ANSWERED:New Member Group: Description Approvers

[Prince_Xanthius]

I think a lot of people would be willing, especially if descriptions got approved quicker. At the moment I've stopped even reviewing descriptions because when I have descriptions waiting with 10+ approved reviews for MONTHS (over a year in some cases) it just becomes disheartening.

 

Speeding the process up would make the whole thing more enjoyable, and I'd definitely make more of an effort to get to the 'description mod' level; after that there'd be no stopping me

[Xasora]

I love the idea of allowing users the ability to approve descriptions. I haven't written any because of the long time it takes to get approved, I'd hate spending time and effort on something that could take months or years to be visible.

 

But I do enjoy reading and reviewing descriptions. Having a system in place where reviews are approved within a few days and weeks would make it more appealing to write descriptions myself.

[bluesonic1]

Kinda bumping this topic as I was thinking about it the other day. I really do agree that something needs to be done about improving description acceptance. Like some other users commented here, I stopped writing them because they just sat there for months on end going nowhere. I get it's not the mods fault- we don't even have mods solely dedicated to this job. They're busy juggling other tasks here, I feel sorry for them to have to try tackling this stuff too- it's a big job.

 

I'm a bit on the fence with regards to the two major ideas being discussed- I kinda lean more to getting more mods in dedicated to this approval stuff only. But I really do like the idea that after a certain number of approvals, users can get auto-approved

[Fuzzbucket]

Please can we run with auto-approve with safeguards and a note "Breeder notes" or such, to show that TJ didn't write them ?

 

https://forums.dragcave.net/index.php?showtopic=124081

 

Not least because I have in my time had several comments rejecting things (A vamp with no teeth was much criticised, for instance !)- and they have later been OKd by mods - I think it's far better to take out that level and have a report option instead.

 

Why does it MATTER if someone puts "Mi first worterwalker ?" there are FAR worse descriptions on other sites.

 

Also - so we get a new level of mods - and then they fall by the wayside and....

[Ashywolf]

I want to partially bring up fuzzbucket's point here. I don't know much about this process and how it was started, so I'd like to know the answer to this question.

 

What was the description approval system setup for?

 

Was it set up to ensure there was no profanity and website links? Was it set up to make sure users use correct grammar and punctuation, while making sure people's ideas of their own dragons were not "overpowering"? Or both?

 

I can't see the need to monitor grammar and punctuation to the extent it is right now. It is people's personal descriptions, it doesn't affect the lore or canon of the site, I wonder why it is so bad to let people do what they want. Maybe no one ever said it was bad, but if it isn't, I think we should find a way to redo part of this system.

 

But ensuring no profanity and external or internal URL addresses is a legitimate problem that can arise without the description process. I (personally) feel it would almost be better to have 1. a report system so you can report a description to moderators if you think it isn't suitable and 2. a sort of filtering system that checks for https or www etc. links, and possibly filters inappropriate language as well.

Edited November 3, 2015 by Ashywolf

[bluesonic1]

It was set up for a mix of the reasons you highlighted- to prevent profanity, external links and inappropriate descriptions from being written in. It was also set up to ensure the descriptions written were to a high standard (spelling and grammar wise) because these descriptions get posted up on the site on the dragon's page.

 

If you're not a DC player and know about descriptions, a user-written description can easily be mistaken for something the site wrote/something official, considering it's in there with site information. Bad descriptions would then essentially make the site look bad- which is why I really don't agree with letting people "do what they want". Unless as fuzz suggests, to make the description bit very clear that it is user written as opposed to official.

Edited November 4, 2015 by bluesonic1

[love_HP]

A friend of mine plays FlightRising. Descriptions there have NO modding. You write a description, hit submit, that's it, whatever you wrote appear on the page. You can even write in other languages.

I'm not saying I don't like the current DC system. In fact I like the idea that only descriptions of high quality appear on the page. But the whole process is so slow it takes many months (in contrast to the time it takes for an egg to hatch), which is why many people stopped (or do not start) describing/reviewing...

As for mods wearing out interest, the forum has mods as well. 99.99% of the forums on the internet have mods. Why don't people say "hey the mods may lose interest in modding, so let's get a better system, and get rid of mods"?

[Fuzzbucket]

There is already a thread asking for autoapprove. I am on my rablet and copy paste is a pain, but it is linked in tbis thread foiur posts up.

Edited November 28, 2015 by fuzzbucket

[brairtrainer]

Way - way back when... shortly after I joined DC, I started submitting my descriptions... a little while later, I became a mod, and although I wasn't one for long, I used to spend hours modding descriptions... At one point, I was going through a hundred or more in a single day - and the bottom line is that no one, no single group of 5 or 6 people, can possibly keep up with that pace for long. It isn't forgetfulness or laziness, it is just the sheer massive numbers!

 

Although after my experiences modding user descriptions, I am a little hesitant about the auto-approve concept... regardless of the rules, many people just don't follow them... however, with that said - I have a suggestion...

 

There is definitely a group of people who enjoy writing their own descriptions, and thus, have an inherent interest in seeing descriptions get approved... so - perhaps something like this... after a user has reached a certain number of "approved" descriptions, for their own dragons - they would then gain the ability to mod other users descriptions! This would allow "mods" that don't have to be specifically trained, that don't have to be selected by TJ, and hopefully, it would be an ever-growing population. This function would be self-fulfilling because each writer would know that they are helping other users get theirs approved, and thus in turn, getting their own approved! Talk about motivation - both to write and to review!

 

So - after say 50 approved descriptions on the scroll, that user gains access to "review" other descriptions. At this level, the description may need 3 "reviewers" okays - and then poof - it is approved. When a scroll reaches say - 100 approved descriptions, they gain access to "mod" descriptions, and their word alone gets a description approved. This kind of tiered system would motivate people both ways, and help to teach people what is and what isn't acceptable!

 

To be honest, although the idea of separating the user description somehow on the scroll is intriguing, I have to admit that I like the seamlessness of the current format! Maybe just a line would be good, to differentiate between site text and user text.

 

As for coding this, I have no idea if this would be a huge pain for TJ or not, but, the way I see it, it would be a one time pain - and then the system itself would grow with DC itself! And - it would eliminate all the weight put on the current forum mods, who already have a ton of stuff going on!!

 

Just a few thoughts and ideas, because I agree that it would be wonderful to implement some kind of different, and more effective, system for getting descriptions approved!

Quoteing this because I had a similar thought and wanted to post it here (wasn't sure if the thread had been closed in my haitus, otherwise I would have made a new thread)

 

Make it based on descriptions reviewed and/or/inconjunction with number of descriptions. Then have a number of approvers (TJ decides the number, can raise it if needed) approvers recieve either an email or a note on their scroll that leads to a page asking them if they want to be a description approver with a yes/no box. IF you say no the next person on the list gets offered a chance. You can be offered a chance again a month later just in case you change your mind if a position opens up.

 

How I think this would work:

 

TJ09 sets the number of approvers to 10. TJ09 then sets the number of descriptions approved to be 100. This could be any mix of reviewed and written descriptions (where they agree with the mod, so if you reject something a mod rejects that counts to the 100, abstains don't gain any points either way).

 

User A has 90 descriptions they have agreed with the mods on and 10 descriptions on their page approved. They are now in the running for description approver.

 

User B has 99 descriptions they have agreed with mods on but no descriptions written. They are not in the running for description approver.

 

User C has 200 descriptions they have agreed with mods on and 30 descriptions approved, they are not only in the running for description approver but are also ahead of user A. (I would also be willing to put a time frame in which descriptions and reviews count, so that you're picking from active players.)

 

User C is invited to become a description approver, they decline for whatever reason. User A is offered the chance and they accept. User A is now able to see descrpitions like mods can, User C can not be asked to be a description approver until a month is up.

 

Activity checks can be up to TJ. Honestly, I would like to give description approvers a way to opt out after they have agreed (like a mod retireing) and announce hiatuses (which protects them from losing their position for the time they have announced their hiatus, not beyond.)

 

This means that Users who are description approvers do not have to be shown on the forum, could be members of the user base who are not on the forums, and can either help without letting people know who they are, or letting people know who they are if they so choose. Anyone claiming to be a description approver who is not could be punished under the impersonating mods rule, but I would go on the lowest warning level for that offense.

[Fuzzbucket]

Given the fact that the new layout now has the description indicating that it is written by a player and not to do with the site ("user description") I for one believe autoapprove is on the way - which renders this idea moot.