Batbrony

Looked up to see whether there was a topic on this already and didn't find one (and I would hope there wasn't or else, considering the subject of this thread, I'd have quite a big of egg on my face ), but I figured why not start a thread where staff and members can share and exchange ideas on how to best prevent duplicate threads. It's a minor nitpick, but I figure that, if we can come up with some ideas, we might be able to help the forums run just a little bit more efficiently than they already do, and maybe even save the mods some work. Now, let me start off by saying that I completely understand that there is no silver bullet to preventing this. People are people, and, as big as MLP Forums is at this point, no matter how great the staff is or how well organized the forums are, duplicate threads will always pop up. I'd also like to mention that the staff always does a great job at merging them with existing threads, or locking them. My primary concern here is things that the forums might do to, in a passive way, prevent duplicate threads in the first place (especially in Show Discussion and Sugarcube Corner) by encouraging responsible member behavior. The one suggestion that I myself have is to more explicitly recommend to members in certain areas of the forums that they look up duplicate threads before starting new topics. While this is already mentioned in the "Rules and Etiquette" thread of the forums, and somewhat suggested in the description of certain areas of the forums when you click on them, I figure why not be even more explicit. For example, between the "Subforums" section on Show Discussion and the regular topic list, there could be, in bold lettering, a short reminder to members to look up duplicate threads before posting a new topic. That way, the reminder is directly adjacent to the "Start New Topic" button, and members are more likely to be reminded to look up a topic and see if it already exists before posting a new one, as their eyes will be directed to the reminder when they go to the "Start New Topic" button. Certainly doesn't seem like it'd be that hard to do, and it could at least to a small extent encourage more efficient behavior from members, especially new members. Well, that's my two bits anyway, make of it what you will. If the mods don't think it's that big of a deal, that's up to them, but I just figured this thread could go at least a little ways to coming up with some good ways to prevent, in a measured manner, duplicate threads, and thereby save the staff some time, at least to a certain extent. So share your suggestions below ya'll; who knows, maybe we can come up with some good ideas!

It kinda depends on the area of the forum that you're replying (for instance, if you're in Forum Lounge, where posts don't count, and just posting in some Forum Game, or in Roleplay World, brohoofs might not be that important to you), but I'd say in most areas of the forum that the brohoof system does indeed serve as one of the incentives for higher quality posts for members, especially new members attempting to establish a good reputation. I remember that when I first joined, high quality posts were always at the forefront of my mind since I'd be more likely to get brohoofs, and building a high brohoofs-count is still one of the more visible ways to reflect a good, well established reputation on the forums. Of course there are plenty of other incentives as well for posting higher quality posts. Anypony who reads your posts will see that you have something worthwhile to say, and thus be more inclined to pay attention to it, as well as maybe even friend you down the road. The 100 character minimum in most threads is also another good incentive for high quality posts, and has certainly proven effective at assuring them, probably even far more than the brohoof system ever did, since being implemented. But still, as I said, brohoofs are still, for many members, a big incentive for high quality posts for sure, and I think that the brohoof system has definitely encouraged quite effectively such positive behavior from members. EDIT: Zoop did make a good point on the first page about how, sometimes, posts lacking content, or even posted by certain members such as section mods, end up getting the most brohoofs, and while I don't begrudge this fact, it's certainly an accurate statement to be sure. Heck, to date, my most popular post was a Princess Trollestia joke that I made in the middle of an episode this season that took about two seconds to post! I don't know myself how this could possibly be changed (although let me reiterate again that I myself don't begrudge anypony, mod or otherwise, who get a ridiculous amount of brohoofs from site announcements or posts lacking in content), but it's interesting that the mod team is looking into a way to reform this at all. I guess the only thing I can think of would be if, say, for site announcements, the mods added a "recognition" button next to the brohoof button for members to press, since I think that in most instances with site announcements getting brohoofed, it's really just the members' way of saying that we recognize the change that's being announced and approve. Still, as I said, it's not that big of a deal guys, so don't worry that some posts get more brohoofs than others even though they may be lacking in content. It's all good guys, it's all good.

Oh I'm just fooling around with you two!!! You guys are awesome and you know it!

Huh, well this is strange; we've got two guys fighting over who's the baby daddy, with the hope being that they are. I guess this just goes to show how amazing Rainbow Dash is ... or how stupid you two are.

I'm guessing that, with Twilight helping to run things now, most of their time is spent in debates like this ^^^. Best Pony Artist HEY NOW! If she thinks it's beautiful, then that's all that really matters -_-... but, yeah, not gonna lie, that kinda sucks.

HECK NO I AIN'T OK WITH THIS BIG CHANGE!!!!!!! It's gonna ruin the show for sure!!! I mean what's next? That's it, this is the last straw, I can't take it anymore, I'm leaving the fandom guys! Smell ya later!!! ... ... ... ... ... Hey guys, so I decided I'm not leaving the fandom... eh, sorry for the episode back there. SHUT UP NEIL!!!!!!!!!!

I miss everything else being so much bigger than me! Seriously, I used to be able to crawl and hide anywhere; not anymore! Probably the worst is not being able to jump on the bed without hitting my head; gosh that was a fun thing to do as a kid, when you're about 3 or 4 feet tall.