so far i like the idea of 2 SB'S. If you can't be crazy with your friends than what's the point. Not to day the fire was wrong and so is not including people because of games. I think there needs to be a place to be crazy to a safe extent.

I'm usually loggod on at a time where not very many people are logged on, a maximum of five on at any one time. And I've found the shout box confuzzling even then.

When I was first new here, I really loved using the sb because it was a lot easier than posting, and everyone seemed to have such cool conversations.

Now, I only use the sb about 50% of times when I'm online. Sometimes it's too 'crowded' and multiple conversations are taking place, and it's just too confusing. So I've now started posting and pm-ing more often. And the other problem is that some convos are too random to join in.

But there is a difference between totally random and in-joke-y, and just plain unsociable. Lady's examples definitely show that. I think that if anyone says something unacceptable, and someone has a screenie to prove it, then I think that the person who said it should be given a 24-hour ban. Then if they do it again, 48 hours, and so on. Like Lady said, the sb should be about having fun conversations with people all over the world, but not a place for being rude.

Having said all this, I miss the sb dearly, and I hope it can be put back on asap

Did you see the Shoutbox That Jazzo has created, Casza?

It seems quiet on the forum now that the Shoutbox is gone.

Yes, but the temporary one is nice. Perhaps that could serve as a second, more rambunctious SB?

I wanted to post sooner, but this took me several days to write. This is a little hard for me because I really, really, really love the Shout Box.

My first day on the forum, I talked in the Shout Box to a few people, who made quite an impression on me. Because of those moments I loved the atmosphere here so much, that I stuck around, read A LOT of posts, and felt like I was becoming part of something bigger than me. But I didn't talk in the shout box again for another year.

Each time I came here (I rarely logged in back then), I read some of what was happening in the shout box. As VV3 got closer to it's release, I decided to enter the SB to ask about it. I was answered quickly, and then the shouters went back to their conversation. I was not bothered. Just because I had been reading about them for almost a year, didn't mean that they should feel like they had to talk to me.

When I became a shouter, my biggest worry was (and still is) whether what I said in the shout box was mattering to someone else reading at that very moment. How many times have you shouters read me say, "There are such and such number of invisible and anonymous users online right now able to read what you just wrote..."? Of course, that didn't stop me from playing from time to time. Why? Because as a reader, I enjoyed the playful banter as well. Just being honest.


I want to say that it has been an incredible joy to me to be able to interact with people from all over the world, as well as right here in my own part of the world, about the game that has brought me so much happiness.

At the same time, I will admit that I didn't like being yelled at in the Shout Box when someone thought I was wrong in my thinking. It made me very uncomfortable when a newbie would ask a question but I couldn't type fast enough around the other shouters in order to answer him or her. Rough-housing often made me feel out of place, even if I acknowledged it was going on while I was in the SB.

As I said before, I know I'm not innocent. I've had my share of pie-throwing antics, and sugar-free-cookie free-for-alls. But I have also been on the responsible side, warning those who were messing around that they needed to stop. I have tried to help others who were close to being banned to change their ways. And, sadly, I have also been witness to the banning of certain SB trouble-makers.

After the many meaningful posts were added to this thread, I wondered why certain shouters didn't care whether the Shout Box came back, and even moreso, why more who enjoy the Shout Box haven't come forward to say so.


I had in the past, requested that a list of Shout Box rules, or a link to them, be posted near the Shout Box. Although the rules are easy to find at the top of each forum, they are not the first thing that Newbies see (and sometimes those of us who have been here awhile need to be reminded). Like my experience, many who sign up, first see a moving box where people are communicating and find it much more engaging than that first thread. But at that point, the only rules a brand new Newbie has seen so far are listed (very clearly I might add) at the top of their registration page with a check box for agreement:



But I see now that perhaps it needs to go a step further than just posting the rules. If the problem is that only a few shouters are breaking the rules, then shouldn't we simply keep just those forumers out of the Shout Box? (and yes, I understand that could mean me too.) Couldn't there be a separate registration for the Shout Box? And if you break the Shout Box rules, you are suspended from being able to shout. Serious violators would be banned from the forum as always.
It just seems to me like it would teach a good lesson to a trouble-maker (they are able to read the SB but not be able to enter it), while not interrupting the good forumers from continuing their conversation.

Then the forum doesn't become static. Good shouters would warn Newbies who blatantly disregard the agreement they just checked off in registration, as well as regulars who get carried away, that they could be suspended from the SB, indefinitely if necessary.


I have so much more on my mind, but that's all I have to say for now.

I'm going to intrude in LadyCFII's department (and hope I get this right! ) At the current time, there are 2 active moderators (myself and Gamemastr1) & 1 Administrator (LadyCFII) who are actively involved in "riding herd" on the forum. Arthur & Carla are quite busy at the moment (mostly trying to develop the new game and run the company!) LadyCFII besides trying to run the forum, is also involved in developing the new game.

Now while Gamey & I are willing to spend as much time here as our lives will allow, We aren't "full time" staff and do this on a volunteer basis. That leaves the majority of the burden on poor LadyCFII's already burdened shoulders. She is the only one of us three with the power to do more than politely correct those who break the rules. Gamey & I can edit/move/remove posts that are inappropriate in the forum, but we can't (and probably shouldn't) actually ban rule breakers. I'm sure that if we find need to recommend such an action, it would be carefully reviewed and likely carried out.

The point I'm trying to make here, is that anytime a person, or group of persons, starts misbehaving it puts additional workload on the people who try to keep the forum fun; safe; and friendly for all. It has a very real impact on development of the games we love so much, because if they are in here fixing our misbehavior, then they can't work on the new games.

I don't know if it is even technically feasible to restrict people from just one area, such as the sb, but that isn't the answer anyway. I also am having doubts about the ability (and wisdom) of having a second sb. The one Jazzo was kind enough to put up can act as a place for the "rowdy" crowd to go to if they so desire, just as the fan fiction site run by KittenAngel2001 acts as a repository for those who want to write more mature stories than we allow.

While those "alternate" sites can, and do, provide an outlet for material we can't allow, they still aren't the real answer to the problem here. The only real answer is one I've harped on over and over again. (anyone want to guess what that might be?)

Only by being good forum citizens, and following the rules, can we keep this a fun; clean; safe environment for ALL our members.

Okay, my turn to step up on the soapbox. (Though I'm sure I'll not be as eloquent as those who have posted before.)

As one who has gotten far over the top in the SB and gotten herself in trouble many a time over the year and some months I've been here, I know how easy it is to overdo things.

I have noticed (And this has been pointed out before, I think) that the board seems very quiet since the removal of the Shout Box. Even my visits have become short checks for new posts in select topics/sections.
Even when I didn't talk in the shout box at all, I stayed on the site for quite a while at a time. I know I found the SB quite entertaining to read at times, though I myself did not participate.

All in all, I think it was a good move on the part of the administration to take away the Shout Box and show everyone (including myself) that it was a privilege, not a right.

I agree whole-heartedly with Rockmower and HappyPlayer on the facts that the rules need to be followed and that even those of us who have been on the site for an extended period of time need reminders now and again... and again.

I know from experience that the active conversation the SB provided could serve to encourage and help other forumers. I think I've helped others in the past, and I know that on occasions something will strike me and I'll come away from it with a different outlook on a situation.

I have one final thing to say. When it comes right down to it, I am neutral on the subject of extra SBs/off-site SBs/etc.
C'est la vie.

My turn ...

Let me say at the outset that I don't use the Shout Box, so have no interest personally in its return.

I would however mention that someone, particularly a newbie, whose VV tribe is dying would much prefer to mention their problem in the SB and get an immediate reply than post in the main forum, and for all they know not get a reply until several hours later, when it would be too late.

THAT is exactly what it was intended for! Not to post "spoilers", but to give advice or point the person to the right place for advice. The side benefit of allowing community interaction in real time, is what got it into trouble.