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Post by M-G Corki on May 30, 2008 12:26:07 GMT
Right... I've just had a rant in the Staff board (sorry but it was needed) about the lack of posting and participation in Band events at DM. It has always been a problem in my time as ORG Leader since we have had these boards. To keep things short and sweet about my complaints, I will bullet point my views: - DM is our home - it is what brought us together. We can't forget that fact.
- It is our source for new members. Without DM, we would struggle to get new members. I am sure we can do it, but it would involve an awful lot of work. And would you be prepared to put the time in?
- We won the Empy Award for Best ORG last year. While the Empy Awards are seen as a popularity contest, we still won. But I had to force people to vote. If it wasn't for Froix and Alishandra, we wouldn't have won either Best ORG or Best Community Thread. What exactly are we doing to try and maintain that award? Yes, I am coming up with ideas for activity, but I struggle to get 20 Banders to get involved with them at DM. Yet every day, at least 40 Banders turn up here. It baffles me why the posting activity here isn't partly transfered to DM.
- During September and October, our Regimental Competition will involve visiting the 9 other ORGs at DM. Yet I am silently afraid it will be a massive flop because Banders won't take part. We will be travelling about for this competition as I want to increase awareness of the Band and what we do at DM, as that seems a current problem, which was highlighted by Kath in a recent moan about the point of the blog for DM Staff at DM. Yet this lack of participation by you lot, and not the ORGs we will visit, scares me the most.
- I am considering a post related points idea for the roll call. In other words, you would have to post a certain amount of times at DM to get your monthly roll call points. I don't want to do this, but it is an idea I am seriously considering.
- I am fed up of forcing people to get involved with activities we host at DM. So must you. I keep having to bump the threads at DM to encourage activity, as well as posts made here about the activities. There is only so much I can do, and my patience is wearing out. I've been at points about thinking of resigning as ORG Leader, and don't be surprised that that point will come up again shortly. And that isn't emotional blackmail. It's the truth.
- I feel like I am the only one who starts things. I know this isn't 100% true, but there is very little in the way of music and travel threads at DM that hasn't been started by me. There is nothing spontaneous. Like yesterday, I was tempted to start a thread to congratulate Kylie Minogue reaching 40, but then decided not to as nobody would post on it. That disappoints me. I would like such things to happen, so that it might draw in non-Banders in, as well as offering us a chance to discuss different music and travel related activities.
Those are probably my major points of my moan. However, I want to look at solutions to encourage posting at DM. What will make you post more at DM? And please put aside your anger, disappointment and hatred of DM, and how we have been handled. I don't want that. I want positive attitudes and views that will hopefully encourage participation and increase awareness of the Band at DM, our mother site. Below are some things I have thought of, one of which we are discussing in the Staff Board here. - I will not be moving activities like the Battle of the Bands tournament and threads like "Tune or No Tune" from DM. We are the music and travel ORG, and such activities stay there. We need things to promote what we do, and they are prime examples. So I will reject all calls to move them here.
- However, things like the ORG Game will stay here. That is an activity that is only open to those who have signed up for the Band.
- I threw the idea of Regimental Boards at DM. These would become visible to members of the ORG. It may get people back who signed up for the ORG, and never come to offboard sites. It may even allow them to finish the Raw Recruit Scheme. If this works, then it will be down to you to make sure it works by posting at DM to make them feel part of the ORG, even if they aren't here at the heart of the Band. They have every right to be part of the Band even if they don't post here.
- I have ideas for games (Owen/Whitewolf sent me one; I may even start a last genre standing game) and activities (similar to the Battle of the Bands, but I pick the holiday destinations and you pick your favourite. It will be a knockout until we have a winner).
- As mentioned earlier, activity points based on posting at DM in Band boards. It won't be popular, but I will be more than happy to implement it. So you can't just turn up to DM once a month and post in a roll call to collect your points.
- The Quest
- Please answer the poll. Do you find posting at DM a chore? Or not?
Those are just some of my ideas - some you will like, others you won't. However, I am also interested in knowing what will increase your activity at DM boards. Will it be more games, more discussion threads? What? I want to know, so that we can active both here and at DM, and portray a picture of good, strong activity. At the moment, this isn't the case, and I want to turn it around. But it needs your input. There is only so much I can do. I'm at my last few ideas now, and probably the next result will be my resignation. If it makes my life easier, so be it. I don't want to walk away, but I know I can. And I am sure a lot of you don't want that. So, please, help out with how activity at DM can be increased...or maybe even start posting there more now. I am open to ideas.
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Post by Sora el Nyn on May 30, 2008 12:41:31 GMT
Not to rag on DM or anything, but I think a lot of people are put off by the fact that sometimes the site itself takes ages to do anything, like posting and loading. I'm at DM a lot and I find that kinda frustrating sometimes when I'm trying to post something.
Back to the real point now, as I said in the staff board, I like the idea of having regimental boards at DM. I think it's a good idea and will encourage people to join. However I don't think that will entirely deal with the issue of people posting here and not at DM. Perhaps a forfeit type thing for the regiment that is least active per month of some kind?
I was considering having some type of interregimental competition using the Archer's Carnival, in fact we are seriously discussing it. Perhaps we can move it over to DM and allow non-Org members to participate? It would mean a bit of work, but we could do it if I was sure that people would take part in it. It's just an idea.
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Post by daetirion on May 30, 2008 12:46:31 GMT
Voted with regard to the Band boards at DM, not other boards
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Post by Kara J on May 30, 2008 13:56:33 GMT
Yes, I find posting at DM a chore regardless of what Org I'm trying to post in. Like El Nyn said it takes ages to load, sometimes not at all. I get fed up of waiting and go to do something else while it attempts to load by which time I've forgotten what I wanted to post in the first place. I've found that my activity at DM has lessened significantly since they moved to the new boards, i don't get involved as much at DM regardless of what Org I'm in. I, like a lot of people, work a lot and don't have the time to wait forever for it to load one section then wait around while it tries to post my reply. I barely post at the Greens now and all have all but dropped out of any other Org simply because it takes too long to get to do anything. Some days are worse than others. Some days I manage to get through 3 Orgs before I get fed up and go elsewhere (usually back here ) It may be just me but I think the atmosphere is different on the new DM compared to the old boards (might just be my imagination..I do have a vivid one after all ) And it's definitely different compared to these boards. I view this board as the Bands Home, even though it was started at DM. I find it a pleasure to post here but it feels like a chore, and a boring one at that, to post at DM. Here I find it a fun atmosphere, chatty and full of friends. At DM the atmosphere, to me, comes across as people trying to have a good time but not quite sure of whether they are allowed to or not. It feels like everyone is there because its the done thing, and because they've been told they have to be there, but they'd much rather be somewhere else and since they can't they might as well make the best of it. (If that makes any sense whatsoever! ) And again I'm not talking about just the Band here, it feels like that in all the Orgs I'm in..though I can't say whether the same is happening for the other Orgs that I'm not in. Maybe it's just me? Maybe that's the way I feel about the DM boards and everyone else really is having fun and enjoying themselves on DM. *shrug* I've not said much before, apart to the odd person on MSN, but I'm pissed off today (due to something else entirely) so I felt in need of a rant! *deep breath* There all better! Sorry However, after saying all that, I am committed to the band and the Quest and will do my utmost to get activity going there...once I'm back from my LoA I'll be setting up an idea for a Quest and will start it off.
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Post by M-G Corki on May 30, 2008 14:09:40 GMT
Not at all. All views will be valid. Mynd may be able to fill us in on this, but I do know DM is at least 2 versions behind on SMF. I know Mynd has a site that is on the latest version, and it looks pretty nifty to me. I have no idea why we haven't converted up. I know it has been mentioned in the past. As for the speed of the site, it sucks. I hate it. Some days are far worse than others. I can only assume it is down to the greater amount of pages DM now has compared to before. I don't know if the second server has been added, but I will find out in my complaint to Jason. And I know I am doing what I said I shouldn't (ok...go ahead and slap my wrist! ), but what annoys me is everything has to go through Jason. Like last week, I asked the DM Staff if we could increase the number of threads on a page, but Kath came back to me to say Jason would have to say "yay" or "nay" as it would influence income. So I slammed up against a nice brick wall. And I forgot to mention The Quest as a reason for increasing activity at DM.
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Post by Clim ~Wandering Samurai~ on May 30, 2008 14:24:40 GMT
I think we need to have more activities over at DM. It's almost like the only thing on our public boards is nothing but music discussions. I mean you can only discuss music so much before it gets, please forgive me for saying this, boring. We have a lot more going on here at the offsite boards. We do need to have more activities at DM. Something that will spark increased activity. Maybe start up like a competition or something that all of the ORGs can join in. That way not only do we invite other members of other ORGs to the boards, but new members can see what's going on in the Band.
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Post by kingkastschei on May 30, 2008 14:54:59 GMT
This is a tough one, because I seem to be the only person who doesn't have the slow speed DM problem so I don't have that particular excuse. I don't post much at DM mainly because I don't really have anything interesting to say in any of the threads there, and if I do, nobody really responds to it! I agree with Kara that much of the discussions/fun feels a little forced and it's just not as much fun over there as it is here. I'm not involved in any other ORGs over there so I don't know if it's the same in other ORGs or not, but I haven't joined any of them because I simply don't seem to have much fun at DM. I think that what is lacking over there, actually, is the regimental stuff that happens here. Also, I find the overall look of DM boring (yes, I know that may seem shallow...) with it's beige boards and tiny sigs, there's simply not enough visually to keep me interested.
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Post by Blademaster Mystica on May 30, 2008 18:00:16 GMT
what kara said. *points up*
I am a member of other orgs and am one of those that try very hard to 'make it work' because as Head of the Reds, I have to. However, no amount of 'making it work' can replace a true and natural feeling of 'home' that we used to have on our own boards. The very fact that even in our privates the admins have access makes it all but impossible to be truelly relaxed, a fact that is very keenly felt by my Reds and I imagine we're not the only ones. Though at the same time we are still ourselves on our boards there, it's still always with the feeling of 'big sister is watching you'.
The DM boards are indeed slow to load and posting is also slow. And when you have a choice between spending your time waiting for pages to load there or a smoothly loading board here the choice is quickly made.
As for getting people to participate in games, the Hornsounder has offered different games and competitions for months on DM to all Dm'ers, Banders and non-Banders. Result: only a few every participated and then always the same few at that. Month after month I would go to évery single Org, post a thread informing them the HS was up, inviting them to participate on the games. But not even Banders felt the urge to play, so how was I going to get the DM'ers to play if even Banders themselves didn't seem interested? Right now the competitions and games have severely slinked, though I'm looking to increase those again with my team. Whether that will trigger more people to join in is another matter. Even the prospect of extra points doesn't seem to motivate Banders. *shrugs*
Kast, I don't think what you say is shallow about the look. The visuality of a place online is every bit as much part of the experience as the text we read. It's the heart and core of the 'feel' of a place. So you are absolutely right in mentioning it in my book.
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Post by taymist on May 31, 2008 10:40:07 GMT
Totally agree with what's been said already and it applies to all of my Orgs, not just the Band.
I support the posting and activity at DM only because my positions on Staff demand that I do. Personally, I wouldn't mind if I never had to go near those boards again. They look horrible, they're too slow, they hold me up when I have lots of stuff to do in lots of places and they don't feel like home. I agree with Kara about the forced feeling. You're battling the fact that proboards has been and is home to all of us... we like it here. It's relaxed, we have our own autonomy, the boards look great, they're super easy to use etc etc.
It's not a lack of interest that you're fighting Corki, it's peoples' dislike of those boards as they are now. The update may well help as Mynd's site is super and looks great compared to DM.
Having said that, lack of participation is something we all face. It's the same with Pawprints as it is with the Hornsounder... it's the same for activities at the Aiel as it is here at the Band... even on the RP side, everyone always states a willingness and an interest but when it comes to doing anything, it's always the same people. I'm rather past worrying about it now. I do what I can and if it doesn't work, I don't fret about it. Being here is meant to be fun, not something to cause more stress and worry.
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Post by Northie on May 31, 2008 13:01:41 GMT
personally i have never found the DM boards slow...i expect the spec of peoples computers and internet speeds probably have something to do with it as im guessing alot more info is downloaded at DM due to graphics, adverts etc than here which i would think is a simple site by comparison.
i think the idea of regimental boards at DM are a brilliant idea, however there is absolutely no point to them if people dont go there because the ones here are better - the campfires is proof of this. the only reason people ever go there really is to post on the roll calls/cg elections.
therefore, have regimental boards at DM, make them public so everyone can view them etc...and eliminate the public regimental boards here. keep the private ones here however so we are not moving over to DM which with the state of the site as it is atm would be a bad idea as i doubt it would support us.
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Post by Clim ~Wandering Samurai~ on May 31, 2008 13:12:24 GMT
An idea just to toss out there. How bout we move the review boards over to DM? That way all of our points stuff is over there. We make them public so everyone can put in their input, but only Band members earn points. We can keep the archives here. This is just an idea that struck me as something that could work.
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Post by taymist on May 31, 2008 17:33:06 GMT
No, I'd rather not until the board speed improves. I'm not wasting any more time than I already have to. If it does improve then yes ok, good idea, but meantime no. The reviews are a huge section even without the archives.
As to the slowness of DM, I can't speak for other people, but there's nothing wrong with the specs on my computer and I have an ultra high speed broadband connection. So it's not that for me.
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Post by Sora el Nyn on May 31, 2008 19:21:36 GMT
It's mostly down to DM, the slow speeds. I too have ultra fast connection and pretty decent specs on my computer. But with 6,000 members and God knows how many posts, I think their server gets bogged down trying to cope with all of that. Do they ever have a clean out of old posts and unused threads there?
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Post by M-G Corki on May 31, 2008 22:13:46 GMT
I'm going to do my best to pick out things to comment on now, but will do so tomorrow when I am not mentally drained as I am at the moment. It's been a long day of cricket.
Firstly, thank you for your comments. I will keep everything you have said as I believe I will be part of a team to make DM better - and also force Jason to take some action, as I personally feel Jason is a large problem in itself. Technically, none of you should know that, but none of the admins come here, so two fingers to them. So all your comments will be useful. I won't say who said them, unless you want me to.
Well, the policy has changed. The old boards (2 versions before the current set up) used to be a lot worse than this. They continually timed out, as the server was really poor. As a result, we used to have to restrict thread sizes, and regularly delete threads. At least the new boards are a lot faster. Because the new server is a lot bigger and more powerful, it was decided there would be no restriction on thread size and the number of threads. However, with the increase of boards, it seems the pressure on the server is greater. I know Jason mentioned getting a second server, but I have no idea if that has actually happened. I can only guess "no". I also think that covers a lot of those who said the boards were slow. Also, the fact that proboards has its own team of staff watching their servers all the time helps. I don't think Jason does, and I think he is the only one who can see it. The other person with enough knowledge is Fader, who is a good guy.
Some good points raised here by Clim. I like the idea of variety in our posts. Maybe if you are thinking about posting something either in the General or the Campfire boards here, consider posting it at DM. Just an idea...it could be anything spontaneous!
As for the comment about a competition all the ORGs can join in, the September-October Regimental Competition will definitely have that. However, if anyone can think of something else between then, let any Senior Staff member know, and we will see what we can do.
And to those who feel forced to post at DM, I don't do this malicously. I only do so to show that we actually do things over at DM. I have monthly reports to do for Kath (I will never force this on the Regiments!) to say what we have been doing. So that is why some of our activities have to be over there. If you went over there and either posted/voted willingly, I wouldn't have to force or nag. A vicious cycle, sadly.
To those who complain about the biege/brown boards. That was the colour of DM that I know and always like. It's a lot better than the white monstrosity that we had before. But if and when the team for the future of DM is up and running, I will mention a colour change. If you have any suggestions, just let me know. And yes, these boards do feel like 'home'. And the colour scheme was pure accident. I can't even remember why I chose them - there was just a Band feel about them! lol!
Myst's comments about "not feeling relaxed due to admins having access" was a big issue over the whole move back. I know it irked SG and BT something rotten. And it did annoy me a lot when suggested with the sub domain idea. However, I would have had the "admin" account, like I do here. And I am sure I would have found ways to limit the DM admins access with time and a bit of tinkering.
Nice idea, but like Tay, it isn't going to happen with the current board speed. And Jason has a lot of grovelling to do at my feet to get my support back. However, access to all the reviews will hopefully be available to the general public on the wiki museum site, once that takes shape over the next few weeks.
Thanks for the ideas and suggestions. Please keep the conversation going, and your views will be taken into consideration.
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MonsterMetroid
Mega Poster
Someday AssasinBowman (Redarm)
Hiding in plain sight.
Posts: 348
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Post by MonsterMetroid on Jun 1, 2008 0:58:05 GMT
Um my answer to this question would be yes. I've never ever have been good at posting over at DM ( think I've posted a grand total of 2 times over there) and also I can't ever find anything I'm looking for over there since there are no subboards to separate all of the different threads we have. For example I remember cads telling me about a year and a half ago that Blade won the prankster of the year award in the 2006 matrims over at DM... well after a good 30 minutes of searching for said thread I can't find it. These boards here are just so much more time friendly for me since I only have a short amount of time on the computer for that reason (and the aforementioned loading times).
Also while DM is a great source for new members It's definitely not the sole source of members. After all the reason I came here was because Blade got me hooked on the books and then told me of this site. we all have friends and we can get them to start reading the books or if they already are then get them to join the site. So I think that all of our important threads including roll call should be kept over here and that would lead to more activity.
Corki I can somewhat understand your sentiments though because you have a strong bond of loyalty to DM and you believe that you are responsible for the activity of the Band members at DM.. For the reasons that I've stated above I don't really feel any connection to DM at all. However Corki what I am loyal to is you as my MG * salutes sharply* and if you feel that posting at DM is in the Best interest of the Band then I will try to do that for YOU not for DM. I do feel that I'm not the only one with these feelings about DM sir.
As for Ideas to help people become more active at DM I suppose the point of DM is to have the band interact with other orgs like they would in Randland. So if we could develop some way to to do something like our game with the other orgs but on a larger scale maybe (5 v 5?) to simulate a battle ( with Aiel or Trollocs whoever is challenging us) then I think that would draw more people. Sorry that I can't think of anything more specific
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