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[Please Read Before Posting Threads] What Is And Isn't General Discussion?


Letter13
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Tenno,
 
 
Recently a lot of forum users have been posting feedback, bug and question threads about the game here in General Discussion, only to complain when community moderators or forum staff move their thread to the appropriate section.
 
General Discussion is not for feedback about the game, for bug reports or for help questions, we have other forum sections specifically for these things.
 
There are a few criteria for determining what feedback is and what general discussion is, but the two main criteria are the following:

Objective - The goal of the thread

Target Audience - Who is being addressed with the thread

 
A feedback thread's objective is affecting the game; be it through negative feedback (change is desired) or positive feedback (change is not desired). And a feedback's Target Audience is the developers; your thread is directed towards DE, they are who you are making the thread for. If either two of these criteria are met then the thread is most likely feedback (and belongs in the appropriate feedback subforum). 
 
A general discussion thread's objective is not to affect the game, it's to hold a discussion. And the Target Audience of a general discussion thread is other players and the community, not the developers. For example, a thread titled "Which frame do you like the most and why?" would be a discussion thread, because its objective is a discussion about what players enjoy, and it's audience is other players.
 
Ultimately, a lot of what determines whether a thread is a feedback thread is the opening post. Although feedback threads can have discussions in them between players, this does not make it general discussion. What it boils down to is the goal of the thread and who it's addressing. It's a thread for conveying opinions to the developers, and people are bound to agree and disagree (and therefore start a discussion on said thread).
 
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If you post something in General Discussion and find that it's no longer there, chances are it's been moved (if it was merged, we will try to notify you via private message, but sometimes when we have to merge a large number of threads we may not be able to). Here's a helpful guide for you to figure out where it might have been moved to:
 
  • Players Helping Players is the forum for when you have a question about something in the game or need help with something game-related--such as mod builds for frames/weapons, build comparisons, how to craft certain things, where to find components/mods/enemies, strategies for bosses, etc. Guides, solutions, tips and tricks can all be placed here. With hundreds of thousands of players, there's bound to be one that has experienced the same issue as you and has figured out how to solve it!
  • PC Beta Bugs, PS4 Beta Bugs and XB1 Beta Bugs are the places for threads reporting malfunctioning parts of the game, bugs, things that have broken, et cetera (you should really make a support ticket too!).
  • Fan Zone is the place for fan fiction, fan-sponsored contests, screenshots to share your achievements and Warframe-related video streams/Youtube channels.
  • Fan Concepts is the place for concepts for new systems, warframes, weapons, and gameplay mechanics.
  • PC Trading Post, PS4 Trading Post and XB1 Trading Post are for all things trading on the respective platforms. Threads looking to sell, buy, and trade go here, as well as any price checking.
  • If you post a thread critiquing changes or content in the game, it's likely been moved to one of the Feedback Subforums, the guide to which is below.
 
Because feedback threads are by far the biggest offender in General Discussion, I've put together this guide on where feedback goes, breaking up and explaining the feedback subforums (Feedback forums are where the devs go for feedback regarding the game! Not General Discussion!). The list is a bit lengthy, so it's been put in spoiler tags:
 
Spoiler
  • General Feedback - This is the "General" feedback forum for all versions of Warframe (PS4 & PC), feedback that doesn't fall under other categories usually goes here (i.e. Melee 2.0, RNG, Enemy Units/Factions, Bosses, Difficulty, Lore, Kubrows etc). "Big" feedback threads that cover multiple facets of the game are also moved here.
  • Warframe & Abilities Feedback - This feedback forum is for Warframes, their Abilities (such as Frost and his Snowglobe), and related mods. Sentinels and their abilities are included as well (though Sentinel weapons go in the Weapons subforum)
  • Weapons Feedback - This feedback forum is for weapon and weapon mods, Sentinel weapons included
  • Maps & Levels Feedback - This feedback forum is feedback for the level designers, if you want to see something in a map tile or level changed, this is where you should post it! If it's feedback about Dojo tilesets and rooms, that goes in Dojo feedback!
  • Mission Feedback - This is where feedback for missions goes! Things like mission objectives and mission design.
  • Art & Animation Feedback - Feedback for the artists and animators go here, such as feedback on textures in levels, warframe/weapon skins and animations, etc
  • UI Feedback - This feedback forum is for both the in-game UI and the menu/Liset UI (arsenal, foundry, starmap, chat, clan/alliance management, etc)
  • Sound Feedback - Sound feedback is simple enough! If there's a sound you like or don't like, this is where you should post about it
  • Website & Forums Feedback - For feedback concerning the website and forums. Payment methods for buying platinum, forum usability, feedback on the online merchandise store, etc.
  • Dojo Feedback - Feedback specific to the dojo; similar to Maps & Levels, but dojo related
  • PvP Feedback - For feedback concerning the Conclaves and Dark Sectors PvP in Warframe
  • PC Specific Feedback - This is the Specific Feedback forum for PC users. Feedback for the PC version of Warframe that doesn't fall into other categories go here
  • PS4 Specific Feedback - This is the Specific Feedback forum for PS4 users. Feedback regarding the PS4 version of Warframe that doesn't fall into the other categories goes here (i.e. feedback for controller layout, PS4 updates, etc).
  • XB1 Specific Feedback functions the same for XB1 users as does the PS4 Specific Feedback subforum.

 

So, for example, if you make a thread in General Discussion saying something like "The lore really needs work, and this is how I think it should be done" then it's probably going to get moved to the General Feedback forum. If you're dissatisfied with a recent patch or update and want to give DE a piece of your mind, the Specific Feedback associated with your platform (i.e. PC Specific Feedback or PS4 Specific feedback) is probably where it will get moved to (it may also be moved to the other feedback forums depending on what the thread is specifically about).
 
Wording is also very important, and your choice of description is also. This is why many people mix up feedback with discussion. In discussion, you are talking about things that are current, not commenting on how cool or disappointing they are. For example, 'What do you think is the best frame? I like Valkyr because of her focus on melee.' is General Discussion, whereas 'Valkyr is a really good frame. Her melee animations are nice, and her abilities compliment eachother well.' is feedback.
 
 
tl;dr - We have specific subforums for feedback, bug reports, helping players, fan-made stuff and so on. General Discussion is not a "catch-all" forum, and for the sake of keeping things tidy and organized we'd really appreciate it if you didn't treat it as such!
 
If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, please feel free to post them here or to send me or the other moderators a private message!
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Great work! We really needed a thread like this to reduce the confusion.

EDIT: Also, good thing it's pinned for future reference.

Edited by Guest
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I'd suggest having this be required reading before you can post.

 

Well, it is pinned on top of the General Discussion forum, which is where most stuff gets dumped. I don't think you can actually enforce reading it... did you read the whole EULA, for example?

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Well, it is pinned on top of the General Discussion forum, which is where most stuff gets dumped. I don't think you can actually enforce reading it... did you read the whole EULA, for example?

There could be something done to make it come up the first time a user accesses the forums though.

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Thanks. :) Sadly, there's always going to be people who don't read.

 

It's not the cure, but I feel that this guide is a good first step to give the community a better idea of where the proper sections are for their topics. :)

 

Also, some relevant helpful tips:

 

1. Before starting a new thread in General Discussion, especially if it's a current hot topic (e.g. anticipation for the new water frame, a new teaser on the Grineer Systems website), doing a quick search by entering the magic words "megathread" in the search bar on the upper right hand side will help you see the current megathreads in General Discussion, where you can post to add your thoughts instead of starting another similar thread that will most likely be merged.

 

In order to get more specific results:

 

- Click on the gear icon next to the search bar (for advanced search options)

- Type in "megathread"

- Change the drop-down box to: match -> all words, only search in titles

- Search in -> Live content

- Find in forum -> General Discussion

- Display results -> As a topic list 

 

2. To find where your threads have been merged or moved to:

 

- Click on your username/IGN on the upper right hand side of the forum (it's beside "sign out") to access your profile

- Click on "Find Content" on the upper right hand side of your profile page

- On the next screen, select "Only topics" or "Only posts" to filter as necessary

- The search results should then change to reflect your filter

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I think some people already know this to be honest, but because General Discussion is the most viewed forum section, people post their threads in there because it almost guarantees a few replies/comments.

May i also suggest that you  guys make a Suggestion Section?

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people post their threads in there because it almost guarantees a few replies/comments

 

That's still not a valid excuse to post topics in the wrong section.

 

The other subforums exist for a reason. They are there for the devs to get focused feedback about what falls within their field, and they even reply fairly often - e.g. George in Sound Feedback, Pablo and Dorian in UI Feedback, Draice/Vaen/JohnnyBoomstick/etc. in Art and Animation feedback.

 

For suggestions regarding the forums, you can post them here:

 

https://forums.warframe.com/index.php?/forum/7-website-forums/

 

Any other queries and clarifications regarding which topic goes where, you can continue to post it here.

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There are still ppl who are creating topics in wrong section....well, if they see traffic, that's where they will post and nothing more or less than that. I must say, they really want attention to many ppl to get their threads a lot more viewed than nothing.

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People mostly hang out in General... 

So community came to terms with "If you want your topic to be seen then post in General".

 

That is a misguided way of thinking. Like I said - the subforums exist for a reason.

 

You cant deny that General Discussion has way more visibility than any other section... that's why ppl post here Letter

 

Once more, with feeling: the subforums exist for a reason. 

 

General discussion is not for feedback, bug reports, requests for help, and other topic types specified in the original post of this thread. If you continue to post such topics in here, they will get moved as is our mandate, specified in the Community Mods FAQ:

 

"Q: So, what do these ComMods do, precisely?

A: Aside from reading threads and collecting feedback for their reports, ComMods make sure that the community rules and posting guidelines are observed. They also move threads into their correct subforums, close discussions that go over board, answer first level issues and complaints, rename misleading topics and warn, when rule violations occur."
 

 

Please, let's help each other make the forums an easier place to browse and navigate - for players and devs alike. :)

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I understand the idea that "there are more appropriate places to post certain topics" but General Discussion is literally described in the forum page as "All Warframe related Discussion here!"

 

Just change that description to reflect that not all Warframe related discussion belongs in GD.

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