Battle forums: Severe shortage of locks?

Recent weeks, it's noticable that many obvious mismatches, spite threads, or threads where only OP is debating in favor, or downright troll threads are staying open, despite repeated tag to the mods. Is there some change in policy or something?

Very few and obvious ones of the many examples:

Neji vs Flash

Batman (no arms) vs Bane (no legs)

Naruto/Ichigo vs DS sentry and Majestic

Tsuna vs The flash

Composite goku vs Sttgl

Not accusing anyone of lack of prompt action / being lazy to be clear beforehand, just curious. I do understand that I can use a PM for this issue, but this doesn't seem very personal/private, and maybe I'm the only one noticing it. If this shouldn't be a thread, feel free to move/delete it.

@princearagorn1: I've asked @jedixman about this a while ago. Mods don't lock threads which tend to involve characters they themselves are not too knowledgeable about, hence why a majority of the threads you listed involve anime characters, as opposed to comics, which is what the specialty of the mods tends to be. They don't do this in the odd chance that it isn't actually a mismatch and that the characters actually do have a chance of winning.

^This. When it comes to obscure battles, feats must be posted proving it's a mismatch.

Well, I thought so, but so many of them are... too obvious. So who do we tag for these? or in general?

@jedixman: @vance_astro: @god_spawn: @saren: @renchamp: @sc: @wildvine: @bumpyboo:

Sorry to call out so many at once, but can you guys just mention who to tag for which area, for future reference?

To add onto this, as Saren occasionally says, the mods aren't omnipresent. No mods were tagged in one of the threads mentioned in the OP, for example http://www.comicvine.com/forums/battles-7/batman-no-arms-vs-bane-no-legs-1659304/#22/. And it usually takes more than one flag for a thread to get the mods attention.

@princearagorn1: they should make you a mod because you're practically omniscient. I'm not even exaggerating. You are so damn knowledgeable.

#Princearagorn14Mod2016

Since the mods are unable to catch the specific threads to lock... lets just lock up the ENTIRE battle forums and call it a day, eh?

That fits in the "downright troll threads that are staying open"....

@bewaremypower: @cgoodness:

@princearagorn1 said:

You basically made this thread and then gave every reason why you shouldn't have made it. There is no change in policy. Mismatches & Spite threads are still against the rules.

Also this. I personally know little to nothing about Naruto characters. I can't lock the thread without the knowledge because then how could I justify my position in locking it when I get called on it?

@vance_astro:

You basically made this thread and then gave every reason why you shouldn't have made it.

Well, yes. It's better than having users ignoring the topic and focusing on pointing them out instead.

There is no change in policy. Mismatches & Spite threads are still against the rules. Also this.

Very well.

I personally know little to nothing about Naruto characters. I can't lock the thread without the knowledge because then how could I justify my position in locking it when I get called on it?

That's fair. Is it possible to give a basic/general idea on which series who to call out for if it looks like mismatch?

(the reason not to use a PM is I thought this would be helpful to others as well)

How did I miss those threads? Brb.

Those threads are good read. That's all.

If there are any threads that are egregiously bad and thus worthy of warranting a lock, simply tag in some moderators. Note, sometimes the CV notification system isn't perfect, whether you are a user or a moderator, sometimes you may not get a notification when people tag you.

If its just a case of a spite or mismatch, then try and tag a moderator a few hours later if the thread is still around and taking up space, as well as obviously flagging it. If a user is posting hardcore porn or threatening to kill another user then send a PM to moderators, since thats a way you will actually be guaranteed to get through. Try and save that for urgent stuff only though.

Finally and this might seem downright bizarre… it is okay to ignore threads. Sure some users try to get reactions out of each other by posting dumb or silly threads but many regular users often like to post in silly threads as well, Batman with no legs versus Bane with no arms for example, silly, but some room there for thinking about the technical aspects. As opposed to say Living Tribunal vs Hulk which should be ignored or have posts tagging in moderators. Also along those lines, sometimes I'll personally leave a thread open if there is good discussion going on in the thread, well unless it breaks one of the hard rules, say… thread with lesser known characters with a bunch of users talking in depth why they think its a mismatch, often many users make very valuable and interesting points about obscure characters, even if their arguments are essentially explaining that the match up is imbalanced, their arguments as to why ironically give the thread merit and value. Thats just me, another moderator may lock.

I'll be around for the next 20 mins or so, so feel free to tag me into any outstanding threads that require locks.

@sc said:

This as well.

Try saying more than "mismatch @mods." Give reasons as to why it is a mismatch, post feats. Try not making jokes / posting memes, and actually go the extra mile give an intelligent reason.

@jedixman: @sc: @vance_astro:

Makes sense. Nothing against keeping them open and having fun in general. Or giving reasons - but many times the battles are as obviously mismatched as spiderman vs darkseid - so it seems unnecessary to go in detail, at least for the characters used frequently like naruto/bleach/one piece.

The only issue when someone shows up and makes arguments like 'well, the webs are stronger than steel, so he can win via incap', or just joke arguments like 'ttgl is too big, it won't attack because goku is too small'. The thread staying open just repeatedly brings in meme barrage and equally bad replies to the posts, making it harder to ignore - and it's not like replying to them is going to lead to an engaging discussion.

I suppose not much can be done if the tagged mods don't follow the series besides explaining it thoroughly. So if it is possible, could you guys give a general idea on who to tag for what area? A moderator phonebook of sorts, that seems to be the best way out. When there's no one to tag for it, we could go for the explanations.

I agree with @jedixman: . People tend to say "Mismatch" and tag mods without any justification. Just add a small and brief explanation as to why its a mismatch and the mods will lock it.

@princearagorn1: Can tag me for any character, especially if people are being silly with memes so on, but if users are putting effort in their posts, generating positive and respectful conversation and I don't know the characters, I'll be inclined to leave the thread open. Many Star Wars threads have users agreeing and having great conversations about characters that have been a mismatch. CV has a lot of knowledgable Star Wars users, locking a thread whilst they are enjoying having a conversation about a series would seem odd to me. Alternatively if I see them all quoting each other saying mismatch/spite, then I lock the thread.

Also… users will post memes and be silly and make bad arguments in threads that are legitimate and close, which of course shouldn't mean the thread should be locked. So users have to distinguish between a thread that is really silly with no redeeming value and users who are bumping it to annoy others and waste space and threads that are mismatched but not so bad… and if they can't distinguish the difference, call out a moderator, just don't always expect a moderator to automatically agree with your take on a thread. Many users in a thread disagree about such things. This is why I try to encourage users to post in threads they think are good, since all users idea of what is a good thread will differ!

Hope that helps! ^_^.

@princearagorn1:

I am not super knowledgable about many characters, nor even the major battle feats of he ones I do know. Therefore I wouldn't lock a thread unless it was something obviously against e rules. (DBZ vs other universe. Universe vs Universe. Batman vs God. Etc) all other threads I leave to the official battle mods to sort out. As for why some threads haven't been dealt with, I would stress that they have lives offline. Maybe they are just busy. Or maybe they are building up the will to tackle the flag que. It can be very overrealming some days.

In some sense, I think the context of characters change over time. Locking battles because they've been done before isn't helping traffic on this site. People who just found out about comicvine want to get their say on old threads or characters who have changed over time.

Example? Rulk. 6 years ago everyone hates this guy for being so OP. Now we all know he's easy to beat depending on circumstances, say he overheats.

@renchamp: @wildvine: @sc: Thanks for the answers, guys and sorry to bother you.