Ho-Oh

used Sacred Fire!

Age 31
Female
QLD, Australia
Seen June 5th, 2022
Posted April 23rd, 2022
35,988 posts
17.5 Years
In tpc Vrai mentioned that he was discussing earlier how hard it is to promote discussion because people (most of the time) tend to reply to questions in a "1, 2, 3" format, rather than just reply to the thread as a whole without being limited to an exact question (for example asking a few questions in a paragraph discussing the overall question) - the latter creating more discussion.

Example of the 1, 2, 3 format:
1. Do you like this?
2. Why don't you like this?
3. What would you change about this?
So! Do you reply to every question that may be asked when a new thread is made even if it's not in a question one, question two, question three type format? Or maybe you prefer to formulate your own responses based on the overall idea of the topic? Do you think replying to questions in the 1, 2, 3 format within a paragraph still allows you to expand on your answers? Or maybe you think that threads not written out in a question one two three type manner should not be replied to in that way. You may even just like reading 1, 2, 3 type posts because they're quicker to read and get the point across quicker.

Either way, share your thoughts on how you feel about this and whether we should aim to promote posts that are able to create discussion around PC, or just create simple posts which limit discussion but at least get your thoughts out there.

Because really, I think we should be creating discussion (even in sections such as OVP, where small discussion is allowed) rather than answering everything as a set of questions. And I know I prefer reading posts that aren't just replying to a set of questions because they're generally more interesting in my opinion. Hopefully this makes sense. :D

King Gumball

Haven't been here for ages...

Male
Sydney
Seen April 8th, 2013
Posted April 8th, 2013
2,178 posts
12.8 Years
I prefer it if people stopped using the 1,2,3 format because it does create more discussion as it allows members more opportunity to reply to others' responses if they make their answers more broad. I only ever use the 1,2,3 format if it is direct questions or if I am in a rush, otherwise 90% of the time I reply to questions as a whole.
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Vrai

can you feel my heart?

Age 28
Male
Seen October 24th, 2022
Posted April 1st, 2016
2,896 posts
14.9 Years
forced to say stuff even though i am in the op

Wellll, honestly, I really dislike those posts that bold and enumerate and specify questions. People that see threads like that just read the OP, scroll down to the Quick Reply box, and click Post and don't really read other people's posts. Well some people do, but really other people's posts don't have much of an effect on them other than perhaps bringing another idea to light in their head or something. The point being, the idea of a forum is to have people discuss topics. It's hard to discuss things when you're presented with a questionnaire and you just have to fill it out, click post and move on.

Discussion is also lacking in places outside of OVP, too - forums like B/W lose their discussion when all the posters have to do is say "yes i liked this! i liked it because this!" in every single post. No one argues in threads like that, and while I generally dislike being a part of an argument, arguments are discussion and honestly I think they should be promoted (not flaming/trolling etc. though). And yes, scrolling through threads where everything is just a reply to questions gets annoying, if not only for the repetitiveness in the appearance of posts but also in the substance of posts. People are bound to say the same thing eventually in that manner.

tl;dr I'm against 123 posts. Pro-Discussion.

Oryx

CoquettishCat

Age 30
Female
Seen January 30th, 2015
Posted December 27th, 2014
13,184 posts
12.2 Years
I try not to, but...it happens. It's just so easy when the OP usually lays out a nice set of questions for you to answer xD;

One thing that I've seen done on other forums that seemed to work kind of well was not forming discussion jumping-off points as questions, and if they are as questions, not yes or no ones. They would have something like:

Discuss:
-Your feelings on the Pokemon breeding
-The implications of mass breeding/releasing
-The realism aspect
(Note: I just made that up, there's no thread out there like that as far as I know.)

But then there are some question-based ones that actually are really well phrased, and give you a lot of room to answer freely, which really does facilitate discussion. But so far on PC, the threads with the most discussion haven't had many questions on them. Then again, they were all mostly super controversial so they didn't need them, lol.


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Opposite Day

too old for name changes

Age 30
Male
∞Rain town, Norway
Seen August 12th, 2014
Posted August 12th, 2014
974 posts
14.9 Years
I just answer whatever I feel like answering, be it a reply to other posters in a thread or the original post.

The only case where I would actually advocate using the 1,2,3 format is when you're simply trying to run a poll or try to find out "what is the public opinion on _____" (and then again you'd have to make tons of opinions to get an accurate result etc), otherwise I'm in the mindset that it prohibits discussion and turns the thread into a "post what you think and care not about what others think, because this is a pc++ thread!"

Just my two kroner tho.
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Aquacorde

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Age 29
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Ankh-Morpork
Seen 22 Hours Ago
Posted 2 Days Ago
12,277 posts
18.9 Years
In the 1, 2, 3 format I generally answer every question. And with that format I don't really feel like there's any room for discussion. I quite like small discussion.

The format Toujours presented seems like an awesome way to incite a discussion and keep it going. Maybe more threads here could use that?
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Esper

California
Seen June 30th, 2018
Posted June 30th, 2018
Do you reply to every question that may be asked when a new thread is made even if it's not in a question one, question two, question three type format?
Sometimes. It depends on the topic and how I'm feeling.

Do you think replying to questions in the 1, 2, 3 format within a paragraph still allows you to expand on your answers?
Sometimes. It depends on the topic and how I'm feeling.


All kidding aside, I do like that topics have some jumping off points with ready-to-go questions. Those tend to get more people responding and without input a thread may as well not exist. In that sense it's great to have them. I don't always like them if I'm interested in the topic and want to see more discussion though. I dunno. Sometimes it feels like if you don't follow the 1-2-3 format (if there is one) you're not really participating properly in the topic, like you're just being difficult. Just a passing impression.

Toujour's alternate example for starting discussion is pretty good though because it doesn't limit people in their responses the way yes-no questions do. There's more room. However, they can also get a lot of the "I agree/disagree with this" or "I like/don't like this" answers since not everyone is going to go into detail beyond their general impressions. In those cases it's nice to have some follow up questions to get more interesting conversation going.

Really, I'm all for no 1-2-3 discussions if we actually get discussions going. I've tried making 1 or 2 threads in the past without using that format and they didn't last long. Threads styled like that don't seem to last unless it's a pretty hot topic.

Vrai

can you feel my heart?

Age 28
Male
Seen October 24th, 2022
Posted April 1st, 2016
2,896 posts
14.9 Years
The format Toujours presented seems like an awesome way to incite a discussion and keep it going. Maybe more threads here could use that?
I really agree. Toujours' method is kinda like a balance between the 123 method in the idea that it kinda directs the discussion but the fact that it's not spelled out exactly really helps force the people posting to prod their own thoughts and simply not auto-respond to the questions. Plus, it almost indirectly challenges them to look at other people's posts to see what they said and to perhaps let them add to what they were going to say too.

WriteThemWrong

LetMeHearYourPokemon's___ Voice

Age 31
Male
Tucson
Seen September 22nd, 2011
Posted June 19th, 2011
1,130 posts
14.3 Years
It's how most people are taught to write. First, state your opinion on something then say why it is. And then when you get tons of people asking simple questions all you get is easy short answers. I guess we could ask people to compare and contrast Dragonite and Salamence but most of the time it's which do you like more.

It also seems like a lot of people here are hesitant about explaining what their opinions are, especially in debate threads. It might be because we have younger posters or they're afraid it will turn into something hostile but either way its a lot easier to just say how you feel about something and maybe how you feel about it.
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