# Stopping registration for an "x" amount of time



## DarkSpace (Oct 2, 2008)

Does anyone feel that we should close the registration and clean up the non-active accounts.
It may be in the wrong area! Mods could move it for me if possible.


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## elenar (Oct 3, 2008)

I voted "No" to all 3, but not necessarily because I don't agree with them.

No to the first because what I'd like to say is "Only if there's some specific reason to do so." I understand there has been a perceived increase in the number of "noobs" joining up, but the only solution to that will be to permanently close registrations. While that may sound enticing to some, it would lead to a forum with a small amount of users which would quickly become boring. In my experience when IRC channels, usenet groups, or MUD's that I used to participate in back in the 90's had a drop in users, the fun factor of them would decrease rapidly. It's user interaction that makes the internet worthwhile, love it or hate it.

No to the second because even if I agreed that closing registrations was a wise choice, it would have to be permanent to achieve the intended outcome.

No to the third because clearing old accounts wouldn't prevent noobs from existing, although I guess pruning the user database doesn't have a real downside. Probably anyone that got deleted for inactivity wouldn't notice anyways, but my reason for selecting "No" is that I don't know of any real benefit to the site that it would produce.


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## DarkSpace (Oct 3, 2008)

I just feel like there needs to be some kind of clean up, but I like your answers too Elenar.


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## Urza (Oct 3, 2008)

A more effective solution would be to dole out temporary suspensions when people make stupid threads (aka, "WHICH FALSHCAT DO I BUY????", "OH MAN MY FAVORITE ROM SITE CLOSED DOWN", "IS BLAH BLAH DUMPED YET???", "FUCK I REALLY WANT TO HAVE SEX WITH MY SISTER" = automatic one week suspension, no negotiation).

Unfortunately shaun and Costello are "noob lovers", so this will never happen.


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## Raven Darkheart (Oct 3, 2008)

Urza said:
			
		

> A more effective solution would be to dole out temporary suspensions when people make stupid threads (aka, "WHICH FALSHCAT DO I BUY????", "OH MAN MY FAVORITE ROM SITE CLOSED DOWN", "IS BLAH BLAH DUMPED YET???", "FUCK I REALLY WANT TO HAVE SEX WITH MY SISTER" = automatic one week suspension, no negotiation).
> 
> Unfortunately shaun and Costello are "noob lovers", so this will never happen.


while i believe in equal oppurtunity... i'd like to turn your attention to one of my recent complaints about noobs Click me.
thats all i have to say


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## Harsky (Oct 3, 2008)

Another solution would be a temporary stop on registrations when a big name rom comes out. I'm just typing aloud that's all.


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## Sephi (Oct 3, 2008)

I said no to all, seems pointless.


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## Urza (Oct 3, 2008)

Harsky said:
			
		

> Another solution would be a temporary stop on registrations when a big name rom comes out. I'm just typing aloud that's all.


If I had a dime for every time I've suggested this.


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## Raven Darkheart (Oct 3, 2008)

Urza said:
			
		

> Harsky said:
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we'd all be rich

but seriously...the influx of n00bs lately has been mind numbing. and im shocked i only got 1 warn so far.


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## Rayder (Oct 3, 2008)

I say no to closing registrations.  That just seems like an elitist thing to do.   

But I would say that any account that hasn't been logged into for....oh, say 6 months to a year or so should be deleted as an abandoned account. 

Maybe the site would be slightly faster if it didn't have to sift through a bunch of dead accounts?  I don't know.

At any rate, I see this as a non-issue.


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## mrSmiles (Oct 3, 2008)

make registration invite only


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## Urza (Oct 3, 2008)

Rayder said:
			
		

> I say no to closing registrations.  That just seems like an elitist thing to do.


There are many, many steps in between "elitist" and what this site has become.


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## Raven Darkheart (Oct 3, 2008)

Urza said:
			
		

> Rayder said:
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mmhmm that and the iq of the common pirate has gotten lower


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## Ace Gunman (Oct 3, 2008)

Wow, most of you don't really get it, do you? This site survives on new members. 

Close registration when a new hot release comes out? That's when we draw in most of our members. Treat new members badly? We were all new users once, if I had been treated like crap from the moment I registered I wouldn't be here right now. And I suspect the same can be said for most of you. Make registration invite only? See my first rhetorical question/answer. Delete old accounts? That's what makes us the largest community of this sort on the web.

Oh, and to Urza: "OH MAN MY FAVORITE ROM SITE CLOSED DOWN", and "IS BLAH BLAH DUMPED YET???" were made against the rules in the recent rules update.


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## mrSmiles (Oct 3, 2008)

Ace Gunman said:
			
		

> Oh, and to Urza: "OH MAN MY FAVORITE ROM SITE CLOSED DOWN", and "IS BLAH BLAH DUMPED YET???" were made against the rules in the recent rules update.



yet people will still do it regardless of it being against the rules.


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## Urza (Oct 3, 2008)

QUOTE said:
			
		

> Delete old accounts? That's what makes us the largest community of this sort on the web.
> Dead accounts make this the largest community?
> 
> First of all, even if that was true, its not something to be proud of.
> ...


Do you ban the user?

No. 

You make a pussy move and lock the topic.



			
				Ace Gunman said:
			
		

> Wow, most of you don't really get it, do you? This site survives on new members.
> 
> Close registration when a new hot release comes out? That's when we draw in most of our members. Treat new members badly? We were all new users once, if I had been treated like crap from the moment I registered I wouldn't be here right now. And I suspect the same can be said for most of you. Make registration invite only? See my first rhetorical question/answer.


This is why there is no hope for GBAtemp.


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## Raven Darkheart (Oct 3, 2008)

Ace Gunman said:
			
		

> Wow, most of you don't really get it, do you? This site survives on new members.
> 
> Close registration when a new hot release comes out? That's when we draw in most of our members. Treat new members badly? We were all new users once, if I had been treated like crap from the moment I registered I wouldn't be here right now. And I suspect the same can be said for most of you. Make registration invite only? See my first rhetorical question/answer. Delete old accounts? That's what makes us the largest community of this sort on the web.
> 
> Oh, and to Urza: "OH MAN MY FAVORITE ROM SITE CLOSED DOWN", and "IS BLAH BLAH DUMPED YET???" were made against the rules in the recent rules update.


Ace...

We arent saying that all of those noobs should be treated badly. its just that alot of them ask things that have been asked a million times. then they demand answer to threads that they made, to make them feel self important. the newbies of today wouldnt have been able to survive the scene back then thats all


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## Hehe Moo (Oct 3, 2008)

Ace Gunman said:
			
		

> Wow, most of you don't really get it, do you? This site survives on new members.
> 
> Close registration when a new hot release comes out? That's when we draw in most of our members. Treat new members badly? We were all new users once, if I had been treated like crap from the moment I registered I wouldn't be here right now. And I suspect the same can be said for most of you. Make registration invite only? See my first rhetorical question/answer. Delete old accounts? That's what makes us the largest community of this sort on the web.
> 
> Oh, and to Urza: "OH MAN MY FAVORITE ROM SITE CLOSED DOWN", and "IS BLAH BLAH DUMPED YET???" were made against the rules in the recent rules update.




Ace Gunman I well and truly agree with you. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





  There is no way that the site will survive if we stop people from joining as new members.


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## Gore (Oct 3, 2008)

Raven Darkheart said:
			
		

> Ace Gunman said:
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Hell yeah man.
August 08, _those were the days_....


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## Raven Darkheart (Oct 3, 2008)

gore ive been pirating games for a long time. its knowledge that matters. not joining date


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## DarkSpace (Oct 2, 2008)

Does anyone feel that we should close the registration and clean up the non-active accounts.
It may be in the wrong area! Mods could move it for me if possible.


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## Ace Gunman (Oct 3, 2008)

mrSmiles said:
			
		

> Ace Gunman said:
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See above. Banning someone who makes a poor topic is not an acceptable punishment. 

Back when I was a new member I believe one of my first topics was one asking if GBA link play over the internet would ever be possible. At the time this was considered an unacceptable question because so many people asked it so often and the answer, again, at the time, was always no. Had I been banned for that question I wouldn't be where I am today.

And if every punishment was as harsh as you wished it to be you would have been banned the first time you insulted another member.


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## Urza (Oct 3, 2008)

Ace Gunman said:
			
		

> And if every punishment was as harsh as you wished it to be you would have been banned the first time you insulted another member.


Alright faggot.

Ban me too.


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## Another World (Oct 3, 2008)

elenar said:
			
		

> In my experience when IRC channels, usenet groups, or MUD's that I used to participate in back in the 90's had a drop in users, the fun factor of them would decrease rapidly. It's user interaction that makes the internet worthwhile, love it or hate it.



i've been on irc since the early 90's and bbs boards before that going back to private dialup sites. i disagree with what you said, the smaller a room is the better it is. the more people can concentrate on getting to know each other, really helping each other, and finding people who can help to build a chan/board up with expert advice and not wasted space. or perhaps you mean the larger a chan is the more idiots you can make fun of.. in which case a small chan would decrease the fun factor. 

i don't like areas of the net that have invite only, i think everyone should get a chance to prove themselves. but with that thought process should come the understanding that not everyone belongs in the group. what urza says makes sense to me, if you ask stupid questions you should get warned and then banned. the whole flash kit scene has become a bit of a joke now where every 12 yr old has a flash kit. the kits are so easy, so cheap to buy, so simple to set up, its no wonder this is happening. you start to see a flood of people who aren't smart enough to research before they post, use spell check, post useful information that furthers a conversation, etc. i think a bit of thinning of the herd is a good idea.

-another world


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## Raven Darkheart (Oct 3, 2008)

sigh i kind of have to agree with urza on the point of having active members is better then having a total composite number

if you have noticed the recent trends, newbies make their accts...ask their silly questions and leave. how does that contribute to the community as a whole

if you have time...i'd like to direct you to my 1st blog entry. most newbies lack the capacity to even search this site for the answers to their question? if you ask me that doesnt contribute to gba temp. its just extra clutter

EDIT: A.W beat me to it


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## beedog19 (Oct 3, 2008)

Although times like yesterday/this morning's announcements make one really consider closing new accounts, I really don't think it would be a good idea. Everyone starts out as a noob so you can't really hate on them. Unless they make an account, ask one question that has been answered a million times and then never comes back. I am, however, for clearing out old accounts, but just really old ones with no logons in like a year+. Don't clear out lurkers like me though!


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## Joujoudoll (Oct 3, 2008)

There are people on GBAtemp who have absolutely zero respect for other people and they have no problem admitting it... I think those people should be banned from the site. And I am not going to give out names as to who I think is disrespectful. I am always respectful towards others, even when they are treating me like shit, unless they really piss me off.


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## DarkSpace (Oct 3, 2008)

I don't know when I made this thread I was hoping for a nice debate, and for the most part it's worked out. I've seen people's points and Urza's seem to have really hit the nail on the head. I mean it's the disrespect that made Gaitsuo (I"m not sure if I spelled it right, but last thread I looked at he resigned) quit.

Also I'd have to say despite the fact that we were all new users once, some of us learned to give respect in order to get some back. To some noobs and even some more experienced members it's all take, take, take and not give and take like a community should have.


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## SylvWolf (Oct 3, 2008)

Urza said:
			
		

> A more effective solution would be to dole out temporary suspensions when people make stupid threads (aka, "WHICH FALSHCAT DO I BUY????", "OH MAN MY FAVORITE ROM SITE CLOSED DOWN", "IS BLAH BLAH DUMPED YET???", "FUCK I REALLY WANT TO HAVE SEX WITH MY SISTER" = automatic one week suspension, no negotiation).
> 
> Unfortunately shaun and Costello are "noob lovers", so this will never happen.


I've been looking for a good sig, mind if I quote you here? Just too funny to pass up.


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## Joujoudoll (Oct 3, 2008)

DarkSpace said:
			
		

> I don't know when I made this thread I was hoping for a nice debate, and for the most part it's worked out. I've seen people's points and Urza's seem to have really hit the nail on the head. I mean it's the disrespect that made Gaitsuo (I"m not sure if I spelled it right, but last thread I looked at he resigned) quit.
> 
> Also I'd have to say despite the fact that we were all new users once, some of us learned to give respect in order to get some back. To some noobs and even some more experienced members it's all take, take, take and not give and take like a community should have.



Urza is the most disrespectful person on this entire site... I don't talk much on this site because of him and all of his followers who seem to think it's cool to be rude to people.


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## DarkSpace (Oct 3, 2008)

He may be rude, I'm not a fanboy of Urza, but his bluntness, does put things into perspective. I'm not trying to be rude, but I'm pointing out facts, or at least what I know to be facts and proving my point which just happens to coincide with Urza's


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## DarkSpace (Oct 3, 2008)

Urza's Bluntness= wake-up call
P.S. A good 80% of the times he's pretty much right.


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## Sonicslasher (Oct 3, 2008)

Uzra has told me his account has been suspended.
(quoting Urza) "And the he can go to jolly pirate doughnuts and take a 2 hour shit for all I care" :


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## ScuberSteve (Oct 3, 2008)

Urza has been suspended for three days.
He cannot take your calls.
Please leave a message after the beep.
Thank you.


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## jumpman17 (Oct 3, 2008)

This isn't an Urza discussion topic.

Back on topic.


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## AshuraZro (Oct 3, 2008)

Total number of accounts mean nothing if many are not active. There's nothing wrong with a little pruning. I would think some house keeping on old accounts would be a good thing to do anyways. Perhaps remove all accounts that have not logged in in the past 6 months and also have not made a single post at all. The kind that you can pretty much next to guarantee they won't be returning. 

I'm not a huge fan of some of the kind of people that are attracted to the forums these days but I'm not going to suggest disallowing them by any means.

So here's what I propose to do with new members. Don't limit the registration but fill the registration page with check boxes for each section of the rules. Make it so they at least have to pay a little more attention to them. Hell, you could just implement this form of a registration during big releases along with the other noticeable measures taken. I'm just saying, try harder to get the point across. Sure it can make registering inconvenient but rules are rules. Make them read the rules a little more. Shit, maybe even toss a word in the rules they have to type to continue. I'm just thinking out loud on that of course.


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## Trulen (Oct 3, 2008)

Harhar.  Internets.


I'd say no to everything requested.  


New people come, and new people go.  It's a fact most will post an annoying question, and then simply leave.  
And then of course, there's the whole "You really don't have to click the thread" button argument, if you want to throw that in there.  

But, those who do stay and actually become a part of the community, add to it.  


I joined about.. A year ago to learn up on flashcarts.  I lurked alot.  Bought a DS, without a flashcart, and built a stand for it out of Legos.  Posted those pictures. 
But then asked some questions that were asked a million times before.
But hey, I got nice answers.  So that made me stay.  And I've somehow accumulated over a hundred posts.  
Now, I wouldn't say I'm an acitve poster.  Active lurker, for sure.


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## Ace Gunman (Oct 3, 2008)

AshuraZro said:
			
		

> Total number of accounts mean nothing if many are not active. There's nothing wrong with a little pruning. I would think some house keeping on old accounts would be a good thing to do anyways. Perhaps remove all accounts that have not logged in in the past 6 months and also have not made a single post at all. The kind that you can pretty much next to guarantee they won't be returning.
> 
> I'm not a huge fan of some of the kind of people that are attracted to the forums these days but I'm not going to suggest disallowing them by any means.
> 
> So here's what I propose to do with new members. Don't limit the registration but fill the registration page with check boxes for each section of the rules. Make it so they at least have to pay a little more attention to them. Hell, you could just implement this form of a registration during big releases along with the other noticeable measures taken. I'm just saying, try harder to get the point across. Sure it can make registering inconvenient but rules are rules. Make them read the rules a little more. Shit, maybe even toss a word in the rules they have to type to continue. I'm just thinking out loud on that of course.


It's not so much about the total as it is about intent and pride.  users have come to GBAtemp and registered for whatever reason. It's something to be proud of and celebrated. And some users come back after years of inactivity. So we wouldn't want them to come back to a deleted account.

As for your second idea, the staff have talked about that before, and it's very possible we may do that, or something like that, in the near future.


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## JPH (Oct 3, 2008)

All I've got to say is everyone's a noob at one point, and kids will eventually grow up, improve their posting quality, find something better to do, etc. :/


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## AshuraZro (Oct 3, 2008)

Ace Gunman said:
			
		

> As for your second idea, the staff have talked about that before, and it's very possible we may do that, or something like that, in the near future.


I'm going to spout a few extras and add to it just for the hell of it.

How about a user's first 5-10 posts are instantly reported for review similar to that of a user reporting a post? Or to be a little more lenient, the post is checked for specific keywords like rom, download, iso, game, etc and then either flagged if it meets that requirement or it forces the user to view the rules once making that post. I'm sure that'd add some stress so that's likely something that would probably need to be disabled during high traffic but again, I'm just tossing out some more thoughts.


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## Another World (Oct 3, 2008)

beedog19 said:
			
		

> really don't think it would be a good idea. Everyone starts out as a noob so you can't really hate on them.
> 
> i came here doing research on slot 1 kits, i didn't know much about them. that did not make me a *noob* and frankly i find the constant mention of that term hilarious since we use to use it over 20 years ago in regards to phreaking. all of a sudden if you do something dumb your a "noob" or if you dont know answers before you ask your a "noob." not knowing information classifies you as a beginner. however, not researching in any form, as in not bothering to attempt to find an answer before you pos.... that is a constant problem here, as too many people add remarks to threads with out researching or knowing the facts. people just seem to want to raise their post count, and/or prove they know more than the next guy at times. also so many people post the same answer in a thread, which i still do not understand. if the second post answers the questions, why do 10 subsequent people feel they have to post the exact same answer in their own words? these are the people i would allow you to call "noobs," these are the people that need to be reprimanded in some form. poor netiquette waste space, bandwidth, and time for others on the forum who are attempting to do research or help others with their legitimate problems.
> 
> ...



no one is going to take the time to manually check over the first 5-10 posts of new users. and from a programming standpoint trying to catch certain words in the correct context would be a nightmare. no one is going to spend the time to try and write that script. consider how many ways you can type ROM, rom, r.o.m, r o  m, R0m, r-0-m, r*m, etc. and then what if it is a legit question, you would have to have a script smart enough to know how the term was being used.

-another world


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## DarkSpace (Oct 2, 2008)

Does anyone feel that we should close the registration and clean up the non-active accounts.
It may be in the wrong area! Mods could move it for me if possible.


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## AshuraZro (Oct 3, 2008)

You're the one stating that it should check context, not me. Just a simple check for the words, ignoring case. Nothing more. How many new users ask for r*ms or r0ms? They wouldn't know to avoid saying rom unless they were outright stopped from posting completely. I never said that they should be. Just flag it as reported is all. Hell, drop that down to even just their first post since if they come asking for roms that'll likely be their first post.


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## phoood (Oct 3, 2008)

JPH said:
			
		

> All I've got to say is everyone's a noob at one point, and kids will eventually grow up, improve their posting quality, find something better to do, etc. :/


the boards are full of these people and the current ta mentality approves of it.  owing a r4 is as easy as stealing mommy's credit card.  posting quality to post quantity ratio will never improve.


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## psycoblaster (Oct 3, 2008)

What is actually bothering is that we were supposed to actually check a box, saying that we have read the rules.
And even though those people that register just to make a noobish post should have actually read the rules instead of checking the box without reading. Wasn't that made for a purpose??? Weren't rules supposed to be read before actually registering to become an active member? Well, hell yes. And if the noob's first post is against the rules, then they haven't read the rules at all! that's completely their fault.
The mods really shouldn't just close a topic giving a small verbal warning, stuff needs to get serious. Everybody had a chance to read the rules, and when it is broken, then something really needs to be done.


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## Costello (Oct 3, 2008)

This topic is completely ridiculous, as is the suggestion to close registrations!
Talk about noobs...


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