BGFG Presents: N4G Wish List

Update: Just to note, if you like a feature, you should click the '^' for the item to add your vote for it. Don't just comment! Thank you. ~Christopher

Hello N4G people.

BGFG has put together a Wish List of items and they're asking for your help in prioritizing what should be accomplished as well as suggesting new features for N4G.

To see the list, head over to https://n4g.productlift.dev... . You can log in and vote on the features you want on N4G. As things are updated, you will get email updates on the progress of what's happening on the Wish List. Return anytime to update or vote on new items.

If you have other suggestions, you can either submit feedback from the Wish List (click the '+' sign on the upper right), comment below, send me a PM, or submit a ticket from https://n4g.com/tickets/add... .

BGFG hopes that by using this Wish List they can give you the chance to help shape N4G moving forward.

[gangsta_red]

Would love to see the return of following people. I believe you could add friends and follow them. I think I saw this type of feature when I first joined.

[DOMination-]

You could also ignore people which was a pain in the arse for trolls like me. Please don't bring that feature back!

[VenomUK]

I will definitely give feedback... once I have time to make a new ProductLife account to give the feedback.

Personally, I'd rather NOT have the ability to sort comments on upvote ranking because then you have people gaming the system, or just saying stuff that they know will be popular, regularly there are some great comments that are not upvoted.

But definitely 1 to 10 fractions on reviews and comment hyperlinks.

[Ninver]

Haha self proclaimed. I admire your honesty.

[Lightning77]

"Users have fedback that people focus more on downvotes to disagree rather than participating in the conversation, this is exacerbated by the fact that guest accounts can also upvote/downvote."

The upvote and downvote system definitely needs changing. We need to encourage better conversations instead of a ton of downvotes with out reason and control the tribalistic behavior.

[Christopher]

Tribalistic behavior isn't going to change because of the upvote/downvote removal. And there are a lot of ways this could go. It was added because people suggested it, but it may not actually create better conversations at all and result in people doing quick comments or just leaving the site entirely because they would rather not deal with certain commenters who have very strong opinions.

[Nyxus]

Yeah if I'm being honest I don't feel like replying to every troll. Sometimes I'd rather just leave a downvote.

[RauLeCreuset]

Yup. What you and Nyxus said.

You had an exchange recently that I felt was a good example of why the disagree option needs to stay. Without getting too specific, you countered someone, who accused others of having a bad interpretation, by replying with an argument supported by direct links as evidence of what the subject had said. Did that sway the person you were replying to? No, they just doubled down on their original position. Not every argument (or commenter, honestly) is worthy of engagement beyond hitting the disagree.

[Neonridr]

problem is oftentimes people were being downvoted based on their reputation, not what was said.

[Christopher]

***problem is oftentimes people were being downvoted based on their reputation, not what was said.***

At least that public opinion doesn't stop them from being shown or lessen their ability to communicate, though. If the upvotes/downvotes do nothing to hamper conversation, then who cares why people vote one way or another? The words are still there.

I think there's a fixation on votes because people want to say what they want without having that public opinion shown.

And, what about the comments below the main comment? How are people supposed to feel with one gets hidden down below the main comment but is liked more? Is it fair to have comments shown based on who made what comment first and then ignore public opinion of that comment entirely?

[RauLeCreuset]

"If the upvotes/downvotes do nothing to hamper conversation, then who cares why people vote one way or another?"

Either...

1) People who have an unhealthy investment in the appearance of having their public comments validated, or not challenged, by other randos on the internet.

Or...

2) People who want to engage in bad faith commentary without those annoying disagree indicators to challenge its credibility or distinguish it from good faith commentary.

[Lightning77]

I like to bring facts and links as well as rumors. I'm a numbers guy definitely. I bring good or bad rumors no matter the game or system. Yet still get downvoted because I guess I'm hurting their feelings?

I've even noticed somebody was even following my post and downvoting for no reason. ppl are definitely have extremists behavior.

I accurately predicted Redfall was early May, I reported Tango game works was going to show something at Xbox Direct. Even accurately predicted when MS was gonna announce their showcase also based off the timeline of when they'll have their showcase.

I want to be that guy with the most accurate info as possible. Still get DV'd for some reason. I think something needs to happen with the up and downvote system.

[BrainSyphoned]

You say this like there are rational things to respond to the 40+ downvote getters.

[RauLeCreuset]

Exactly. Some of the people pushing to get rid of it want to do so because they want to be able to push bad faith narratives without losing credibility. I'm not saying that Lightning falls into that category, but I know there have been one or more who pushing to get rid of the disagrees who had the name of their account changed after earning a reputation through antagonistic behavior. At some point you deserve to live with the reputation you earned. Best believe bad faith actors are just waiting for that feature to go away so they can spread nonsense and appear little more credible to users who aren't as familiar with them who otherwise would have scrutinized those comments more if the disagrees were there.

[Stanjara]

Voting system is fine, just add a reply to every... reply.

[Stanjara]

You see, like this...you cant reply on this.
Or maybe this is good to end a pointless discussion or start a fight.

[senorfartcushion]

The upvotes and downvotes on this comment prove the comment’s point.

[-Foxtrot]

Can we have a feature where articles submitted can be tagged as rumour / speculation, like maybe a special outline, colour or something to the article so people know it’s something based off supposed leakers.

Just it’s not allowed at the minute but sometimes these things do come true but at least this way we can point out something if it’s just speculation until it’s confirmed rather than not letting it on the site at all. Maybe amber for speculation, green for confirmed and red for disproven/fake. Remember when we had that little bar “do you believe this rumour”…that was fun.

[Christopher]

They are posted ar rumors as far as news types. Would it help you if there was a color coordination to the news types?

[-Foxtrot]

I mean I know we have a rumour tag but it’s never used as much and they still get failed because it’s too speculative or because of source

However if we take those ones that wouldn’t get through and make sure it’s not “crap crap” but more “here’s a fun bit of speculation / rumour that’s making the rounds, what do you think real or fake” I think it would be cool for discussions on here.

If it’s fake then at least there was a warning system in place to not look into it

[Lifexline]

I agree sometimes there are rumors that almost every other gaming website is running. Except this website because they say no source or unknown source as a report. But then why is their a rumor tag if they don’t seem to be allowed. If i submit a story that’s a rumor it always gets reported and ends up getting failed.

I definitely agree with the spam filter it’s ridiculous when a game release and this website seems to be flooded by reviews of just one game and other better stories get drowned by it. When most people don’t even look at the majority of those reviews with the exception of the big gaming websites like ign or game spot.

[darthv72]

I know what you mean. Many times rumors turn out to be true but due to the anonymous sources... they dont get into the site to be discussed. That should change. There are reasons why an anonymous source wants to remain anonymous but the info can still be corroborated. So that makes the rumor true despite not knowing the identity of the source.

If they are going to continue to have the rumor tag, they can at least allow anonymous sources as a valid point to why something is being labeled as "rumor".

[Eonjay]

Actually I find that most rumors are false, unsubstantiated, fanboy conspiracies, misleading, gross embellishments, speculative clickbait, hit jobs, fear mongering, recycled disproven content, or glorified opinion pieces/dreams.

Don't believe me, check out YouTube. Every little mention of every game/developer/hardware from every corner of 4chan gets a spotlight.
We don't need that. Or maybe a wild speculation section but it separate and it shouldn't be treated or validated as news. N4Gs policies keeps most of it at bay.

This is News for gamers not wild speculation for gamers. If that's what you are seeking portals like 4chan and YouTube provide that content in excess.

[RauLeCreuset]

@Eonjay

It would get weaponized so fast to spread FUD or "both sides" away bad news for one console or another.

[-Foxtrot]

“ This is News for gamers not wild speculation for gamers. If that's what you are seeking portals like 4chan and YouTube provide that content in excess.”

No one is saying to flood the place just ease up on it and make these pages obvious visually what they are

[Christopher]

***No one is saying to flood the place just ease up on it and make these pages obvious visually what they are***

Who decides what gets in and what doesn't? We have to have rules and guidelines, as people express constantly. What Eonjay and RauLeCreuset bring up is why we have the rules we have now as opposed to the end of the 360/PS3-era where people were rumoring about stacked motherboards and companies buying out people or making deals that never existed. It was more open in the past, but it was a problem and the last thing we wanted is a moderation team making decisions based on their whim.

[Lightning77]

We do miss out on so many good rumors. It's makes N4G feel out of the loop.

[Christopher]

-Foxtrot: I think this idea is more in line with the idea of bringing in an Open Zone element that isn't just tied to suggestions. I think the home page needs to keep questionable content from being spread like it's not a rumor (this happens a lot, see just the news on PSVR2 stuff in the last two days), but an Open Zone area where discussions can go wherever they want and not affect the home page might be more in line with less credible discussions.

Note: This is my opinion, not BGFG policy/opinion.

[Lightning77]

What exactly is the open zone?

[dumahim]

The page is blocked at work, so I'll submit it if it isn't there already, but I'd love to see other comment vote types brought back like Funny.

[CR7JUVE1897]

I know that this is a major reach, but I would like to see accounts have a verified status of systems that they own.

[IanTH]

How would they verify, by linking to your various usernames/tags for each platform? Perhaps they could let you have a photo spot for each console, and you could like take a pic with your username written in front of it in lieu of something like that, but it doesn't seem like a particularly easy solve. I own nearly every platform, so the barrier for verification would have to be pretty dang low for me to care to do it for each one of them.

[Eonjay]

Bring back the ability to mark comments for trolling and allow users to auto filter
Inappropriate and trolling comments.

[Jin_Sakai]

You can’t have the ability to mark comments as trolling because then fanboys would constantly mark the opposing side as trolling when anything is said that offends them.

[gold_drake]

yeh this was my first thought too haha that would get abused to no end

[GoodGuy09]

Downvotes should be gone probably to avoid triggering etc lol. N4G's community is a tad toxic...

[dumahim]

It is, but getting rid of downvotes isn't the answer. Getting rid of it on youtube was universally disliked.

[Rebel_Scum]

Bring in the ability to @ a user. It's really annoying if you want to reply to someone two comments in and you can't because you can't extend beyond that.

[JamesPond]

Yeah this would be great.

[shadowT]

News submission should be improved: e.g. you can only tag Xbox Series X, while Xbox Series S tag is available, but not selectable. Other example: Game Reviews are Reviews, while Hardware Reviews are not Reviews. Or sometimes you need to select Twitter as source and next time its not allowed. Sometimes you have to include the site in title, next time its forbidden. N4G is loosing so many good news submission, because of this Tag system, and / or strange rules..

[Christopher]

Xbox Series X and Series S tags both play the same games. Unnecessary to have both, the one tag applies to both. There is no Series S news that isn't Series X news, so there is only one tag for both.

***Game Reviews are Reviews, while Hardware Reviews are not Reviews.***

In our guidelines that I hope are updated on the main one, but this is written out in the guidelines for submissions here: https://n4g.com/user/blogpo...

"Reviews of games older than 6 months or hardware/culture reviews should be submitted as opinion pieces."

***Or sometimes you need to select Twitter as source and next time its not allowed.***

Again, part of our guidelines. Official sources which are developers and publishers are allowed to source twitter, non-professional sources are not allowed.

***Sometimes you have to include the site in title, next time its forbidden.***

Again, part of the guidelines, and this has been around since before I was here. Only reviews/previews get site names in the titles, others do not. One of the oldest rules on N4G.

---

It sounds to me like you just aren't familiar with the guidelines. Please see: https://n4g.com/user/blogpo...

[shadowT]

Why not simple? Instead having for Xbox Series X and S two different tags - and one is not even working - one tag for both.

Yes, I am maybe not familiar with all guidelines. But was expecting that in a "N4G Wish List" we can raise a "N4G Wish List"...

[Christopher]

I'm just being informative about the guidelines. That's all.

[JamesPond]

Agreed, seems like the tags need a clean up.

[shadowT]

perfect. Thanks!

[mandf]

I think gaming id's should be mandatory to comment in that specific gaming system. It would keep trolling to a minimum and encourage better conversations. It would also out people that always claim to play a game that never have. A lot of people have left this site over the years because of narrative driven fanboyosm.

[cl1983]

I got what your thought process on this subject, but a flaw in that idea is I can use my brother's system and create gamertags on them.

[mandf]

You still have to play the games. A fake account is exposed for by its inactivity

[Orchard]

@mandf But what stops someone simply submitting someone else's / a random persons profile? We'd need some kind of manual validation process by the mods.

[IanTH]

I think that seems excessive if I'm understanding that right. As in, if I want to comment on a story that is tagged PlayStation, I'd have to have my PSID verified on N4G?

I think if you want to have an optional way to prove you own specific systems, doing that is a sensible and viable addition for those that want to prove they own what they say they own. But I also think it would create problems with mistagged articles keeping people from commenting, or people interested in a different system unable to ask questions, etc. I think it would stifle commentary in a lot of ways. Potentially also only creating positive echo chambers, not sure.

[dumahim]

Keep trolling to a minimum by putting your gamertag out there? That's just handing them the trolling silver bullet on a fluffy pillow with fanfare.

[Mr_cheese]

Personally I'd love to have an option to push opinion pieces off the front page. There are too many, and a large chunk are just for clicks.
I'd rather have official news and original content such as interviews etc.

[ApocalypseShadow]

This. Much this.

[darkrider]

Agree, opinion pieces are so bad. Sometimes they sem written by someone that doesn't play or are just payed PR.

[hotnickles]

I’d really like a way to follow certain games so if an article comes out about that game it’s easy to find.

[Mr_cheese]

Great idea

[JamesPond]

Great idea, maybe having game specific pages which then allow people to follow the game, the dev/publishing company and then also allows the dev/publisher company to post their own updates, similar to how Steam game pages work but in this case there would be more community interaction.

[hotnickles]

Yeah for sure. Even the little updates like bug fixes that don’t deserve an entire article would be cool on game specific pages. It’s not an issue when you curate your own content.

[Elda]

It would be nice if folks would respect other folks positive comments or opinions.

[melons]

More retro platforms please! Huge rise in retro gaming interest across the internet in the last few years but seems the site only goes as far back as the PS2 era.

[senorfartcushion]

Features to increase discussion and to decrease “your console Vs mine” discussions.

Also more freedom around political posts. Comments about major game companies on a political level always get blocked by mods unfairly as “spam” “inappropriate” or “childish” even though they represent real adult discussion. To brush off salient adult topics as “childish” is incredibly ironic.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

This site cannot handle political discussions at all. Can barely handle differing gaming preference.

[Orchard]

I'd respectfully disagree on this one. There's been enough politics the last few years being blasted at us from all angles (and still on-going) that it's nice to have somewhere that is just focused on gaming and is an escape from politics.

I want less politics in my gaming, not more.

[Christopher]

Absolutely no to political posts. We will keep our guidelines on how it is, which is that only when it is directly tied to a developer or publisher will it be allowed.

And going political and making things political, typically with trollish terms, will continue to get marked as such.

That isn't going to change. And that's because people can't discuss them without going to childish and simplistic comparisons and remarks that file everyone under just two extremes and leads to almost entirely namecalling individuals and the parties involved.

N4G will remain neutral on politics by not making our content about politics except when it's relevant and not when people want to make something about politics.

[senorfartcushion]

Politics is the name for “adults talking to one another.”

There will be enough politics in every post. There already is. And there is no such thing as neutral.

To try to avoid talking about the subject is very strange to me. It’s like trying to escape the air. It’s annoying that societal interaction has a name but it does. It’s not something that can’t be turned on and off - especially on a website with anonymous user accounts.

I’m not the trolling type. The worst thing about N4G is that it mostly consists of grown men arguing about who has the best PlayStation or whatever. This is the legacy of the site and probably will be until it gets shut down. There is meat in the comments somewhere, but the meaty comments are usually banned because they used the certain keywords. Politics is one keyword.

[Gameseeker_Frampt]

N4G definitely needs better moderators. If you can tell by their comments and what stories they fail which company they prefer, the system is broken. Many contributors have left because of the bias and now what few submissions N4G get are usually focused on store sales and console wars. N4G is a news aggregate site that doesn't cover most stories from IGN, Gamespot, Eurogamer. etc.

A functional SEARCH would also be helpful for looking up past submissions. Currently one can use SEARCH to see how many thousands of days in the past one can go and get a single page of random submissions.

[massterchef]

Couldn't agree more, a clean sweep of moderators is a must. You can tell by all of his replies he has no interest in change.

[piroh]

Let me pin at least 2 channels so i can see PS5/XS or PS5/Switch news

[S2Killinit]

So which items got voted in?