Discussion forums - Revision history

Ophir Lifshitz: clarity, issues

2025-02-14T22:51:41Z

clarity, issues

David Reinstein: /* Procedure */ Thank you to the forums staff who fixed the problem.

2022-03-21T22:22:34Z

Procedure: Thank you to the forums staff who fixed the problem.

David Reinstein: /* Procedure */

2022-03-16T15:59:59Z

Procedure

Kevin Wang: /* Procedure */

2022-03-15T20:11:20Z

Procedure

Kevin Wang: Undo revision 55435 by David Reinstein (talk)

2022-03-15T18:38:41Z

Undo revision 55435 by David Reinstein (talk)

David Reinstein: /* Procedure */

2022-03-13T13:11:29Z

Procedure

Kevin Wang at 16:02, 4 March 2022

2022-03-04T16:02:26Z

Kevin Wang: Created page with "{{Intro}} '''Discussion forums''' are subforums on the hsquizbowl.org forums which are dedicated to the discussion of a particular question set before it..."

2022-03-03T19:09:31Z

Created page with "{{Intro}} <onlyinclude>'''Discussion forums''' are subforums on the hsquizbowl.org forums which are dedicated to the discussion of a particular question set before it..."

New page

{{Intro}}
<onlyinclude>'''Discussion forums''' are subforums on the [[hsquizbowl.org forums]] which are dedicated to the discussion of a particular [[question set]] before it is [[clear]] for public discussion. These forums typically include threads for both broad discussion of the set and specific questions and are key records of the public perception of a set.</onlyinclude>

==Procedure==
[[File:usergroups.png|thumb|left|The Usergroups tab of the User Control Panel]]
After the first [[mirror]] of a set, a forum can be created by emailing hsquizbowl@gmail.com with words "private forum" in the subject and the usernames of all the group's leaders.<ref>[https://hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=360189#p360189 Re: Requesting private forum creation] by [[theMoMA]] » Thu Jul 11, 2019 9:12 am</ref> This will create a private forum with an accompanying usergroup.

Usergroups can be joined, left, and otherwise managed from the "Usergroups" tab of the User Control Panel, which can be accessed by clicking one's username in the top right corner of the forums - note that this implicitly requires that one has a forums account. From here, a user can select groups which they are not yet members of and submit a request to join which must be approved by an administrator of the group. Because group leaders can only see the name of the user submitting a reque

After one's request to join is approved, the discussion will be visible as a subforum of the appropriate board: for high school sets this would be "[https://hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=4 National and Regional Comparisons and Discussions]", while for college sets it would be "[https://hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=9 Collegiate Discussion]".

After all mirrors for a set are completed and it is cleared for discussion, the discussion forum can be made public by again emailing hsquizbowl@gmail.com with "private forum" in the subject.<ref>[https://hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=388693#p388693 Re: Requesting private forum creation] by [[Auks Ran Ova]] » Tue Feb 15, 2022 2:41 pm</ref> It is possible (and indeed, fairly common among sets of a certain age) for a set to never become private; the desire to avoid this has prompted the newest set of guidelines regarding discussion fora.
{{-}}
==Alternatives==
The rising popularity of [[Discord]] as a platform for [[online]] quizbowl writing and playing has seen a corresponding increase in the use of Discord servers for discussion. In some cases this takes the form of a single channel in the server for the [[playtest]] mirror, but it is more commonly an entire server created for the explicit purpose of discussing the set. The primary advantage of this set-up is that the barrier for entry is significantly lower (equivalent to that required to play an online tournament at all) and thus there is the potential to receive feedback from a wider range of players than would have otherwise been possible. This is particularly relevant because the ''de facto'' default is to host such discussion on the forums, which have become increasingly alien to subsequent generations of player.

The main argument against such discussion servers is that Discord servers are impermanent. There is not strictly any reason to delete a server but it has been known to happen; such an incident destroys all feedback. While this does not directly impact the immediate purpose of discussion forums (to fix errata and fine-tune questions for future mirrors) it is still a considerable ''faux pas'', as it is the community norm that information about sets be available to the public - this can be considered a similar sentiment to that which causes all [[housewrite]]s to publish their questions for free on the [[archive]].

==References==
<references/>

{{c|Quizbowl basics}}
{{c|Quizbowl concepts}}

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 After one's request to join is approved, the discussion will be visible as a subforum of the appropriate board: for high school sets this would be "[https://hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=4 National and Regional Comparisons and Discussions]", while for college sets it would be "[https://hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=9 Collegiate Discussion]".
-After all mirrors for a set are completed and it is cleared for discussion, the discussion forum can be made public by again emailing hsquizbowl@gmail.com with "private forum" in the subject.<ref>[https://hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=388693#p388693 Re: Requesting private forum creation] by [[Auks Ran Ova]] » Tue Feb 15, 2022 2:41 pm</ref> It is possible (and indeed, fairly common among sets of a certain age) for a set to never become public; the desire to avoid this has prompted the newest set of guidelines regarding discussion fora.
+After all mirrors for a set are completed and it is cleared for discussion, the discussion forum can be made public by again emailing hsquizbowl@gmail.com with "private forum" in the subject.<ref>[https://hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=388693#p388693 Re: Requesting private forum creation] by [[Auks Ran Ova]] » Tue Feb 15, 2022 2:41 pm</ref> It is possible (and indeed, fairly common among sets of a certain age) for a set to never become public; the desire to avoid this has prompted the newest set of guidelines regarding discussion fora. Hopefully the forums administrator will find time to fix this problem eventually.
 {{-}}

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Intro}}
-<onlyinclude>'''Discussion forums''' are subforums on the [[hsquizbowl.org forums]] which are dedicated to the discussion of a particular [[question set]] before it is [[clear]] for public discussion. These forums typically include threads for both broad discussion of the set and specific questions and are key records of the public perception of a set.</onlyinclude>
+<onlyinclude>'''Discussion forums''' are private subforums on the [[hsquizbowl.org forums]] dedicated to the discussion of a particular [[question set]] before it is [[clear]] for public discussion. These forums typically include threads for both broad discussion of the set and discussion of specific questions. Discussion forums are invaluable records of the public perception of a set.</onlyinclude>
 ==Procedure==
 [[File:usergroups.png|thumb|left|The Usergroups tab of the User Control Panel]]
-After the first [[mirror]] of a set, a forum can be created by emailing hsquizbowl@gmail.com with words "private forum" in the subject and the usernames of all the group's leaders.<ref>[https://hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=360189#p360189 Re: Requesting private forum creation] by [[theMoMA]] » Thu Jul 11, 2019 9:12 am</ref> This will create a private forum with an accompanying usergroup.
+To request the creation of a subforum, email <tt>hsquizbowl@gmail.com</tt> and include "private forum" in the subject along with a list of the usernames that you want to be administrators for the group.<ref>[https://hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=360189#p360189 Re: Requesting private forum creation] by [[theMoMA]] » Thu Jul 11, 2019 9:12 am</ref> This will eventually create a private forum with an accompanying usergroup.
-Usergroups can be joined, left, and otherwise managed from the "Usergroups" tab of the User Control Panel, which can be accessed by clicking one's username in the top right corner of the forums - note that this implicitly requires that one has a forums account. From here, a user can select groups which they are not yet members of and submit a request to join which must be approved by an administrator of the group. Because group leaders can only see the name and profile of users submitting a request, one should make sure to set their signature to allow themselves to be identified.
+To join a subforum, access the "Usergroups" tab of the User Control Panel by first clicking your username in the upper right (note that this implicitly requires a forums account). From here, select a group and submit a request to join, which must be approved by an administrator of the group. Because group leaders can only see the username and profile of users submitting a request, a forums signature is required for identification.
-After one's request to join is approved, the discussion will be visible as a subforum of the appropriate board: for high school sets this would be "[https://hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=4 National and Regional Comparisons and Discussions]", while for college sets it would be "[https://hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=9 Collegiate Discussion]".
+After you get approved, the discussion forum will become visible as a subforum of "[https://hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=4 National and Regional Comparisons and Discussions]" (for high-school sets) or "[https://hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=9 Collegiate Discussion]" (for collegiate sets).
-After all mirrors for a set are completed and it is cleared for discussion, the discussion forum can be made public by again emailing hsquizbowl@gmail.com with "private forum" in the subject.<ref>[https://hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=388693#p388693 Re: Requesting private forum creation] by [[Auks Ran Ova]] » Tue Feb 15, 2022 2:41 pm</ref>
+After all mirrors for a set are completed and it is cleared for discussion, the discussion forum can be made public by again emailing <tt>hsquizbowl@gmail.com</tt> with "private forum" in the subject.<ref>[https://hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=388693#p388693 Re: Requesting private forum creation] by [[Auks Ran Ova]] » Tue Feb 15, 2022 2:41 pm</ref>
 {{-}}
 ==Alternatives==
-The rising popularity of [[Discord]] as a platform for [[online]] quizbowl writing and playing has seen a corresponding increase in the use of Discord servers for discussion. In some cases this takes the form of a single channel in the server for the [[playtest]] mirror, but it is more commonly an entire server created for the explicit purpose of discussing the set. The primary advantage of this set-up is that the barrier for entry is significantly lower (equivalent to that required to play an online tournament at all) and thus there is the potential to receive feedback from a wider range of players than would have otherwise been possible. This is particularly relevant because the ''de facto'' default is to host such discussion on the forums, which have become increasingly alien to subsequent generations of player.
+The rising popularity of [[Discord]] as a platform for [[online]] quizbowl writing and playing has seen a corresponding increase in the use of Discord servers for discussion. Sometimes, discussion takes place within a dedicated channel of the Discord server for a [[playtest]] mirror. In other cases, an entire server created for the explicit purpose of discussing the set. The primary advantage of this setup is that the barrier for entry to chat is lower and thus there is the potential to receive more feedback from a wider range of players than would have otherwise been possible. This is particularly relevant because the ''de facto'' default is to host such discussion on the forums, which have become increasingly alien to subsequent generations of player.
-The main argument against such discussion servers is that Discord servers are impermanent. There is not strictly any reason to delete a server but it has been known to happen; such an incident destroys all feedback. While this does not directly impact the immediate purpose of discussion forums (to fix errata and fine-tune questions for future mirrors) it is still a considerable ''faux pas'', as it is the community norm that information about sets be available to the public - this can be considered a similar sentiment to that which causes all [[housewrite]]s to publish their questions for free on the [[archive]].
+The main arguments against such discussion servers is that Discord servers are impermanent and decentralized. The deletion of discussion servers, destroying all feedback, has been known to happen, even though there is no reason to delete a server. While this does not directly impact some immediate purposes of discussion (to fix errata and fine-tune questions for future mirrors), it is still a considerable ''faux pas'', as the community norm is for information about sets be available to the public (as how all [[housewrite]]s should publish their questions for free on the [[archive]]).
 ==References==