Approving Progressing Hacks

Started by metapod23 June 1st, 2009 10:24 AM
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Male
Seen August 17th, 2016
Posted May 9th, 2015
673 posts
14.2 Years
This is not to complain about the rules for posting progressing hacks threads, but I'm very frustrated with the moderators' arbitrary rulings that don't align with the rules posted in this thread:

Progress Hacks Forum Rules

Moderators have been adding their own rules and preferences when deciding whether to approve a thread. They arbitrarily decide if the introduction that is posted is long enough, when all is required is an introduction - period. Everything else, as it states, is optional. They choose not to allow screenshots that have been attached for Lord knows what reason, or picture that are "too big" for them. As I said, they are inventing their own rules, and it becomes frustrating because nobody wants to make the same thread over and over again based on some silly moderator's personal preferences, and not the overarching rules of the forum. To do this is time consuming and pointless. Not to mention the original poster doesn't even have the option to edit the original thread that was misjudged as unworthy to be posted, so I can imagine how many unapproved threads there must be as a result. The whole thing reeks of childishness and pettiness and is very frustrating.

Logan

Age 28
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Seen July 19th, 2022
Posted November 12th, 2021
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14.5 Years
Hang on one second, Cierra and djg are two very busy people. Cierra is a very experienced mod and knows the rules off by heart. Cierra, is a very god friend of mine and he would never cheat the rules. Now, are you trying to submit something? Because you are obviously doing something wrong if it keeps getting rejected. I suggest posting it in the Scrapbox first, then when it is good enough ask Cierra or djg to move it.

Shadow

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Posted July 27th, 2021
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Specific examples of inconsistencies would greatly help your case.

Beyond that, there are multiple moderators that approve threads. It is impossible for them to have the exact same opinion on what is worthy or not. That said, they should follow the same basic guidelines, so if there are problems, it might be noted that they need to regularly refresh themselves on the rules.

It's really difficult to assess this situation without links to threads accepted and ones not accepted (as those not accepted should be moved to the Scrapbox unless they're completely nothing).
Age 29
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Posted August 22nd, 2022
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Right, let's split this up:

They arbitrarily decide if the introduction that is posted is long enough, when all is required is an introduction - period
All good intros are recommended. Your intro doesn't fit, as it is either not descriptive enough, or not good enough - period. A good intro makes a good hack. Everything needs to be presented like you would to an employer, not like a horse.

Everything else, as it states, is optional. They choose not to allow screenshots that have been attached for Lord knows what reason, or picture that are "too big" for them
Ermm... The Progressing Hacks also follow Scrapbox rules with this. So basically, things are needed. Features, Credits... The Scrapbox rules are first, and then add on the Progressing Hack rules.

The pics are likely to not be accepted, as looks determine the... well sense of the hack. too big screenshots are not recommended, as people will see pixelated images, which are not that good to look at. Attachments take too much time, and some don't work properly, and screenshots hosted in the thread can be easily pointed to, and look better than attachments, if they are the RIGHT SIZE.

To do this is time consuming and pointless. Not to mention the original poster doesn't even have the option to edit the original thread that was misjudged as unworthy to be posted, so I can imagine how many unapproved threads there must be as a result.
Read above, about treating it like a job interview. you can repost, but you have no chance to improve, as you must PREPARE first, like everyone before you. Only you have complained, so only you are doing it wrong.


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Ivysaur

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Looking at your threads, two lacked screenshots- that's an auto-reject. The latest one had barely two lines of introduction, no features at all and 656px × 425px screenshots which made them too oversized for slower connections. If you improved these factors, you'd get your thread approved.

And, in general, I trust Cierra and DJG. They are old regulars of the board (Cierra had modded for two years), so they know what is acceptable and what isn't. If you could find examples of said arbitrary rulings, I'm very interested on knowing about them, but right now we trust their judgement. They are the mods for something.
Male
Seen August 17th, 2016
Posted May 9th, 2015
673 posts
14.2 Years
Looking at your threads, two lacked screenshots- that's an auto-reject. The latest one had barely two lines of introduction, no features at all and 656px × 425px screenshots which made them too oversized for slower connections. If you improved these factors, you'd get your thread approved.

And, in general, I trust Cierra and DJG. They are old regulars of the board (Cierra had modded for two years), so they know what is acceptable and what isn't. If you could find examples of said arbitrary rulings, I'm very interested on knowing about them, but right now we trust their judgement. They are the mods for something.
The second thread had 5 images attached because I couldn't post links at the time, but they were there.

And as I said, the rules state nothing about needing a long intro, or posting specific feature. If those are the rules, then clarify them. And the images are in spoiler brackets, and aren't even that big anyway.

And it doesn't matter how long someone has been modding if they don't have very good judgment. I suggest you reread the rules in the thread I posted. The reason I didn't post a long intro to the latest thread was because I already did so in the one that was rejected for no reason since it had pictures attached. And a long intro is not required in the rules for posting a thread in the forum! Yeesh!

And if I could just edit the thread that would be different, since all of the effort I put into making it wouldn't just result in it being shoved aside like garbage. You'll have to excuse me for not posting a long intro when I just want to get the friggin thing posted already.

Logan

Age 28
Male
Salisbury, England
Seen July 19th, 2022
Posted November 12th, 2021
10,414 posts
14.5 Years
Wait one minute. You are accusing Went of being wrong, when he went through the deleted threads and checked them? And then he specified that they were not matching the forum rules? You should really preview your posts before you post them, because Went is obviously right :/
Male
Seen August 17th, 2016
Posted May 9th, 2015
673 posts
14.2 Years
All good intros are recommended. Your intro doesn't fit, as it is either not descriptive enough, or not good enough - period. A good intro makes a good hack. Everything needs to be presented like you would to an employer, not like a horse.
A good intro makes a good hack? No it doesn't. An intro has NOTHING to do with the hack itself. I'm not in this forum's employ, because they aren't paying me. This is a forum, not a jobsite. It's supposed to be for entertainment.

Ermm... The Progressing Hacks also follow Scrapbox rules with this. So basically, things are needed. Features, Credits... The Scrapbox rules are first, and then add on the Progressing Hack rules.
Scrapbox is a separate forum, though. Why should I look at the rules for posting in that when I'm trying to post in a different forum?

The pics are likely to not be accepted, as looks determine the... well sense of the hack. too big screenshots are not recommended, as people will see pixelated images, which are not that good to look at. Attachments take too much time, and some don't work properly, and screenshots hosted in the thread can be easily pointed to, and look better than attachments, if they are the RIGHT SIZE.
I couldn't care less what is RECOMMENDED. I'm just trying to follow the rules for the Progressing Hacks forum. I don't care how the thread looks when I first post it. I can go back and edit it later when I have time and add info when I think of it.

Read above, about treating it like a job interview. you can repost, but you have no chance to improve, as you must PREPARE first, like everyone before you. Only you have complained, so only you are doing it wrong.
Treating this forum like a job interview is ridiculous. It's a hack for crying out loud!

Wait one minute. You are accusing Went of being wrong, when he went through the deleted threads and checked them? And then he specified that they were not matching the forum rules? You should really preview your posts before you post them, because Went is obviously right :/
I'm not a sheep, so I don't follow what someone said blindly. Now if the rules state things that are necessary that I didn't do, then I understand. But from what I've seen they don't, so either clarify the rules in the rules thread or approve the thread based on the merits of the current ruleset.

Shadow

Original Flavor Darkness

Age 34
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The Middle of Nowhere!
Seen August 6th, 2021
Posted July 27th, 2021
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19.6 Years
The second thread had 5 images attached because I couldn't post links at the time, but they were there.
I couldn't tell you, as it's been a long time, but I'm not certain if attachments show properly all of the time in the approval interface. I'm not going to fight on this topic, but just listing that as a possibility.
And as I said, the rules state nothing about needing a long intro, or posting specific feature. If those are the rules, then clarify them. And the images are in spoiler brackets, and aren't even that big anyway.
The Scrapbox rules state at least a paragraph of information. More on Scrapbox later.

And images in spoiler tags are still loaded by everyone as soon as they load the thread, hence why even large images in spoiler tags are not allowed in certain forums. The only benefit to using spoiler tags is to allow people to not have to scroll incredible lengths to reach the bottom of the post.
And it doesn't matter how long someone has been modding if they don't have very good judgment. I suggest you reread the rules in the thread I posted. The reason I didn't post a long intro to the latest thread was because I already did so in the one that was rejected for no reason since it had pictures attached. And a long intro is not required in the rules for posting a thread in the forum! Yeesh!
And if I could just edit the thread that would be different, since all of the effort I put into making it wouldn't just result in it being shoved aside like garbage. You'll have to excuse me for not posting a long intro when I just want to get the friggin thing posted already.
Your threads should have been accessible in the Scrapbox if you wrote more than a sentence for the original intro.

"Non-approved threads from the Progressing Hacks or Hacks Showcase will be moved here (except for stub threads)." - Scrapbox forum rules, as I don't wan't to lengthen this post with yet another quote box.

If not, then yes, the moderators made a mistake. Your thread, if you wrote out a lengthy intro in the first post (I can't see it to confirm/deny), should have been posted to the Scrapbox as part of it's non-approval.
A good intro makes a good hack? No it doesn't. An intro has NOTHING to do with the hack itself. I'm not in this forum's employ, because they aren't paying me. This is a forum, not a jobsite. It's supposed to be for entertainment.
And you posting a hack is for other people's entertainment, is it not? You need to interest other people in your idea, which is what the intro does. Many facets of life use the job interview metaphor, whether or not you get any payment at all from what is being compared to a job application. There have been way too many junk ideas that never get off the ground and clutter the forum with their uselessness (just look at some of the stuff in the Scrapbox), so we need people to post decent intros to prove their dedication to their hack.

Scrapbox is a separate forum, though. Why should I look at the rules for posting in that when I'm trying to post in a different forum?
The idea is that your original thread goes to the Scrapbox. Then gets moved to Progressing Hacks. Then gets moved to Hacks Showcase. This is the theory. People used to the forum and the rules, as well as good hackers can skip some steps, but in general, that's the stairs we hope for new people to climb, to get them settled in the world of hacking as well as the forum.

I couldn't care less what is RECOMMENDED. I'm just trying to follow the rules for the Progressing Hacks forum. I don't care how the thread looks when I first post it. I can go back and edit it later when I have time and add info when I think of it.
Directors do not start throwing trailers out as soon as they start working on their movie, thinking they can go back and edit the trailers as they think of new plotline and hire new actors. They wait until they have a suitable amount of work done on the movie, then release it to the public. The Scrapbox is that five second teaser you get; The Progressing Hacks forum is the first good trailer; and Hacks Showcase is the premier.

Treating this forum like a job interview is ridiculous. It's a hack for crying out loud!
Think I hit this earlier.

I'm not a sheep, so I don't follow what someone said blindly. Now if the rules state things that are necessary that I didn't do, then I understand. But from what I've seen they don't, so either clarify the rules in the rules thread or approve the thread based on the merits of the current ruleset.
I will agree, the rules are perhaps a bit vague in some points, but I think that was more intended to help people, rather than to make them upset and confused. There should perhaps be more clarity to the process as well.
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Seen August 17th, 2016
Posted May 9th, 2015
673 posts
14.2 Years
Shadow, thanks, I really appreciate your response as I was becoming very frustrated with this forum.

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I couldn't tell you, as it's been a long time, but I'm not certain if attachments show properly all of the time in the approval interface. I'm not going to fight on this topic, but just listing that as a possibility.
Okay, I see. I wish the mod I had PMed would know that and try to help me get the thread published, though.

And images in spoiler tags are still loaded by everyone as soon as they load the thread, hence why even large images in spoiler tags are not allowed in certain forums. The only benefit to using spoiler tags is to allow people to not have to scroll incredible lengths to reach the bottom of the post.
Okay, but I didn't think the images were that big, and it's a little annoying that I have to have images and then have the thread rejected because of the images.

Your threads should have been accessible in the Scrapbox if you wrote more than a sentence for the original intro.

"Non-approved threads from the Progressing Hacks or Hacks Showcase will be moved here (except for stub threads)." - Scrapbox forum rules, as I don't wan't to lengthen this post with yet another quote box.

If not, then yes, the moderators made a mistake. Your thread, if you wrote out a lengthy intro in the first post (I can't see it to confirm/deny), should have been posted to the Scrapbox as part of it's non-approval.
I didn't realize it should have moved to the Scrapbox, thanks for the info. It doesn't seem that any of them were, and I'm certain the first two I made had lengthy intros. It would be far less frustrating to know that I could access those threads and have the chance to fix them. So I don't know why they haven't been moved there then, though?

And you posting a hack is for other people's entertainment, is it not? You need to interest other people in your idea, which is what the intro does. Many facets of life use the job interview metaphor, whether or not you get any payment at all from what is being compared to a job application. There have been way too many junk ideas that never get off the ground and clutter the forum with their uselessness (just look at some of the stuff in the Scrapbox), so we need people to post decent intros to prove their dedication to their hack.
I understand clearing out the junk. I wrote a much more lengthy intro the first time, but it wasn't approved and I was told to make at least 15 posts so that I could put image links. So I didn't want to write the whole intro over again. If the threads I made had been moved to the Scrapbox this whole thing would have been far less frustrating.

The idea is that your original thread goes to the Scrapbox. Then gets moved to Progressing Hacks. Then gets moved to Hacks Showcase. This is the theory. People used to the forum and the rules, as well as good hackers can skip some steps, but in general, that's the stairs we hope for new people to climb, to get them settled in the world of hacking as well as the forum.
Okay. I didn't even know that the Scrapbox was for that, or that my threads should be available there. Too bad the mods didn't know that either. :/

Directors do not start throwing trailers out as soon as they start working on their movie, thinking they can go back and edit the trailers as they think of new plotline and hire new actors. They wait until they have a suitable amount of work done on the movie, then release it to the public. The Scrapbox is that five second teaser you get; The Progressing Hacks forum is the first good trailer; and Hacks Showcase is the premier.
Yes, I'd actually be happy if my thread went to the Scrapbox and gave me a chance to fix it, so I didn't have to repost the whole thing. That's a good idea. I'm uncertain why it isn't being applied, though? It would be nice, too, if it were added to that rules thread (I don't think it's there, anyway), so you'd know that your thread wasn't posted to just be ignored by moderators.

Okay, thanks. I will PM a mod and request they send my threads to the Scrapbox then and see what happens.