Community Groups?

[Blizzard Gale 272]

I was wondering if it would be possible to enable groups onto the site. Where selected members can discuss topics of the group's foundation. I know somepony's have been creating private groups on other websites and such. I would like to see more activity on the site be enabling on site groups. For example..
 

 

Members with one-hundred (100) or more posts maybe able to create a group on the forums:

 

MLP Forums staff: For members of staff to discuss topics within the group.
 

Requirements: 18 & older, must posses a knowledge of fair judgment, coding/scripting, or web design. 

 

This is just one of the examples of a group, of course the group gets a picture of the "Founders" choice.

 

 

 

I suggest this number so ponies don't go spamming to get their post count up in hopes of forming a group themselves. Groups are always good for activities, private threads and etc.

All groups still abide by the main forums rules by all means.

These groups would be great for ponies into gaming, art suggestions, and just conversing with one another. Remember everypony! Groups are a great way to make a "Family of friends" or even a fun way to experience a forum as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read my topic. ^ w^/) Happy posting~!

Edited January 15, 2013 by Claudia

[Doctor-Whooves 288]

I find this a good idea. What were you planning with the layout? Would there be a badge or somewhere on your posts that showed what group you were a part of?

[Scootalove 10,689]

Sounds like a good idea, groups wouldn't be bad at all.

[Zoop 8,384]

My concern with any sort of significant integration of any sort of group add-on would be that they could give off an exclusive vibe, whereas we want the community here to be as inclusive as possible.

 

As it stands, everyone on the forum is a member of the same group, without borders or barriers. If groups are able to have discussion boards and such that are private to that group I fear that it would serve largely to fracture the community as a whole into bite-size bits, with the potential for explosive results when such a group somehow feels slighted in one way or another.

 

While it may seem that my reservations are a result of unfounded paranoia, we have actually experienced such an event here in the past - when we closed our on-site chat room. For our more recent members (and/or those that are unaware, or that may have simply forgotten), we used to play host to a forum integrated IP.Chat system. The chat room was fairly popular, and had about two dozen regulars that would frequent the room quite a bit, to the point that many of them stopped posting on the public forum almost completely in favor of their relatively tight-knit chat room. Eventually we shut down the IP.Chat due to a number of issues we were having with it, which caused a lot of folks in the chat group to go a wee bit atomic, because it was taken as a personal strike against the whole lot of them. Personally, I'd rather avoid a similar situation from being repeated.

 

In addition to that... is there really any reason to keep any posts at all hidden behind locked doors like that? It would be to no gain to the community as a whole if quality discussions became something locked away in secrecy, unseen by anyone. 

 

At any rate, speaking solely for myself, I don't mind the idea of group systems of a sort being implemented, but I would be completely and utterly against having private boards for them. If anything, I'd think them best suited to being a means by which people with common interests could find each other, such as an 'Blueblood is best pony!' group for aspiring fans of our favorite Equestrian prince. 

[Blizzard Gale 272]

My concern with any sort of significant integration of any sort of group add-on would be that they could give off an exclusive vibe, whereas we want the community here to be as inclusive as possible.

 

As it stands, everyone on the forum is a member of the same group, without borders or barriers. If groups are able to have discussion boards and such that are private to that group I fear that it would serve largely to fracture the community as a whole into bite-size bits, with the potential for explosive results when such a group somehow feels slighted in one way or another.

 

While it may seem that my reservations are a result of unfounded paranoia, we have actually experienced such an event here in the past - when we closed our on-site chat room. For our more recent members (and/or those that are unaware, or that may have simply forgotten), we used to play host to a forum integrated IP.Chat system. The chat room was fairly popular, and had about two dozen regulars that would frequent the room quite a bit, to the point that many of them stopped posting on the public forum almost completely in favor of their relatively tight-knit chat room. Eventually we shut down the IP.Chat due to a number of issues we were having with it, which caused a lot of folks in the chat group to go a wee bit atomic, because it was taken as a personal strike against the whole lot of them. Personally, I'd rather avoid a similar situation from being repeated.

 

In addition to that... is there really any reason to keep any posts at all hidden behind locked doors like that? It would be to no gain to the community as a whole if quality discussions became something locked away in secrecy, unseen by anyone. 

 

At any rate, speaking solely for myself, I don't mind the idea of group systems of a sort being implemented, but I would be completely and utterly against having private boards for them. If anything, I'd think them best suited to being a means by which people with common interests could find each other, such as an 'Blueblood is best pony!' group for aspiring fans of our favorite Equestrian prince. 

 

I can understand the issues you can have with members all too well, I've had similar instances with members becoming enraged... I've had to shut down a server [Yes a game as a comparison] because there were simply too many bugs, flame wars between players and such. My suggestion of a group wasn't to really "Hide" anything from the community. The way you described it made me feel almost like family.[Pretty close to true anyway!] After reading your input I am starting to think maybe groups aren't a 100% benefit. I do see most of the community already sectioned off in certain parts of the forums. There's a lot of ponies who rather stick into the Roleplay world & Gaming sections. I don't mean to sound like I'm attempting to faction ponies into groups/Clans/groups/families and such. It stands to about a 50/50 to me.

 

I know not everypony is the "Brony/Pegasister" most of us understand ourselves as. Maybe some would abuse the system and cause an uproar. Those types of situations can be very difficult and fragile to handle, If anything I think there should be a poll for members to vote & give their input to the system. Knowing the potential risk of course.