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Question: Mis-Leading Titles

181
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12
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I've seen quite a few of these around the forums. They are quite irritating. Whenever you want to find something, you actually can't because the title doesn't relate to the thread's topic at all! Is there a reason why a lot of people do this? Couldn't they just use titles that relate to the topic?
 

TwilightBlade

All dreams are but another reality.
7,241
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Some folks like making a catchy title. However, if you ever suspect that a thread title is a little too far-off to get the subject across, contact the section moderator or report the thread. Someone will take a look at it and decide if the title needs a change or not. No worries. :D
 

Volim te

I am the alpha and the omega!
6
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10
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It is like that on most forums they do that to "catch" your eye as long as it's not too off topic it should be gravy.
 
1,254
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  • Seen Sep 12, 2016
As long as the contents and the the title are related, it's fine.
If it's not, as in 100% misleading, you might need to report it,
if you think they are that misleading.
 
14,092
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I think there's a difference between someone trying to be witty with a title and just outright making something up, and more often than not, I think it leans towards the latter. It can be annoying I guess, although I usually read through the whole thread anyways, not just looking at the thumbnail. You can always report if it's a noticeable enough discrepancy.
 
Last edited:
37,467
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  • Age 34
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Thread titles in Chit-Chat & Polls are crazy, and I've thought about it before. But that's pretty much okay, since that section overall is meant to be casual and fun, right?
 
4,569
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It actually really bugs me too. The worst thing is that I still haven't seen one that actually is clever and funny. But it's harmless so I don't put too much thought into it.

Another forum I tend to visit that also like witty titles tend to have the official thread name first, then after that a dash and a witty "comment". I like that because at least you know what the thread's all about and all the people that like these sorta comments can see them too.

Something like this:
The Food Thread - May contain Nuts. (there isn't something like that by the way lol)
 
10,673
Posts
14
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  • Age 30
  • Seen Dec 30, 2023
I suppose that my alternative suggestion would be that we add some sort of sub-heading below the thread title. One that actually looks quite nice aesthetically, and which is a completely optional addition when making your thread. As well, these could easily be edited by moderators to add a more relevant title to them. It would help within forums that tend to get these "mis-leading titles". So here's a quick mock-up to further explain what I mean:

Spoiler:


Perhaps something like that could work, and it's a feature I've actually thought about for a while now. Pretty easy to implement also.
 
37,467
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16
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  • Age 34
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In that case, would it be possible to move the original poster's username a bit, so that it might look less cluttered?

Spoiler:
 
10,673
Posts
14
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  • Age 30
  • Seen Dec 30, 2023
Yep, repositioning is also completely possible. It's just a matter of the best design. So making it less cluttered would be perfectly plausible.
 
9,535
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  • Age 29
  • Seen May 11, 2023
I suppose that my alternative suggestion would be that we add some sort of sub-heading below the thread title. One that actually looks quite nice aesthetically, and which is a completely optional addition when making your thread. As well, these could easily be edited by moderators to add a more relevant title to them. It would help within forums that tend to get these "mis-leading titles". So here's a quick mock-up to further explain what I mean:

Spoiler:


Perhaps something like that could work, and it's a feature I've actually thought about for a while now. Pretty easy to implement also.

I love this idea. It's used on a few other forums that I visit and sometimes they get just as misleading or people end up using them instead of actual thread titles which can get annoying (though maybe that's more of a personal dislike) but I think they'd work well here. It'd help in clubs especially as we always end up putting "XXXXXX-type club" in brackets after the name if the club's title is too vague so it'd allow for some more creativity there if it can just go underneath instead. I'm all for it!
 

fenyx4

HOENN CONFIRMED!
1,761
Posts
15
Years
I've seen quite a few of these around the forums. They are quite irritating. Whenever you want to find something, you actually can't because the title doesn't relate to the thread's topic at all! Is there a reason why a lot of people do this? Couldn't they just use titles that relate to the topic?

Yeah, as others have said, a lot of users like to make thread titles that have "pizzazz". XD I think I'm guilty of this in a lot of the threads I've made; "simpler" titles just seem to bore me a bit despite providing more clarity most of the time... Come to think of it, I recently made a thread (intended for discussion about the new type matchups and interactions/minor type-based mechanics in Pokemon X and Y...) wondering whether "Type Matchup Roundup" would be easy enough to understand (because "Type Matchup Discussion" or some similar variant just sounds a bit boring, to be honest :P)...

I suppose that my alternative suggestion would be that we add some sort of sub-heading below the thread title. One that actually looks quite nice aesthetically, and which is a completely optional addition when making your thread. As well, these could easily be edited by moderators to add a more relevant title to them. It would help within forums that tend to get these "mis-leading titles". So here's a quick mock-up to further explain what I mean:

Spoiler:


Perhaps something like that could work, and it's a feature I've actually thought about for a while now. Pretty easy to implement also.

In that case, would it be possible to move the original poster's username a bit, so that it might look less cluttered?

Spoiler:

I love Abnegation's suggestion and Red's Hawt Chili Pelippers' repositioning looks quite nice as well. For some reason, I feel like I've seen someone bring up this thread's very complaint/suggest what Abnegation has exactly suggested before on PokeCommunity...perhaps within this "Community Questions" subforum itself! But yeah, this modification would be great so that people who want "catchy" thread titles can still use them while providing exceptional thread title clarity to other users who prefer clarity over "catchiness/wittiness". :)
 

Honest

Hi!
11,676
Posts
15
Years
I suppose that my alternative suggestion would be that we add some sort of sub-heading below the thread title. One that actually looks quite nice aesthetically, and which is a completely optional addition when making your thread. As well, these could easily be edited by moderators to add a more relevant title to them. It would help within forums that tend to get these "mis-leading titles". So here's a quick mock-up to further explain what I mean:

Spoiler:


Perhaps something like that could work, and it's a feature I've actually thought about for a while now. Pretty easy to implement also.



Wait, that'd actually be awesome. It'll come in handy for moderators too, I'd imagine, making life easier when it comes to repeat threads.
 
10,673
Posts
14
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  • Age 30
  • Seen Dec 30, 2023
There could just be a rule against misleading thread titles.
That would be verrrry subjective. It's hard to judge what is "misleading" and what is "on point" when it comes to thread titles. While a lot of what moderators have to do is based on subjectivity, there's plenty of rules we did not create due to being far too much within grey areas. This would be one of them, and I feel it would also diminish the fun for users. While I'm all for clarity, I also always prefer to give users options rather than negate their freedom with rules. In this case, sub-titles are the compromise, and I'd choose such a compromise rather than have to start infracting and warning people for using quotes as thread titles. Interpretation is a deep pool with many diverse minds, so it's often hard to judge whether or not they deem a sentence to be clear or not.

Regardless, I'm very much keen on creating something in which is both clear, informative, and aesthetically pleasing in what I suggested earlier. The designs posted are examples as opposed to finalities, and both those and the suggestion are preliminary. I'm sure there could easily be a compromising layout for the suggestion which would be aesthetically pleasing (because really, as much as this suggestion is informative, it's also about the design).
 

curiousnathan

Starry-eyed
7,753
Posts
14
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While, the subtitle feature sounds like a really good idea, I think it may be just a tad redundant. It's not that hard for one to simply show some creative restraint and find the balance between wittiness and clarity.
 
37,467
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16
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  • Age 34
  • Seen today
That would be verrrry subjective. It's hard to judge what is "misleading" and what is "on point" when it comes to thread titles. While a lot of what moderators have to do is based on subjectivity, there's plenty of rules we did not create due to being far too much within grey areas. This would be one of them, and I feel it would also diminish the fun for users. While I'm all for clarity, I also always prefer to give users options rather than negate their freedom with rules. In this case, sub-titles are the compromise, and I'd choose such a compromise rather than have to start infracting and warning people for using quotes as thread titles. Interpretation is a deep pool with many diverse minds, so it's often hard to judge whether or not they deem a sentence to be clear or not.
Well. We already have that rule in Pokémon General :D The previous mod had it listed before so we brought it along to our new rules. It's more of a general "you know you should"-thing though, maybe not even necessary to state there but. As with all of the forum, if people use their common sense.
 
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