Shenmue Dojo

The site has had its notorious history with drama, which has seen numerous troublemakers banned from the site. Its just part and parcel of an internet forum. The previous method of creating a new account just required an email address, and the user activating a link sent to the email address provided. Whilst this was convenient to the new member joining, it was also a function that was abused to death, with banned members simply registering a new email address and rejoining immediately. We were all kids once, and id like to think we all grew up over the years, but even to this day, its been proven that's still not the case.
So from now, the registration process for new members has changed slightly. Before a new members account goes live, we will have to activate it. I have it set up where i will get the notification on my phone immediately so there should not be too much of lost time before i can do that, but this also allows me to see the username, IP and email address of the person registering.



Internet trolls can be smart, but at the end of the day, they will always be found out. There are always numerous tools and signs at our disposal, from idiotic usernames which add a letter on the banned accounts username, posting from the same IP, using throwaway email addresses etc.... and even if they get around those, their posting manners and attitude will always show off their true identity over time. Idiots will always be idiots. If we never catch alternate accounts out, well, we still win because that person is now posting in a regular, friendly fashion. Not breaching the TOS and actually contributing positively to the community without the need for a ban. Their new account gives them a new life and they change. In the end, we always win out.
The account activation by an administrator process is in place as of now, and will remain in place until a time where it needs to be looked at again in the future.

The second small change is to the top two "housekeeping" forums; NEWS and UPDATES, and SHENMUE DOJO.




The News and Updates forum will be for breaking news and updates regarding the Shenmue series only, which makes a change to how both series and site news and updates were addressed in there. Site news and updates have been moved to Shenmue Dojo itself, and the opportunity to post questions will still be there for members here in this forum. Pretty straightforward really.


Thats all i have for now, but in the very near future, there will be more updates on additions to the Shenmue Dojo, as well as the beginning of work on the new site. Hopefully once that gets going, the forums will also be primed for a much needed update to the current phpbb.

Yea it is pretty redundant. But with being on the outs with the current main site, growing the social media and upgrading the forums, this forum will mostly be used by me to keep everyone updated with what's going on. Also, to get any feedback or ask everyone questions I may have about... Anything really. From looks, design, themes, layout, features, additions...

It will help keep things separate from Shenmue news and not let things get mixed up.

Peter wrote:So from now, the registration process for new members has changed slightly. Before a new members account goes live, we will have to activate it. I have it set up where i will get the notification on my phone immediately so there should not be too much of lost time before i can do that, but this also allows me to see the username, IP and email address of the person registering.

My God that sounds stressful..

MiTT3NZ wrote: Never understood why the Dojo needed it's own news section. It's like giving a rabbit the ability to say the phrase "Ey up, pass us the remote luv!"

Oh but it didn't. It's the same as Peter has it now, it's a forum to gather input and announce features. The news section was always for the series first, I'd just post about major site updates so front page visitors would see as well (kind of like Peter's latest post that is also on the front page).

The only change now is that the front page will only be for series news now, which also works. Just a small directional change to make the site more Shenmue centric. I think once the new site and forum is rolled out though, this will all be redundant anyway.

Keep it up Peter.