The rules are too strict...

[2freeYour]

First off, many posts I have made on this site so far were intentionally "trolly" a little bit. In this thread though, I am serious. I want to point out flaws with the rules for the custom card section. Keep in mind this is all my personal opinion, but I hope you (the staff) at least consider my proposals.

 

Something that confused me: http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/topic/326539-ycm-casual-cards-designs-rules/ At the top of this thread you mention "advanced" only even though these rules are for "casual".

 

 

 

Reviews must be no shorter than 25-30 words in Singles and 50-60 words in Multiples.

 

So if someone makes a short review you expect them to count their words? This rule seems unnecessary, because it's a hassle.

 

Are replies that are no reviews allowed? Something like: "Nice card, I really like the idea. Also the image fits your card well." Or do you want everyone to be robotic, allowing no smalltalk?

 

 

 

All members who post their cards from the cardmaker as pictures will be required to post their card's information beneath their cards, regardless if they can read off the image or not. You may use the template below as-is or modify it to your particular needs.

 

This is a hassle as well. I kinda see why this is, but if you can read all information on the image clearly then this shouldn't be required. It is the thread creator's problem if the image hosting site is down or people use a bad mobile phone browser. This rule should be a "recommendation" instead, not a rule. Of course I'm still fine with the staff locking threads when no images and no card information is available.

 

 

 

CUTOFF FOR DEAD THREADS

There are two conditions for determining if a thread is dead or not; depending if the member in question is the one who created the thread in the first place or not.

Condition 1 (Normal): If a thread has no replies for 14 or more days, it is considered to be dead and SHOULD NOT be posted in. Threads posted in after this period will be considered as necrobumped and will be locked on-sight; either with a verbal note or none at all.

 

Why?? Why would you restrict people from posting in a thread just because no one has posted in it for 14 days? 14 days is not necroposting. Has this rule ever had to be enforced? I can't see this being human at all. The staff would have to be like: "Your review doesn't actually break any rules whatsoever but uuuh, this thread is 15 days old, so yeah sorry. Locked." I'd extend the time limit to "kill off" threads once 2-3 months have passed.

 

 

 

Condition 2 (Thread creator): If bumping your own thread, you are allowed to do it up to 60 days from the last post date, however you are REQUIRED to have updated the thread somewhat (either you added some cards, fixed up effects and so forth); otherwise, condition 1 applies. You will need to mention what changes you have made.

 

Would it be fine to open a new thread in that case then? If yes, this rule seems pointless. If no, then welp: all that effort has gone to waste just because the cards are 60 days old.

 

 

 

OCG is NOT the main focus of a review (i.e. be given more weight over important factors like playability, flavor, design, etc). You will be punished if you are caught using OCG as the main focal point. It is important that we understand what the card is trying to do, yes, but the other things must come first.

 

Well then could you please enforce usage of PSCT? You can't review a card if you don't know what it does. Otherwise, get rid of this rule. All it does is potentially keeping a thread at 0 replies without the author knowing why.

 

So yeah, please don't just shrug me off :( Generally forum rules are good when they are common sense. The one's I mentioned are not. I'm not bashing the rules just for fun. In the end I have the same intend as you. Making this site a better place.

[Snatch Steal]

The advanced clause applies to most sections of the forum. When your post is only a few words in length, it is what we call a "shitpost." Normally, you can spruce up your comments with a couple of words (ideally, 25-30 words is a few sentences), but if you really don't have anything to say, then don't just post something that doesn't actually contribute to the thread.

 

When all you say is "Nice card, I like it," you're not actually helping move the topic along. Explain why you like the card, what interactions it has, or where it could use improvement.

 

Some people cannot read the text on the card, so it's just easier for the OP to include it underneath. This shouldn't be a hassle at all.

 

If the owner of a card wants to post a card after 2 weeks, they can repost it. Bumping allows a card to stay on the front page, so if the card has already spent plenty of time on the front page, it's time to make a new one.

 

Most people's card grammar is proficient enough for you to understand what the card does. You can revise it so that it sounds and looks more proper, but you still have to size up the effect.

 

Basically, if you really care about custom cards, learn to review the effect and not the aesthetic, although you can review the aesthetic if you have already reviewed the card.

[Flash Flyer - Sakura]

The rules apply for both areas; I might've forgotten to fix the copy/paste at the top of that thread to reflect Casual Cards / Multiples / Experimental Cards, as I used the Advanced ones as a base. Bar minor differences, the rulebook is theoretically the same in terms of application. Do I even need to talk about Joke Cards outside of not turning it into a spamhole and general rules?

 

(I will be making that correction right now.)

 

So let's see: 

 

Advanced Clause word count

 

As long as you explain your thought process about a certain card, you should generally meet the word requirement without thinking about it. This has been in place for a good while, even before I was promoted to CC moderator. Intent is to make sure thread creators get quality reviews and not just "good card 10/10" or something unrelated to design. You CAN compliment the user for having good pics and other things not related to the card's design, but needs to accompany actual critique. 

 

We had a member several years ago who did the latter quite often in Advanced/Realistic Cards (as it was known back then), and while some newer members liked him, a lot of the older ones didn't find it helpful. (I'm talking about ragnarok, if newer users don't already know about him)

 

You are not expected to know EVERY aspect of card design, but just mention specific interactions in proper sentences and that's fine.

 

If you're a little short but said everything you needed to, then I'm not going to enforce the word counter. Again, most users who do write proper responses generally go over the limit without thinking about it. 25-30 words (or double that for Multiples) really isn't that much if you can back up your review with details. 

 

Stats underneath card

 

We have no control over whether Imgur/the like tend to screw up on uploading/be on downtime, so leaving the written stats underneath in the event that happens at least gives members something to look at and grade. As I said in that rule, some members do access this site on a mobile device / something with small screen or have bad eyesight and can't read off the card.

 

I haven't been too strict on enforcing having EVERYTHING written below (well, I'm not going to penalize you), but you at least need to have the effects underneath. 

 

(You can just copy/paste the effect from the cardmaker / TCGEditor, and not have to rewrite everything from there. Everything else should be simple enough)

 

Part of the reason you need effect printed underneath is if we need to correct wording, it'll be easier to do so as opposed to transcribing from the image (especially if the text is small). 

 

Necrobump rule

 

1. As mentioned above, if card threads are dead after two weeks; either the thread creator stopped caring to update it (and got enough reviews/views) or people have no interest in it. Single cards really don't have a reason to be bumped up after 14 days of inactivity. 

 

(I have let late bumps slide in the past if they're a couple days past the deadline, but definitely a month is too long [which is somewhat in line with general policy]. I've seen some users bump threads from several years back.)

 

2. You can remake the thread if you pass the 60-day threshold of inactivity without updates. The reason I give you guys two months (roughly) is to account for coursework / actual jobs / life, and time to plan out stuff in sets. You can always make a new thread, yes, but it's much easier to just update your original thread, especially if you've put a lot of effort into the set. 

 

I've had users ask if they can remake their old threads; answer is yes. (Or in rare cases, just let them modify their original threads due to the size of them alone; so far, this has only been granted to that DBZ user, and even he has been told a couple times about the necro rules over the years.)

 

OCG rule

 

Aside from new members, this really isn't an issue. Effects DON'T have to be written in PSCT (late 5Ds is fine), but PSCT gets rid of any vague rulings on how the card is supposed to work. 

 

See the note about rag. There've been plenty of instances in the past where he just fixed OCG (and rated a card and left); some of my old threads included. 

 

You CAN comment about the OCG/card grammar if it makes the card difficult to understand (again, this is usually restricted to newer members) or if the way it's written implies that it can/not missing timing or something related to how the card works under existing mechanics. 

 

All this rule basically says is "don't just fix/berate OCG and call it a day in the thread". You can help the user fix their wording, but must also come with a proper review under the Advanced Clause. 

 

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I know that this piles on a lot of pressure on newer members who may not have a working knowledge of proper design or the current gamestate (I was like this myself when I joined several years ago), but the rules are in their current form so card creators can get proper reviews and you, as the reviewer, learn how to critique a card correctly (or least explain yourself). 

 

In a shorter form:

• Advanced Clause word requirement isn't that heavy, and should be doable if you elaborate a bit on your thought process. Even one example of its potential interaction should get you close. (I don't want to force people to write short essays just to review a single card, but explanations are required)
  • In the past, this would've amounted to a couple paragraphs. 
• Written data beneath card is to make it easier for members to view your cards in the event Imgur screws up, or if we can't read off the card itself. You won't get penalized for not doing this for threads after the update, but you will get an in-thread reminder.
• If threads are dead, the member probably stopped pushing for views and moved on. If you want to update your set threads, then you have 2 months to do it (I say 60 days so you don't get ripped off in February or something). 
• Main focus of a review should be the card's design in the gamestate. You can fix OCG later on, and/or point it out IF current wording makes it function differently from what it was originally intended to do.