Overall I'm quite happy with the forum

[eternalgloom]

Everybody is usually pretty negative about the state of the forum, here in the Meta section. I'd like to bring some change to that and mention why I think that the forum is actually a pretty good place (for me at least). I know there are still valid issues, but I'll just focus on the positive.

While there is still a pretty big amount of spam in the forum, I'm also seeing many really interesting topics pop up. You're not going to find them in the 'Bitcoin Discussion' section though... The other sections are pretty interesting, the rate at which the discussion is flowing is pretty amazing. Just the other day, I posted a new topic in 'Altcoin Discussion' and it got to the 3rd page in about 10 - 20 minutes. While I didn't get any replies, it was pretty amazing to see that there is so much content added every few seconds.

I'd personally rather have the forum being as active as it is now, with spam + good content, than to see an inactive forum with only good content.

Also, think about the utility this forum has... The Services section has tons of offers etc. It's more active than most of those 'Bitcoin freelance' websites or subreddits.

Maybe the interesting technical talk has largely moved away to other mediums, but I still think this forum is a great place. Even if people are incentivized to post here, some of them still add quality content. I'll gladly deal with the spammers, as long as there are still people adding valuable content to the forum.

Just wanted to add something positive to the Meta section. Criticism is a good thing, but positivity is also nice for a change!

[Don Pedro Dinero]

I do not think everybody is pretty negative about the forum. Shitposters are, of course, but I think the good members of this community are fairly happy with the merit system, and their criticism only looks to improve it.

[Lovecove]

Overall, I'm not happy with the forum lol.

The technology is so antiquated, you know? It's so hard to get alerts when you've been quoted. That kind of function doesn't exist. So you actually have to run through every thread in "replies since you last visited" and wade through pages just to see if you were quoted. I've given up doing that. Too much time wasted there.

The forum is growing so big, with crypto growing larger, and the technology just isn't keeping up on the forum. It needs better content management and post/thread management too. Idk.

[TheQuin]

Overall, I'm not happy with the forum lol.

The technology is so antiquated, you know? It's so hard to get alerts when you've been quoted. That kind of function doesn't exist. So you actually have to run through every thread in "replies since you last visited" and wade through pages just to see if you were quoted. I've given up doing that. Too much time wasted there.

The forum is growing so big, with crypto growing larger, and the technology just isn't keeping up on the forum. It needs better content management and post/thread management too. Idk.

That's more of a technical issue than the state of the forum the OP is referring to. Just wait for the new forum software to be implemented in 2067 and it will be much better.


@eternalgloom I'm agreeing with almost everything you said apart from there are still good threads going on in Bitcoin Discussion but they are hard to find amid all the noise. That's also probably what happened to your thread in Altcoin Discussion, it was quickly buried down on page 3 where nobody is going to see it and reply. This has slowly been improving since merit was introduced and I think it will continue to go in the right direction.

[TMAN]

I do not think everybody is pretty negative about the forum. Shitposters are, of course, but I think the good members of this community are fairly happy with the merit system, and their criticism only looks to improve it.

merit will improve the forum, its starting already. Once all managers of campaigns and bounties start using merit as an entry requirement then the shitposters will have no way of earning.

[GoldenLad]

Overall, I'm not happy with the forum lol.

The technology is so antiquated, you know? It's so hard to get alerts when you've been quoted. That kind of function doesn't exist. So you actually have to run through every thread in "replies since you last visited" and wade through pages just to see if you were quoted. I've given up doing that. Too much time wasted there.

The forum is growing so big, with crypto growing larger, and the technology just isn't keeping up on the forum. It needs better content management and post/thread management too. Idk.

For me, the bold part is one of the things I don't really like about the forum and I wish Theymos will do something about. And also, he should do something about posts that have received enough replies like setting aside a moderator that will always lock such threads. It's awful to see threads going a long way and receiving the same reply.

As for the Spam, I can't say its getting better cause I haven't been a member of this forum for many years to compare it state. But I doubt it if there is any forum that don't get spammed cause almost all forums do.

[athanz88]

Overall, I'm not happy with the forum lol.

The technology is so antiquated, you know? It's so hard to get alerts when you've been quoted. That kind of function doesn't exist. So you actually have to run through every thread in "replies since you last visited" and wade through pages just to see if you were quoted. I've given up doing that. Too much time wasted there.

The forum is growing so big, with crypto growing larger, and the technology just isn't keeping up on the forum. It needs better content management and post/thread management too. Idk.

That is technical issues, what OP stated is more of social issues of this forum. Nearly before merit comes, this forum suffers a lot of bad things and fell to the bottomless pit of a spammer and shitposter, now after merit, it brought this forum up again because lately the good contents are increasing and people engaging each other in a good way.

So yeah, merit makes me happy, like it does to OP.

[eternalgloom]

@TheQuin, There might be a few decent threads in Bitcoin Discussion, but I think that the section does attract more junk than other sections. I'd consider threads with 1 sentence in the OP to be junk, there are a lot of those.

The merit system was definitely a good addition IMO, I'm noticing some change in my own posting behavior. With merits, I feel like there's an added incentive to create valuable topics.
At least for me, it gives me some extra motivation to spend, say, half an hour or more on a single thread. Before, I don't think I would have bothered -that much- making threads like that.

Just an example, where I created my first overview thread (the one I talked about in the OP):
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3242065.msg33764649#msg33764649

I hope it's okay to link the thread as an example...

[orions.belt19]

I do not think everybody is pretty negative about the forum. Shitposters are, of course, but I think the good members of this community are fairly happy with the merit system, and their criticism only looks to improve it.

Actually, there has been plenty of negative remarks about the forum especially here on the meta section when the merit system came out. Of course the account farmers became mad and complained about how it’s going to be impossible to rank up and the merit system won’t work. There may still be some spam and shit posters up to this day but it’s true that there has been an increase of interesting topics brought by users wanting to improve their post quality.

[TheQuin]

Just an example, where I created my first overview thread (the one I talked about in the OP):
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3242065.msg33764649#msg33764649

I hope it's okay to link the thread as an example...

Of course it is OK. That is a good example of the problem when serious threads go unnoticed. I had the same thing with a thread I made about fee estimators. I had to move it to Development & Technical Discussion to get any replies. But I also had another couple of other threads one just before merit and one more recently and I really noticed the improvement.

[Silent26]

I do not think everybody is pretty negative about the forum. Shitposters are, of course, but I think the good members of this community are fairly happy with the merit system, and their criticism only looks to improve it.

So yeah, merit makes me happy, like it does to OP.

Well, I guess I'm also one of you guys. I'm also a happy Member of this Forum with a "Happy" state of mind with the new system. I know it's really difficult to earn a single Merit. But, I never disagree to Merit System since it has been implemented, never. I once used to lose hope that I can be able to earn a Merit because I am not as good as other Members (especially you Sir. athanz88) who are deserving to received Merits with their tremendous English posts. But, instead of dragging myself down, I used Merit System as an opportunity to improve myself in writing English. And now, as you guys can see. I made it to earn 34 Merits. Those Merits are result of my hard work, and I'm happy because, it only proves that I also have a chance to move up to Sr. Member.

This Forum really is dragged down with Negative, that's why I'm sharing my experiences, hoping that I might somehow give inspiration to other Members. Never lose hope.

Overall, I'm not happy with the forum lol.

The technology is so antiquated, you know? It's so hard to get alerts when you've been quoted. That kind of function doesn't exist. So you actually have to run through every thread in "replies since you last visited" and wade through pages just to see if you were quoted. I've given up doing that. Too much time wasted there.

The forum is growing so big, with crypto growing larger, and the technology just isn't keeping up on the forum. It needs better content management and post/thread management too. Idk.

I think it's not too necessary. I know that checking threads where you might be quoted is a little waste of time but, it is not too difficult. Why don't you admit that you're just too lazy to check those threads one by one. You're not the only one who experienced the same problem, I'm sure that other member also did. As we can see, there are already a lot of Legendary Members. It only means that they used to experienced the same problem too in the past but it is not really a big issue/problem in the Forum. You only need to spend some of your time if you're ready willing to do so.

But don't worry, I'm sure that there will be an update about your problem in the future. For now, just don't be lazy.

[speem28]

I do not think everybody is pretty negative about the forum. Shitposters are, of course, but I think the good members of this community are fairly happy with the merit system, and their criticism only looks to improve it.

Not everybody but a lot of members in the forum are pretty negative about it especially those shitposters that are always complaining about the newly implemented merit system that hinders them from ranking up despite their spam and useless posts which is a nuisance in the forum.

merit will improve the forum, its starting already. Once all managers of campaigns and bounties start using merit as an entry requirement then the shitposters will have no way of earning.

Can't wait for that to happen. Once that happens, we will see more whinings in the forum from those shitposters but we have to bear with it as they can't do anything if that will be the rule for participating in every campaign.

[AdolfinWolf]

I do not think everybody is pretty negative about the forum. Shitposters are, of course, but I think the good members of this community are fairly happy with the merit system, and their criticism only looks to improve it.

merit will improve the forum, its starting already. Once all managers of campaigns and bounties start using merit as an entry requirement then the shitposters will have no way of earning.

Or normal users for that matter.

I'm really afraid that merit is not going to scale well, and that only 0.1% is going to be able to rank up, which means this forum will see a lot less activity. I'm still unsure whether i think that's a good thing, or a bad thing.

17800 merit a month, or 26700 if everything is distributed twice, (or 31200 if you distribute it thrice)

Is roughly what, 30/60 Hero ranks each month? On a forum with over 3 million registered members? We're really scaling down here.

And that's just theorethical. Over the last few months we've seen how many users exactly rank up? 10? 30?

[Silent26]

I do not think everybody is pretty negative about the forum. Shitposters are, of course, but I think the good members of this community are fairly happy with the merit system, and their criticism only looks to improve it.

Not everybody but a lot of members in the forum are pretty negative about it especially those shitposters that are always complaining about the newly implemented merit system that hinders them from ranking up despite their spam and useless posts which is a nuisance in the forum.

Yeah, that's for sure. Those non-quality posters (shitposters) will never stop complaining about Merit System. Unless if they tried to understand what really is the purpose of Merit System. It is implemented to eliminate posters like them. Time may pass and they will be force to write quality posts if they really want to rank up.

Because if they keep posting junks, they will never receive Merits and they will never be able to join Signature Campaigns if ever that Managers start to add certain amount of Merits as an additional rule for each rank before being accepted in a particular Campaign.
 

merit will improve the forum, its starting already. Once all managers of campaigns and bounties start using merit as an entry requirement then the shitposters will have no way of earning.

I agree. This can also assured that the participants of a particular Campaign are Good Quality Posters.

But there will be less participants for sure. Because "Members who didn't receive Merits"  are more than those "Members who already received Merits".

[The Sceptical Chymist]

We're really scaling down here.

And how many spots for Hero/Legendary members do you think there are in signature campaigns?  Already there aren't enough spots to satisfy all the people who want to get into one, and somehow I don't think there are going to be more campaigns as time goes on.  Maybe less.

Are there any other reasons why it should be important that it's really hard to rank up here?  Nope.  If you came to bitcointalk for the discussion, it won't matter in the least what rank you are, or how much merit you've earned. 

The only time it does matter is when you start to get paid for posting here.  Because of that, I don't think there's a "bitcointalk scaling problem" that's worth pondering.  If you don't rank up, you don't rank up, and if that's a problem then you've likely come here for reasons that don't evoke feelings of sympathy in a lot of members, myself included.

[Lovecove]

Overall, I'm not happy with the forum lol.

The technology is so antiquated, you know? It's so hard to get alerts when you've been quoted. That kind of function doesn't exist. So you actually have to run through every thread in "replies since you last visited" and wade through pages just to see if you were quoted. I've given up doing that. Too much time wasted there.

The forum is growing so big, with crypto growing larger, and the technology just isn't keeping up on the forum. It needs better content management and post/thread management too. Idk.

I think it's not too necessary. I know that checking threads where you might be quoted is a little waste of time but, it is not too difficult. Why don't you admit that you're just too lazy to check those threads one by one. You're not the only one who experienced the same problem, I'm sure that other member also did. As we can see, there are already a lot of Legendary Members. It only means that they used to experienced the same problem too in the past but it is not really a big issue/problem in the Forum. You only need to spend some of your time if you're ready willing to do so.

But don't worry, I'm sure that there will be an update about your problem in the future. For now, just don't be lazy.

Don't be a brown-noser. I sometimes make 10 posts a day, and sometimes more. Other people, like Nullius, make over 20 posts per day.

You're asking people to spend over 20 minutes to check the megathreads page-by-page, to see if they've been quoted. If you don't value your time, then you don't value your life. If you can see an obvious inefficiency in a system, you're not supposed to become a slave to it -- you're supposed to make the decision whether you'd like to point out the glaring issue to inspire change that promotes more effeciency and better-spent resources, or you're supposed to simply not get involved with it.

In America, that's what people do, they don't conform to situations and circumstances just because everyone else is doing it.

And it's also the fact that it's not just your posts daily that you have to comb through. You're talking about any thread that got a reply that you've ever posted in. So you're looking at the "new replies" section having like 3-5 pages or more every 12 hours. That's not just 20 minutes, but combing through all that could take an hour or more as your post count increases.

But you're right, don't be lazy.

[tuanytcc]

Agree! Newbies, Junior members, Members, Full Members (there are lots of spammers in the Member and Full member ranks, lol) will take advantage and take spots of higher rank users.
Most altcoin campaigns don't have specific limited spots for each rank.

And how many spots for Hero/Legendary members do you think there are in signature campaigns?  Already there aren't enough spots to satisfy all the people who want to get into one

That's it. I guess we will see less campaigns over time, something like terrible waves of ICOs. When more management solutions released, stricter rules implemented, less campaigns in the forum for sure. We need and I am waiting for something like this. Less campaigns, but high quality, high trust-rates, and high-payments for deserved users/ supporters. It is good for all.

and somehow I don't think there are going to be more campaigns as time goes on.  Maybe less.

Agree too! If someone always ask about merits, ranks, etc.; it is implied that they are here only for getting money. Hence, their attention mostly focus on ranks (which turn into merit points to rank up). Honestly, I don't think they should not do this, instead focusing on contribute to the forum via their threads, keep learning more, keep helping others more.

Are there any other reasons why it should be important that it's really hard to rank up here?  Nope.  If you came to bitcointalk for the discussion, it won't matter in the least what rank you are, or how much merit you've earned.  

The only time it does matter is when you start to get paid for posting here.  Because of that, I don't think there's a "bitcointalk scaling problem" that's worth pondering.  If you don't rank up, you don't rank up, and if that's a problem then you've likely come here for reasons that don't evoke feelings of sympathy in a lot of members, myself included.

[TheQuin]

17800 merit a month, or 26700 if everything is distributed twice, (or 31200 if you distribute it thrice)

Is roughly what, 30/60 Hero ranks each month? On a forum with over 3 million registered members? We're really scaling down here.

The forum actually had its 2 millionth signup yesterday. The best estimate of active accounts comes from Vod's site.

http://dev.martinlawrence.ca/bpip/

Take 2,004,945 registered accounts, delete 1,092,694 accounts with no sign on for 90 days, no posts and no trust
and that leaves us with 912,251 active accounts.

And that's just theorethical. Over the last few months we've seen how many users exactly rank up? 10? 30?

Because it takes time to gain the activity to rank up we can't really know the numbers until after that amount of time has passed. For example, it takes 8.5 months to get the 240 activity to go from Sr. Member to Hero. Every Sr. Member started with 250 Merit but has so far only had 2 months to get the 250 Merit needed. After 8.5 months have passed we will be able to judge how many have ranked up.

[shahzadafzal]

I'd personally rather have the forum being as active as it is now, with spam + good content, than to see an inactive forum with only good content.

Agree with you some how, An active forum is more beneficial and its ok we will have to dig a little deeper to find a relevant information but that's fine. We are doing this already like on Facebook full of fake news and any where on the internet too.
At the same time shitposters can't effect the important and technical discussions mostly they are busy in bounties and free offerings.  They stay away from valuable discussions

That's more of a technical issue than the state of the forum the OP is referring to. Just wait for the new forum software to be implemented in 2067 and it will be much better.

hahaha that's what I always wonder too... actually I remember I was using same or you can say similar version in my college times too.. like 10 years why "forums" did not upgrade themselves? All forums based famous site are almost dead.
But we have seen some enhancement like stackoverflow and quora how they have evolved. Shitposters goes down the line automatically so finally they leave. 

[Silent26]

Don't be a brown-noser. I sometimes make 10 posts a day, and sometimes more. Other people, like Nullius, make over 20 posts per day.

You're asking people to spend over 20 minutes to check the megathreads page-by-page, to see if they've been quoted. If you don't value your time, then you don't value your life. If you can see an obvious inefficiency in a system, you're not supposed to become a slave to it -- you're supposed to make the decision whether you'd like to point out the glaring issue to inspire change that promotes more effeciency and better-spent resources, or you're supposed to simply not get involved with it.

In America, that's what people do, they don't conform to situations and circumstances just because everyone else is doing it.

And it's also the fact that it's not just your posts daily that you have to comb through. You're talking about any thread that got a reply that you've ever posted in. So you're looking at the "new replies" section having like 3-5 pages or more every 12 hours. That's not just 20 minutes, but combing through all that could take an hour or more as your post count increases.

But you're right, don't be lazy.

Well, fortunately,  I understand you. Like what I said, I'm sure that this problem of yours (all of us) will be fix soon. I'm sure that our Admin will work on that if they found out that it was really starting to be a problem because I agree to what you said that, we Members of this Forum is also starting to increase every single day. And threads will be surely overloaded with posts and checking pages one by one will really be a waste of time as it will take about half or one hour.

Well, I take back what I've said before, except to "for now, don't be lazy". Because with this problem unsolved, being lazy will only double the problem for sure.
It will be like this
First problem, It is hard to check every pages where my post might be quoted.
Second problem, I'm too lazy, no time to check those threads. I will just complain to solve this problem now.

Admin and Moderators are busy doing some stuffs that they should do first. This problem will be solve soon if they have some time. And, why don't you try to suggest your idea to our Admin and Moderators. It will be implemented for sure as we are experiencing the problem as our community keeps growing and I will be willing to support you for this one

If you don't value your time, then you don't value your life.

You made me agreed because of this. But sometimes, we need to sacrifice some of our time in order to achieve our goal in life