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With the success of Stridey's "This Site has a PvP pack problem" post (link) I have noticed some things that really should be talked about regarding PvP (and other categories of) packs that weren't entirely addressed in that forum post. These both regard the spread of misinformation, whether through click-baity titles, descriptions, or tags. I will be splitting this post into 2 main issues I have found, with one being a more issue important than the other.
1. The lie that is "FPS Boost" packs.
1a. The problem
The main problem, and the reason I am posting this, is because of all the "FPS Boost" packs, which have been cropping up more and more. Many of these PvP pack makers are including the words "FPS Boost" or similar phrases in their posts, whether in the tags, descriptions, tags, or even in other places like the credits for some reason (I'm not even kidding having seen it in the credits). A lot of users will read that the pack increases FPS, and upon being told that is incorrect think, "well what is wrong with that?" Here is what is wrong: FPS Boost packs do not work. It is not a real thing that packs can do, and any that claim any sort of FPS boost only say so for the extra downloads. At this point, so many packs do it that a large majority of the packs in the PvP section have "FPS" or similar phrases in the tags of their submissions. Some FPS boost shams have even made it to the scrolling windows at the top that is meant for quality packs. Some people have even gone as far as to create fake evidence by using the ingame "limit FPS" option to make it seem like they are actually getting more FPS, but this is all just trickery, and the sad reality we are in is that most people don't fact check this claim. There is more counter evidence to back up the claim that they can't increase FPS than there is to support it, but people don't ever bother to check. Try equipping a 1x1 pack. Unless you have a really old computer, and I mean really old, Nothing in regards to FPS changes. You might see a few extra frames from a really really old laptop, but a few extra frames is nothing near the +100! or Double your FPS! that a lot of packs claim. I made a 1x1 pack as a joke a few years ago, and I was using a laptop that usually only ever gave me around 30FPS, and even when using the 1x1 pack I barely even hit above 25. Even while using a pack that removes the entire model of every block, meaning that the block's visuals don't even load, you will not see any notable increase in FPS. This is all due to the way Minecraft handles the textures. Since the base resolution of the game is 16x, it is already small enough of a file that anything less than it barely makes a difference, and only when you start to get into resolutions greater than 128x do you start to see decreases in FPS. On lower end devices, this may happen at 64, and higher end devices may be able to handle 256 with no problem, but the point is that you can't increase the FPS through packs, only decrease it. A less technical explanation is that it only helps if the game isn't already running at a high performance, which most people have devices that can run the game fine at/above 60FPS.
1b. The solution
I propose a new category for the "report submission" dropdown, simply labeled "misinformation" or "clickbait" or something along those lines. This not only solves the problem of FPS boost packs, as users now have a concrete answer to which category they would fall under since they are something that should be removed, but also allows other types of submissions to take advantage of this new category too, as I'm sure resource packs aren't the only site category that suffers from an issue of this type.
2. Tag abuse
2a. The problem
Tag abuse is something I've also noticed with a lot of PvP packs, and while it does mainly apply to PvP packs, they aren't the only category that suffers from this. This issue is definitely not as bad as the false claims of FPS boost, but is still something that should be brought to attention. Many PvP packs only change a small portion of the assets in the game, whether its a pack that just makes the swords shorter, or a pack that changes all the common PvP items, such as armor, bows, fishing rods, certain types of blocks, etc, but please people, stop putting every possible tag in the tags section of your pack! If your pack doesn't have anything to do with foliage, don't put that tag! If it has nothing to do with mobs, and only does weapons and armors, don't put that tag! I've seen packs that have more tags than they do changed textures. No I'm not kidding. I wish I could say that as a joke, but its real, and its something that should be prevented. The main reason people do this is so that their pack will show up in as many search results as possible, which defeats the entire purpose of tags in the first place.
2b. The solution
Similarly to the solution I proposed to FPS Boost packs, I think a new category should be added to the dropdown, next to "log abuse," labeled "tag abuse." It is a simple solution, but it is all that should be needed. Not all solutions have to be complicated, after all.
3. Final Thoughts
The quality control on this site is usually pretty good, but a lot of things slip between the cracks because they simply aren't checked for. The process of greenlighting new users seems like a good idea, and it is, but the fact that once you are cleared for the first time, you no longer have to be cleared again can pose a problem. Now, I'm not saying that every submission should have to pass a greenlight, as that would take a lot of moderation effort and time, but certain phrases/tags should trigger a filter to redlight the submission until inspected by a human, who can decide if the pack should be allowed to continue the upload process. Troublesome phrases like X-ray, FPS, etc, should be assigned to each category, for example 'emerald tools' could be something that the filter looks for in the mods category, because emerald tool mods seems to be like the "pvp packs" of the mods section. The fact that X-Ray packs can make it through the entire submission process to begin with without any sort of automated filter kinda baffles me because they aren't even allowed in the first place.
Edit 1:
TL;DR for those who have asked:
People are lying about their packs features and saying that they can increase performance, and I think there should be a rule against that.
1. The lie that is "FPS Boost" packs.
1a. The problem
The main problem, and the reason I am posting this, is because of all the "FPS Boost" packs, which have been cropping up more and more. Many of these PvP pack makers are including the words "FPS Boost" or similar phrases in their posts, whether in the tags, descriptions, tags, or even in other places like the credits for some reason (I'm not even kidding having seen it in the credits). A lot of users will read that the pack increases FPS, and upon being told that is incorrect think, "well what is wrong with that?" Here is what is wrong: FPS Boost packs do not work. It is not a real thing that packs can do, and any that claim any sort of FPS boost only say so for the extra downloads. At this point, so many packs do it that a large majority of the packs in the PvP section have "FPS" or similar phrases in the tags of their submissions. Some FPS boost shams have even made it to the scrolling windows at the top that is meant for quality packs. Some people have even gone as far as to create fake evidence by using the ingame "limit FPS" option to make it seem like they are actually getting more FPS, but this is all just trickery, and the sad reality we are in is that most people don't fact check this claim. There is more counter evidence to back up the claim that they can't increase FPS than there is to support it, but people don't ever bother to check. Try equipping a 1x1 pack. Unless you have a really old computer, and I mean really old, Nothing in regards to FPS changes. You might see a few extra frames from a really really old laptop, but a few extra frames is nothing near the +100! or Double your FPS! that a lot of packs claim. I made a 1x1 pack as a joke a few years ago, and I was using a laptop that usually only ever gave me around 30FPS, and even when using the 1x1 pack I barely even hit above 25. Even while using a pack that removes the entire model of every block, meaning that the block's visuals don't even load, you will not see any notable increase in FPS. This is all due to the way Minecraft handles the textures. Since the base resolution of the game is 16x, it is already small enough of a file that anything less than it barely makes a difference, and only when you start to get into resolutions greater than 128x do you start to see decreases in FPS. On lower end devices, this may happen at 64, and higher end devices may be able to handle 256 with no problem, but the point is that you can't increase the FPS through packs, only decrease it. A less technical explanation is that it only helps if the game isn't already running at a high performance, which most people have devices that can run the game fine at/above 60FPS.
1b. The solution
I propose a new category for the "report submission" dropdown, simply labeled "misinformation" or "clickbait" or something along those lines. This not only solves the problem of FPS boost packs, as users now have a concrete answer to which category they would fall under since they are something that should be removed, but also allows other types of submissions to take advantage of this new category too, as I'm sure resource packs aren't the only site category that suffers from an issue of this type.
2. Tag abuse
2a. The problem
Tag abuse is something I've also noticed with a lot of PvP packs, and while it does mainly apply to PvP packs, they aren't the only category that suffers from this. This issue is definitely not as bad as the false claims of FPS boost, but is still something that should be brought to attention. Many PvP packs only change a small portion of the assets in the game, whether its a pack that just makes the swords shorter, or a pack that changes all the common PvP items, such as armor, bows, fishing rods, certain types of blocks, etc, but please people, stop putting every possible tag in the tags section of your pack! If your pack doesn't have anything to do with foliage, don't put that tag! If it has nothing to do with mobs, and only does weapons and armors, don't put that tag! I've seen packs that have more tags than they do changed textures. No I'm not kidding. I wish I could say that as a joke, but its real, and its something that should be prevented. The main reason people do this is so that their pack will show up in as many search results as possible, which defeats the entire purpose of tags in the first place.
2b. The solution
Similarly to the solution I proposed to FPS Boost packs, I think a new category should be added to the dropdown, next to "log abuse," labeled "tag abuse." It is a simple solution, but it is all that should be needed. Not all solutions have to be complicated, after all.
3. Final Thoughts
The quality control on this site is usually pretty good, but a lot of things slip between the cracks because they simply aren't checked for. The process of greenlighting new users seems like a good idea, and it is, but the fact that once you are cleared for the first time, you no longer have to be cleared again can pose a problem. Now, I'm not saying that every submission should have to pass a greenlight, as that would take a lot of moderation effort and time, but certain phrases/tags should trigger a filter to redlight the submission until inspected by a human, who can decide if the pack should be allowed to continue the upload process. Troublesome phrases like X-ray, FPS, etc, should be assigned to each category, for example 'emerald tools' could be something that the filter looks for in the mods category, because emerald tool mods seems to be like the "pvp packs" of the mods section. The fact that X-Ray packs can make it through the entire submission process to begin with without any sort of automated filter kinda baffles me because they aren't even allowed in the first place.
Edit 1:
TL;DR for those who have asked:
People are lying about their packs features and saying that they can increase performance, and I think there should be a rule against that.
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a big step to make the community great again!
Yeah, it is great to see the PMC Team listening to the community, as not all sites do.
We're working on it.
Awesome.
I did very briefly touch on this in my thread, but I'm glad there's a full post regarding it becuase it still doesn't seem to be moderated.
Yeah, the only aspect of the PvP pack problem that is really moderated is the duplicates/recolors, and as a result of your thread, the fact that they have their own category now. Even the duplicates problem is still pretty bad, but many of the big publishers have been banned, but I have been seeing more and more FPS boost packs cropping up regardless.
I wish I could give 2 emeralds sometimes.
Lol thanks. Hopefully this thread gets enough support to be heard, as this problem is pretty big, but not many people know about it
Agreed, idk how fps boost pack creators even think that high resolution pack boost fps, I mean, my minecraft its already laggy, and when use this kind of packs on my game the fps count lowers even more because of the high res
I saw one where the showcase video was running around 20FPS and they were claiming it was an FPS boost pack even with heavy lag spikes every few seconds lol.
Note, FPS Packs only Work If they are below 256 x resolution (correct me if i am Wrong) So their is no way to increase your fps with a texture pack, Just use the built in pack+sodium+optifine
Yeah, for almost all devices that can run minecraft at playable speeds, packs from 1x1-64x64 have the same effect, only when you start to venture past 128x is when things start to slow, and the rate of decrease really depends on computer. Optifine, Sodium, and other performance mods are the only true way to increase FPS, as every pack labeled FPS boost has practically no differences to any other pack of the same resolution.
I'm not a pack publisher or anything but I wish I could make reports of misinformation in real life lol
Yeah, real life has the same problems, except with more important issues like antivaxxers or even antimaskers. If only there was a big floating report button we could all press lol
As someone who makes a pvp pack I really want this to be implemented. I never claim "fps boost" and it hurts legit texture creators.
All of the genuinely good pvp packs are drowned out by both recolors and fps boost shams, and I think it is about time we as a community do something about it. A lot of the big "recolor spammers" have been banned recently (One even made an alt, but they were super obvious about it lol) but there still isn't anything in the rules regarding things like tag abuse and FPS boost shams, so I think it is about time something is added to deal with these issues.
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everything about this
