"View new posts" and Dcemu newsposters

[arcadekidflo]

I have a suggestion . I noticed there are a lot of newsposters here , adding news from external sites

• Engandget
• Kotaku
• Slashdot/Slashdot11
• Ps3fanboy / 360fanboy / Wiifanboy/ Dsfanboy

Most users read forums using "view new posts " . But , these newsposters take up 80 % of all results , and sometimes there's 20 pages of them. That slows down the reading for users who are interested in reading just topics about their favourite console(s) or emulator(s). I had the impression this is a good homebrew discussion forum not a babelfish of news...
Can we have an option in the control panel to block some areas or users to show up when doing " view new posts " ?

[bah]

http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=92460

http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=105819

http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=2148017616#post2148017616

Members (those that haven't been driven away by the mass spamming) hate them, all the mods I've heard from hate them, this has been made clear to wraggster. But there they are, spamming away...

It has been pointed out many times that they do nothing good for the site while doing it a great disservice in terms of current members going elsewhere and the bad image it gives to newcomers.

There's obviously something about them that wraggster likes, it's clearly not related to people liking the site and enjoying the content enough to keep coming back however.

Let me know if you can think of anything other than they somehow increase advertising revenue or page ranking because computer algorithms somewhere are still stupid enough to actually think the spam bots post some kind of meaningful content. :)

[quzar]

Two words: Google rank.

[bah]

:(

A higher page rank obtained by mass spamming might lead more people to the site, but less will come back regularly.

[PSPdemon]

Two words: Google rank.

i have 4:

RSS BOTS MUST DIE!

[ExcruciationX]

This has been brought up a lot, and honestly, is probably killing the site.

[dejkirkby]

Surely Google Rank is not worth alienating the members that frequent here.

[JKKDARK]

and less people are posting on the forum since the bots are here :(

[Sonicboy 101]

This has been brought up a lot, and honestly, is probably killing the site.

Yeah. But it hasn't been dealt with since it was first said, so I wouldn't be surprised if it stays this way.

[beetroot bertie]

I can't be bothered checking out the "Xbox, Xbox360 & Zune Gaming & Hardware Forum" forum any more because of this. It just fills up with too much RSS stuff from 360fanboy. Whilst I appreciate there is something of interest in amongst it, I just feel overwealmed by it all and switch off. In addition, I don't feel like responding to something that's not from a member of the site as such. It just seems so hollow :(

[ninja9393]

I can't be bothered checking out the "Xbox, Xbox360 & Zune Gaming & Hardware Forum" forum any more because of this. It just fills up with too much RSS stuff from 360fanboy. Whilst I appreciate there is something of interest in amongst it, I just feel overwealmed by it all and switch off. In addition, I don't feel like responding to something that's not from a member of the site as such. It just seems so hollow :(

How i feel

Out of the 50,000 post all these guys made, 1 actually helped me (pointed out someone making a Metroid 2 remake)

[bah]

It seems a higher pagerank must increase advertising revenue, as if the people who click the link (now in a better position in the results) are far less likely to stay and current members are leaving then it doesn't help anything else.


I was tempted to say wraggs can't see the forest for the trees on this one, but I guess I'm just looking at it from a 'how much do people enjoy the site' perspective and not a 'how much does it make' one.

That would explain the lack of response; saying 'I know you all hate it, but it makes money' probably wouldn't sound so great.

[Shrygue]

Page ranking huh? Well, don't know if this has got to do anything with it but this what really annoys me:

http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=2147505765&stc=1&d=1210356689

At the time of posting, the top ten post author list on Boardreader (http://boardreader.com/sp/DCEmu_Forums_The_Homebrew_Gami_9208.html) is filled up the by the bots. Just wraggster, JKKDARK and myself are the only real users that appear on the list. All I can say is, just wtf, this has to be a joke.

[dejkirkby]

Page ranking huh? Well, don't know if this has got to do anything with it but this what really annoys me:

http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=2147505765&stc=1&d=1210356689

At the time of posting, the top ten post author list on Boardreader (http://boardreader.com/sp/DCEmu_Forums_The_Homebrew_Gami_9208.html) is filled up the by the bots. Just wraggster, JKKDARK and myself are the only real users that appear on the list. All I can say is, just wtf, this has to be a joke.

521 threads by bots alone. That's shocking.

[bah]

It didnt seem to go down well with the mods, but whoever posted http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=111797, that was some pretty decent satire :)

The html tags in a vbulletin post, relevant content like waffles.
Youve put a smile on my face just after waking up and I thank you for that. :)

[beetroot bertie]

Even the ad at the top of the post is for a Belgian Waffle Iron :)

I take it the ads are automated somehow based on post content? It made me smile too, but alas someone didn't like it as it's been removed.

[bah]

They're just scripts for vbulletin that spam the content of RSS feeds chosen by wraggster.

Very, VERY annoying scripts for vbulletin.


It all stems from this. (http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=167040)

[arcadekidflo]

If we can't get rid of all , then we have to vote who stays ..I say let's drop the "console fanboys" ..

[mesosade]

It didnt seem to go down well with the mods, but whoever posted http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=111797, that was some pretty decent satire :)

The html tags in a vbulletin post, relevant content like waffles.
Youve put a smile on my face just after waking up and I thank you for that. :)

;) (i'm so banned now lol)

[quzar]

;) (i'm so banned now lol)

Well, I had let you off with a warning and was going to keep it private. But since you decided to make it public rules are rules, and dupe accounts = temp ban.

You people think we're so mean because you don't see all the private warnings. Tsk.

As for the topic at hand. Well... look around.

[gdf]

The bots are bugging, who honestly uses them over the actual sites? I visit Kotaku a lot and it's a great source of news but using bots to constantly spam its news to improve Google rankings is totally ridiculous and has made me lose a significant amount of respect for Wraggster.

This seemingly profit driven way of running this site, placing advertising and revenue above the users, is entirely unacceptable and seems to fly against the principles of the original board which from what I have gathered was a tight community of Dreamcast enthusiasts.

I can't believe I'm actually considering deserting this forum for good. "A little downhill" has turned to "Outright freefall" in the last few months and this is the penultimate straw. If we drop in quality even a tiny bit more then I'll be gone.

[Shadowblind]

Two words: Google rank.

Google rank means nothing if this place is merely an infestation of RSS posters.

A shell of what it once was. Its like trading morality for prestige.

I respect few of our leaders on this site anymore.

[Sonicboy 101]

I can't believe I'm actually considering deserting this forum for good. "A little downhill" has turned to "Outright freefall" in the last few months and this is the penultimate straw. If we drop in quality even a tiny bit more then I'll be gone.

What? Noooo!!! :eek:
(If you are to leave, at least keep in touch with me :p)

Most of the people who visited are more or less gone (Gold Line, Bullhead, etc). I'll probably be gone soon, too. :(

[quzar]

It's funny to see you people complaining that the site is NOW going to crap. I was saying the same thing before ya'll joined when the PSP section was added and most of the news became advertisements for playasia/divineo/etc.

I find those MUCH more offensive than these bots. Especially the bots that stay in the bot-only forum.

[TeenDev]

this was one of the reasons I left to create my own Nintendo homebrew site(s)

[Shadowblind]

It's funny to see you people complaining that the site is NOW going to crap. I was saying the same thing before ya'll joined when the PSP section was added and most of the news became advertisements for playasia/divineo/etc.

I find those MUCH more offensive than these bots. Especially the bots that stay in the bot-only forum.

The way I compare is when I first joined. I never knew the site before it, but I'm able to ignore wraggsters playasia and Divineo crap by simply ignoring most things he posts. However, they never fill the entire New Posts sections. I haven't left up to this point, though, and I have no plans on leaving anytime soon.

Bots are repetitive and annoying.

I miss the M64 days.

[gdf]

That's the thing though, when I joined people said it was getting worse, and look at it now.

[JKKDARK]

It's funny to see you people complaining that the site is NOW going to crap. I was saying the same thing before ya'll joined when the PSP section was added and most of the news became advertisements for playasia/divineo/etc.

I find those MUCH more offensive than these bots. Especially the bots that stay in the bot-only forum.

I don't think back then all the people was complaining about the PSP addition like in the bot newsposters situation.
And I'm sure a lot of users enjoy to see updates about the new products from Divineo and Playasia.

And when a new Dreamcast game appeared on Playasia, the news were posted here. So the Dreamcast section had advertisement like the PSP.

[Triv1um]

most of the news became advertisements for playasia/divineo/etc.

I find those MUCH more offensive than these bots. Especially the bots that stay in the bot-only forum.

I obviously wasnt here when the PSP section was added.

But i totally agree about the playasia etc. ads.

I dont have too much of a problem with the bots, even though i do not agree with them. I think its fine if they all stick at 1 place, but there is a playasia spambot in the sales section, bumping down good genuine threads.

I dont agree with that.

[ninja9393]

You guys act like the Bots are the only thing wrong with this forum these days.

The Forum is now dull

What I suggest is we git rid of the bots, get more Newsposters (So we can make it easier on wraggs), we make community project (DCEmu Magazine, video game, etc.) to make the forum intresting. Look, I am not saying add JUNK (though i am not saying to not add it ;) )But, we still need to spice up these forums

I can give a shi* over the play asia crap because i just ignore it, and that at least gets wraggs money so we can even have a DCEmu

[Shadowblind]

You guys act like the Bots are the only thing wrong with this forum these days.

The Forum is now dull

What I suggest is we git rid of the bots, get more Newsposters (So we can make it easier on wraggs), we make community project (DCEmu Magazine, video game, etc.) to make the forum intresting. Look, I am not saying add JUNK (though i am not saying to not add it ;) )But, we still need to spice up these forums

I can give a shi* over the play asia crap because i just ignore it, and that at least gets wraggs money so we can even have a DCEmu
Pft. I can't even imagine these forums not dull. What is this, IGN?

Sadly, though, I'm more often then not insanely bored. So I come here often.

[ninja9393]

Pft. I can't even imagine these forums not dull. What is this, IGN?

Sadly, though, I'm more often then not insanely bored. So I come here often.

The boards were not dull a 2 years ago, hell a year ago. We had funny threads, New PSP scene, Games that the community helped with (ie Halo 2d, Sora's Adventure etc)

We can have that again if we sort out some issues

[Safari Al]

I recommend waiting for the wii scene to get larger, see how things go, then judge. I really want the psp scene to start back up. I just stared developing for it :(

[Shadowblind]

The boards were not dull a 2 years ago, hell a year ago. We had funny threads, New PSP scene, Games that the community helped with (ie Halo 2d, Sora's Adventure etc)

We can have that again if we sort out some issues
All of which left this site, mainly in the forms of the members. Vetta, Gunntims, gizmo, and other major members were either banned or left or just stopped posting. Your one of the few who still remain from the golden age.

Issues? They can't be sorted out. Some are because of those who run the site, while other issues ARE those who run the site. before you ask, I have no problem with these mods. I have a problem with they're decisions. Im pretty sure even the mods don't like what they've been having to do...

And lets face it: We can do nothing. And the people who can do something aren't allowed because of the people above them.

Theres no way back, and the cure is worse then the disease.

[ninja9393]

All of which left this site, mainly in the forms of the members. Vetta, Gunntims, gizmo, and other major members were either banned or left or just stopped posting. Your one of the few who still remain from the golden age.

Issues? They can't be sorted out. Some are because of those who run the site, while other issues ARE those who run the site. before you ask, I have no problem with these mods. I have a problem with they're decisions. Im pretty sure even the mods don't like what they've been having to do...

And lets face it: We can do nothing. And the people who can do something aren't allowed because of the people above them.

Theres no way back, and the cure is worse then the disease.

Well, you put up a good argument

I hope though DCEmu makes major changes and the site will be great again (i think)

Like this site Sarcastic Gamer (http://sarcasticgamer.com/). It was in the same situation, problems like these, Then they fixed up the forum added a few cool features and BAM! it is awesome again

I have Hope :o

[quzar]

before you ask, I have no problem with these mods. I have a problem with they're decisions. Im pretty sure even the mods don't like what they've been having to do...

And lets face it: We can do nothing. And the people who can do something aren't allowed because of the people above them.

I don't know about any other mod, but I havn't been having to do anything. The only thing I've been ideologically opposed to is having to NOT do stuff.

About the bots: there is NOTHING anyone but wraggster can do. We can't ban the bots (we tried), deleting or moving posts is pretty pointless since it's a continuous stream that is disruptive, not the old ones, and we can't really do anything else at all.

About ads: prior to the PSP section, there were no advertisements masking as news. Posts about new games would not be referrals.

It seems that the issues you all have are more to do with the fact that the PSP 'scene' is getting old and people are moving on. You blame this site as if the site itself was responsible for new stuff and the lack of new stuff must be because nobody can post with the bots around.

[Shadowblind]

About the bots: there is NOTHING anyone but wraggster can do. We can't ban the bots (we tried), deleting or moving posts is pretty pointless since it's a continuous stream that is disruptive, not the old ones, and we can't really do anything else at all.


It seems that the issues you all have are more to do with the fact that the PSP 'scene' is getting old and people are moving on. You blame this site as if the site itself was responsible for new stuff and the lack of new stuff must be because nobody can post with the bots around.

That points to the third part of my post.

------

If no new stuff come out, then we have to amuse ourselves other ways until they do. Unfortunately, I don't think anyone really knows what we can do to make this site dynamic again. If we add something like JUNK, the more 'unstable' members will flip out and start posting crap like that in other forums too, ending up in a total mess (again.)

Maybe a community project? I remember back when I had the illusion that I was actually "helping" with Sora's Adventure (the LUA game...) I was happy as a n00b.

The bots sure do add a **** of a lot of annoyance to these forums though.
@Wraggster: Do you even LIKE slashdot? As fun as it is to hear about every space capsule being launched into space...

[Mark30001]

Thanks whoever made a duplicate account here (I know who you are) and created that "Miyamoto makes claim that bots are ruining forums" thread. I thought it was hilarious.

[bah]

Im not upset at all that the PSP scene has slowed down, I have pretty much all the systems I really care about emulated nicely and all my other needs are covered by some great homebrew apps.
I would like to be able to find releases when they come out and discussion of things I find interesting though.

It'd be nice if ZX's and other peoples releases were active in the 'new posts' section long enough to be seen. The bots prevent this.

I see where you're coming from with the ads (they're not news etc), but the volume of them is so much lower its easy to ignore them in the forums.
People often seem to post in random sections so the 'show new threads' makes keeping up to date with thing much easier than checking all sections.

At least it did till the bots came to town.


The spam bots are even more damaging to the value of the site than when releases were more frequent as all people see is pages of spam. Then they make like a tree and get out of here.

EDIT: Make like a tree and leave. I sound like a damn fool when I say it wrong.


EDIT2: I bought a PSP because of the content of this site, got help using the gif eloaders, then the 2.0 downgrader, more recently the custom firmwares. Those apps and all the homebrew they have allowed me to enjoy came via dcemu.
I've downloaded firmware files from PSP hacks and a few things from qj when links here weren't working, but I've spent more time at DCemu today than I have any other PSP homebrew site cumulative.

I like to think along the way I have helped a fair few others also.


If wraggs thinks 99% spam is a good thing, why not just add http://pspupdates.qj.net/rss.xml and give up on psp-news altogether then....
*Sigh*

[gdf]

Sarcastic Gamer, you say, added some new features and had a general cleanup?

I think this is what we should do here, except remove some stuff, like the massive box of tags, the stupid buttons everywhere and all the complicated crap the just sort of gets in the way. Strip it down, remove some forums, merge some forums, help the mods out from time to time, stop with the damned newsposts and gradually start to re-introduce some form of Junk. I suppose that process has already been set in motion with the loosening of restriction of discussion in Off Topic, but I don't think it's going anywhere...The community is more mature now, because most of the wankers were driven off because the rules were tightened up (sadly that also caused many of the better members to disappear because it was boring). I think we've had the monster shift (closing Junk), and I suppose this is the hangover when irritations like the bots seem like more of a problem. The rebuilding process starts right now.

[Sonicboy 101]

I like to think along the way I have helped a fair few others also.

You helped me on my first post about PSP downgrading. :)

[Cloudhunter]

I have to agree with most of these comments. The bots do make the site look bad. I remember I used to go to dashhacks for any major releases, or DCEmu for any release. However, I can't comfortably say that I can use DCEmu to find all the news that I used to, as it's just so cluttered by bots.

By all means, keep the bots - but make it so they do not show up in the new posts, and have their own forums.

Just my £0.01 (approximately 2 cents, at the current exchange rate ;))

Cloudy

[arcadekidflo]

By all means, keep the bots - but make it so they do not show up in the new posts, and have their own forums.

Great idea !

[ExcruciationX]

I have practically left too, because things here are slowing down.

Maybe the Pandora scene will help DCEmu?

[arcadekidflo]

Can we make a petition for the newsposters not to show up when viewing new posts ? Or at least make an option in the control panel for every user to enable or disable this ..

[dejkirkby]

Can we make a petition for the newsposters not to show up when viewing new posts ? Or at least make an option in the control panel for every user to enable or disable this ..
I would happily support a petition to enable "blocking" the bots from view. But it seriously won't happen. The powers that be don't deem it to be a viable option.

[masterchief929]

i hate having to go through 5,000 news posts so i can get to one good post where we dont just say crap like "im looking forward to it" or "yay, the wii is on top" and crap like that 5 times on five different versions of the exact same article. i agree that the news bots should not show up in new posts but rather in a new link called "news posts".

[quzar]

I would happily support a petition to enable "blocking" the bots from view. But it seriously won't happen. The powers that be don't deem it to be a viable option.

You sensationalist punks make it seem like the whole staff is conspiring. It's wraggster alone. I know of no other staff member that likes the bots or wants them around, so direct your anger and frustration his way.

[Triv1um]

Lol, i think Wraggster is a bot himself.

Advertisements and badly wrote newsposts is ALL he posts.

Oh, and the one time he drank Guinness. Yay.

[JKKDARK]

Quzar, this problem was discussed on the staff forum? Did wraggster give you an answer?

[dejkirkby]

You sensationalist punks make it seem like the whole staff is conspiring. It's wraggster alone. I know of no other staff member that likes the bots or wants them around, so direct your anger and frustration his way.
To quote my post and then declare us "sensationalist punks" is quite unfair. The actual reason I typed "the powers that be" was because I didn't know who had made the decision to put the bots in place and who would take responsibility in blocking them from view. Hardly sensationalist, methinks.
Apology accepted in advance.

[quzar]

To quote my post and then declare us "sensationalist punks" is quite unfair. The actual reason I typed "the powers that be" was because I didn't know who had made the decision to put the bots in place and who would take responsibility in blocking them from view. Hardly sensationalist, methinks.
Apology accepted in advance.

I was referring to the doomsayers, yourself included. The powers that be implies a plurality or some sort of body and not an individual. I wanted to make it clear it is just that, a single person who makes that happen.

[bah]

It's really sad that wraggster wont even listen to the people who largely run the forums for him.

From the fact he never posts in any thread addressing the issue, it's clear he is well aware of the damage they do but has no interest in removing them.

The thread he started, 'introducing' and extolling the virtues of the bots a cpl weeks after he brought them in was just plain insulting as there had already been much discussion about how disliked they were. Every comment made by a mod expressed a reserved negative opinion of them.

[arcadekidflo]

Is it just me or are the bots gone ? Yaay !

[JKKDARK]

Yes, and it was announced recently ;)