New feature: Teams & Sites

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Hi,

 

Important stuff in bold.

 

Many of you have asked how to get your team its own subforum in the 'Teams' section, but for a while now we've thought the current system inadequate for authoring and moderating teams fairly (whilst still allowing some limited autonomy for those team's owners and members). A more 2018 (or at the very least 201*) solution was needed, and perhaps this is it. We'll see.

 

The old 'Teams' section has been collapsed into an archive

This section can still be posted in, but has been dead for a long time. As part of this feature, it's been essentially removed from immediate view on the forums by bumping it to the bottom and collapsing the teams within it. It's been the least posted in section for a long time and can really be classified as 'dead wood' at this point.

 

We'll be trialling a new 'Teams & Sites' feature

'Teams & Sites' will allow you to apply to create a Team or Site page with its own mini forum. This uses the 'Club' feature for IPB so can be found at https://airsoft-forums.uk/clubs/ (or via the 'Teams & Sites') option in the main menu. Teams or sites themselves are supposed to offer a space for - well - teams or sites to organise (post news etc.) whilst providing a quick and easy application process for moderators to approve/deny (rather than the current 'send a PM' system).

 

Your application must be for a team or a site (nothing else)

Groups will not be allowed for fans of guns, gear or anything off-topic for now. We want that content to stay within the boundaries of the forums itself. A 'team' will be defined as any team that intends to play airsoft. A 'site' will be any skirmishing site that accepts entry by players (even private fields). For both of these discretion will be with moderators as to whether a team or site is approved. We may expand this later, but we're wary of cannibalising existing forum discussions.

 

For 'sites' specifically, you may need to prove that you have permission of a site owner if they should ask to be able to manage the page for that site (even after you've created it). We'd encourage forming a team if you want to discuss things to do with 'people who play at X site', but you may apply to create a 'site' even if you're not a marshal/employee of that site (just be conscious that you may be made to relinquish control at a later date if a site manager wants to manage their own).

 

Teams and sites will fall into two subcategories (depending on how private you want them)

• Public: Everyone can see the team/site and its posts, and can participate without joining.

• Open: Everyone can see the team/site and its posts, but only members can participate. Anyone can join.

• Read Only: Everyone can see the team/site and its posts, but only members can participate. Users need to be invited by a leader of the team/site to join.

 

There are no plans to allow 'private' or 'unlisted' teams or sites. This would go against our mostly exception free spirit of keeping the forums open to all so that information can be freely shared about.

 

'Leaders' of teams/sites will have limited permissions within them

There are a few things that 'leaders' and team/site-specific 'moderators' will be able to do:

• Move content/posts
• Lock threads
• Pin threads
• Split or merge content/posts
• Apply to have their team or site deleted

 

They will not be able to:

• Delete or 'hide' content
• Reply to threads they have locked

 

Forum rules still apply within these forums (but will be limited to content that isn't already acted upon by leaders or moderators of these teams/sites

You will not be granted the same amount of open speech as in other parts of the forums, but we will crack down on teams and sites that're clearly censoring valid criticism (this particularly goes for sites). The forums are always able to be home to your critique of a site or team, so perhaps consider giving your two cents there as well.

 

There will be a vote on whether to retain this feature

This should be some time in the next two months, but may be longer if it needs a lot of tweaking.

 

That's all. As usual, feel free to post below asking any questions. Please make a post in the Forum Feedback subforum thread or reply to this topic with questions and critique.