It's time for new Forums!

[thinx]

Deliberately sniping someone else's name maliciously will be a bannable offense, so we'll have to take care of it like we would any other personal attacks and trolling. It'll also be very easy for us to further rename them to get people their proper names back.

Thanks, this makes things more clear.

[asimon]

Sorry, but yes, join dates aren't going to matter much in the new forums.

Respectfully, I disagree.

[Thurallor]

Deliberately sniping someone else's name maliciously will be a bannable offense, so we'll have to take care of it like we would any other personal attacks and trolling. It'll also be very easy for us to further rename them to get people their proper names back.

To save yourself some effort, a suggestion:

PM a random number to every active poster on the old forum.

Then, people can PM you the same number on the new forum to verify their identity. (Or create a special account for it so your inbox isn't overwhelmed.)

Edit: If you can't get an IT person or engineer to write that script for you, ask ChatGPT.

[istvana]

Maliciously is an interesting word - whose meaning is far from clear. Totally apart from how you would ever know someone's motivation if they are clever enough not to say it.

If someone takes my name - which I have had for many years - because it is a name they like and they were just typing in names they liked until they got one - that certainly isn't malicious.

If they knew I had had it for many years, but took it because they liked it with no animus towards me that still is not malicious.

If you want to protect names of long-time forum members the way would be to say that anyone who had a name for x years or more or xxxx posts or more or both could petition to get it back whether it is taken maliciously or not. That is not your approach, however. Note that I am expressing no value judgment here - but focusing purely on what your rules will be not what they should be.

As a lawyer who spent 30 years dealing with the meaning of words like malicious - it seems that the *only* way you could revert a name under that standard is if the person taking it actually said on the forums or in a message something like "haha I got your name eat poop and die".

[Cordovan]

Maliciously is an interesting word - whose meaning is far from clear. Totally apart from how you would ever know someone's motivation if they are clever enough not to say it.

If someone takes my name - which I have had for many years - because it is a name they like and they were just typing in names they liked until they got one - that certainly isn't malicious.

If they knew I had had it for many years, but took it because they liked it with no animus towards me that still is not malicious.

If you want to protect names of long-time forum members the way would be to say that anyone who had a name for x years or more or xxxx posts or more or both could petition to get it back whether it is taken maliciously or not. That is not your approach, however. Note that I am expressing no value judgment here - but focusing purely on what your rules will be not what they should be.

As a lawyer who spent 30 years dealing with the meaning of words like malicious - it seems that the *only* way you could revert a name under that standard is if the person taking it actually said on the forums or in a message something like "haha I got your name eat poop and die".

My expectation is that most of us regulars will not have an issue in getting our name due to the fact we're used to logging in regularly and will be able to carve out a few minutes to initially set up our forum accounts pretty close to immediately when the forums open. Also how it goes when new servers open, for example. Especially since it is easy to change display names at any time we will be able to sort out trolling. Trolls will be treated very harshly. I do expect a few edge cases where legit people take someone else's name because they wanted it and just didn't know or whatever, but we'll have to sort through it.

The intention is to presume that people who have had the name prior and have made regular contributions to the forums will get the name in a case of conflict. Thankfully, this doesn't need to meet legal burden, although the idea of a livestream'd me as judge People's Court to sort through forum names sounds like a fun and extremely terrible idea.

[Thurallor]

Thankfully, this doesn't need to meet legal burden, although the idea of a livestream'd me as judge People's Court to sort through forum names sounds like a fun and extremely terrible idea.

On the contrary, this is probably the best idea you have ever had in your life.

[YamydeAragon]

My expectation is that most of us regulars will not have an issue in getting our name due to the fact we're used to logging in regularly and will be able to carve out a few minutes to initially set up our forum accounts pretty close to immediately when the forums open. Also how it goes when new servers open, for example. Especially since it is easy to change display names at any time we will be able to sort out trolling. Trolls will be treated very harshly. I do expect a few edge cases where legit people take someone else's name because they wanted it and just didn't know or whatever, but we'll have to sort through it.

The intention is to presume that people who have had the name prior and have made regular contributions to the forums will get the name in a case of conflict. Thankfully, this doesn't need to meet legal burden, although the idea of a livestream'd me as judge People's Court to sort through forum names sounds like a fun and extremely terrible idea.

Well i don't like that expected handling of the names. It is still too random. I know of people that deliberately try to pretend to be others with grieving purpose. What if you give all accounts, the same default name on the forums that they currently have now with 1 time deal button to opt out their historical name & choose a new 1? That way another player can choose that name only if the 1st person quit to it. That will give the original holder of that name, the chance to warn their friends about what will will be the new name so other persons can't pretend to be the 1st person.

[DoRonRon]

[Edit] Nvm, found what I was asking for.

[Pontin_Finnberry]

New forums will be great!

[LabadalofDorlomin]

So, no better mobile device interface then?

That is disappointing.

[maartena]

New forum URL will be: forums.lotro.com
Old read-only forum URL will be: forums-old.lotro.com

Obviously, I tried https://forums-new.lotro.com and got right to it. Register button doesn't work yet, so don't even try.

It looks good, but I certainly am going to miss a dark mode. I also noticed it needs a little polishing, as the help button still goed to a "magic the gathering online" forum help, so you obviously just ripped it from a different daybreak games game....
(Not a problem, why invent the wheel again when someone already did it!)

If you are looking for a few forum beta testers before you fully go live, just let me know. I'd be glad to help, try all the different formatting, make a few polls, add images and videos, see how the scaling works, etc, etc....

A few questions:

- Will the background image change periodically with the "latest" content? Looks like it is based on "Before the Shadow" currently, but it would be nice to see some variation.

- It looks like the forums are based on XenForo. This means there are "styles" you can add to the forum that may be a good candidate for a dark mode. There are many ones available for download, and as a commercial organization you probably want to go for a purchased one...... but they are cheap, typically only $10. I don't know if that is an option, but it may certainly be worth checking out.....

[TesalionLortus]

Obviously, I tried https://forums-new.lotro.com and got right to it. Register button doesn't work yet, so don't even try.

LOL! Good try, that's an early preview.

Looks nice, though like I mentioned in DM feedback, I still think is not ideal to have "General Discussion" is such a privilaged position (General, which tends to house drama, sometimes warranted, sometimes not, but drama so not exactly inviting first impression ). Now everything else is additionally pushed further down by Bullroaer section and even less likely to be clicked on/explored by a casual. But everything else, with Content/Housing/Crafting etc, would be where some quality, drama-free stuff ends up, like Filling-in-the-gaps, for example.

Plus, still no idea where should I put a review of score of new expac which relates to both Instanced and Landscape spaces, and sure as hell I don't wanna put it under General... knowing its track record. Or, once I update and repost it under the new forum - the List of LOTRO Storylines, which also relates to both Landscape and Instances. Those two categories are great but feels like we also need Adventuring in Middle-earth's replacement that's a little bit more focused/named somewhat differently, which could have some wiggle room to put things that relate to both creative aspects of the game that intertwine in landscape and instances. But at the same time clear enough so specific cases, like individual quests or instances, aren't discussed there but go into Content categories.

[Cordovan]

LOL! Good try, that's an early preview.

Looks nice, though like I mentioned in DM feedback, I still think is not ideal to have "General Discussion" is such a privilaged position (General, which tends to house drama, sometimes warranted, sometimes not, but drama so not exactly inviting first impression ). Now everything else is additionally pushed further down by Bullroaer section and even less likely to be clicked on/explored by a casual. But everything else, with Content/Housing/Crafting etc, would be where some quality, drama-free stuff ends up, like Filling-in-the-gaps, for example.

Plus, still no idea where should I put a review of score of new expac which relates to both Instanced and Landscape spaces, and sure as hell I don't wanna put it under General... knowing its track record. Or, once I update and repost it under the new forum - the List of LOTRO Storylines, which also relates to both Landscape and Instances. Those two categories are great but feels like we also need Adventuring in Middle-earth's replacement that's a little bit more focused/named somewhat differently, which could have some wiggle room to put things that relate to both creative aspects of the game that intertwine in landscape and instances. But at the same time clear enough so specific cases, like individual quests or instances, aren't discussed there but go into Content categories.

If you've got thoughts on what to call such a forum we can definitely consider it. It had earlier been suggested that "Adventuring in Middle-earth" was too broad a category and essentially confused people, so the idea came up to split out Instances and Not Instances.

[YamydeAragon]

If you've got thoughts on what to call such a forum we can definitely consider it. It had earlier been suggested that "Adventuring in Middle-earth" was too broad a category and essentially confused people, so the idea came up to split out Instances and Not Instances.

That is easy! Divide it between:

• Adventuring to Private Instances
• Adventuring to Open Landscape

[TesalionLortus]

If you've got thoughts on what to call such a forum we can definitely consider it. It had earlier been suggested that "Adventuring in Middle-earth" was too broad a category and essentially confused people, so the idea came up to split out Instances and Not Instances.

Yeah, that's definitely a good choice and it was a bit "neither here nor there" category. But hard to come up with a name for a theoretical third one, to be sure. Maybe Immersion of Middle-earth? Creativity Behind the Game? Chronicles of LOTRO? The Art of LOTRO? Discuss the game's score, wider storylines, the game's art, everything else creative about the game that doesn't fit into other categories? A little bit similar to Adventuring, granted, but at least wouldn't invite specific quest discussion I guess, given there is a specific landscape/instanced space for this now. Plus the bug/issues stuff will move to bug reports. PS: LOTRO Art may be a better, shorter version, perhaps

[Cordovan]

That is easy! Divide it between:

• Adventuring to Private Instances
• Adventuring to Open Landscape

The "Adventuring to" part seems a bit confusing, actually, makes it seem a bit "on the way to". Maybe just Private Instances Discussion and Open Landscape Discussion?

[TesalionLortus]

The "Adventuring to" part seems a bit confusing, actually, makes it seem a bit "on the way to". Maybe just Private Instances Discussion and Open Landscape Discussion?

If this is about the existing new "content" sections - because they may sound a bit "lame"? Is that what Yamyde meant? - then maybe just Instances Discussion and Landscape Discussion. Plus, Lotro Art Discussion, for example? For that third section I argued for, that could blur the lines a bit, if it relates to both landscape and instances in a more creative sense like musical scores, specific lore characters, art design behind the game's cultures, or some bigger narratives, you name it. Or maybe a good alternative would be to use two words for this one, like "Lotro's Lore & Art Discussion" Now, perhaps that can be more appropriate and clear. So when people ask stuff like "where did the Dourhands came from", that's where they would put it too

[YamydeAragon]

The "Adventuring to" part seems a bit confusing, actually, makes it seem a bit "on the way to". Maybe just Private Instances Discussion and Open Landscape Discussion?

That works!

[zachhope]

The "Adventuring to" part seems a bit confusing, actually, makes it seem a bit "on the way to". Maybe just Private Instances Discussion and Open Landscape Discussion?

I think we can strip this down a bit more:

Instance Discussion
Landscape Discussion

[Cordovan]

I think we can strip this down a bit more:

Instance Discussion
Landscape Discussion

That's what I had done originally, I turned "Adventuring in Middle-earth" into:

- Gameplay Discussion
- Instance Content
- Landscape Content

But I can see the benefit of changing "Content" to "Discussion".

[YamydeAragon]

If this is about the existing new "content" sections - because they may sound a bit "lame"? Is that what Yamyde meant? - then maybe just Instances Discussion and Landscape Discussion. Plus, Lotro Art Discussion, for example? For that third section I argued for, that could blur the lines a bit, if it relates to both landscape and instances in a more creative sense like musical scores, specific lore characters, art design behind the game's cultures, or some bigger narratives, you name it. Or maybe a good alternative would be to use two words for this one, like "Lotro's Lore & Art Discussion" Now, perhaps that can be more appropriate and clear. So when people ask stuff like "where did the Dourhands came from", that's where they would put it too

I didn't mean anything, just giving a prety name to the divisions that the CM mentioned 1st. What you are saying sound like the already existing:

• J.R.R. Tolkien For lore related themes
• Creative Endeavours For anything player made artistic
• Content Creators and Community Sites For player websites or blogs

[TesalionLortus]

I didn't mean anything, just giving a prety name to the divisions that the CM mentioned 1st. What you are saying sound like the already existing:

• J.R.R. Tolkien For lore related themes
• Creative Endeavours For anything player made artistic
• Content Creators and Community Sites For player websites or blogs

Ah, well, yeah, I agree Discussion sounds nicer than Content, which is a bit "raw".

No, I meant game's lore discussions, not pure Tolkien. And art made by the devs (like Bill's music), not players. And both are usually intertwined, art and game lore, their creative choices with their lore and stories. So I think the "Lotro Art & Lore Discussion" would be the best I came up with today

[YamydeAragon]

Ah, well, yeah, I agree Discussion sounds nicer than Content, which is a bit "raw".

No, I meant game's lore discussions, not pure Tolkien. And art made by the devs (like Bill's music), not players. And both are usually intertwined, art and game lore, their creative choices with their lore and stories. So I think the "Lotro Art & Lore Discussion" would be the best I came up with today

I get what you mean. think that most the current descriptions of the Forums section & subsections are too generic or don't have the names clear. It will be better if all the names are straight forward on the meaning & the sections get subdivided as much as possible, specially those that get used the most, That way finding the corresponding thread on theme to talk about will be more specific,

[TesalionLortus]

I get what you mean. think that most the current descriptions of the Forums section & subsections are too generic or don't have the names clear. It will be better if all the names are straight forward on the meaning & the sections get subdivided as much as possible, specially those that get used the most, That way finding the corresponding thread on theme to talk about will be more specific,

Well, I agree being specific is welcome. If Cordovan is up for this, I guess "LOTRO Score & Art Discussion" (used score to differentiate the game's music from player music) and "LOTRO Lore & Storylines" may be as specific as they get.

So then you would have:


Landscape Discussion

- specific quests, objectives, landscape quest content, specific locales, Fill-in-the-gaps, "where do I start BtS Afterwords" or "what's the quickest levelling route through Rohan"



Instances Discussion

- mostly full-fledged instances, Epic Battles, skirmishes etc, and associated content, and things like discussions of specific instances and their mechanics



LOTRO's Lore & Storylines

(or Game Lore & Storylines? which sounds better?)

- anything widely story oriented goes here, like my List of Story Loose Ends, specific questions to MoL, praises of BtS storyline, the little lore tidbits behind the game, different types of pipe-weed represented in the game, "what do these dwarven runes mean" or opinions behind more controversial storylines



LOTRO's Score & Art

(or Game Score & Art?)

- anything to do with Bill's music, or Chance Thomas, or others, and some art and worldbuilding behind the game too, like questions about who made the newest expansion promo art, discussing the game's art like textures, the lovely hairstyles of the elves etc.

[Elhiril]

A section for roleplayers would be great.