Comparing and contrasting forums - some issues I see with the IFC

Meta
1

Hey everyone.

It sure has been awhile since I’ve been on here. At first this seems off topic, so please don’t flag it. And if I get banned- so be it. This is my opinion, and I should be able to express it without having IF fanboys jump on me because my opinion is “wrong”.

I’m a computer nerd. I know some languages, and I’ve built a few PCs. I discovered a forum called Tom’s Hardware Forum, and it’s basically a place for people to ask questions, talk, and help with troubleshooting their electronics. I’ve been apart of this forum for a few months now, and I really like it. I thought about the IFC, and how this was similar, and I thought I’d express some issues I see with it, some things that Tom’s Hardware does well, and some things the IFC doesn’t. And some things that in my opinion should be changed.

Toms Hardware:

image
image1347×1452 903 KB

After being on THF (toms Hardware forums) I noticed some things that struck me as different.

As an American, I traveled to Mexico a few summers back. There was a large cliff, and it was weird to see it unprotected. No fencing, no barriers. It was like the Mexican government trusted people not to be stupid.

That’s what it was like being on THF. You could talk about and ask anything without being talked to for your topic being a “duplicate”, or to not have a high enough ‘trust level’.

If you have the same question as someone else, the mods don’t jump on your for not viewing the duplicate topic, and the topic isn’t immediately shut down. In fact, having multiple topics of the same issue can widen the search engine’s results, providing more suggestions. If you get something wrong, mods educate you personally and help with questions. People (especially the mods) tend to be friendlier. Idk if this is an avgeek thing, but I see a lot of comments about how users complain and make fun of friends for saying “the 737 is a jumbo jet” and other things. They shouldn’t be made fun of, they simply don’t know, and should be taught and not made fun of.

On THF the mods are relaxed. The only things they correct are simple:

  • if a user makes two posts about the same thing (I.e, my two posts saying “my computer won’t start” referring to the same issue)
  • swearing

That’s it. On the IFC there’s a lot of things the mods correct for.

  • posting for a topic without a high enough trust level
  • making the same topic as someone else
  • swearing
  • not checking the “tutorials”
  • posting in the wrong category

I simply think that the IFC is too strict. Its almost like you’re not supposed to talk about aviation.

Some things in my opinion that the IFC could do differently

  • eliminate trust levels
    They restrict users from talking about what they want. I don’t think a user should have to work for months just to post In #real-world-aviation.
  • mods should be less strict
    Imo I think it makes the community less friendly feeling, almost as if there’s a narrow path a user must follow when using the forum.
  • eliminate categories and required trust levels, and add tags.
    THF doesn’t really have categories, but instead tags that users can search by.

Please don’t jump on me, these are just things that I think.

Thanks everyone.

-Pie

39 Likes
2

good post - i agree. nice to see someone speak out for once as it seems everyone else is scared to have a different opinion

cant wait to see all the mods and regulars saying how youre wrong and to leave, etc …

2 Likes
3

Infinite Flight Fanboy Alert

So, I can see where you’re coming from. At times, the IFC can seem a bit strict, but I don’t see a problem with it being strict. If there’s no discipline, no one will learn that what their doing is wrong.

The first thing you want changed is eliminating trust levels. The artist level system is in place to make sure someone who knows nothing about aviation doesn’t make a tutorial. You can’t trust that they know what their doing. However, if they were TL3, that means they have been here for a while and have been consistent with their attendance here.

As mentioned before, being strict isn’t always a bad thing. No one would learn that they’re doing something wrong, and as a result we would have countless topics about “best photo” or “best plane.”

I honestly don’t know how eliminating categories will change anything. That would make the formum even more disorganized.

In short, the IFC has its reasons for doing what it does. Your opinion isn’t wrong per say, but I have to disagree. The forum, in my opinion, is doing just fine the way it is.

7 Likes
4

Yes, I agree with you however, he is right in some parts but he also has the right to speak out ;P

5

I’m not denying that, I’m just disagreeing with his opinion.

6

NO, nothing against you! I’m just saying, don’t worry!

1 Like
7

Thank you so much for your input. I agree that it would be less organized, so maybe that isn’t the best idea.

1 Like
9

For one thing, this is an aviation community, not a Fortnite community

If anyone here wants to get in the aviation world, they would have to be professional and organized and this is pretty much what IFC is training you for.

The aviation world does not accept toxic people and that is what IFC is trying to reflect. There are also users here who are underage and I don’t think they should be influenced by something like this forum.

4 Likes
10

I don’t agree with some of your pionts but there is one I will jump on with. Eliminating required trust levels. It feels very restrictive for new users to not even be able to talk about real world aviation. I personally think removing required TLs for categories would be beneficial to discussion, although I do think the categories are nice as they keep things organized well. For TLs I would keep them, but narrow them down to just 4, member, regular, mod, and staff member.

6 Likes
12

I strongly disagree and believe if you don’t earn the right to post about something else on an infinite flight forum, you shouldn’t. It’s that simple, there are dozens of other aviation forums out there. It’s like the ladder, TL1 Infinite flight, TL2 aviation, TL3 more personal life stuff.

Sorry but itll run like a zoo. If we are more disciplined the mods won’t have to be strict. And remember the age group of us versus the computer forum probably has a difference.

Categories is for organization purposes, people mute the VA category because they don’t like the posts and I think they should still be allowed to do that.

2 Likes
13

IF is a mobile simulator game. Your point being?

14

Let’s be kind. Thanks

Now to your topic. I think the forum is perfectly fine. It is well ran, and the growth of it is expanding tremendously. Our mods attempt to keep this community not just organized, but also a age friendly place too. Just try to connect with a moderator. They are some of the nicest people you will ever meet.

2 Likes
15

I think we should also take into account that THF is a forum for people who build computers. Generally, that’s something that older more mature people will do, so logically, having a more relaxed environment suites it best. Here, we have people who aren’t even teenagers, and some require more moderation and guidance than others. Since IF is an easily accessible mobile flight simulator, we attract people of all ages, which requires mods to moderate them more.

3 Likes
16

It is still trying to be realistic and reflect the professionalism of the aviation world. You don’t want it to become toxic like the Fortnite community don’t you

1 Like
17

I have seen a few comments which I really like and agree with eg @BigBert10.

Coming to the elephant in the room(maybe forum🤫🤷🏾‍♂️), I agree with the OP in the case of various categories eg #tutorials and #real-world-aviation being out of limits.

A user might have read some important news and in many cases when he/she opens a topic regarding it, they are quickly shut down despite the significance of the news.

In the case of #tutorials, a user’s knowledge of aviation and Infinite Flight in general is not proportional to their trust level. There are many TL2s and TL1s who are Real world pilots, working in the real world aviation community and/or are knowledgable about Infinite Flight. My proposal is that a TL0/1/2 would be allowed to open a #tutorials topic after consulting a mod.

3 Likes
18

Here’s my two cents (and someone touched on this I believe) but we have a lot of real world pilots on here in general… what if another real world pilot joins us and wants to post in #real-world-aviation but he cannot Bc he isn’t the right TL. I personally think they should get rid of the TL for RWA just do RW Pilots can share things…

19

I think that’s a good idea, as some users know what they’re doing.

1 Like
21

The first and most glaring difference in your comparasions is that is a HARDWARE forum. Like, general hardware…all sorts of tools and whatnot. This is NOT a general aviation forum. This is an INFINITE FLIGHT forum.

Let pretend for a moment that there was a hammer forum. It was all about hammers. You join cause you want a new hammer. Then suddenly, you start posting about screwdrivers and chainsaws. Do you think the hammer forum moderators would allow you to discuss screws and shingle froe’s they’d allow you? Probably not. And all the people that take their hammers waaaaaaaay to serious would probably tell you to go to the Screw forum and talk about screwing and nailing there.

Now, our forum mods are good for the most part (minus my unfair recent suspension) and do their best. I’m sure the media age is also night on Little Timmy’s Hardware forum.

That is all.

1 Like
22

Okay, lets not mention that, you should really contact the mods about that and not mention that here.

Anyways, like lots of people here, I have to agree and disagree about things. Removing trust levels, well I see both sides, which I why I think this system, I would agree with @Aceorbit

I think that a system like this would keep it organized, while providing more freedom. However, I do like the TL system, and I see it’s use, I also think that it isn’t broken, so if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. As for discipline, I agree with @DiamondGaming4

In the end, this is what the IFC is, and it’s not very likely to change.

23

My thing on this is that your comparing two very different forums. You have IFC here which is a flight sim on your phone which is open to all ages and is available to all ages. The forum your talking about is mainly for older or grown up people that dont really know how to fix something on their PC or how to build a PC. So your really comparing two different forums, two different aspects, and two different age ranges. So when the moderation team is a little tough at times it’s because they dont want people to double up on post or be posting about things not related to Infinite Flight so that they can keep a friendly and clean forum. I think it is best that we allow or mod team to be a little tough because if their not it makes for many TOS to be broken and just a lot of trouble. I think the IFC Mods really have your best interest in mind when doing and saying things that’s why you cant take it personal bc they are going the best for everyone and not trying to callout or be mean to someone.

1 Like