Introduction
In the recent days/weeks I’ve been noticing more and more flags on posts. Now, most of these are in fact legitimate flags, but some of them are not. I think that there are many things to blame here, the user flagging, the author of the post, etc. I think the most important thing is the instructions, in this topic I’ll be going over the reasons why the guidelines for a select category should experience an overhaul in order to be more clear and easier to understand.
The Problem
Unclear rules can cause many problems, I’ve listed some below.
- Unnecessary Topics
- Accidental Rule Violations
- Unnecessary Flags/Reports
- Confused Users
- Unnecessary Arguments
Development Discussion
We all know that there is an issue with #development-discussion. Now, lots are to blame here, users that don’t know the rules, false flagging, basically this is the worst it gets on the DevForum. There can be the occasional good discussion, but usually, it’s junked up with topics that are more than questionable. I’ll be going through here and marking how vague and inconclusive these rules can be.
1. Topics should contribute something to developers
Your topics should be seen as a contribution to developers, whether to educate or to engage them. Your topic should be from the perspective of a developer, not a player. This is not a category for any miscellaneous topics.
This is one of the broadest rules there are. Contributing could be sharing my opinion, scrips, models, etc.
2. Topics should encourage discussion
Something simple like a quick poll or question won’t do! Thoughtful discussion will improve the experience of everyone involved.
I could just put ‘discussion’ in the title of my topic and it would automatically qualify for this rule.
3. Topics should be specific
Is your topic too broad and leading to multiple off-topic discussions? Your post should be about something specific, rather than turning into a chatroom setting where replies are hard to follow. For more casual discussion, either directly message developers or use #lounge (note you have to be a Regular first.)
I would say this rule is decent, however, you could modify it by editing Discourse’s minimum word count for creating a new topic. At least 50w+
4. Topics should not be for other concerns
Use #resources to share tutorials or assets. Use #platform-feedback for requesting changes to Roblox or reporting bugs. Use #help-and-feedback for issues with your game or development. For other issues, please contact roblox.com/support .
It’s not clear what an ‘other concern’ is. I could make a post called “What do you feel about Rthro”. Even though his post does in fact concern development, as Rthro is used in, there will be a heated discussion over to flag or not to flag.
Development Discussion: Conclusion
When we take a look back, #development-discussion should be having more strict rules/more clear rules. 98% of the issues caused in the category are based on people arguing or posting on the wrong channel. Most of these issues could be solved by updating the rules to make them more understandable, but at the same time still strict and clear.
Conclusion
The real reason #development-discussion is so chaotic is because the rules are unclear and people use it as a “crap-posting” channel. When they can find anywhere else to put their topic they bring it right to #development-discussion thinking that the keyword “discussion” means it’s a sort of community chat. This feature request is asking that you update the rules of #development-discussion to make them more clear and understandable.
