But it will be best way to prevent spam in #help-and-feedback:scripting-support, bec at most of the spam, i am almost sure, that these questions are in off-topic.
Yeah I wouldn’t do this, there’s just no point. Like who wants to see some gif not jif because that’s illegal /meme which has been cloned in the hundreds in one big thread?
I guess it could be useful for a users suspension evidence?
I don’t see how letting members view the lounge/moderation dump category would prevent spam?
Why do you want to view off topic categories? Nosy much? The “Off-topic and bump posts” megathread from what I have seen (in the replies it shows if someone separated a topic), is just a dump for off-topic posts for moderation purposes. Regular “Off Topic” in lounge is accessible to regular+. So just earn that. It’s really not that difficult.
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If a user’s Roblox account has its birthday set to under 13, are they even allowed to log into the Dev Forum? I’m not under 13 so I’m not familiar with how that thing works here on the Dev Forum.
Anywho, for those still confused, OP is not talking about the “Off-topic and bump posts” megathread; rather, they are talking about the Lounge category.
I don’t think OP is trying to be “nosy.” I think they are saying that letting non-regular members post in Lounge would prevent spam because instead of users posting off-topic posts in development-related categories, they would instead just post their off-topic discussions and memes in the Lounge category, and that would keep the development-related categories cleaner.
I would support OP’s idea if it weren’t for the following:
- Non-regular members already can’t post in the Discussion category without messaging Post Approval
- The Lounge category is already used for posting random memes, sensitive information, and profanity, and those Regulars who currently use the category mostly do not want non-regular members to see that stuff.
- Roblox seems to want this forum to be as focused on development as possible, and probably doesn’t want more chances for off-topic discussion to happen on a forum called the “Dev Forum.”
But maybe there could be a special new version of the Lounge for non-regular members, perhaps with post approval in place similar to the platform feedback category. It would further help to make Roblox live up to what they said when the original public forums shut down: “we’ll be investigating options to re-build forums that better serve you, our community, and our goals in providing a safe and constructive environment.” It could also prevent users from posting non-Roblox-related posts on development-related categories since they would know to just go to the non-regular members’ Lounge.
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You need to be 13+ to use the forum. If you believe a user is <13, send a PM to DET about it so they can investigate.
As for the rest of your post, this is called DevForum for a reason. It was not meant to be the general public forum (RIP 2006 – 2017 
) . Plus how often do you need to talk about something not about roblox? Just do it in roblox group on the main site at that point. Or maybe open a DM with some friends to discuss.
Literally, getting access to lounge is as easy as getting regular. TL;DR you don’t need lounge as a member to use the forum. Lounge doesn’t improve/worsen your experience on the devforums
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Getting regular is more difficult for those with busy lifestyles and those who don’t post in post approval-restricted categories that often. It was recently specified: “[Regular] is the rank that is given to active users who frequently make use of the Post-Approval-restricted categories of the forum and have a clean forum moderation record. Regulars are trusted enough to post in the restricted categories without needing approval first.” (source)
There may be people who make many high-quality contributions to the Dev Forum, but do not frequently post in post approval-restricted categories and/or have experienced some minor moderation. They will be unlikely to get regular, and thus unable to access the Lounge just because of that.
This forum was as much of a Dev Forum before it was opened to the public (i.e. before automatic promotion was added to replace the application system) as it is today. Almost nobody had the rank of “New Member” (now “Member”) until that automatic promotion system was added, so all people who submitted applications and got accepted into the forum were presumably given access to Lounge.
The original public forum had an Off Topic category, and when that category was removed due to the forum consolidation where “Roblox News & Discussion” was added, Roblox probably mainly did that because of raids and toxicity and spam and illegal content being posted, and Roblox completely deleted the entirety of the public forum shortly after the consolidation. If Roblox meant anything by “we’ll be investigating options to re-build forums that better serve you, our community, and our goals in providing a safe and constructive environment,” it must have been the Dev Forum, since they made the Dev Forum public shortly after. Thus, I can kind of see why a Lounge category for non-Regular members may be added.
Group walls are very limited and are difficult to work with, due to glitches, the filter, the captcha, the character limit, and lack of easy searching or organization or categorization. They are not a good alternative to forums. DMs are also not public if your aim is to have a public discussion and find new people to discuss the topic with.
Indeed, a Lounge category for non-Regular members probably isn’t totally necessary, but some people refuse to use other services for ethical reasons, and it would help the forum live up to potential expectations that newly-promoted (namely to what is currently the “Member” rank) individuals may have of being able to have discussions similar to how people used to on the original public forum. Plus, it could prevent people from making off-topic discussions on development-related categories, and it would allow discussion of even more Roblox-related topics than the Discussion category currently allows (based on its description).
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That is not the post approval+ team’s problem.
It’s in the name: Developer Forum. What is the point of a user who has never touched studio browsing devforums just for the sake of getting into lounge?
Duplicating lounge just because one user can’t get regular doesn’t seem like enough reasoning to get something added.
If people are posting off topic categories in help and feedback, that is their issue. We as the community can flag the posts, and staff can further handle the inappropriate post.
tl;dr Just get regular. I’m gonna repeat this because that is how you get lounge
I didn’t say it was. I’m not sure it really matters.
I’m not saying that non-developers should be able to join the Dev Forum just to access the lounge. I’m suggesting that it may be worth giving members of the Dev Forum who are not Regulars access to some version of the Lounge so that they can have other discussions in addition to their postings on development-related categories, with the members almost entirely being developers, creators, artists, etc. Basically, I’m saying that Lounge could be a side thing for other Roblox-related and off-topic discussion in a safe environment. I’m not trying to say that people should be able to join the Dev Forum just to have off-topic discussion.
It would be useful for more than just “one user,” and more than just the kinds of users and cases I have previously described. Even regulars could access it. As Roblox grows, so will the Dev Forum, and you can expect more users with busy lifestyles and who do not frequently use post approval-restricted categories. Besides, most of the active users on the Dev Forum nowadays (or at least those who post on categories accessible by non-regular members) are non-regular members, and it can take quite a while to get regular depending on the user. Please understand, I can’t be the person to give specific statistics, I’m just the person suggesting potential ideas.
But that won’t permanently stop off-topic posts. We will keep flagging them, but they will still keep posting them.
The whole point of this thing that me and OP are suggesting is that it’s a suggestion. If somebody suggests a new idea with potential benefits, you can’t just say “you can still do it the old way because the old way exists already” if there are potential benefits to the new idea, which I believe there are in the case of what me and OP are suggesting.
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I completely disagree with this because as other already said this forum is meant for discussion of development related activities and not off-topic conversations.
I 100% disagree with this idea. An off-topic category would just cause so much chaos. There already is enough horribly written posts out there as of right now. We don’t need a new location for wrong topic posts, quick posts, or TOS violating posts to be held. As @wevetments said just flag them if they’re off topic. I doubt I’d need to go in much detail if you can image just from looking around what would go on. Also it’d cause problems cause fights could brake out and be appealed claiming It’s for off-topic information.
Ok, so why the category is here. I dont see why Regular can view it an Members not. Also, Regular is also for frequent posting to post approval categorys. So it will be good idea to make Member+, that will be only for solutions, … and with it I can post in discusions, … but not make topics.
What?.. No offense but I don’t understand a thing you said. I think if you mean that why there shouldn’t be an off-topic category I think he means cause the Forums are about Development not a Social Media. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
EDIT: Also Regulars earn their right to post and know what to say and how to say it without creating drama or chaos.
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Can everyone please remember that he is saying he wants Members to be able to view the Lounge Catagory. Not post in it.
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I’ve seen mixed signals, but let’s say OP wanted non-regular members to be able to view some form of the Lounge and be able to either create topics or reply to topics with post approval. To be fair, discussions on the Discussion category aren’t always 100% directly related to development, but non-regular members can post there (mostly by going through post approval) anyway. Also, there was a point in the existence of this forum where all members had access to the Lounge because nobody was a New Member.
So, maybe a non-regular members’ Lounge could be about other Roblox-related or only-sorta-Roblox-related discussions, and it could also be very useful for when threads on other categories are going off-topic so the discussion can continue in non-regular members’ Lounge.
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If that’s the case there is no point. I don’t see the point in being able to view if you cannot talk in it if It’s just a hangout.
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Remember to flag posts if they are violating the rules of the Developer Forum. It only takes a few seconds to flag one, so please do it to keep the forum clean from spam.
I don’t think that making the off-topic subcategory of the lounge viewable by members is the solution to prevent off-topic posts. The only solution for this (on my opinion) is flagging the off-topic posts so the moderators (Developer Relation Team) can take care of them and notice the poster.
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I can see some value to members having view-only access to the Lounge category as we have encountered some requests in PA that best suit Lounge but have told members to wait until they are regulars and then post the thread then. We have moved a few threads to Lounge and at times it may be helpful for members to gain information normally not posted on regular categories or look over some past conversations about topics that may hold interest to them.
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I think this is a bad generalisation of regulars. There have been instances where they have posted unsavoury content up to misusing Platform Feedback categories. I don’t think it’s particularly accurate to say that regulars know exactly what they’re saying or that they don’t create drama, this varies between regulars. Do note that regular promotions are also automated. Contributions and good standing are valued but it’s not above them to hit lows as well.
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If members get even read access to lounge, they’re gonna want to use post approval to get a post in lounge. Then people are gonna start using it just for off-topic, then word is gonna spread and people will start joining solely for off-topic access, defeating the purpose of developer forum. Then it’s gonna become the roblox forum again.
Please don’t.
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Isnt it job of post approval to prevent it?