[B/W] Black and White Feedback / Discussion Thread

[Forever]

Black and White Feedback / Discussion Thread
If you've got something to say about the forum feel free to express your opinion here so the forum community can discuss. Past discussions have included how to improve activity, as well as what to do with weekly polls, and things along those lines. I'll document all the past discussion points below, however the thread itself is for discussing the forum and how you can get the best out of it, so please do make use of this thread!

Past Discussion
July 2012:

Spoiler:

So as you've probably noticed lately, this section has been kind of slow - well, slow for a while. One of the main things that have been happening is that it has turned into Unova Pokemon Polls, as I like to think of it. Most of the threads are about the Pokemon, rather than the games themselves.

Now while B2W2 does exist, and it's expected that activity does die down, it's not really a good thing that the Pokemon threads outnumber anything else being made. The weekly polls aren't really to blame for that later because if you remove them, then there's 6 less being made overall.

So the issue here I think is that there's too much of an emphasis on the Pokemon of the region, which can be found in B2W2 and future Pokemon games, rather than the actual games themselves. While I don't mind an occasional few threads, they just get boring to read after a while because it's always the same things over and over, for the most part. For example, look at the most disappointing thread, not only were people posting Pokemon from other regions, but most people have posted the same Pokemon over and over. As for the Unova Pokemon not looking like Pokemon thread, again, same Pokemon over and over.

If you'd also check the posts in each of those threads, the Pokemon threads definitely outnumber everything else in terms of posts being made in those threads, other than the general "this or that game" or "favourite gym leader", etc.

While I don't really want to kill off weekly polls, because they do generate a bit of activity here, I think something has to be done about the mass Pokemon threads, because in reality, every other Pokemon gaming section doesn't have as much of an emphasis on the Pokemon - in fact, usually not even favourite from the generation because they're usually in Pokemon Voting Polls.

We'd also like more discussion but I really don't think that can happen outside the Pokemon threads.

Either way, what I'm asking here is what you guys want to see, whether you like just having threads on the Pokemon and would rather a Unova polls section not gonna happen and generally what you think can be done to improve the overall section as well as activity. So yeah, what do you guys think should be done here?

To-Do List
» Bring back weekly polls in enjoyable format, October 2012
» Revive the older threads as part of a new initiative, November 2012
» B/W Get-Together, March 2013

Other
Feedback is welcomed by regulars and by those that don't post here - I can use feedback from anyone that has thoughts on the section, really!

- Forever.

[bobandbill]

I have little interest in the comparison-betwee-Pokemon polls; if I want that I'd really just go to Pokepolls as nothing about the 5th gen ones makes them any more special or whatnot to others in terms of discussion. I'd be far more interested in actually discussing the game and its aspects, not 'Throh or Sawk?', etc.

[Forever]

Originally Posted by bobandbill

I have little interest in the comparison-betwee-Pokemon polls; if I want that I'd really just go to Pokepolls as nothing about the 5th gen ones makes them any more special or whatnot to others in terms of discussion. I'd be far more interested in actually discussing the game and its aspects, not 'Throh or Sawk?', etc.

Yeah, I understand that there. The issue however is that removing them won't really add much more to the activity, and the users do seem to like them as a "unique" thing to B/W. However, if they were removed, there's only three weeks left of polls, and while we're considering a round two of match-ups between those who won, if many of you guys thought that way, we might end up actually removing them. Definitely I'd go for the discussion over the polls, but as it is, with nobody really willing to post in the discussion threads they don't get very far and I don't think the polls sway anything away from discussion.

[AlexOzzyCake]

I've gotta admit, the reason I don't tend to post in these forums anymore is that I've already discussed the majority of what I have to say before when I used to post here. It seems to be the same topics coming up again and again, just in different forms. :3 Whilst that's not necessarily a bad thing, it just doesn't appeal to me personally. I know this isn't incredibly helpful in finding a solution, but if someone can think of a way to generate new and original topics rather than constant revival of the old ones, then I'd be much more inclined to post here. What I would say though is that Nica, your topics are great, things like "Do you regret putting time and effort into B/W?" and "Do you think your character was right in taking a stand against Ghetsis?" are very interesting to read & reply to (in fact I'll go do that now!), so if you can spark those kind of topics into the the rest of the section, I think it'd help a lot. I guess discussing things like particular story points, characters, teams that NPCs used in game, where & why Pokemon appear in certain places, etc, would be the kind of things I'd like to discuss. Incidentally I don't know why I haven't made some of these topics yet so I may just do that later. :p

As for the weekly polls and the threads discussing Pokémon, I actually love these. I really enjoy discussing Pokémon like that :3 The only thing I wonder is if they're still relevant to BW as opposed to say BW2 or Pokémon Voting Polls? Although they've worked well here for a long time so if it's not broke, don't fix it. :p

[Captain Fabio]

I always thought weekly polls were overkill; reduce to bi-weekly maybe? At least then you won't have them stealing the activity that could go into newer topics.
Also, you could restrict discussion to be strictly canon in B/W, if there is cross over happening. So, anything that is comparing between games (if that is happening) isn't allowed.

B/W is a big game, from what I remember, and there is a lot of stuff that can be discussed in here, so it is just about focusing that topical stuff like.

/no idea if relevant, was told to post.

[Aquarius1997]

I wouldnt suggest getting rid of the weekly polls because like you said it does generate visits
But we do need engaging topics because you cant really post twice in a thread describing your most dissaponting pokemon(you already said it once so what would you post next)
If i have ideas for an engaging thread i would help and post it

[Reshiram Man]

This forum right here is one of the reasons I joined PC, and it is a shame to see it die down like this.

The Weekly Polls are fine, but maybe every now and then, you could throw in something different than Pokemon vs. Pokemon, although I am not sure what you could do.

If I think of a good idea, I will try my hardest to post it and bring back the way the BW forum used to be.

[vaporeon7]

I think the Weekly Polls should remain, as taking them away won't accomplish much. But I am sick of all the same Pokémon related threads and all the threads that could just as easily be in the B2W2 forum around. I guess it's just a lot harder to make a thread with good discussion that is only relevant to BW because either they can also relate to B2W2 or that have been made before.

(We need Ole here to make awesome discussion threads again don't we?)

[Rivvon]

This isn't really a suggestion, but just my two cents on this topic:
One of the reasons why I fear making topics analyzing some of the "secrets" of BW is because with the release of B2W2, the "mystery" might have been solved, and spoilers may trickle in--and even if they're behind spoiler tags, if the mystery has been solved, what is there to discuss?
Since not everyone has played B2W2, it just creates a huge divide. And since I'm guessing that most people have played them already, or at least read up on what occurs, there just doesn't seem to be a need to post in this board.

As to how this issue can be solved, I can't really offer much of a solution. Maybe instead of Pokemon weekly polls, there could be a mix of characters and locations? It adds more to the section at least, and it does add a bit to discuss.

[Sydian]

Change weekly polls to monthly perhaps. Or if you must have them weekly, change them to not be about the Pokemon all the time, cause you're gonna run out. Have more choices. Favorite gym design, for example. I'm getting tired and can't think of many off the top of my head lol, but the polls are getting monotonous. Or you can face the music and realize no one cares about BW anymore and you're now in the club with me, Metal/Color and Advanced!

[Forever]

Just going to reply to specific posts at first and then go into a bit more detail.

Originally Posted by Sydian

Change weekly polls to monthly perhaps. Or if you must have them weekly, change them to not be about the Pokemon all the time, cause you're gonna run out. Have more choices. Favorite gym design, for example. I'm getting tired and can't think of many off the top of my head lol, but the polls are getting monotonous. Or you can face the music and realize no one cares about BW anymore and you're now in the club with me, Metal/Color and Advanced!

Yeah we could change the time period, and actually, we'll be done in 3 weeks so that could be the time for change, really.

Originally Posted by Rivvon

This isn't really a suggestion, but just my two cents on this topic:
One of the reasons why I fear making topics analyzing some of the "secrets" of BW is because with the release of B2W2, the "mystery" might have been solved, and spoilers may trickle in--and even if they're behind spoiler tags, if the mystery has been solved, what is there to discuss?
Since not everyone has played B2W2, it just creates a huge divide. And since I'm guessing that most people have played them already, or at least read up on what occurs, there just doesn't seem to be a need to post in this board.

As to how this issue can be solved, I can't really offer much of a solution. Maybe instead of Pokemon weekly polls, there could be a mix of characters and locations? It adds more to the section at least, and it does add a bit to discuss.

Originally Posted by vaporeon7

I think the Weekly Polls should remain, as taking them away won't accomplish much. But I am sick of all the same Pokémon related threads and all the threads that could just as easily be in the B2W2 forum around. I guess it's just a lot harder to make a thread with good discussion that is only relevant to BW because either they can also relate to B2W2 or that have been made before.

(We need Ole here to make awesome discussion threads again don't we?)

@ both: Unfortunately, yeah, I was just considering making a thread but it kinda doesn't lead anywhere because yeah, I haven't played through B2W2 so I don't know everything and anything we might think about or want to discuss actually leads to no sort of discussion. It's something I'm really unsure we can fix right now...

also yes, he would help!

Originally Posted by Reshiram Man

This forum right here is one of the reasons I joined PC, and it is a shame to see it die down like this.

The Weekly Polls are fine, but maybe every now and then, you could throw in something different than Pokemon vs. Pokemon, although I am not sure what you could do.

If I think of a good idea, I will try my hardest to post it and bring back the way the BW forum used to be.

Yeah that seems to be the thought to change from Pokemon. :(

Originally Posted by Aquarius1997

I wouldnt suggest getting rid of the weekly polls because like you said it does generate visits
But we do need engaging topics because you cant really post twice in a thread describing your most dissaponting pokemon(you already said it once so what would you post next)
If i have ideas for an engaging thread i would help and post it

Yeah there's really a limit on how much you can discuss Pokemon.

Originally Posted by Captain Fabio

I always thought weekly polls were overkill; reduce to bi-weekly maybe? At least then you won't have them stealing the activity that could go into newer topics.
Also, you could restrict discussion to be strictly canon in B/W, if there is cross over happening. So, anything that is comparing between games (if that is happening) isn't allowed.

B/W is a big game, from what I remember, and there is a lot of stuff that can be discussed in here, so it is just about focusing that topical stuff like.

/no idea if relevant, was told to post.

I don't really think there's any cross over really, the issue is more of the fact that B2W2 has solved everything we've wondered in B/W, leading us to go nowhere. :x BUT THANK YOU ANYWAY.

Originally Posted by AlexOzzyCake

I've gotta admit, the reason I don't tend to post in these forums anymore is that I've already discussed the majority of what I have to say before when I used to post here. It seems to be the same topics coming up again and again, just in different forms. :3 Whilst that's not necessarily a bad thing, it just doesn't appeal to me personally. I know this isn't incredibly helpful in finding a solution, but if someone can think of a way to generate new and original topics rather than constant revival of the old ones, then I'd be much more inclined to post here. What I would say though is that Nica, your topics are great, things like "Do you regret putting time and effort into B/W?" and "Do you think your character was right in taking a stand against Ghetsis?" are very interesting to read & reply to (in fact I'll go do that now!), so if you can spark those kind of topics into the the rest of the section, I think it'd help a lot. I guess discussing things like particular story points, characters, teams that NPCs used in game, where & why Pokemon appear in certain places, etc, would be the kind of things I'd like to discuss. Incidentally I don't know why I haven't made some of these topics yet so I may just do that later. :p

As for the weekly polls and the threads discussing Pokémon, I actually love these. I really enjoy discussing Pokémon like that :3 The only thing I wonder is if they're still relevant to BW as opposed to say BW2 or Pokémon Voting Polls? Although they've worked well here for a long time so if it's not broke, don't fix it. :p

Yeah I know, that's kind of the annoying thing because while I try to bring them up, people just don't really bother really replying to them. While we all have those ideas, people are just like, nope, not going to bother. And the rehashed threads are starting to become really annoying because the memberbase isn't running to BW anymore to discuss, but rather B2W2. I know it'll be worse in a few months but idk. :(

Yeah technically it could fit into PVP but it's all we really have unfortunately. XD;

----------------

But yeah thanks for your feedback thus far, guys. From the looks of it, we won't be continuing the Pokemon weekly polls (or at least maybe not? idk I'll discuss with Kaori) after this round (2/3-ish weeks) and we might try other things. If they fail, I'm not sure what we can really do. What's evident is that the section itself kind of got dealt the small straw by GF deciding on sequels rather than a third game, otherwise it would've been active still for a bit, unlike the other sections that got that, but oh well. Kind of running out of ideas here and thoughts because nothing seems to work out and it'll be worse in a few months when B2W2 is released, and even so, we won't probably get the bad "help me trade" or "rate my team" threads because nobody will be playing B/W. :x I'd love to be able to change this, but nobody else has any major ideas other than resorting the polls format unfortunately so idk what we can do. Sorry for the downer attitude but I guess I kind of hoped others had lots of feedback and thoughts. But oh well! I'll leave this open for a while to see if we can get any other thoughts, but otherwise we're just going to have to wait it out and kind of give up until the gen 5 forum, which'll be at most 2 years away, based on the past game patterns. Sigh. Thanks anyway, guys! Everyone who hasn't posted, or wants to reply to this, reply, and make threads if you can think of any, but I understand how difficult it is. I really don't know what we can do from here but yeah. :(

[Shootingace]

I don't think you should change weekly polls to monthly polls nor get rid of them. From what I've seen a lot of people really do come here. I really agree with changing them to bi-posts though, although i don't think that will help.

[EternallyAnna]

I think bi-weekly or monthly polls would be better than weekly, but I think they could be expanded upon... like bringing in City vs City or NPC vs NPC as well as 'mon vs 'mon. Or like you used to have, the more discussion-y types of polls that focused on the pros and cons of one specific thing or aspect of the games. I'm not entirely sure how that would go and I don't have any ideas about it presently but I'd be willing to talk it through and coax ideas out etc.

In the meantime I'll play Black again and see if anything interesting appears~

[Zulim]

I am still new to these forums but here is my suggestion. A lot of interesting topics would pop-up in the BW forums if there was no quick questions section. I know it is super useful but a lot of those questions are interesting and I am sure would develop in longer posts and give the forums a new activity. Just my 2 cents.

Z

[Suicune™]

Maybe there could be a weeky debate relative to Unova i.e Who is the most difficult Elite Four Member? Basically just general questions that will generate feedback and discussion between users who can voice their opinions and reasons supporting their answers. Kind of like what's going on in the RSE remake discussion thread! It could be called Question Of The Week.. or something more creative.

[vaporeon7]

Originally Posted by Zulim

I am still new to these forums but here is my suggestion. A lot of interesting topics would pop-up in the BW forums if there was no quick questions section. I know it is super useful but a lot of those questions are interesting and I am sure would develop in longer posts and give the forums a new activity. Just my 2 cents.

Z

Removing the Quick Questions thread would be a really bad idea as most of the threads that would be made would be answered in one or two posts and then would die off and just bump down other more deserving threads. We could perhaps go back to the old style of Weekly Polls like Favourite Bridge perhaps?

[CycloneGU]

My first suggestion: a better slogan than "We're still working on a better slogan". Maybe, "Catching them all since n"?

Originally Posted by Sydian

Change weekly polls to monthly perhaps. Or if you must have them weekly, change them to not be about the Pokemon all the time, cause you're gonna run out. Have more choices. Favorite gym design, for example. I'm getting tired and can't think of many off the top of my head lol, but the polls are getting monotonous. Or you can face the music and realize no one cares about BW anymore and you're now in the club with me, Metal/Color and Advanced!

No, no. 52 weeks = 104 Pokémon. You can also take a previously used Pokémon and compare it to a different one; for instance, Cryogonal vs. Beartic, who is better? Every two weeks at most, but if they go any less frequently, they will be lowering activity, not increasing it. (Though on the other hand, the polls could move to the Black 2 / White 2 forums once the North American editions come out; until they do, they should stay in Black/White.)

Originally Posted by vaporeon7

Removing the Quick Questions thread would be a really bad idea as most of the threads that would be made would be answered in one or two posts and then would die off and just bump down other more deserving threads. We could perhaps go back to the old style of Weekly Polls like Favourite Bridge perhaps?

The "more deserving threads" can always be stickied. A good moderator knows what should be visible to all members at the top and what can drop below. A couple of good threads for discussion can always be plopped at the top of the forum and, when talk dies down, unstickied. Quick questions can still mix into this particular forum very nicely - as they can with any edition forum (Platinum for instance).

(I used to be a forum moderator elsewhere years ago - can you tell?)

Cyclone

[Forever]

Not going to reply to all this time :(

Originally Posted by Zulim

I am still new to these forums but here is my suggestion. A lot of interesting topics would pop-up in the BW forums if there was no quick questions section. I know it is super useful but a lot of those questions are interesting and I am sure would develop in longer posts and give the forums a new activity. Just my 2 cents.

Z

Adding onto Vaporeon7's post, I think what would be better is if you took stuff from those questions and remade those into threads. As it is, there isn't really much I think that could work. However, another reason why the Quick Questions thread is there because it's an easy archive for questions, and if people search first they won't get caught up in the mess of the forum and get direct questions/answers in a row, pretty much.

Originally Posted by Suicune™

Maybe there could be a weeky debate relative to Unova i.e Who is the most difficult Elite Four Member? Basically just general questions that will generate feedback and discussion between users who can voice their opinions and reasons supporting their answers. Kind of like what's going on in the RSE remake discussion thread! It could be called Question Of The Week.. or something more creative.

That's more of a general question, rather than a debate... though I am getting ideas for debates, thinking about it. Hmmm we could keep up weekly polls with other things or convert to a "monthly" debate. I kinda like the latter, tbh.

Originally Posted by CycloneGU

My first suggestion: a better slogan than "We're still working on a better slogan". Maybe, "Catching them all since n"?

No, no. 52 weeks = 104 Pokémon. You can also take a previously used Pokémon and compare it to a different one; for instance, Cryogonal vs. Beartic, who is better? Every two weeks at most, but if they go any less frequently, they will be lowering activity, not increasing it. (Though on the other hand, the polls could move to the Black 2 / White 2 forums once the North American editions come out; until they do, they should stay in Black/White.)

Well, changing the forum's slogan doesn't really affect B/W, unfortunately. Also PC isn't looking to change it anytime soon, because that's actually the slogan. n_n

Well we were intending to do that, but people weren't really looking forward to that. However we can do it but without the "sticky" format. Or just maybe not the weekly poll symbol, or allow members to take on that if they want to add on some extra spark to Black and White! Also as for them going to B2W2, Kaori said B/W needs the activity more and B2W2 has lots of other concerns in terms of activity and stuff, really.

[Kaori]

Hi honey boos I'm back!

Anyway, it's no doubt this whole fall apart is because of Black 2 and White 2, which was to be expected. Now imagine the amount of activity feed we would get if the sections were combined. Still, as sad as it is, no one really cares about Black and White much anymore. And if anyone does, they're not doing anything to help the section. And that's as blunt as it gets.

So my suggestion is, if there is anyone who wants to see a change in the activity of this forum, do something. And bring up the ideas here, this thread is lacking even. As far as the weekly polls go, I think they are fine as is. What more can you do that would actually bring the polls more activity?

[CycloneGU]

I'm still fairly new, and these weekly polls form an interesting activity. It gives a great way to see if other people think like you do when comparing different Pokémon, and there are a gajollion possible pairings. What about turning it into a sort of favouratism competition? Have a bracket of 32 (64?) and pit them against each other every week, there's 31 (63) weekly polls, and boom, we have a favourite.

Cyclone

[Forever]

Originally Posted by CycloneGU

I'm still fairly new, and these weekly polls form an interesting activity. It gives a great way to see if other people think like you do when comparing different Pokémon, and there are a gajollion possible pairings. What about turning it into a sort of favouratism competition? Have a bracket of 32 (64?) and pit them against each other every week, there's 31 (63) weekly polls, and boom, we have a favourite.

Cyclone

Unfortunately that's what we were kinda planning to do and... yeah people are sick of Pokemon. XD; I guess we could always make it more competitive though, if I understood you correctly.

[CycloneGU]

Originally Posted by Requility

Unfortunately that's what we were kinda planning to do and... yeah people are sick of Pokemon. XD; I guess we could always make it more competitive though, if I understood you correctly.

You did. Battle down to find the PC coimmunity's favourite (sorry, I'm Canadian) Pokémon.

Cyclone

[Forever]

Okay guys, update to what we're going to do. After the extended idea Cyclone PMed me I just okay'd it with Kaori and she's fine so...

We'll be having a "WHO WOULD WIN" gym leader thing from next week onwards - so that means for a month. In this month we'll want YOUR help. We're having a tournament of favourites versus favourites. Users submit their 10 favourite Unova Pokemon. You can PM Kaori and I them. After we get around 20 or so submissions if we can get that, then we pit them together at random for the next few weeks in a tournament thing like we originally hoped weekly polls will be. This'll however be shorter and more user orientated. At the end there will be a style of the user-chosen favourite like we intended with weekly polls. However, while we've got that stuff on, we've still got to do a bit more!

So what I was thinking was we just have non-sticky debate threads and each week the member can decide what can be the debate and we could get a little prefix and all for that. While Kaori and I wouldn't be doing it, it'd be up to the member that has that week nominated etc with their debate. Or maybe without a prefix and we could just have something like [DEBATE] on it idk. But yeah, thoughs & any other ideas guys?

[GolurkIsDaBomb]

Even though I don't post here super often... (not sure why since I love black and white)

I think the gym leader thing is a great idea! Sounds fun and more intense. I also really like the idea of a debate, since I love debating as well. I'd definitely join in as soon as that starts up. As for more ideas... perhaps instead of a weekly pokemon poll, what about a just a weekly black and white poll? For instance... your favorite town/city or your favorite new game mechanic (c-gear, dream world, random matchup) etc.


Perhaps a weekly or biweekly theory discussion? (I know this kinda wanted to be avoided in case black 2/white 2 spoiled things or answered said theory)
Like who was Alder's partner? Why did team plasma create genesect? What were the abyssal ruins? :D

[krazzikk]

Originally Posted by AlexOzzyCake

I've gotta admit, the reason I don't tend to post in these forums anymore is that I've already discussed the majority of what I have to say before when I used to post here. It seems to be the same topics coming up again and again, just in different forms. :3 Whilst that's not necessarily a bad thing, it just doesn't appeal to me personally. I know this isn't incredibly helpful in finding a solution, but if someone can think of a way to generate new and original topics rather than constant revival of the old ones, then I'd be much more inclined to post here. What I would say though is that Nica, your topics are great, things like "Do you regret putting time and effort into B/W?" and "Do you think your character was right in taking a stand against Ghetsis?" are very interesting to read & reply to (in fact I'll go do that now!), so if you can spark those kind of topics into the the rest of the section, I think it'd help a lot. I guess discussing things like particular story points, characters, teams that NPCs used in game, where & why Pokemon appear in certain places, etc, would be the kind of things I'd like to discuss. Incidentally I don't know why I haven't made some of these topics yet so I may just do that later. :p

As for the weekly polls and the threads discussing Pokémon, I actually love these. I really enjoy discussing Pokémon like that :3 The only thing I wonder is if they're still relevant to BW as opposed to say BW2 or Pokémon Voting Polls? Although they've worked well here for a long time so if it's not broke, don't fix it. :p

Just...what Ozzy said. I agree to everything he said, couldn't have said it better myself, including liking ur thread ideas and enjoying the polls. I know all the polls might seem frivilous (Oh god I spelt that wrong didn`t I) but they are short little bundles of fun that give ppl something to look forward to every week...NO it could even be a month. You have come up with good ideas and I trust you will come up with more, but I see no reason to rephrase what ozzy said (especially when typing with the onscreen wii keyboard) because it was almost as if he posted with me in mind

Hope u are taking notes Nica!