start making episode discussion threads on saturdays  :)
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Stormness_1 on September 12, 2017, 06:12:33 PM
Cool^^ I actually discovered this thread when I was looking for discussion threads, I went to catch up and couldn't remember which ep I was up to, so I usually use the threads here to quickly read if it sounds familiar, then jump to the right episode! Once the archive is up it'll be good, I can't be bothered farting around with DVD after DVD to see where I'm up to, or wasting my data on youtube trying to figure it out. I suppose I could always use the wiki, but I know last time the descriptions were super vague, and nothing rung any bells, so I used the arena. Next time I'll have to write it down, or put a sticky note on the disc I'm up to!
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: Ponyfan on September 12, 2017, 07:04:16 PM
I'm going to start making episode discussion threads on saturdays  :)


Yay! :) I've missed the episode discussion threads. Even though I'm not always up to date on the newest episode I enjoyed reading others thoughts and contributing my own after I've seen it.

Ponyfan
Title: Re: Archive of the FiM subforum?
Post by: FlickaFriend on September 13, 2017, 03:16:25 PM
I'm going to start making episode discussion threads on saturdays  :)


Yay! :) I've missed the episode discussion threads. Even though I'm not always up to date on the newest episode I enjoyed reading others thoughts and contributing my own after I've seen it.

Ponyfan

Same here.  I'm actually only on Season 1 and I don't think the subforum here started discussion until Season 3 but I'm still looking forward to reading the threads when I finally get there.  At the moment I go to other forums to read comments on S1 episodes as I watch them.  I love reading fan comments episode by episode.
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