The setting iirc is you can set the amount of negative reputation the user has i.e. goes negative -300 or something. posts get +1 or -1 for up or downvote. 

Muz, I think we are risking accusations of 'thread derailing' - I'm fearing a ban coming ....

1) Like many others I stumbled across this forum at random after looking at A-League related articles and then seeing comments attached to them way back in the day. 

2) I've never been a hugely active poster but always floated around to get my dose of football news. Went AWOL for a couple of years due to life getting busy and also my declining interest in the A-League but have been visiting again at least once a week lately.

3) As others have pointed out already:
- Improve user friendliness on mobile platforms (I haven't used my PC to browse this forum in over 5 years).
- Find a way to re-connect articles and commenting into the public space again. There's a lot of forum members here that have stayed for a long time but I rarely see new faces. 
- Condense or even remove a number of the sub-forums, i.e. combining WF and AF, replacing Rumour Mill with a dedicated thread.

Bit by bit, there is a Feedback thread to your responses in this thread.

It is in the Feedback section.

Again thanks for your many excellent ideas, guys.

Some issues and suggestions are easier to find solutions to  than others.

I think it's pretty bad that State Football is separate from Australian football.

100%

When I invested a shit tonne of time into making that NPL players Thread in SF, I assumed people would visit that part of the forum more often. considering it is essentially a massive part of Aus Football.

It is annoying that people bring up threads on AF about NPL players who have been in good form and could be worth a shot in the AL when there is a thread dedicated to NPL players and there current whereabouts and updates. I think this could be a massive thing if it was in AF.

Since no one really bats an eye to State football I've pretty much given up on it. Much like the rest of the forum.

Sad but true. I don’t visit there as much as I used to do and comments could wait days and sometimes weeks for a response. 

Merge them. Let’s have one football. 

Sticky them to the top (like they do for club threads) do the main ones can be found easily 

When Mods threaten to ban people, there has to be prior written policies that every person knows about beforehand.
Is this forum going to be like Google, youtube, Facebook and Twitter where people are banned because it offends the sensitivities of the particular Mod?
What made 442 an amazing forum in years gone by is that it was a place where people could have a real debate without the spectre of people claiming such and such offends them. But this forum appears to be going the way the rest of social media is heading.
And that's not just because Mods are becoming more thin skinned. It's because society as a whole is getting that way. If this forum reflects the way society is going, it means there's a high likelihood of more thin-skinned people on this forum getting offended.
Is it just the Mods or is it the forum population as a whole? This is a global trend of Mods getting more militant in who they ban. It's not just ftbl or 442. It's not just Australia. It's  the whole internet that is becoming more trigger happy in banning people. If you look at the archives over the last 10 years, it's not as if people are being racist or insulting. No. The profusion of banning threats from Mods is a reflection of where society is becoming more politically correct.
And when a Mod threatens to ban someone, they feel totally justified in themselves because they are acting according to the norm of a society that values not offending people above a good vigorous debate.
This is not going to change because the cultural shift is larger than this tiny little forum.
I used to see the 442 as a last bastion where football fans could engage in a real no holds barred debate.
Remember. Governmental policies can change the culture of a country very rapidly. That's the same for this forum.

HERE"S MY CHALLENGE TO THE MODS. Give our threats of banning publicly, so that people can see what is acceptable and unacceptable to the Mods. Be accountable to the people. Don't hide behind anonymity and the power of banning people. Don't become like the now-evil Google.

As I have said in the past, forums are now dead. It's a dated form of communication. Something that in general has been dying off for the past 5 years. Evident across all forums I am on except possibly one which somehow always attracts new users. Social media has taken over, I'm on a few Australian football groups on facebook which have far more activity and discussion than this place. 

I've seen it all in the past on forums I was once part of, suggestions to merge sub forums etc creates some activity and gives a "boost" visually but in reality it will slowly keep dropping off. It's a form of communication for old heads. You won't be seeing many new younger users (16-21) joining here when they join facebook groups out of convenience. 

Just reality, but yes having the comments on articles link to the forum was good. 

Merge the state league and performance stuff so people can see what is going on at all fronts would be a start.

I felt since the new format the forum hasn't been the same.

I suggest if this is to become a proper forum, it needs better ways to communicate on its setup. i.e. some sort of chat

Anything going to be implemented? Whats the status

McJules, can I alert forum members to the poll in feedback?

There's a poll in 'feedback' regards moderation of the forum.  I encourage posters to vote in this poll.  http://forum.insidesport.com.au/2797506/Feedback-on-Save-The-Forum-thread-in-AF#bm2797820

Sure no problem!

All forums ?
I suppose it depends on the quality of the forum, heck the LFC/Liverpool ones I frequent over many years and to date are massively supported and active as I would expect MU and other epl ones and over to the La liga clubs SerieA etcetcetc.....
So depends on the forum and its members.

Cheers.  A shame this wasn't an option when Bowden initially posted the topic.

The amateur side of the game should deff be separated from the pro side of things, I don't want to read about park football above A-League story's.  Keep them apart!!!

But you can be anonymous on this forum rather then have your personal details on Facebook. I thought reddit would be more competition?

Yup

forum is social media

Used to lurk the forums before finally joining, after Theworldgame forum collapsed I think a few people came over then. I mainly use the State League part of the forum as that’s where my team is.

i think more people are using Facebook groups now however I rather it here as there are better discussions and anonymity let people express better.

What happened to the poll that was set up yesterday?

Still there

 http://forum.insidesport.com.au/2797747/Your-opinion-on-the-forum-regards-moderation?PageIndex=1

Ahh, was looking in the wrong spot. Thanks

We're experiencing the same problems on the forum that the game in general is experiencing with the main stream media...  There aren't enough stories because there aren't enough players because there aren't enough teams...  We've had every conversation already.  Expansion stories are boring now because we've all gone around and around with them...  The game desperately needs the churn of a second division and promotion/relegation to keep things moving and generate new stories.  Unfortunately, this is beyond the scope of forumites abilities.

Time for Gallop to have a sex scandal personally. Think of the metrics!

Where's Seb Ryall when he's needed?

What we really need to do is bring in a bunch of consultants from outside of football.

Or appoint a board of former Socceroo captains.

I'm getting sick of planting drugs on players. Mitch Nichols story didn't even do anything

What would be cool is if we were like whirlpool and had club and administration representatives