Discord Server - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Soriman the Whide · 04-11-2021, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morthoron

The BBB gives Discord an "F" rating. That would be "F" as in Failed Grade (on an A+ through F letter-grade scale).

Sure but the BBB itself has not accredited Discord with any rating at all and states so very visibly on the page you linked. "This business is not BBB accredited."
The rating you may be getting confused with is a rating generated automatically based on the 126 user generated complaints, did you know discord has over 300 million registered users as of last year?
If you value these 126 reviews as a realistic indicator of Discords value then please consider that just for the mobile version of the application Google has a user review score of 4.5 out of 5 based on just short of 3 million individual reviews.

Bad things happen on the internet, people are going to abuse it, it happens to every platform. I think you're really grasping at straws if you try to claim that 126 negative user reviews are evidence that a platform is no good.

That said, I do not think discord is a good option for this website and I was wrong. I was perhaps a little bit hasty to defend the idea in the first place but it was slightly upsetting to see a good idea shot down over arguments I don't believe hold much weight.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

As for the spam, I think you speak from ignorance on that count.

I was aware this place had been spammed in the past as I had read the thread about the implementation of the spam filter right after joining up as i though my anti-spam question was pretty cool and unique to this website.

I failed in making my point clear which was that anyone at anytime can choose to come and raid or spam anywhere online at any time. Even with the anti-spam filters in place on the Barrows you are at risk of being spammed again, it would just take a slightly more dedicated group to do so. In my opinion you are at just as much risk of getting raided here again as you are on a discord server which provides an assortment of tools to deal with these types of issues.

Soriman the Whide · 04-11-2021, 10:42 AM

I've been having a little look at the Better Business Bereau Morthoron please take a look at this and see how easy it is to get the wrong impression of a website.
https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/menlo-park...674/complaints

Ring Bearer · 04-11-2021, 11:39 AM

I would like to know how does this Forum work??

I actually wanted to post a reply to a Movie speculation thread by Mister Underhill--last active before I was even born in 2001.{http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthread.php?t=8828&goto=nextoldest}

P.S. Are u guys the oldest LOTR Forum on the Internet?

Galadriel55 · 04-11-2021, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ring Bearer

I would like to know how does this Forum work??

I actually wanted to post a reply to a Movie speculation thread by Mister Underhill--last active before I was even born in 2001.{http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthread.php?t=8828&goto=nextoldest}

Hello Ring Bearer, welcome to the Downs!

The forum works very simply. If a topic interests you, just post what you have to say, no matter how old the thread. Old threads have been resurrected before, there's no limit to how recent it must be to post in it.

In terms of introductions and other questions, a good place to start might be here. Feel free to use this thread for general questions about the forum, while you're getting used to it. There is also this recent thread, which is another appropriate place to ask questions about the forum.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ring Bearer

P.S. Are u guys the oldest LOTR Forum on the Internet?

I can't speak to that, but it would be rather cool if we were. After all, the Downs is about to turn 21 this May!

Snowdog · 04-12-2021, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ring Bearer

Are u guys the oldest LOTR Forum on the Internet?

Hey Ring Bearer, yes, Barrow Downs is one of the old legacy Tolkien sites that cropped up in the pre-Peter Jackson Lord of the Rongs fanfic days (1999 I think on the old EZ Board?) Another one that is still around pretty much in it's original tech, though has very little use these days, is Entmoot. I believe they started on EZ Board in 1999 as well. The One Ring (.com 1999) has just this year renovated the tech platform, and Tolkien Forums, another original 1999 EZ Board forum, tech-renovated a couple years ago and is pretty solid and has a core of active members. Sadly, Minas Tirith (.com) crumbled into dust a year or so ago. They got started in 2000.

As for the whole Discord thing, I find it to be yet another distraction to take away use from forums when a site has a server.

Bethberry! Good to see ya!

Zigûr · 04-13-2021, 06:07 AM

I don't mind discord, but I think it skews towards a different style of posting and a different kind of user than an old-school forum like the Downs. That being said, I think there might be some decent-sized "modern" discussion platforms where people are discussing Middle-earth in a context that is grounded in the books, like r/tolkienfans on Reddit. I don't have a reddit account but it seems that way from a bit of lurking.

Comparatively speaking I think I'm still a bit of a newbie here (yes, despite posting semi-regularly for nine years). But the Downs is one of two forums I'm part of that keeps alive the flame of late 90s/early 2000s forum culture but with all the trolls etc filtered out over long years of survival and consistent users becoming familiar with each other. It's not really the kind of place that needs to be dragged kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century.

Morsul the Dark · 04-13-2021, 06:38 AM

To be honest I’m on a few discord groups that are all lovely. I would say it’s unlikely to serve the function wanted. A discord doesn’t grow a platform it’s an outcrop of the current group.

As an example one group is a fan base for a podcast the podcast gets roughly 10thousand listeners a month, 5000patrons, and maybe 50-100 Discord users.

And 100 is sort of the sweet spot. I’ve been in Discord’s with 1k+ people and it’s just spam, not even bad spam just too many people trying to have conversations. At once and you can’t follow. Like a theatre of people all talking, it’s just noise.

However, for the downs I would probably support a discord if the base was much more active, again as an offshoot.

If you’re looking to grow the site there would need to be a massive push of evangelization undertaken. Posting links to the site from YouTube videos, or Reddit, so on so forth.

Bêthberry · 04-13-2021, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snowdog

Bethberry! Good to see ya!

Long time no see, Dawg. How are you doing?

Running any Inns these days?

Snowdog · 04-14-2021, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

Long time no see, Dawg. How are you doing?

Running any Inns these days?

Doing well! I retired from running Inns when I set alight the old overgrown Snowdog's Inn on the Minas Tirith site. Only visit them now. Retirement suits me!

Morthoron · 04-11-2021, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soriman the Whide

That said, I do not think discord is a good option for this website and I was wrong.

That's all you should have said in the first place. I am uninterested in the rest of your argument. Have a nice day.

Soriman the Whide · 04-11-2021, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morthoron

That's all you should have said in the first place. I am uninterested in the rest of your argument. Have a nice day.

I am sorry to go on like that it's just you claimed you were not ignorant of discord.

Morthoron · 04-11-2021, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soriman the Whide

I am sorry to go on like that it's just you claimed you were not ignorant of discord.

I would suggest a poster who has been on this forum less than a month referring to people as "ignorant" several times over the course of a thread proves my point about someone like yourself coming over from Discord. You lose your case every time you post.

Soriman the Whide · 04-11-2021, 01:32 PM

I do not come from discord. I take issue with your close minded and dismissive response to an active user with high post count (Urwen) who was trying to suggest ways to attract new users to the website. It is this dismissive mindset that robs new users in the future.

In direct reply to your comment; it is clear that you have no idea what discord is and have never used it yet you tell people to avoid it, you use unreliable websites sites to claim lies as truths and you still think I am wrong to call you ignorant.

Formendacil · 04-11-2021, 02:08 PM

To interject into what is essentially a dead topic being squabbled over in a case of "having the last word" oneupsmanship, since Soriman has said he realises it would be redundant to the 'Downs: back in the days of yore (you know, like 2006) I was a member of a different forum, which had a chatroom.

The technology is different, but a Discord server for the 'Downs would basically be a case of adding a chatroom, and I think that's flipping the cart and the horse: if you have a large community that wants to talk (i.e. off-the-forum), then it would have utility. Indeed, it would just be updating what has already existed: the private message system here on the forum, MSN Messenger/AIM with Downers back in the day, LiveJournal, Facebook... but its existence relies, like all those outgrowths of Internet friendship, on the forum itself being active, and putting a Discord out there would be unlikely to reawaken the sleeping majority.

Bêthberry · 04-11-2021, 02:11 PM

The Barrow Downs did have chat rooms. On Mirc. Does Mirc exist any more?

04-11-2021, 10:42 AM	#2
Soriman the Whide Haunting Spirit Join Date: Mar 2021 Posts: 88	I've been having a little look at the Better Business Bereau Morthoron please take a look at this and see how easy it is to get the wrong impression of a website. https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/menlo-park...674/complaints __________________ "And thou, Melkor, shalt see that no theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in my despite... ". The Silmarillion - Ainulindalë Last edited by Soriman the Whide; 04-11-2021 at 10:54 AM.

04-11-2021, 11:39 AM	#3
Ring Bearer Animated Skeleton Join Date: Apr 2021 Location: Bag End, The Shire Posts: 26	Well Hello! I would like to know how does this Forum work?? I actually wanted to post a reply to a Movie speculation thread by Mister Underhill--last active before I was even born in 2001.{http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthread.php?t=8828&goto=nextoldest} P.S. Are u guys the oldest LOTR Forum on the Internet?

04-13-2021, 06:07 AM	#6
Zigûr Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 785	I don't mind discord, but I think it skews towards a different style of posting and a different kind of user than an old-school forum like the Downs. That being said, I think there might be some decent-sized "modern" discussion platforms where people are discussing Middle-earth in a context that is grounded in the books, like r/tolkienfans on Reddit. I don't have a reddit account but it seems that way from a bit of lurking. Comparatively speaking I think I'm still a bit of a newbie here (yes, despite posting semi-regularly for nine years). But the Downs is one of two forums I'm part of that keeps alive the flame of late 90s/early 2000s forum culture but with all the trolls etc filtered out over long years of survival and consistent users becoming familiar with each other. It's not really the kind of place that needs to be dragged kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century. __________________ "Since the evening of that day we have journeyed from the shadow of Tol Brandir." "On foot?" cried Éomer. Last edited by Zigûr; 04-13-2021 at 06:34 AM.

04-13-2021, 06:38 AM	#7
Morsul the Dark Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 3,448	To be honest I’m on a few discord groups that are all lovely. I would say it’s unlikely to serve the function wanted. A discord doesn’t grow a platform it’s an outcrop of the current group. As an example one group is a fan base for a podcast the podcast gets roughly 10thousand listeners a month, 5000patrons, and maybe 50-100 Discord users. And 100 is sort of the sweet spot. I’ve been in Discord’s with 1k+ people and it’s just spam, not even bad spam just too many people trying to have conversations. At once and you can’t follow. Like a theatre of people all talking, it’s just noise. However, for the downs I would probably support a discord if the base was much more active, again as an offshoot. If you’re looking to grow the site there would need to be a massive push of evangelization undertaken. Posting links to the site from YouTube videos, or Reddit, so on so forth. __________________ Morsul the Resurrected

04-11-2021, 01:32 PM	#13
Soriman the Whide Haunting Spirit Join Date: Mar 2021 Posts: 88	I do not come from discord. I take issue with your close minded and dismissive response to an active user with high post count (Urwen) who was trying to suggest ways to attract new users to the website. It is this dismissive mindset that robs new users in the future. In direct reply to your comment; it is clear that you have no idea what discord is and have never used it yet you tell people to avoid it, you use unreliable websites sites to claim lies as truths and you still think I am wrong to call you ignorant. __________________ "And thou, Melkor, shalt see that no theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in my despite... ". The Silmarillion - Ainulindalë Last edited by Soriman the Whide; 04-11-2021 at 01:35 PM.

04-11-2021, 02:08 PM	#14
Formendacil Dead Serious Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Perched on Thangorodrim's towers. Posts: 3,328	To interject into what is essentially a dead topic being squabbled over in a case of "having the last word" oneupsmanship, since Soriman has said he realises it would be redundant to the 'Downs: back in the days of yore (you know, like 2006) I was a member of a different forum, which had a chatroom. The technology is different, but a Discord server for the 'Downs would basically be a case of adding a chatroom, and I think that's flipping the cart and the horse: if you have a large community that wants to talk (i.e. off-the-forum), then it would have utility. Indeed, it would just be updating what has already existed: the private message system here on the forum, MSN Messenger/AIM with Downers back in the day, LiveJournal, Facebook... but its existence relies, like all those outgrowths of Internet friendship, on the forum itself being active, and putting a Discord out there would be unlikely to reawaken the sleeping majority. __________________ I prefer history, true or feigned. Last edited by Formendacil; 04-11-2021 at 02:10 PM. Reason: Changing past perfect tense to past.

04-11-2021, 02:11 PM	#15
Bêthberry Cryptic Aura Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 6,003	The Barrow Downs did have chat rooms. On Mirc. Does Mirc exist any more? __________________ I’ll sing his roots off. I’ll sing a wind up and blow leaf and branch away.