I'M TIRED OF THESE MUTHAFUCKIN BIRTHDAY THREADS ON THIS MUTHAFUCKIN CPMC

[JT]

So are we trying to break a record or something with all these birthday threads on the front page of CPMC? I don't mean to be a buzzkill, but a solid eight out of sixteen is kind of ridiculous. Perhaps we could consolidate them into a general birthday thread and then pin it at the top of the board?

[Drake]

Saw this in unread threads and thought it was your birthday.

[Tengukami]

My memory is that in last year's discussion on this, it was decided that birthday megathreads were a clusterfuck. I can attest that merging them all now would be superconfusing - when you add posts to a thread, they are ordered by timestamp, which would cause a lot of weird overlaps. One big thread also makes the avatar changing confusing, as the thread progresses. I personally see no problem moving bdays to LJ, or just not doing them, or even giving them a 24 hour autolock. A stickied megathread, though, would be logistically messier.

[fondue]

My memory is that in last year's discussion on this, it was decided that birthday megathreads were a clusterfuck. I can attest that merging them all now would be superconfusing - when you add posts to a thread, they are ordered by timestamp, which would cause a lot of weird overlaps. One big thread also makes the avatar changing confusing, as the thread progresses. I personally see no problem moving bdays to LJ, or just not doing them, or even giving them a 24 hour autolock. A stickied megathread, though, would be logistically messier.

I agree with this guy. Birthday threads could be placed in lettyjournal and have a 24-hour auto-lock (Lettyjournal is about posting stuff that happens in your life. Your birthday is about your life. BUT, if the birthday stuff gets too much, it should be restrained.)

[Jana]

Saw this in unread threads and thought it was your birthday.

"Happy Birthday JT- Awww."

[Reddyne]

Yeah, I noticed that early-mid June as well as mid July both had a number of birthdays for members that are active, veterans, well-established, or some combination therein. I didn't bother doing anything this year because it would besmirch Janaday. Some rules could be established and there's already some ideas here.

Spoiler:

Also I still have a preference for the name CPMC over SMC. Sorry.

[Tengukami]

The more I think about it, the more I like the 24 hour autolock. Likewise with birthday powers - there's at least one user whose birthday was over a week ago, still with those avatar-hackin' abilities activated.

I realize this is like, the only 2 or 3 weeks of the year where we have half the board's birthdays concentrated or something, but I think it would simplify and streamline things to have birthday powers automatically turn on when the Birthday Boy/Girl starts that thread. From that moment, the click is ticking - birthday powers on and thread open for 24 hours. Then, thread locks and powers turn off. Done and done. And keep the threads in LJ.

The actual l33t hax involved in coding this is beyond me, so far all I know it might be amazingly complex to write this into the site. Just offering my 2 cents.

[I have no name]

Alternatively there could be a birthday sub-board, sort of like LettyJournal but specifically for birthday threads.  The 24 hour thing could probably be done, although likely abused if it's awarded on thread creation.  The Happy Birthday usergroup having a 24 hour timer for power activation I don't think would be too hard.

[pineyappled]

Who the hell would check a board specifically for birthdays?

[Tengukami]

Alternatively there could be a birthday sub-board, sort of like LettyJournal but specifically for birthday threads.  The 24 hour thing could probably be done, although likely abused if it's awarded on thread creation.

How would that lend itself to abuse?

1. Birthday person starts thread.
2. Admin gives birthday powers, clock starts ticking.
3. After 24 hours, powers gone and thread locked.

Easy peasy.

[I have no name]

2. Admin gives birthday powers, clock starts ticking.

If it's awarded on thread creation then this step would have been skipped, which is what I thought you meant.

[Edible]

Not gonna add unnecessary rules and restrictions to an otherwise harmless and silly event we do for fun.

[Stuffman]

It sort of bothers me, but at the same time CPMC is kind of devoid of life at the moment so it's not like it's interrupting anything.

[helvetica]

I don't have the time to code in a system to give and revoke powers automatically.  Its a silly gimmick we do that's unique to our forums and has been a tradition for years.  Why should I waste what little freetime I have to code a complex system to regulate birthday threads and powers when you can just as easily just ignore the threads? 

Sorry a ton of people have birthdays mid July.  And hell, its not like even most people around here make threads for their day.  Lighten up and let people have a little fun on a rather meaningful day.  No one is forcing you to participate.

As for people having powers past their birthdays there is still a report button.  We are all human and we forget sometimes you know.

[HakureiSM]

Guys just chill out for a couple weeks, we're sorry we've all been born in the same month okay

Also, it's not like there was anything meaningful beyond 2 or 3 almost stagnant threads going on in the last few days.

Birthday threads will just go away in a bit lol

[Massaca]

So I was wondering about something and after searching for a little bit and re-reading a few of the stickies without getting an answer figured I should just ask here.

What exactly are these "powers" given to users on their birthday? (from being in that usergroup).
Actually, is there an explanation of all the different usergroups somewhere that I somehow missed? I know a little of the "Idiot ____" and "Shrine Janitor" ones but that's it.

[fondue]

I was just thinking if we do the post birthday threads in LJ idea if it really gets out of hand.

[Tengukami]

Just to be clear here: I'm not "offended" that people have birthdays in July, and I kind of resent that strawman being trotted out. Nor am I proposing more rules. I was offering a technical suggestion for keeping things streamlined and reducing staff workload in the long run, that's all.

[fondue]

Just to be clear here: I'm not "offended" that people have birthdays in July, and I kind of resent that strawman being trotted out. Nor am I proposing more rules. I was offering a technical suggestion for keeping things streamlined and reducing staff workload in the long run, that's all.

I know, I just mostly agree with your suggestions.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

So I was wondering about something and after searching for a little bit and re-reading a few of the stickies without getting an answer figured I should just ask here.

What exactly are these "powers" given to users on their birthday? (from being in that usergroup).
Actually, is there an explanation of all the different usergroups somewhere that I somehow missed? I know a little of the "Idiot ____" and "Shrine Janitor" ones but that's it.

Most of the usergroups are explained here.

As for birthday powers, they gain the ability to change people's avatars.

[Massaca]

Cool, thanks.
Avy changing sounds quite interesting :3

[helvetica]

Just to be clear here: I'm not "offended" that people have birthdays in July, and I kind of resent that strawman being trotted out. Nor am I proposing more rules. I was offering a technical suggestion for keeping things streamlined and reducing staff workload in the long run, that's all.

The offended comment was not aimed at you at all.

The technical part was, and I wanted to clarify why I prefer to keep it manual, its not so much a big of a deal where automation really saves any effort.  Plus automating it opens it to abuse, where people could just change their birthdays by hand to gain powers and we would have no way of verifying it.  At least this way there has to be a conscious intervention.

[Helepolis]

Additionally, about the manual part. People could also drop me a PM on IRC so I can go revoke them in case we forgot/missed. I am in quite a lot of the major channels so surely I am not hard to find.

[JT]

TSO telling me to lighten up and not get offended by something trivial

Help, I'm drowning in irony!

I'm not trying to be like "HEY SHUT UP AND STOP BEING HAPPY" to the people with birthdays. I think that should go without saying. All I'm suggesting is that when you reach a point where half the board is being used for what's essentially one topic, then maybe the expedient thing to do would be to simply merge the threads. If you guys have tried that and it didn't work, then no big, but I hope you can at least understand where I'm coming from here.

[MatsuriSakuragi]

Help, I'm drowning in irony!

I'm not trying to be like "HEY SHUT UP AND STOP BEING HAPPY" to the people with birthdays. I think that should go without saying. All I'm suggesting is that when you reach a point where half the board is being used for what's essentially one topic, then maybe the expedient thing to do would be to simply merge the threads. If you guys have tried that and it didn't work, then no big, but I hope you can at least understand where I'm coming from here.

If I recall, we used to have one birthday megathread, and it got super-confusing.

Don't like that the board is full of birthday threads? Make some quality threads. You're a funny guy. You know how to do this. Consider yourself assigned.

[Suikama]

If I recall, we used to have one birthday megathread, and it got super-confusing.

Don't like that the board is full of birthday threads? Make some quality threads. You're a funny guy. You know how to do this. Consider yourself assigned.

oh shit, time for greatness

there better be plenty of drawings

[Edible]

k I think this thread has made its point.

[helvetica]

Ur a point