Why two channels?

I can't speak for Justice, I don't play on the server, but global channel fragmentation is actually quite common. Triumph, for example, has a couple of Triumph Watch Channels. Victory has at least two Victory Badge channels. Then there are the multiple private channels that exist on each server. BattleClinic, for example, has a private channel. The Dolls, one of Triumph's older themed Supergroups, has a private channel. Members of the Girls of Nukem High, another Triumph Themed Supergroup, have a private channel.

There are multiple reasons that drive people to create private channels, or to create splinter groups of existing channels.

Sometimes, in the case of the original splits on Victory Badges and Triumph Watch, it was to get around one of the design faults of the global channel system. Currently once you join a channel, you've joined it, whether or not you actually enter the channel... or play. So Channels that have been around for a significant amount of time can wrack up huge member lists... that the mods can't do anything about unless a player is logged on. Many channel owners then create a second channel, invite all of the active players to the second channel, then let the first channel just die. They can't delete it, but who knows. Maybe one day the developers will allow channel moderators to purge channel members who are not logged on.

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Then there are the various personal conflicts that can result from channel problems. Kay Parfait and Magenta Bolt, to use as an example from Triumph, got fed up with problem players and issues in Triumph Watch, and simply created their own private channel for the people they liked playing with.

If you browse over to the Triumph Section of the board, you'll find a couple of posts by, or about, players like Sun Splitter and TamakiRevolution. These guys are well known for derailing conversations in the Triumph Watch channels and making life miserable for anybody actually trying to get a task force or badge hunt together, as referenced by a particular thread. All it takes is one or two bad apples, and players won't be inclined to visit or use a particular channel.

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The Global Channel system used to be limited to, I want to say 5, 5 channels for one global account. A little over a year ago the limit was raised to 10, so for most players with only one or two servers, it's not a big deal to watch the big global channel, keep an eye on the supergroup channel, keep an eye on the smaller role-playing channel or splinter channel, and so on and so forth.

Part of me wonders why on earth you think this. Part of me says I don't want to know. Part of me says you typed this just to be prat and get yourself flamed.

Thing is that I can come up with several good reasons to have private channels. For starters, if you have a supergroup, there's a good chance that many of your SG members will be playing on multiple servers, or might be playing a different side of the game (heroes or villains). Having a global channel enables a SG leader to keep track of "everybody" whose playing online, whether or not they are actually on a character in that supergroup. If somebody wants to do a Task Force, Trial, or Strike Force, they just announce it in the global channel, and SG member's have time to switch over and bring a character to the event.

A second reason is that you can communicate with other players and avoid people you might not like very much.

From your typed post, I suspect that you've probably been thrown on a couple ignore lists and that quite a few people don't want to play with you. I can only presume that you want private channels banned so that everybody has to listen to what you have to say and you can join and speak in any channel you wish. No, I don't have any evidence to back this particular train of thought up, but I'm really not able to fathom why anybody would advocate the point you have if this wasn't part of the reason.

All of me thinks you took him seriously and shouldn't have.

To make my point on this, I'm going to point you to this thread: http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=199172

In it, a player on our forums initially reported information on Half Life 3 and a Half Life Re-imagined thinking that the news came from a realistic twitter account for Gabe Newell.

Just because something somebody says is an obvious fake, or an obvious sarcastic comment, or an obvious joke, does not mean that everybody realizes that. It's important, especially on these forums where there are lots of new players who will take anything at face value, to respond to the bad ideas and off-comments in such a way that even players with no background information will be able to understand why something is a bad idea, or why something is not a joke.

It's pretty unfair to jump on a poster for sarcastic comment with speculations on how they've been thrown onto ignore lists and how people likely don't want to play with them if you haven't taken the time to get to know them, their posting style or the community they post in. Whether a new player or a veteran poster who is new to a particular forum community, I think it's far more important for folks to spend a little time familiarizing themselves with the feel of the community the intend to post in as well as the posting nuances of its regular posters. It doesn't take much time to realize that Justice is a crazy, carefree, sarcastic group of folks and that Rule #1 in the Justice forums is "Don't take anything too seriously."

Welcome to Justice.

Snacks are over to the right.

Ur mom should be banned!





PS This is an example of Justice forum sarcasm!





PPS Please don't take this seriously.





PPPS No, really, it was a joke!





PPPPS OK, I know it is a tired joke, and really not all that funny, but I was kinda trying to make a point, you know?




PPPPPS *sigh* Never mind.




PPPPPPPPPPPP...whatever, where is my coffee?

Ok I read it and still don't see much logic in it, but it doesn't really matter to me. Was just curious really.

You expected a large, unorganized, and diverse group of people to all choose to do exactly the same thing because it would be the most logical and efficient way? Really?

Look at it this way, it is just another large Justice global channel, when I send out server wide announcements for events, teams or whatever, I send them to several channels. There are plenty of people who are in all the big Justice channels, and plenty who are only in one or some. Use them if you want, or don't. Up to you!

Well, except Pum got neg rep'd.... that's meaningful.... right? right?

Lol yes I suppose that was meaningful in a sad way.

Pum had the funniest post in here. He deserves positive rep. Some people need a sense of humor check.

I neg repped you for spelling humour wrong. Americans.

Actually, we prefer to be called 'Mericans.

Anyone who doesn't agree with this is getting neg repped, and then killed by our 'Merican peace-keeping force.

Nope. Rep is still there, you can still give and receive Rep, both positive and negative.

If you work hard enough, you can even see the rep comments left on your individual posts, but it's more hassle than it's worth for those of us that are rather prolific in our postings.

Is it not also the responsibility of the poster to give the benefit of the doubt if uncertain or to ask for clarifiation before posting a bunch of snarky assumptions? Your response implied Pum was a troll or didn't have any friends, or was on a lot of ignore lists. You posted earlier that you don't play on Justice, then proceeded to post a bunch of incorrect assumptions about an active player the people who do play on the server recognize.

You say people posting need to be aware that not everyone will understand. It's also a poster's responsibility to recognize that he or she is unfamiliar with a specific group or community and to know when to ask questions instead of making assumptions and guessing.

Hear, hear.

Teach that lousy good-for-nothing to come walking into Justice unarmed.