Please Read - DIR Update and Process

[Brent W]

Hi everyone,

We now have a new process for gaining access to the DIR forums. In your profile you now have the option of choosing the DIR forum you would like access to. Members can only choose on DIR and once chosen, the selection can not be changed without staff approval.

Once you select your DIR, it may take up to an hour to have your account upgraded. If you wish to not wait, you can create a thread in the Site Feedback area and we will try to get your account upgraded as quickly as possible.

We are still working on the permissions at this moment but everyone can go ahead and go in and select their desired DIR forum right now.

If you have any issues, feel free to respond to this thread or open a thread in our Site Feedback area.

 

[Thief]

and if you never choose a DIR....then what happens?

and you are mentioned in a DIR...then what happens?

and if you find a topic and run to the debate section.....who cares?

 

[Thief]

btw....your new posts and watched new posts overlap when clicked
(you don't always get what you clicked for)

 

[1137]

What the hell? So in your view a Setian can't practice magic, a seeker can't study Christianity, a non-member cannot question a religion for knowledge? I'm appreciative of the technological changes, but I'm curious who comes up with this. Like how did we decide that popular threads are a better home screen than showing off the forums religious diversity? How did we decide people must be crammed into one label and not allowed to branch outwards? How was it decided that forum members need your personal permission to change their religion? It seems there is no longer any care at all for any sort of education forum.

 

[Brent W]

What the hell? So in your view a Setian can't practice magic, a seeker can't study Christianity, a non-member cannot question a religion for knowledge? I'm appreciative of the technological changes, but I'm curious who comes up with this. Like how did we decide that popular threads are a better home screen than showing off the forums religious diversity? How did we decide people must be crammed into one label and not allowed to branch outwards? It seems there is no longer any care at all for any sort of education forum.

I am not saying that at all and at no point did I state that this was final with no room for improvement.

 

[1137]

I am not saying that at all and at no point did I state that this was final with no room for improvement.

Then you need to be clearer, you're leading a forum on your own whim and dictating how paying customers act on it, it shouldn't be so easily misunderstood. All you've stated is you're forcing us to choose a DIR and stick to it.

 

[columbus]

Is "feminism" still a religion?
Tom

 

[Terese]

I am not saying that at all and at no point did I state that this was final with no room for improvement.

But we can only choose one DIR at the moment. Will this change?

 

[Brent W]

Then you need to be clearer, you're leading a forum on your own whim and dictating how paying customers act on it, it shouldn't be so easily misunderstood. All you've stated is you're forcing us to choose a DIR and stick to it.

Members can only choose on DIR and once chosen, the selection can not be changed without staff approval.

Hardly forcing you to stick to it and hardly did this on a whim. It has been something staff has requested for some time now. As with anything it can be adjusted as needed.

Personally, it'd be great if you would provide constructive criticism rather than just be purely negative for negative sake.

 

[Brent W]

But we can only choose one DIR at the moment. Will this change?

Possibly. Right now we are getting the permissions setup and putting everything in place.

 

[Brent W]

I think this sort of combats the whole being able to ask respectful questions part of the DIR.

We have had discussions on ways to allow this to happen elsewhere. Nothing is final and we have thought about this and discussed how we can still allow this.

 

[1137]

Hardly forcing you to stick to it and hardly did this on a whim. It has been something staff has requested for some time now. As with anything it can be adjusted as needed.

Personally, it'd be great if you would provide constructive criticism rather than just be purely negative for negative sake.

I'm sorry, but I am so flabbergasted by this that there's nothing I could say besides "don't do it." It's absolutely ridiculous, I've never heard anything of the sort. You still haven't elaborated on if we ate slaved to our DIRs, or can still post in others, which is the key.

So yeah, my constructive criticism is communicate with your customers and don't absolutely destroy all hope of anything but circle jerks by forcing us all to take a single label.

 

[1137]

Fair enough. Feels like I'm getting cut off from more than half of the forum though.

Yup, at least you didn't pay. Can we expect to see a more expensive membership allowed to participate openly?

 

[Brent W]

I'm sorry, but I am so flabbergasted by this that there's nothing I could say besides "don't do it." It's absolutely ridiculous, I've never heard anything of the sort. You still haven't elaborated on if we ate slaved to our DIRs, or can still post in others, which is the key.

So yeah, my constructive criticism is communicate with your customers and don't absolutely destroy all hope of anything but circle jerks by forcing us all to take a single label.

Yup, at least you didn't pay. Can we expect to see a more expensive membership allowed to participate openly?

I'll discuss this with you when you can do it without every reply being drama filled. I already stated that I will be talking with staff on where we stand and we will make adjustments or come up with solutions to issues that you and others point out. Not going to continue to repeat myself over and over again.

 

[Curious George]

Yup, at least you didn't pay. Can we expect to see a more expensive membership allowed to participate openly?

I would imagine that they will eventually allow people to request to participate in multiple dir. After all, the capability will be there otherwise mods and staff would be limited as well. So, since they are going to be perfectly capable of allowing a poster to post in more than one dir, it stands to reason that posters will be given such permission. However doing it like this would allow them to toggle off a permission if the staff feels a person abusing the dir. Instead of starting with everyone toggled on and having to take away a whole bunch of permissions it seems more reasonable to have people limit themselves and request more access.

But I would imagine there is going to be relatively few ppl who would require posting privileges in multiple dir.

 

[Brent W]

I would imagine that they will eventually allow people to request to participate in multiple dir. After all, the capability will be there otherwise mods and staff would be limited as well. So, since they are going to be perfectly capable of allowing a poster to post in more than one dir, it stands to reason that posters will be given such permission. However doing it like this would allow them to toggle off a permission if the staff feels a person abusing the dir. Instead of starting with everyone toggled on and having to take away a whole bunch of permissions it seems more reasonable to have people limit themselves and request more access.

But I would imagine there is going to be relatively few ppl who would require posting privileges in multiple dir.

This was our initial observation and reasoning on doing it this way, almost exactly verbatim.

We are not opposed to opening up more than one DIR for members. However, this is the framework that we decided to go with because we can start small and build out where needed.

As I said, this is not final and we will be discussing this more as we get more feedback!

 

[Curious George]

We have had discussions on ways to allow this to happen elsewhere. Nothing is final and we have thought about this and discussed how we can still allow this.

I imagine the easiest way to allow this would be to create a sub dir titled "questions" that wasn't restricted in each dir. Whereas the best way would to create a sub dir, titled "questions" in each direction and only allow posters to post threads (not responses) limited to 25-50 words and have them pm dir members who had replied, if they need clarification.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Then you need to be clearer, you're leading a forum on your own whim and dictating how paying customers act on it,

You are (at best) a supporting member, not "paying customer."

 

[Brent W]

I imagine the easiest way to allow this would be to create a sub dir titled "questions" that wasn't restricted in each dir. Whereas the best way would to create a sub dir, titled "questions" in each direction and only allow posters to post threads (not responses) limited to 25-50 words and have them pm dir members who had replied, if they need clarification.

Something we will consider.

 

[1137]

So another question Brent, we have DIRs and kind of sub DIRs. For example the LHP DIR has three sub categories. Would a Setian be bound to the Setianism dub DIR, or have full access to the LHP dir?

Another question/constructive criticism: you're absolutely going to have to allow certain cross DIR posts if you do this. For example, it makes no sense if a Setian cannot post in the magic DIR, because Setians practice magic. Perhaps you can look at doing something like making certain forums more open? For example, "magic" is so vague that half the other DIRs can partake in it, so it would be counter productive to limit it. So maybe make some new sections that are no longer DIR? I'm not sure this exact plan can work, just something like it. I mean I get if the LHP guys can't post in the Buddhism DIR, though I personally think you still should allow respectful outsider questioning. But as I said, Setians are ALSO magicians and ALSO Polytheists/Pagans and ALSO seekers, and so it would not make sense for them to not have access to all those forums.