An Idea for the Help Boards

[WhiteLightHeart]

Goood morning/afternoon, everyone~

As I've been poking through the Help sections these past few months, I've noticed a few recurring oddities.
Firstly, there's this issue with so many people disregarding the fact that bans may not be discussed in the Help Boards. Now, for those of us who know those boards fairly well, we know that the first page of the Big Help board clearly states "Bans may not be discussed."
However, with the introduction of the Child Boards (Game/Site + Forum Help), it seems that more than a few members are completely overlooking the main Help and skipping straight to the specific child boards. These boards lack a sticky at the top that specify "Not For Bans."
Now, I know we can't expect every floof who walks in there to be aware of this (it's just a fact of life when dealing with large groups of people-- somebody's gonna miss something), but I'm just taken aback sometimes when I go into the Help sections and find new locked threads, for the same exact reasons (regarding bans), on a daily basis. Not long ago there were five locked, ban-related threads on a single page. It just concerns me a bit.

Rolling with that, my next observation is the slightly less frequent, but still reccurring, confusion between the Game / Site + Forum Child Boards. Granted, it does sound silly. Game Help for the game, Site + Forum Help for the site and forum. Yes?
However, I still find myself walking into Help threads from members in Site + Forum Help, that ought to be in Game Help, or vice versa.
I believe this particular kind of confusion is based on less critical thinking on a thread-starter's part when they go to ask for help. For example, if someone is having an issue with Map Maker, they'll come onto the forum (which in some cases this is the first time since registration), and see "Help." They click this, and they're led to the two Child Boards. They see Game Help, then Site + Forum Help. In most cases, Game Help makes the most sense, but some might equate being in the forum with any of their posts for help. And so, because they're in the forum, they figure their thread should go into Site + Forum Help. Conversely, someone looking for Forum Help might post in Game Help because they associate everything about FeralHeart, including the forum, with being part of the game.

So, what's my point, here?

Seeing that the Help Boards are all very frequented, it seems to me that both of these issues could be addressed (and to an extent, resolved) if both boards had a little extra clarification within them as to what they are for. For example, the same way this Inputbox has a sticky thread at the top to explain exactly what goes into this board, perhaps the same could be done for Game Help and Site + Forum Help.
Or, the same way Game Discussion has its sticky that states very distinctly, "!! No help threads here !!", these Help boards could have one that reiterates not to discuss bans, or something along those lines. As well as the no-ban-talk clarification, these sticky threads could also explain what makes the Game Help section what it is, and what makes Site + Forum what it is. It would be much harder to miss, especially for those who go directly from the main forum Index to one of the Child Boards, and it would assure that the helpers who mainly specialize in just one of these boards are there to help out with the issues they do best in.

Thank you for reading, and I hope this suggestion is helpful for you guys. c: I know it's a rather detailed idea, and not for an incredibly dire issue, but it seemed like it might be an idea for consideration.
Feel free to comment and critique constructively!

[LordSuragaha]

All good points to mention WhiteLightHeart but when it comes to putting a sticky about not writing about bans in the Game Help & Forum/Site Help section someone had discussed this recently and a few of the mods responded and don't seem to want it. If you like you could read it here:
http://www.feral-heart.com/index.php?option=com_jfusion&Itemid=2&jfile=index.php&topic=29580.0

Main problem is that they'd have to add stickies in some of the other sections as well because as you've seen the people write about bans even in the Game & Forum Discussion area. It would probably be ineffective simply because the people still over look or ignore the rules anyway. Example: there's a sticky in the Game Discussion area that clearly states "NO HELP THREADS HERE" and people still post them anyway as well as talk of bans. I'm not saying it's a bad idea in fact it would be worth a try in at least the Game Help section but of course this is up to the mods. What they feel is best is what goes.

As for the people mixing up the Game Help & Site Help section I think that's just carelessness because the names are self explanatory and I really don't see a need for the mods to elaborate on the purpose of those boards. I don't see people mixing them up so often anyway so I don't think it's necessary.

[WhiteLightHeart]

All good points to mention WhiteLightHeart but when it comes to putting a sticky about not writing about bans in the Game Help & Forum/Site Help section someone had discussed this recently and a few of the mods responded and don't seem to want it. If you like you could read it here:
http://www.feral-heart.com/index.php?option=com_jfusion&Itemid=2&jfile=index.php&topic=29580.0

I actually noticed that thread shortly after I posted this. /derp on my part.

But, fair enough. c:
Of course, not everybody's gonna think to stop and read something directly in front of them (unfortunately) when they're focused on some issue of theirs, but I figured that, along with a more in-depth explanation of what those boards, this might help a few floofs. I have seen some confusion between boards though. It's less frequent than the ban issues, but it happens occasionally.
Having them both together would allow for a bit more body to these possible sticky threads, instead of just one issue, which had already been stated in the Rules previously, anyway.

So, you make very valid points, as well, Sura. c: I just figured I would throw those ideas out there, since it's crossed my mind a time or two recently.
Thank you for your input on this.

[SteampunkWolfdog]

Good observations there, I hadn't noticed some of these things before.

Really, I think people who post helps threads just need to be more careful when considering where to post it and what to post. Perhaps they are so manic about their problem they completely overlook the rules and post anything and anywhere. I don't think the staff can do much more in making sure people post appropriate stuff in the correct place; the boards are marked clearly enough what they are about and the topics and discussions that go on in there.

To me, this looks like a matter of carelessness on the users' part that the staff can do very little about other than what they already do - locking threads, moving threads, directing people to the right place and just generally correcting these behaviours.

[WhiteLightHeart]

Thankya, Flob. c:

I agree, though, it does seem to be, as mentioned before, carelessness on some members parts. 'Manic' about their issue is probably a really good word for it.
So, yes, locking and moving threads is a good thing to do after the fact, but I figured this idea may help keep the mods from having to lock and moves threads in the first place.

But, like Sura said, if they like the idea, it's there. And if not, that's alright, too. c:
Thank you for your input. ^.^