Should I Have An Archive Board?

[An Error Has Occured]

I used to have one. Cause back in the day like a year ago, I had lots of spam, so i just moved it all to an old post board. To keep my post count up. Then my forum was deleted and a whole bunch of that was lost, so havent had it sence. Although, I was just thinking about one yesterday. XD

[Fiery Gatoh]

I have an archieve board which is called the Notepad on my site.

I like having an archieve board since It allows me to look back on old posts and see what has happened to certain characters so that I can get a better grasp of them, if that makes sense.

But I personally think its good to have one on an RPG.

[Skybird14]

I used to have an archive board on one of my forums and I used to keep all the old members award notifications.

On a whole I see them as being pretty pointless and on my current forums I'll just lock the topics and eventually they'll drop down in the thread listings as new topics are created.

[[.~*RCC94*~.]]

I have a staff only hidden archive board. I keep it for topics I may need for viewing later, or for evidence. I usually keep threads with important information or something I need to know in there. It could be argued that I could save such things in Notepad. That's true, but I dunno why I insist on the archive board. xD

[=beary]

I dont have an archive board, I just delete them. They dont do much use, I dont even hide them. I just delete them, because they dont need to be used or seen any longer.

But, thinking on the positive side, maybe you SHOULD save them in case there's some data that you have that you need to look back to. But in my opinion, you dont need an archive board.

[:~:Sarapha:~:]

Oct 14, 2007 8:53:42 GMT -8 Enchant said:

Do you have a Archive Board and what do you use it for and why?

Yes, I have an Archive board. My site has gone through so many plots, it's not funny. After we achieve one, we create another. So I keep the old posts available for people to use to see how the site has progressed. Also, some threads become inactive because the maker and other RPers in the thread have had a period of inactivity. Why delete the thread when you can keep it somewhere out of the way, and when the person coms back on, they can just start it up again?

I also like to look back at old threads to see how my members have progressed throughout their time at my site.

[demonicremnants]

I have an RP forum and I use archives on my forum for many reasons. The first and foremost reason, however, is because it does help to keep the board clean of old posts that have been finished. I have seen some members post in long-dead threads just to try to get their post counts up in order to get a position as staff, or a certain reward for a post number. Due to this I make my archives staff-accessible only, because I trust my staff members enough to give them the responsibility of having the ability to sort of "cheat" their post count, but not doing it.


But it is also staff-only because I have known members to read a bio of a character and then use it to make another. They will take names, appearances, personalities, histories, etc. and not change a bit of them usually. I like to think that my staff members wouldn't do that, because usually they're people I know or have RP'ed/talked with enough to know (I never let strangers be staff ).


Secondly, I believe this was mentioned before but sometimes members come back and want an old character bio. Normally once a character dies I will move that bio to the archives, and if a member leaves I move all of their characters to the archives. However, this does not mean that those characters are not up for "adoption" by another member who believes they can RP them. They have to simply submit me a 200-word in-character post of that character so I can determine if they are RP'ed the same way.


Archives are also a good place to keep your "evidence," so-to-speak. If a member is caught doing something and you confront them it is easy for them to convince you they didn't if they're slick. However as long as you have the incident locked away where a member cannot get to them, they cannot go back and change their mistake. This allows your forum to get rid of a total goof. So yes, in my opinion, archives are handy for many reasons, and I've seen a lot of forums that use them as well.

[Cazzie]

My forum doesn't have an archive at this point in time, because I've learned from past mistakes to not add a board until I know I'm going to need it. I'm thinking of adding one now, however, because we've got a lot of old dead/inactive roleplay threads cluttering things up.

I don't want to delete them, because they're a part of the forums' history, and both myself and my members love to read back through old RPs, to see how we've grown as players and GMs and as storytellers. So an open-view archive with the posting turned off is looking like the best option atm.

I guess they can also have uses when it comes to locking/deleting threads. If things are archived instead, you can keep track of old arguments and who said what, and why. Which is particularly useful if you have a member come to you with claims of harassment, or a persistent troll. You can check your archive and go, "Oh yea, so and so does seem to pick on such and such." Or, "S/he has a lot of threads get locked, I wonder why that is." But, I prefer if that kind of archive is hidden altogether, as opposed to on-view but locked.

So I'm all for them! As long as they don't just end up being more unnecessary clutter.

[Killerred005]

Yes, my forum has an archive board. I find it more useful than just removing threads as it adds a security aspect to it. Plus, evidence will be present when bans are given out.

[Digital]

I have got one, i mostly use it for spam or old threads, i think it keeps the forum less cluttered and also if you delete oldposts it takes the overall forum post count down

[David]

I have never had an archive section. I have seen them done, but I just like the old-fashioned, delete posts button. I still think that they are good to have.

[Rozic Dixon]

I have an archive board but some of the graphics are nice half of the words are invisible.

[ll.s.g.b.s.ll♥♥;]

I havce one,but only for threads that have been going for days and days,Touched or not,I hate it when theres one 12 pages long,or VERY old,it makes members feel left out.It is useful in otherways,aswell.I like to use it as a inactive affilate board aswell.If your forum hasn't been used once in the last 24 hours,poof~~Gone!It is useful.

[Gylfie107]

I have one in one of my RPGs so I can save old role playing.

[simlizzie]

I think it's a very good idea.

The reason being is you can tell your mods do not delete threads that violate rules, but still make them out of sight for guests and members. So it's more helpful for making sure your mods, and even admins don't lie.

So, yes, I think it's an excellent idea to have one, and I recomend them. Especially if you're unsure if a mod/admin is telling the truth about deleting threads.

It is also a good way of getting out old threads so there isn't as much bumping old threads. And, if some one asks a question that was asked in one of the threads in the archive board, you can always quote it.

-Elizabeth